Will the Cubs Reach the Playoffs? Will the White Sox Bring Up Luis Robert?

August 19, 2019

Exhibition football games are garbage. Therefore, we’ll talk baseball before delving into Bears related items prior to their next real game.

I know this sounds like a broken record but the Cubs’ struggles on the road continue. They went 4-6 on the road against mediocre competition. I was not paying much attention when the Cubs started the road trip with a four game set against the Cincinnati Reds. Although the Reds aren’t very good, they seem to always cause the Cubs problems. They split the four game series.

The road tour turned into a nightmare when they traveled to Philadelphia to play the Phillies. To illustrate how good the Phillies are, they lost two out of three to the White Sox. The Cubs bullpen is a disaster. In game one they gave up a run in the seventh and eighth innings, wasting a good start by Jose Quintana, losing 4-2. Next night the game was over after Cole Hamels gave up seven runs in the first inning as the Cubs clobbered 11-1. In the ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet department’, game three was the most disheartening of the series. Yu Darvish pitched seven scoreless innings and left the game with a 5-0 lead. The Cubs bullpen gave up one run in the 8^th inning and a Bryce Harper grand slam capped off a six run inning for 7-5 Phillies victory.

The story remained the same against the last place Pittsburgh Pirates as the Cubs blew another save and ended up losing 3-2. Thanks to excellent pitching performances by Jon Lester and Jose

Quintana, the Cubs won the next two games.

The Cubs are now tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for first place. Playing their few games at home should keep them atop the division. However, there are still road games left and they are tied for most road losses in the league with Miami with 39. Even if they reverse their fortunes on the road, they still will be hard pressed to make it to the post season. The Cubs brass knew the bullpen needed fixing at the beginning of the year. Pedro Strop flopped, Carl Edwards Jr. has been traded and Brandon Morrow is not coming back. Not only will manager Joe Maddon be gone, there will more moves needed to keep the Cubs competitive for the next few years

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Who thought Ivan Nova would be the White Sox best pitcher after the all-star break? In his past five starts he is 4-0 with a 0.49 ERA. The White Sox were just looking for someone to eat up innings and he wasn’t considered as a part of the rebuild. If he continues to perform anywhere near this level, the Sox will be forced to have him in the 2020 rotation. This should not preclude them from going after a pitcher via trade or free agency as they have no depth when it comes to starting pitching.  The back end of the bullpen with Aaron Bummer and Alex Colome have been excellent. The Cubs would be running away with their division with this bullpen. Alas, getting them into the game with a lead has been a problem.  I can’t remember the last time Jace Fry retired the first man he faced, usually a left handed batter. His only job is to retire left hand batters. Evan Marshall has reverted to the real Marshall and is currently having problems. The Sox need to look to acquire some set up relievers.

A major positive, it looks like Eloy Jimenez is starting to figure things out. Finally overcoming his latest injury he is stinging the ball. Although his average isn’t where you would like it to be, he still has 22 home runs in only 88 games. Next year should be very exciting with a year of experience under his belt. . The only problem is he is a butcher in left field. He needs to greatly improve or be a designated hitter for the next 15 years.

I see where Luis Robert had another nice night with two homers. I think General Manager Rick Hahn should reward the fans’ patience during the rebuild. Bring him up in September. He is definitely ready and getting some games in against major league pitching should make it easier to start off well next year.

Cubs Road Woes Continue White Sox Woes on the Road and at Home

August 1, 2019

What looked like a promising season has turned into an unmitigated disaster for the White Sox. Since the all-star break they are 4-16. The biggest problem is they aren’t hitting. Then again, they faced some quality pitching. Injuries to Tim Anderson and Eloy Jimenez didn’t help and the offense is not clicking.

Things are looking bleaker with an injury to their best hitter, Yoan Moncada. The only positive is the resurgence of starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez who has a 2.05 ERA in four starts. Lopez, Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease and Michael Kopech make up a good staff for 2020.

