What's a used up, washed out, Old GM to do??

[moore4807]

That didn't take long to bring us back to earth. The Royals knocked the snot out of us and challenged the leader of the pack. Lets see how the team responds to this.

Pitching Report - SP Jake Odorizzi (5.2 IP, 7H, 6ER, 2BB, 5K's, 5-HRA) got beat like a birthday piñata tonight. There were Royal's HR's launching out of the park like fireworks. A totally forgettable performance. RP Aaron Bummer's (1.1 IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 2K's) line score looked better than his pitching did, but with no runs scored we'll take it. RP Tanner Anderson (1.1 IP, 0H, 1ER, 1BB, 2K's) left a baserunner on that RP Jimmy Lambert (0.2 IP, 1H,1ER, 2BB, K) later let score but wasn't horrible tonight either. RP Lambert seems to be slowly going backwards here since his callup.

Batting Report - Two runs on five hits is woefully inadequate to get the job done. 2B Nick Madrigal (2/4, 1RBI) had two hits in a dismal team performance. This past weekend has heightened everyones expectations, but this shot of reality hopefully will refocus the team.

[moore4807]

I wondered what the teams response to the Royals would be? It's pretty clear the team wanted this win, but then in the eighth inning we let the Royals start to mount a comeback. White Sox prevail though and move to 15 wins on the season.

Pitching Report - SP Carlos Rodon (7 IP, 6H, 2ER, 4BB, 12K's) left it all on the field today after throwing 112 pitches for his third win on the season. RP Richard Rodriguez (0.2 IP, 4H, 3ER, 0BB, 1K) was disappointing today, but he has pitched pretty good overall. RP Jose Ruiz (1.1 IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K's, SV) started looking like he has confidence in his pitches again.

Batting Report - Eight runs on nine hits is a comfortable win. DH JD Martinez (2/3, HR, 1R, 2RBI) was our only multi hit player today. Backup C Carlos E Perez (1/4, 2B, 1R, 2RBI) only had one hit, but drove in two runs to help the team.

In MLB news;
Los Angeles(N) Dodgers SP Julio Urias was diagnosed with a partially torn labrum. Urias is reported to be gone a minimum of two months with his injury.

[moore4807]

We win a series against the Royals. Lucas Giolito wins his first game of the season and my internal fortitude question about this team is answered.

Pitching Report - SP Lucas Giolito (6 IP, 8H, 2ER, 1BB, 7K's) still wastes too many pitches for my liking and gave up eight hits but only two runs and got the win. I will reserve my opinion here. RP Taylor Rogers (2 IP, 1H 1ER, 1BB,2K's) probably should be a LHP specialist, not pitching more than 1 inning. Roger's charged run came on a fly ball sacrifice during RP Jimmy Lambert's (1 IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K) mop up duty i9n the ninth inning.

Batting Report - CF Luis Gonzalez (3/4, 2B, HR, 1R, 3RBI) stood tall today with a three hit effort including a three run homer in the second inning staking the White Sox to a 3-1 lead. 2B Nick Madrigal (2/3, BB, 1R) and C Elias Diaz (2/4, HR, 2R, 2RBI) both had two hits, with C Diaz blasting a solo HR to increase the lead in the sixth inning to 4-2.

[moore4807]

I have gotten used to some of the senior staff here in Chicago(A) stopping in my office to talk about various functions and promotions that the owner absolutely loves to keep interest in the team during the season. Now since I have been here my secretary has been authorized to give them unfettered access to my office when I'm not in meetings or on the phone. Now Mary Higginbotham gently knocks on my door to tell me the boss is here to see me. I quickly hang up from my phone call to greet him.

Jerry Reinsdorf is eighty five years old, he still walks with authority but uses a cane to assist him now. I ask him how he's doing and he waves off "the small talk" He grins at me and says "How did you do it?" I assume he's talking about the team and reply "The pieces were already here, a manager change and a few additions..." Mr. Reinsdorf again makes a waving off motion with his hand, I'm stumped and shrug at him. Mr. Reinsdorf again says "How did you do this?" but at least seeing my confusion, he helpfully adds... "I've spent tons of money trying to have a winning team and couldn't do it for the past eight years. While it's early yet, YOU have already accomplished all the goals I set out in a little less than a month of playing ball."

