Cubs, White Sox Pitching Problems

  May 28, 2019

After stumbling in the beginning of the season, the Chicago Cubs were the hottest team in baseball. Recently things are not running as smoothly. The Cubs have lost 8 of their last 13 and their first place lead has shrunk to the smallest of margins. What has happened to this team whom many people thought would play a big part inn the post season?

The pitching has been awful.  Jon Lester and Cole Hamels are giving up runs in bunches. Neither has made it past the fourth inning in their las two starts. The usually steady Kyle Hendricks has lasted only 6 and 5.2 innings in his last two starts. Jose Quintana hasn’t lasted seven innings since April 23. The enigma that is Yu Darvish , seems to be improving. He couldn’t get any worse. In his last outing he pitched a season high seven innings. With so few innings. Cub starters are taxing already suspect relievers. The imminent return of Pedro Strop should help a beleaguered bullpen which leads the league with eleven blown saves. The only positive is Tyler Chatwood’s resurgence. He has overcome his wildness and is becoming the pitcher the Cubs thought he would be.

Thank goodness the Cubs are hitting or they could have been in real trouble. Antony Rizzo is having an excellent year, with clutch home runs and RBI. Javier Baez s picking up from last year but still has to cut down on his strikeouts (He had five Monday in Houston).  Wilson Contreras could be the come-back player of the year. Kris Bryant was putting up MVP caliber numbers but is now injured.

Cub Manager Joe Maddon must be insane to have a good defensive third baseman Bryant, playing in right field. This is not hindsight by the fact he got hurt. What was essentially accomplished by this move was removing Albert Almora Jr. and starting light hitting Daniel Descalso . Bryant, probably the Cubs best player gets hurt in an outfield collision. His injury last year was a major reason why the Milwaukee Brewers tied the Cubs for the division. It is too early to panic. There are plenty of games left and the Cubs, who excel in walk off wins should turn it around. Cub fans, are you ready for the Jim Adduci era?

Lucas Giolito is the best player that has come during the rebuild. He looks like the player that was once the number three overall prospect. He is 6-1 and his 2.77 ERA is fifth in the league. Over his last four games his ERA is 129. In a rarity these days, he threw a complete game four hit shut-out against the Houston Astros. He is worth watching.

So much for the good news. The White Sox just completed one of the hardest road trip any team will face this year against first place teams, the Houston Astros(4 and Minnesota Twins (3).) After losing the first two the Sox gained a split winning game three, which featured a triple play and game four, the Giolito gem. Next series is against the Twins who have the best offense in the league. The Sox led in the first game 4-1. Before the Twins scored 10 more and the carnage continued as the Twin scored 15 runs in the next two games to sweep the series. 

No depth in pitching became a real problem when fifth starter Manny Banuelos got injured. The Sox were forced to use all relievers in game one in Houston. The only positive was they gave up only 3 runs, a vast improvement over Banuelos, however they still lost this game. Banuelos and fourth starter Dylan Covey area combined 2-8. The Sox are a .500 team when they don’t pitch. They should be much improved next year if Michael Kopech and Dylan Cease live up to expectations. The Sox should also make a big push to acquire free agent Gerrit Cole.

At the top of I have seen enough list, is Welington Castillo.  With the emergence of James McCann, he should hardly ever play.  Either catching prospect in AAA ball would a better back-up and gain great experience. Number two is Yonder Alonso. Danny Polka is hitting well with Charlotte Knights and should be given another shot. He can also replace Ryan Gordell in right field. Number three is Manager Ricky Renteria. His insistence on batting Alonso fourth is maddening. Last year he couldn’t wait to bring in an ineffective Nate Jones to blow games. This year Kelvin Herrara keeps coming in games when he hasn’t got anybody out since he hurt his back. There are a couple of better relief pitchers to form a bridge to closer Alex Colome. I have no faith that Renteria figures this out any time soon.  Colome has been excellent. I hope he won’t be traded for prospects.

Here’s hoping the White Sox continue to improve. Maybe we get a glimpse of the future with Luis Robert in center field and Dylan Cease pitching. Either in the near future or at least by September.

N.L. Player of the month – Josh Bell Pittsburgh

A.L.Player of the month – Lucas Giolito  White Sox