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

.

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.

Cubs, White Sox Pitching Problems

  May 28, 2019

After stumbling in the beginning of the season, the Chicago Cubs were the hottest team in baseball. Recently things are not running as smoothly. The Cubs have lost 8 of their last 13 and their first place lead has shrunk to the smallest of margins. What has happened to this team whom many people thought would play a big part inn the post season?

The pitching has been awful.  Jon Lester and Cole Hamels are giving up runs in bunches. Neither has made it past the fourth inning in their las two starts. The usually steady Kyle Hendricks has lasted only 6 and 5.2 innings in his last two starts. Jose Quintana hasn’t lasted seven innings since April 23. The enigma that is Yu Darvish , seems to be improving. He couldn’t get any worse. In his last outing he pitched a season high seven innings. With so few innings. Cub starters are taxing already suspect relievers. The imminent return of Pedro Strop should help a beleaguered bullpen which leads the league with eleven blown saves. The only positive is Tyler Chatwood’s resurgence. He has overcome his wildness and is becoming the pitcher the Cubs thought he would be.

Thank goodness the Cubs are hitting or they could have been in real trouble. Antony Rizzo is having an excellent year, with clutch home runs and RBI. Javier Baez s picking up from last year but still has to cut down on his strikeouts (He had five Monday in Houston).  Wilson Contreras could be the come-back player of the year. Kris Bryant was putting up MVP caliber numbers but is now injured.

Cub Manager Joe Maddon must be insane to have a good defensive third baseman Bryant, playing in right field. This is not hindsight by the fact he got hurt. What was essentially accomplished by this move was removing Albert Almora Jr. and starting light hitting Daniel Descalso . Bryant, probably the Cubs best player gets hurt in an outfield collision. His injury last year was a major reason why the Milwaukee Brewers tied the Cubs for the division. It is too early to panic. There are plenty of games left and the Cubs, who excel in walk off wins should turn it around. Cub fans, are you ready for the Jim Adduci era?

Lucas Giolito is the best player that has come during the rebuild. He looks like the player that was once the number three overall prospect. He is 6-1 and his 2.77 ERA is fifth in the league. Over his last four games his ERA is 129. In a rarity these days, he threw a complete game four hit shut-out against the Houston Astros. He is worth watching.

So much for the good news. The White Sox just completed one of the hardest road trip any team will face this year against first place teams, the Houston Astros(4 and Minnesota Twins (3).) After losing the first two the Sox gained a split winning game three, which featured a triple play and game four, the Giolito gem. Next series is against the Twins who have the best offense in the league. The Sox led in the first game 4-1. Before the Twins scored 10 more and the carnage continued as the Twin scored 15 runs in the next two games to sweep the series. 

No depth in pitching became a real problem when fifth starter Manny Banuelos got injured. The Sox were forced to use all relievers in game one in Houston. The only positive was they gave up only 3 runs, a vast improvement over Banuelos, however they still lost this game. Banuelos and fourth starter Dylan Covey area combined 2-8. The Sox are a .500 team when they don’t pitch. They should be much improved next year if Michael Kopech and Dylan Cease live up to expectations. The Sox should also make a big push to acquire free agent Gerrit Cole.

At the top of I have seen enough list, is Welington Castillo.  With the emergence of James McCann, he should hardly ever play.  Either catching prospect in AAA ball would a better back-up and gain great experience. Number two is Yonder Alonso. Danny Polka is hitting well with Charlotte Knights and should be given another shot. He can also replace Ryan Gordell in right field. Number three is Manager Ricky Renteria. His insistence on batting Alonso fourth is maddening. Last year he couldn’t wait to bring in an ineffective Nate Jones to blow games. This year Kelvin Herrara keeps coming in games when he hasn’t got anybody out since he hurt his back. There are a couple of better relief pitchers to form a bridge to closer Alex Colome. I have no faith that Renteria figures this out any time soon.  Colome has been excellent. I hope he won’t be traded for prospects.

Here’s hoping the White Sox continue to improve. Maybe we get a glimpse of the future with Luis Robert in center field and Dylan Cease pitching. Either in the near future or at least by September.

N.L. Player of the month – Josh Bell Pittsburgh

A.L.Player of the month – Lucas Giolito  White Sox

Cubs are on Fire while White Sox are Improving

May 11. 2019

Prior to the baseball season the prevailing thought was that all the teams in the National League Central were improved and could challenge the Cubs. Fans were clamoring for the Cubs to make a move, such as signing free agent reliever Craig Kimbrel. President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein, assured Cub Nation the Cubs could win a World Series as currently constructed.

After a slow start, the Cubs turned on the jets and not only are they in first place in their division, they own the best record in the National League. When asked what the key was as to why the Cubs were playing great, Anthony Rizzo said pitching and defense. The other teams did get better but not in the pitching department where the Cubs dominate their opponents. Veterans Jon Lester and Cole Hamels are having a turn back the clock year. Kyle Hendricks is finding his groove, evidenced by an 81 pitch shutout. Jose Quintana’s 3.50 ERA is the highest of the four starters. They may have found a fifth starter, Yu Montgomery. If you thought the relief pitching needed an upgrade, despite not having Pedro Strop, the relievers combined for 8 innings of shutout baseball in their 15 inning win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The offense hasn’t been too shabby. Kris Bryant has found his stroke making him one the most feared hitters. He and Javier Baez have over a 900 OPS. Anthony Rizzo continues to drive in runs. A rejuvenated Wilson Contreras is batting over .300 with 10 home runs, equaling his total from last year. Jason Hayward has looked pretty good at lead off with a .361 on-base percentage.

By now you should know to never doubt Epstein. He’s the best individual running a baseball team. Barring injuries, this team will win the pennant. Who knows, another World Series?

Things are looking up for the White Sox. They are 19-22. Last year they didn’t  win their 19th game until June 5th.  Some of the core pieces of the rebuild are starting to blossom. There have been many nice moments for a team that hasn’t many in the recent past.

It seems as if Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez have turned the corner. They have had quality outings in their last three starts. The formula for quality outings has been three runs in 6 innings. This gives you a 4.50 ERA. What the Sox pitchers are doing is pitching into the eighth inning, giving up two or fewer runs. Third starter Ivan Nova had a couple of bad starts but has been terrific as of late.  However, Dylan Covey, replacing Carlos Rodon, and reliever Manny Banuelos as a fifth starter, have been awful.  The bullpen has found a right handed set- up man Evan Marshall and a left hander Aaron Bummer who haven’t given up a run. Closer Alex Colome is 8 for 8 in save opportunities.

Despite today’s 9-0 loss to Cleveland, the White Sox can score runs. It seems as a multitude of players contribute on different nights. Tim Anderson Is having a breakout season. He is among the top hitters average wise, has power and is second in stolen bases. Former number one prospect, Yoan Moncada is having a good season and is getting better every day. Jose Abreu has 10 home runs and is second in the league in RBI. In one of the biggest surprises of the year, catcher James McCann is hitting over .360, with a .604 slugging percentage and a 1.028 OPS. This line-up will get better once Eloy Jimenez comes back and replaces Nicky Delmonico in left field. Their line-up also got better with the demotion of Adam Engel. The Sox promoted Charley Tilson. Although he may be the center fielder of the future, in a little less than two weeks he has more hits than Engel would get in three months.

The future may have looked brighter if not for the injury to Rodon. He was supposed to be the number one starter. If Banuelos is hurt, who will replace him? If they somehow end up .500 it would be a very successful season. Only time will tell.