"Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025

[jksander]

“Oh No! We Suck Again!”

After their miserable season last year, and the trade that sent Crochet to Boston, it’s hard to see the White Sox as anything but a rock bottom franchise. So I’m setting out to see how difficult is is to revive the franchise over time. I’m not going to be using “Trading Hard Mode” but will have trade difficulty set to hard, with a preference for prospects over veterans. Ratings are set for 1-100, not showing ratings over 100, and I have scouting accuracy set to high, but will be using the full scouting and coaching system. All league evolution settings are “off” except for “more or less offense” and “more or less pitching.” I am starting this dynasty report using Beta v.34 (i.e. the first public beta), and as has always been my preference, I’ll be playing things out day by day and managing the games myself.

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March 14, 2025: White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf has named 43-year-old David Harrison as the team’s new GM and on-field manager effective immediately, shaking up the franchise’s front office leadership just two weeks ahead of the team’s home opener against Houston on the 27th. With Garret Crochet gone to Boston, there isn’t a great deal left on the shelf for fans to be particularly excited about ... 25-year-old Michael Vargas has a ton of raw potential but has yet to show it at the major league level, and Luis Robert Jr. has proven to be locally popular but so far has been primarily valuable for his defense over his scoring output which was minimal. The team’s pitching is an absolute dumpster fire, and nobody in their right mind expects the team to be anything close to replacement level for most of this season. So Harrison’s work is more than cut out for him, and one has to wonder what makes the job worth taking for him at all. We’ll see you on opening day, once you find the right size bag for your head.

[jksander]

March 18, 2025: Though Reinsdorf has repeatedly told the press he expects this team to remain respectable on the field, observers in sports media do not agree ... today the preseason predictions from Sporting News came out and the White Sox, to many southside fans’ surprise, were predicted to win 56 games, which would mark a 15-game improvement over last year’s record-breaking loser. That seems unlikely unless new GM and Manager David Harrison can pull a bunch of miracles out of his hat.

Noah Schultz gives the team one bright spot to focus upon. The 21-year-old lefty starter has been ranked 4th nationally by the Baseball News Network among all prospects, and he’s currently set to start his season at AAA Charlotte in the International League. The White Sox also have #7 prospect Hagen Smith, a 21-year-old lefty starter, set to start his season at AA Birmingham in the Southern League, but neither are expected to help the team this season -- though if Schultz excels in AAA, he could potentially be a late-season call-up to prep himself to join the team in 2026, when he would have Prospect Promotion Incentive potential.

These White Sox don’t have a ton of bargaining power to improve for the current season outside watching the waiver wire ... trading away any young studs to buy in would be a huge mistake. So most fans are digging in for another long season of rebuilding, particularly with a long list of injured players including Andrew Benintendi (LF, broken hand, 6-7 weeks) and a rash of pitchers who are out for the year including Prelander Berroa, Ky Bush, Juan Carela and minor leaguer Blake Larsen.

March 21, 2025: The White Sox’s new GM has made himself a handful of free agency signings, hoping that he’s got an eye for some diamonds in the rough who can help this team keep their heads above water this season.

Major League Signings
RP Craig Kimbrel, 36 -- 1 year, $1,575,000
SP Noah Syndergaard, 32 -- 1 year, $1,700,000
SP Ryan Weber, 34 -- 1 year, $1,500,000

Minor League Signings
RP John McMillon, 27 -- becomes $1,400,000 deal if promoted
RP Zach Agnos, 24 -- becomes $1,180,000 deal if promoted
RP Juan Then, 25 -- becomes $1,080,000 deal if promoted
CL Jason Ruffcorn, 26 -- becomes $940,000 deal if promoted

March 23, 2025: The White Sox successfully claimed 31-year-old backup catcher Jorge Alfaro off waivers from Milwaukee. Alfaro is a significant defensive improvement over current backup Korey Lee, who the team is demoting back to the minors to make room.
 
March 26, 2025: With opening day tomorrow against Houston with a 7:05 p.m. first pitch at Rate Field, the White Sox have announced their official opening day rosters:

Lineup
C - Kyle Teel
1B - Miguel Vargas
2B - Lenyn Sosa
3B - Josh Rojas
SS - Chase Meidroth
LF - Michael A. Taylor
CF - Luis Robert Jr.
RF - Mike Tauchman
DH - Andrew Vaughn

Bench: C Jorge Alfaro, 1B Joey Gallo, 2B Brandon Drury, LF Corey Julks

Starters
1 - RHP Sean Burke
2 - LHP Martin Perez
3 - RHP Noah Syndergaard
4 - RHP Jonathan Cannon
5 - LHP Ryan Weber

Bullpen
CL - RHP Craig Kimbrel
SE - LHP Brandon Eisert, RHP Justin Anderson
MR - RHP Shane Smith, RHP Penn Murfee
LR - RHP Mike Clevenger, RHP Justin Dunn
SPEC - LHP Tyler Gilbert

Ownership says they’re most interested in improving this team’s chemistry and improving fan engagement (laugh! It’s okay!) and are hoping the team won’t be outright terrible, though the ship has likely sailed on that. Long term they hope to build the team up to reach the playoffs by 2029, which while possible, seems like a pipe dream at the moment. The team picks 10th in the first round of the draft this year, but first in every subsequent round, so management will be hoping to add significant prospect depth to their talent pool. The draft reveal will take place on April 12th, with the combine starting in early June ahead of the July rookie draft.

[jksander]

March 27, 2025: Someone in the marketing department did a good job, as nearly 36,000 fans showed up at Rate Field for the season’s first pitch ... but would they stick around? Houston quickly took the lead in the top of the first with a sac-fly by Yanier Diaz, and an RBI single by Christian Walker added on, giving them a 2-0 lead midway through the first. We got a run back with two outs in the bottom of the first when Josh Rojas hit an RBI single, so at least we knew they couldn’t shut us out, but Jeremy Peña hit a solo homer out of right in the top of the second and Altuve followed him with one out of left to pile quickly on. Jake Meyers hit one out of left in the top of the fourth, and the rout was on. Burke got two outs for us in the fifth and then gave up yet another longball, this time by Yanier Diaz, and with us in a 6-1 hole we went to the bullpen to bring out Justin Dunn. But Houston kept hammering us with home runs, and you could see the fans streaming out of the ballpark even before the stretch. Kyle Teel gave the fans a little to cheer about when he hit a two-run homer himself in the bottom of the seventh to get us back within four, and Sosa sparked a rally with a two-out triple in the bottom of the ninth, scoring off an RBI single by Michael A. Taylor. Mike Tauchman walked the bases loaded moments later, and the remaining fans were on their feet ... Andrew Vaughn came up to the plate, bases loaded and trailing by three runs, two outs against us and the game in his hands. But he struck out swinging and Houston took this one 7-4.

