Starting in the month of June,
the White Sox (54-35) were not playing particularly well. However,
winning their last 5 games, the Sox remain on top in the Central Division with
the best record in the American League. The lead has swelled to 8 games
partially due to second place Cleveland having their 3 top pitchers
on the IL and the Minnesota Twins. The lead of this size is
significant because you might go into a mini-slump or a surge by
Cleveland when their pitchers get healthy.
The injury bug continued
when Yasmani Grandal went on the IL July 5. He was the team’s most
productive hitter in June. He stopped waiting for walks and was putting good
swings on the ball. This was the hitter I expected when he signed with the
team. He is expected to be out 4-6 weeks. Since he needed surgery, it is
probably closer to six. However, there is also great news on the injury front.
Eloy Jimenez should be back at the end of the month with Luis Robert two weeks
later. If these two had been healthy the Sox lead would be in double digits.
The all-star break comes at a
great time for Yoan Moncada and Jose Abreu to be rejuvenated and get cooking
for the remainder of the year. At one point I thought the Sox were going to make
a major move acquiring a second baseman at the trade deadline. However,
with the exception of the Pirates’ Adam Frazier, no one has been hotter
than Leury Garcia. Garcia was hitting .226 entering June. His average is up to
.263 and he is tied for second on the team in RBI. The Sox may deal for a
catcher but if the price is right I’d love to have Craig Kimbrel to
solidify the bullpen.
The Cubs (44-46) got
off to a very shaky start, especially with hitting woes. They were the
hottest team in May and it looked like they could make the
playoffs. However, after a combined no-hitter the Cubs lost 11 straight,
are in third place 8 games out.
The Cubs’ problems were evident
at the start of season. Kyle Hendricks leads the league with 11 wins.
Adbert Alzolay shows a lot of promise and looks like he can develop into a stud
starter. The Cubs, in a salary dump, traded Yu Darvish for Zach Davies. Davies
has been good and bad as his 5-6 record and 4.31 ERA attest to. Darvish
is an all-star. The Cubs signed Jake Arietta who hasn’t been good and injury prone for two years. He had some decent starts then became
an unmitigated disaster. They had hoped he could eat up innings, but he
can’t get past the second, most of the time putting the Cubs in a big
hole. They also added Trevor Williams who was awful before getting hurt. The
Cubs bullpen has been better than expected and Craig Kimbrel may be
the best closer in baseball. The problem is you don’t get many save opportunities
if your team is trailing.
I’m
still perplexed about why this team can’t hit. It all starts with the big
three. After a good start, Kris Bryant’s average has dropped to .271 with a
decrease in power. Javier Baez power numbers look good but his average is .235.
He has struck out 115 times in only 290 at bats. Anthony Rizzo has
had a disappointing season hitting only .247 with 10
homers. Their big off-season signing Joc Pedersen, hasn’t added
much to the offense. He is hitting .230 with 11 homers. He replaced Kyle
Schwarber, an all-star hitting .253 with 25 homers and 53 RBI. Hind sight
is 20/20.
With the trade deadline
approaching, the Cubs will be open for business. They can get a lot of good prospects for
Kimbrel and there should be many teams interested. For some reason I see the
New York Yankees going after the versatile Bryant. So as not
to go into full rebuild I think the Cubs keep Baez. Rizzo is a
favorite of GM/President Jed Hoyer so they probably keep him as well.
