White Sox

Lance Lynn explains difficult start to Sox' season

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The White Sox have not gotten off to an ideal start following a disappointing 2022 season.

As of this writing, they are 7-17, maintaining the third-worst record in MLB. They own the 22nd-ranked offense and the second-to-worst pitching staff across the league. The White Sox' run differential sits at -34, which is the fifth-worst value in the league.

Starting pitcher Lance Lynn joined A.J. Pierzynski on Foul Territory to talk about the Sox' poor beginning to the season.

"To be honest, we are in the midst of everybody learning a whole new way of going about things in this organization," Lynn said. "Coaches staff and everything. And guys are taking the right steps. The problem is it hasn't clicked. We've been in games against good teams and just didn't finish them. Whether it's losing at the end, not winning in extras, just things like that."

The White Sox started off the season hot. Their starting pitching struggled, but their offense was dominating, topping the league in hits, RBIs and nearly in runs.

In the month of April, however, they rank near the bottom third of the league in every single aforementioned stat category. They own the fifth-worst batting average in third-worst on-base percentage during that time frame, too.

Lynn suggested a culmination of possible factors, but none more glaring than the newness of the coaching staff and the drastic changes in their day-to-day operations.

"The process, the way of going about things, preparing all that, is at a whole new level here," Lynn said. "And that's where we're at right now. We've got guys who are literally trying all new things and learning on the fly. We've got guys who aren't playing up to their caliber, also."

The White Sox have an entirely new staff. They retained three coaches from the previous staff, while Pedro Grifol and his newly hired staff are dominating the new clubhouse.

"A whole new hitting staff came in this offseason. Bench coach, new manager, new everything. There's just a way of going about our day-to-day business that has changed."

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It's not a bad thing, as Lynn construed, it just takes time before things start to click on the field. For right now, guys are buying in and laying down the groundwork to work themselves back up in the division standings and add tallies to the win column.

For Lynn, he understands his play this season has been part of the problem. He currently holds a 7.92 ERA over just 26.1 innings pitched. He's walked a whopping 13 batters over his five starts, too.

"I haven't thrown the ball well," he said. "I've been throwing the ball like s--t, to be honest with you. I've had a couple of decent outings but for the most part, I haven't been myself so far. That's gotta change too, start pitching a little better, go deeper in games, give our bullpen a break. We are absolutely abusing our bullpen, putting them in too many situations early in games and having to cover too many innings."

As Lynn said, one of the White Sox' biggest obstructions, if not the largest, is their bullpen.

In their defense, they have multiple arms serving time on the injured list, including Liam Hendriks, Joe Kelly, Matt Foster and Garrett Crochet. They traded Jose Ruiz, also. The White Sox have added arms to their minor league system and called up characters to help patch the wound.

The White Sox have the third-worst bullpen ERA in baseball, sitting at 6.10. They've also struggled to find a permanent closer in place for Hendriks. Reynaldo López has primarily taken the reigns, and while he's had a few solid outings, he's also pitched some poor ninth innings.

But, they aren't satisfied. They understand the pressure of the situation and are working to bring back the momentum in their favor.

"When you sit there and watch the other team celebrate night in and night out, it's gonna piss you off and it's gonna drive you to do different things and try to be better. And that's where everybody's at right now," Lynn said. 

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