MLB

                     BASEBALL COVERAGE

HARD HITTING COVERAGE WITH THE ALUMINUM

 

(CHICKS THAT DIG THE LONG BALL- OUR FAVORITE TEAMS- CHICAGO BASEBALL)

(PREDICTIONS THAT DON’T MAKE SENSE- JUICY ARTICLES- AROUND THE LEAGUE)

(THIS AND THAT)

OUR TWO FAVORITE TEAMS

BLUE JAYS NOW PART OF BUFFALO BASEBALL HISTORY

The Toronto Blue Jays had to fly the coop as the lone Canadian team was rejected to play any games in their own homeland in the 2020 baseball season. Blue Jays had to find a home rather quickly as the short 60 MLB season was starting and the team at one point looked like they were going to be on a 60 game road trip, like a traveling circus going from town to town. With Covid cases on the rise, options like Pittsburgh closed their borders to the Blue Jay,s like Canada having MLB teams going in and out of the city of Toronto without quarantining. Would Donald Trump put up high netting in the sky to prevent a bird flying in a certain state? Florida was a one minute idea where the Blue Jays have their spring training facility, but the beach goers are turning zombie-like with Covid symptoms with a bad sunburn. Baltimore was on the table as a home for the Blue Jays. That idea was nixed. Who would want to play baseball in Baltimore? I’ve seen the show on HBO called the Wire. The Jays settled for old reliable, the city of Buffalo, New York. Home to Toronto’s Triple AAA the Buffalo Bison.

It’s been a very long time since Buffalo, New York had a professional baseball team in its city. The city of Buffalo has some interesting baseball history that is worth talking about. The last time a professional team took the diamond in Buffalo, New York was the Buffalo Blues back in 1915.

The Blues played in that renegade league they called the Federal league, which was competing with the American and National league at the time. The Federal league ended up folding their operations after only a few seasons. After the Blues, Buffalo had a spot in the Continental baseball league in 1960. The league never got off the ground and folded without even playing a game. Then in 1969, Buffalo was pursuing a team in the MLB, as an expansion team. They were one of the finalists. San Diego and Montreal were awarded teams, and Buffalo was still out in the cold shoveling snow.

The original Buffalo Bison played seven seasons in the National league in the late 1800’s. It was the last time an MLB game was played in upper New York state. From 1879-85, the Bison played in what was at that time, an 8 team league. The Bison never got higher than third place. After the Bison’s stint in the National league, they attempted to get into the American league, but the Boston franchise called the Americans at the time got the spot instead of Buffalo. The Bison had some players that made it to Cooperstown from those seven seasons. Dan Brouthers played first baseman for the Bison and batted .351 with 38 home runs in five seasons. Home runs in those days were harder to hit. No fences in and hitting golf balls back in the days. Brouthers also played for the Detroit Wolverines, Boston Reds, and Brooklyn Grooms. Then Pud Galvin as a pitcher for the Bison did things on the mound no one can do at present times. Galvin had two straight 46 win seasons and pitched over 600 innings. In 1884 the Bison played in 115 games and Galvin pitched in 72 games. The man completed 71 games. Maybe extra innings were involved in some of those. Galvin went on to be the first pitcher to win 300 games. Galvin started his career at the time for the St. Louis Brown stockings. I love some of the old names for these teams. 

Let’s not forget the movie, the Natural. Some of the scenes from one of or even the best baseball movie of all-time were filmed in Buffalo. The man named Roy Hobbs played by Robert Redford swinging the bat, was in an emptied out Buffalo War memorial stadium. Then in 1979, Pilot Field had the reincarnation of the Buffalo Bison, who were a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate at the time playing double AA games. The Bison became a triple AAA affiliate in 1985. Then in 2013, Buffalo Bison became a triple AAA affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Sahlen Field opened up in 1988 a retro style type of stadium that many say is a must see venue for those baseball gurus who love to hit multiple minor league stadiums throughout the states.

The Blue Jays will only be playing 29 games in Sahlen Field, in front of probably cardboard cut outs. Can the city of Buffalo adopt the Blue Jays since taking them in? Can you imagine the Bills mafia having some great summer fun before the games with their legend-ok wait for it-Legend-ary tailgate parties. You might ask, what about the Toronto die hards who watched Blue Jay baseball through thick and thin? I remember when the Buffalo Bills were for sale and rock star Bon Jon Jovi was one of the potential buyers, rumored to wish to move the team to Toronto. Toronto fans would not feel sorry for Bills fans if that happened. For right now in present times, Buffalo has MLB playing in their backyard as we can add that to the already small amount of baseball history in Buffalo. Some interesting history as well.  Just not enough for the city of Buffalo, which should be a place that the MLB has a big league team.

 

NEW MANAGER POWER RANKINGS

The MLB has ten new skippers running teams in 2020. Houston, Boston and New York Mets had to do some last minute replacements for their old skipper, due to the Houston Astros sign stealing saga. Would the Cubs new hire do a better job than the Cubs old hire who runs the Angels? Joe Maddon versus David Ross… could that ever mean something? Since Covid has delayed some teams in terms of the amount of games so far, we will judge the managers by winning percentage in our New Manager Power Rankings after roughly 14 games. It seems to be the common number for these new hires at this point. 

RANK	MANAGER	NEW TEAM	RECORD	WINNING %
1	David Ross	Cubs	10-3	.769
2	Jayce Tingler	San Diego	8-6	.571
3	Dusty Baker	Houston	6-7	.462
4	Joe Giraldi	Phillies	3-4	.429
5	Gabe Kaplen	Giants	6-9	.400
6	Ron Roenicke	Red Sox	5-8	.385
7	Luis Rojas	NY Mets	5-9	.357
8	Joe Maddon	LA Angels	5-9	.357
9	Mike Matheny	Kansas City	5-10	.333
10	Derek Shelton	Pirates	3-11	.214

SOUTH SIDER WEEKLY

2ND IN AL CENTRAL

8-6 RECORD

HOME RECORD:2-4 ROAD RECORD: 7-3

LAST TEN GAMES: 7-3

On the south side of Chicago, fans are very happy to have baseball back during the dog days of summer. What makes it even better is finally some meaningful baseball games for the White Sox at this time of the year. Out of the gate, being crushed by the Twins two out of three games in the opening home stand makes you want to stick your finger down your throat. Then, losing both games of a double header to the Indians in your first games on the road was quite annoying and Sox-like, over the last few years. Then the team got it together and went on a six game winning streak. As fans of the White Sox, the very few, we can always social distance no matter what. Finally something to root for.

The youth the White Sox have are very scary.

Luis Robert is the real McCoy. Robert is a 5 tool player, you may want to say seven tool player just not to miss anything. Robert plays center field and you can compare his stunning defense to Kelly Leak’s play on the Bad News Bears. Seems like Robert will take control of fly balls that may be the corner outfielder’s. Luis Robert has blazing speed and 4 steals. The man can hit. 14 games, .327 average, 18 hits, 3 doubles and two long balls. 

Then Nick Madrigal was brought up and played in 5 games before he separated his shoulder. You have to get excited about Madrigal who showed you some nice defense at second base. Plus, Madrigal is a contact hitter who is going to hit for high average. Madrigal in 5 games had 5 hits which is good for a .294 batting average. Not bad so far just for being in the bigs so far for a cup of coffee.

DEFENSE

I knew coming into this season the White Sox defense was going to be a sketchy subject. A weakness.

In left field, you always put your slugger there. The ones that can hardly field a lick. White Sox versus the Brewers at White Sox park, Eloy Jimenez is chasing a routine fly ball. He miss-judges it and gets trapped in the netting like a spider’s next prey. Meanwhile the ball bounce fair and Brewers slugger, Christian Yelich, gets a rare inside-the-park home run.

INJURIES

In only 14 games under the White Sox belt, injuries have been mounting up. The White Sox have lost two of their starters from the rotation. Carlos Rodon and Reynaldo Lopez both have looked horrible early on. Reynaldo Lopez was awful in one start.

Position players on the injured list: Tim Anderson, Edwin Encarnacion and Nick Madrigal.

RETURN: Nomar Mazara, who was out the beginning of the season battling Covid, returned.

UNSUNG HERO’S

Having depth on your team is very important to over come injuries to starting players. White Sox have had some players stepping up big time to help this team. Danny Mendick has one of the best mustaches in the game. Mendick filling in at short and basically all over infield and is hitting .318. Leury Garcia is another utility guy who can play multiple positions has knocked three balls into the stands and is hitting .304, knocking in 8. Adam Engel, usually known for his defense, has two long balls and is batting .296 so far.

The cardboard people love what they have seen so far on the southside of Chicago.

 

MARKAKIS WAS OUT NOW BACK IN

Right before the 2020 baseball season even started, Atlanta Braves Nick Markakis decided to opt out and not play. Markakis is 36 years old and has played in the league for 14 seasons. In 2020, a shortened baseball season was finally going to happen. Delayed because of the Covid-19 that put the ‘Sports’ on hold. Markakis witnessed his teammate Freddie Freeman become positive with the virus. After a conversation with his friend and teammate, he decided it was not worth catching Covid so he opted out. Markakis decided 2021 might be a safer year to come back and play his 15th season. The total # of MLB players throughout the league that have opted out, is in the teens.  Freddie Freeman was able to get through his fight with the Covid and is back on the field. Braves games went on without Markakis as time did not stand still. The season went on as scheduled. Markakis watched his teammates from afar, performing night after night. At home something did not feel right for Markakis as he changed his mind and opted back to the fold for the Atlanta Braves 2020 season.

Atlanta Braves went out and tried to find Nick Markakis’ replacement as they had a one year agreement with slugger Yasiel Puig. Puig then tested positive for Covid-19 and both the Braves and Yasiel had to walk away from each other. Atlanta then looked through the dollar bin for some kind of bat they could use at the DH position. They found a copy of Yonder Alonso next to the Weekend at Bernies 2 VHS tape. Alonso lives by the home run and dies by the strike out. These days Yonder Alonso has more swings at air than makes contact as his better days were years ago. Nick Markakis gives the Braves a much better line up when he returns after he fine tunes his skills with the taxi squad players.

Nick Markakis’ second thoughts came from watching his teammates play every night, from home, on TV. Markakis saw them dealing with their surroundings and still getting to the field every day. From dealing with their own game. Playing as a team and trying to win games. Plus, in the back of your mind wondering if players on the opposing team have guys infected. What about your own comrades? What did they do last night? How they felt about preventing their family from getting the virus? Markakis saw they were doing it. Markakis probably felt like a wounded soldier itching to get back to the unit who were on the battlefield fighting without him. The thoughts of abandoning the team may have crossed Nick’s mind. The queasiness in the pit of the stomach. The guilt. The love of the game. Maybe all of these reasons. Makakis changed his mind and opted back just in time when Atlanta could use a lift, after they lost one of their starting pitchers. Mike Soroka has torn his achilles and will be out the rest of the season. Markakis is not a pitcher. Markakis’ return should renew the Braves confidence level.

 

THE BUCKO REVIEW

The Pittsburgh Pirates season of 2020 is off to a very bad start. Fans may have wanted live sports back, which includes baseball. Pirate fans are already regretting watching the same plot this team had in the second half of 2019, where injuies mounted up and the team play was dreadful.

Pirates fans may need a pipeline of meth the way things have started.

(2-9) record after 11 games

Lost six in a row

Last in the NL Central

Same old story and the same old song and dance is going on with the Pirates’ health. In the first 11 games, the bullpen arms are breaking down at a rapid pace.

Michael Feliz (Forearm) out for season

Kyle Crick (Shoulder) Clay Holmes (Forearm) on Injured list

Nick Burdi now is dealing with some elbow issues. Burdi was placed on the 45 day injured list.

Good news: Closer Keone Kela returning to the team after dealing with Covid

Coming in to 2020, starters Chris Archer & Jameson Taillon were out for the year with injuries.

WALKING THE PLANK

In season with hardly any good, just bad and ugly. No steady pitching. No hitting as the Pirates team has been ice cold during the dog days of summer with the lumber.

The Pirates’ best player has been veteran Colin Moran, who has played mostly DH for the team. Colin Moran has hit 5 home runs driving in seven runs with 9 hits so far. This is in just a tad over ten games so far this season. Moran’s average is only .243 which is better than the rest of the Pirate ship.

BRIGHT SPOT

On defense, Bryan Reynolds already has chipped in with 4 outfield assists with his arm throwing runners out, from the grassy part of the field.

WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO:

Pirate fans may be OK because they have the Penguins in the NHL playoffs. As long as you do not spill their Iron City beer, they will get through this hot mess they find their baseball team in.

 

MARLINS GUTTED BY COVID

The Miami Marlins had to be shut down due to an outbreak in the team’s locker room. The MLB has had protocols set up for each player to follow, to help prevent Covid from entering a team’s locker room. The Marlins have over a dozen players and personnel that have contracted the virus. It is stiill haunting the world and does not care whose body it enters. During an exhibition game in Atlanta, Marlin players were seen at their hotel bar drinking and having a whale of a time. Some reports say Marlin players went out from there and painted the town red. Manager Don Mattingly of the Marlins blames small spaces during rain delays that mean players and staff members can not social distance. Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said the same thing when Chicago had a rain delay in Cincinnati. You’d think MLB would have a plan for every scenario like what teams should do in a rain delay, besides wait it out. Marlins outfielder Harold Ramirez told a Spanish station that MLB should do the bubble idea like the NBA or have hub cities like the NHL.

Years ago I thought Bud Selig was a bad baseball commissioner, for not opening up his eyes to see his players were growing mammoth size craniums. Didn’t see body builders coming to the plate which made their bat look like a toothpick. Rob Manfred is absolutely a terrible commissioner; he’s a man without a plan. Instead of arguing money with his league between owners and players, you’d think they would have every scenario covered in months of meetings about how to keep the players and personal safe. This week Manfred told every team they need to hire a compliance officer to help enforce the protocols in place.  These officers should have been in place during the Summer Camp. Plus social distancing in a stadium with no fans should be easy. Open up a sky box or one of the multiple establishments inside any typical stadium, instead of having the visitors crammed in a locker room like sardines in a can. Seems like baseball is doing things on the fly instead of putting some deep thought into small details that are very important. Whatever happened to dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s?