Sean Burke took the loss, allowing five hits, three walks, five strikeouts and six earned runs in just 4.2 innings of work. Looking at bright spots, Mike Clevenger, who came in with two outs in the fifth, got us four outs with just a single hit, and Shane Smith pitched the last two innings with a hit and two strikeouts ... and we outhit them 9-8, though we gave up FIVE HOMERS to five different players. You can’t make up for that. Chase Meidroth had three hits, a walk and a run to lead the offense, while Teel’s homer gave him two runs batted in via his only hit of the night.

We’re off tomorrow and will then play two in a row against the Astros to finish the series.
 
March 29, 2025: Martin Perez faced off against Hunter Brown in our second game of the Houston series, under clear skies ... but with a stiff breeze making the 46-degree temperatures feel significantly cooler for the 20,000 fans who showed up for the early afternoon first pitch. Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer in the top of the second to crack this one open, and Perez was NOT up to the challenge of keeping it from growing worse. With the bases loaded in the top of the third with just one out, and Perez at nearly 60 pitches, we had to start warming a long reliever in the bullpen. Jake Meyers hit a two-out, two-run double, and a sixth run scored off a wild pitch, but Perez got through the inning. Josh Dunn took over in the top of the fourth trailing 6-0, and he got just one out before giving up an RBI double to Yordan Alvarez ... and then straining his hamstring and having to come out of the game for Mike Clevenger. From there, down seven and not even midway through the fourth, it became a matter of just getting out of the game without gutting the bullpen.

Clevenger was impresive, getting us through the top of the sixth without anyone scoring, and then this place went insane ... bottom of the sixth, on two outs, Kyle Teel singled to load the bases. Lenyn Sosa singled in Vaughn and Rojas to get us on the board, and Michael A. Taylor then slammed a three-run homer into left field, pulling us within two! Still on two outs, they walked Chase Meidroth, and then Mike Tauchman took his turn hitting one out of the park, driving two more to tie this game at 7-7 as we headed into the seventh inning! Clevenger got two outs and then Penn Murphee came out with no one on base, giving up a base hit but keeping them from scoring as we went into the stretch still tied. Houston got the lead back in the top of the eighth with a homer out of left by Chas McCormick, and Meyers hit a homer immediately after to extend it to a two-run lead. With one out and Altuve on second, Tyler Gilbert took over and he should have had us out of there without any further incident, but an E7 error allowed Altuve to slide safely in for Houston’s 10th run of the day. That took the wind out of our sails completely, and we went on to lose the game 11-7.

Penn Murphee took the loss, getting his two outs but allowing four hits and three runs before doing so. It was ugly, and it’s going to take him a while to get enough bullpen time to take the sting out of all those runs ... but it was Perez’s terrible start that set us up to fail ... six earned runs with four hits, five walks and just one strikeout through three innings. We knew our pitching was gonna be rough, but coming back from down 7-0 to tie it up and then lose by four is brutal no matter how you stress it. They only outhit us 12-11, led by Teel with three hits and a run and by Tauchman with two hits, a run and two RBIs. But we couldn’t get over the hump.

March 30, 2025: Noah Syndergaard pitched his first game for us today, after spending all of last year unsigned, as the 32-year-old hopes to show he can still make things work in this league based on his control alone. He faced Spencer Arrighetti, and it was even colder today than yesterday, with an even stiffer wind. Houston took the lead in the top of the second off an RBI double by Chas McCormick on two outs, but Arrighetti -- who still hadn’t given up a hit -- got pulled with two outs and two men on because he’d hit 85 pitches with six strikeouts and four walks. Rafael Montero struck out Lenyn Sosa to keep us from scoring, but we went into the top of the fifth just trailing 1-0, and Syndergaard’s control looked every bit as good as advertised early on. He got us through the sixth inning safely, and in the bottom of the sixth with two outs and men on first and second, Lenyn Sosa hit a blistering drive into left field, driving home Miguel Vargas from second to tie the score at 1-1!

Penn Murfee got us through the seventh, but in the bottom of the seventh Chase Meidroth strained his oblique sliding into second and had to be pulled from the game. Lacking a proper backup, we brought Brandon Drury in to pinch-run and take over at shortstop out of desperation ... they hit Tauchman with a pitch and then walked Vaughn, giving us the perfect situation to score and build up a lead. With two outs, Miguel Vargas did just that, hitting a three-run triple to put us into the lead 4-1 ... now could we hold it? Craig Kimbrel came out of the pen in the top of the eighth, and he immediately walked three batters to load the f---ing bases, so we brought out Justin Anderson hoping for a miracle performance in a high leverage spot. It didn’t happen ... Yordan Alvarez batted in two runs with a single, pushing Ben Gamel over to third, and Yainer Diaz tied it with an RBI single. STILL no outs.

That’s when I blacked out ... or to be honest, when Isaac Paredes walked in the go-ahead for Houston and we STILL had no outs. That’s when, with arms warming in the bullpen, Anderson got three quick outs to end things, once the damage had been right-and-properly done. Shane Smith got us through the ninth inning, and then we managed to somehow tie it up again thanks to an RBI double by Miguel Vargas in the bottom of the ninth with two outs! Kyle Teel then came through with a clutch single, driving in the go-ahead as we stunned Houston 6-5!

What a crazy game THAT was ...

Give Syndegaard credit, he did everything you could ask of a starter in this day and age, lasting six innings with four hits, four strikeouts and just one earned run. But thanks to Kimbrel’s three walks in the eighth, and Anderson’s blown save (two hits, two walks, two strikeouts, one run) we had to dig deep to survive. Shane Smith, in his third consecutive bullpen game, improved to 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA, just a walk and a strikeout against him. We out hit Houston 8-7, and out-WALKED them 11-5, led by Vargas who hit three times for two runs and four batted in.

No time to celebrate, we’ve got the 1-1 Twins coming in from Minnesota for our first divisional matchup of the season.

[jksander]

I can't find the post in the forums, but I saw there's an issue with the schedules for the White Sox, among others, that is being fixed ... but from what I can tell it only affects the real life calendar ... we still play 13 games against every divisional team. So I'm going to keep this going without restarting, since I'm not worried about mimicking real life.

EDIT: Found it: https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...d.php?t=361049

[PocketsAintFull]

Let's go ChiSox!

[jksander]

Originally Posted by PocketsAintFull

Let's go ChiSox!

Playing out games w no internet today ... will definitely post more when our outage ends.

