As One Era comes to the End Another One is Beginning

 

August 2, 2021

The baseball world exploded with a flurry of trades before the deadline. Many teams selling impact players to teams pushing to make the playoffs. The Dodgers acquired Cy Young candidate Max Scherzer and all-star shortstop Trae Turner. The Giants countered by signing Kris Bryant. Nelson Cruz is now a Tampa Bay Ray, stud pitcher Jose Berrios is a Blue Jay and the Red Sox traded for slugger Kyle Schwarber. Not to be outdone, the Yankees signed sluggers Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo to take aim at the short right field bleachers at Yankee Stadium. The Cubs were very busy with a plethora of moves, including two trades with the cross-town White Sox.

The White Sox (62-44) have been playing lousy baseball. The Cleveland Indians have played just as bad.  By winning two of three over the Indians the Sox have opened a huge 9 game lead. It would take a slump of epic proportions for the Sox not to win the division.

The Sox positioned themselves for the post season trading for an elite closer former Cub, Craig Kimbrel. This allows them to use the formula of the 2015 world champion Kansa City Royals. The Royals had Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland closing out games. The Sox have a resurgent Aaron Bummer, Craig Kimbrel and Liam Hendriks. In recent years teams that win have great bullpens. The Sox have the best as of right now.

The hitting has to improve. Hopefully it won’t take long for Eloy Jimenez to get in a groove. The same thing goes for Luis Robert and Yasmani Grandal when they return.  They need Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada and Jose Abreu to get going. It is imperative for the Sox to win enough games to get home field advantage in the playoffs. The Sox have been struggling on the road but have a major league best record at home.

The Sox also need to shore their defense. The outfield will get much better when Robert returns. It wouldn’t hurt to give Adam Engel the majority of playing time in right. They have traded for gold glove second baseman Cesar Hernandez. Anderson has improved at shortstop. Yoan Moncada after a bad series in Houston, has been very good at third. They also have to overcome the disastrous managing job by Tony LaRussa.

The woes continue for the Cubs (51-56) as they have dropped to fourth place. What was projected when the season began came to fruition before the trading deadline. While the Sox window will be open for years, it’s the end of an era for the Cubs.

Let’s start with Kimbrel trade. He was not going to be a free- agent at the end of the year however, they wanted to dump his $16 million contract. The club will have a loss of revenue. The seats are sold but will fans show up?  At least the Cubs got something in return. Codi Heuer has terrific stuff and can become a late inning guy if not a closer. Cub fans are going to love second baseman Nick Madrigal. He and Nico Hoerner can be a real good DP combo for years.

Before you mourn for the loss of the three core players from the 2016 world champs, consider this team wasn't going to win with them. So far this season they have all underachieved leaving Jed Hoyer to receive little in return. Anthony Rizzo was dealt to the Yankees. The Cubs received right hander Alexander Vizcaino and minor league outfielder Kevin Alcantara. The only thing positive is the Yankees are pretty good at selecting prospects. Javier Baez and Trevor Williams were traded to the Mets for outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong who may be ready soon. Kris Bryant was traded to San Francisco for prospects right-hander Caleb Kilian and outfielder Alexander Canario.

Most of these prospects won’t be ready for a while and the Cubs farm system is not very good. The Cubs say they are retooling, not rebuilding. Who are they retooling around? Some people tell me they have freed up money and could sign some free agents and contend. As you should know by now, this not their MO.  In my opinion they should shop Kyle Hendricks in the off-season. He can command players who can help sooner rather than later. It’s going a long time before they will be contenders.

White Sox and Cubs Heading in Different Directions

 

July 12, 2021

 

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.

 

White Sox and Cubs June Swoon

 

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?

Despite going 2-6 the Cubs (40-33) are tied for first place with the Milwaukee Brewers.  It seems this race will go down to the wire with the Cardinals and Reds also vying for the division title, as there no teams good enough to take control. With the Cubs contending, President Jed Hoyer has some tough decisions to make.

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

White Sox Cubs World Series? Anything Can Happen

 

June 2, 2021

The Chicago White Sox (33-22) continue to lead the American League Central by 2.5 games, ahead of the Cleveland Indians. If Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert had not been injured, they would be running away in this division. Like last year, the White Sox are clobbering inferior opponents, which is why they are 11 games over .500.

What’s surprising is they’re winning games with only a few players who aren’t automatic outs. Tim Anderson is still the catalyst and is playing great defense. Nick Madrigal is not going to get you any power but will give you quality at-bats. Yoan Moncada is looking like the player he was in 2019. The only thing left is to add more power.  Jose Abreu usually has a bad April and this year was excruciatingly painful. However, he has bounced back and once again leads the majors in RBI. The magic of Yermin Mercedes seems to be wearing off. Even so, think back to last year with Edwin Encarnacion batting .150 as the DH. Occasionally they get some help from others but these players make up most of the offense. They also have a major problem with their catchers. I know hitting is down but Yasmani Grandal is hitting .131. He gets on base a lot with walks but was brought in as a run producer. The Sox keep insisting Zach Collins is getting better. The only thing he has proved is that he can’t hit, as his .187 average attests to.