I will not just throw Rob Manfred under the bus. What about the Marlins management? Sorry Mr. Yankee, Derek Jeter, you’re the owner of this team and you speak your mind on everything else throughout the league. What’s Jeter doing about his own house that is not quite in order? Don Matting, another former Yankee, is the manager of these Renegade Marlin players who don’t see the big picture. Plus Miami Marlins being from Florida, one of the states that has the most Covid cases, still on the rise. Does your team not know what’s going on in your own back yard? The Marlins players may have given some of the Philadelphia players a few positive tests as these two teams played each other over that first weekend. Phillies have been shut down and both teams will reschedule all the games they miss.

I love seeing live sports again on television. Only so many reruns of old baseball games I can watch all summer. I did notice my teams in those rebroadcasts went undefeated. The NHL playoffs seem to be going off without a hitch. NBA has had some turbulence of players needing fast food or boobs while stuffing some money down some dancers G-string. Can you do that in a strip club these days? Do patrons have plastic clubs to feed a dancer money in those bikini under garments? Some hand sanitizer on the stage as well. NBA and NHL are doing playoffs. I can not envision a whole baseball season being played out in certain hub cities. I could see playoffs being done that way. The MLB has done well with teams in their regions paying only the other teams in their regions. This reduces travel. To make this work, players have to follow the guidelines. Owners have to keep a watch on their own guys. It would be nice if the MLB would get their heads out of their arses and cover every situation instead of coming up with something deep inside their ice hole after the fact. I know positive Covid tests will happen throughout the season. Now if everyone follows the rules and stays on the same page, no more outbreaks should happen. It’s always a few bad apples that ruin things for everyone in life. These bad apples are the Marlins and the idiot Rob Manfred, who calls himself the baseball commissioner.

KELLY’S HEROES

LA Dodgers have not forgotten what the Houston Astros stole from them in 2017. A World Series trophy!!! Without fans in the stands, many thought the Astros were getting away with murder for how they earned that 2017 World Series trophy. How the Astros stole signs to earn their franchise first ever MLB championship. How the commissioner of the MLB, Rob Manfred, went easy on the punishment for what the Astros did to the integrity of the game of baseball. In the game of baseball sometimes justice is served on the diamond. Pitcher Joe Kelly, of the Dodgers, on Tuesday night made it known that no player in baseball has forgotten about the Houston Asterisks. Kelly’s action on the mound led to a bench clearing altercation of verbal abuse thrown between the Dodgers and Astros who have bad blood with eachother rising to the boiling point. Rob Manfred and the MLB came down hard on the reliever suspending him for 8 games in a shortened 60 game season. Joe Kelly was not thrown out of the game or even warned as his pitch sailed towards the head of Alex Bregman of the Astros.

Joe Kelly’s connection to the Houston scandal did not come from playing for the Dodgers. Kelly pitched for the Boston Red Sox in 2017 where the Astros knocked out his team in the first round. However Kelly was on the Red Sox team in 2018 and his team knocked off the Astros in the American League Championship series and eventually won the World Series. When you join another team, it’s like when you get married and his or her family comes with the package deal. Their problems and history become your problems and history. Sometimes in life you face a common enemy which is the Houston Astros. Plus, Joe Kelly and players throughout the game may think the Astros stole money right out of their pockets. Like at your own job one group, for example the sales people, cheated the company and still got paid; everyone knows what they did to collect that extra money. The company only fires the sales manager while the vultures with a smirk on their face, walk around free as a bird.

When management and ownership don’t put their foot down, sometimes others have to remind the scandalous people that we have not forgotten. In baseball, the best dish served cold is a little chin music to get the blood pumping. This is what Joe Kelly did with a fast ball that sailed close to Alex Bregman’s head. Then Kelly gave Carlos Correa a brush back from the plate style of pitch. Joe Kelly denied any intent. Then Kelly struck out Correa, walked off the mound while making a pouty face, and mocked good ole Carlos. Of course Dusty Baker, now the Astros manager who I hate even more as a manager and a person, said Kelly made an inappropriate comment. Baker has to stick up for his guys, and I understand that. It’s like trying to tell me a serial killer is a better person because he can prove that the guy killed only 18 people instead of 19. The bench clearing incident meant both managers from each team were dinged with a one game suspension for unlawful assembly out on the field.

Meanwhile Joe Kelly’s actions ges him an 8 game suspension. Eight games in a short season is 13% of the season which while realistic is very harsh. Kelly did not get warned by the umpires. Plus, was not ejected and he actually did not plunk any one. Perhaps Joe Kelly was just a little wild that day. We know that was not true. The commissioner of baseball has lost his marbles as no Astro players in the sign stealing saga get suspended or got money taken out of their wallet for their actions. It’s like those bottom feeders in the drug world that get busted for dealing have to give up the big fish, a supplier, to get off the hook. Joe Kelly will appeal the charges. Maybe baseball needs a Judge Judy to run what’s fair and what’s not for MLB. Kelly is the hero of the week to send Houston, you have a problem that is not going away. Plus, Kelly did not ruin the win by the Dodgers that day as they beat the Astros 5-2. This week it was Joe Kelly, and another week it may be somebody else. Astros will serve baseball justice this year on the diamond. The Astros are lucky with no fans in the crowd. They get to escape the constant jeers they would have all year on the road. Rob Manfred thinks suspending guys for so many games will cut down retaliation on the the Asterisks. The Astros will get their punishment, and hopefully the bruising will not be too bad. Hopefully, pitchers could spread those golf balls they call baseballs in different areas of the body when these Asterisks come up to the plate and get plunked. Yes, it’s that easy to get plunked. It’s like stealing a sign whaling on a trash can.

 

 

THE RISE AND FALL OF A MATT DAVIDSON

When the Chicago White Sox went into a full tear down and traded all of their assets for prospects, fans knew bad baseball was on the way.  It was a full rebuild on the Southside of Chicago as they brought up their own players up from the farm. The White Sox signed some veterans to fill the roster in hopes they would do well and become a bargaining chip for some other teams at the trade deadline. Watching games, you watched certain players to see if they would be good enough to hang around until all the young talent they received would be ready to play with them. One guy I was a fan of was Matt Davidson, a third baseman the White Sox got from Arizona way before they thought about a complete rebuild. I remember going to the second game of the regular season on a very cold day at Sox ball park. White Sox versus Tigers and Matt Davidson knocked two home runs into the seats off Tiger pitching, that afternoon. I thought this guy should be on this future team. Davidson could be that power hitter at one of the corner infield positions, I envisioned

Nothing was ever easy for Matt Davidson, I’ve noticed over his career of baseball. In 2013 he had a cup of coffee when he made the Majors and broke in with the Diamondbacks. Davidson only had 76 At-bats and hit only .237, but showed off his power and knocked three balls into seats driving in 12. Davidson was traded to the White Sox and did not make it back to the majors until 2016, where he played 1 game, had only 2 at-bats, and then got hurt . Davidson was done for the year. In those two at-bats with the White Sox he drove in one run with a hit. Davidson had to work on striking out less and fielding before he finally got that call in 2016.

In 2017 Matt Davidson finally got to play the whole year for the White Sox. In Davidson first entire season in the bigs he played in 118 games batted .220 for the year and banged out 26 home runs while driving in 68. Davidson still struck out too many times as he whiffed 165 times in 118 games. Davidson in 2017 would set career highs in RBI’S and home runs. In 2018 Davidson average went up 8 points to .228 and he played in more games. 123 games to be exact. In 2018 Davidson hit only 20 long balls as he drove in 62. Strikeouts for Davidson were the same at 165 again. Matt Davidson even pitched a few innings for the White Sox when they were getting blowing out. Some say Davidson had a wicked curve ball.

Matt Davidson wanted to be a two way player and pitch and play the field like Shohei Ohtani. Only problem is in 2019 it was not going to happen for the Chicago White Sox. White Sox  non-tendered Matt Davidson as he became a free agent. Matt Davidson tried to land with other teams but in 2019, Davidson did not get one at-bat with any MLB team. In 2020,, Matt Davidson had an invite for the Cincinnati Reds to come to Spring training. Davidson did well enough as he had hopes to make the team as a position player. Then Covid hit and shut down all baseball operations. Then the return of baseball, and Matt Davidson still had to prove himself in summer camp. Davidson did well and was rewarded and made the Cincinnati Reds opening day roster.

With the National league getting the Universal DH, Matt Davidson had a perfect position to do his thing as a power hitter. Davidson was the team’s DH on opening day versus the Tigers. Matt Davidson only had two at-bats, but he was back in the Majors after a year of hiatus. No hits in his first game back, but it had to feel good just being there. Just when you are feeling like you got your life back together, somebody pulls out the rug underneath you. Davidson, now after one game, is heading to the Reds Injury list as he tested positive for the Corona Virus. You think Davidson will be able to bounce back and play after he gets better? Will Davidson be the same player when he is able to return? Will it be too late with a shortened season in progress?  Will it be two years without playing a full season at the highest level in the game he loves? Whenever Matt Davidson returns, he will have another mountain to climb to get back to the majors. He’ll have hopes this go around that he avoids the big slide in the game of chutes and ladders of life. I give him credit, every time this kid falls, he gets back up. Let’s hope Davidson gets back to the majors and and has a full baseball career. Davidson just needs a few breaks to go his way for once.

THE MISFIT ISLAND OF EXILED WHITE SOX PLAYERS

The New York Mets, before the 2020 season started, released a pair of ex-White Sox players that were trying to make their ball club. Melky Cabrera and Gordan Beckham are now available to anyone who wants them. Gordon Beckham was trying to make the Mets as a utility guy. Melky Cabrera was trying to be the Mets’ DH. Both Beckham and Cabrera played last year for other teams. Gordon Beckham is 33 years old and played with the Tigers last season. He came off the bench for them and had 240 at-bats. Beckham hit a low .215 while knocking six balls into seats. Beckham did also have 12 doubles and two triples. Melky Cabrera, 35 years old, played in Pittsburgh last season. He hit .280 with 7 home runs and drove in 47. Both players will most likely stay available, and hope a team will need their services down the stretch.

I picture an island of exiled players from the White Sox, like the Island of Misfit toys in Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer. The lion, Moon Racer scoops all the misfit toys and brings them to his island. This in hopes that Santa Clause, some day, will take them to kids for them to enjoy. On the Island of Exiled White Sox, an agent finds a place for them to play ball in hopes he can find a team for them to go back to. Gordon Beckham had an impressive rookie year when he first arrived from the farm system of the White Sox. Beckham could never find himself again and has made a living coming off teams’ benches the last few seasons, even having a second stint with the White Sox. For Melky Cabrera, he played three seasons with the White Sox, as a fan favorite. Then he was traded as the team was looking for assets during a losing season. The White Sox eventually went into a full mode rebuild. Cabrera played another stint with the Royals, the team the White Sox traded him to. Both Cabrera and Beckham are like Radio DJ’s working their way up and down the dial.

White Sox Exiled Island would have some vintage old toys like a Joe Borchard train with a caboose with square wheels.

24 Feb 2001: Joe Borchard of the Chicago White Sox poses for a studio portrait during Spring Training at Tucson Electric Park in Tucson, Arizona.Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr /Allsport

Lance Broadway would be like the cowboy who rides an ostrich from  Misfit Island.

Melky Cabrera could be like Charlie in the Box with both having the faces of a Jack in the Box.

Gordon Beckham would match up as the gun that shoots jelly, like his hitting, at times.

White Sox Exiled Island is full of players we once adored. Players we may have loved and just put them deep into the bottom of the toy chest of our minds, while they tried to play with other teams. Maybe the baseball agent, Moon Racer, will find forever homes for our fallen heroes on the diamond. Now both players play ball by a corn field on White Sox Exiled island. Maybe Cabrera and Beckham will run into Shoeless Joe Jackson and other exiled Sox players from the past.

2020 MLB PREVIEW

DIVISION PREDICTIONS

NL EAST

PREDICTED DIVISION WINNER: ATLANTA BRAVES

When the Atlanta Braves start winning divisions, it’s very hard to take away their tomahawk chop. Look at the the 1990’s when they camped out in first place for like ten straight years. Atlanta has the youth with a taste of the playoffs in their system. It’s an up and coming team that the Braves have as a whole. Adding Marcell Ozuna in free agency means this team is better. A guy that beat them in the playoffs may be the X-factor.

A POTENTIAL WILD CARD: DC NATIONALS

The nasty Nats can not get off to a slow start in a 60 game season, like they did last year. Nationals lost some lumber in Anthony Rendon, and Ryan Zimmerman opted not to play due to Covid-19. Is Starlin Casto and Eric Thames enough replacement offense for this team to thread water with the rest of the division? The Nationals starting rotation will get this team at least a wild card game. In the Playoffs facing Mad Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin in a short series… good luck to the other team.

A POTENTIAL WILD CARD/ SLEEPER: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Phillies with the star power they have, are not going to sneak up on you. They added veteran starter, Zack Wheeler. They added Yankees short stop DiDi Gregorious to the mix. The have a healthier Andrew McCutchen returning. The delay of the season helped him get better. The biggest move was bringing in Joe Giraldi as Manager. The pitching is still a question mark but the team will score runs. Wild card I can see. Giraldi will give this team an edge.

NEW YORK METS: Are the Mets replacement players for the ones they lost in free agency, better? Every season this team has too many moving parts. Seems like they can’t establish a chemistry. In a short season, I can’t seeing that getting established quickly enough. Too streaky. They can string a lot of wins together. They also can string a bunch of losses.

FLORIDA MARLINS: The Marlins are like that fish you struggle with a lot to get in the boat. At the end, a blunt hit to the head ends the game with maybe some bruises and scratches. The fish are in a tough division. Still growing in their tank and surroundings.

NL CENTRAL

PREDICTED DIVISION WINNER: CINCINNATI REDS

The best starting rotation in the Central. They bring a Trevor Bauer, Sonny Gray, Wade Miley, Luis Castillo, and a Anthony DeSclafani.

Reds had no problem with the lumber last year. This off season they added a potent deadly line up. Bringing in Mike Moustakas and Nicholas Castellanos, while weakening their division foes at the same time. Then adding a Japanese star in Shog Akiyama makes this lineup solid from 1 thru 9.

A POTENTIAL WILD CARD: CHICAGO CUBS

The Cubs are a team on life support. They chased out Joe Maddon as manager and hired their former catcher David Ross who has no experience as a skipper. Pitching was an issue last season and they have lost a few arms in free agency. For the core, the team has no clue who to re-sign. This is still a veteran team in a division where everyone seems to be on equal footing except the Reds. A David Ross is a guy to put his foot up your rear when you do something wrong. A kick in the arse may be the perfect way to get this type of team to respond in a short season as the Cubs could grab a wild card.

A POTENTIAL WILD CARD: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

The Cardinals won the Central last season. They lost Marcell Ozuna, a big bat in their line up. The red birds did not do much in the off-season. They signed a Korean pitcher to take one of the starting rotation spots. These are the St. Louis Cardinals. They could, and probably will, be in the mix because they will replace free agents with one of their own. Like changing a light bulb.

A POTENTIAL WILD CARD:MILWAUKEE BREWERS

I do not like the Brewers replacements for the guys that walked off into the sunset with other teams. Love the Brewers manager Craig Counsell, and he may get the best out of the replacements. Brewers still have star quality on this squad. The depth is not as deep as it once was. Christian Yellich will have to carry the heavy load this entire season.

A POTENTIAL SLEEPER: PITTSBURGH PIRATES

Many will think I’m crazy for picking the Pirates as a sleeper. The Pirates last season were riddled with injuries. At the all-star break, the Pirates were only a game or so behind division leading Cardinals. Sure, the wheels fell off completely in the second half. This year they pretty much have the same team coming back, but with a new skipper in Derek Shelton, who was bench coach with the Twins. The Pirates have not traded away all their  veterans and have some talent. Chris Archer, Joe Musgrave, and Jameson Taillon are three pretty good starters. Josh Bell had a monster year last year. Brian Reynolds and Kevin Newman did well in their rookie year. The Pirates still have veteran outfielder Gregory Polanco. If this team stays healthy, the Pirates may not be ship wrecked in a shortened season.

NL WEST

POTENTIAL DIVISION WINNER: LA DODGERS

The Dodgers come in stacked with a very lethal lineup card that added a Mookie Betts to it.  Making this team even more dangerous.

Betts was the Boston Red Sox MVP and helped them win it all in 2018. Dodgers pitching staff is well stocked with arms through both the starting rotation and the bull pen.This may be their best team on paper before a season starts in the last few years.

POTENTIAL WILD CARD: ARIZONA  DIAMONDBACKS

D-Backs went out and did some shopping in the off season. They landed Giants ace, Madison Bumgarner. They signed Kole Calhoun from the Angels. They traded and got Starling Marte from the Pirates.

Diamondbacks took second place last year in the west with 85 wins. These three additions should get the Diamondbacks a wild card or give the Dodgers a run for their money.

POTENTIAL SLEEPER SAN DIEGO PADRES

Pardres are always the sexy pick for many experts. Padres have a young up and coming starting rotation. They have the great Manny Machado. Plus the superstar the White Sox gave away for James Shields in the down slope of his career. Fernado Tatis Jr. looked awesome last season. Can Tatis and Machado be a one two punch knockout machine in 2020?  Again, in a short season anything can happen.

COLORADO ROCKIES:

What happened to the Rockies? Seemed like only a few seasons ago they made the post season. Then disappeared from the baseball world. Rocky Mountain’s High may have not have worn off yet.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS:

The Giants Hall of Fame manager retired. The ace of the staff has left for Arizona. The Giants’ superstar face of the franchise Buster Posey opted out of not playing this season Panda bear is overweight which is nothing new, but has moved to first base.

Now they have that idiot who was manager of the Phillies, as the team’s new skipper. Gabe Kappler would not be the Gabe I would welcome back or welcome as my leader on the field.

 

AL EAST

PREDICTED DIVISION WINNER: YANKEES

The New York Yankees have a loaded roster. Adding Geritt Cole to the starting mix has made the Death Star even scarier. The Rays are the only team in the division that will give the Yankees a threat. Playing games versus the NL East will eventually make the Yankees even better.

A POTENTIAL WILD CARD: TAMPA BAY RAYS

Rays have the pitching to keep up with all the Joneses. Rays are a very creative team and have pitched bullpen days all of last year. In a short 60 game season they’ve already been there, done this and probably will continue to do it and be better at it than anyone else.

Blake Snell should never speak. His rant in the off-season makes this kid sound like a complete moron.

A POTENTIAL SLEEPER: TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The Blue Jays have been kicked out of Canada due to the virus. This team could potentially go through bloody hell, being Road Warriors every game this season. The Government of Pittsburgh has turned down the Blue Jays from sharing PNC park. I like that the Blue Jays assembled a nice pitching staff. They have lots of young talent. A permanent suitcase will take a toll on this team.

BOSTON RED SOX: Chris Sale is out for the year. The team is desperate for pitching. Trading for Dylan Covey has Bean Town wishing the 2020 season would have just went away.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES: Worst roster in baseball.

AL WEST

PREDICTED DIVISION WINNER: HOUSTON ASTROS

The Astros have a lot to prove; like they actually needed to cheat to win the World Series in 2017. The Astros have a chip on their shoulder and do not have to deal with fans harassing them at every away game, because they will be playing in empty stadiums. 

A fan holds a sign a spring training baseball game between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Now coaching the Astros is Dusty Baker. Every team he goes to, the first season his teams always do well.

POTENTIAL WILD CARD: OAKLAND A’S

I wish the A’s had some extra money laying around. We all wish we did. The A’s have assembled a very talented young roster. Adding some free agent talent to put this team over the hump would especially help them get further into the playoffs. Watch Khris Davis rebound and have a year like he did in 2018 where he mashed out 48 bombs into the seats.

Oakland is very balanced. In a 60 game season, they could leap frog the Astros if they ride the struggle bus for any time period.

POTENTIAL SLEEPER: LA ANGELS

Angels have dynamite in the everyday line up card. Mike Trout is the best in the game. Shohei Ohtani from Japan is a very nice slugger in the line up. An aging Albert Pujol could still do some damage. The signing of Anthony Rendon in the off season gives this team a murderer’s row every night. However Rendon might not play in the beginning of this shortened season with an injury. Plus the LA Angels’ pitching is not something to write home to mom about. Shohei Ohtani will pitch again, and for sure will have a pitch count every start. The pitching will doom the Angels.

POTENTIAL SLEEPER: TEXAS RANGERS

Rangers have improved their starting rotation. Getting Corey Kluber from the Indians was their biggest move in a trade.

The Rangers added some veterans to the mix as well. with Lance Lynn already in place, they brought in Jordan Lyles and Kyle Gibson. The Rangers added Todd Frazier to their infield. Rangers seem to have what the New York Mets have tried and failed. They are adding veterans to and already veteran type of team in hoping all the pieces mesh together and very quickly. In a short season, this ragtag bunch may take too long to come together.

SEATTLE MARINERS:

AL CENTRAL

PREDICTED DIVISION WINNER: MINNESOTA TWINS

Adding Josh Donaldson to the everyday line up, gives the Twins their most feared line up ever.

Twins will outslug teams on almost any given night. However does this team have enough pitching to get by? Relying on an unproven Homer Bailey, who is up and down. Pitcher Michael Pinda is suspended for the first 36 games which is a big blow in a short season.

POTENTIAL WILD CARD:WHITE SOX

Wild Card or sleeper, the White Sox are stacked with young talent from the free agent market. They could make some loud noise in a very short season. Veteran lefty Dallas Keuchal gives your rotation depth. Adding a slugger like Edwin Encarnacion as your every day DH, makes that line up card no easy outs. Let’s not forget an all-star catcher in Yasmani Grandal. Plus finally the unveiling of Luis Robert, a young slugger who can do some real Van Damage to opposing pitching staffs.

CLEVELAND INDIANS : Some will say the Indians will not go away and will remain in the mix. With the Indians you sometimes wonder if they are in or out. It’s like in the movies. Major League management wants them out at times, but this management will help the team before the trade deadline for help if they are in the mix. I think this year the wheels fall off completely. Will this year be the last year with their team name, the Indians?

The Chief Wahoo or as I call him, Chief Scottie Pippen, was shown the door a year previously.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS:  Some question some of the trades the Royals have done as being head scratchers. Do Jorge Soler, Whit Merrifield, and Alex Gordon find new homes?

DETROIT TIGERS:

The Tigers number 1 pick is something to get excited about.

THE SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

OPENING DAY ROSTER

POSITION PLAYERS

CATCHERS: Yasmani Grandal, James McCann, & Zack Collins

FIRST BASE: Jose Abreu

SECOND BASE: Leury Garcia

SHORT STOP: Tim Anderson

HOT CORNER: Yoan Moncarda

DH: Edwin Encarnacion

OUT FIELDERS: Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, & Nicky Delmonico

BENCH: Adam Engel, Danny Mendick, & Cheslor Cuthbert

ARMS

STARTING LOCATION: Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, Gio Gonzalez, Dallas Keuchal, Carlos Rodon, & Reynaldo Lopez

BULLPEN: Aaron Bummer, Stev Cishek, Alex Colome, Jimmy Cordero, Ross Detwiler, Jace Fry, Kelvin Herrera, Codi Heuer, Jimmy Lambert, & Evan Marshall

TAXI SQUAD

ARMS: Zack Burdi, Ryan Burr, Matt Foster, Brady Lail, Alex McRae, Jonathan Stiever, Garrett Crochet, Bernardo Flores Jr., Jacob Lindgren, Adalberto Mejia, & Bennett Sousa

CATCHER: Seby Zavala

OUTFIELDERS: Micker Adolfo, Luis Gonzalez, & Blake Rutherford

THE BUCKO REVIEW

OPENING DAY ROSTER

POSITION PLAYERS

BACK STOP: JACOB STALLINGS & JOHN RYAN MURPHY

FIRST BASE: JOSH BELL

SECOND BASE: ADAM FRAZIER

SHORT STOP: KEVIN NEWMAN

THE HOT CORNER: COLIN MORAN

OUTFIELD: BRYAN REYNOLDS, JARROD DYSON, & GUILLERMO HEREDIA

BENCH: JOSE OSUNA, ERIK GONZALEZ, PHILLIP EVANS, &COLE TUCKER

ARMS

STARTING ROTATION: Joe Musgrove, Trevor Williams, Mitch Keller, Derek Holland, Steve Brault, & Chad Kuhl

BULLPEN: Nik Turley, Kyle Crick, Richard Rodriguez, Michael Felix, Nick Burdi, Chris Stratton, Clay Holmes, & Robbie Erlin

TAXI SQUAD

INFIELDERS: Ji-Hwan Bae, Rodolfo Castro, Will Craig, O’Neil Cruz, & Mason Martin

CATCHER: Christian Kelly

OUTFIELD: Jason Martin

PITCHERS: Cody Bolton, Nick Mears, Sam Howard, Max Kranick, James Marvel, & Brandon Ogle

BLUE JAYS LOOKING FOR A NEW BIRD HOUSE IN 2020

OH CANADA, still has its borders closed due to the Covid-19 and the Toronto Blue Jays will have to find a new home in the 2020 season. The Blue Jays are the only team that plays in Canada. Plus the Blue Jays start on the road this season. The Canadian government does not want U.S teams flying into their country without quarantining. Quarantines take weeks so this puts the kibosh on having games played in Toronto. A schedule is already made and it’s a short season that took forever to get to this point.

Options for the Blue Jays include the closest U.S city, Buffalo, New York where their triple AAA team plays their home games. The stadium may need some upgrades to house a full major league game even without crowds. Club houses need to be extended and some sky boxes added for team personnel and reporters. Blue Jays also could set up camp in Florida where their spring training facility is located. Florida is one of the hot spots with Covvid-19 and the MLB has said they have the right to remove a team if Covid runs wild.

Blue Jays have some major league options as well. This would result in sharing a stadium with another team. Baltimore and Pittsburgh have offered their hospitality to their neighbors to the North. Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles, makes a lot of sense because they play the Blue Jays ten times this season in the Eastern region. Now you have to figure out 25 home games for the Blue Jays instead of 30. The Pirates and the town of Pittsburgh said hosting the Blue Jays in their city will help crate some jobs and should give its city a boost economically. The downfall to that is the Pirates play in the Midwest region. Due to the Covid-19, MLB has scheduled the regular season in three regions to cut down on travel. Pirates seem like a city on the bubble of both the East and Midwest region, so it may work.

Both PNC and Camden Yards are very nice ball parks. In Maryland, I love Annapolis and the east coast will bring you some nice seafood choices in the summer. I think of some of the city of Baltimore as being one wrong turn; the show The Wire comes to mind. In Pittsburgh, perogies and Iron City beer speak to me. The people in Pittsburgh are terrific. Blue Jays may be more interesting than the rebuilding Pirates. Could cities trade team owners and teams in 2021? Buffalo wings are no door prize number three. Summer in the city of Buffalo is fun always had. Plus the food at all those restaurants and pubs and keep those wings in mind again, it’s for real and your stomach will be one happy camper. I doubt the people who make the decisions think with their stomachs like I do and what they will be doing when baseball is not being played and downtime arrives. The Blue Jays have some nice alternatives as their parents send them away for summer camp this season. Where will the Blue Jays land? They better figure it out soon because the season starts this week. 

THE BAT LICKER GETS THE TOMAHAWK CHOPPED

For a moment the Atlanta Braves had an impact bat inserted in their line up. They found Yasiel Puig off the streets and brought him home like a stray dog. They fed and tested him, and the outcome was positive. Not the positive anyone these days is looking for as Puig has the Covid-19 inside his body. Like the stray dog being diagnosed with rabies. Any kind of deal between Puig and the Braves instantly voided like a cancelled check.

The Braves, desperate for another bat, reached a deal with Yonder Alonso. The White Sox made a trade to get Alonso from the Indians last year in hopes his brother-in-law, Manny Machado, also signed with the White Sox. The White Sox signed everyone who was associated with Manny only to see him sign elsewhere with the Padres. Yonder Alonso was just bad, as he was released later and picked up by the Rockies where his numbers improved from those awful numbers he put on the southside of Chicago.

The Braves line up, with Ronald Acuna Jr., Freddie Freeman, Marcell Ozuna and the signing of the 29 year outfielder Yasiel Puig, sounded dangerous. Fans and players were probably very excited. This season every team will be dealing with something they have never been through. It’s whatever team could keep their players on the field which will survive and win this short baseball season. Guys like Yonder Alonso will become the X-factor and maybe thrive in this kind of enviroment. In The Walking Dead, Neagan was a gym teacher. In a zombie apocalyptic world, he lead a group of thugs called the Saviors. Meanwhile Yasiel Puig will have to quarantine himself, get healthy, and take a year off from the game. Puig will get some interest in 2021, find his swing, and still be a dangerous slugger like he can be. The Braves will hope and maybe pray, that Yonder Alonso can find his swing from back in his Oakland days where he put the balls in the seats regularly. 

A BRAVE NEW WORLD OF A SIGNING

Did the Atlanta Braves just become a better team with the signing of Yasiel Puig? Veteran Nick Markakis opted out and decided not to play in 2020 because of the virus still lurking. Markakis was penciled in as the Braves DH . With Yasiel Puig still on the market, the Braves found a better replacement for Markakis on a one year deal and brings the bat licker to Atlanta.

The bat licker last year played with the Reds after being dealt from the Dodgers in that off season. In Cincinnati, Puig will mostly be remembered for starting two brawls with the Pirates. The Reds then traded Puig to Cleveland, who wanted Puigs’ bat to help them catch the Twins in the Central. Puig responded and hit .297 for the Indians since the trade dealine. Puig then became a free agent this off season and waited patiently until he found the offer he was looking for. The Baltimore Orioles wanted Puig’s services as did other teams including the Korean baseball league. The Atlanta Braves are a proven winner and with a very good roster Puig’s waiting game pays off.

The Atlanta Braves’ everyday line up has young superstar slugger, Ronald Acuna Jr. He’s a solid first baseman with Freddie Freeman. Plus the Braves inked slugger Marcell Ozuna in the off season who helped the Cardinals last season make it to the post season. With the addition of Yaseil Puig, if you can deal with his wild antics of licking his bat, you have another tough out in the line up. Puig is only 29 years old and can hit for power and average with a strong arm to man a corner outfield position if needed. Plus it’s a one year deal in a shortened season. If it goes sour, then it is very easy to part ways. Puig is searching for a long term deal so this may work well for both parties. In a 60 game schedule, if Puig gets locked in early, he could get very hot and stay red-hot through a short regular season. In a short season, MVP is not out of the question. Puig is far better than Nick Markakis. Markakis is a better team guy than a Puig. Puig is very durable and played in 149 games last season. Durability, plus Puig has playoff experience with the Dodgers. These are some other things a Puig will bring to the table. Anything can happen in a short season. Atlanta may be getting rid of the Chop, but their line up has that judo chop chop in it, which will scare opposing pitchers around the league in 2020.

BASEBALL RETURNING 2020

60 GAMES

It took a very long time for MLB and all the players to agree on what it would take to have some kind of a season in 2020. With Covid-19 still lurking, you would think that the virus was the major cause for the delay. The safety of all the players, you would think.

However it was all about the Benjamins, and that delayed America’s past time.  It’s a game that you think would be easier to social distance than all the other sports. In the MLB, it has always been SHOW ME THE MONEY. This season so far not happening, has been way better than the movie “The Happening.” The season brings back memories of the strike year of 1994 where the season was cancelled during the dog days of summer. It was the same year a few players guest-starred on Married with Children.

The episode was about Al Bundy’s softball team, called Cleavage. Guest stars included Joe Morgan as a reporter. Brett  Saberhagan delivering pizzas. Frank Thomas doing security. Millionaires needed side gigs to make ends meet. Somehow after squabbling between the millionaire players and the billionaire owners, they were able to hash out an agreement to actually play the 2020 season. The agreement is 60 games. Now the 2020 season is a sprint, not the regular marathon of 162 games. Now the question is whether all these teams will be able to keep their players healthy during this 40 yard dash.

ALL ABOUT THE DIVISION PLAY

The key to the playoffs in any sport is to simply win your division. Sounds easy. Can be complicated for many teams. To win your division, you must beat the teams in your division. In 2020, division play has become bigger in the MLB due to regional scheduling. The MLB wants to cut down on teams traveling so during the 60 game schedule, you play your divisional rivals and the teams from the other league that are located in your region. The Midwest region will be all the Central teams from the AL and NL divisions. Interleague play will happen only with teams located in your region. The Eastern region will have the AL East and NL East teams. Then the West will feature all the AL and NL West teams. Your team will not play any other team from the other two regions. Unless you meet in the playoffs.

In 2020, beating the divsion foes is the X-factor because your team will get a heavy dose of them in the 60 game schedule. Then you sqaure off with the other teams from the other league, which makes up the rest of your schedule. All the divsions stay intact with wins and losses being tracked in the standings every night. This schedule could help certain teams and hurt others. In the AL East and NL East, those divsions are both loaded with the Yankees, Rays, Braves, Mets, and your 2019 champions Nationals. Plus a young and upcoming Blue Jay team. Are the Marlins the easy part of the schedule in that region? Marlins are ok, but not exactly a doormat to put an automatic win in the column. The Western region will not be a picnic either. Dodgers, Angels, Astros, A’s and Diamondbacks have improved. As a White Sox fan, the nightmare history of West Coast trips is taken away, which is a good thing. The new scheduling gives some teams some hope, while other teams will not reap the benefits. It is a 60 game schedule, so if your team gets hot, you can beat anybody on the schedule.

 

TAXI SQUADS

In 2020, a crack Commando unit is standing by. These men escaped Covid-19 and are held up in an undisclosed location near your ball park. Today or tommorrow, stll wanted by their team and fans, they survive on streaming and waiting patiently. If the team has a problem with which no else can help, and if you find them, you can activate the Taxi Squad.

Since 2020 will have no minor league affiliates playing under the MLB, each team will have a pool of their own players they can use to help the roster if needed from injuries or if Covid 19 sidelines a few guys. Thie elite unit will be close by in another facility, sharpening up on their baseball skills in case they are called into action.

RULE CHANGES

PITCHING

THREE BATTER RULE

The Three batter rule has been talked about for quite some time over the years. The gist of it is any pitcher who starts the game or comes out of the bullpen, has to face a minimum of three batters. Unless the pitcher is injured or ill which gets him off the hook. This rule big time cuts down all the pitching changes late in the game. Sometimes baseball can be like the game of basketball in the last two minutes on the hardwood, both teams have a slew of timeouts all of a sudden. What does this do to those specialists that come out of the bullpen and are used for one out and one out only?

Besides a closer, my choice for a great relief pitcher is the Andrew Miller type of pitcher from the St. Louis Cardinals. Especially when he played for the Indians, how he pitched multiple innings in the playoffs facing whatever oppossing hitter that came up to the plate. Miller got outs. If you make it to the major leagues, you should be able to pitch at least one inning in each appearance. Specialists will have to learn how to get left-handed hitters and right-handed hitters out consistently. They usually can pitch more than one batter, but at times you find yourself at a job where somehow you fall into a role you may or may not like. This rule will favor the offense because in a close game, you may be able to stack the deck on pitchers just coming in. However this rule may help the defense because have you ever watched a game and said out loud… Why are you taking him out of the game after he did well? The Manager is taking the pitcher out for match ups only after he got two batters out with ease. Guys that have the stuff on any given night, you may like that he rolls that into three batters instead of one and two. The next guy could come in, be wild and put your team in a bigger hole with walks. This rule should be a keeper. 

GIVE ME THE WEATHER NOT THE NEWS

In any sport, bad calls are going to occur. In 2020 you will not see any up-in-your-grill style of arguing between umpires and a manager. You know, where spit will fly from both persons’ mouths as they yell obscenities at each other. Which results in the manager being tossed out of the game.

Imagine getting showered in rants and raves in broken English combined with some spittle, if you had to deal with a feisty Ozzie Guillen back when he was the skipper. How many swear words do you think Ozzie got in with a little Spanish spoken in one of those face to face encounters. Managers used the ejection to rally their own team as the manager has your back. Plus some managers are very good at defending their own players. Arguing will occur at a safe distance in 2020. We will have a season where we will miss some of these managers taking their argument to a theatrical levels. No close talking will be prohibited.

NO SPITTING

We must protect the game of baseball, especially for players trying to play this Summer during a pandemic. The MLB put the kibosh on smokeless tobacco and seeds. Basically outlawing spitting; if you first observed America’s past time, you would have thought they had to spit as a required part of the game. Keeping body fluids inside your body will help protect everyone around you on the diamond. Will Covid-19 put some seed and smokeless tobacco companies in the red since baseball players are big business to them?

Sunflower seeds are much safer than smokeless tobacco. The guys that clean up the dugouts should be happier, rather than sweeping up bags and bags of sunflower seed shells after each game.

Does Red Man chew have protesters on their door stop to change their Indian logo on the bags? We will not see a wad of chew hanging out of players mouths like Lenny Dystra in his days. Puffing out the cheeks with smokeless tobacco and then sending a dark loogie to the outfield grass.

No chew in baseball is sacrilegous. It’s like one of those unwritten rules of the game.

Chewing in baseball is up there with no tears on the field.

Chewing gum is ok but you can’t spit. You can’t wrap your smokeless tobacco in the big league chewing gum as well. Modern baseball. Me, I’d rather chew Bazooka Joe.

What fancies you a baseball card or a comic strip with your gum of choice ?

 

 

NO BRAWLS

Baseball is not hockey where you drop the gloves almost every night on the ice. At times, tempers do flare and fists are thrown, usually immediately after a batter getting plunked by the baseball. MLB will come down hard on players that take their emotions and suddenly charge the mound like a bull going after the matador. If baseball can not deal a harsh enough punishment for the sign stealing saga, I’m not sure they will come down hard on players that brawl. With Covid-19, to stop this and try to prevent this from happening for the safety of all players is a good thing. The one good thing for the entire league is Yasiel Puig is not presently on any team’s roster. The bat licker Puig I believe led the league in starting brawls last season.

EXTRA INNINGS

Last year the MLB experimented with extra innings through some of their minor league levels. The purpose of the experiment was to make the extra innings go quicker. To avoid marathon type games. What they did in extras was put an automatic runner on second base to start the inning. The visitors would get the runner first in the top half of the inning while the home team in the bottom of the half of the extra inning would get the same thing. Home teams would get last at-bats if the visiting team scored first in the extra frames. The outcome stays the same; whomever is leading after the inning is played out, wins the game.

This scenario, with the man on second with no outs, creates some different strategies for both the offense and the defense. Does the offense bunt the runner over to third and sacrifice an out to get the runner closer to home? Would the defense intentionally walk the first batter to set up the double play? Teams on offense can do a hit and run to advance the runner. Plus offenses can get the runner over hitting the ball to the right side of the field. Does the defense bring an outfielder in and set him up at short center? 

With only 60 games in the regular season and with expanded rosters, do you really need to add this kind of gimmick to your game? I know this rule would not be used in the playoffs like the shoot-out is not used in the NHL overtime in the playoffs. One reason is to save your pitcher’s arms from too much work, especially if you are playing a night game and have a day game scheduled immediately after. Expanded rosters should fix that problem having more arms to use. You invest your time watching 9 innings of baseball and then they change the rules. Extra innings or overtime equals an extra beer or two.  I’m surprised they did not think of a homerun derby as the game decider. I’d rather play the game the same way you play in regulation to decide the winner. Should boxing go less rounds and then declare a thumb war? NBA plays overtimes until a winner is determined. The NFL… many do not like their overtime rules. However at least they are playing the same rules as regulation. Not a fan of the new extra innings rule, and that is my take on that chapter.

 

THE UNIVERSAL DH

The 1970’s was the arrival of the DH in baseball. Old school baseball with both the National League and the American League having the pitcher bat, went on for decades when the game was born. In my lifetime, the DH was established in the American League, and the National League pitchers still had to bat. In 2020, the MLB is going with the universal DH designated hitter. This means no pitcher will bat for both leagues, as the National League will now have another slugger in the line-up on a full-time basis. This is a rule that could stay after the 2020 baseball season.

With the universal DH in both leagues, it takes away some good things from the game. Always thought the American League had the advantage over the National League when they played each other. In a seven game series, the National team playing in the American park could insert their best hitting bench player to get by. Vice versa, an American team playing in a National park, the slugger is taken out of the line up for the AL team. Unless he can field a position out on the diamond. This weakens the AL team defense most likely having the DH on the field. Plus seeing American League pitchers take swings in the box, is priceless.

Now sometimes we will miss amazing things like Mark Buerhle’s first home run he hit versus the Brew Crew in Milwaukee.

Taking the bat out of the pitcher’s hand also takes the art of pinch hitting basically out of the game. You can still pinch hit anytime you want. Some guys made pinch hitting an art form, coming off the bench almost every day to hit for the pitcher and deliver a hit in crunch time. Less bunts will occur in the game because pitchers usually sacrifice themselves more than anybody else. Bunting in the AL is hardly ever done. Some teams do it well and often. National league might go down the same road with a slugger in the line up instead of a pitcher thinking big innings over bunting. The unversal DH takes everyday strategies out of the equation for NL teams.  Where these teams placed the pitcher in the line-up. Some mangagers had strategy placing them 8th in the line-up rather than the regular 9th. Where does it leave those pitchers that can hit? Some, which is very few, can help their own cause with big hits when they take the rubber every 5 days.

The DH position is good for many possibilities. The first thing is that for aging superstars, that can’t play the field, it obviously extends their career. In Chicago, Harold Baines and Frank Thomas the DH, helped their career as both made it to Coooperstown. Any player that has been a liability in the field of play, now these NL teams can have them be full time DH instead of interleague play at AL parks. Plus the DH can be a rotating spot for your team to give some players rest, especially during a shortened season.

In a shortened season with only 60 games, I like the Univeral DH because it saves your pitching. Pitchers need to focus and get their arms ready for a fast paced action packed season, and don’t need to be thinking about swinging the bat. If they keep this Universal DH intact on a permanent basis, I think baseball particularly becomes too vanilla flavored. With both leagues doing exactly the same. Interleague and playoffs become nothing out of the ordinary. In games when both leagues play each other, we all have a coach in our brain. We think what the team should do, just like the manager in the dugout. What player he should pinch hit or whether he should keep the pitcher in because he’s delivering a masterpiece. More strategies taken out of the game of baseball the sport, becomes Hungry Hungry Hippos over the strategic game of Risk.

Plus moments like Bartolo Colon going yard, will be abolished in the game for good.   

 

ADDISON RUSSELL YOU’RE MY HERE0

 

Once upon a time ago, the young slick fielding short stop, Addison Russell, was part of the young core of the Chicago Cubs. In 2016, Addison Russell helped the Cubs do the unthinkable. Yes, win a World Series. Russell’s defense at short stop was a key part of that championship team. With the lumber that season, Addison Russell only had a .238 batting average. However, Russell drove in 95 runs and chipped in with 21 home runs. They say in baseball, “when you hit, make it count.” Russell had many big hits for the Cubs in late innings, driving in big runs that year during which you can say he was clutch. Then the closet door came off the hinges and let all his skeletons out. The toast of the town was being suspended by the MLB for domestic abuse. Addison Russell was suspended 40 games in 2018. In 2019, Russell served 28 games to complete the punishment. Russell went back to the minors but found his way back on the team in 2019. In the off season, Addison Russell was non-tendered by the Cubs and the 26 year old became a free agent. No interest in the league for Russell’s services in the off season. The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) came knocking.

The KBO has been playing games in front of no fans for weeks now. The Kiwoon Hereos threw Addison Russell a bone. It may perhaps be his only life line to revive his baseball career. Russell accepted and has a one year deal worth 530,000 big ones. The team originally wanted Yasiel Puig,  the bat licker’s services as he too is a free agent. Puig denied their offer as he hopes to be back with the MLB when the league resumes later in the summer. It’s like another man’s junk offer is another man’s treasure. If Yasiel Puig accepted, perhaps Russell would be skipping baseball in 2020 period. The KBO is only allowed three foreign players per team. If the bat licker accepted, Russell may have not gotten any offers this season.

With the Coronavirus lurking, the MLB is limited to a very short season. Every team in the league has released many of their minor league players due to the shortened season, which was doomed by the virus. Many of the independent leagues have folded up shop for 2020. The options for Addison Russell to resurface are not out there. KBO gives him a whole new serenity now. Playing over seas without a crowd will help. Even if the KBO does let fans in, nobody will harass Addison Russell for what he did back in the states. Last season, his final year in Cubbie-land, he did play in 82 games and hit .237 with 9 home runs and drove in 23 RBI’S. Injuries brought him back to the big leagues last season. The Cubs’ thought process was they were hoping Russell would rot away in triple AAA. Then they could quietly release him in the off season.

The KBO is on in the wee hours of the morning on ESPN. I have watched a few innings just wanting to see a live sport that I enjoy. It’s hard because I either get too tired or have had too many beers at that time, which makes it sleepy time for me. Addison Russell may be the biggest name in the KBO from the MLB. Russell is replacing a former big leaguer in Taylor Motter, who I have not ever heard of. The KBO has a former White Sox utility guy, Tyler Saladino. Seems like Chicago rejects are the best foreign players in the KBO. Playing baseball again for Addison Russell will help his overall psyche after not playing the game now for awhile due to the virus. It could also be his road back to the big leagues. Work on his craft and stay away from the women in Korea. Abuse the women over there and they may send him to North Korea to help Kim Jong Un’s Nuclear program. He’d be working on digging the trenches 7 levels below sea water. Addison Russell’s services I thought would be good for a young team up and coming because of his defensive skills at short. The Hereo’s want his bat more than his glove. This trip could be the beginning comeback to the majors or may be the ending of Addison Russell’s baseball career.

2020 PIRATES AND WHITE SOX FINAL DRAFT RESULTS

ROUND	PICKED	NAME	COLLEGE	POSITION
1	11	Garrett Crochet	Tennessee	LHP
2	47	Jared Kelly	Refugio HS (TX)	RHP
3	83	Adisyn Coffey	Wabash	RHP
4	112	Kade Mechals	Grand Canyon U.	RHP
5	142	Bailey Horn	Auburn	LHP

 

 

ROUND	PICKED	NAME	COLLEGE	POSITION
1	7	Nick Gonzales	NMS	INF
2	44	Jared Jones	La Mirada HS (California)	RHP
3	79	Nick Garcia	Chapman	RHP
4	108	Jack Hartman	App State	RHP
5	138	Logan Hofmann	NW St	RHP
Competitive Balance A Pick		Carmen Miodziwski	SC	RHP

WHITE SOX MAY HAVE FOUND THEIR CHRIS SALE CLONE

The White Sox got a huge return when they traded away Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox. In the 2020 MLB draft, the White Sox found the Sale clone with the 11th overall pick by selecting Garrett Crochet out of the University of Tennessee. Similarities include that both Sale and Crochet have the big explosive left handed arm. It can blaze a fast ball by you clocking over a 100 mph. Both pitchers can rack up strike outs at a high rate. The big difference is Crochet does not have that “herky jerky” delivery that Chris Sale has. Which might be a good thing.

Garrett Crochet is 20 years old, born and raised a Southern boy from Ocean Spring Mississippi. In 2019, Crochet made 18 appearances for the Volunteers with six starts. Crochet racked up 81 strike outs. Crochet also pitched 2 1/3 innings of shut out ball to help Tennessee win their first NCAA tourney game since 2005. Crochet struck out four versus North Carolina Wilmington that day. This coming off a fractured jaw from getting hit in the face with a line drive weeks prior.

The White Sox are looking to make Garrett Crochet a starter at some point who has the capability to throw three different style of pitches. The White Sox may start him in the bull pen like how they first used Chris Sale in the big leagues. If baseball is played in 2020, which would be a shortened season, the White Sox could unleash this weapon of mass destruction late in games. It would be nice to see him being used in the expanded playoffs as well. I’m hoping the White Sox can get hot with way less games than in a normal season. A future with Michael Kopech and Garrett Crochet going one and two in a playoff series, in your starting rotation, gives you goose bumps. Goose Island Beer may have a new ad campaign with Honkers Ale.  Plus, the kid has toughness. Lots of praise for his athleticism on the pitching rubber. Plus I do not see him running with scissors like that numbskull Chris Sale. The White Sox have a core of young position players with many about to make the leap into the big leagues. Pitching and pitching is like location, location. I like the White Sox going after arms in this five round draft this year.

 

PIRATES 2020 FIRST PICK IS AN AGGIE

The MLB 2020 draft is only five rounds this year with the Corona Virus lurking and not going away anytime soon. The norm each year in the MLB is 40 rounds in the draft. Ben Cherington is the new GM driving the Pirates ship. With only five rounds, each pick is crucial. The Pirates have a sub-par farm system looking to improve with a collection of young prospects on the rise. Right now baseball in limbo for the 2020 season, means trades are not going to happen in netting prospects like the Bucko’s thought process had in mind before Covid entered the picture. With the first pick of the Pirates in round one and the 7th overall selection, Cherington lands the best all around hitter at the college level. From New Mexico State, Nick Gonzales is an Aggie.

Nick Gonzales is an infielder. A second basemen by trade who can play short stop. Gonzales bats right, throws right, and many had him as a top five pick by experts across the nation. Many thought he was the best all-around hitter in the draft as well. In 2019, Gonzales led the NCAA in hitting with a .432 batting average which was his Sophomore season at New Mexico State. From there, Nick Gonzales made some noise in the Cape Cod league.

Gonzales was MVP of that Summer league. This pick reminds me of when Ben Cherington was working in the Red Sox front office when they took Dustin Pedroia, who was also a second baseman.

Pedroia was a very scrappy hitter that made contact and hardly ever struck out. Nick Gonzales seems like the same type of player. A top of the order type of guy to help set up the sluggers in the line up. Plus putting the ball in play with both these guys who can hit for a high average. Pedroia helped the Red Sox win another World Series. Maybe Nick Gonzales is that first pick down the long road to help the Pirates win another championship. That we have been waiting for since the 1970’s. Only five picks to get the best hitter in the draft and it is a huge night for Cherington and the Pittsbugh Pirates.

BANG ON THE ASTROS CANS ALL DAY

With the Covid 19 sweeping the nation, there are protests, riots, and looting for the injustices that occurred in Minneapolis with George Floyd. Baseball has been in limbo regarding returning, due to the money part of the sport. Has the Houston Astros cheating scandal suddenly been swept under the rug? Just like an Irish mum from the old country covering up a family secret. If baseball returns, most likely the games will be played in front of empty seats. Astros players will not get peppered with insults and chants of their cheating ways from fans. In the brief Spring training earlier this year, Astros were getting heat on them with fans being very vocal about how they tarnished the game. A small brewery in New Jersey has created a beer so the Astros will not be forgotten during these days with no basball being played on diamonds across the nation.

Departed Soles Brewing has one of  their IPA’S that pokes great fun at the Astros cheating scandal of 2017. They call this masterpiece, Trash Can Banger beer. Yes, a beer you feel like you can bang on all day long not being at work. A can you can bang on letting someone know that Amazon guy pulled up with a package; sending different warnings and pitches through the neighborhood from your drinking perch. Departed Soles has this Astros garbage painted in team colors from what Houston wore from 1975-93. Those white, orange, and yellow uniforms are something from the makers of the old Tampa Bay Buccaneer creamsicle uniforms. Not sure how the Trash Can Banger will taste from this Jersey brewery. I want a six pack just for the novelty of things and have it on hand not to root for the Astros. Just a reminder Astros were Top Cat, in 2017, in the alley.

Then to remember how these Houston Asterisk cheating scandal has dropped them to the bottom of the can of life. Lower than Oscar the Grouch in the baseball alleys around the nation. Cheers to you Departed Soles Brewing for not letting us forget those dirty rotten cheats in Houston. I would like to buy you a drink.

 

THE BAT LICKER

We do not know when the MLB 2020 season will begin. Owners and players are debating about money and the overall health of the players during these scary times battling Covid 19. These are the hot button topics that will either make or break the 2020 season as we know it will be a shortened season. We know the league will play in empty stadiums at least in the start. Ideas of expanding the playoffs for this year only and universal DH in both leagues will happen if the millionaires and the billioniares can play nice in the sand box and agree on money as always. Plus a way to keep everyone safe that is involved in making this pipe dream happen for this season. The universal DH is interesting because now NL teams may be looking for an impact slugger to insert in their every day line up. This is where the Bat Licker comes in. Yasiel Puig is that player and he is on the open market.

If the 2020 baseball season does happen with the expanded playoffs, this could be the year for a sleeper team to take advantage of the short season. If your team gets hot at the right time, it could just bulldoze through the competition like gang busters. Like those wild card teams before the one game playoff match up would immediately knock out division winners in a best out of five series. Signing Yasiel Puig brings you a very nice bat in the middle of anybody’s line up. When Puig was traded from the Reds to the Indians last year, he hit .297 with 23 RBI’S in 49 games in Cleveland. An addition of Puig will get you a guy that will hit in the .270’s with 20 something long balls and he drive in 80 runs. Having Puig at DH or he is a nice corner piece out fielder with a strong arm, where you can rotate him in and out of both positions. 

Why is he still out there? Yasiel Puig is the bat licker and brings his mohawk, something out of the road warrior, and his antics to the ballpark every night. Puig was involved with two bench clearing brawls with the Reds last season that invoved the same team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cuban has a sketchy past which involves high speeds in his automobile; in fact, he was busted for reckless driving in Florida and Chattanooga, Tennessee. He may even flip you off if he does not like you. Throw in admiring his long ball and perhaps a bat flip or two, and this is the guy you have to deal with in the locker room.   

If you have a manager that can deal with multiple personalities from players like Yasiel Puig, he may be a nice gamble. You definitely want a strong locker room to handle this guy’s antics as well. That wouldn’t hurt. A one year deal in a short season might be the ticket for one club to post-season and beyond. For the White Sox, I’d rather have Yasiel Puig then the guy the team picked up from Texas. The left handed Nomar Mazara who is one dimensional and can’t hit left-handed pitching. The White Sox already have Edwin Encarnacion penciled in as their DH. I think having Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert and Yasiel Puig gives you a terrifying outfield in the line up card. If I was the White Sox, I would add Puig on a one year deal just to have him platoon with Nomar Mazara.  Puig would eventually just take the right field position away from Mazara by his play in the field. Can you imagine the Bat Licker with fireworks on the south side of Chicago during the dog days of summer?  Will they still light fireworks after a home run with no one in the bleachers? At least we know the bat will stay moist.  

THE FAN PERSPECTIVE WILL CHANGE

With the Covid 19 most likely still in its first wave of destruction, we do not know when America’s past time will return. Most likely it will begin play with games in front of empty seats. When the fans do return to the game, it will be a very good thing. The return of the fans will mean getting used to a whole new world watching your favorite team play. The experience of the game as a fan will drastically change at your ole ballpark. Things will be different for a very long time to come. Things of old might not ever come into play and may be abolished from the stadium for good. 

After 9/11, all the ballparks quickly got up to speed with new security regulations in place. Especailly entering the building as you empty out your pockets and are scanned through the medal detectors to see if you have any explosives or weapons to cause deadly harm. After all, the planes crashing through the World Trade Towers are forever etched in a person’s mind. Women’s bags are also searched as anybody could be a cowardly terrorist. When things do go back to the norm, if they do, will there also be medical personal looking at you? Looking for symptoms of the virus. Perhaps a quick temperature check. A swab test. A finger prick test. Something that you will have to wait in line for before each game. Obviously something that can get a reading and a result on what your body is doing right at that moment. Someone looking at you from a hazmat suit giving your experience a nervous feeling.

 In the begining when they do let fans come back into each ballpark, I can not imagine they will have some advanced technology to test each pereson that walks through the turnstile. Social distancing will take place and fans will be scattered allover the ballpark with seats in between you and your group of either family or friends that came with you. These moments would remind me of days at White Sox Park before 2005. Everybody in the place had their own personal beer guy. During my 20’s, it was nice sitting back knowing your ball park beer guy by name. Seems like he would just stand there until you needed another one. The beer guy would be pouring even with your hand not even yet reaching for your wallet. Foul balls might be easier to get with that social distancing seating. That playoff crowd will be missing. The roar of the crowd on the edge of your seat yelling and screaming like you’re in a concert seeing your favorite rock band. Maybe the Montreal Expo fans had it right the whole time.

Vendors going up and down the stairs at the ball park might be different. The vendors, I imagine, would handle your food choice or beer with gloves of some kind. Plus they might look like they want to rob you twice. Wearing a mask like a hold up. The prices before the virus were high so imagine what kind of stick em up job they will do to you and your bank account in present times. What about will they handle your dirty money? Beer would not be poured into cups like the olden days of the aluminum touching the plastic cup. The aluminum screw top cans of beer might be the only suds this new game has to offer. Food items might be doubled wrapped not to keep warm, but so money can be transferred. No hot dog or beer will be passed down like five seats being touched by strangers and handed off to the next person until it arrives to the one who ordered it. 

Bathrooms are always the worst nightmares in any time of ball game from any sport. Are the bathrooms close? Does the facility have too little? The bladder always thinks so. With social distancing, will lines be too long? Will people be only allowed to use every other stall or urinal? One way is having partitions in between every toilet, especially urinals. The Cub fans and their old trough could be a problem. Think about the Cub fans years ago using the trough as a slip and slide.  

