To Hell With You, Lucifers (Series Preview: Chicago White Sox (23-23) vs. Toronto Blue Jays(27-20))
Ryan Borucki Designated for Assignment
In the hours before Friday’s game against the Angels, I tested positive for COVID-19. Since then, I have been stuck in my basement working through my Letterboxd watchlist (plug) and watching baseball. Á propos, since I tested positive for COVID, the Jays have won three of five straight, completing a four game sweep of the Orange County Seraphim. So I guess what I’m saying is “you’re welcome”.
The Toronto Blue Jays have won their first sweep of the season, beating not the Oakland Athletics, a team that seems hated by life itself, nor the Cincinnati Reds, an embarrassment to the concept of competition itself. They beat the Los Angeles Angels, a team that could accurately be described as “good”. Baseball is dumb.
Not to say it wasn’t a nailbiter, because I think these games singlehandedly made my COVID worse, but these were some of the best played games of baseball this season. Instead of fading once they conceded a lead, as they were wont to do, they always scratched and clawed to steal the lead back.
The offense, barring Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Teoscar Hernández still getting back on track, is rounding into shape, and the pitching, aside from soft spots in the bullpen and José Berríos struggling to find his 2021 form, looked rock-solid. Somehow, despite appearing to take multiple swan dives off a cliff into a valley of jagged rocks, the Jays are 13-12 in May. Just as we were all predicting they would be ten days ago. With an injury- and COVID-depleted Chicago White Sox team coming to town, Toronto will hope to win their fourth of their last five series. Easier said then done, but it gets a little easier done when a couple key pitchers on the opposition are numbskulls.
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TRANSACTIONS
Unfortunately, Tuesday saw one of the longer-tenured Blue Jays designated for assignment. Left-handed relief pitcher was designated for assignment after a horrendous outing on Sunday. Trent Thornton was recalled from Triple-A, leaving a spot on the 40-man open.
Borucki started the year hurt and never looked right at any point. His 2.70 ERA in 2020, his first “full” season in the bullpen after elbow surgery torpedoed his career as a starter, is a distant memory. In 30 innings over the last couple seasons, Borucki has posted a 6.00 ERA and 6.06 FIP. He induced a lot of strikeouts and groundballs, and was generally strong enough against lefties (.245 wOBA against for his career), but he never found a way to get righties out (.357 wOBA for his career, .410 in 2021), despite his attempts to develop his changeup into such a weapon. Walks were also a problem, as he’s walked 12.2 percent of hitters the last two seasons. And while his hard contact numbers were still solid, especially on his slider, his sinker has getting absolutely tuned up by hitters of both handedness.
His 9.95 ERA (7.56 FIP) only came in six and a third innings, but it was all the Jays needed to see. It’s an unfortunate end to Ryan Borucki’s time with the Toronto Blue Jays, further closing the book on the “pre-Large Adult Sons” group of prospects that includes Danny Jansen and the erstwhile Rowdy Tellez, Reese McGuire, Sean Reid-Foley and Thomas Pannone, among others I may or may not be forgetting. Hopefully he can put it together wherever he does end up.
Borucki’s departure leaves only one left in the bullpen, Andrew Vasquez. Obviously, Tim Mayza will be returning at some point, leaving this second lefty role up for competition between Vasquez, Tayler Saucedo whenever he comes pack from the IL, current Buffalo Bisons Anthony Kay, Derek Holland, and Matt Gage, and the Jays’ willingness to decide that a “second lefty” role is worth carrying Vaquez, Saucedo, Kay, Holland, or Gage.
Thornton hasn’t had a good year either, as we’ve discussed, but he does provide some length for a bullpen that was ground into dust this weekend. Unrelated, but I wonder what Nate Pearson’s doing right now?