What infuriates me the most is General Manager Rick Hahn’s refusal to promote deserving prospects. Last year it was Jimenez; this year it’s Luis Robert. He is better than any outfielder on the current major league roster. I have seen Moncada struggle until he got some experience. Despite 17 home runs, Jimenez is struggling but this experience will help him become the hitter they expect. Therefore, why not get Robert some taste of the major leagues? I also don’t understand the fascination with second baseman, Yomar Sanchez. Hopefully, first round draft pick Nick Madrigal, recently promoted to AAA gets a chance to be the starter next year.

 I could point out mistake after mistake by Manager Ricky Renteria. Since getting burned a couple years ago by a suicide squeeze bunt, Renteria has fallen in love with what is known as a safety squeeze. In the eighth inning of Tuesday’s game against the Mets, down by a run, there were men on second and third and there no outs. So, instead of letting the first batter Leurie Garcia hit, he calls for a safety squeeze.  Garcia misses on the first attempt, falls behind in the count and strikes out.  Next up, Jon Jay, also bunts and pops the ball up. The ball lands but because it was a safety squeeze, the runners stay put and the bases are loaded. Predictably, Jose Abreu grounds into a double play to end the inning.

Abreu has been awful. After being one of the top RBI leaders, he has only 7 since the all-star break. His average continues to plummet and his strikeouts are increasing.  He has consistently failed with runners on base. The problem is his replacement was just drafted and knowing Hahn, he won’t be promoted for at least three years.

 I thought it would be hard to find someone worse than Yonder Alonso, the DH at the beginning of the year. His replacements are worse. A.J. Reed is hitting .150. In 44 official at-bats, he has struck out 21 times. It doesn’t get much better from the right-side. Welington Castillo is hitting .180. This spot has been a hole in the line-up since Jim Thome.

The Cubs recently completed a dismal 3-6 road trip. They limp home competing with the Miami Marlins for the worst road record in the National League. They trail a hot St. Louis Cardinals team by one game. Milwaukee can’t seem to string any wins together and are two games back. Ninety wins may be all it takes to win this tightly contested division.  With 54 games left, the Cubs would have to go 33-21 to reach 90. Of the remaining games, half are road games. If their away game struggles persist, they will not win the division. The wild card may be a possibility but there several teams competing for those spots

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This last trip had some excruciating losses. Bullpen implosions allowed teams to win in their last at bat. The starting pitching has been very good. What I thought was a good bullpen has blown 20 saves. Early season closer, Pedro Strop has been bad. Strop has lost his set-up man role. Carl Edwards Jr. has been traded. They signed premier closer Craig Kimbrel who has been good, not great. There’s always some drama when he comes in to close. One of the most heartbreaking losses was Kimbrel protecting a 10^th inning one run lead against the Milwaukee Brewers.  It only took him three batters to lose the game. It is  not a crime to be taken deep by Chris Yelich tying the game. It is a crime to walk Tyler Saladino. Next batter, Keston Hiura hit a two run, walk-off homer. This was emblematic of the road trip.

The Cubs are also having troubles scoring runs. This belies the numbers they are putting up. Jason Heyward is having his best season as a Cub. Wilson Contreras is having a career year. Anthony Rizzo is on pace to surpass last year’s home runs and RBI totals. Although not the terror he was last year, Javier Baez leads the team with 25 home runs. Kris Bryant was having a good year. However, since his knee injury has just 3 hits in 23 at bats.

This is the time of the year the games become more crucial. The Cubs should be bolstered by the return of Cole Hamels. Bryant getting healthy and returning to form would be a big plus. Acquiring

Nick Castellanos is a good move; Derek Holland is not.

Cubs Love Home Cooking White Sox Fall Flat

July 23, 2019

When you struggle on the road it is imperative that you win a vast majority of your home games. The Cubs began a 9 game home stand after the all-star break. They compiled a very good 7-2 record. They have 36 home wins. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees have more.

 At Wrigley, the Cubs swept a 3 game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In game 1, Pedro Strop coughed up a three run lead but the Cubs scored one run in the 8^th inning to win 4-3. The next two games they pounded Pirate pitching, scoring double digit runs in both games.

