Spring Training Final Week Thread

[voodoochile]

Abreu's HR:

https://twitter.com/whitesox/status/1375938890993963010

Highlights from Giolito's outing:

https://twitter.com/whitesox/status/1375935867420876808

Gio definitely looks ready and the team is 10-3-2 in their last 15. Abreu heating up. Moncada back to 2019 form. Anderson on fire the last week. Madrigal continues where he left off and Eaton has been just what we were hoping for. Can't wait for the season to start!

[Lipman 1]

If not for the cranial-rectal inversion by Eloy, this would be a very good spring the way the team has played the last two weeks of it.

I go back to Ventura's gut-wrenching injury in late spring of 97 and how the club (which had high expectations) fell out of the starting gate going 8-18.

My hope is that TLR is way, WAY better then Terry Bevington as a manager and won't let this happen. At least that's what I'm pinning things on. He knows what he's doing, has the respect of the players and knows how to use a complete roster to the best advantage. (Though I still hope the Sox scout the waiver wires and see if another outfielder may be out there who is simply getting squeezed out by a club...)

[KenBerryGrab]

Williams has had a quietly solid spring.

[voodoochile]

Williams has had a quietly solid spring.

He's intriguing from a pure pedigree and history perspective. I don't know a thing about him, but he looked like a solid prospect at one time before completely tanking out in 2019 and sitting out 2020. Honestly I'd take him over Hamilton as the BU OF and starting LF if they don't give it to Vaughn.

[LITTLE NELL]

The team has been very solid the last 2 weeks and are now at .500. How the loss of Eloy is going to affect the team is the big question heading into the regular season. Its obvious a few guys are going to have to step up to equal the numbers that Eloy would probably produce.

[ChiTownTrojan]

The team has been very solid the last 2 weeks and are now at .500. How the loss of Eloy is going to affect the team is the big question heading into the regular season. Its obvious a few guys are going to have to step up to equal the numbers that Eloy would probably produce.

I was reminded yesterday that in 2005, the Sox lost a better hitter than Eloy 30 games into the season, and they ended up okay.

[ChiTownTrojan]

He's intriguing from a pure pedigree and history perspective. I don't know a thing about him, but he looked like a solid prospect at one time before completely tanking out in 2019 and sitting out 2020. Honestly I'd take him over Hamilton as the BU OF and starting LF if they don't give it to Vaughn.

I don’t think they’ll have a “full-time” LF until Engel gets back. After then I think Engel plays nearly every day, in one of the corners at least. At the very least you get plus defense with him there.

Engel-Robert-Eaton is a good defensive OF. Engel-Robert-Hamilton (however they line them up) is even better. That’s the fastest OF I can remember.

[LITTLE NELL]

I was reminded yesterday that in 2005, the Sox lost a better hitter than Eloy 30 games into the season, and they ended up okay.

Here's hoping that history repeats itself. Thing is that 2005 the team had outstanding pitching along with Ozzie Smallball. I think our starting pitching is going to be pretty good and keep us in a lot of games. I also think that we may have enough hitters in the lineup to almost make up for the loss of Eloy, the key word is almost and the difference could be Vaughn if they decide to go with him in LF. Maybe history wll repeat itself with Vaughn having a ROY season like Ron Kittle did in 1983.

[FielderJones]

I was reminded yesterday that in 2005, the Sox lost a better hitter than Eloy 30 games into the season, and they ended up okay.

Frank Thomas started the season on the DL, and didn't have a plate appearance until May 30, game 51. I remember that because it was 9-year-old FJ Jr's first White Sox game, and because of the tremendous standing ovation Big Frank got at his first at bat. You are correct that Frank did not play a big part in 2005, with only 34 games and 124 PAs that year.

[voodoochile]

Frank Thomas started the season on the DL, and didn't have a plate appearance until May 30, game 51. I remember that because it was 9-year-old FJ Jr's first White Sox game, and because of the tremendous standing ovation Big Frank got at his first at bat. You are correct that Frank did not play a big part in 2005, with only 34 games and 124 PAs that year.

He hit 12 HR in those AB and he did it during the stretch the Sox ran away with the division in June.

[Tragg]

Well in 2005, Sox had 4 starters who were impeccable, a deep pen (with several career years) that was necessary as the the Sox needed 3 closers in 3 different time periods during the season, a great defensive team (the only weakness was Pods' OF arm), and 2 pitching call-ups that performed brilliantly when called upon (one of whom was the third of the 3 closers). There are some similarities in state to the current Sox: whether this edition performs like that one, well we'll see.

[FourGoldGloves]

The Rockies broadcast team on yesterday's Sox-Rockies game made a big deal out of the fact that three of this year's major league opening day starting pitchers were teammates on the same Harvard-Westlake high school team. One, of course, was Lucas Giolito. I found that amazing too, but I think they missed the most interesting point: that their coach on that high school team was Ethan Katz, current Sox pitching coach.

[Frater Perdurabo]

Absent acquiring another LF via free agency or trade, I think the best use of existing healthy rostered players is as follows:

v. RH starter: Vaughn LF, Collins DH (or C with Grandal at DH)

v. LH starter: Leury LF, Vaughn DH (or 1B with Abreu at DH)

I’m fine keeping Hamilton on the bench to be a late inning pinch runner/defensive replacement in LF when Vaughn starts, but Hamilton should never start a game.

[Lipman 1]

One item that may have gone unnoticed yesterday, Garcia was held out (and is out today) as a precaution because of "right shoulder soreness..."

We'll see if this turns into anything.

[Chez]

Moncada also had three hits yesterday so it looks like his leg must be ok from the foul ball on Friday.