White Sox SP Shane Smith Has Freaky Good Shit

So we're 5 games in to what Vegas predicted was going to be about a 107 loss season or so and they don't look...horrific? At least not yet they don't.   

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS SHIT: 

And yeah, I know what you're thinking: "But wsd, it's been 5 games, the White Sox suck ass and so do you. Fuck off" and at a glance, you'd be correct. It is only 5 games and myself & the White Sox very much still suck ass. We suck loads and loads of ass. 

But the starting arms on the White Sox don't suck ass. They're actually pretty filthy. Notice I didn't say the starting pitchers don't suck ass. That part remains to be seen, in spite of their fun start. The pure arms are there, though. That part isn't my "take" or anything, that's just pure unadulterated fact. 

Take a look for yourself. Here's Shane Smith last night: 

This is physically the best pitch of the season thus far, and there have been about ~8700 pitches thrown far this season (per Grok). 

This didn't COMPLETELY come out of nowhere though. Here he was vs. the Dodgers this Spring: 

That's their A lineup too. Spring training yada yada… don't give a shit. Filth is filth. Let's move on to Davis Martin and Sean Burke: 

Martin Perez also had 9 Ks over 6 in his first start, but he'll be dealt come July, so whatever. The young pups are all that matters right now and ya know what? I'm about to give the White Sox some props. You ready?

KUDOS TO THE CHICAGO WHITE SOX FOR FINDING THOSE GUYS!!!!!  

Hot damn that felt good! Now again…this is ONLY 5 GAMES. There's a whoooooole lot of season for the players to render this blog useless or for the Sox to screw them up because…White Sox. 

I have bitched for years and year and years about how the White Sox don't ever "find guys". Off the top of my head, they've had one legit diamond in the rough that turned into an actual stud for them over the last 10-15 years, Jose Quintana. Every other good player they had they traded for or drafted high. No mid-round picks that turned into 3-4 win players YoY, nothing. 

The largest guaranteed contract the Chicago White Sox have ever doled out is 5 years and $75MM. That ain't changing until at least 2027 when the inevitable labor dispute shakes itself out, if it even does. If you're gonna operate like that as an organization then "finding guys" is an absolute must

Good organizations like the Rays, Brewers, Guardians, etc. do it. The White Sox need to too. It's imperative. 

It feels like just yesterday that I was shoving Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech and a bunch of other MLB pipeline top 100 prospects down your throat, all of which eventually went on to literally shit down mine. I am DYING to get back to that pre-2024 brain. It's tough, considering the relationship between the White Sox and its fanbase is the exact definition of an abusive relationship, but I'll hopefully get there with the help of the guys at the top of this blog + Schultz, Smith, etc. coming later this year or next. 

This is basically a long winded way of saying their scouting dept and player development has sucked ass for years and that I hope it's way different now with Getz and the staff he's assembled. Early results are fun. Is there a gleam of hope? I hope there's some gleams. Love me some gleam. And I know Martin and Burke are Hahn guys, but point remains. The White Sox need to find LOTS of guys with their arm talent…

…But don't get me started on Colson Montgomery right now. Different blog, different day