It Can't Get Much Worse

 

August 29, 2022

Losing series to the Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals and Arizona Diamondbacks the White Sox (63-65) are five games back of the Cleveland Guardians. For all intents and purposes the season is all but over. The Sox have been one of the most disappointing teams of my lifetime. Sox fans have a right to be angry including yours truly. What went wrong? Here’s hoping I can answer that.

What was supposed a powerhouse team, the Sox are 27^th   in Home Runs. They have played 50 games by two or less runs. If they were in the middle of the pack, they would be 5 games up in first. This team doesn’t walk either. Most balls in play are ground ball outs.

The Sox are the worst defensive team in baseball. Their fielding percentage would be even worse if not for gift hits by scorekeepers. This what you get when you have first basemen playing the outfield or playing Eloy Jimenez in left. The only players above average are Luis Robert in center, Josh Harrison at second and Yoan Moncada at third.

The Sox at the top of the league in runners thrown out on the bases. Third base coach Joel McEwing sends runners home with no chance of scoring. Tony LaRussa likes his aggressiveness I like aggressiveness but these are this just stupid decisions. Sox runners also never seem to look at defensive positioning affecting their decision making on the base paths.

Sox come out flat and with no fire. This is a direct reflection on curmudgeon manager Tony LaRussa. He   continues to make mistakes. The only time his seems to have fire is in confrontations with reporters in post-game press conferences.

The Chicago Cubs (55-73) have been out of contention since April. However, there is reason for optimism on the North Siders. Since August 5^th   the Cubs are 13-10. Playing well the rest of the year should build confidence heading into next year.

Cub starting pitching has been very good in this stretch. Justin Steele has become one the best left-handers in baseball and should anchor this rotation for yours to come. He will be joined by Keegan Thompson and both can be better next year. Drew Smyly has been surprisingly outstanding and may be pitching himself to be in next year’s rotation. Free agent signee, Marcus Stroman has been a major disappointment and Kyle Hendricks is out for the year. Many pitchers are getting the chance to audition for jobs in 2023. President Jed Hoyer promised the Cubs would be signing free agents. However, the pitching is slim pickings.

The Cubs have to lock up All-Star Ian Happ and shortstop Nico Hoerner and dip into free agency. There is one free agent player who could make your team an instant contender. However, I don’t the Cubs will be in the Aaron Judge sweepstakes. The more intriguing possibility is getting Boston shortstop Xander. Boggaerts and moving Hoerner to second base. The Cubs have many other needs but I don’t think there is very good crop of free agents. The Cubs have a stacked farm system with many players auditioning to see if they can make the team next year Don’t be surprised if the Cubs resign Willson Contreras. This may make fans happy but doesn’t make the team better.