Post by Commissioner Erick on Jul 8, 2018 17:28:19 GMT -5
Houston Astros (45-13) @ Chicago White Sox (36-20)
HOU: Joe Musgrove (6-3, 4.16)
CHW: Carlos Rodon (6-3, 4.10)
The White Sox are the AL Central leaders and the defending champions. The Astros look like the best team in baseball.
It's a possible ALCS Preview when the Chicago White Sox host the Houston Astros in tonight's Game of the Week.
The two teams have met once this year, a little over a week ago, with the White Sox taking the series. They recorded a pair of 10-1 victories following an extra-inning loss. The White Sox are in fact the only team Houston has a losing record against this season.
Chicago got a huge series from Garin Cecchini in Houston, and the hope is that it can springboard him to a productive second half. He homered twice, drove in four, and hit .400 to help springboard Chicago. In fact, starting with a period two days before the Houston series, he's hitting .362, with three home runs and 11 RBIs in 11 games. Unsurprisingly Chicago is 8-3 in those games.
Chicago also got its customary stellar pitching that entire series. Even though Houston has the best offense in the AL, Chicago's starters of A.J. Cole, Danny Salazar, and Eduardo Rodriguez produced a 1.71 ERA. The bullpen worked 9.1 innings, allowing just a single run.
Despite Carlos Martinez not taking the mound, the work that Chicago's arms put in was eye-opening and a reminder of how difficult it will be for opponents to go through the White Sox and win a championship.
They'll send Carlos Rodon to the mound to keep the impressive pitching going. After an awful stretch in late April and early May, he hasn't allowed more than three runs in his last six starts. However, he's been vulnerable to the long ball in a league where offense and home runs have risen. He's survived by having the third highest strikeout rate of AL pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings. Limiting walks and getting good results on balls-in-play also help. He's blowing it by hitters, now he just needs to stop hitting the middle of the plate.
Chicago's offense is incredible with Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers, and Yoan Moncada three legitimate superstars, but they also have gotten good results from Christian Vasquez. Mini-Yadi's nickname was bestowed upon him because of his defensive rep, but after a time-share with Jacob Nottingham, he's seized the starting role and is hitting over .300. He gives Chicago four players batting over .300, which has made their offense more balanced.
Houston, meanwhile, continues to pulverize anyone who isn't Chicago, as they licked their wounds by sweeping four from Baltimore and losing a set with Toronto because of a pair of one-run losses. Their bullpen is a bit tired and banged up, so there are only a few rested arms back there.
T.J. Macfarland has pitched in three of the past four days, but he's only thrown 19 pitches, so he may need to go more than his situational work sometimes allows. Lefties have hit .193 off him while righties are batting .273, so Houston may want to set him up against Beinintendi and Devers if at all possible.
They also may need a pair of innings from Ken Giles. He hasn't worked in three days and is pretty well rested. His home run numbers are up from years past, as he's allowed five so far. That's the total he allowed in all of 2017. He also has an elevated walk rate, but he's whiffed 44 in 28.1 innings. He hasn't allowed a run in seven consecutive appearances so he may have turned a corner from earlier struggles.
Houston's stars on offense are rocking and rolling, though there are two players to be concerned with on offense. Carlos Correa's concern level should be mild. He's hitting only .255, similar to last year, but the power is there, and he's done a great job on the bases. He may not be an MVP-candidate, but with Daniel Murphy and Alex Bregman flanking him, being merely great is great enough.
However, after a red-hot April, Hunter Pence has collapsed. His OPS in May was only .394, he has only two home runs since April, and he's batting only .175 against lefties. He has hits in five straight games, including a home run and a double, so it may just have been one hell of a cold spell that he's thawing out from, but with his age the severity of the slippage, it may also be the new normal. Against the rest of the league, Houston is good enough to weather his poor performance. However, against a team like Chicago, they'll need everyone at the top of their game to come up with wins.
Questions for the GMs:
For Ryan James, Pence has really struggled of late but may be coming out of it. What are your plans for him the rest of the year if he continues to struggle, and if he moderates a bit.
Your bullpen is running on fumes for this game, with Luke Gregerson's back acting up and James Hoyt dealing with an oblique strain. Will you call for reinforcements, or hope Harrison Musgrave can go deep for you?
With the draft recently concluded, you snapped up Cameron Cannon and Shawn Forrest early on. What do you think about those two picks?
For Mike Ball, you wear the crown, but Houston may be the biggest threat to you repeating as World Series champions. Do you treat this like any other series?
Jacob Nottingham had a strong May after a slow start, but it appears Christian Vasquez will be getting most starts behind the plate. Talk about what you plan on doing with your catchers going forward?
Switching gears, you didn't have your first two draft picks, trading them away for Danny Salazar. You did get Tim Cate and Micah Watson in the third round though. How do you see those players eventually shaping up as professionals?
