Lance Lynn and the White Sox SP’s are KILLING THEM!
Lance Lynn‘s Wednesday afternoon pitching line was both disappointing and on par with the White Sox season to this point (roughly Larry Legend % into the campaign).
It also represented a minor reprieve from something that I have deemed endemic to the 2023 Pedro Grifol version of this White Sox team. He tends to stay with his starters for a long time. No matter what. That’s an anecdotal thought of course, maybe old Beef has been hitting grandpa’s cough syrup a little too early on this Friday morning and missing the greater point. Or maybe not. Let’s dig in.
How does Pedro Grifol manage the 2023 White Sox starters?
Before Wednesday’s start, at least for Lance Lynn, it seemed like Grifol had a program. Lance Lynn will throw 96 to 107 pitches and that’s that. If you review the log in question (buried in the tweet). There are plenty of starts that he got clobbered and should’ve been hitting the showers much earlier. Is this just me noticing an oddity with Lance or maybe a personal preference with Grifol for Lance, or is this what is happening to the White Sox in general in 2023?
The table above cut from Fangraphs backs up my thesis that the White Sox starting pitchers are being used a lot, we’ll say. They are 5th in MLB in innings pitched, but a mere 3 2/3 innings behind the front runners, the Seattle Mariners. However, other than ranking highly in innings, their ranks in other categories are less flattering.
ERA 23rd in MLB 4.92
FIP 27th in MLB 4.96
BB Rate 26th in MLB 9.9%
Ground Ball Rate 29th in MLB 36.3%
I could go on, but all in all, a pretty putrid starting rotation. By Baseball Reference ERA+ the White Sox staff had only one above average starter heading into today and he’ll probably be in a different uniform in a couple months if things don’t turn around.
The upsetting part is that it’s not even some off-brand knock off Hydrox’s making the starts. Other than a Jimmy Lambert opener in front of Jesse Scholtens and a straight up Jesse Scholtens start, the guys you are paying to be your rotation, have been rotating. POORLY!
Basically, the White Sox starting pitchers are struggling and on top of that, Pedro is sticking with them regardless.
What Now?
Pedro Grifol needs to start managing this staff like a modern manager would. He needs to own this role. The way he has managed the starting pitchers so far looks eerily like the last regime and nobody would mistake Tony La Russa for a “modern manager”. Manage like your hair is on fire. If a White Sox starter is going rough, this should look like a playoff game, where he’s not afraid to cut bait if the starter has only gotten 5 outs if the game is slipping away. Every win matters from here until you are forcing Rick Hahn’s hand to sell in mid July, so act like it!
There are no favored players. You don’t need to treat certain veterans any way. You just need to give your team the best chance to win…TODAY! No leaving Lance in to give up 3 HR’s. No leaving Lucas in to give up 7 walks. No leaving Dylan in when his control is waning in a tied game because he’s “your ace”. Manage every game like it’s an elimination game. We were sold a modern manager by our less and less trustworthy front office and local media, now’s the time to act like it.
-BeefLoaf
About The Author
beefloaf108
Low information White Sox Fan. Big Feet Energy ORIGINAL 108er Like Whore 2019 Opening Day #SoxMath WINNAR Mediocrity Personified