[jksander]

March 31, 2025: Jonathan Cannon pitched for us tonight as the weather continues to suck ... 38 degrees with the wind blowing out at 10 miles per hour, not exactly optimal weather for the 16,000 or so who showed up to see us play Minnesota, with Chris Paddack on the mound. We took the lead in the bottom of the second when Lenyn Sosa hit a sac-fly to left, Will Castro choosing not to try the throw to cut off Rojas who tagged up and scored from third. A walk and a wild pitch put us in position to score again with two outs, Michael A. Taylor walking the bases loaded, and Tauchman delivered big -- a slow-falling pop into right field, giving him time to reach first and drive in a run ... Vaughn walked in another, and we went into the top of the third leading 3-0! But they quickly got going in the top of the third -- with one out, Royce Lewis hit a single that drove in two runs, and we knew we weren’t going to be able to coast. Cannon got through the fourth still leading by a run, but he’d thrown 78 pitches and was looking gassed. Justin Dunn took over in the top of the fifth, and just like clockwork a double by Will Castro and a two-run homer by Matt Wellner erased what was left of our slim advantage. We tied it up in the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer out of center by Lenyn Sosa, and we brought out Mike Clevenger in the seventh to keep us on an even keel. Josh Anderson took over in the ninth, still tied at four each, and two batters in they’d retaken the lead, and Anderson melted down from there as we rushed to get another arm warmed ... a two-run homer by Byron Buxton capped it all off as they built a five run lead on two outs. Brandon Eisert got us the final out, but that was merely academic at that point. Minnesota won this one 9-4 and we fell to 1-3. Anderson gave up five hits and five runs with one strikeout while getting just two outs, and he took the loss, his ERA exploding to 32.40 ... ouch! They outhit us 10-7, most of it coming in that final rough inning. Josh Rojas led our offense with two hits and a run, while Sosa’s homer gave him a hit and a pair of RBIs, with a .308 average through our first four games.

April 1, 2025: Another clear, cold evening, and Ryan Weber took his first start of the year, facing Louie Varland in our second game against the Twins after last night’s ninth-inning meltdown. The 34-year-old is pretty much all control, no stuff, so it’s going to be interesting to see how he handles pitching for our team this year. He has five pitches, but can he keep teams confused enough when none of them top 90 miles an hour? Early signs were good, as he got through the first four innings with five strikeouts and one hit on 58 pitches, and his fifth inning was stellar -- flyout, ground out, ground out, all on six pitches ... but the cold weather and the wind blowing in were keeping us from getting much out of the infield either, and the game was still scoreless going into the top of the sixth. Weber stayed out and got us through his half of the inning unblemished, and with two outs in the bottom of the inning Luis Robert Jr. and Josh Rojas pulled off a double steal that got them to third and second respectively, with the count 2-2 on Teel ... but we were unable to score and the game went into the seventh inning still scoreless. With Penn Murfee warming up, Weber pitched to Royce Lewis and gave up a double, and Matt Wallner hit a double to drive him home and put them up 1-0, though Murfee then came out and kept Wallner stranded at third so we only trailed by one heading into the stretch. Shane Smith took over in the top of the eighth, and he did his job, but our bats simply couldn’t make anything happen. Clevenger got us through the ninth unscathed -- he’s now pitched 7.2 innings without a run, earned or otherwise, and has a 0.39 WHIP! -- and with two outs in the bottom of the ninth Brandon Drury got on base with a single into center. But Michael A. Taylor struck out swinging and we went down 1-0. Weber took the loss, getting through six innings with just three hits, six strikeouts and ONE earned run ... if our bats can’t give our pitchers enough run support to hold up a performance like that, it’s gonna be a long year. We actually outhit them 6-4, and they walked us six times to their three and we still couldn’t get anyone in to score. Michael A. Taylor had two hits and a walk, so he “led’ the offense for what that’s worth.

April 2, 2025: Sean Burke (0-1, 11.57 ERA, 4.2 IP, 5 K’s, 1.71 WHIP) got his second start of the season in our last of three against Minnesota, facing Joe Ryan (0-1, 12.00 ERA, 3.0 ERA, 3 K’s, 2.33 WHIP), a game no one expected to be any kind of pitcher’s duel. The weather was still cold (39 degrees), clear and windy (10 miles per hour blowing in from right), and we’re definitely looking forward to spring eventually arriving. Both pitchers were surprisingly locked in early, but Minnesota’s offense broke through in the top of the fourth when Carlos Correa hit an RBI single on two outs to put them in the lead 1-0. That’s when the next batter up, Trevar Larnach, gutted us with a wind-assisted three-run homer out of left to put us in a 4-0 hole. We then had to stop the game due to an icy 31-minute rain delay, and Burke pitched the final out to get us into the bottom of the fourth. Craig Kimbrel took over in the fifth, and with one out and two men on in the sixth Penn Murfee came out and got us out of the inning with just one of Kimbrel’s runs scoring. Our bullpen, already exhausted, got crushed the rest of the night ... we trailed 7-0 heading into the stretch, finally breaking through with a run in the bottom of the seventh when Josh Rojas hit an RBI double. But it didn’t matter, they beat us 7-1 anyway. Burke (0-2, 10.38 ERA) took the loss with a four inning effort with three hits, three strikeouts and four earned runs, and six bullpen arms got burned getting us the rest of the way. Kimbrel, with two walks, two strikeouts and two earned runs, has a 27.00 ERA through 1.1 innings over two appearances, and it’s looking like “Dirty Craig” may be on his last legs ... but then again, so is much of our bullpen. Somehow we managed to again outhit them 6-5, but we made next to nothing happen with the hits, and they outwalked us 4-1. Rojas had a hit and an RBI, and Luis Robert Jr. had a hit and a run, but Taylor hit three times to nowhere -- he’s now hitting .435, but has only batted in four runs.

Thus far through the relatively close lens of six games over two series, we’re already 1-5 and dead last in the division. We’re off tomorrow as we travel to play Detroit (4-2), followed by another day off on Monday before a three-game set in Cleveland (2-4). We’ll then return for series against Boston (4-3) and the Angels (4-3) here at Rate Field.

[ayaghmour2]

I think it's the quotations but I get a chuckle each time I see your thread on the dynasty report page now. Good luck on what will be quite a challenge!

[jksander]

Originally Posted by ayaghmour2

I think it's the quotations but I get a chuckle each time I see your thread on the dynasty report page now. Good luck on what will be quite a challenge!

Yeah I love a good punny title. This is my first one trying a modern save, I usually pick an older era and run with it. And I can definitely tolerate losing ... my KC A's thread saw me lose 60+ games in three out of my first four seasons as the owner kept screwing us

[jksander]

April 4, 2025: Noah Syndergaard (0-0, 1.50 ERA, 6.0 IP, 4 K’s, 0.67 WHIP) got the start in game one against Detroit, facing Jack “Flare” Flaherty (0-1, 18.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 4 K’s, 2.67 WHIP) in front of nearly 39,000 Tigers fans on a blustery, cold afternoon. Luis Robert Jr. got us on the board quickly in the top of the first with a two-run RBI double, but in the bottom of the sixth they got on the board with an RBI triple by Colt Keith, and a sac-fly by Riley Greene tied us up at 2-2. We regained the lead off a wild pitch in the top of the seventh, but Syndergaard stayed out a little too long and they got the run back with an RBI triple by Andy Ibanez, no outs, bottom of the seventh. He got two outs while Justin Anderson warmed up, but the second was off a sac-fly that allowed Colt Keith to score from third and put the Tigers back on top 4-3. Anderson got us out of the inning, and Clevenger took over in the bottom of the eighth with no outs and runners on first and second, stranding both runners as he got a groundout, a strikeout and a flyout to end the inning. Top of the ninth, needing at least a run to stay in this ... Cadyn Grenier gets hit by pitch as the leadoff man, bringing up the top of our lineup! Chase Meidroth, our designated hitter, grounded out to first but drove Grenier into scoring position. They walked Tauchman, and on a wild pitch both runners advanced ... this was our chance! ANOTHER WILD PITCH, and Grenier came in to score the tying run, with Tauchman advancing to third, Miguel Vargas still at the plate with one out and the count full ... but he struck out swinging and Tauchman, who had tried to come home on a squeeze play, counted as the third out. We’d have to stop them in the bottom of the inning to force extras. Clevenger’s been unstoppable and had only thrown six pitches in the eighth, so we stuck with him, getting three outs on ten pitches to get us into the 10th!