Next up were the Cincinnati Reds. In the first game, all-star pitcher Luis Castillo, struck out 10 Cubs as the pesky Reds won 6-3. In his first start in game 2, Alec Mills gave up 3 runs in the first inning. Mills followed with five scoreless innings allowing the Cubs to overcome the deficit.  Kris Bryant’s homer tied the game. Kyle Schwarber’s walk-off homer won the game. Six scoreless innings by Yu Darvish led the Cubs to a 5-2 victory in game 3. The Reds and the Pirates don’t have enough pitching and won’t be a factor in the N.L. Central.

I guess that winning never mattered to Manny Machado when he was a free agent. He chose the last place San Diego Padres. In game 1, even with Anthony Rizzo’s grand slam and a couple of highlight catches by Bryant in left field, the Cubs needed a Padre error to win this game 6-5.  Following this was another 6-5 victory. The best pitched game of the series was from Kyle Hendricks, who left game 3 trailing 2-1. The Cubs never got the chance to bring the tying run up to the plate. The bullpen, especially demoted Carl Edwards Jr., gave up 3 runs in the top of the 9th. Well, you can’t win ‘em all; Cubs lose 5-1.

The key to the Cubs success is there are different heroes every game. The Cubs have 4 players with at least 20 homers.  Three of them are Bryant, Rizzo and Schwarber. Leading the way is Javier Baez who continues to torment pitchers while playing great defense. Speaking of defense, I can’t see a better center-right field combination than Albert Almora Jr. and Heyward. Who would have thought that the Cubs best pitcher would be Yu Darvish? During the home stand he didn’t allow a run in 12 innings. Of the eighteen outs per start, over a third were strike outs.

The Cubs start a crucial road trip against the red hot San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers and St.  Louis Cardinals. The road woes continued on Monday in San Francisco when Pedro Strop coughed up a two run lead in a 5-4 loss.

Before Christopher Columbus set sail, people argued whether the world was round or flat. There is no doubt that the White Sox came out flat after the all-star break. Any momentum generated prior to the break, dissipated with a 7 game losing streak including 4 to the last place Kansas City Royals. There was not much energy. All their hitters went cold at the same time

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They traveled to Tampa Bay to play the Rays. It seemed they were going to start hitting with 9 runs in the first of a three game series. Although they didn’t hit in game 2, they won in thrilling fashion. Trailing 1-0 with two outs in the 9^th inning, James McCann tied it with a homer. Yoan Moncada scored from first base on a Jose Abreu single to win the game in extra innings. The Sox lost game 3 but won the series. The only positives were the two consecutive good outings from pitcher Reynaldo Lopez, Lucas Giolito’s last start and Moncada’s bat. Things could get better with 3 home games against the Miami Marlins. In the first game, Abreu, Moncada and McCann homers and a complete game by Ivan Nova resulted in a 9-1 win Monday night.

The slump also displayed the shortcomings of Manager Ricky Renteria. Things that should have been taught in spring training are mid-season problems. Rundowns are a nightmare, and the Sox must lead the league in pop-ups falling between 2 to 4 players. I won’t get into it but there is priority system in the infield and outfield. You have to shout out loud enough so everyone knows it’s your play.  I’ve mentioned Renteria’s poor handling of the pitching staff. It seems that the only time he pulls a pitcher, the horses have already left the barn. A good team needs a competent manager and good coaching.

As the trade deadlines loom, I hope General Manager Rick Hahn doesn’t make the mistake of trading closer Alex Colome. You would get a good return. However, if you plan on contending next year, you need a good bullpen. Aaron Bummer should also be retained. If anyone is interested in Evan Marshall, Jace Fry or stupid enough to want Dylan Covey, see what you can get. It’s too bad Abreu is a free agent after this season. If not, he would command a lot on the trade market. The only other reason to keep him is they have no immediate replacement. He is also a mentor to Moncada and Luis Robert. Hahn said don’t expect Robert to be called up this year. Why not get your top prospect some experience?

Baseball After the All-Star Break

July 11, 2019

The all-star break is over and baseball can get back to games that matter. The two things I can guarantee are that you will continue to see more home runs and strike outs. There should some exciting division and wild card races.

