Tag / Lucas Giolito

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2021 Final Pitching Leaders

Yesterday, we looked at the leaders in the 58 games I attended this year on the offensive side of the ball.  With both League Championship Series in full swing today, it’s time to wrap up our look back at the 2021 season with the pitching leaders, starting with everyone’s favorite pitching statistic:

Wins

Name Total
Lance Lynn 4
Michael Kopech 3
Dylan Cease 3
Dallas Keuchel 3
Reynaldo Lopez 3
Lucas Giolito 3

Losses

Name Total
Carlos Rodon 4
Lance Lynn 3
Lucas Giolito 3
Dylan Cease 2
Reynaldo Lopez 2
Liam Hendriks 2
Jorge Alcala 2
Adbert Alzolay 2

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Ryan Burr 1.08
Matt Foster 1.23
Alec Mills 1.35
Lance McCullers 1.63
Mike Minor 1.63

Strikeouts

Name Total
Lance Lynn 76
Dylan Cease 75
Carlos Rodon 56
Continue reading →
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Division Series Pitching Leaders

After a disappointing start to their series with the Astros, the White Sox, behind Lucas Giolito, look to even things up by taking Game 2 of the ALDS and come home with a split.  With both NLDS series starting today, we have a full day of baseball on tap, which means it’s time to take a look at the pitching leaders from the 16 division series games I’ve attended since the White Sox won the AL Central in 2000.

Wins

Name Total
16 tied with 1

Losses

Name Total
Matt Clement 2
14 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Stephen Strasburg 0.00
Jon Lester 0.77
Mark Prior 1.00
Johnny Cueto 1.13
Chad Billingsley 1.35

Strikeouts

Name Total
Jake Arrieta 13
Stephen Strasburg 12
Johnny Cueto 10
Continue reading →
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September All Time Leaders – Through 2020

With a full year of baseball on tap after last year’s troubles due to a combination of the corona virus and needless labor squabbles, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for each month in games that I have attended.

As we head in to fall and the pennant races start to heat up, the return to school and teams falling well out of contention has played a part in my attending 124 games during the month, my lowest total since March.  I’ve managed to see a game nearly every day of the month, with 8 games on the 2 separate occasions leading the way, and no games on the 22nd or the 26th.

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 20
Jose Abreu 10
Jim Thome 7

Hits

Name Total
Paul Konerko 47
Jermaine Dye 35
Alexei Ramirez 33

Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 36
Alexei Ramirez 20
Jermaine Dye 18
Jose Abreu 18

RBI

Name Total
Paul Konerko 38
Jose Abreu 23
Alexei Ramirez 21

Doubles

Name Total
A.J. Pierzynski 7
Jermaine Dye 6
Juan Uribe 6
Yolmer Sanchez 6

Triples Continue reading →

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2021 All Star Break Pitching Leaders

The second half gets kicked off tonight, with the White Sox holding an 8 game lead in the AL Central and the Cubs looking to be sellers after losing 13 of their final 15 games heading in to the break, dropping them from first place to third, with an 8 game deficit.  Let’s wrap up the first half with a look at the leaders on the defensive side of the ball for the 32 games I attended, starting with everyone’s favorite stat:

Wins

Name Total
Lance Lynn 4
Codi Heuer 2
Michael Kopech 2
Lucas Giolito 2
Dallas Keuchel 2

Losses

Name Total
Lucas Giolito 3
Carlos Rodon 3
Lance Lynn 2
Jorge Alcalá 2
22 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Michael Kopech 1.53
Dylan Cease 1.61
Mike Minor 1.64
Lance Lynn 1.70
Liam Henriks 2.03

Strikeouts

Name Total
Lance Lynn 51
Continue reading →
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Fitbit VII – Week 23

Another slight improvement, as things continue to move in the right direction, even if they are still well below where I want to be.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday, as I finished 1 steps shy over 4600 thanks to Lucas Giolito bobblehead day and a double header at the old ballpark.  Monday improved a bit, up to 4700.  Tuesday fell back down, as I barely managed to pass 4400 steps.  Wednesday saw a big improvement, as I was off work and ran some errands which got me all the way up to 5700 steps.  Thursday was even better, as another trip to Guaranteed Rate Field put me up over 6500 steps.  Friday fell off quite a bit, as I dropped down to 3700 steps.  A day of leisure on Saturday put me back over 4000 steps.

