Carlos Rodón was supposed to start tonight against Cincinnati. Instead, he'll start tomorrow, in the latest negotiation between Tony La Russa, Rodón, and Rodón's shoulder.
That's still sooner than one would expect, but it's also the latest he can start without getting in the way of La Russa setting up his postseason rotation. He has Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito scheduled to start Friday and Saturday with the order to be determined, with likely Game 3 starter following them by starting on Sunday.
At this point, it doesn't seem like rest alone is going to fix Rodón, at least in amounts of time both parties still have, so there's value in knowing what they might be able to expect before setting a postseason roster. In the interim, I've found some unintentional amusement in La Russa's thoroughly uninspiring blurb quotes.
La Russa trailed off in his first attempt to refresh expectations ...
‘‘It’s just a matter of him showing that he can compete and is healthy enough to compete,’’ La Russa said. ‘‘We know what he can do when he’s healthy, so the stamina part is nice, but it’s not all that. Because if somebody tells me right now, tells our team, ‘Carlos can give you four shutout innings,’ you take them. Five, take it. Three. Three is a third of the game, so . . . ’’
... and Rodón's bullpen session didn't generate any more excitement.
"He didn't really let it go to where [it was] anything game-like but he said he's good to try it on Wednesday," La Russa said Monday morning. "So we're good to see it." [...]
"It's going to be an interesting night," La Russa stated. "Important and interesting night."
SPARE PARTS
Jake Mintz of Céspedes Family BBQ looks into Luis Robert's wildly better in-zone contact rates and chalks it up to having his hands closer to his body, which shortens his path to fastballs up in the zone. It's gotta be nice to be strong enough that more compact actions don't result in meaningful losses of power.
James Fegan took a crack at the postseason roster. I was planning on doing the same after we better understand what Rodón and Adam Engel have to offer.
Remember when trading Yasmani Grandal to keep James McCann was more than a fringe idea among White Sox fans? Well, McCann is hitting .232/.295/.350 over 116 games with the Mets, which is basically the guy he was in Detroit with better receiving. There's no satisfaction in saying so, but it does make one appreciate McCann's perfect little White Sox career a little bit more.
I have no reason to doubt what Rob Arthur is saying about framing-first catchers getting knocked down a couple pegs when it comes to their ability to swing games in 2021, but after watching Zack Collins and Seby Zavala box their way through months while Grandal recovered from knee surgery, there are situations that can make it 2010 all over again.
Here's a fun story from Anthony Castrovince about how the White Sox shaped Comiskey Park to better accommodate the directions and distances their fly balls traveled during Tony La Russa's original run in the early 1980s, not by moving the fences in, but moving the plate up. Three years later, with Hawk Harrelson in charge, they moved it back.
In the international market, the White Sox are tied to a 16-year-old outfield prospect named Erick Hernandez, whose blurb draws a comparison to Juan Soto in the first sentence. This post about Soto's plate discipline shows why such comps should be eliminated. It can't possibly do a teenager any favors.
(Photo by Matt Marton/USA TODAY Sports)
