Are the vibes real?
There are crickets chirping at SSS headquarters, as most of our staff is out taking in today’s game together. Kudos to Melissa Sage-Bollenbach for organizing the group, and it seems certain that today’s coverage will feature photos and/or quotes from the gathering, if not in days to come.
As for this afternoon’s game, well, Steve Stone may just have been a couple years early with the sentiment that disgruntled Sox fans should just “enjoy the ride.” For the first time in at least two seasons, and it’s not unfair to take it back to the Blackout ALDS in 2021, there is a vibe with the White Sox that skews undeniably positive.
In May, it was the Chase Meidroth factor that injected some life into the club. This month, it appears to be the addition of Kyle Teel, who had an outstanding debut that was better than advertised on Friday.
Today’s pitching matchup shapes up as a dandy, with two sub-3.00 ERAs facing off:
There is zero reason for Adrian Houser to be dominating the American League right now, but let’s hope he just keeps on rolling as our “Erick Fedde” for 2025.
It seems clear that the Charlotte platoon, where Edgar Quero and Kyle Teel alternate starts at catcher and DH, will continue forward until injury derails the plan; both catchers measure similarly on defense and thus neither should be relegated to a bat-first factor.
One glance at the numbers in the lineups tells you that this White Sox offense isn’t exactly formidable, but this grouping looks as good as any the team has run out over the past three seasons. IF the bats awake from slumber AND the rotation can hold out decently, my pick of 120 losses for the White Sox is one that will be hard to live down. But, we’ll see; this era of good feeling has stretched all of four games.
I’m in the east, so my gametime is 4:10, but yours in Chicago is 3:10 p.m. CT. Usual broadcast options, free antenna broadcast TBD.