With Vargas on second as the extra runner in the top of the inning, Josh Rojas hit a solid flyball into center-left, driving in the runner with a double to give us the lead with one out! Unable to add on any further runs, we brought out Brandon Eisert for just his third appearance of the season, and he immediately gave up an RBI single to Spencer Torkelson, who took second in the melee. But Kerry Carpenter struck out swinging, and after we intentionally walked Dillon Dingler, Justyn-Henry Malloy grounded into a 1-4-3 double play to buy us another chance. With Kyle Teel on third and Grenier on first, Tauchman had a chance to push us into the lead, but he flew out to left and we had to bring out Shane Smith with Gleyber Torres on second to hopefully give us another chance. A groundout to first advanced their runner to third, however, and Torres scored when Andy Ibanez walked it off with a single into center ... Detroit wins 6-5 in the 11th inning. Smith (1-1, 1.42 ERA) took the loss with a hit and an unearned run, while Eisert got tagged with the blown save and allowed a hit, a walk, a strikeout and an unearned run in his inning, remaining with a 0.00 ERA through 2.1 innings. They outhit us 11-6 but we had stayed in the game by staying stoic at the plate ... outwalking them 8-4. Rojas led the way with two hits, a walk and an RBI, while Luis Robert Jr. had a hit and two RBIs.

April 5, 2025: Jonathan Cannon (0-0, 4.50 ERA, 4.0 IP, 2 K’s, 1.50 WHIP) pitched against Tyler Holton (1-0, 1.50 ERA, 5.0 IP, 5 K’s, 1.40 WHIP) in our second game in Detroit. They took the lead in the bottom of the third off an RBI single by Spencer Torkelson, and they added on in the fourth with an RBI single by Zach McKinstry and an RBI single by Colt Keith. Justin Dunn took over in the sixth, trailing by three, and they added on a run that inning while our offense remained completely toothless. Penn Murfee came out in the bottom of the seventh with an out and the bases loaded, and he got us out of the inning without anything getting worse. But it was already bad enough, and Detroit held tough to shut us out in this one 4-0 as our losing streak continues. Cannon took the loss, falling to 0-1 with a 5.00 ERA, allowing seven hits two walks and three runs in the game with a single strikeout, lasting five innings. They outhit us 10-6, and only Vargas (a hit and a walk) got on base for us more than once.

April 6, 2025: Ryan Weber (0-1, 1.50 ERA, 6.0 IP, 6 K’s, 0.50 WHIP) pitched against Detroit’s Reese Olson (1-0, 1.59 ERA, 5.2 IP, 84 K’s, 1.60 WHIP) in our final game in the Motor City. Gleyber Torres hit a solo homer in the bottom of the second to put the Tigers up 1-0, and Colt Keith hit one in the bottom of the third to add on. We’d get into scoring position and then hit into double plays, so often we might as well have the move trademarked ... and therefore those two runs seemed almost insurmountable by the time we got into the sixth inning. Shane Smith took over for Weber with two outs and no one on in the bottom of the sixth, getting Javy Baez to pop out and get us out of the inning, but they struck out the side for us in the seventh, sending us into the stretch still trailing 2-0. But in the top of the eighth Cadyn Grenier led off with a double, and Tauchman lined one into the left field corner to drive him home, getting us on the board with a one-out double of his own ... but we weren’t able to force in the tying run, bringing up Clevinger to take over out of the bullpen trailing 2-1. He shut them down efficiently, and we had our chance in the top of the ninth to find a way back in. But we went three up, three down in the top of the inning and Detroit got themselves a 2-1 win to complete the sweep. That’s six losses in a row, and the next 153 games are starting to look like a long, long road. Weber fell to 0-2 despite another gem of a game ... 5.2 innings with five hits, three walks, two strikeouts and two earned runs, giving him a 2.31 ERA. Smith and Clevinger combined for 2.1 innings with just one baserunner, doing their best to keep our entire bullpen afloat with just their stellar performances.

Next up: A day off, and then three in Cleveland against the 4-4 Guardians. Through our first nine games we’ve already put up a -24 run differential, and we’ve gone 1-3 in one-run games.

[jksander]

April 8, 2025: Martin Perez (0-0, 18.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 1 K, 3.00 WHIP) made his second start of the season, facing Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee (0-2, 3.27 ERA, 11.0 IP, 8 K’s, 1.64 WHIP). We were as shocked as anyone when Tauchman took one out of the park in the top of the first to get us an early lead, but they got the run back in the bottom of the third when a wild pitch let Steven Kwan score from third. Perez hit a wall in the fourth, giving up the go-ahead to Brayan Rocchio with an RBI single, but he asked for a shot at redeeming himself in the fifth and was able to get through the inning with Cleveland’s lead still at just one run. Penn Murfee took over in the sixth, and Shane Smith came out to pitch again in the seventh, They added on in the eighth with an RBI single by Gabriel Arias, but Smith got two strikeouts in a row to get us out of the inning with two runs to make up. With two outs, Miguel Vargas beat out an infield squib to take first safely, but Luis Robert Jr struck out swinging and we lost yet another one, this time 3-1. Perez took the loss, falling to 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA, getting through five innings with three hits three walks, three strikeouts and two earned runs. We were outhit 6-3, Tauchman’s homer our only offense -- he had a hit, a walk, a run and an RBI to lead the team.
 
April 9, 2025: Sean Burke (0-2, 10.38 ERA, 8.2 IP, 8 K’s, 1.27 WHIP) started against Cleveland’s Hunter Gaddis (0-0, 4.26 ERA, 6.1 IP, 2 K’s, 1.42 WHIP), and in the top of the second we lost Josh Rojas to an undisclosed injury after he’d doubled in the bottom of the first and scored off an RBI single by Jorge Alfaro, pushing us into the lead 1-0. Brandon Drury took over for him at third to start the bottom of the inning, and we lost the lead with one out on an RBI double by Daniel Schneemann that drove in a pair. Mike Clevinger took over in the bottom of the sixth, still trailing 2-1, and with one out and Gabriel Arias on second in the bottom of the seventh we brought out Justin Anderson ... Brayan Rocchio immediately hit an RBI single to add on a run for the Guardians and we got out of the inning trailing 3-1. That run was the first earned run against Clevinger in 12 innings, giving him a 0.75 ERA. They got a homer from Kyle Manzardo to lead off in the bottom of the eighth, and that pretty much finished it as we lost this one 4-1. No word yet on Rojas’ injury beyond that it was to his knee. Burke took the loss and fell to 0-3 with a 7.24 ERA, though he only allowed three hits, a walk and two runs (one earned) with EIGHT STRIKEOUTS in his five innings. They outhit us 6-4, our only offense coming from Alfaro (a hit and an RBI) and Rojas (a hit and a run).

