The Whie Sox, with today’s loss to the Astros, have been officially eliminated from the playoffs, sitting 38.5 games out of a wild-card spot with 38 games left to play.
That’s a relief. I was afraid the Nationals might have to face them in the World Series.
The Sox are currently at 30-94 (.242), which is a pace for 39-123. They beat the Astros this past Friday, but lost again yesterday (Saturday).
At this point, their “best” batter is still Luis Robert Jr.; an All-Star last year, Robert Jr. has only played in 67 games (due to a hip injury which cost him two months), hitting .212 (OBP .271, SLG .421), for a 0.6 bWAR. Next is rookie middle infielder Brooks Baldwin, who was called up a month ago; he’s only hitting .205, but appears to be fielding well, and has generated a 0.3 bWAR in 25 games.
Only four other batters on the Sox’s current active roster have a positive bWAR, and as a team, they have a collective bWAR of -6.5. 
Lost again today, though technically it doesn’t change their pace to 39 wins.
Wow, how many teams in the playoff era have been eliminated by August 17th? I’m thinking just one.
You would be correct.
I can’t help but root for the White Sox to put together some wins and not have the worst record of the 162 game era. At least the '62 Mets had an excuse.
The Sox have lost to the Giants yesterday and today, dropping to 30-97. They’re likely to be at 100 losses before the end of the week.
So they need to lose 123, I think. Puts the ‘magic’ number at 26? Do I have that right - in a negative sense?
Regarding the 1962 Mets: they finished with a record of 40-120-1. Or 40-120.
On Sunday, September 9, the Mets were playing in Houston. Timewise, it was a long game, and it was tied 7-7 after 8 innings. Because of a Sunday curfew law, no new innings could be started, so the game was postponed and was to be continued at a later date.
That later date was the following week in New York. Because of prior rainouts and this continued game, the teams were scheduled to play 3 consecutive doubleheaders on September 18, 19, and 20. The first and third doubleheaders were played as scheduled, but the second one was rained out. Unsurprisingly, those two games were not rescheduled. Thus, the Mets played 160 games, plus 8 innings of another game which counted for individual stats but not in the standings.
One more anomaly for that season: the Giants and Dodgers finished tied for the NL crown, so they played a 3-game playoff. The Giants won that playoff 2 games to 1, and finished with a record of 103-62. Thus, almost every team in the league finished with a record that was x + 1/2 games behind the leader. The Mets, for instance, finished 60 1/2 games behind San Francisco.
Correct. As I just described, they would need to lose (at least) 3 more games than the 1962 Mets. If they lose 123, they win 39, one fewer than the Mets.
They currently have 93 losses. So, yes, the ‘negative magic number’ is 26 more losses.
If they win 41 games, they’re better than the 1962 Mets. They would still have more losses, but more wins, and a higher winning percentage.
If they win 40, they’re worse. That would make them 40-122, so the same number of wins, but more losses, and a lower winning percentage.
ChiSox scored 4 in the ninth today and beat the Giants 6-2. That’s 31 wins and still on a pace to win 39.
Negative magic number is still 26.
Dammit, they’re verging on improving from abysmal to terrible.
They had the day off yesterday, so their winning streak is still intact.
They host the Tigers this weekend in a 4-game series.
Well, you know what they say. You can’t lose 'em all.
The Sox lost to Detroit tonight, 5-2. Chris Flexen was the Sox’s starter, though the loss went to the bullpen; however, it was the 19th straight start by Flexen which the Sox have lost, tying the MLB record.
Chicago is now 31-98, still on pace for a 39-123 record.
Another loss to the Tigers tonight, this time 13-4. The Sox got 12 hits, but when your pitchers give up 9 runs in the first four innings, you’re going to be hard-pressed to win that game.
Record is now 31-99, still on a 39-123 pace. If the Tigers complete the series sweep tomorrow, that’ll be the Sox’s 100th loss.
Loss #100 this afternoon, at the hands of the Tigers. 31-100, .237 winning percentage; projected out to 162 games, they’re now down to 38-124.
Too late to add: this makes the Sox the second-fastest team to 100 losses in baseball’s modern era, behind the 1916 Philadelphia A’s, which were 29-100-1 when they reached the milestone (they finished 36-117-1).
Also, the Sox, as one of the most futile teams in baseball history, are likely to shatter several franchise records: