The Chicago White Sox didn’t have the series that they wanted to against the Kansas City Royals. They are a bad team that the White Sox should have taken full advantage of.
However, Tony La Russa made bad bullpen decisions and doesn’t play everyone in doubleheaders so they only took three of five.
Now, they head to the Bronx to take on the New York Yankees who are one of the best teams in Major League Baseball. The Yankees were just in Chicago last weekend and things didn’t go well as they took three of four.
There are certainly some positives to look at from the first month and a half of the season and there are some negatives to correct. They are 19-19 which could be much worse but they are lucky to be in the American League Central where it is a much weaker division.
If the Chicago White Sox want to turn things around and have some success against the New York Yankees, they need three very specific things to happen in their favor.
1. Starting Pitching To Dominate
The Chicago White Sox haven’t really had a problem with starting pitching in 2022 so far. The offense is a big reason for their troubles. However, there are a few names in the rotation that need to step up big in this series in order to win.
Dallas Keuchel is going to start on Friday. He will face Nestor Cortes so it is a match that certainly favors the Yankees. Keuchel pitched really well against the Yankees last week but his recent history suggests that we should be worried.
Johnny Cueto is going to start Saturday’s game and he is going to face Luis Severino. Jameson Taillon is going to start on Sunday for New York but the White Sox starter is still up in the air as of right now.
If Michael Kopech’s second child arrives in time, it will be him. If it doesn’t, it will be Dylan Cease. If Kopech is ready to go, Cease will be the guy on Tuesday with a little bit of extra rest. If some of these guys pitch to their potential, that will really help the White Sox.
2. Luis Robert and Tim Anderson To Keep Hitting
The Chicago White Sox, as mentioned before, have had a hard time scoring runs in 2022. There are some very good hitters in this lineup but most of them are trying to break out of an early-season slump. Two players that have not struggled, however, are Tim Anderson and Luis Robert.
They were each pivitol in this series against the Royals. Without them, this team would be in big trouble in terms of wins and losses. If they can keep it up and lead the way against the Yankees, they might be able to pull out some wins.
3. Tony La Russa Needs To Be Better
The Chicago White Sox are being killed by Tony La Russa so far. He makes horrid lineups, makes bad in-game strategic decisions, and has done a very bad job managing bullpens. All of these things need to be cleaned up really soon. As of right now, they can’t win with him in the dugout.
The Chicago White Sox need to take care of their business against the Yankees.
The Yankees are a very good baseball team. However, they are not unbeatable. The 15-24 Baltimore Orioles just defeated them in walk-off fashion on Thursday. It was their first win of a four-game set so they avoided a sweep but every game was within one run except the first.
The White Sox are significantly better than the Orioles so we can only hope that they are able to keep the Yankees down for another few days. This is a big series on the road for them and we will learn a lot about them. It would be nice to have a very good series.