I relax back in my chair and say "Boss its what I said a minute ago, a lot of this team was already here, we added a few pieces and we still are nowhere near done playing, but we have responded to the challenges and I think we can continue to do it." Mr Reinsdorf gives a chuckle and says " I'm overjoyed at the success, keep it up. but if I have one complaint - its you slashed my ticket prices so I'm not gonna make a profit this year!" Jokingly I tell him to think of the playoff revenue we will have coming in this year to offset it. He walks out and says again "Good job so far!"

I then turn my attention to the logistics of our upcoming charter jet flight to play the Angels in Los Angeles(A). The scouting report is also on my computer and needs reviewing too.

In somewhat a surprise - the trainers and doctors have cleared CF Ramon Laureano to play and he is added back to the 25 man roster while RF Daniel Palka is sent back to the AAA Charlotte Knights.

[moore4807]

We open the game with back to back homers against a very good pitcher? This is a good sign for the start of our road trip.

Pitching Report SP Dylan Cease (5 IP, 6H, 1ER, 3BB, 8K's, HRA) used his defense to bail him out of a couple of dangerous baserunners in scoring position situations. Cease also fanned eight batters keeping him in the league leaders totals. RP Richard Rodriguez (1.1 IP, 2H, 1ER, 0BB, 1K, HRA) only gave up a solo HR to Mike Trout and got relieved by RP Tanner Anderson (1.2 IP, 2H, 2ER, 1BB, 1K) who also needed his defense to bail him out with double plays. CL Ian Hamilton (0.2 IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 0K, SV) came on in the ninth and got his sixth save of the season.

Batting Report - Six runs on six hits is efficient and just enough to win. Leadoff batter 3B Yoan Moncada (2/4, HR, 1RBI) and two hole batter CF Ramon Laureano (2/4, HR, 2R, 2RBI) both hit HR's in the first inning and also were our only two hit batters this evening.

[moore4807]

an overall nice game from the pitcher(s) and offense/defense.

Pitching Report - SP Michael Kopech (7.1 IP, 5H, 3ER, 4BB, 6K's, HRA) didn't tax the bullpen and only gave up three runs. RP Jose Ruiz (0.2 IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K) only need four pitches to get two outs and end the bases loaded threat in the eighth inning. CL Ian Hamilton (1 IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 1K, SV) notched his seventh save on the season.

Batting Report - Five runs on ten hits. Four players each had two hits, led by the top of the order, 2B Nick Madrigal (2/5, 1R), 3B Yoan Moncada (2/5, HR, 2R, 1RBI) and DH JD Martinez (2/4, 2B, BB, 2R, 1RBI) along with CF Ramon Laureano (2/4).

[moore4807]

We were getting due for a butt whipping, and the Angels were happy to provide it.

Pitching Report - SP Jake Odorizzi (4 IP, 7H, 5ER, 1BB, 3K's, 3-HRA) was not very good today, not good at all. RP Jimmy Lambert (3.1 IP, 2H, 2ER, 0BB, 1K, 2-HRA) got through two innings unscathed, then promptly gave up 2 more homers, RP Tanner Anderson (0.2 IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 1K) gave up two hits but thankfully no more runs.

Batting Report - Zero runs on five hits doesn't get the job done. DH JD Martinez (2/4,2B) and CF Ramon Laureano (2/4) had two base hits each to account for nearly all of the hits in this no - show offense

In MLB news;
Tampa Bay Rays SP Blake Snell did the unusual feat of tossing a no hitter yesterday at home. Snell also struck out seventeen Royals batters and walked three in the complete game effort.

[moore4807]

No excuses here, we were NOT competitive for the second game in a row and as GM, I will not reward mediocrity!

Pitching Report - SP Carlos Rodon (2 IP, 3H, 8R 5ER, 5BB, 2K's, HRA) was horrible, couldn't find or hit his spots, yes it's the same umpiring crew we had a problem with earlier this season, but even a small strike zone didn't matter with the way we were throwing the ball today. You know what? I'm going to let the stats be read in the box score, I won't even post them.

Batting Report - Zero Runs on four hits. Second game in a row we got blanked. Same thing here as with pitchers, pathetic! I wont even dignify the effort by listing players stats here.

[moore4807]

Even with our late week collapse against the Angels we still split the series and went 4-3 on the week. We still have two players on the league leaderboards, 3B Yoan Moncada's twelve stolen bases leads both leagues and SP Carlos Rodon has replaced SP Dylan Cease as second place with 46 K's on the strikeout league leaderboard.

