Jose Abreu isn't the only one tearing it up for the White Sox after the All-Star break
While we spent a post marveling at Jose Abreu's second-half surge, it's only fair to note what Adam Eaton has been doing since the All-Star break.
He's showing no signs of slowing down as the season winds down, going 4-for-5 with a triple and a double against the Royals on Tuesday night. Accounting for that outburst, Eaton's splits as of today look like this:
- First half: .270/.340/.372
- Second half: .365/.418/.462
Like Abreu, here's a case where his first-half stats would've been acceptable, especially for a first full season interrupted by a couple of injuries ... but he decided to get a jump on the development process and raise his own bar in the same year.
Unlike Abreu, there's a big discrepancy between the two WAR systems. FanGraphs pegs him at 2.2 WAR as of Tuesday, while Baseball-Reference.com more than doubles that number with 4.6 WAR. The difference lies entirely in the evaluation of his defense, but when he can pull off plays like this huge catch on Eric Hosmer's liner ...
... I'm comfortable saying FanGraphs undersells his contributions.
Eaton's flying under the radar right now for a few reasons -- he doesn't dominate any counting or rate stat, and Abreu commands most of the limited amount of attention a losing team receives -- but in a better year for the Sox, I imagine he could be a WAR battleground.
Alas, until Rick Hahn can fill out the rest of the roster, Eaton will be riding in the sidecar of Abreu's motorcycle.
Speaking of which, I want to see Eaton riding in a sidecar of Abreu's motorcycle.
When trying to figure out Chris Sale's Cy Young chances last week, I wrote that he'd probably need three starts to beef up his counting stats. Three reasonably successful starts would put him over the 180-inning mark, and maybe he'd pick up an extra win or three along the way.
But if Robin Ventura's plan holds, Sale will only get two more chances to improve his case.
Manager Robin Ventura said Tuesday that current rotation plans call for Sale to make his final 2014 start in Detroit next week before the White Sox finish at home with a four-game series against the Royals.
"At this point, that's what it looks like," Ventura said. "That he would pitch [Wednesday in Kansas City] and one more in Detroit. And maybe being lined up for the last day, but I don't see him getting rushed in to do that one. It's a long ways away. It can always change."
It's not worth getting too worked up about it right now, but I hope there's room to reconsider if Sale makes it through two starts in fine form. Personal accomplishments are the only things to really get excited about at this point of the season, and moreover, that game against the Royals could very well have postseason implications.
Sale could biff one of these scheduled starts, or the Royals could lock up a spot/fall out of the race, and the whole argument will be moot. I'm just saying, if the game has meaning, if Sale is in fine form, and if he's on regular rest, it'd kinda suck to give somebody else the ball.
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