A.L. West – The Oakland Athletics have been playing good baseball as of late. They have moved past the Texas Rangers into second place. However, they are not in the same class of the division leading Houston Astros. The Astros have a star studded line-up and pitching staff. They are one of the best teams in the league. The Athletics are 7.5 games back and have an outside chance of being a wild card playoff team. Mike Trout is without a doubt the best player in the game. He currently leads the league in homers, RBI, slugging percentage, on base percentage and is second in runs scored. Because he signed a long term contract extension with the Los Angeles Angels he may be the best player never to appear in a World Series.

A.L. East – The Tampa Bay Rays are 13 games over .500; the Boston Red Sox are 8. The Rays trail the New York Yankees by 6.5 games and the Red Sox trail by 9.  Despite injuries to key players, the Yankees are probably going to win this division. They are third in the league in home runs and runs scored. They only have one stud starting pitcher, Domingo German, who is 10-2 with 3.67 ERA, which is real good when your team averages over 5 runs per game. With Zach Britton’s 2.43 ERA, Adam Ottavino’s 1.80 and closer extraordinaire Aroldis Chapman’s 1.82 in your bullpen, the starters only have to last 5 innings.

A.L. Central – The first place Minnesota Twins may be hearing the sound of moccasins. The Cleveland Indians have cut their lead from 12 to 5.5 games. After a slow start the Indians are showing why they were the favorites to win this division. I previously thought both wild card teams would come from the A.L. East. With the return of Mike Clevinger, the Indians should hold on to their lead in the wild card race. Two-time Cy Young Award winner, Corey Kluber, would help but he may not come back this year. The Twins lead the league in home runs and runs scored. The pitching has been excellent. They also will play in the post-season.

N.L. East – The Atlanta Braves have taken command of this division and I’m not sure how they do it. Aside from Mike Soroka, 9-1, 2.42, their other starters aren’t that impressive. Opening day starter Julio Teheran is 5-6 with a 3.79 ERA. The closer has 14 saves. They did sign Dallas Keuchel to hopefully bolster the pitching staff. Offensively they do have one of the best hitters in the game, first baseman Freddie Freeman. They have all-star outfielders Ronald Acuna Jr. and Nick Markakis. No one else in the line-up is hitting over .270. It helps that even with Bryce Harper, the Philadelphia Phillies aren’t much better than last year. The Mets must hold some record for injured pitchers. The Florida Marlins just suck. The Braves may get a challenge from the not so good Washington Nationals.

N.L. Central – People talk about this being the most competitive division in baseball. All teams are within 5 games of the lead. The reason for this is most of these teams are lousy. The last place Cincinnati Reds are 4.5 games out with a 41-46 record. In fact, only two teams have .500 records. This could change if the Chicago Cubs or Brewers get hot. I don’t think the other teams can go on a winning streak. Most of the other teams in the division have no pitching. I feel sorry for the Cardinals. Free agent signee Paul Goldschmidt is having an awful year and what was supposed to be an improved team is 44-44.

Dylan Cease Shines for Sox While Cubs rDread Road Games

July 3, 2019

Just watched White Sox pitcher, Dylan Cease, make his much anticipated pitching debut. He had a horrible start with three walks, one hit batter and two runs. In spite of this, you could see he has the “stuff” to be something special. Over the next four innings he gave up a wind-blown homer, struck out six and walked only one, notching up his first big league win.

The Sox have been playing well as of late. They survived a grueling schedule of 15 games against some of    the best teams. The White Sox split a 4 game home series against the New York Yankees. The Yankees have the best record in baseball but the Sox won the season series 4-3. Next up was a brief two game series against what was a first place Cubs team. They split that series as well. Then they traveled to meet the Texas Rangers, who would be a wild-card playoff team if the season ended today.  By throwing second tier starters they lost two of three. They went to Boston and lost two of three. These losses didn’t hurt as much as losing Tim Anderson. He is the heart and soul of this team. He’ll miss 4-6 weeks. The Sox returned home to face first place Minnesota. They held this hot hitting team in check and won two of three.