April 10, 2025: Rojas’ injury details are still pending, and we’ve put him on the 10-day IL while doctors continue to check him out. Our claim on right fielder Sterling Marte from the Mets went through, and he’s come up to take Rojas’ place in the lineup as we head into our final of three against Cleveland. Noah Syndergaard (0-0, 3.55 ERA, 12.2 IP, 6 K’s, 1.03 WHIP) pitched against Gavin Williams (1-1, 4.35 ERA, 10.1 IP, 7 K’s, 1.35 WHIP). We took the lead in the top of the first with an RBI single by Luis Robert Jr, but he got picked off taking too long a lead and we weren’t able to add on. We did add a run on in the second, when Michael A. Taylor hit an RBI double that drove Mike Tauchman all the way around from first to score, and in the top of the third Starling Marte hit a two-run blast out of right to make it a 4-0 lead! A sac-fly by Cooper Ingle got Cleveland on the board in the bottom of the third, and Syndergaard got out of a real jam in the fourth, bases loaded, but kept them from adding on, still leading 4-1 as we went into the top of the fifth. We were in a tough spot in the bottom of the inning, with Syndergaard at 82 pitches, so we had to bring out Craig Kimbrel to protect the three-run lead ... and tonight he held it well, walking one batter but then getting three quick outs to get us out of there unscathed. With one out and Gabriel Arias on first in the bottom of the sixth we brought out Penn Murfee, who gave up Kimbrel’s run with an RBI double by Brayan Rocchio, cutting our lead to two. He then loaded the bases, and a sac-fly to center by Steven Kwan added another Cleveland run, cutting our lead to one, but we got out of the inning still up 4-3. Tyler Gilbert took over after the seventh inning stretch, and in the eighth with two outs we loaded the bases, adding on a run thanks to a passed ball! Mike Clevinger came out in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run cushion, and Brandon Eisert came out to close in the ninth, shutting them down as we snapped our losing streak with a 5-3 road victory!

Syndergaard had just three hits, three walks, two strikeouts and an earned run in his four innings, but the bullpen had to put in the most work in this one and for once we were successful! Craig Kimbrel improved to 1-0 with a significantly improved ERA of 16.88, pitching 1.1 innings with a hit, a walk, two strikeouts and an earned run. He’s only pitched 2.2 innings so far this year, so if we use him sparingly, he still remains a soild option in the pen when kept on a short leash. Murfee, Gilbert and Clevinger all got holds, and Eisert saved his first game of the year ... he hasn’t given up a run yet in his four appearances.They outhit us 9-8, but Marte delivered with two hits, two runs and two RBIs, including his homer, and Michael A. Taylor had a solid night as well with two hits, a walk and an RBI.

With the eight-game losing streak behind us, we’ll take our 2-10 record back to Chicago for three games against Boston and three against the LA Angels that will get us up to a 10-game road stretch against Boston, Minnesota and the Angels.

INJURY UPDATE: Miguel Rojas is now out for at least three months, as he has been diagnosed with a ruptured Achilles tendon in his knee. We’ve transitioned him to the 60-day IL, and we’re not moving anyone up into the roster at third base as we currently have the ability to use Chase Meidroth alongside alternates Lenyn Sosa and Brandon Drury at the position. But we’re going to miss his offense ... he’d hit .263 ith four doubles and a pair of stolen bases during just 11 games before his injury, and had already put up nearly half a game in WAR.

[CBLCardinals]

YIKES.
Good luck with the Pale Hose!
Ultimate challenge, especially short term.

[jksander]

Originally Posted by CBLCardinals

YIKES.
Good luck with the Pale Hose!
Ultimate challenge, especially short term.

I prefer this kind of challenge to, say, taking over my Cubs and making a few tweaks to get them to a World Series I have the White Sox in an online league I've been in since the league was in the 2024 season, and we've made three playoff runs: 2027, 2028 and, currently, 2038. Talk about a challenge! I'd love to get them built up stronger in this world ... crazy thing is that league started before the team had its 2024 cratering ... so this will definitely be even more of a challenge.

Thanks for reading and commenting ... that helps with the losing, having others chiming in and offering support

[CBLCardinals]

Originally Posted by jksander

I prefer this kind of challenge to, say, taking over my Cubs and making a few tweaks to get them to a World Series I have the White Sox in an online league I've been in since the league was in the 2024 season, and we've made three playoff runs: 2027, 2028 and, currently, 2038. Talk about a challenge! I'd love to get them built up stronger in this world ... crazy thing is that league started before the team had its 2024 cratering ... so this will definitely be even more of a challenge.

Thanks for reading and commenting ... that helps with the losing, having others chiming in and offering support

Love that you are up for the challenge!! I usually will take a small or below average market team and go from there. In the past I’ve ran Reds, Royals, Rays, Guardians.

Good luck!

[jksander]

Originally Posted by CBLCardinals

Love that you are up for the challenge!! I usually will take a small or below average market team and go from there. In the past I’ve ran Reds, Royals, Rays, Guardians.

Good luck!

Thanks, I have a crazy move up my sleeve, since nobody's interested in trading us any decent pitching. Could blow up in our face, but we'll see what happens ...

[jksander]

April 11, 2025: Jonathan Cannon (0-1, 5.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 3 K’s, 1.67 WHIP) pitched against Walker Buehler (1-0, 6.10 ERA, 10.1 IP, 14 K’s, 1.16 WHIP) in our first of three against Boston here at Rate Field, with an 11 mph wind blowing out of center, suggesting it might not be a great day for pitching. Boston took the lead in the top of the fourth with an RBI single by Connor Wong, Justin Dunn came out in the top of the fifth trailing 1-0, and a sac-fly by Alex Bregman (who’s been fighting off an abdominal strain) added a run for the visitors. Justin Anderson took over with one out and men on first and second in the top of the sixth, and we went into the bottom of the inning trailing 3-0 after another run scored. Lenyn Sosa got us on the board in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI double that scored Vargas, but Boston had our number, Bregman hitting an RBI double to get the run back quickly in the top of the seventh, giving them a 4-1 lead as we went into the stretch. Penn Murfee took over in the top of the eighth and kept them from scoring the rest of the night, but we went down quietly offensively, losing this one 4-1. Cannon took the loss, falling to 0-2 with a 4.15 ERA, lasting four innings with five hits, five strikeouts and one earned run. Murfee was impressive, striking out two without allowng a baserunner in his two innings .... he now has a 4.15 ERA through 8.2 innings over eight appearances. We outhit them 9-8 but did very little with the ones we got, led by Lenyn Sosa with two hits, a walk and an RBI. Sadly, he leads the team with just six runs batted in.