Yep, only Cubs fans exactly. Depending how many people they can let in the stadium at one time. More bathrooms might need to be added in stadiums across the league.

 Things have been changing in ballparks forever as a fan. Once upon a time ago you could light up smoke in your seat. Then you were pushed to the concourse. Then now you seem to be pushed out of stadiums several blocks away. What about the Diamond Backs swim parties?

The pictures above are not from Arizona, but Covid 19 may have put the kibosh on the back stroke during the 7th inning stretch in Arizona. No breast strokes and no wet t-shirt contests.

In Tampa Bay, the Rays have always had no problem social distancing. Will touching the sting rays be allowed at the Tropicana field? Covid 19 will probably take all the cool stuff and attractions in each stadium, and put that in a holding pattern to figure out if it will be safe to operate during these bad times. A vaccine will help get the fans’ perspective somewhat back to normal. With the uncertainty of the Covid 19, AKA Coronavirus, it could linger a long time and changes coming up might stand for years to come. It will take time to get used to. Some times you reflect back to the glory days when life was easier, but the price of a beer was still outrageous.           

NO CRYING IN BASEBALL

 It seems all I do these days  is write about the passing of some former baseball player. Their legend lives on as we share what they did on the baseball diamond. This one I don’t think you can chalk it up to the Covid-19, which has been sweeping through our nation and creating havoc with the elderly and much more. This one may have been natural causes as Mary Pratt passes away at her Connecticut home at the young age of 101. If you’ve ever seen one of the greatest baseball movies of all-time,  A League of Their Own, which had Tom Hanks and many well known female actresses back in 1992, you will know about the American girls professional baseball league. It was a professional league for females established during World War II, as Archie Bunker used to always say… the BIG ONE.  Mary Pratt was a pitcher and an original member of the Rockford Peaches, a team portrayed in that 1992 film.  Plus she may be the last known original Peach player from that 1943 team.

Most of the players from the MLB went on to fight the Nazis oversees and stop Adolf Hitler’s reign in Europe. The theory of having a women’s professional league was to keep ballparks busy and provide the people back at home with entertainment. Mary Pratt was contacted by the league’s personnel in Chicago and in 1943 she became a Peach. She was a left-handed pitcher who eventually went on from the Peaches and pitched for the Kenosha team. In 1944, for the Kenosha Comets, Mary Pratt had her best season on the mound. Pratt had an impressive 21 wins season with a low 2.50 ERA. Pratt is also credited for throwing a no-hitter. Mary Pratt’s suitcase is very patriotic with American flags on it and is displayed in the National Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown. In the Diamond Dreams section of the museum, you can also see miniature pennants on the suitcase, of teams she played against. Perhaps her own pitching hit list of some kind.

Mary Pratt had a full life conquering many impressive things besides playing on the diamond. Pratt has a degree from Boston University in Physical Education which she taught for 40 years. Pratt was involved in other sports as she was into officiating them and coaching. From softball to basketball, she also took on Lacrosse and Field Hockey games enforcing the rules while in play. She coached softball and her girls won a few championships.  During the 1960’s, Mary Pratt was an assistant professor and a coach at Salem State College. In 2013, she wrote and published her memoirs of her playing days called A Peach of the Game. She created a program for the American Girls Professional league to keep track of all the players’ whereabouts. 

Almost every kid in life dreams of playing professional in some kind of sport they love. Mary Pratt did that and done that. Especially in a league that made history back then and at the time she probably thought it was cool just to play the game she loved. A bonus getting paid for it. The league eventually did not last that long, but Mary Pratt pitched five seasons for Rockford and Kenosha. The movie was a big part of resurrecting this time in our history that previously may have been forgotten. The Women’s League gives you another prospective on baseball in general. Another sex giving it all on the diamond. I remember my sister was very good at softball and competing with her made me a better player at the game of baseball that I loved. Athletes come in all sizes and shapes, and can be either female or male while excelling on the field of dreams. Mary Pratt showed that life can be a peach and if you live life to the fullest you can be the brightest comet in the galaxy.       

 

THE WILD SHAMROCK ALL-TIME FAVORITE PIRATES

 I have gathered up my all-time favorite Pittsburgh Pirates and came up with a roster of my own. These players I selected might not be the best all-time in Pirates history. These are just players that I enjoyed throughout the years watching the good, bad, and the ugly Pirate teams over the years. Barry Bonds was a definite Hall-of Famer when he played for the Pirates. Then he got nasty and ‘roided up as his head grew bigger than a watermelon. He didn’t need the ‘roids but went down that path anyways. Plus Bonds’ sunny personality rubs me the wrong way. Instead I chose players that I think have  worked their hardest and played the game the right way.  Players that you wanted to see in the line up card on a daily basis. I went with players from the 1980’s and beyond when I became a fan of the game of baseball and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

My roster consists of all the position players and bench players. I have a starting pitching staff. I have a bull pen as well.

POSITION PLAYERS

FIRST BASE

SID BREAM: Great mustache. Played six seasons in steel town. 1986, Bream hit .286 with 16 home runs driving in 77 for by far his best season in Pittsburgh.

WILLIE STAGELL: A PIRATE LEGEND. AKA POPS. 22 SEASONS Willie Stargell played in steel city. Pirates retired his number. Number 8 will forever be Willie Stargell. Stargell was a part of two World Series winners with the Pirates in 1971 & 1979. Stargell was a 7 time all-star, 2 time NL Home run leader. Stargell finished batting .282 with over 2000 hits and launching 475 balls into the seats. In 1988, Willie Stargell headed to Cooperstown.

SECOND BASE

JOHNNY RAY: Switch hitter who was very tough to strike out. Ray was 1982 rookie of the year. A silver slugger winner in 1983 at second base. Played seven seasons with the Pirates hitting .285 through those years.

NEIL WALKER: Born in Pittsburgh. Played seven seasons in his hometown. A fan favorite. In 2012, Walker had a great year hitting .280, driving in 69 and clubbed 14 home runs.

SHORT STOP

JAY BELL: Great bunter who could hit for power. Eight seasons with over 1000 hits. Won gold glove in 1993.

JACK WILSON: Nine seasons in a Pirates uniform. In 2004 he was an all-star and won the silver slugger award at short stop. Wilson was the 9th NL short stop to get 200 hits in one season. Led all NL short stops in defensive categories on the field during his days.

HOT CORNER:

BILL MADLOCK: Mad dog was his nickname and he was 4 time NL batting champ. Seven seasons playing for the Pirates he had .297 batting average.

BACK STOP

TONY PENA: Pena had a catching stance that was unorthodox, extending one leg out behind the plate. Pena was 4 time gold glove as a Pirate back stop. Pena made 5 all-star teams as well.

JASON KENDALL:Pirates all-time leader in games caught. Kendall was the first Pirates player ever to hit for the cycle at 3 Rivers stadium. That game he drove in five.

OUTFIELD

JASON BAY: Bay was rookie of the year in 2004. Bay was the first Canadian-born player to get rookie of the year. Six seasons in Pittsburgh Bay hit .281.

BRIAN GILES: Giles was a power hitter who could also hit for average. Giles had at least 35 or more home runs for 4 straight seasons in Pittsburgh. In 5 seasons he mashed 165 balls into the seats.

JOHN CANGELOSI: Former White Sox. Cangelosi known for his speed. In 1987 he became the first Pirate in 21 seasons to swipe home plate on the base paths. Cangelosi was the first ever hitter to face the BIG Unit Randy Johnson. Cangelosi, primarily a bench player during his time in Pittsburgh, was a great pinch hitter hitting .275 during his time in steel city.

DAVE PARKER: The Cobra. 11 years in Pittsburgh. Part of the 1979 World Series Champs. Parker actually knocked the cover off the ball in one game. Parker racked up 166 home runs as he made 7 all-star teams and earned three gold gloves.

ROB MACHOVIAK: A Chicago kid growing up in Oak Lawn on the southside of town. Played with the White Sox.  Spent 5 seasons with Pirates hitting 52 long balls in a Pirates uniform.

Andy Van Slyke: Earned 5 gold gloves for outfield play in Pittsburgh. Van Slyke is remembered for peeling off the Maple leaf Canadian flag on his helmet in 1991 during the Gulf War.

ANDREW MCCUTCHEN: NL MVP in 2013. McCutchen earned 4 silver slugger awards plus 5 all-star appearances in Pittsburgh. 

PITCHING STAFF

STARTING ROTATION

THE CANDY MAN, JOHN CANDELARIA: A left and member of the 1979 World Series team. In 12 seasons pitching for the Pirates he had a record of 123-87 with 3.17 ERA.

DOUG DRABEK: Former White Sox. Drabek won the NL CY YOUNG in 1990 with an impressive 22-6 record with a low 2.76 ERA that season. In Pittsburgh he tallied up 92 wins with 62 losses with a respectable ERA at 3.02.

RICK RHODEN: A great hitting pitcher during his days in steel city. Rhoden drove in 75 and knocked nine balls into the seats. Rhoden went 79-73 with 3.51 ERA in his Pirate days. Rhoden went on to be a pro golfer after his baseball days.

BOB WALK: Nicknamed Whirley bird pitched 10 seasons in Pirates uniform. Had a 82-61 record with a 3.83 ERA. Has been after his playing career concluded, working as a broadcaster for the Pirates radio calling games.

GERRITT COLE: Rich Rich these days. Figures he learns another pitch in Houston and becomes even better on the mound. Now part of the Evil Empire Yankees’ Death Star. Went 59-42 with 3.50 ERA as a Pirate before they traded him away.

BULLPEN

JOEL HANAHAN: My Dos Equis guy out of the bullpen. The bearded man on the mound nailed 82 saves with two all-star appearances in only a few seasons in Pittsburgh.

BILL LANDRUM: In 1989 Landrum was lights out 26 saves with a low 1.67 ERA

MATT CAPPS: A great pitcher on bad teams through 2005-09.

JASON GRILLI:Grilli made the 2013 all star game because the league needed a Pirate to hit the quota having all teams with a representative on hand. Former White Sox. In his Pirates day, Grilli had an impressive 12.4 K’S per 9 innings pitched.

KENT TEKULVE: The accountant look with the eye wear on the mound with a wicked side arm motion from the tall lanky guy on the mound.  Tekulve was the guy out of the bullpen that saw through the opposing team’s line up every night. In 1979 Tekulve had three saves in the World Series. 

EVERY DAY LINE

2B JOHNNY RAY

C JASON KENDALL

1B WILLIE STARGELL

3B BILL MADLOCK

RF DAVE PARKER

CF ANDREW MCUTCHEN

 LF BRIAN GILES

SS JACK WILSON        

 P THE CANDY MAN 

MY TEAM HAT

THE REAL NUKE LALOOSH FIELD OF DREAMS

In the movie Bull Durham, Tim Robbins plays a character named Nuke LaLoosh, a pitcher with a scorching fast ball. Bull Durham was written and directed by former minor leaguer Ron Shelton who played in the Baltimore Orioles system through 1961-1971. The Nuke LaLoosh character was based on a teammate that played with Ron Shelton who was a left handed pitcher named Steve Dalkowski. Dalkowski was a career minor leaguer who some say with his sling shot pitching motion, could sling a ball over hundred MPH with speeds consistently in  between 110-125 MPH. In the movie Bull Durham, Nuke LaLoosh was a young prospect that had control issues. Crash Davis who was played by Kevin Costner was the washed up catcher who has played in the bigs at one time and was to help this young arm find the strike zone. Dalkowski never made it to the majors like Nuke LaLoosh the character that was based off his life. Steve Dalkowski passed away at 80 years old last month. Diagnoased with Alcoholic dementia as he’s been living in assistant living since 1994. The Coronavirus finished him off at the end.

In 1957 Steve Dalkowski signed with the Baltimore Orioles right out of high school. Dalkowski in one minor league game struck out 24 batters and walked 18, but obviously control problems prevented him from moving up to the Majors. When he was able to get the ball over the plate, legendary Hall-of Famer Ted Williams says, “that was the fastest ball I have ever seen thrown,” referring to Steve Dalkowski. Cal Ripken Sr. was a catcher in the Orioles minor league system and caught many of Dalkowski’s games and by his estimate, the left hander was getting it up there with speeds between 100-115. Dalkowski first season in 1957 for Kingsport which was class D ball at the time, he averaged 17.6 K’S and 18.7 walks per 9 innings pitched. I can imagine the position players hardly saw action with Dalkowski on the mound. All outs were from the strike outs. In 1960, Dalkowski struck 262 batters in 170 Innings pitched. Also had 262 walks. Dalkowski’s career minor league numbers in 956 innings logged, had 145 wild pitches. Can you picture Wild Thing, in the movie Major League, throwing at the card board batter in the box? Charlie Sheen’s character, Ricky Vaughn’s, pitch takes the head off it. 

Steve Dalkowski ‘s story has a sad ending, and he probably used alcohol to wash away the memories. In 1963, he injured his elbow pitching in a Spring training game versus the Yankees. The elbow never recovered. Surgeries at the time did not happen like they do nowadays, where they fix it immediately and pitchers make a full recovery. His flame thrower fire ball lost velocity. His inability to get the ball over the plate regularly, ended his career by the time 1965 rolled around. I imagine the drinking got worse. Dalkowski could not find a job and eventually drank himself until he erased his mind of his story. Nuke LaLoosh found his control and made it to the big leagues in the movie Bull Durham. I think Nuke getting laid by an older stunning looking character, played by Susan Sarandon, helped him more than a Crash Davis did behind the plate.

I remembered playing little league and a kid one year older than me had a wicked fast ball that he could not control and hit many batters. Maybe many kids had that type of guy in little league like that. Rumors of the guy in my life I’m talking about were that he had control, but just liked to nail people for kicks. That guy did pitch in college so my theory could be correct. Steve Dalkowski had a 46-80 career minor league pitching record. Some games he threw could have had a few master pieces in there with 46 victories. Dalkowski fanned 1,324 batters while walking 1,236 in his career down on the farm. That’s more strikeouts than walks in his career so that’s a win. Dalkowski ‘s story did contribute to one of the best baseball movies of all-time. Now Dalkowski can pitch again on the field of dreams in the clear blue skies with no rain outs.

