By now, one would like to think White Sox No. 1 starter Lucas Giolito has cemented his status as an ace. Dallas Keuchel and Lance Lynn have walked in those shoes before. Dylan Cease has obvious gifts, if not a track record to speak for them.
And that Carlos Rodon fellow? He can be kind of good, too. You know, if a no-hitter counts for anything.
Just how good is this Sox rotation? That led things off in this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter.
We also asked about the Cubs’ monumentally struggling offense, certainly a less-pleasant subject. And we asked — just for fun — which would be the biggest dream experience for a sports fan: to belt three roundtrippers, light the lamp three times or mess around and get a triple-double.
Commented @fuduran, “Hat trick: 99.9% certainty your team will win. Three homers: 85%-ish. Triple-double: 51%?”
Your guesses are as scientific as ours. On to the polls:
Poll No. 1: In the wake of Carlos Rodon’s no-hitter, which best captures your take on the White Sox’ pitching rotation?
Upshot: Clearly, respondents are riding the brakes a bit. But Giolito spun a gem his last time out. Lynn already has a shutout under his belt. Rodon one-upped both of them. This is a rotation that has enviable balance, with three righties and two lefties and an array of individual pitch arsenals. The ceiling for this group is World Series-caliber high, which doesn’t guarantee a thing about how it’ll all play out.
Poll No. 2: In light of their futility at the plate thus far, which best captures your take on the Cubs’ offense?
Upshot: Small sample size, only two weeks, “that’s baseball” — line up the excuses and the apologist rationalizations. Fact is, these Cubs are going where almost no collection of Cubs hitters has gone before. Yes, in a bad way. If the bats don’t come around soon, a negative storyline will set in earlier and louder than it has with any Cubs team in memory. Hey, no pressure.
Poll No. 3: For one night, you’re a superstar. Which accomplishment are you picking?
Upshot: “I don’t watch baseball,” wrote @Jbird_H. “But I’d like to smash three dingers in a game, thank you.” It doesn’t sound so bad at all. Then again, some of us have never donned ice skates. Some of us peaked on the diamond at, oh, 11 or so. Some of us were 6-3 entering high school and, dang it, why did we only get wider, but not a millimeter taller, from there? But we digress.
