White Sox and Cubs June Swoon

 

June 22, 2021

The Chicago White Sox (43-29) continue to lead the American League Central Division, two games ahead of the Cleveland Indians. Things could have been worse if the Indians didn’t lose two game to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates. The only thing that can possibly be worse was the White Sox getting swept in a 4 game series with the Houston Astros.

The Sox were on a roll winning 2 of 3 against a good Toronto Blue Jays team. They swept a 3 game series against the Tigers. This set up a match-up between the teams with the two best records. The Sox became the first team to win a series against the Tampa Bay Rays. They then traveled to Houston where the wheels fell off.  Houston possesses the best offense in baseball. There is not an easy out in their line-up. They pounded a very good White Sox pitching staff. With the exception of Carlos Rodon, no Sox starter made it into the fifth inning. The pitching wasn’t helped by the return of the worst defense in all of baseball.  The Sox continued to lead the league, committing three more errors, didn’t get an out in a run down and let a pop fly drop between three defenders.

To make matters worse, the weakness of the offense has reared its ugly head. Jose Abreu is having the worst June of his career. Last year, he had 19 homers and 60 RBI in 60 games. After collecting 2 hits in the Astro series, he has only 12 homers, though he does have 53 RBI in 72 games. However, he has constantly been getting himself out swinging at bad pitches and leaving multiple runners on base. Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada, the only other proven hitters, are also not hitting. Although he carried the Sox through April, it’s time to pull the plug on Yermin Mercedes. He is on a 0 for his last 21 and has about 4 hits in his last 60 at bats.

The Sox have been pretty resilient all year, playing without key components to their team. It’s only June and they have an easier schedule ahead. I expect them to bounce back. They don’t face the Astros again until mid-July. The Astros are not as good on the road. Are they still finding ways to cheat?

Despite going 2-6 the Cubs (40-33) are tied for first place with the Milwaukee Brewers.  It seems this race will go down to the wire with the Cardinals and Reds also vying for the division title, as there no teams good enough to take control. With the Cubs contending, President Jed Hoyer has some tough decisions to make.

If you are going to try to get to the post season you’ll need a starter or two. Kyle Hendricks is having a decent, but still a down, year and Zach Davies has been inconsistent. Adbert Alzolay will be good but needs more seasoning. Jake Arrieta has become a complete disaster and there is no pitching help on the horizon. The bullpen has been solid. The resurgence of Craig Kimbrel could lead to a deal at the trading deadline.

The Cub bats were worse than awful to start out the season. They picked up steam as the Cubs were one of the hottest teams In May. The bats once again have become silent. Javier Baez has 16 homers and 44 RBI. He also has an on base percentage of .264. He has struck out 95 times in 235 at bats and his slugging percentage has dipped to .460. Kris Bryant was having an MVP type year until June. His average has plummeted to .277. He only has 13 homers and 39 RBI. Anthony Rizzo hasn’t had a major impact on the offense either. These are the free agents that Hoyer has decide to trade or keep. Being in contention, this will be a hard decision. If the Cubs are struggling in July they could trade all three. On the other hand, if they have bad seasons they should be easier to sign. In the long run, due to his versatility, Bryant should be the only one to stick around. There are a myriad of other players not hitting. Ian Happ and Jason Heyward are well below .200. Joc Pederson is hitting .241 with 11 homers and 36 RBI. The guy he replaced, Kyle Schwarber is hitting .241 with 18 homers and 42 RBI.

Since writing this column the Sox have broken a five game losing streak and are 2.5 games up on Cleveland.

The Cubs have dropped 1/2 game behind Milwaukee

White Sox Cubs World Series? Anything Can Happen

 

June 2, 2021

The Chicago White Sox (33-22) continue to lead the American League Central by 2.5 games, ahead of the Cleveland Indians. If Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert had not been injured, they would be running away in this division. Like last year, the White Sox are clobbering inferior opponents, which is why they are 11 games over .500.

What’s surprising is they’re winning games with only a few players who aren’t automatic outs. Tim Anderson is still the catalyst and is playing great defense. Nick Madrigal is not going to get you any power but will give you quality at-bats. Yoan Moncada is looking like the player he was in 2019. The only thing left is to add more power.  Jose Abreu usually has a bad April and this year was excruciatingly painful. However, he has bounced back and once again leads the majors in RBI. The magic of Yermin Mercedes seems to be wearing off. Even so, think back to last year with Edwin Encarnacion batting .150 as the DH. Occasionally they get some help from others but these players make up most of the offense. They also have a major problem with their catchers. I know hitting is down but Yasmani Grandal is hitting .131. He gets on base a lot with walks but was brought in as a run producer. The Sox keep insisting Zach Collins is getting better. The only thing he has proved is that he can’t hit, as his .187 average attests to.

The strength of the Sox is their starting pitching.  Lucas Giolito is coming back after struggling early. Carlos Rodon has had a few bumps but is still third in ERA.  Lance Lynn leads the league in ERA and was an excellent pick-up. I expect Dylan Cease to get better and Dallas Keuchel to get in the groove and induce more ground ball outs. Liam Hendriks is finally becoming the closer he was projected to be. The Sox have a bunch of good arms to bridge the starter to closer gap. One problem is Aaron Bummer, who is having difficulties.

The Sox should get some help with the return of Adam Engel. And they need to play better defensively. However, the major problem is the manager who keeps proving he was a bad choice.

The Chicago Cubs (31-23) are also in first place by the slimmest of margins. They are one of the hottest teams around. After a terrible start they have turned their season around. With the exception of two losses to Cleveland they have won every series in May and just got done sweeping the San Diego Padres.

Entering the season, the biggest question revolved around the pitching. After getting off to a shaky start, Kyle Hendricks is proving once again he is an elite pitcher. Zach Davies may not be Yu Darvish but he’s pretty darn good. The Cubs finally have developed a pitcher, Adbert Alzolay who keeps getting better and better. In two years he could be the ace of the staff. Questions still surround how good Jake Arrieta will be. He started off well but hasn’t been very good as of late. Trevor Williams had his best start before going on the IL. Out of nowhere Kohl Stewart gave them a solid start in a Cub victory. Ryan Tepera and Andrew Chafin lead a group of set-up men to get the ball to Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel has regained the form that made him one the best closers.

Kris Bryant is having an MVP season. He is hitting .317 and has an incredible .996 OPS. Javier Baez leads the team with13 homers. His average may not be spectacular however, He has a .508 slugging percentage. Anthony Rizzo, who is coming back from injury, will add more pop to the line-up. The Cubs have also been hit by the injury bug. Next men up Eric Sogard, Patrick Wisdom and Matt Duffy have all contributed to help the Cubs’ cause.

Prior to this stretch, fans may have been wondering who was going to be traded at the deadline. As of now Cub fans would be up in arms if any of the core are let go. Jed Hoyer should go after another starter to help the Cubs reach the playoffs. The other key is avoiding injuries.