Chicago White Sox Opening Week Review (opinion)
- Chandler Giampietro
- Apr 16, 2022
- 3 min read
The 2022 Chicago White Sox have completed the first week of the season and things are looking promising for a deep pale hose playoff run. Yes, of course, there are still 154 games left to go. The injury bug has bitten the Sox harder than a sweaty guy with no bug replant in the middle of July. Yet, the Sox reserves have played competitive and winning baseball against some tough competition.
The Sox opened their season in Detroit with a three-game set against the Tigers. The Sox picked up the series win, taking two of three from a much-improved Detroit roster from 2021. The Southside hitmen took the last two games of the series after a heartbreaking opening day loss entailing a blown save by the 2021 AL reliever of the year, Liam Hendriks, and an odd misplay by offseason addition AJ Pollock. The Sox have bounced back by going five and two in the following games to conclude the opening week of games.
The White Sox opened their home season at Guaranteed Rate Field against the Seattle Mariners where they also picked up two wins in another three-game set. Vince Velazquez, who is expected to work out of the bullpen this season when the rotation gets back Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn had a strong four-inning start in the home opener. Despite being by far the slowest worker in the Sox rotation. Just get it and throw it, please Vince. Velazquez was backed by an impressive bullpen performance to hold onto a three to two win. Dallas Keuchel picked up his 100th career win against the Seamen in game two and the Sox lost the series finale due to a strong pitching performance from the Mariners pitching staff.
Yet again, the White Sox picked up another series win against a tough Tampa Bay Rays team. Dylan Cease struck out eight in five and two-thirds innings in the series opener on Apple TV’s new weird baseball streaming experiment. As if baseball fans need another hoop to jump through to watch baseball games like the MLB’s blackout problems weren’t enough. Moving on… The Sox won game two on the backs of a two-run blast by 2020 AL MVP, Jose Abreu. The Sox turned in another impressive bullpen performance. Liam Hendriks earned his fourth save of the season while providing throat lumping theatrics yet again. Hendriks especially had to make it interesting, considering it was his bobblehead day. Liam had fans shaking those bobbleheads in disappointment and then finally with jubilation.
The aspect of the Sox’ hot start that is the most impressive and encouraging is the varying contributors in the lineup and bullpen. Baseball is mostly an individual sport, but players are going to have good and bad days. When the Sox stars aren’t providing, you look to those role players to give the team an extra boost. Guys like Jake Burger, Andrew Vaughn, Reese McGuire and the host of bullpen guys most Sox fans’ have never heard of stepping up to contribute against tough competition can only mean good things for this team moving forward.
Then, you consider who the Sox are missing right now, and you start to get worried for the mental health of fans for the other 29 teams. The Sox lost Garret Crochet for the entirety of the season. However, Aj Pollock, Yoan Moncada, Joe Kelly, Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn are due to make comebacks in the coming weeks of the season. Sorry the rest of the American League, but you stand no chance if the Sox are healthy. Just no shot. Having said that, the Sox have not shown the ability to stay healthy for a sustained period which worries Sox fans.
The Chicago White Sox are finally in their “win now” window of Rick Hahn’s rebuild that started in the second half of the 2016 season. Sox fans have waited a long time to taste some semblance of an elite baseball team on the Southside. That time has come for the Southside faithful. Hahn has spent money, drafted in high rounds and made trades to round out this club. The Sox are heavily favored to win the AL Central and make a deep playoff run. With this ridiculous young core and legitimate roll players not named Ryan Cordell, Jacob May and Odrisamer Despaigne the White Sox have a legiti shot at making a World Series run in the near future. The fans on the Southside are filled with anxiousness but good anxiousness. The team is ready to compete for a title and you can bet your sweet bippy that the Rate will be rocking come this October!
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