The draft pool has been revealed officially, and we wish we’d been able to benefit from the draft lottery this year, but instead have to settle for the #10 pick thanks to being a payor club under the current revenue sharing agreements ... so we weren’t allowed to have back-to-back lottery picks. This year’s draft doesn’t look particularly deep, but there are a lot of college-aged players we’re intrigued by, particularly among pitchers. We’re looking forward to the Draft Combine which starts June 6th, a month ahead of the official draft on July 11th. 

April 12, 2025: Ryan Weber (0-2, 2.31 ERA, 11.2 IP, 8 K’s, 0.94 WHIP) pitched against Garrett Crochet (2-0, 1.83 ERA, 19.2 IP, 20 K’s, 0.81 WHIP), and the fans present were clearly conflicted, frustrated that our team traded him to the Red Sox during the offseason, leaving our roster more bereft than ever ... and yet he remains very popular here on the Southside ... but that doesn’t stop us from wanting to destroy him in this one. The game got going under low clouds and threats of rain, with the wind blowing in hard and temperatures in the low 50s, and Boston took an early lead in the top of the first when Rafael Devers hit a sac-fly that scored Alex Bregman from third. But Starling Marte hit a solo homer in the bottom of the inning to tie it up. They got the lead back in the top of the third with an RBI single by Rob Refsnyder, but the wind helped us keep things close going into the bottom of the fourth, thanks to several hard-hit balls blowing back in for outfielders to catch. Unfortunately they added on again in the top of the fifth with a solo homer by Triston Casas, and Kimbrel took over in the top of the sixth trailing 3-1. Justin Dunn came out in the seventh, and in the bottom of the inning our bats came to life ... Michael A. Taylor hit an RBI double that scored two runs to tie the score, and Cadyn Grenier hit a line drive drouble that drove Taylor home to score the go-ahead! Shane Smith took the ball to start the top of the eighth, getting two strikeouts and a pop-out to protect the lead, and Tauchman bought us insurance in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI double that made it a two-run advantage! Smith stayed out and got us through the top of the ninth, and we held the Red Sox off to win 5-3! Dunn got the win out of the pen, walking one batter but completing his inning without a score, improving to 1-0 with a 7.36 ERA, and Smith earned his first save, pitching two innings with one hit, one walk and three strikeouts as his ERA improved to 0.77 through 11.2 innings! They outhit us 9-7, but Tauchman was clutch all night, hitting twice with a run and an RBI, while Taylor had a hit, a walk, a run and two RBIs.

Craig Kimbrel told reporters after the game that he’s decided this will be his last year playing ball ... the 36-year-old will retire after the completion of this season with our White Sox.

April 13, 2005: It’s our last game against the White Sox, and we’ve won two of our last three games, so it would be wild to get ourselves a series win out of this one, with the off day tomorrow to rest ahead of the Angels series. Martin Perez (0-1, 9.00 ERA, 8.0 IP, 4 K’s, 1.88 WHIP) pitched against Garrett Whitlock (1-2, 2.60 ERA, 20.0 IP, 18 K’s, 0.75 WHIP). Perez got out of a bases-loaded-on-one-out jam in the top of the third to keep the game scoreless, and Michael A. Taylor led off with a solo bomb out of right in the bottom of the inning to put us up 1-0! They tied it up in the top of the fourth with two outs, Ceddanne Rafaela hitting an RBI single to drive in the tying run. Perez got through the fifth with it still tied, and Chase Meidroth hit an RBI single in the bottom of the inning to give us a 2-1 lead. Kimbrel came out of the pen to start the sixth inning, and he pitched around runners on the corners to hold that lead, striking out Nathan Hickey to end their half of the inning. We brought out Mike Clevinger in the seventh, and he got six straight outs to keep us in control! Brandon Eisert came out to pitch in the top of the ninth, still leading by a run, and he got three quick outs to shut them down as we won 2-1, taking the series two games to one! Perez got the win, improving to 1-1 with a 6.23 ERA, allowing seven hits and a run without a walk or a strikeout through five innings. Kimbrel got his ERA under 10 with two hits and a strikeout in his inning, and Clevinger held his second game with two innings without a baserunner, improving his ERA to 0.60 through 15 innings. Eisert then saved his second game of the year, keeping his ERA perfect through 4.1 innings. They outhit us 9-6, but Taylor was in fine form with two hits, two runs and an RBI thanks to his second homer of the season. He now leads the team with eight RBIs.

Next up, after a day off tomorrow, we’ll host the 8-8 Angels for three games as we ride our first winning streak of the year.

- - - - -

CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/14/25 ... p.B1
Desperation Move? Sox Sign Bauer in “Shocking” Development

CHICAGO, Ill. - In a move that shocked the baseball establishment nationwide, the White Sox have signed Trevor Bauer out of baseball pariahdom, giving the controversial pitcher a one year contract at the league minimum, $740,000. Bauer, who was released by the Dodgers back in 2023 following MLB’s investigation into sexual assault allegations that eventually led to a record suspension, has spent the last two years playing for the Yokohama DeNA Bay Stars and the Diablos Rojos del Mexico and has been available for any team to sign on a league minimum contract since December 22, 2022 when a league arbitor reduced his suspension from 324 games to 194 games, reinstating his eligibility to play. But after two years without a bite, no one in the league’s upper echelons thought he’d ever play again.

The signing has shocked fans of Chicago baseball to their core. Some fans have expressed excitement that having Bauer in the rotation might help them keep this season somewhat competitive as the team develops its young prospects for the future. But others, including womens’ rights groups frustrated by the fact that Bauer was never actually prosecuted based on the allegations, suggest Reinsdorf and GM David Harrison are only interested in a quick pop of interest based off controversy.

In the clubhouse, there’s concern about Bauer’s penchant for causing disruptions both on the field and off, though no one has gone on the record officially since the signing. One club staffer speaking under the condition of anonymity suggested most of the players are taking a “wait and see” attitude, though “it’s hard to imagine this move won’t have serious clubhouse repercussions if Bauer doesn’t come in pitching lights-out to shut up his detractors.”

To make room for Bauer on their 26-man roster, Justin Anderson (0-1, 13.50 ERA) was demoted to AAA Charlotte, and Martin Perez will move into a long relief role out of the bullpen, with Bauer stepping into the #2 spot in the rotation between Sean Burke and Noah Syndergaard. He is expected to start on Wednesday in game two of the team’s series against the Angels.

[CBLCardinals]

OH MY

Desperate times, desperate measures….!

[jksander]

Originally Posted by CBLCardinals

OH MY

Desperate times, desperate measures….!

Worth a shot lol ... honestly I'm surprised nobody in a similar boat gave him a shot, with the whole league minimum thing. Obviously he's a potential clubhouse cancer, and any fanbase was going to wind up with a large segment turning on the franchise. I suspect the "clubhouse cancer" part played a bigger role in it for most.