Team Batting Average dropped back down to eleventh place, still first in team Stolen Bases with forty one. Baserunning is in 4th place.

Defensive Efficiency dropped to 2nd place, Zone rating is still 2nd also, but team errors made dropped to fourth place, NOT the direction I want the team headed in!

Pitching Metrics are nothing to get excited over, Starting Pitchers ERA dropped again from third to fifth place, while the Relievers ERA has risen again by one spot, to twelfth from thirteenth place.

Our Run Differential took a beating with those last two games, last week we were +6 (106-100) and now we fell back to 134-145 (-11) both ratings are ranked 10th in the American League.

[moore4807]

I was going to make roster changes before the collapse, that act just made me burn up the phone lines a bit quicker.

2B/SS Yolmer Sanchez was a great soldier for the White Sox in his time here, but rising defensive star Ramon Beltre is forcing our hand and Sanchez will get a good opportunity with Arizona. We get SP Matt Andriese in return and we swapped minor league position players as a part of the throw in deal.

Another roster move here is the surprise announcement of LF Eloy Jimenez getting sent down to AAA Charlotte. Jimenez has hit .202 on the season and .145 so far in April. Jimenez will hopefully regain his stroke from the beginning of the season and be back soon. I brought RF Myles Straw back up and he was batting around .340 down at AAA, so hopefully he fixed his problems there.

I'm sending RP Jose Ruiz down to AAA in order for him to show me he really wants to be in the Bigs. CL Kodi Medeiros was called up as his replacement.

In the weekly Power Rankings we remained in 5th place for this past week.

Our A+ SP Isaiah Carranza won the Carolina League player of the week award. The 24 y/o is a bit old for this level of play, but hopefully he will parlay this into a bigger role and advancement this season.

[moore4807]

We got an off day yesterday and used it to let the players have a complete day off, no practice, no workouts, just get some rest. The players seemed to appreciate it and the mood was joking and light at the hotel breakfast this morning.

We have a short week with both Monday and Thursday off and we have all the signs of an easy week with first, a two game set at Colorado, then head back home for a weekend series against Baltimore.

[moore4807]

Well it's not the start I was looking for. Our starting pitching is getting to be a problem after being one of the league best for the first month of the season.

Pitching Report - SP Lucas Giolito (4.2 IP, 6H, 5ER, 1BB, 6K's HRA) can't get the job done again and another early exit. RP Jimmy Lambert (1.1 IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K's) did a fine job and was pulled after only fifteen pitches got four outs with no hits, for some mysterious reason. RP Aaron Bummer (1.1 IP, 3H,1ER, 0BB, 0K) was ineffective and let in the final run. RP Taylor Rogers (0.2 IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K's) finished out the inning with no further damage done.

Batting Report - Four runs on ten hits. That isn't bad if the pitching holds up, which it didn't today. SS Andrelton Simmons (3/4, 1R) got on base three times but could only cross the plate once. The other multi hit players were DH JD Martinez (2/4, HR, 1R, 2RBI) and 1B Ronald Guzman (2/4). C Elias Diaz (1/4 HR, 1R, 2RBI) made his only hit count, a two run shot in the seventh inning to close the deficit to one.

[moore4807]

We split the two game series with the Rockies, the 6-3 scorecard wasn't telling the whole story here. Our starting pitching was very good AND Dylan Cease went three for three on the day! Manager Mark Grudzielanek joked at the post game press conference that he may try Cease out at DH in our home games.

Pitching Report - SP Dylan Cease (7 IP, 6H, 3ER, 1BB, 8K's, HRA) did it exactly right, limiting the best NL offense to just three runs over seven strong innings. RP Taylor Rogers (1 IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K's) got through the eighth inning with little trouble. CL Ian Hamilton (1 IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K's) threw a clean ninth for his eighth save on the season.

Batting Report - Six runs on eighteen hits will raise some batting averages! Six of our nine batters had multiple hits. SP Dylan Cease (3/3, 2B) gets special attention as he got hits in every at bat, CF Ramon Laureano (3/4, 2B, BB, 2R, 2RBI) did well in his chance at cleanup hitting. LF Luis Gonzalez (3/4, 3B, 1R, 3RBI) is proving he belongs in the lineup and 2B Nick Madrigal (3/4, BB, 2R) is starting to make a All-Star case at 2B for himself. SS Andrelton Simmons (2/5) and RF Myles Straw (2/5) didn't score or drive any runs in but both added two hits to the White Sox attack today.

