DAVID MALINSKY
4* CHICAGO WHITE SOX over SEATTLE
Beauty may be in the eyes of the beholder, but we simply do not get the market attraction for Seattle here. So the opportunity to play the far better offense, better starting pitcher and better bullpen is impossible to pass up in this new bargain bin price range.
The White Sox got more than just a “W” in the standings last night; after their brilliant run Sunday’s bitter loss at Minnesota (led 6-3 in the bottom of the 9th) was the type that could have signaled an end to the momentum. Instead they came out with a dominating win on Monday as they continue to “take care of business” – their run is now at 17-4 in their last 21 games against opponents with losing records. Now John Danks gets a chance to control a lineup that he held to just two runs over eight innings (no W’s) in an earlier home win, and the bullpen behind him does not bring a fatigue rating (Matt Thornton is off of back-to-back games, but at a manageable 25 pitches).
Meanwhile the floundering Mariners are showing no signs of life, and in going 2-10 over their last four series they have been held to two runs or less seven times. Doug Fister is laboring badly to regain that early season form, and since his return to the rotation it has been an abysmal 0-2/7.08 over four starts, with the lack of pop from his arm showing in an ugly ratio of 29 Hits allowed vs. only nine K’s. It must be noted that the strong early start was largely influenced by a favorable BABIP count (of the 122 pitchers that have worked at least 80 innings he still checks in at #104), and that there is no track record that tells us that his true path is to get back to that level.