Total steps: 33,839

Daily average: 4834.1

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2021 Predictions

After a year of pandemic-related shut downs and a truncated 60-game schedule last year, the 2021 baseball season is scheduled to kick off on Thursday with a full slate of games and some percentage of fans back in the stands.  For the eleventh consecutive year, I’ve looked into the crystal ball to make my picks for the upcoming season.

American League

East: Yankees

Central: Twins

West: Astros

Wild Cards: White Sox, Blue Jays

AL Champion: Yankees

Cy Young: Lucas Giolito

MVP: Aaron Judge

National League

Continue reading →

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Active Pitching Leaders – Through 2020

baseballs3Last week, we looked at the active leaders in games I’ve attended through 2020 on the offensive side of the ball.  With spring training winding down and opening day less than a week away, let’s take a look at the defensive side of the ball and the active pitching leaders.

Wins

Name Total
Chris Sale 21
Jon Lester 12
Jose Quintana 8
Nate Jones 7
Lucas Giolito 6

Losses

Name Total
Jose Quintana 17
Chris Sale 12
Carlos Rodon 9
Jeff Samardzija 6
Kyle Hendricks 6

ERA (> 35 IP)

Name Total
David Robertson 2.17
Nate Jones 2.21
Zach Duke 2.38
Johnny Cueto 2.43
Cole Hamels 2.59

ERA (> 70 IP)

Name Total
Jon Lester 2.60
Chris Sale Continue reading →
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Bringing In Reinforcements

Four years and 2 days ago, the White Sox jumpstarted their rebuild by trading Adam Eaton to the Nationals for pitchers Lucas Giolito, Dane Dunning and Reynaldo Lopez.  Yesterday, the White Sox tried to put that rebuild over the top by trading Dunning to the Rangers for Lance Lynn and signing Eaton to a one year deal to fill the hole in right field.

Lynn, who will turn 34 before Opening Day, was linked to the White Sox at the trade deadline last year and should join Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel in giving the team veteran leadership on the mound.  He has finished in the top 10 in Cy Young voting each of the last 2 seasons.  He will be a free agent following the 2021 season.  Dunning, meanwhile, made his major league debut last year, starting 7 games as he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery.  He started the decisive game 3 of the AL Wild Card series against the A’s, going only 2/3 of an inning before getting pulled as the White Sox lost in their first post-season appearance since 2008.

Eaton, 32, was a gold glove finalist in right field for the White Sox in 2015, but things went south the following year when he was a vocal critic of the front office following the Drake LaRoche debacle during spring training.  He blew out his knee in 2017 and missed most of that and the 2018 seasons.  In 2019, he was a key part in the Nationals capturing their first World Series title, putting up an OPS of .993 during the series.

Last week, the White Sox introduced their new coaching staff and the mantra coming out of that was World Series or bust.  While giving up 6 years of control for Dunning for a single year of Lynn is a steep price, he at least should push the team in the right direction.  Eaton, however, seems to be a throwback to the days of buying low and hoping for a breakout season.  With better, but more expensive, options still available, this move does not announce to the world that the White Sox are all in.

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No-No

In 2018, Lucas Giolito was, statistically, the worst starting pitcher in baseball.  That offseason, he began rebuilding his game from the ground up, leading to an All Star appearance last year and culminating in a no hitter last night.  Giolito held the hapless Pirates hitless, striking out 13 while facing one batter over the minimum of 27.

Giolito’s no hitter was the first of 2020 and the 19th in White Sox history, the first since Phillip Humber’s perfect game against the Mariners in 2012.