The White Sox finally found a way to beat the Cubs, but the price was a pitching rotation that barely exists anymore. This week showed that the team is willing to burn out its best arms just to win a single game in a 16-game stretch. The strategy of using an opener worked on paper, but it feels like a desperate move for a team that should be building for the future.
The Opener Works, But at What Cost
Sean Newcomb started the week and closed it out as the team’s opener. One inning more than Bryan Hudson pitched the day before was earned by him, maintaining a scoreless contest until a bulk reliever took over. José Urquidy managed six innings with eight strikeouts against the Cubs thanks to this strategy, securing a 3-0 win to prevent a sweep. The numbers show the team hit 10 home runs this week, which is the third most in the league. Only the Cubs and the Orioles hit more balls over the fence during this span.
The pitching staff gave up 10 runs to that squad before the opener plan was fully tested. North Side portion of the Crosstown Classic lacked a plan, Will Venable informed reporters. I am no idiot. I know this was likely a half-truth. There had to be concepts of a plan. That plan was simply “The Opener.” It is a band-aid on a broken leg.
Rivalry Fever and Future Risks
The Crosstown Classic wrapping up this week proves the series finally means something again. During the season series, one run decided half these contests while 22 balls exited the ballpark. The season ended with a 3-3 draw. The investment of players and fans in this clash brings excitement. For the first time in ages, these two teams compete simultaneously despite the trash talk between their fan bases.
History offers a strange parallel to today’s chaos. Billy Sullivan, the catcher, declined a 1910 challenge to catch a baseball dropped from an airplane at a thousand feet. According to reports, the backstop remarked, “I might as well try to stop a bullet as be on the receiving end of [a baseball] from an airplane” That fear of the impossible feels a lot like the current pitching plan.
The White Sox are trying to stop a bullet with a thin roster. Should playoff baseball offer both teams an opportunity this season, October will prove an exciting month for the City of Chicago. But the cost of getting there might leave the staff with nothing left to throw. Friendly Confines hosted Munetaka Murakami for a Mune Bomb, and we anticipate more balls reaching the bleachers in this rivalry featuring the young Japanese star.
