South Side Column: Could The White Sox Actually Make A Deep Run?

The White Sox are coming into this postseason with an 84-78 record. While I personally think they should have a better record than that, the 38 blown leads, which led the league, hurt their chances at that. That was probably due to both inexperience and bad bullpen management, but while I think this team is better than their record shows, the squad certainly deserve to be where they are at. However, I believe the Pale Hose have not only a chance to go deep in the playoffs, but a great one. Why is that? Let me break that down.

History

So, this one is a little bit stretching it, but realistically, history does help the Sox here. With a record that the team has, one would think that the Sox don't have a chance in hell to make a deep run, but again, history suggests otherwise. In the postseason, it's a crapshoot as any team can upset as sometimes the best sides don't always win. A club can get hot at the right time and make a deep run or even win a championship. A great example of this is the 2014 San Francisco Giants who executed when they needed too, plus got a little bit of luck. Those Giants limped into the playoffs that year, plus had a lot of injuries including having a first baseman play left field because the team needed him to (Travis Ishikawa). Yet, they won the World Series. However, that San Francisco side won 88 games, which is respectable, but not quite how the Sox have done. Another example is the 2003 Florida Marlins as they had a young team that went deep unexpectedly and won the World Series, yet, won 91 games in the regular season. Lastly, a side that got hot at the right time and proceeded to win the World Series when least expected is the 2023 Texas Rangers, however, they won 90 games.

So why am I bringing up these teams and yet they won 88-91 games in the regular season? Just going to show that getting hot at the right time helps your chances. But these aren't the best examples. There are two prime examples of teams with similar records as this White Sox team has who went deep in the postseason. The first one who also had a similar record in the same type of playoff format is the 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks who went 84-78 in the regular season as well. In the playoffs, the Diamondbacks swept their Wild Card Round series matchup with the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0 and then 3-0 against the juggernaut Los Angeles Dodgers in the Division Series, but after that in a seven game showdown in the Championship Series, winning four games to three against the Philadelphia Phillies. While Arizona showed that having a record like that and then getting hot at the right time can help you go deep in the postseason, but they lost in the World Series ironically to the same Rangers side mentioned earlier. The last example actually won the World Series with a similar record is the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals team that went 83-78. Personally, that Cardinals team is much better than their record indicated as they struggled at the worst time and still managed to win the division, but with players being in the dugout such as Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Preston Wilson, and even Juan Encarnacion, plus having pitchers like Chris Carpenter and Jeff Suppan (plus a rookie Adam Wainwright as a closer), I'm not shocked St. Louis won the World Series. The Cardinals had won 100+ games in 2004 and 2005 keeping pretty much that core intact in 2006, they just simply struggled down the stretch and then got hot in the postseason. Simply put, that St. Louis side was better than their record indicated. Which leads to the next point.

Better Than Their Record Indicates

While the Sox had their first losing month since April, they are better than what their record shows. I think the 38 blown leads tidbit mentioned earlier speaks volumes as it shows that this Pale Hose side is better than indicated, just simply either lost via bad luck or their bullpen losing at the worst time. I personally think their inexperience and some bad bullpen management had a lot to do with that, but that's just an opinion. The fact the Sox have been in this many competitive games suggests they are better than their record indicates. Had the team held up in even just five of those contests, that's a better record.

The Sox Are Hot Right Now

The Pale Hose seemingly limped in September, right until after their last series with the Cleveland Guardians. The Sox went 7-3 in their last 10 games and could have easily been 12-1 in the final 13 as the club lost a few games they should have won. But either way, the team is playing better baseball than some might think. So, taking the record as is, 7-3 is pretty damn good. And as mentioned earlier, getting hot at the right time helps so much no matter what. When the Sox were struggling, both the pitching and hitting were not clicking, but now they are. Hopefully the team can dominate, but playing as confident as they are now only helps their chances.

While now the rotation has been clearly gassed down the stretch, the bullpen has been pretty much outstanding which helps a lot. Even with the stretch where the offense seemingly couldn't drive people in, the capability of their bats is enormous as they can absolutely crush the ball. There is a lot to like about this Sox club as they honestly could go deep. I truly believe that a League Championship appearance is more probable than most think. But again, the postseason is a crapshoot. Even if the Sox don't go deep, then at least they have a bright future. Heck, the Pale Hose are a better team than Houston and Cleveland, so I fully believe they can go deep.