HOU: Joe Musgrove (6-3, 4.16)
CHW: Carlos Rodon (6-3, 4.10)
The White Sox are the AL Central leaders and the defending champions. The Astros look like the best team in baseball.
It's a possible ALCS Preview when the Chicago White Sox host the Houston Astros in tonight's Game of the Week.
The two teams have met once this year, a little over a week ago, with the White Sox taking the series. They recorded a pair of 10-1 victories following an extra-inning loss. The White Sox are in fact the only team Houston has a losing record against this season.
Chicago got a huge series from Garin Cecchini in Houston, and the hope is that it can springboard him to a productive second half. He homered twice, drove in four, and hit .400 to help springboard Chicago. In fact, starting with a period two days before the Houston series, he's hitting .362, with three home runs and 11 RBIs in 11 games. Unsurprisingly Chicago is 8-3 in those games.
Chicago also got its customary stellar pitching that entire series. Even though Houston has the best offense in the AL, Chicago's starters of A.J. Cole, Danny Salazar, and Eduardo Rodriguez produced a 1.71 ERA. The bullpen worked 9.1 innings, allowing just a single run.
Despite Carlos Martinez not taking the mound, the work that Chicago's arms put in was eye-opening and a reminder of how difficult it will be for opponents to go through the White Sox and win a championship.
They'll send Carlos Rodon to the mound to keep the impressive pitching going. After an awful stretch in late April and early May, he hasn't allowed more than three runs in his last six starts. However, he's been vulnerable to the long ball in a league where offense and home runs have risen. He's survived by having the third highest strikeout rate of AL pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings. Limiting walks and getting good results on balls-in-play also help. He's blowing it by hitters, now he just needs to stop hitting the middle of the plate.
Chicago's offense is incredible with Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers, and Yoan Moncada three legitimate superstars, but they also have gotten good results from Christian Vasquez. Mini-Yadi's nickname was bestowed upon him because of his defensive rep, but after a time-share with Jacob Nottingham, he's seized the starting role and is hitting over .300. He gives Chicago four players batting over .300, which has made their offense more balanced.
Houston, meanwhile, continues to pulverize anyone who isn't Chicago, as they licked their wounds by sweeping four from Baltimore and losing a set with Toronto because of a pair of one-run losses. Their bullpen is a bit tired and banged up, so there are only a few rested arms back there.
T.J. Macfarland has pitched in three of the past four days, but he's only thrown 19 pitches, so he may need to go more than his situational work sometimes allows. Lefties have hit .193 off him while righties are batting .273, so Houston may want to set him up against Beinintendi and Devers if at all possible.
They also may need a pair of innings from Ken Giles. He hasn't worked in three days and is pretty well rested. His home run numbers are up from years past, as he's allowed five so far. That's the total he allowed in all of 2017. He also has an elevated walk rate, but he's whiffed 44 in 28.1 innings. He hasn't allowed a run in seven consecutive appearances so he may have turned a corner from earlier struggles.
Houston's stars on offense are rocking and rolling, though there are two players to be concerned with on offense. Carlos Correa's concern level should be mild. He's hitting only .255, similar to last year, but the power is there, and he's done a great job on the bases. He may not be an MVP-candidate, but with Daniel Murphy and Alex Bregman flanking him, being merely great is great enough.
However, after a red-hot April, Hunter Pence has collapsed. His OPS in May was only .394, he has only two home runs since April, and he's batting only .175 against lefties. He has hits in five straight games, including a home run and a double, so it may just have been one hell of a cold spell that he's thawing out from, but with his age the severity of the slippage, it may also be the new normal. Against the rest of the league, Houston is good enough to weather his poor performance. However, against a team like Chicago, they'll need everyone at the top of their game to come up with wins.
Questions for the GMs:
For Ryan James, Pence has really struggled of late but may be coming out of it. What are your plans for him the rest of the year if he continues to struggle, and if he moderates a bit.
Your bullpen is running on fumes for this game, with Luke Gregerson's back acting up and James Hoyt dealing with an oblique strain. Will you call for reinforcements, or hope Harrison Musgrave can go deep for you?
With the draft recently concluded, you snapped up Cameron Cannon and Shawn Forrest early on. What do you think about those two picks?
For Mike Ball, you wear the crown, but Houston may be the biggest threat to you repeating as World Series champions. Do you treat this like any other series?
Jacob Nottingham had a strong May after a slow start, but it appears Christian Vasquez will be getting most starts behind the plate. Talk about what you plan on doing with your catchers going forward?
Switching gears, you didn't have your first two draft picks, trading them away for Danny Salazar. You did get Tim Cate and Micah Watson in the third round though. How do you see those players eventually shaping up as professionals?
