3 things to root for as the White Sox season winds down
The Chicago White Sox are wrapping up what has been a horrific season for them. Things have gone far from how they planned as they are one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball. The entire off-season will be them trying to figure out how to get better.
In the meantime, the White Sox only have three more series to go. They have the one that starts Friday at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox. This series will close out the road portion of their schedule this year.
Then, they will come home to face the Arizona Diamondbacks for three and the San Diego Padres for three. Those nine games in total (road and home) are the final nine of the year. We finally made it to the end of this extremely sour year.
What is the point of watching them? They aren't going to the playoffs and will probably be bad next year too. Well, there are actually a few reasons to watch and stay locked in. These are the three biggest reasons:
1. Dylan Cease finishing strong
The Chicago White Sox need to see Dylan Cease have a strong finish.
Dylan Cease has had a terrible year by his standards. It isn't bad by typical MLB standards of being a pitcher in this league but it isn't ace quality or even close. He is 7-8 with a 4.85 ERA and a WHIP of 1.448.
Cease has made 31 starts this season and 32 is a full season for a starting pitcher this year. He will make his 32nd start on Saturday but there is even room for him to make a 33rd start if they so please. That might depend on how things go to end the year.
Cease is currently sitting with 196 strikeouts. Getting those four more to reach 200 should be on his mind as well as he loves striking out batters. It is what he's the best at. Having 196 strikeouts in 165.0 innings pitched is one of the bright spots of his season.
Sox fans should be interested in seeing how he finishes the year. He has a lot of potential and this was just a bad year with a bad team around him. If they don't trade him in the off-season, they need him to pitch well next year so that his value rises again.
2. Luis Robert Jr. hitting 40 home runs
It would be nice to see Luis Robert Jr. get to the 40 home run plateau.
The Chicago White Sox knew that they hit a home run when they landed Luis Robert Jr. as an international free-agent prospect. He had all the tools of a player that could become a superstar. There was a lot of hope riding on his success.
The White Sox saw him deal with a ton of injuries and inconsistencies in his first few years. He was a good player but he wasn't becoming a great player and it was scary. However, this season has seen him become a great player. In fact, there were points where he looked MVP-caliber.
Now, Robert Jr. is sitting with 37 home runs and nine games left to go. Becoming a 40 home run guy is a big deal in this league. it separates the good home-run hitters from the great ones. The White Sox haven't had a 40 home run hitter in a while and Robert is knocking on the door.
Watching the White Sox to root for three more home runs for Robert Jr. is worth it. He is also a 4.7 WAR player so we'll see just how close to 5 he can get. There is no doubt that this has been an incredible season for their former number-one prospect.
3. Avoiding 100 losses
The Chicago White Sox really don't want to lose 100 games this season.
The mark of a truly bad MLB team is reaching the 100-loss mark. The White Sox are dangerously close to reaching that mark. They haven't reached it since 2018 and they only have a handful of times in franchise history. Even for them, that's bad.
The White Sox enter their series with the Boston Red Sox at 58-95. The White Sox need to go 5-4 or better to avoid reaching that dreaded 100 loss mark. It might not be likely at this point because expecting them to go over .500 for any stretch is asking a lot.
This team loves losing and they are going to do their best to reach 100 losses but fans should be watching rooting against it. There is no reason for them to reach that mark if they can avoid it. They are finishing the season with three teams that are better than them but they can still win against good teams.
None of the teams (Boston, Arizona, and San Diego) are world beaters either despite being pretty good. Seeing the White Sox have a strong finish and avoid being over the 100 loss mark would be great heading into the off-season.
Next. The 15 worst contracts in Chicago White Sox history. dark