The strength of the Sox is their starting pitching.  Lucas Giolito is coming back after struggling early. Carlos Rodon has had a few bumps but is still third in ERA.  Lance Lynn leads the league in ERA and was an excellent pick-up. I expect Dylan Cease to get better and Dallas Keuchel to get in the groove and induce more ground ball outs. Liam Hendriks is finally becoming the closer he was projected to be. The Sox have a bunch of good arms to bridge the starter to closer gap. One problem is Aaron Bummer, who is having difficulties.

The Sox should get some help with the return of Adam Engel. And they need to play better defensively. However, the major problem is the manager who keeps proving he was a bad choice.

The Chicago Cubs (31-23) are also in first place by the slimmest of margins. They are one of the hottest teams around. After a terrible start they have turned their season around. With the exception of two losses to Cleveland they have won every series in May and just got done sweeping the San Diego Padres.

Entering the season, the biggest question revolved around the pitching. After getting off to a shaky start, Kyle Hendricks is proving once again he is an elite pitcher. Zach Davies may not be Yu Darvish but he’s pretty darn good. The Cubs finally have developed a pitcher, Adbert Alzolay who keeps getting better and better. In two years he could be the ace of the staff. Questions still surround how good Jake Arrieta will be. He started off well but hasn’t been very good as of late. Trevor Williams had his best start before going on the IL. Out of nowhere Kohl Stewart gave them a solid start in a Cub victory. Ryan Tepera and Andrew Chafin lead a group of set-up men to get the ball to Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel has regained the form that made him one the best closers.

Kris Bryant is having an MVP season. He is hitting .317 and has an incredible .996 OPS. Javier Baez leads the team with13 homers. His average may not be spectacular however, He has a .508 slugging percentage. Anthony Rizzo, who is coming back from injury, will add more pop to the line-up. The Cubs have also been hit by the injury bug. Next men up Eric Sogard, Patrick Wisdom and Matt Duffy have all contributed to help the Cubs’ cause.

Prior to this stretch, fans may have been wondering who was going to be traded at the deadline. As of now Cub fans would be up in arms if any of the core are let go. Jed Hoyer should go after another starter to help the Cubs reach the playoffs. The other key is avoiding injuries.

The Year of the Yerminator and Cubs Core

 

 May 19, 2021

Baseball teams have completed the first quarter of the season. With warm weather and fans returning, baseball in Chicago is looking good. Although it is early, after 40 games you can get a handle on what lies ahead.

Despite being ravaged with injuries, the White Sox (25-16} are in first place in the Central Division and tied for the best winning percentage in the major leagues. This is quite amazing considering they lost Eloy Jimenez, who was capable of hitting 40 home runs with 120 RBI. The only positive is this opened up a roster spot for 28 year old rookie Yermin Mercedes. He started the season with 8 straight hits and currently leads the league in batting average. While I know he won’t maintain this hot pace, he is the best DH the White Sox have had in years.

Luis Robert was just starting to put things together when he suffered a major injury. Since then, there have been many games where the Sox have scored runs in bunches. The offense will probably not continue this trend, especially with four automatic outs in the line-up. Jose Abreu has broken out of his slump and should help carry the team. However, he has missed the last 3 games due to an injury.

The outlook is still positive because the Sox the best 1-5 starting rotation in baseball. What’s surprising is the best two are number 4, Dylan Cease and number 5, Carlos Rodon. The bullpen hasn’t been as great as I thought it would be, but I believe it will be major asset as the season progresses.

One of the biggest problems is the defense. It’s not only errors, but plays that should be made are not. Every pop fly is an adventure. This should improve. The other negative is Tony LaRussa, who has already impacted many games in a short time. All managers make mistakes however, you should not mess up by not knowing the rules. The one thing you can count on with LaRussa is his arrogance, hence “Do you see my ring…I’m a hall of famer baseball person,” when stopped for a DUI; or telling a reporter “Maybe you know the rules better than me.”

The Cubs (21-20) have had an up and down season. At times they have looked really good. On the other hand, there are games when they look real bad. What’s good is the arrow seems to be pointing up. They should be competitive the rest of the way. If they go on any sort of winning streak, they could win the division.

Kyle Hendricks and Zach Davies got off to slow starts. No telling how much better the Cubs’ record would be if they started out well. Presently, they are both trending upward. Jake Arrieta has looked pretty good so far. The question is, can he stay healthy and continue to pitch well? Rookie Adbert Alzolay has a high ceiling and looks pretty good. The Cubs are handling his workload perfectly. The only problem has been Trevor Williams. With the additions of Justin Steele and Keegan Thompson, the Cubs bullpen is much improved. With Andrew Chafin, Rex Brothers and others they can get the ball to Craig Kimbrel who is pitching like he was as a dominant reliever.