  

 

BLAME IT ON THE BELL BOY

The MLB commissioner and his rag tag group of investigators concluded their findings into the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox were investigated for their role in sign stealing in the 2018 season. The same season where Bean Town took home the World Series trophy. The Commissioner’s office did find something. The findings so minscual that the Boston Red Sox only lose one draft pick, a second rounder in 2020. The findings came down to a person behind the scenes going rogue. Yes, the Red Sox will hold their heads up high because they have a fall guy. Instead of blaming it on the bell boy, they threw the video replay operator under the bus. 

J.T Watkins’ position with the Red Sox is that of video replay room operator. Watkins’ main job was being a replay official to help the Red Sox challenge a play, if needed. Watkins was an expert at decoding signs using video. Any team can use video to steal signs before and after the games but not during. Watkins used his skills beyond that. Watkins was able to tell if the opposing teams changed their signs during the games. He was able to tell using video feed and notice the sequences were different. Then Watkins would update the reports and hand them back out to the players.

Baseball Commisioner, Rob Manfred, talked to 34 current and former Red Sox players while offering immunity if they spoke the truth. The league findings were that only a handful of players had the information. The league thinks Boston used this information when they had a runner on second base.  The league says the Red Sox did not use the video man’s intell during the playoffs. This is why the team was not fined.  Alex Cora, the mastermind from his days in Houston, apparently was not involved in any cheating as the manager of the Red Sox. Meanwhile Watkins is suspended without pay in 2020. Watkins can not return at the same position in 2021. Perhaps he will be relocated as a hot dog vendor. Just hope he does not steal all the other vendors’ moves when it  comes to dishing out the most dogs during the ball game. I’m sure he will still have a job in the Boston organization because his father is a scout. The scout that landed a Mookie Betts. Which is quite a big fish.

Where does Boston find these guys? In the movie the Town, based in Boston, they  grew bank robbers like some annual crop. Does Bean Town have their own suburb for ball deflaters and video operators gone dark? In 2017, the league warned the Red Sox because that year they were caught stealing signs. Then the league sent out their new ten commnadments on stealing signs, how the punishment will be swift and severe. I don’t buy that Alex Cora who was labeled mastermind of the Astros scandal turned over a new leaf in the Boston dugout. Would Al Capone stop cracking skulls if he moved his crime oranization to another city back in the dark days of prohibition?

If Rob Manford wants sign stealing to stop, he has to come down harder on these teams. I thought Houston got off easy as well.  If you’re a team in the league and cheating is only going to get a draft pick taken away from you while you keep the World Series trophy, it is nothing but a joke. Who knows if baseball will actually return in 2020?  By the time Coronavirus is dealt with, and by the time fans get back in the seats at the stadium to actually watch a game live, who will remember the Boston Red sox bell boy J.T. Watkins? Houston Astros might get some razzing when play is back. They say cheaters never win. They say that crime does not pay. Two of the last three World Series winners have the golden goose while the rest of the league has nothing but goose droppings.     

 

MY ALL-TIME WHITE SOX ROSTER OF UNSUNG HEROES

 Everyone always remembers their favorite players on the baseball team they root for. The “for sure” Hall-of-Famer like a Frank Thomas, Carlton Fisk or Harold Baines when it comes to Chicago White Sox baseball.  Fans recall the guy that played with the team his whole career, even though this is unrealistic nowadays. If a player has played at least a decade on your team, he will be remembered. It always comes down to his performance on the field to be talked about and admired. How many times did the player make the All-Star team? What kind of impact did he make for the team and the city of Chicago? Championship players always will be carved in stone inside the minds of fans for that wonderful year that was accomplished. Those years up and down the roster, fans could rattle off names of who played and what they brought to the table. Especially in Chicago where championships in baseball are rare. Fans could probably name the bat boy for the year the White Sox broke a 88 year old drought in 2005.  What about those players who  at times we forget about? The ones that may have not been in Chicago that long. The great players coming off the bench to fill in for a starter. Even the one year wonders who contributed with magical years and they sucked you in. Unsung hereos that made an inpression on you at one point because of their impact on a game. I have constructed my White Sox roster of the misfits. My favorite grinders that have been forgotten and  did some nice things for those White Sox teams over the decades. I have some names that have risen from the dark years when the team was not good.

I’m even using one of the late 1980’s/early 1990’s hats the White Sox used for like one year, maybe possibly two years, to represent my ragtag roster. All the players I have chosen have played in the 1980’s and up.  

POSITION PLAYERS

ON THE FIELD GENERAL (CATCHER)

Chris Wider: Played 2 years on South side (2005-06). Back up catcher on the 2005 World Series team. White Sox grabbed him off the scrap heap as he was playing softball in a beer league.

Brook Fordyce:Played 2 seasons on South side (1999-2000). Great hitting back stop who batted .290 in the two seasons he played.

FIRST BASEMEN

Jerry Hairston Sr. : Played 14 seasons on South Side (1973-77 & 1981-89) Hairston played some first base and outfield, known for his pinch hitting. Hairston was very good at coming off the bench and providing the team with a key hit. Pinch hit king of White Sox baseball.

Ross Gload:Played 3 seasons on the South side (2004-06). In a limited amount of play, Gload hit .308 with the White Sox filling in here and there.

Steve Lyons:Played 5 seasons on the South side(1986-1990) AKA Psycho. By trade a third baseman or outfielder. I have Lyons at first because he played every position versus the Chicago Cubs in an exhibition game. Each inning a different position. Lyons would be remembered for dusting himself off after a slide by pulling down his pants accidentily. 

SECOND BASE

Tony Graffanino: Played 4 seasons on the South side(2000-03). Tony had the short quick swing and could come off the bench and make an impact with a swing of the bat after sitting most of the game. I thought Tony should have been a starter most of his career.

Willie Harris:Played 4 seasons on the Southside(2002-05). Willie played outfield and second base. Willie Harris stole 49 bases during his days with the White Sox, mostly coming off the bench.

SHORT STOP

Craig Grebeck: Played six seasons on the South side(1990-95), AKA Little Hurt. Cranked two home runs off flame thrower Randy Johnson.

THIRD BASE

Herbert Perry:Played two seasons on the South side(2000-01), AKA the Milk Man, and he delivered. Perry had a huge year where he came up and delivered big hits in the clutch to drive in a big run over and over.  Two years he played in a Sox uniform and he batted .286 driving in 93 runs with 19 long balls.

OUTFIELD

Pablo Ozuna: Played 4 seasons on the South side(2005-08). Ozuna had a big stolen base in the World Series and in many games. Always did something awesome on the base paths. Was a nice utility player to have who could play both infield and outfield. 

Timo Perez:Played 2 seasons on the South side(2004-05). In 2005, filling in for players on days off or due to injuries, Timo Time became big with huge hits all year especially in 2005.

Warren Newsome:Played 5 seasons on the South Side(1991-95). Earned the nickname “The Deacon” as he was a very hard out to get coming off the bench. In a part time role,  the Deacon drove  in 58 RBI’S in a Sox uniform.

Michael Huff:Played 3 seasons on South Side(1991-93). In 1991 Huff batted .268 coming off the bench for the Sox. Key hits and played some great defense late in games.

Dave Gallagher:Played 3 years on South Side(1988-90). First ever autograph I ever had from a player was from Dave Gallagher at a card show. Gallagher was the inventor of the stride tutor. A tool used to get your stride down in the batters box. Gallagher hit .280 with the Sox and played Center field.

Dwayne Wise: Played 4 seasons on the South side(2008-09 & 2012-13) THE CATCH !!! Dwayne Wise will go down in White Sox history for his effort making that heroic catch to keep Mark Buehrle’s perfect game intact.

PITCHING

My starting rotation consists of 4 starters from the 2000 division champs. After that year they all seem to have went MIA.

Mike Sirotka: Pitched six seasons on the South side(1995-2000). Was traded to the Blue Jays who landed Dave Wells. Mike Sirotka never pitched for Toronto because he was hurt and damaged goods as his career was over. In 2000 Mike Sirotka was 15-10. Career he had 45-42 career pitching record

James Baldwin: Pitched 7 seasons on the South side(1995-2001). Baldwin had a 69-53 pitching record on the Southside. Baldwin was traded in 2001 and was never the same.

Jim Parque:Pitched six seasons on the Southside(1998-2003). In 2000 Parque was butter as he went 13-6 that year. After that season, injuries hampered the left hander.

Cal Eldred:Pitched 2 seasons on the South Side(2000-01). In 2000 won ten games and did not finish the season due to injury

Eric King:Pitched 2 seasons on the South Side(1989-90). King went 12-4 in 1990.

MY BULLPEN

My Bullpen consists of two local Chicago guys.

Donn Pall:Pitched six seasons on the South side(1988-1993) Pall grew up in my home town of Evergreen Park. Donn Pall had a 21-19 record for the White Sox coming out of the bullpen.

Juan Agosto:Pitched six seasons on the South side(1981-86). Juan was a part of that 1983 winning ugly team. Agosto had 15 saves with White Sox coming out of the bullpen. He was a left handed arm used in all situations.

Dan Spillner:Pitched 2 seasons on the South side(1984-85). Maybe it was because I seemed to land a Dan Spillner baseball card in every other pack I purchased. Spillner went 5-3 and had a 3.66 ERA in his two years coming out of the bullpen for the Sox.

Neal Cotts:Pitched 4 seasons on the South side(2003-06). Cotts was the second local guy born and raised in Lebanon, Illinois.  Cotts was wicked coming out of the bull pen for the White Sox in 2005. Cotts had a low 1.94 ERA that year the team won the World Series. 

Shingo Takatsu: Pitched 2 seasons on the South Side(2004-05). Shingo closed the door for the White Sox in his two seasons. Shingo accumulated 27 saves until he was sidelined with an injury. Shingo had many different arm angles he used on the mound. Had an arsenal of slow roller junk he would baffle hitters by. The league did catch up with the Japanese cult hero on the South side.

Not sure this roster I mustered up could do a lot of damage if they all played on the same team and were from the same era. I probably missed a lot of interesting names as well since I went back to the 1980’s constructing this unsung hero roster. The names I do have all made an impact in White Sox history. Plus it was fun going down memory lane and remembering the type of guys that played hard all the time. Guys that brought their lunch pail to work every day. Guys that would played the game of baseball for free.           

HOME RUN OR WHIFF

When I was a young fan of the game of baseball, I used to love the guy that could put the ball in the seats on any given at-bat. Perhaps it was the expolding scoreboard at the old Comiskey Park. Seeing exploding rockets high in the sky with pretty colors on other days besides Independence Day. I was just an innocent kid who did not know better. Just a student of the game. Guys who are swinging for the fences or bust, hit multiple solo home runs with nobody on base. They might even hit most of their taters when the team is losing by ten runs late in the game. Sure a few of these mashers hit the decisive home run that will win you the game that night. Most of the time with these bigger hulking guys, it’s homerun or whiff. Usually the strike out comes with men in scoring position. Of course the league has sluggers that provide the big bat in all key situations. I’m talking about the guy who hits in the low .200’s and hits 30 bombs, but strikes out over 100 times a season or even gets in that 200 plateau.

This week Mark Reynolds announced after 13 seasons he is hanging up the spikes for good. The 36 year old has suited up for 8 teams in his career. Reynolds played in both the American and the National league. You can classify guys like Reynolds as hitmen. In the underground world, a Reynolds type will be an assassin killing humans for money. Reynolds in the baseball world is hired to kill baseballs. As all hitmen like to travel town to town, Reynolds had stops in Arizona, Baltimore, Cleveland, New York as a Yankee, Milwaukee, St.Louis, Colorado and DC. That’s multiple states and multiple kills for Mark Reynolds. 298 kills. That’s 298 baseballs he has torn up as they landed over the fences. These home run kills come with a deadly price for the team he plays for. Reynolds has accumulated 1,927 strikeouts in 13 seasons playing in the MLB. That is good for 9th overall in league history, a stat nobody wants to be number one at. 

 

I have looked at a couple guys that are in the same boat as Mark Reynolds over the years. Rob Deer is remembered mostly for playing in Brew Town as a Brewer. Deer played for 11 seasons and belted out 230 home runs hitting a low .230. Mark Reynolds’ life time batting average is at .236. Deer racked up 1,409 strike outs in his days.

Then a guy with a perfect name for hitting lots of home runs. Dave Kingman was the king at the long ball for 16 years swinging for the fences. Kingman launched 442 balls into the bleachers. Kingman whiffed 1,816 times in his career. Kingman also had the lifetime batting average of .236. Then my favorite homerun or whiff guy played on the southside of Chicago, Adam Dunn. Perhaps the windy city of Chicago got windier with  Dunn’s mammoth swing missing most pitches by a mile. Dunn knocked 462 home runs into the seats. Dunn’s batting average is a tad better than the others with .237 lifetime. Adam Dunn struck out 2,379 times.

In 2017, Mark Reynolds hit 30 home runs, but still tallied 175 strikeouts for the Colorado Rockies. That was Reynolds’ last decent year. In 2018-19 for the Nationals and the Rockies, Reynolds hit only 17 home runs in a limited amount of games played. Reynolds’ best year was in 2009 for the Arizona Diamondbacks where he hit .260. If you can get your average in the 260’s and cut down your strikeout rate, then I would keep you on my team. In 2009, Reynolds launched 44 bombs with 30 doubles and drove in over a 100 runs. Reynolds even swiped 24 bags. However that year Reynolds still led the league in strikeouts. I was excited when Adam Dunn came to the White Sox. I think he ruined this type of guy for me though. To see Dunn be retired with men on base multiple times, it seemed like the opposing pitcher was happy to see the big oaf lumber up to the plate. It was like the key to getting out of the inning. Besides playing the DH position most of the time, these type of guys that are home run or strike out are also liabilities in the field. If all these guys would have put the ball in play in half of those at-bats they struck out in, you’re talking about a lot of different outcomes. I’d rather have a guy that can make contact and put the ball in play over these home run or die swingers. When the Kansas City Royals won their title years ago, that team made contact. Those Royal teams were very hard to strike out. Baseball these days has turned into the home run or strikeout mentality. New guys like Dunn and Reynolds will resurface to add their swing to the mix.       

