On the first day of Spring training games the White Sox fell to the Dodgers 4-6. Now I know that some Sox fans out they are thinking “Oh No! We lost the first Spring Training game were doomed!” Well that shouldn’t be the case. Yes there were some dark spots today including Gordon Beckham’s swing and Nestor Molina’s failure of an outing but all is well take a step back its just the beginning. Now I’m just itching for Opening Day on April 6th 1:05 P.M. CST against the Rangers.
I know that a lot critics out there are looking at the Sox really low for next year but i don’t buy it. If players like Gordon Beckham Adam Dunn and Alex Rios have bounce back years I would not be surprised if the team challenges the Tigers. On this day last year everyone I mean everyone picked the White Sox to win he division. Now the Tigers are getting all the headlines just like the white Sox were. Of course you could make an argument that the Tigers were picked for the division last year somewhat, but lets admit it the White Sox were being picked most often in fact they went “All In,” literally.
One thing I don’t like about the Tigers rotation is they’re pitching staff. Most people believe their staff is “strong” or ‘built” but without a #5 starter it can really throw off the whole sh-bang. According to Baseball-reference Rick Porcello had a 4.75 ERA through 2011 and he is considered a strong pitcher by many. Max Scherzer posted a 4.43 ERA in 2011 and he is considered a star pitcher in Detroit. But He is also an extremely inconsistent pitcher as well. Gavin Floyd had a lower ERA than Scherzer’s 4.43 and people are saying that the tiger’s rotation is better than the White Sox. The Tigers have 2 pitchers on that staff. #1 Justin Verlander and #2 Doug Fister which I think will take a huge leap forward this year. Another thing to be down on about the Tigers rotation is that Justin Verlander will not have the same year he had last year I can assure you that.
But one thing is for sure and this is a hard thing all White Sox fans have to admit, the Tigers are the favorites this year no matter any moves the Sox can make.