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Chapter 1: What are Seranthony Domínguez's recent struggles with the White Sox?
You're listening to Rahimi Harrison-Grody on Sports Radio 104.3, The Score. Doors closing. 3-2, that one's whipped into right field, and it's going to get down. Lozano's going to score as the throw comes to second. An RBI single for Patrick Bailey, and this game is tied at four in the ninth. Another blown save.
With the bullpen being so good up front in this first part of the season, you know they're not going to be perfect every day. Obviously, you're depending on those guys to go out there and shut the door. They've done a good job of that to this point. So they have things that they're going to work on like they always do and be able to come back and take advantage of the next opportunity they have.
The call is courtesy of CHSN. That was Will Venable. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. Breaking down a 6-5 White Sox walk-off win over Cleveland and happy to do so. Except, as we heard earlier on the postgame show last night, Ozzie Guillen pointed out it still felt like a loss.
We pointed out on Rahimi Harrison Grody that you're happy with the win, but my goodness, it took a path to get there. It was an adventure with twists and turns, and unfortunately, largely, those twists and turns came courtesy of the bullpen. We saw Grant Taylor come in in relief of Anthony Kaye, blows the save. Then we see Brian Hudson. Then we see Sir Anthony Dominguez. who also blew the save.
That's his fifth blown save of the season. He gives up two earned runs. And then we see Chris Murphy finally close it out. And this is one where we're all asking ourselves, Marshall, we know that the bullpen has to change somehow. My obvious thought is I don't necessarily know that Sir Anthony Dominguez needs to be closing games anymore. Is it as simple as flipping him with Grant Taylor?
I like Grant Taylor in a safe situation more. But these are two arms that, in order for them to be functional, they've got to rely on here.
Let me ask you a question, Layla.
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Chapter 2: How has the bullpen's performance affected the team's wins?
It's a very direct question. Do you believe that Sir Anthony Dominguez is a more effective pitcher than Brian Hudson? Yes or no?
Currently? Currently. I can't confidently say yes.
Yeah, because the answer is no. You can go look at the numbers. You can do whatever you want. Here's what we know. We know that in the ninth inning... In the ninth inning, Sir Anthony Dominguez has an ERA of 5.60. We also know that in safe situations, that ERA goes up even more, above 6.
Yeah, 6.06, like your trail.
He can't be in high leverage situations. He can't be in the highest of leverage situations. Here's my simple solution to what they should do the next time these three pitchers are available and you're trying to win a baseball game. Sergi Dominguez, if he pitches at all in the last three innings, it's the seventh inning. You know why? Because in the seventh inning, it's probably less damage.
And if he messes up, you have more time to recover from his screw-ups.
I have the numbers right here. So in non-save situations, going in to last night's game. So that is excluding him giving up the two runs and blowing the save. Non-save situations, 12 appearances. The ERA, 077. Compare that to 18 save situations and the ERA is 606. So that's remarkably different.
And again, that number went up last night.
Right.
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Chapter 3: What changes might the White Sox consider for Domínguez's role?
And then you have the whip, 165 in the 18 save situations. And that's where it is. The whip will always tell you the real truth of it all. And then the whip in non-save situations is 069. Nice. The walks, which contribute to the whip, remarkably different. 11 in save situations compared to four. Four home runs given up in those save situations. I'm looking at you, Brewers game.
Compared to the one in the non-save situation. And then the opponent's slug, which also folds into all of this. 477. Compared to 189 in the non-save. And he's had 12 non-save situations. So he can be utilized. But it is clear that this is not the place for him anymore in this.
That's what I'm saying. And some people are suggesting, oh, I'll just move him to eighth inning. No.
No. I mean, that was my immediate thought was just slide him back one. Just keep sliding him back until he ends up opening in the first inning.
Well, that's the point. Just keep sliding him out of critical situations.
But, you know, some people do respond really well to throwing the eighth as opposed to the ninth if they're former closers.