All in all they finished 7-8, which is pretty remarkable with a three man starting rotation. This young team has to play clean, error free baseball to win games. This, and some bullpen breakdowns cost them a couple of wins in Texas and Boston. The schedule gets a little easier and who knows: they may be .500 heading into the all-star break.

White Sox all-star pitcher, Lucas Giolito has gone from the worst to one of the best starters in the American League. However, he is not the only white Sox contender for comeback player of the year. Yoan Moncada continues to have an excellent season. He has 14 home runs and has broken into the top ten with a .304 batting average.  All-star James McCann has come out of nowhere to solve the catching problem.  No one could have predicted he would hit over .320. He also drives in big runs.

Things are not running smoothly on the north side of town. The Cubs seem unable to hit with runners in scoring position. Cub wins usually come when they hit homers. The Cubs have to learn how to manufacture runs. They have to improve on their situational hitting. They keep changing hitting coaches but this problem hasn’t gone away. I am at a loss for why this is when you have a line-up with Anthony Rizzo and all stars Kris Bryant, Wilson Contreras, Jason Heyward and Javier Baez.

Previously I’ve discussed how important it is to win home games when struggling on the road. On their last home stand they went 5-5. This is not acceptable for a team with playoff aspirations. Their road woes (16-25) continue. They have lost four of five in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. They no longer are in first place. They are tied with Philadelphia for wild card spots, with Colorado a half game back. The Central Division is still up for grabs.

The Cubs are in the latter stages of the window for success. However, like last year, injuries are

hindering their chances. It gets harder when you suffer major injuries. Cub starter Kyle Hendricks missed three starts. In his return he only lasted 3 innings. Their best starter, Cole Hamels, is out through July. The starting rotation is down to Jon Lester, Jose Quintana and Hendricks. How much confidence do Cub fans have in Yu Darvish and most likely Tyler Chatwood as the fourth and fifth starters?

Things aren’t pointing up but there is still a half season to go. It’s not time to panic. However, if the pattern continues then come September it may be panic time.

Cubs Road Woes! White Sox .500 Season?

June 23, 2019

I know it’s only the latter part of June and there are tons of games left.  Even so, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins can set up their post season rotations. The American League East is without question the best division in baseball. Both wild card teams will come from there. It looks as if Atlanta is the cream of the crop in the National League East. The National Central division…

The Chicago Cubs had just finished a 2-5 road trip. They came back home and split a two game series with the White Sox, handing Lucas Giolito his first loss since April 6. Despite going 3-6, they somehow remained in first place. The Cubs are the only division leader with a losing record on the road, a pitiful 15-21. The usual formula to winning is playing .500, which is about 40 road wins. Winning 50 at home gets you in the playoffs; 55 wins the division. If they don’t attain 40 road wins they’ll need to win at least 55 games at Wrigley to make the playoffs. The Cubs do have the third best home record. With home games being critical, the Cubs have proceeded to lose 2 of 3 to an inferior New York Mets team.

For the Cubs to win the division a couple of things need to occur. First, they are near the bottom of the league in batting average with runners in scoring position. Home runs are nice but good teams need to learn how to manufacture runs. Secondly, they need to avoid injuries. Brandan Morrow is never coming back and their best reliever Pedro Strop got hurt. With the addition of Craig Kimbrel, a healthy Strop can return to the set-up role. Kyle Hendricks injury is worrisome. Hopefully he returns to form when he comes back. Not all is doom and gloom.  Top pitching prospect, Adbert Alzolay looked excellent in his major league debut. Right now he’s in the bullpen but I believe he will eventually become a starter. Yu Darvish is at last looking like the player they envisioned when they signed him.

I didn’t expect Lucas Giolito would go 20-1. In his last start he gave up six runs, including three home runs, in 4.1 innings. Most pitchers, especially young ones, will have games like this. The key will be to see how he bounces back. It won’t be easy as he faces the Boston Red Sox.

The White Sox are playing pretty good baseball as they try to hit the magic .500 record. They did after beating the Yankees in the first 2 games of a four game series June 13 and 14. In the following game Reynaldo Lopez had another bad outing, giving up 5 runs in 6 innings. He was trending upward at the end of last year and it seems like he has regressed. Injuries then forced them to start 31-year old journeyman, Odrisamer Despagne. He has been more than awful. With the Sox being one game under .500, he coughed up a four run lead in three innings. They lost 6-5 to the Texas Rangers.

