Buy Me Some Peanuts and Cracker Jack

 March 26, 2021

Baseball’s opening day is less than a week away. I have never been more excited about a White Sox season. My optimism was tempered by the season ending injury to Eloy Jimenez. After appearing in 177 games, he was looking to become one of the game’s most prolific sluggers. I have always made predictions that have been wrong due to injuries, which are a part of the game. This is far worse than Kyle Schwarber missing the 2016 season. He came back and was a big contributor to the Cubs' post-season success.

Last year the White Sox led the league in home runs, slugging percentage and were second to the Yankees in runs scored. This will be hard to top without Jimenez in the middle of the
line-up. However, the Sox have many other hitters to score enough runs for their pitchers. Tim Anderson is the catalyst of this team.  Anderson, who missed time on the DL, finished second in batting average and led the league in runs scored. He is capable of showing more power. The Sox also have MVP Jose Abreu. There are two players to watch who can pick up the void left by Jimenez. Yoan Moncado was plagued with the virus last year. Sox fans hope he returns to 2019 form when he was the team’s best hitter, including 26 home runs. Phenom Luis Robert is just scratching the surface. He should get better and better as the season progresses and has massive power.

The White Sox traded for starting pitcher Lance Lynn, solidifying their starting rotation. He joins Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel, all of whom received votes for the Cy Young award. Fourth starter Dylan Cease has the stuff and just needs more command to become really good. Carlos Rodon is healthy and has had a nice camp. Projected future starters Michael Kopech and Garrett Crochet have been added to one of baseball’s best bullpens. The Sox acquired the top closer, Liam Hendricks, who will be set up by Aaron Bummer, one of the best left-handed relievers around.

The White Sox’ new manager is Hall-of Famer Tony LaRussa. Some people were not happy with this choice.  However, I guarantee he will be much more strategically sound than previous manager Ricky Renteria. You can see this in exhibitions with Abreu batting third instead of fourth.  All they need to do is hire a personal chauffeur.

The best thing going for the Cubs is that they play in baseball’s worst division. The winner of this division will have a season where everything goes right. This being the case, the Cubs may wind up in the playoffs.

For the Cubs to be successful, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant have to hit much better than last year. The rest of the team looks more solid than at the start of last year. Centerfielder Ian Happ had a breakout season. He will give the Cubs the lead-off hitter they’ve been looking for since Dexter Fowler. Justin Heyward, although not the player the Cubs were envisioning, has put together his best seasons as a Cub. Catcher Wilson Contreras had an up and down year. The Cubs will need more consistency, especially now that they have lost back-up Victor Caratini. Free agent, Joc Pederson may have a little less power but will strike out less than Schwarber. Just like Schwarber, he hasn’t proven he can hit left-handed pitching, but he’ll get  a chance. Make no mistake about it, if the three core players don’t rebound, the Cubs won’t make it to the post-season.

The Cubs’ pitching staff always was the best in the division, now it is just mediocre. Number one starter Kyle Hendricks continues to be an elite pitcher. There is nothing flashy, he just gets outs. The Cubs traded for Zach Davies, who has been pretty good but not in the same category as Yu Darvish. After that it’s a crapshoot. Jake Arrieta will try to resurrect his career. Trevor Williams is a big question mark, as is Adbert Alzolay. If any of these falter, Alec Mills will step in. The Cubs once again will turn to Craig Kimbrel as their closer. He seemed to regain his fastball and was good in the second half of last year. Getting to him may be a problem. Brandon Workman, Rowan Wick are possible set-up men. They also brought back Pedro Strop.

Tom Ricketts believes he has a free pass with Cub fans after winning the 2016 World Series. Now it’s just about the money. He has a plethora of players on one year contracts. The Cubs traded away their best pitcher to cut costs. Ricketts talks about “biblical losses” and it’s been said that even if Rizzo, Baez and Bryant have career years, they would not be able to afford to resign all three. This is laughable as the Cubs are worth $3.2 BILLION. Even if the Cubs incur a luxury tax fine, this is pocket change for the Ricketts.