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Dylan Cease was in fine form when the Pale Hose faced off against their bitter rivals under the dome in Houston last week.
He faced 22 Astros batters and mowed down 10 of them, including former brother-in-arms José Abreu. He didn’t deal a walk in his six innings, and gave up just two hits.
With a few games done and in the books, the state of the Sox has come into sharp relief. I say relief, because that’s exactly what the Sox are lacking. Catastrophic collapses by starters Lynn and Kopech (giving up a combined eight home runs in their first two starts) has put a great strain on the Sox bullpen. Position player Hanser Alberto has been called to pitch twice already to preserve some arms.
Luckily, Cease seems to be his old stoic, dependable self. His performance last year was nothing less than stellar, yet this year he set his sights even higher. The race for Cy Young has begun!
2023 South Side Sox Players of the Week
Oscar Colás (February 25-March 2)
Andrew Vaughn (March 3-8)
Carlos Pérez (March 9-16)
Oscar Colás (March 17-22)
Cactus League MVP: Oscar Colás
Dylan Cease (March 30-April 5)
Top 10 MVP Standings
Seby Zavala (25.0)
Dylan Cease (17.9)
Oscar Colás (17.8)
Zach Remillard (16.4)
Hanser Alberto (14.3)
Lucas Giolito (10.3)
Jake Burger (9.9)
Carlos Pérez (8.8)
Andrew Vaughn (8.5)
Melissa Sage-Bollenbach (8.4)
Top 10 Cold Cat Standings
Yasmani Grandal (-19.6)
Michael Kopech (-14.5)
Yoán Moncada (-11.1)
Kendall Graveman (-10.9)
White Sox Offense (-10.0)
Jake Marisnick (-8.9)
Gavin Sheets (-8.3)
Declan Cronin (-8.1)
Tristan Stivors (-7.9)
Joe Kelly (-7.8)
Dylan Cease made his first appearance of what presumably will be a permanent spot in our MVP Top 10 with his weekly win. But Seby Zavala is the story this week as well, barely losing out on both Cactus League MVP and now the first week MVP, sitting with a big lead in total polling through the first week of the season.
Three players who could (should?) eventually slip out of the Cold Cats poll altogether nonetheless see themselves in the three top bad-poll slots so far. Which of Yasmani Grandal, Michael Kopech and Yoán Moncada do you think will not fall fast from this list?
Writer Standings
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With the opening of the regular season, we see the writers list expand — and a lot of records worse than .500! Chrystal O’Keefe finds herself in unfamiliar territory in the middle of the pack, while Indianapolis Field Office partner Joe Resis still sits pretty at the top.
If you’re interested in seeing more of Mitch’s work, or if you’d like to purchase original drawings or prints, contact him via Twitter (@soxsketcher), Instagram (@southsidesharpie), or by e-mail at southsidesharpie@gmail.com. Thanks for supporting local artists!
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