JotCast | FanGraphs White Sox/Astros ALDS Game 4 Chat

Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page

Kevin Goldstein

2:20

My question is CAN you do that? Does the rule say only one player can toe the rubber?

Harder Karl

2:21

99 mph from Los… Astros are not touching him so long as that heat is coming in, nobody can

Kevin Goldstein

2:21

99 is scary, but no team hits velo better than Houston.

Cob

2:21

In regards to who the Red Sox would rather face, I think they care more about this going to a game 5 than who specifically they play. Gives opponent one day between games, and gives them a chance to steal a game or two as the away team

Ben Clemens

2:21

For sure, this is a good point

You'd definitely prefer to burn Valdez and one of Giolito or Lynn

Kevin Goldstein

2:21

For sure.

2:22

I'm sure they are rooting for Chicago today.

I would think that emotionally, Core would like to take on Houston, but that's pure emotion.

Cora

2:22

it would be a balk if you had your foot on the rubber and faked a pitch. so there is that

Kevin Goldstein

2:22

Ah yes. My dream is dead.

Ben Clemens

2:23

Was that a bad play by Bregman? Not something I was thinking in real time but on the replay it looked like he had a play at second

Kevin Goldstein

2:23

It's a least debatable.

2:24

Great stuff from AJ here on the White Sox spitting on breakers.

Ben Clemens

2:25

This booth has been the best of the playoffs so far, even if AJ is sometimes too take-happy

2:26

Listening to Wainwright think through an at-bat is fun

Kevin Goldstein

2:27

Breaker, breaker, breaker to Grandal....

and breaker to end it.

Ben Clemens

2:27

Yeah it's funny, they were talking about redoing the breaking ball heavy approach based on early returns on the batters

Kevin Goldstein

2:27

With Kyle Tucker due, quick story.

Ben Clemens

2:27

And uh.... that did not happen

Kevin Goldstein

2:29

I saw Kyle Tucker during his high school career at Plant High School in Tampa. They play at Wade Boggs Field. Once on back-to-back-to-back nights in Northern Florida, I saw high school games at Wade Boggs Field, Jose Fernandez field and Francisco Lindor field.

2:31

Players in each team's lineup I saw prior to them becoming pros: Astros 3 (Bregman, Gurriel, Tucker); White Sox 4 (Robert, Abreu, Jiménez, Rodon).

Ben Clemens

2:32

I'm very curious to see what happens with Rodon's velocity

Kevin Goldstein

2:32

For sure.

Ben Clemens

2:32

When he was right early in the year, he would gain as the game went on

Start 93, pick it up to 98 by the 5th

is he going to pick it up from here?

or was that just a quick burst of adrenaline and we're heading downhill?

Kevin Goldstein

2:33

Note Gurriel hitting: SUPER coiled. You can read the number and the entire name from the CF camera. So many Cubans do it and they do it because they were copying Gurriel.

I came to calling it a "Cuban Swing" in scouting reports.

Ben Clemens

2:33

Not a wonderful sign that he's back to 93 already (wonderful for the Sox I mean)

Kevin Goldstein

2:33

Alexei Ramirez might have been the first big leaguer I saw doing it.

Moose_Bolton

2:33

What is the highest number of curveballs Lance McCullers will throw in a row in this game? Will he break double digits?

Ben Clemens

2:34

If you don't count sliders, like 3?

He's just not really an all-curve guy anymore

josh

2:34

What causes McCullers' command issues? Strom is a magician, and astros are known for pitching development. Is it mechanics? Stuff just has too much movement?

Kevin Goldstein

2:34

Yes, usually it's an inability to harness the breakers because of all the movement, but at times the FB command gets a little wonky.

N. Hornblower

2:35

Kevin - Are you going to tell your Yuli story you’ve alluded to?

Connecting…