Playoffs for the Cubs and welcome to Chicago Eloy

March 22, 2019

Opening day is right around the corner, so it’s time to make some observations about the upcoming season for Chicago’s boys of summer.

PECOTA, sometimes referred to as the Baseball Prospectus, predicts the win totals of each team. They pegged the Chicago Cubs to win only 81 games. If I were a betting man, I would take the over. After all, this was a team that won 95 games las year despite injuries. All-star third baseman Kris Bryant’s injury caused him to miss 60 games. Closer Brandon Morrow had 22 first -half saves but missed the whole second half of the season. His replacement Pedro Strop, was also injured, missing the last 2 weeks of the season. Without the injuries, the Cubs would have added a few more wins and wouldn’t have been caught by the Milwaukee Brewers in the last weekend of the season.

If the Cubs avoid injuries, chances are they will make the post season. Other teams in the division supposedly got better with trades and free agents. The Cubs didn’t make any major moves but are better off than last year. The starting pitching staff will have a rejuvenated Cole Hamels to start the season. Yu Darvish seems to be ready to go. No other team in the National League has a better 1-5 rotation. Morrow will be out until May. Last year, Strop filled and did excellent job in the closer role. The Cubs play great defense, which greatly helps out the pitchers. The outfield is led by Gold Glove recipient Jason Heyward, who makes difficult plays look easy. The corner infielders Bryant and Anthony Rizzo are very good and whether at shortstop or second base Javier Baez is spectacular. Wilson Contreras is probably the best defensive catcher in baseball

Last year, the Cubs Achilles heel was the offensive inconsistency. They would score nine runs and the next game score one or no runs. This seemed to occur more often after Bryant’s injury, Healthy, Bryant looks ready to return to form. Batting behind him is the steady Rizzo, followed by MVP runner-up .Baez. Center fielder, Albert Almora is great defensively and should be more consistent as a lead-off hitter.

NL Centrai                       East                       West

CUBS                         Washington            Los Angeles

Milwaukee               New York                Colorado

St. Louis                   Philadelphia             Arizona

Cincinnati                Atlanta                      San Diego

Pittsburgh               Miami                        San Francisco

The buzz surrounding the White Sox is the contract agreement with  top prospect Eloy Jimenez Most observers thought he would start the season at AAA and the Sox would call him up at the end of April to add a seventh year of contract control. Instead they signed him to a six year contract for $43 million, with team options for two more years. This is one of the best moves they have made in ages. If he is as  good as projected this will turn out to be a bargain. Not since Hall of Famer Frank Thomas have I have been this excited about a rookie. He will play left field, unseating Nicky Delmonico. Delmonico came up from AAA as a third baseman, converted to left field. The Sox should put him back at third base and move Yoan Moncada back to second base to replace the woeful Yolmer Sanchez.

I thought I was seeing improvement when last August the Sox had a won -lost record of 17-11. They were the only team that had a winning record against the Boston Red Sox (4-2). They followed that up going 8-20 in September, losing their last 5 games to reach 100 losses.,

After winning only 62 games, the rebuild has to show signs of life. I am not saying they will be competitive, they just have to better- something of a balance between the last two months of 2018. Fans should hope the three young starting pitchers Carlos Rodon, Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito show improvement.  With the addition of Dylan Cease and next year Michael Kopech, this could make up a nice five- man rotation.  Here are some other reasons to watch this year:

 -To see if Jimenez is as good as advertised

 -Yoan Moncada showed flashes of skills befitting a number one prospect I am expecting big things       from him this year.

- It would be nice to see Jose Abreu stay healthy and return to the dangerous hitter he was prior to        last year

- Daniel Palka , with really good exit velocity, led all rookies with 27 home runs and should improve.

-Shortstop Tim Anderson improved his fielding toward the end of last year and hit 20 home runs and    stole 20 bases I expect him to increase each total to 25

 -The bullpen, the source of many woes last year, should be much better with the additions of Alex         Colome and Kelvin Herrera

- It should be only a matter of time before manager Ricky Renteria stops using Nate Jones

- The Sox did not get Manny Machado but got his brother-in-law Yonder Alonso a 20- home run           hitter who can rotate with Abreu between first base and designated hitter.

Trying to be as positive I can, I am hoping the Sox can win 76 games, I think by September you’ll have more clues as to the future of this team. In the category of some things never change…

Al Central                        East                      West

Cleveland                  Boston                   Houston

Minnesota                 New York               Oakland

WHITE SOX            Tampa Bay            Seattle

Kansas City               Toronto                   Anaheim/Los Angeles

Detroit                       Baltimore                Texas

Opening Day is Not Far Away

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March 2, 2019

With the dismal seasons the Chicago Blackhawks and Bulls are having I’m glad baseball is back. This is the time of year when hope springs eternal. I have positive vibes for both the Cubs and White Sox. I can’t wait for spring training exhibitions games to end. Then I’ll be able to see if my optimism is well-founded.

I have been telling people that if the White Sox signed Manny Machado I would fall off my chair. However, they once again operated like a small-market team. It was well known that Machado wanted $300 million for 10 years. The Sox cockamamie offer was $250 million for eight years with bonuses, which if achieved would net the difference.

Machado wanted the guaranteed money. If the Sox really wanted Machado, they should have offered the contract that he was looking for. Instead they thought the signing of his brother-in-law Yonder Alonso and good friend Jon Jay would entice him to sign.

However, one thing you can bet on in professional sports is that it’s all about the money. So when the San Diego Padres offered what he was looking for, Machado signed on the dotted line. It would have been nice to see Machado in hitter-friendly Sox Park (I hate the name Guaranteed Rate Field) and he’ll probably adjust to the spacious Petco Park.

Although there are a couple of decent pitchers who are free agents, the White Sox should stay
the course of the rebuild. This year the three starters should develop and make this team better. Next year you add Michael Kopech and Dylan Cease, who are probably better then free agent pitchers still not signed. In 2020 the White Sox should be contenders for the World Series.

The big news surrounding the Cubs is next year’s launch of their own network. Is anybody bothered by the fact that they are working with ultra-right Sinclair Broadcast Network to help with distribution? I’m really not sure how this works. No matter the cost, most Cub fans in my community would gladly fork over the money to watch their beloved Cubbies. Will it be sold to cable companies increasing the cost to cable subscribers? They also need to come up with winter programming. Will it be replays of Cub games or highlights of the 2016 season ad 
nauseam?

Addison Russell was booed in his first appearance in a Cub uniform. This will probably occur when he returns from a 40-game suspension. Why do the Cubs insist on keeping a wife abuser on the roster? He’s not better at shortstop than Javier Baez. If Russell does return, Baez moves to second base. The previous second baseman is probably better offensively than Russell.

Kris Bryant has stop carping about slow free agency. He should concentrate on returning to form. If he does, then in 3 years when is a free agent he will become one the highest paid players.

Extra Innings – Baseball is trying implement rules to speed up the games. One of the beauties of baseball,  it’s the only sport with no clock. Therefore, the 20 second clock for pitchers to throw is ridiculous. This will never come to pass based on initial player reaction. Managers don’t like the proposal of relievers pitching to a minimum of three batters. This causes them to think more about match-ups, not strictly based on the carbon copy righty-lefty strategy, so this will never happen.

Most games last approx. 3 hours and change. This will not change with the proliferation of strikeouts. The replay system has to be revamped so it doesn’t take forever to make a call. For me the way baseball is currently being played is fine by me. The only change I like is the designated hitter in both leagues