Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox. (Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
Lucas Giolito and his Chicago White Sox may come across as a bit cocky entering the 2021 MLB season, but they do not really care what you think about them in the slightest.
The Chicago White Sox face lofty expectations this season, and ace pitcher Lucas Giolito knows this. 2021 is the season where the White Sox need to take advantage and push for World Series contention.
Last year’s White Sox team arrived a season early. Their core shined in the 60-game, coronavirus-shortened 2020 MLB season, making the AL postseason for the first time in seasons. But with serious World Series expectations, Giolito offered this about his team potentially coming across as a tad overconfident heading into 2021. “We’re just really, really good, and we know we are.”
The Chicago White Sox need to win the AL Central and get to the 2021 ALCS
Entering the 2021 MLB season, the White Sox are one of eight or so teams that can realistically win the World Series. The good news for the South Siders is they play in the American League, as the National League has at least three juggernauts in the Atlanta Braves, the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. Chicago can totally win the AL.
The White Sox’s biggest competition in the Junior Circuit is arguably the New York Yankees. While teams like the Houston Astros, the Oakland Athletics and even the upstart Toronto Blue Jays could be interesting, the 2021 ALCS will likely pit the White Sox against the Yankees for all the marbles. So what if Giolito and his team come across as cocky? They are good and we know they are good.
If the White Sox are as good as Giolito believes they are, then this team can win the World Series.