I don't think he's that person, honestly. And here's the thing. When you talk about save situations, the eighth inning is also a save situation if you have a lead of less than three runs. It still qualifies as a save situation. That's why I'm saying if you use him at all, you put him in the seventh.
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Chapter 4: Why is there a debate about using Domínguez in high leverage situations?
And here's why I say that. Brian Hudson, when you look at his numbers, Layla... He's made 13 appearances in the eighth inning this year. Ask me how many runs he's given up. Just ask me.
Go ahead. 13 in the eighth. One?
None.
Damn.
None.
Yeah, DJ Moore.
Absolutely none. People are batting 196 against him. The OPS is 528 in those 13 innings. He's only walked five, guys. He struck out 14 innings. He's been a guy who has gotten it done in the eighth inning of games. If you look at what he's done in the ninth inning of games, he's made seven appearances, a lot of them in spot duty, like trying to clean up somebody else's mess.
In those seven appearances, he's pitched four and two-thirds innings, he's faced 17 batters, and he's given up two hits and two walks, an ERA of zero in the ninth inning. You put Brian Hudson in in the eighth, you put Grant Taylor in in the ninth, because guess what? Grant Taylor, ninth inning? He's pretty good.
He is. Okay, so that was what I was going to say. Our friends at CHSN offered these numbers. And here's where the flip-flop is hilarious. So Grant Taylor hasn't done well in a non-save situation. You had to give him some pressure, apparently have him open a game in order for there to be the real effect. 16 appearances in non-save situations.
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Chapter 5: What statistical evidence supports the bullpen's current struggles?
Entering last night, 363 ERA. Buck 25 whip. 30 strikeouts, that's good. Nine walks, though, and then two home runs. But in his eight save situations. The 087 ERA, 107 whip, you'd like that to get down a little bit, 18 strikeouts, one walk, one home run. Okay, that is enough to me to say you could just flip-flop them.
But I think the greater point is maybe we need to think about promoting Chris and all of this, Chris Murphy, to make sure he gets a role that makes more sense. I think if there's some combination of Dominguez and Murphy there, you're looking at a better opportunity for both.
Yeah, I think looking at them for the sixth, seventh inning, but I think eighth and ninth inning should be pretty straightforward at this point. Brian Hudson should be your eighth inning guy, and then it should be Grant Taylor in the ninth, as long as Grant Taylor doesn't continue to blow saves. Because guess what?
He did have a blown save yesterday when he gave up those three runs in the seventh inning.
I mean, when you get two blown saves in a game, you were lucky you hit your way out of it to win the ball game. There's no doubt. Lucky. And that's when it ended up happening. Now, I did like what Sam Antonacci had to say. I think typically we're all going to focus on the bullpen and be like, well, you guys got out of this. But then Sam Antonacci is like, bump that.
Here's what he said to Brooke Fletcher last night after the game.
It's a team sport. If... If you're mad about giving up two runs on the ninth, take your ass to go play tennis or play an individual sport. So this is a team sport. We got guys back, and we're just trying to keep the train moving.
How dare you say that? With this win, you're now tied with the Guardians in the AL Central in first place. How important was this win tonight just to set the tone for this homestand?
It's not important.
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Chapter 6: How do Domínguez's statistics compare in save vs. non-save situations?
It's all baseball. We're just going out there and playing to the best of our abilities, and we know we've got a good chance to win each and every night, and we're not really looking at numbers. We're just looking at if we win or lose.
He said the right things. Sam Antonacci does not care. Serena Williams would like a word. Isn't she trying to get back into Wimbledon? That happened.
Well, yeah, she's got a wild card spot. She's going to make her return in her 40s, both in doubles and in singles.
That's the matchup we need. Serena versus Antonacci.
No, no, no. We don't need that. Don't need Antonacci losing confidence because Serena starts pounding him with serves.
Serena's like, take that about tennis!
