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?
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
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