The Chicago White Sox look bad after the way the Houston Astros beat the Oakland A’s.
The Chicago White Sox were matched up with the Oakland Athletics in the first round of the playoffs here in 2020. It is fair to say that the team that played better won but the more talented team lost. The White Sox blew a few opportunities to put the series away and some mistakes were made by the manager. Either way, the Sox lost and the A’s deserve a lot of credit for it. They moved on to play the Houston Astros in the American League Division Series.
In that series, the Astros made the White Sox look bad. They really had their way with the Oakland A’s in three of the four games they played. It isn’t a good look for the Sox because the Astros feel like a team that the White Sox could beat. It is a “what could have been” feeling.
The American League is very old. As old as it is, a team under .500 has never made the playoffs until the 2020 Houston Astros. They seemed to have been feeling the pressure of not knowing exactly what pitch is coming next but they definitely know how to win in the playoffs. It is no guarantee that the White Sox would have beaten them but they would have had a chance.
If they would have beaten them, they would have gotten a chance at the winner of the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees. They are playing in a winner take all game five today with Gerrit Cole and Tyler Glasnow both going on short rest. It seems like it is a missed opportunity but they will have their chance down the road. They are going to be good for a long time, it just stings right now.
2020 was the year to get the taste of the playoffs. Hopefully, the team is seeing what happened to the A’s and will use it as motivation in the offseason. There are some glaring holes on the roster but they are only a few pieces away from having a legit chance. This team’s future is so bright but we just have to get through this winter.