But he's right. He's right. So here's what's great about that answer. The front half of that answer was the entertaining, quintessential Sam Antonacci, this is who we are part. But the back half of the answer was more important because he's got the perfect attitude. And I think this White Sox team... And Mass has the perfect attitude because you can't sit here and rest on your laurels ever.
Yeah, you got to win over the Guardians. It's a good thing. Now go do it again.
Repeat. That's why I'm not mad at Will Venable bunting at times. And I'm not mad at them trying to manufacture offense and learn all the different ways as a team. They need to be able to do that and have that trust in their arsenal and
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Chapter 7: What strategies are suggested for improving the bullpen's effectiveness?
as to what they can do to try to get a win. You don't always have to hit your way out. You don't always have to three true outcomes your way out of this. I just talked about his broken bat single. Run your butt off to first to get out of it, which he does. And the beauty of it is they don't care because they've got enough run support.
They've got enough protection in this lineup to be able to do it. We just talked about Randall Gritchick just rolls in and pinch hit home runs. This is not, as we know, this is not as freely achieved in baseball this year and on the other side of town.
So I'm going to appreciate this when I see it out of this team because they're able to back it up with enough offense to make sure something happens.
Do you feel like the offense from the White Sox is going to be okay between now and the time Munataka Murakami comes back? Because you do have the seven games with the Guardians. You're 1-0 so far against the Guardians, but you've got the seven games.
I mean, the question now becomes, can Kyle Teal come in and contribute in a way that we expected him to before he got injured, right? That becomes the crux in all of this. So that in and of itself, when you can ask the question about another guy getting back and he's going to be able to produce or you expect him to, and that the lineup is still producing around him,
I'd feel a lot more comfortable if Kyle Teal was, I don't know, batting sixth or seventh in the lineup to start. I get it. He had a very productive trip to AAA on his way back from a rehab assignment, but he looked...
frankly overmatched in game one and you have him in the cleanup spot and it feels like there's other guys that maybe can help him ease into this it's not unlike and i know this is a very crosstown comparison but it's not unlike alex bregman it's not like i don't think alex bregman can hit but why put him in this two hole when you can move him down and just have him be productive in another part and get more comfortable and have less high stake at bats
Yeah, I think, well, and fewer at-bats, total. You know, that's part of it, too. I think if I had to guess, maybe Will Venable wanted to show a gesture of, you did not lose every aspect of your job to injury. Like, we're going to put you back where we expect you to be. But unfortunately, it takes some time to also get back, especially when he had that setback.
We saw Brook Fletcher had that report about him changing his spikes, too. He moved to plastic instead of metal because the metal's where he got hung up. But, I mean, this is also, by the way, all this was done against one of the best closers in the game right now in Cade Smith.
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Chapter 8: How does the team's overall performance impact their playoff chances?
And that's fine. And I just think, to your point, what you just said about Will Venable, maybe you wanted to say, hey, you didn't lose yours. No, Will Venable, your catcher position stinks. Just having him in the lineup lets it... He knows, he sees what... Sergio Romo's doing, he sees not only that, but he also sees... What Edgar Carroll got done to him. He got sent down.
He knows what his role is on this team. He's a starting catcher.
That said more to me than anything. The fact that Edgar Carroll didn't get sat. Edgar Carroll got deliberately sent back down to the minors.
I think he needs every day at bats to get his act together.
I do, too. But I think that also kind of... It's a referendum on what you understood the Sox catching depth to be. You know, we talk a lot about how you can never have too many arms and... They're good at finding catching talent, but maybe it's not enough to be able to flip or to be able to use it in some sort of trade if they need it.
I still don't think they need to be trading right now at the deadline. Just hold your guys. You probably can't get much from Sir Anthony Dominguez if he's throwing like this.
Wait, wait. You don't think they should get more arms, though?
I don't know. I'm still in the mood of hold.
They need more arms or they're not going to win the division.
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