White Sox: Reviewing the team 10 games after the All-Star Break
After the loss to the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon, the White Sox have completed ten games since the All-Star Break.
While this isn’t a massive milestone at the beginning of the season, it is worth looking at the White Sox after “half-way point”. Especially since the team has changed since the Midsummer Classic.
First, let’s take a look at the wins and losses.
The White Sox are 4-6 since the break. They lost two series, one to the Seattle Mariners and the other to the Blue Jays. But, the Sox split a series with the Los Angeles Angels. This small win-loss record of .400 is better than where the Sox are sitting on the season: .352.
Run differentials
Something to note about these 10 games is not necessarily the win-loss record, but the run differential. When the Sox win, they win by five runs or fewer. But, when they lose, the differentials vary dramatically. In the Seattle series, the Mariners outscored the Sox 11-8. The Angels outscored the Sox 28-20. The Blue Jays outscored the Sox 22-18. In four of the games, the Sox gave up more than 8 runs. But, in one game, the Sox shutout the Mariners. Considering the Mariners offense, that’s quite an achievement.
Pitching changes
The team has had some changes since the All-Star Break. Three of its relievers are no longer with the team, Joakim Soria, Chris Volstad, and Bruce Rondon. Despite these changes, the pen is still giving up games, like the loss to the Blue Jays on Sunday. And, despite these changes, several of the starting pitchers were awarded with losses. James Shields and Reynaldo Lopez both added two losses to their stats. But, Dylan Covey, Lucas Giolito, and Carlos Rodon added wins to their stats. Juan Minaya earned the fourth win for the Sox in this stretch of games.
Position player changes
Position players have changed slightly now that the All-Star Break is finished. One of the most notable changes is Avisail Garcia rejoining the team – again. And, in his first game back on July 21, the team shutout the Mariners. Garcia was responsible for three RBIs in that 5-0 win.
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The outfield was impacted the most by the small changes that occurred after the All-Star Break. Nicky Delmonico was activated and Charlie Tilson was optioned back down. With these small moves, with the exception of Welington Castillo, the White Sox position players that started the season are all on the roster. This is rather unusual for any ball team at this point in the season.
One of the most exciting changes after the All-Star Break involves Jose Abreu. Since returning to Chicago after the break, his bat has become more active. In his 10 games, he’s batting .333/.436/.667. Prior to the break, his numbers were .253/.311/.441. Since the break, he has been on base in eight of the ten games. That’s not too shabby.
Next. Saturday was a bad day for White Sox affiliates. dark
Hopefully, the team will continue to trend in the right direction. And, hopefully, the Sox will bring up a few of the youngsters in the next few weeks.