Cub bats are hot and cold. To contend the offense has to be more consistent, especially from the big three. Kris Bryant is having an all-star season. He’s hitting .309 with 10 homers and 26 RBI with an astounding OPS of 1.027. While Javier Baez may not have the average, he has 9 homers and 27 RBI with .504 slugging percentage. Anthony Rizzo needs to improve his numbers. Remember, there are a ton of games left and if Rizzo can avoid injuries his numbers should improve.

The Cubs still are in search for a lead-off hitter. Ian Happ got off to an awful start and lost the job. In the Cubs’ search, manager David Ross continues to place run producers in the lead off position. The other problem is the Cubs can’t reach the 85% vaccine level to lower COVID protocols. While some players have advocated getting vaccinated, Arrieta and some others don’t believe the science regarding the vaccines’ effectiveness. 

Bad News Bulls and Hawks Good News Bears

 

 

 

May 3, 2021

 

Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot is reducing restrictions, allowing fans to attend Bulls and Blackhawk games at 25% capacity at the United Center. Why anyone would attend these meaningless games is beyond me. Both teams are floundering; missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. It doesn’t look like either team will be competing for a championship anytime soon. Neither team is worth the price of admission

 As depressing as that is,
 there are good vibes surrounding the Bears. General Manager Ryan Pace has never been afraid of swinging for the fences, trading up in the draft. While most of his picks have been failures, most fans are ecstatic with number one pick, Justin Fields. He may be the franchise quarterback the Bears have been searching for. At 6’2”, Fields has all the requisite traits to be a really good QB. He has a strong and accurate arm, is elusive in the pocket and he can run. By all accounts he is very intelligent and should quickly pick up the offensive system. This is where things get dicey because this is Coach Matt Nagy’s offense, where third down and two is a passing down. They also want Fields to sit and learn from second string quarterback Andy Dalton, who was signed in desperation. Just like Trubisky was supposed to learn from Mike Glennon, Fields should be the starter by game 3. Hope springs eternal from Halas Hall!

Hawks Draught Continues Bulls Still Have a Pulse

 

April 22, 2021

The ineptitude of Chicago’s winter teams has made them painful to watch.  In the NHL, half of the teams make the playoffs. In the NBA, 10 of 15 teams get chance to move on.  No matter how easy it is, these teams have been absent for years.

The Blackhawks began the season allowing 20 goals in four games.  They decided rookie Kevin Lankinen looked the best option and was given the chance to be the primary goalie. Although the Hawks weren’t putting up much offense, Lankinen was spectacular in leading the team to victories.

The Blackhawks were 14-9-5 and were at the top of the standings. Since then they have stumbled, and were 2 points behind the Nashville Predators prior to a three game series. After two games, they fell into sixth place trailing the Predators and Dallas North Stars by three points. The season is all but over, as the Stars have played two less games and have three left against last place Detroit.

Patrick Kane is still one of the best offensive players in the league, and line mate Alex DeBrincat is a proven goal scorer. Domonic Kubalik has only 15 goals this year. This may be because they traded away line mate Brandon Saad. They are high on some youngsters who have failed to impress. Pius Suter, Philipp Kurashev and Brandon Hagel have a combined 28 goals, only 5 more than DeBrincat. Kane is the only player who can carry the puck down ice. The rest of the offense is dump and chase. No other teams I’ve watched use this outdated offensive scheme.

GM Stan Bowman has acquired a slew of young defensemen. However, the Hawks still have trouble clearing their zone. If you are rebuilding, Duncan Keith, whose skills are deteriorating, makes no sense. He is losing battles for pucks along the boards and committing turnovers in the Hawks end.  Bowman’s only success has been adding rent-a-players to help win championships. The core was put together by his predecessor Dale Tallon. The Haws haven’t made the playoffs in four years with Bowman in charge. It’s time to move on and hire a new GM. 

The Bulls finally got the message and took the keys from John Paxson and Gar Forman. Arturus Karnisovas, who had success in Denver was hired to run this team. His first moves

were hiring a real head coach, Billy Donovan, and drafting 19 year old Patrick Williams.

The defense allowed 130 points in the Bulls first two games. The Bulls then went 8-7 and were trying to reach .500, good enough to put them in the playoffs. They never reached .500, taking one step forwards and two steps back. The offense is led by Zach LaVine. While he is a prolific scorer, he has no help. There is a big problem with your team if Thaddeus Young is your second best player. Lauri Markkanen, who was supposed to be a big part of the rebuild, is now coming off the bench. This is probably his last season with the team. Coby White, another number 7 overall pick has also has been relegated to the bench. The supposed point guard hasn’t been able to guide the offense, makes terrible decisions and is a major defensive liability.

Karnisovas made some major moves, trading mercurial oft injured number seven pick Wendell Carter, for all-star center Nikola Vucevic. He also picked up Daniel Theis, a big power who should help the defense.  They were brought in to help the Bulls get the number 10 seed. However, the team proceeded to lose many games and are on the outside looking in. If the Bulls acquire a good point guard to go with LaVine, Vucevic and Williams, this could be a very good team.