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Chicago White Sox vs. Chicago Cubs Series Preview

By Patrick Sheldon

CHICAGO, IL - JULY 27: Kyle Schwarber #12 of the Chicago Cubs slides safely into third base with a triple as Matt Davidson #24 of the Chicago White Sox takes the late throw during the sixth inning on July 27, 2017 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - JULY 27: Kyle Schwarber #12 of the Chicago Cubs slides safely into third base with a triple as Matt Davidson #24 of the Chicago White Sox takes the late throw during the sixth inning on July 27, 2017 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images) /
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Chicago White Sox
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Morale Builder for the White Sox

The Chicago White Sox entered the year with fairly low expectations. It’s no secret that they are in the midst of a rebuild, and realistically they were not going to be competitive this season. However, this season was never going to be judged by wins. Rather, the team will evaluate the season by how their young players develop.

In addition to player development, there are other things you hope to see from a young team in a rebuilding year. Specifically, you want them to learn how to win, even if the results don’t actually produce wins. A young team like the White Sox can benefit from being in close games, in a hostile environment. It will provide them experience in those situations that they can leverage in a couple of years when they are expected to compete. However, for morale purposes, it would be nice if the Sox could steal a couple of those games. So far this season, that has not been the case.

The White Sox have lost their fair share of close games. Even more discouraging, they have seemingly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on a number of occasions. A prime example of this was James Shields‘ most recent outing. Shields took a “no-hitter” into the seventh inning against the Minnesota Twins, but the White Sox would eventually lose the game 5-3. Those types of losses are demoralizing for a team.

However, the White Sox got a dose of good news this week. On Monday, Danny Farquhar was released from the hospital after suffering a brain hemorrhage on April 20th. While Farquhar will not pitch again in 2018, his doctors fully expect him to pitch again in the future. His release will certainly be a huge boost to the White Sox spirits, who could find themselves playing with a little more inspiration this weekend.

If the Chicago White Sox can go into Wrigley Field this weekend and take two out of three, it will be more than just a boost to morale. It could also serve as validation that the team’s azimuth is pointed in the right direction. As noted above, fans knew wins were going to be few and far between this year. However, if they can’t steal a few noteworthy wins, perhaps some doubt begins to creep in about the rebuild. A series win against the Cubs could help the White Sox believe in themselves again. It would also be an invaluable building block for a team learning how to win in the big leagues.

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