The game has him as a two-star player with 53 stuff, 29 movement and 39 control according to "average accuracy" from BNN, with a 63 fastball, a 60 slider, an 80 curve and a 56 cutter (plus a mediocre changeup). But he has more stamina and better "hold" than any of our starters, so it seemed a fair risk. Worst case he flames out and doesn't stay beyond this season.

[jksander]

April 15, 2025: With the city still buzzing about our surprise signing of Bauer out of “retirement,” Sean Burke (0-3, 7.24 ERA, 13.2 IP, 16 K’s, 1.10 WHIP) took the mound against Angels lefty Reid Detmers (2-1, 4.42 ERA, 18.1 IP, 21 K’s, 1.58 WHIP). It was icy cold, barely above freezing, coupled with a 10-mile wind blowing across from right, and the Angels got on the board in the top of the third with an RBI single by Jorge Soler. We answered in the bottom of the fourth with a solo homer by Luis Robert Jr, and we took the lead when Jorge Alfaro hit an RBI single moments later to score Lenyn Sosa. Cadyn Grenier added an RBI single to cap the inning, and we led 3-1 heading into the top of the fifth. Justin Dunn took over in the sixth, and an RBI single by Yoan Moncada got them back within a run. Penn Murfee came out to pitch in the seventh but he did not have a great stretch ... with one out, Mike Trout hit an RBI single to tie the game up at 3-3, though he was able to get us out of the inning without handing them a lead. We brought out Shane Smith in the eighth, and he had an inexplicable meltdown that led to our complete collapse ... with the bases loaded, Luis Rengifo hit an RBI single that drove in two runs, and we went into the bottom of the eighth trailing by a pair. Mike Clevinger came out in the ninth and he got the outs we needed, but our bats were silent the rest of the way and we lost 5-3. Burke had five innings with two hits, two walks, three strikeouts and one earned run, and Dunn held it through the sixth, but Murfee blew his first save, and Smith fell to 1-2 with a 2.13 ERA, allowing a hit, three walks and two runs in his inning. They outhit us 9-8, Luis Robert Jr leading the way for us with two hits, a run and an RBI.

April 16, 2025: Trevor Bauer made his much anticipated first start for us tonight, but in front of a meager crowd of under 12,000 due to a combination of our record, the cold weather, and controversy due to anticipated protests outside the ballpark over Bauer’s signing. LA started Hans Crouse (0-2, 5.62 ERA, 8.0 IP, 9 K’s, 1.75 WHIP), and we looked to bounce back from yesterday’s disappointing finish. Luis Robert Jr gave us the lead in the bottom of the first with an RBI single, but the Angels answered with a solo homer out of left by Jorge Solar in the top of the third, and in the top of the fifth they took the lead off a sac-fly by Tim Anderson to go up 2-1. Bauer stayed out one batter too long ... in the top of the sixth with two outs and two men on, Mickey Moniak hit a three-run slam out of left, putting us in a 5-1 hole as we brought out Penn Murfee. But we came roaring back in the bottom of the inning, Teel hitting an RBI double, followed by a two-run single by Joey Gallo to pull us back within a run! With one out in the top of the seventh, Kevin Newman stole third and came around to score thanks to an E2 error, giving the Angels a two-run cushion again, and a sac-fly by O’Hoppe increased their margin to 7-4 heading into the stretch. Kimbrel came out of the pen for the eighth inning, and Martin Perez pitched in the ninth still trailing by three. But we got right back into it when, with no outs, Mike Tauchman hit a three-run homer out of center to tie it up, getting the right fastball on the 10th pitch of his appearance ... that sent us into extra innings tied 7-7. Perez got us through the top of the 10th without the ghost runner scoring, and with one out, Chase Meidroth hit a line drive into right field with runners on first and second, walking this one off as we won 8-7!

Bauer’s debut was solid, and had we pulled him earler it would have looked better (and we wouldn’t have had such a deep hole to dig out of). As it was, he lasted 5.2 innings and threw 92 pitches, allowing five hits, two walks and five earned runs with four strikeouts. Martin Perez, who he replaced in the rotation, gave us two innings out of the bullpen and got the win, improving to 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA, walking two and striking out one, no hits allowed. We outhit them 8-5, led by Tauchman who had his three-run homer plus a walk that allowed him to score a second run. After our miserable 1-10 start, we’ve now won four of our last six, and though we have no expectations that we’re suddenly going to be a factor in the division, there’s actually a building confidence among our players that we can at least put up a real fight.

April 17, 2025: Noah Syndergaard (0-0, 3.24 ERA, 16.2 IP, 8 K’s, 1.14 WHIP) pitched against Jose Suarez (0-1, 7.04 ERA, 15.1 IP, 14 K’s, 1.70 WHIP) in our final game of the series (and of this homestand) against the Angels, and he had a rough start ... Tim Anderson singled, Jorge Solar reached first on an E5 groundball error, and Mike Trout singled in a run, taking second as Solar advanced to third. Logan O’Hoppe singled in a second run, and a groundball hit off Taylor Ward’s bat whizzed past Grenier’s ear and into the outfield as LA increased their margin to 3-0 ... still no outs. Nolan Schanuel grounded into a 3-6-3 double play, but O’Hoppe scored their fourth run off a wild pitch. We got out of the inning trailing 4-0, and all this happened on just 23 pitches. It’s gonna be THAT kind of a night. O’Hoppe added a solo homer in the top of the third, but our bats woke up in the bottom of the inning ... With Vargas at the plate, two outs and the bases loaded, Michael A. Taylor scored off a passed ball, and then Vargas hit an RBI single that, coupled with an E7 error, allowed two more to score. Syndergaard had settled down and got three quick outs in the fourth, and in the bottom of the inning Taylor hit an RBI double that drove in two to tie it at 5-5! Syndergaard gave up a solo homer to Trout in the top of the fifth, Trout’s sixth longball of the season, and with two outs and O’Hoppe on second we brought out Clevinger ... but the runner scored off an RBI single by Nolan Schanuel, increasing their lead to 7-5 as we came up to hit in the bottom of the frame. Chase Meidroth hit an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to get us back within a run, and Clevinger got us into the stretch with a real chance. We brought out Shane Smith in the eighth, still trailing 7-6 ... in the ninth inning he stayed out there, and after giving up a single to Luis Rengifo, who stole second, Smith got Yoan Moncada, Tim Anderson and Jorge Soler to all three strike out consecutively, sending us into the bottom of the inning with just the one run between us and keeping this game alive. With two outs, Tauchman walked to put the tying run on first, but Brandon Drury struck out swinging and we lost this one 7-6, our record dropping to 5-13 ahead of our upcoming road trip.

Noah Syndergaard had a rough go of it, allowing seven hits, two walks and seven runs (five earned) with just two strikeouts in his 4.2 innings. But our bullpen staff have been all gaining a lot of confidence, and it showed through tonight -- Mike Clevinger pitched 2.1 innings with two hits and a strikeout, improving his ERA to 0.49 through 18.1 innings, and Shane Smith pitched the last two innings with a hit and three K’s, improving his ERA to 1.84 through 14.2 innings. They kept us in the game, but we were outhit 10-7, our offense led by Kyle Teel who had three hits and scored two runs, while Michael A. Taylor put up a hit, a run and two RBIs.

