Jim Margalus

@soxmachine.com

2498 Followers 148 Following

Paying attention to the White Sox so you don't have to at soxmachine.com. VP, Nashville Curling Club.

A satisfying James Taussig homer
Jason Benetti drinks your milkshake
Onion Noah Kahan artist profile calling genre "barn wedding."
Lightning over Regions Field
Carlos Quentin after ramming into Zack Greinke like big-horned sheep.
(Seriously, anybody knows whether the pope has read Sox Machine, please reach out. In accordance with Mark 12:41-44, we can offer a gift subscription.)
Comedy Bang Bang
Hold Steady with Titus Andronicus, Built to Spill and Bully
"There are few guys for whom that works, and there are a handful of guys where that puts them in a really fucked up mindset," said hitting coach Derek Shomon. "Their swing breaks down, decisions get fucked up, either too passive, too aggressive. We want our guys to be free when they get up there to be the athletes that they are. If that means they're willing to take shots early -- and that may come with a whiff on a secondary pitch early in the count -- so be it. Such is the game of baseball."
11 GD runs in the 11th.
But Gonzalez felt that his first move in his swing tended to be striding forward and sinking down aggressively, and was curious about hitters who dealt with the same issues. Together with hitting director Ryan Fuller, he looked at Matt Carpenter and Paul Goldschmidt as examples of hitters with similar inclinations, and now has a relaxed, Carpenter-style upright stance.
AL Central standings showing the Sox at 22-21 by some miracle.
Like many White Sox player quotes about one another, the affection is both mutual, and intense enough to start wondering if you're intruding.
American League standings showing the White Sox at 22-21, if you can believe it.
Vargas could just be riding a heater that will eventually be diluted when his expected level of production returns, but with the components underneath the hood being so strong, it's worth entertaining the question of whether this version has staying power. Prior to Wednesday's game, Chris Getz entertained that question as well. "I'm going to steal the descriptive word that [assistant GM] Carlos Rodriguez uses: Is it sticky? Is what he's doing something that's going to be sustainable?" Getz told James. "What I believe is what he's doing right now is sticky. You look at the underlying [numbers], the consistency of the swing, improvement on the defense, he's really blossoming into not just a major league regular, but a guy that is bringing that more value than just an average major league player."
If he's aware of his need to make adjustments to make more contact, surely he's aware of all the MLB teams that doubted his ability to succeed in this league for that reason. Right on the heels of battling back from injuries to put up a hellacious 56-game finale in NPB (.273/.379/.663, 211 wRC+), surely it made him feel a certain way. To this, the legendary Japanese slugger, leaned forward in an office chair at Camelback Ranch, and spoke in English. "Fucking shit." A more fleshed out answer followed in Japanese. "Yeah, I felt fucking shit," Murakami said via interpreter. "See my game. They have to see me play. They can't judge me without seeing me play. This is how I felt."
Chief
Chief.
Photo of William Bergolla via the Charlotte Knights
Fuck everything we're doing five catchers
Hear us out
Hawkins Field