 The core of the future is taking shape. Yoan Mancada is having a real good year and should only get better. Tim Anderson remains among the top hitters and base stealers in the league. Despite having a subpar year average wise, Jose Abreu is among the leaders in RBI and doubles with 17 home runs. The bullpen is one their best in years. Set-up man Aaron Bummer is one of the best left relievers in the game. Right hand set-up man Evan Marshall has been excellent. Closer Alex Colome is 15 for 15 in save opportunities.

Best of all is budding superstar, Eloy Jimenez. After a slow start he is getting the hang of things. He is hitting clutch and gargantuan home runs. The average is going up and I think he is going to get better as the year progresses. He should be the face of the future for years to come. Another positive is minor league centerfielder Luis Robert. Some think will be as good as Jimenez. Hopefully he’ll ready by next year. Thinking of 2020 gets me really excited.

Baseball's Ups & Downs

June 8, 2019

The baseball season is a long grind. Most teams are going to have their ups and downs. The Chicago teams are a perfect example of this.

The Chicago Cubs started the season poorly. They became the hottest team in baseball and soon were in first place. Before they opened up a home stand Monday, they had gone 2-8 in their previous ten games and were a shade out of first place

The Cubs returned home and Wrigley Field lived up to its billing as the “friendly confines”. They have won four of five with no starter giving up more than three runs. Lester found his form, Cole Hamels has been superb, Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana steady. Even Yu Darvish has had a couple of good games. However, in a victory over the Rockies, the bullpen almost coughed up a five run lead in a 9-8 Cubs victory.  President Theo Epstein finally thought it was time to make a move and signed free agent closer Craig Kimbrel. Before you anoint Kimbrel as the savior of the bullpen, consider he was getting battered as of late, losing the closer role in Boston.

 I think it’s time to admit that Kyle Schwarber is not the player he was supposed to be. His low on base percentage wouldn’t be as much of a problem if he were hitting home runs and not striking out. Without Ben Zobrist, left field becomes a problem. I don’t think the resurrection of Carlos Gonzales is the answer to this problem.  You know Cub Manager Joe Maddon is concerned when you see Anthony Rizzo leading off. People will argue that he only leads off once a game. However, the players in the bottom of the lineup don’t get on base, decreasing his RBI opportunities. When is Joe going to stop playing Daniel Descalso?

The White Sox got clobbered and were swept in a 3 game series on the road versus the Minnesota Twins.  The Sox came home to Guaranteed Rate Field and won 6 of 7 games. This team is capable of winning if it plays clean. Even Dylan Covey and Manny Banuelos starts were victories. Lucas Giolito, May’s pitcher of the month, had two victories. The only loss occurred in a game where they had two runners on with no outs and they both got picked off. This set the tone for the loss. This streak pulled them only one game away from the elusive .500 record. However, the Sox lost their next three games. This losing streak ended with Giolito throwing 7.2 shutout innings with a career high 11 strikeouts. He currently is the best pitcher in the American League.

The Sox have vastly improved. They have 30 wins. Last year they didn’t win their 30^tth game until July 3. Finishing .500 would exceed expectations.  To help reach this goal, it would be nice if Yonder Alonso started to hit.  Jose Abreu leads the league in RBI. Think of how much better this would be if he hadn’t struck out 65 times in 244 at-bats. Reynaldo Lopez, who seemed to have the biggest upside of the young pitchers, needs to get better.

 Manager Ricky Renteria handles his pitching staff like a surgeon wearing oven mitts. He has made numerous mistakes when it comes to bullpen maneuvers.  Last year he kept putting in Nate Jones, who always lost games. It took him until September to stop bringing him in to relieve.  This year, he keeps calling on Jace Fry in tight situations.  He has not performed well.  I don’t understand why he doesn’t use better options when games are close.

Renteria will be the biggest impediment to the White Sox being good in the future. We need a manager who knows what he is doing, not one that was hired out of convenience.