Ostrowski: It's OK for White Sox fans to be excited
Be happy White Sox fans. You're allowed. You deserve it. After all, you've endured a record of 62 games below .500 over the preview three seasons.
Right now you're hearing soft schedule. Probably. Small sample size. So what. This is the Sox best start in 34 years.
When the Sox were talking about a fast start, we didn't hear about easy opponents. The narrative was it would be tough with a road heavy schedule. Ten of their first 12 games have been away from the south side.
Take a look at the top of the National League. All of the Nationals opponents were at least 20 games below .500 in 2015; Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Miami. The Cubs have faced the Rockies, Reds, and Diamondbacks without A.J. Pollock. We haven't heard much about those schedules.
The White Sox swept Minnesota, who was winning ahead of schedule with a young core. They split with Cleveland; a trendy pick in the AL Central. Even Sports Illustrated MLB writer Albert Chen picked the Indians to win the World Series. There isn't an argument for Oakland. They're an awful club that should live in the basement of the AL West.
There's been some luck on the Sox side. They missed Rays ace pitcher Chris Archer and Indians opening day starter Corey Kluber. Chances are that we'll look back and point out that it was a good thing the White Sox played a few of the Twins games in April.
After the first three series, White Sox starters have an AL-best 2.75 ERA and the relievers a 1.11 ERA, best in baseball. Two times through the starting staff, the third and fourth starters have been the most dominant pitchers. Carlos Rodon and Mat Latos have allowed only three earned runs in 25 innings.
These two starters will make or break the White Sox rotation.
So far, Rodon has been able to rely more on his fastball and less on his slider than a year ago. According to Pitch f/x data, he has increased his two-seam fastball usage by 35.3 percent. The White Sox biggest concern continues to be Rodon's walks, which haven't decreased.
In Latos' small sample size, he is striking out less batters. However, hitters have chased his pitches outside of the strike zone, which has led to significantly less line drives to the opposite field.
Adam Eaton has made the biggest impact on offense.
The leadoff man's on-base and slugging percentages are both up over 300 points from this time a year ago.
The White Sox have already turned the tables on the Twins after going 6-13 against Minnesota last season. You'll have to wait until late-May to see if they can do the same to the Royals.
• Joe Ostrowski is a co-host of the "Hit & Run" baseball show from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on WSCR 670-AM The Score with Barry Rozner. Follow him on Twitter@JoeO670.