BEST BIRDS
Hitter: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (1)
Honourable Mentions: Alejandro Kirk, Bo Bichette
Pitchers: Alek Manoah (6)
Honourable Mentions: Yimi García, Trevor Richards
Best Bird Standings:
Hitters:
Santiago Espinal- 3
Danny Jansen- 2
Bo Bichette- 2
George Springer- 2
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.- 2
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.- 1
Matt Chapman- 1
Alejandro Kirk- 1
Zack Collins - 1 (Optioned to Triple-A)
Pitchers:
Alek Manoah- 6
Kevin Gausman- 5
Yusei Kikuchi- 3
Jordan Romano- 1
SCHEDULE/PROBABLE PITCHERS
Tuesday, May 31 (7 p.m. EST/5 p.m. MST)
Lucas Giolito (2.63 ERA, 3.70 FIP, 33.3 K%, 9.8 BB%, 23 HardContact%)
Kevin Gausman (2.25 ERA, 1.32 FIP, 29.3 K%, 2.3 BB%, 25.8 HardContact%
Wednesday, June 1 (7 p.m. EST/5 p.m. MST)
Michael Kopech (1.29 ERA, 2.71 FIP, 24.2 K%, 11.8 BB%, 23.3 HardContact%)
Hyun Jin Ryu (5.48 ERA, 4.31 FIP, 12.4 K%, 4.1 BB%, 36.1 HardContact%)
Thursday, June 2 (3 p.m. EST/1 p.m. MST)
Johnny Cueto (2.41 ERA, 2.75 FIP, 17.9 K%, 9.0 BB%, 29.5 HardContact%)
Alek Manoah (1.77 ERA, 3.14 FIP, 23.7 K%, 4.1 BB%, 20.1 HardContact%)
THE OPPOSITION
Pythagorean Record: 18-28 (167 runs, 212 runs allowed)
Last 10 games: 5-5
You telling me that players on a Tony La Russa-managed team would make decisions that would endanger the lives of others? Fuck, can’t imagine.
In 2021, former Minnesota Twins third baseman and current Jomboy Media contributor Trevor Plouffe predicted that Atlanta would win the World Series. They did, in fact, win the championship, but only after getting off to a decidedly bad start to the season and sneaking into the playoffs thanks in large part to the Mets imploding.
In 2022, Plouffe picked the Chicago White Sox to win the World Series. Not a bad pick, considering the on-paper strength of the lineup with an amazing core of Luis Robert, Eloy Jiménez, Tim Anderson, Yoán Moncada, José Abreu, Yasmani Grandal, and newcomer A.J. Pollock, the strong duo of Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito atop the rotation, and Liam Hendriks atop the bullpen. So I guess it’s a good sign that the White Sox have also been kind of bad to start the season?
The White Sox have gotten off to a rough start, trailing the upstart Minnesota Twins early. They’ve been decimated by injuries to start the season, with all of Robert, Jiménez, Pollock, Moncada, and now Anderson going to the IL. Lynn has yet to play at all this season, leaving Giolito with the suddenly excellent Dylan Cease (who is currently on leave doing his own research) and Michael Kopech in the rotation along with some variety of Johnny Cueto, Vince Velasquez, and formerly Dallas Keuchel, who was recently released. It’s a high-walk rotation with overall positive results, but it’s overall a solid positive, which is more than I can say for the offence or the bullpen.
The ailing Anderson has had a monster season thus far, and Robert, Abreu, and Andrew Vaughn have all been solid with the bat, though Vaughn’s defence drags that down somewhat. Otherwise, Jiménez, Grandal, Moncada, and Pollock have all posted wRC+ under 70. 70!!! And while Hendriks has been typically good, as has his supporting cast of Aaron Bummer, researcher Kendall Graveman, Matt Foster, and Reynaldo López. The softer underbelly of José Ruiz, Bennett Sousa, Tanner Banks, and the injured Joe Kelly, however, have all gotten absolutely crushed, leaving the White Sox with a bottom five bullpen in terms of ERA, WHIP, and BB/9.
Giolito and Kopech are no joke, but otherwise, there may not be a better time for the Blue Jays to face these White Sox. At least those CityConnect jerseys look fucking sick though.
Best (Healthy) Players in this Series:
Michael Kopech, Starting Pitcher, 1.29 ERA, 2.71 FIP, 24.2 K%, 11.8 BB%, 23.3 HardContact%
Lucas Giolito, Starting Pitcher, 2.63 ERA, 3.70 FIP, 33.3 K%, 9.8 BB%, 23 HardContact%
Luis Robert, Center Field, .283/.319/.438, 122 wRC+
Liam Hendriks, Relief Pitcher, 3.32 ERA, 3.00 FIP, 35.1 K%, 7.4 BB%, 26.9 HardContact%
José Abreu, First Base, .236/.328/.394, 114 wRC+