“The Ponytail Gang” would still work for the Chicago White Sox in 2022

We all know that the Chicago White Sox are going to try Michael Kopech as a starting pitcher again. He has the stuff to do so and was on track to do so before his Tommy John surgery. They have been easing him back slowly which is great but that doesn’t mean that “The Ponytail Gang” can’t exist.

Of course, the group of Michael Kopech, Liam Hendriks, and Craig Kimbrel was given that nickname by Hendriks after the White Sox acquired Kimbrel in a trade. The idea was that the three of them would be used to get from the starting pitcher to the end of the game.

It didn’t quite work out as well as planned. Kopech and Hendriks help up their end of the bargain but Craig Kimbrel was bad in a setup role. As a closer, he is a Hall of Famer but he just didn’t succeed in the 8th inning with the White Sox.

As a result, there is a lot of speculation that he will be traded. It may or may not happen but nobody truly knows at this point. With Major League Baseball in a lockout, everything is a big question mark.

The Chicago White Sox could really use The Ponytail Gang’s services in 2022.

If the White Sox do decide to hang on to Kimbrel to see what he can do in 2022 (if they play), The Ponytail Gang can still exist. They don’t all have to be in the bullpen to call themselves that. As long as the three of them are three contributing to Chicago White Sox’s success, they should still consider going by the nickname.

Unless the White Sox can get a similar package back for Kimbrel to what they gave up for him (Nick Madrigal and Codi Heuer), they should really consider keeping him. Having two elite closers would really give the White Sox a better chance to win more games.

That should leave each of them fresh for the entire season if it worked out well. Using Kimbrel as anything other than a closer is clearly a bad idea so why continue to do it? Using him properly is something that needs to happen and can happen if management just gets it together. The Ponytail Gang certainly has lots of talent and can help them win games.