*Official* 6/4 Better Luck Next Time, Kitties Postgamer

[thomas35forever]

Love having the team with far superior talent.

[voodoochile]

I love this team. Tony’s boys don’t quit. Miserable 7th inning, but the 8th and 9th were nice. Liam gets a win. Yermin gets a GWRBI.

[kingpin_rcs]

Very happy for Yermin. He was in an awful slump. This has to feel good.

[Lipman 1]

Second time this year they trailed in the 7th inning or later and won (and they were damn lucky to do so...)

No excuse to blow a 7-2 lead at home to the terrible Tigers. None. Heuer and Marshall have been brutal since day one, what the hell is wrong with them???? Marshall got two strikes on most of the guys he faced and couldn't put them away. Heuer couldn't find the plate if he rolled the ball to it.

Just awful.

Only good things were that Mercedes finally got a hit (and it couldn't have come at a better time) and the Indians lost.

If I was Keuchel I'd be really pissed he should have got an easy win.

[KenBerryGrab]

You sound like they lost. Did you see the joy of the team at the end? Games like this bond teams like epoxy. Go Sox.

[Lipman 1]

You sound like they lost. Did you see the joy of the team at the end? Games like this bond teams like epoxy. Go Sox.

Doesn't excuse reality, they SHOULD have lost tonight, happy they didn't but nine times out of 10, when you blow a late five run lead you are going to do so. If they had lost it would have been the 6th time this season they had a lead in the 7th inning or later and the game was urinated away.

Like I said they were damn lucky tonight and it wouldn't do to temp fate to often.

[voodoochile]

13 games over .500 is the high water mark of the season. Sox lead the AL in RA and RD and are 3rd in RS.

Sox seem to be learning to win late which was a weakness earlier in the year. If they continue to display that characteristic they will be very hard to catch. They already are good early and have top-notch pitching and scoring.

[TDog]

13 games over .500 is the high water mark of the season. Sox lead the AL in RA and RD and are 3rd in RS.

Sox seem to be learning to win late which was a weakness earlier in the year. If they continue to display that characteristic they will be very hard to catch. They already are good early and have top-notch pitching and scoring.

I like the way the Sox won tonight, although they had their moments of failure. Obviously the bullpen, Heuer and Marshall. turned a 7-2 lead into an 8-7 deficit. But the Sox clicked as a team in the ninth inning, simply grabbing the deciding run with a hit batsman and two singles. It wasn't the first time this year they've done that. In May they beat the Royals with two in the bottom of the ninth when Abreu scored on a wild pitch. Today had less of a desperation vibe with the winning run on third and nobody out, but at the same there could have been overwhelming pressure not to fail and to send the game to a bastardized tenth.

Interestingly, until the fifth, the White Sox had scored five runs on the homestand, all on solo home runs, brutal when you think about it but the first four were not a roadblock to winning a Lynn start. In the fifth the Sox scored five runs without a homer, with a couple of big hits, a little pressure on the defense and putting the ball in play to take advantage of unforced errors. Madrigal's second career home run,coming with no one on base, felt superfluous.

My biggest concern with this team is the bullpen. I don't blame La Russa for bringing in Heuer with a five run lead in the seventh, and Marshall has been pitching well lately. It's easy to look past the Tigers, suggest that the Tigers were going to beat themselves anyway. Indeed, that fifth inning was the Tigers imploding. But after the Tigers overcame that, came back to take the lead, played like they were going to win anyway.

La Russa bringing in Heuer and then Marshall were moves that could have cost the Sox the game, but bringing in Crochet and then Hendriks when after Crochet walked his second Tiger in the ninth were keys to the win. I don't know if Mercedes ran into a mistake or the focus of having the winning run on third with the infield playing in brought out the best in him.

I was sure Lamb would be DHing tonight and Sheets would be in the outfield, but it all worked out. The team is better off in the standings with the Indians losing in Baltimore and is probably better off as a unit for having outlasted the Tigers tonight.

[thomas35forever]

If I was Keuchel I'd be really pissed he should have got an easy win.

The 80s called. They want their mindset back.

Seriously, if a pitcher in this day and age is that upset over not getting a win, they're going about their jobs all wrong. In fact, I'd be surprised if there were many pitchers these days with bonuses for a certain number of wins because chances are they're never going to reach them.

[JazzyCyclist]

Second time this year they trailed in the 7th inning or later and won (and they were damn lucky to do so...)

No excuse to blow a 7-2 lead at home to the terrible Tigers. None. Heuer and Marshall have been brutal since day one, what the hell is wrong with them???? Marshall got two strikes on most of the guys he faced and couldn't put them away. Heuer couldn't find the plate if he rolled the ball to it.

Just awful.

Only good things were that Mercedes finally got a hit (and it couldn't have come at a better time) and the Indians lost.

If I was Keuchel I'd be really pissed he should have got an easy win.

Much rather have this result than getting swept by the Tigers. I consider this come-from-behind-late win to be a good thing.

[spanishsox]

13 games over .500 is the high water mark of the season. Sox lead the AL in RA and RD and are 3rd in RS.

Sox seem to be learning to win late which was a weakness earlier in the year. If they continue to display that characteristic they will be very hard to catch. They already are good early and have top-notch pitching and scoring.

I agree, but they have to address the really big hole in the BP. Hauer & Marshall have been brutal as Lip says. In the trade thread I suggest we try to go after either Richard Rodriguez from the Bucs or Ian Kennedy from the Rangers. I know we have a history with the Rangers already so that should help. But the O is clicking w/o either Eloy or Robert. Grandal is starting to warm up and has the highest (really ridiculous) OBP not based on mostly hitting & contact. Let´s keep it going boys. 1 game at a time with our starting pitching and offense.

[ChiTownTrojan]

Doesn't excuse reality, they SHOULD have lost tonight, happy they didn't but nine times out of 10, when you blow a late five run lead you are going to do so. If they had lost it would have been the 6th time this season they had a lead in the 7th inning or later and the game was urinated away.

Like I said they were damn lucky tonight and it wouldn't do to temp fate to often.

You must have watched a different game than I did. The team that deserved to lose was the team that lost the game. If your infield commits three errors in an inning they should call the game right there - your team has failed at baseball and shouldn’t get a chance to redeem themselves.

Just when Marshall was working his way back into the circle of trust, he pulls a clunker like this. Hope the can rebound.

[Chez]

Marshall and Heuer have been mostly good recently. Was surprised to see them struggle. Keuchel didn't pitch particularly well last Saturday against the Orioles - and got the win. It's a long season and things tend to even out.

[TDog]

The 80s called. They want their mindset back.

Seriously, if a pitcher in this day and age is that upset over not getting a win, they're going about their jobs all wrong. In fact, I'd be surprised if there were many pitchers these days with bonuses for a certain number of wins because chances are they're never going to reach them.

Teams that win have starters with that sort of mindset. at ;east to a degree. Quality starters on winning teams care primarily that their team wins, but still care about statistical wins in games they start. It's an aspect of being competitive, even if baseball analysts and fans don't care as much about starters wins anymore.

[Frater Perdurabo]

As Chez wrote, Heuer and Marshall had been better of late. I know it’s always been fashionable to harangue on relievers, but it’s not yet time to panic.

I’m happy Mercedes got the game winning single. I still think Lamb needs to DH against RHP, and I still think we need a LH hitting RF better than Eaton.