Quality Starts On Both Sides of Town

A starting pitcher qualifies for a quality start if he throws at least six innings-pitched and allows three earned-runs or less. Statistically, if a team's starting pitcher throws a quality start, said team has a 70% chance of winning that particular game. We know that a 4.50 earned-run average, is, well, average, at best. But stats are facts and facts are facts. Got all that?

Now, the Cubs, well they rank 30th in the league for total number of quality starts with 30. Probably a big reason why they're eight games behind the Pittsburg Pirates (yes, you read that correctly) and eleven games behind the NL Central Division leading Milwaukee Brewers. But Chairman Tom Ricketts will just tell you that it's injuries holding the team back and say that he has 100% confidence in his General Manager and Manager instead of holding people accountable. But I digress.

Just for funsies: the Cubs also rank 30th in ERA at 4.69, 30th in WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) at 1.49, and 29th in BAA (batting average against) at a .271 clip.

The White Sox rank considerably better at 8th in the MLB with 48 QS (quality starts). Pretty good, right? It is, but only if you're looking strictly at that number. The underlying fact is that the White Sox's record for those 48 games is 28-20 (a winning percentage of .583). And again, at first glace that doesn't seem too bad, I mean, it's eight games over .500 so it has to be pretty good.

But here's a little perspective. The Boston Red Sox rank 25th in the MLB in QS with 40; however, they're winning over 77% of those games. That's 31 winners for those of you keeping score at home (three wins more than the White Sox who have eight more quality starts). It also helps that the Red Sox own a +85 run differential, whereas the White Sox possess a -5 run differential (you can't win if you can't score folks). Needless to say, the Red Sox capitalize on most games in which they have a 70% chance of winning and it's a huge reason why they're 11 games over .500.

Something the Sox of White should start to take advantage of, yes?

As always, tune in to the Chicago Sports Fix radio show this and every Friday evening from 6 to 8pm with me Rob Zielinski and Josh Catlow only on chicagolandsportsradio.com. Give us a call during show hours at 312.884.8205 or email chicagosportsfix@gmail.com to share your thoughts.

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Troy Brower is a Capital and Brian Campbell is a Panther. Holy cap-space Batman!

Try Not to Get Sick Reading This

The White Sox are 0-4 against the Twins this season. That's seven straight losses overall to the Twinkies . They're 7-28 against Minnesota dating back to May of 2009. That is the very essence of "having a team's number" or "owning" a team. The White Sox went into the Twin Cities and got swept in a truncated two-game series after the first game was (luckily) post-poned due to rain.

It would've been better for the Sox to have played in the rain. That way nobody would be able to see the yellow stains on their pants as they urinated down their legs.

As a team, they were 1-13 with runners-in-scoring-position (RISP). They left 12 runners-on-base and hit into SIX double-plays in Thursday's game alone!

Will someone please step up to the proverbial plate and drive somebody in already?!

One damn run against Carl Pavano and Nick Blackburn?!

But wait, there's more...neither M nor M even played in this series (Mauer or Morneau). You know who else didn't play? That guy who used to wear a White Sox uni, turned Twin. That guy who hit a walk-off tater last year from a Matt Thornton offering that's still orbiting the Sun. That's right, your favorite human-bobblehead, Jim Thome. And just for good measure, Jason "White Sox Killer" Kubel (though, which Twins player isn't a Sox killer?) didn't play either.

Here, let's do this. I'll give you the Twins' starting lineup for both games so you can see for yourself the no-names who are beating up on your White Sox:

Wednesday: Revere 8, Casilla 6, Cuddyer 9, Young DH, Hughes 3, Valencia 5, Dinkleman 7, Tolbert 4, Butera 2 and Carl Pavano on the bump.

Thursday: Revere 8, Casilla 4, Nishioka 6, Cuddyer 9, Young DH, Hughes 3, Valencia 5, Rivera 2, Repko 7, and Nick Blackburn on the hill.

It's like the beginning of the movie "Major League" -

Board Member 1: I've never heard of half of these guys and the ones I do know are way past their prime.

Charlie Donovan: Most of these guys never had a prime.

Rachel Phelps: The fact is we lost our two best players to free agency. We haven't won a pennant in over thirty-five years, we haven't placed higher than fourth in the last fifteen. Obviously it's time for some changes.

Board Member 2: This guy here is dead!

Rachel Phelps: Cross him off, then!

Well maybe not quite because the fact is, in the Twins organization, all of their minor-league players are taught to play the way that they're expected to play should they reach the Majors. That's why these no-names can fill in a spot in the lineup on any given day and help win any given game. That's the very definition of depth according to the standards of baseball.

It's been said over a million times, but you have to win the division THROUGH the division. Winning series against the Red Sox, Mariners, and Athletics is great (in fact, it's still encouraged), but losing series to the Tigers and Twins doesn't help your cause. (I recently graduated from the Illinois Center for Obviousness).

You want another stat, you say? Well okay, if you say so...the Twins stole five bases on Wednesday, two were on a double-steal with Alexi Casilla and Michael "FN" Cuddyer on the back end.

It's okay, that color vomit should come off those pants with a little detergent.

Tune in to the Chicago Sports Fix radio show this and every Friday with Josh Catlow and me Rob Zielinski from 6 to 8pm only on chicagolandsportsradio.com (We're even getting our very own intern). #Bigtimin'

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