Very nice job by the whole team responding to yesterday's stinker.

[moore4807]

As we close out the month of April, we start a weekend three game series with the last place Baltimore Orioles in the AL East. Going into the game tonight we are only one game ahead of second place Minnesota Twins and need to beat these lower ranked teams to stay in first.

OF 29 y/o Adam Frazier has re-signed with the club on a three year deal for $1.5M per annum. Frazier has claimed the starting LF job for now and is a good bat/glove off the bench when he isn't starting, which makes him a good player at a bargain price.

In MLB news;
Toronto Blue Jays SP Jon Lester trudged up Heartbreak Hill this year, he's now out for the season with a torn rotator cuff on his pitching arm. At 37 y/o this may be Lester's swan song as it takes a 12-18 months to properly heal. But if anyone can beat those odds, it's gonna be that old war horse Lester!

[moore4807]

Wow! a twelve to eleven win in the bottom of the ninth with a single scoring two runs to complete the major comeback victory!

Pitching Report - Winning also masks a third straight battering of SP Jake Odorizzi (2 IP, 4H, 6ER, 4BB, 2K's, 2-HRA) by his opponents. In that time his ERA has nearly doubled from 3.24 to 6.38! The offense came around and chipped away and we eventually overcame the deficit, but you can't ask for that on any kind of consistent basis. I've instructed Scouting Director Nick Hostetler to check Odorizzi out along with training staff. RP Tanner Anderson (2.2 IP, 6H, 4ER, 2BB, K) relieved, but didn't help matters much. In a surprise move SP Lucas Giolito (1 IP, 1H, 1BB, 2K's) made a rare relief appearance and held Baltimore scoreless for his inning of work. RP Rich Rodriguez (1.2 IP, 3H, 1ER, 1BB, 4K's) gave up the final run, but got us to the end game. RP Caleb Frare (1.2 IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K) pitched the end of the eighth and the full ninth inning and got the win in the walk-off.

Batting Report - Twelve runs on fifteen hits is an amazing comeback performance. For the second straight game six out of nine batters got multiple hits in the game. LF Adam Frazier (3/4, 2B, HR, BB, 2R, 3RBI) was a hit machine today and joining him with three hits is 2B Nick Madrigal (3/6, 1R, 3RBI). DH JD Martinez (2/3, HR, 2-BB, 2R, 2RBI) and C Elias Diaz (2/4, HR, BB, 2R, 2RBI) also homered, while RF Myles Straw (2/6, 2R) and 1B Ronald Guzman (2/5, 1R) also contributed.

I will be doing a monthly report after this game on April's results. It will look similar to the weekly report but it will have monthly totals for your viewing pleasure.

[moore4807]

Player Development Update for April

[moore4807]

We got a couple of pleasant surprises today before our game with the Orioles.

First LF Luis Gonzalez won the April Rookie of the Month award for his superb replacement play for CF Ramon Laureano while he was injured.

Minor league CL Janser Lara won the Carolina League Best Pitcher of the Month award for April. Again it seems that I'm plagued by overage players taking up valuable space in our lower minor leagues. While Lara isn't 25 yet, I am trusting Asst. G.M. Reuben Amaro Jr. to run our minor leagues efficiently.

In MLB news;
Cincinnati Reds 1B Joey Votto hit his 300th HR last night in the Reds win over host Washington Nationals.

[moore4807]

April's Major League stats and includes our batting and pitching stats for players currently in the minors with Major League stats.

[moore4807]

I start complaining about the starting pitching and along comes Michael Kopech to make me look like I don't know what I'm talking about.

Pitching Report - SP Michael Kopech (8.1 IP, 1H, 0R, 2BB, 9K's) pitched a one hit shutout, striking out nine and walking two for his third win of the season. RP Taylor Rogers (0.2 IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB 0K) comes in and mops up the final two outs.

Batting Report - Four runs on ten hits is a winning formula, 1B Ronald Guzman (1/4, HR, 2R, 1RBI) hit his homerun in the second inning and that would be all the offense the White Sox would need. CF Ramon Laureano (2/3, HR, BB, 1R, 2RBI) added a run scoring single in the fourth inning as well as a solo HR in the sixth inning. RF Myles Straw (2/4) and DH JD Martinez (2/4) both had multiple hits too.

[moore4807]

April's AAA and AA player and pitcher stats. The player development model is included to show differences between me and what the Scouting Director thinks he knows (silly computer A.I.).