We’ll spend the next ten days on the road, playing four against Boston (10-10), three against Minnesota (12-7) and three against these Angels (10-9). The Twins have surged to take the lead in the division by half a game over the 11-7 Tigers, while we, the Rockies (5-13) and the Pirates (5-14) are the worst teams currently in the majors.

[jksander]

April 18, 2025: Jonathan Cannon (0-2, 4.15 ERA, 13.0 IP, 8 K’s, 1.54 WHIP) started against Garrett Crochet (2-0, 1.78 ERA, 25.1 IP, 28 K’s, 0.75 WHIP) in game one at Fenway, and Boston took the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run slam by Rafael Devers. But we tied it up in the top of the fifth -- Vargas scored off a wild pitch, and Lenyn Sosa hit a sac-fly to drive in Luis Robert Jr. Cannon got us through the fifth, ending that inning when Abreu hit into a 4-6-3 double play, and Kimbrel took over in the bottom of the sixth, keeping us tied up. Penn Murfee came out in the bottom of the seventh, getting out of the inning when Ceddanne Rafaela hit into another fantastic 3-6-3 groundball double play, but he had a rougher go in the eighth ... still tied up with the bases loaded and one out, Mike Clevinger took over, and he let Devers walk in the go-ahead, a sac-fly by Triston Casas adding on moments later. Trailing by a pair as we came up in the top of the ninth, Tauchman riled up the crowd when he hit a leadoff homer over the Monster to cut the lead to one ... and Sosa damned near did it back to back, though his ball dropped just shy of the green wall and fell into the glove of Rob Refsnyder. We had no pop from there, and they held tough to beat us 4-3. Cannon had a great start, five innings with three hits, two walks, four strikeouts and two earned runs, but it was Murfee (0-2, 3.65 ERA) who took the loss, with two hits, a walk, a strikeout and two unearned runs. We outhit them 8-5, led by Tauchman with two hits, a walk, a run and an RBI, while Vargas added two hits, two walks and a run scored.

April 19, 2025: Ryan Weber (0-2, 3.24 ERA, 16.2 IP, 13 K’s, 1.20 WHIP) pitched against Garrett Whitlock (1-3, 3.42 ERA, 26.1 IP, 23 K’s, 0.84 WHIP), Boston took the lead in the bottom of the third with a solo homer over the Monster by Ceddanne Rafaela, but they had to pull Abreyu after sliding into second with a double in the bottom of the fourth, leaving with an undisclosed leg injury, and in the top of the fifth our offense came alive ... Chase Meidroth walked in a run after Teel, Julks and Grenier hit consecutive singles on one out. Starling Marte then hit an RBI single to put us in the lead, and Luis Robert Jr reached on an error, driving in a third run. Grenier hit a two-run homer to add on in the sixth. In the top of the seventh with one out and men on second and third, Kimbrel came out of the pen with a four-run lead, getting back to back outs to strand the runners. But with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, he gave up a two-run blast to Rob Refsnyder, so we went into the top of the ninth with just a two run advantage. Brandon Eisert came out to defend that lead in the bottom of the ninth, and he ended the game when Romy Gonzalez grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, letting us out of there with a hard-fought 5-3 victory! Weber got his first win, improving to 1-2 with a 2.74 ERA thanks to three hits, one walk, three strikeouts and one earned run. Kimbrel got a hold, his second of the year, lasting 1.2 innings with two hits, a strikeout and two earned runs, giving him a 7.56 ERA through 8.1 innings, while Eisert saved his third game and kept his ERA unblemished. He hasn’t been utilized a lot this year, but when he’s pitched, he’s pitched incredibly well. We outhit Boston 8-5, led by Kyle Teel with two hits and two runs scored.

April 20, 2025: Sean Burke (0-3, 5.79 ERA, 18.2 IP, 19 K’s, 1.02 WHIP) pitched in game three against the Red Sox, facing Tanner Houck (0-2, 8.15 ERA, 17.2 IP, 15 K’s, 1.87 WHIP) who has been on a cold streak to start the season. Boston got the early lead in the botom of the first when Triston Casas hit an RBI single into left, and Cedanne Rafaela hit a grand slam moments later to kick us square in the balls. Burke has had TERRIBLE luck all year, and tonight was no different -- three hits, a walk and a strikeout in that inning, and ALL FIVE runs were unearned. But he threw 35 pitches and looked shaken up as he came off the field. His night came to an end with one out and men on first and second in the bottom of the third inning, as Tyler Gilbert took over. They added on a run before we could get out of the inning, and another scored in the fourth, though we did finally get on the board in the top of the fifth with an RBI single by Marte. But the game was a rout from there as we would go on to lose badly, 10-4. Burke took the loss and fell to 0-4, finishing with six hits, two walks, three strikeouts and six runs (one earned) during his 2.1 innings. They outhit us 14-10, Marte leading the way with three hits and an RBI, while Grenier added two hits, a run and three RBIs.

April 21, 2025: We trail the Red Sox two to one in this series, so it would be nice to get out of the four-game set with a split. Trevor Bauer (0-0, 7.94 ERA, 5.2 IP, 4 K’s, 1.24 WHIP) got the start, facing Lucas Giolito (1-2, 7.78 ERA, 19.2 IP, 15 K’s, 1.58 WHIP). Boston took the lead with two outs in the bottom of the second when Ceddanne Rafaela (who has been a thorn in our side the entire series) hit an RBI double to drive home Refsnyder. Another run scored in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to an RBI double by Roman Anthony, and our bats did Bauer no favors though we did get on the board with a homer by Tauchman in the top of the sixth to get within a run. Penn Murfee took over in the bottom of the sixth, as Bauer had thrown 100 pitches and was clearly gassed, and the right field corner continued to give us fits ... with two outs, Rob Refsnyder hit one to that spot and legged out an RBI triple as they increased their lead to 3-1. Mike Clevinger came out in the seventh, and he gave up a rare run with an RBI double into left field by Wilyer Abreu, Clevinger’s first run surrendered since April 9th and just his second of the season. He stranded Abreu to get us into the eighth trailing by three, and Josh Dunn came out in the botom of the eighth and kept the game from getting any more out of control. Aroldis Chapman came in for Boston with five saves already under his belt, but he wasn’t sharp ... we were able to load the bases with a walk by Brandon Drury, and the crowd was getting nervous. With two outs, Miguel Vargas came up to hit, and they pulled Chapman for Justin Slaten, who got Vargas to ground out, capping the 4-1 Red Sox win. So close to a comeback,and yet so far. Bauer took the loss, falling to 0-1 with a 5.91 ERA, allowing just four hits with three walks and six strikeouts, though the two earned runs were enough to do him in. We were outhit 9-5, our bats led by Tauchman’s fifth homer of the season.

Next up: Minnesota (12-10), who swept us at home in just the season’s second series.