I have to say Kopech is the real deal, pair him with Rodon at the top and the Sox are going to be contending for division titles sooner than we think. He is at 97-99 easy heat. All things being equal he is going to be a monster on that mound.

He looks good in the minors. Gotta pitch in the MLB level for me to say that. I am very optimistic about the handful of pitchers in the minors right now including Giolitto and Lopez paired with Rodon.

One of my favorite things about Kopech is that he acts like a kingpin when he is on that mound. When you have his kind of stuff that's exactly the way he should act. It's great to see.

Slow your roll on this. Rodon isn't even "the real deal" yet.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Yep. Mark Prior was the same way. Challenging Bonds and whatnot

None of these guys will be as good as Sale and they couldn't build a rotation around him.

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Fold the franchise. Couldn't win with Chris Sale. That means it is impossible for them to ever be good again.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

JERRY GOING TO VEGAS????

I didn't say that. Maybe the leadership that couldn't build a rotation around one of the best pitchers in MLB shouldn't get another shot to fuck it up again.

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Maybe, but this is also the same leadership that won the World Series here. I mean, it would be just as fair to say "These guys built a dominant World Series winning rotation without Chris Sale".

I think there was a case to be made that new people should have been brought in but it's not because they couldn't win with Chris Sale. We know they are good enough to win a World Series too.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

That's a fair point.


2005 just seems soooooo long ago. You forget that the Sox were once good, ya know.

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Keep Kopech off the bases.

Or Brad Hawpe line drives off the pitching elbow

Yeah, 9 years of missing the playoffs is a good case, Sale or not.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Not the point.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Chris Sale ERA by month:

Apr 2.91
May 2.57
Jun 2.61
Jul 2.61
Aug 3.31
Sep 3.79

The uncomfortable truth about Chris Sale is that he is really only a 150 inning pitcher. Sox tried to remedy this last year by getting him away from the slider, but the decision to rebuild was made and the Sox abandoned it and let Sale do Sale. You combine this with his attitude problems and general craziness and he's a bit overrated. I was very happy with the decision to deal him, just not a fan of what they got in return.

LOL
Season Team IP
2012 White Sox 192
2013 White Sox 214.1
2014 White Sox 174
2015 White Sox 208.2
2016 White Sox 226.2
2017 Red Sox 178.1

Right, the wheels come off late in the season with him. My point was he can stay healthy for well over 200 innings but he cannot keep his stuff that long. Or at least that he never did for the Sox and is trending similarly in Boston.

A mid 3's ERA (in the AL) is the wheels coming off?

Thought the same thing. If Buehrle threw up a sub 4 era, we would acting like he was punching his ticket to the HOF.

It is unremarkable at best.

For his career, Max Scherzer has an ERA over 3 in April, May, and August..unremarkable too?

I get it, the White Sox gave away the 2nd best pitcher of the decade for what appears a marginal return...and there is some "Stockholm Syndrome" kicking in..but come on!

5.40 ERA in 5 August starts this year

1st half
59-22 2.74 ERA
2nd Half
29-34 3.30 ERA


He's Randy Johnson in the first half and Jamie Moyer in the 2nd

I've felt this way about Sale for a long time. Go look at the old threads, I was nervous about holding him and Quintana past the offseason. The marginal return is a separate issue.

This is a bad baseball thought

Nah its a trend with Chris Sale. Its the reason the White Sox tried to get him away from his slider last year, he loses some of his effectiveness starting around August. It has happened every year with him.

We can filter out arbitrary endpoints with less than great starts for pretty much every great pitcher. It's a useless exercise.

No, its not. It's legit and has played out over several seasons.

Sale is fine, he'll rest up for his October showcase, 3.30 era is a good second half in the A. L. ..that Moyer Comp is garbage ..hes Randy in the first half, Jon Lester in the 2nd half.

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