 THE DEMONS THAT FOLLOW JOSH HAMILTON

 It seems like everyone in life has a story about somebody they know or even knew at one point in their life that had all the talent in the world. A talent in something that just came natural to them. Some craft it would take yourself decades of practicing over and over, sweating and spitting out blood just to become average at your desire. To see these talented individuals squander their gift. Either by picking up bad habits or bad vices. Seems some of these talented people that squander what they are good at, are trying to always find themselves. In the sports world, devastating injuries ended many talented players’ dreams. This is all about the player, the individual who surpasses any set backs with an injury. They nonchalantly go about their lives playing the game most would love to play in a heartbeat. They play the game because they know they can, but they love the distractions off the field. They get sucked in. Could a guy like Josh Hamilton have been the greatest baseball left handed bat to ever play the game? Hamilton has similar story lines to the movie, The Natural. Josh Hamilton you could say would go down in history as having the most demons haunting your life than maybe any other player in the history of the game. This week Josh Hamilton was indicted on a felony charge for injury to a minor.

Josh Hamilton is now 38 years old and last time he played in the majors was back in 2015. Hamilton was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as the number one draft pick in 1999. Hamilton finally made it to the big leagues in 2007 with the Cincinnati Reds. Like in the movie, The Natural, where Roy Hobbs is shot as he was seeking to be the best ever pitcher as a young man. Then Roy Hobbs returned to play baseball as a slugger years later with a missing gap of time in-between. Josh Hamilton’s career in 2001 hit a very bumpy road as he was shot. More like shots in the substance category not a six shooter. Then came the drugs. Injuries as well. When it rains, it pours. Plenty of relapses as well. Josh Hamilton returned like Roy Hobbs. Hamilton played nine seasons in the big leagues starting with the Reds in 2007. Hamilton made big noise with the Texas Rangers as he was the American League MVP in 2010. During the nine seasons with the Reds, Rangers, and the Angels, Hamilton had over a thousand hits. Hamilton was an all-star in 5 out of those 9 years. Hamilton won 3 silver slugger awards in those 9 seasons. Josh Hamilton was a career .290 hitter with 200 long balls, he even swiped 50 bags. If Hamilton could have maintained his good play after 2015 and perhaps played before 2007, he could be a guy with over 400 home runs and over 2000 hits. Maybe we are talking a future Hall of Famer.

For guys like Josh Hamilton, when you think you have life figured out, like most people someone is always throwing a wicked curve ball at you. In 2011, Josh Hamilton tossed a foul ball into the stands in Texas. A father wanted the ball for his son. Hamilton obliged and threw the ball up to him, who was a 39 year old firefighter in Brownwood Texas. What a great moment this could have been. Shannon Stone getting a ball tossed up by Josh Hamilton for his six year old son Cooper. Instead Shannan is able to catch the toss, but leaned over too much and fell over the rail plummetting to his death hitting the concrete from a 20 foot fall leaving Cooper with an image from hell. That type of story from the movie Backdraft where the fire fighter who is a father brings his son on a call to watch him in action on a burning house. An explosion happens in the house leaving his son without a father looking at his dad’s helmet that came toppling out of the inferno.

This is not Josh Hamilton’s fault with the father falling from the higher seats. Stuff like this tends to follow you. The memory of these types of moments you most want to erase with alcohol. This stuff can lead a Josh Hamilton or anybody back down the wrong path of addiction.

Injuries occurred in the last two seasons of Josh Hamilton’s career where he played in less than 100 games in both seasons. Even coming back to Texas after spending two season playing for the Angels was not the key to finding success with his home run stroke.  After 2015 the baseball dream was turning into reality of being over for Josh Hamilton. Hamilton continued to try out for the Texas Rangers.  Hamilton settled for some minor league games in hopes he could find his way back in to the majors. Many can’t come to terms with the way their career ends. Especially in sports. Look at Michael Jordan with a story book ending winning his sixth NBA title. Walking away a winner. Jordan came back because he was not finished and played for the Washington Wizards. The way most would not like to walk away injured and perhaps just broken inside because of the ending.

Many nights I imagine Hamilton reminisced about his life. The great moments. The not so great moments that did and probably would haunt many, especially thinking about what he could have done.  What he should have done.  Then to continue to fight the demons of substance abuse. Add the drugs as well and many things can be going on inside the mind of a Josh Hamilton. Josh is an angry man. Last October throwing a filled bottle of water at his daughter that hit her chest. Then to throw a chair at her. Finish her off by pinning her to the bed and hitting her on the back. Striking her on the legs. The ex-wife filed a temporary restraining order on her daughter’s behalf. Josh Hamilton has three children all together. Many would think having three children with the same women should equal happiness. Ride off into the sunset with your family. It could of been a nice ending showing how he overcame his addictions to still play the game. Some people, no matter what, can not find happiness. For Josh Hamilton and some we may know from the past or present, they always need or want something else while they already have it under their nose. Maybe like in the movie The Exorcist, some need to get the devil or demons eradicated from their bodies. Hamilton will have to forgive himself which will be now his hardest obstacle he will face, in order to get some kind of closure in his life from his troubled past.  Hamilton needs to find some kind of happiness where ever he is off to in his next chapter of life.                  

LIGHT IT UP

“When it rains, it pours,” is that old saying that many can use to describe their lives from time to time. With the invasion of the Coronavirus, all around the world people are in A sad state right now. No sports, your favorite establishments shut down as you might have cabin fever being locked up in your house. Like on house arrest as you get some yard time going to the grocery store. Then on a bright sunny day, people are driving around dazed and confused in their eyes with a make shift type of mask covering their face. In the daily news you hope for something good that can put your mind at ease temporarily. Maybe some nice weather will do the trick. No, not this week when the rain fall turned into a thunderstorm. We were taken aback with the news about the passing of Ed Farmer, former White Sox broadcastor and player. Farmer’s home run call echoes in your mind. “Light it up” meaning a home run that sets the White Sox exploding score board  off with sky rockets of fireworks in the air with spinning pin wheels and flashing lights. It was not Coronavirus that doomed the former relief pitcher.  It was the battle with polycystic kidney disease that kills a young man of 70 years of age with so much more life to live. 

Ed Farmer was a southsider who played for the southsiders. Farmer was born in the same town I was born in, Evergreen Park, Illinois. A town the Unabomber lived in. It is a town where Roseangla’s tavern delicious pizza is. Farmer grew up on 79th and Francisco where he probably indulged in Fat Johnnies Famous Red Hots. Which is another eating institution on the South side of Chicago. Ed Farmer went to St. Thomas More, a Catholic grammar school which had great traditions until it was shut down because of  lack of funds. Farmer went to St. Rita, a Catholic high school that  eventually moved closer to Farmer’ s old neighborhood when it took over Quigley. There Ed Farmer played both baseball and basketball, and he was good at both sports. In 1999 the Chicago Catholic League Hall of Fame enshrined Ed Farmer’s great merits in the games. Obviously baseball was his game as he made it to the pros being involved in America’s past time.

Ed Farmer aka Farmio pitched in the MLB for 11 seasons. Farmer played with seven teams during those years. Teams that included the Phillies, Indians, A’s, Rangers, Tigers, Orioles, Brew Crew and 3 seasons with the White Sox. In 1980 with the White Sox was the only year Farmer was selected for the all-star game. That year he pitched in 64 games and saved 30 games with a 3.34 ERA.  Most of Farmer’s career he was a relief pitcher. During his three seasons on the southside out of the bullpen he had 13-19 record with a 3.31 ERA. Farmer’s career he went 30-43 with a 4.30 total ERA. Farmer pitched in 370 games with 395 strikouts and saved 75 games. 

I know Ed Farmer as a White Sox radio broadcastor more then a player. In 1991 Ed Farmer started in the Sox radio broadcast booth. This season Farmer would have done his 29th year in the White Sox booth which is three decades of White Sox baseball listening to him on the radio. Earlier this year before the Coronavirus made its presence known to the states, Farmer broadcasted  one Spring training game. For health reasons he returned home to California. I still remember trying to get home from work to watch the White Sox in the playoffs versus Boston in 2005. It was the longest inning ever. It was one of the most memorable innings ever that had the bases loaded as El-Duque Orlando Hernandez pitched out of that mess. It was Ed Farmer as the analyst at the time with his play by play partner John Rooney that painted the picture of that inning. The Farmer and Rooney combo went 14 seasons. It was one of my favorite combos of all-time in Chicago sports. Ed Farmer then turned himself into a play by play guy. Farmer paired up with Steve Stone for one year and Chris Singleton for two seasons. Former White Sox player and TV announcer Darrin Jackson partnered with Farmer for 12 seasons and they were another great combo that made it fun to listen to from your car or at work.   

I listened to sports radio most of the day after hearing of his passing. The Chicago stations shared great stories of Ed Farmer. The Mully & Haugh show had Farmer’s good friend Mitch Rosen on, who worked with Ed for a very long time. Mitch shared quite a few stories with the public. How Ed Farmer would tell you how cold it is and share he was not wearing socks or underwear.  Perhaps Farmer learned these habits living  in California. Farmer was big on Notre Dame. If the White Sox were playing a night time game, Farmer would go to South Bend and watch part of the Notre Dame football game. Then Farmer raced down the sky way at high speeds to make it on time to get ready for the baseball game. The story about Yankee Stadium was my favorite. When Farmer was young, his mother and his brothers were in New York. Yankees were on the road. Farmer’s mother asked a security guard if her kids could take a quick gander at the inside of Yankee Stadium. The security guard was rude. Farmer remembered he had one thumb. Years later Farmer was picked up by that same security guard as he drove the golfcart to take relief pitchers out to the mound. That day the guard with one thumb was in for a rude awakening. Ed Farmer told him off in the cart on the way to the mound from years ago making his mother and brothers feel like pond scum. 

In 1997, the Chicago Sports Hall of fame elected Ed Farmer. Which is well deserved because of playing sports in the toughest league in Chicago being from St. Rita in the old black and blue Catholic league divsion. Then making it to the majors. Playing for his home team of Chicago. Then being there for many White Sox moments doing the radio broadcasting. For me Ed Farmer and the Hawk Harrelson who recently retired from the game as a announcer have been guys that I associate with the White Sox for most of my baseball life. I came out of the womb loving the game. These are guys that painted the behind scenes of the game. Told stories of theirplaying careers. Insight that made me follow the game at a deeper level. This season has not been a can of corn like Hawk would say, since the season is being delayed by the virus. With a young White Sox team of super stars ready to take their game to the next level. I have hope for when the dark clouds pass for good, and baseball is back in full swing. I hope the players light up the score board all year for the recently departed great southside icon, Ed Farmer. I will miss all his great tales on the radio.  I will miss his distinct play by play voice. Plus all the great insight he added to the mix. .Never met Ed Farmer. He sounds like a great guy and a person that most people would like.  A straight shooter that would be honest but not hurtful. Maybe he will tell God in the heavens what the actually darn score is. Light it Up!!! We will miss you…  

 

HARD TO FIND THE NATURAL

   

 Why is it so hard for the Chicago White Sox to find that left handed power bat? A bat that consistenly hits the ball into the seats. In the current White Sox every day projected line up for this season, excluding the second baseman because we have no idea who he will be, the White Sox have switch hitter Yoan Moncarda and the guy the White Sox they got from Texas Nomar Mazara batting lefty in the line up. Moncarda can place the ball in the seats, but he’s more a doubles guy in my book. Mazara averages close to 20 home runs a season. Mazara can’t swing the bat well versus lefties. The White Sox have had a hard time finding their next Jim Thome, a guy that has power and hit versus righties and lefties. A guy that can knock the cover off the ball. Is it asking a tad much to see a guy knock a ball into the lights? That’s Hollywood. Last season and for a long time the White Sox have had problems finding their own version of the Natural.

In 2018, I thought the White Sox found their slugger. A left handed right fielder who the White Sox claimed off the scrap heap, Daniel Palka. Palka was once from the Twins organization and in 2018 he knocked 27 balls into the seats driving in 67 runs. I was like wow this was some kind of find. 

In 2018, it was not a very good White Sox team. The team had its moments. Palka was hitting some of these home runs in crunch time that made them exciting to watch. Game on the line to tie it or actually win a game. Palka was the man. Then in 2019 the Natural of 2018 was just a shell of his former self. In 2018 Palka batted .240. In 2019 Palka’s average dipped down to the 100’s. Most of 2019 Palka  was sent down and brought back up from the minors and he was hitting below the mendoza line almost the whole season.  Palka managed to get that average up to the .107 mark before the season ended. Palka finished with 2 long balls and only driving in 4 runs in 2019. The White Sox still have Daniel Palka who is a non-roster invitee. White Sox jumped on another left handed bat released by the Astros in 2019. AJ Reed will get many more chances with other teams, but with the White Sox he hit .136 1 long ball driving 4 runs. Left handed bats and left handed pitching players will get more chances. Especially south paws that pitch because they are a dime a dozen. 

In 2001 I was a fan of Jeff Liefer a young left handed bat that played first and third. Liefer played some outfield as well. In 2001 with the White Sox Leifer hit 18 long balls and that year looked like a break out season for him. Liefer batted .256 with 39 driven in. He looked like a young piece that was going to be around awhile. In 2002 his numbers dropped drastically. Liefer then bounced around from team to team up and down from their farm systems. Liefer might be remembered mostly because he locked himself in the bathroom somehow during a minor league game as a player.

When I was younger in the 1980’s I loved Harold Baines. The Hall-of Famer I have  many fond memories of him hitting the game winning home run and sending home all the fans happy.

When Harold came up to bat, the chants of “Harold, Harold” erupted through the crowd. I always noticed some wrappers at the old Comiskey swirling around in the corner as you eagerly watch every pitch to Baines from the pitcher. It was like the same watching Paul Konerko with the chants “Paulie, Paulie.” These were two guys that fans loved and they gave you their best all the time. They put lots of balls into the seats as well.

In the 1990’s I loved the guy nicknamed the Hammer. Dan Pasqua came over from the Yankees and played seven seasons on the south side. Pasqua was a guy who was a part of those 1990 teams that played in the playoffs in 93 and should have played in the playoffs again in the strike year of 1994. 

Pasqua was a guy that hit 75 long balls in those 7 seasons he played in Chicago. He played first base and some outfield. Pasqua was a career .240 hitter but had some pop off his bat. Towering home runs and lots of doubles that hit the gaps. Big hits in clutch situations as well. Pasqua did not fare well in the playoffs in 1993. Frank Thomas could not play the field in the playoffs with an injury so he was relegated to DH duties while Pasqua manned first base. As a team Frank Thomas was the only one hitting well it seemed that year in the playoffs. No matter what, I would still want a Dan Paqua in my line up. 

The White Sox were expecting big things out of Adam Dunn in 2011 when they landed him through a trade. Dunn’s first season in a White Sox uniform he hit .177 with only 11 home runs from a guy that came in averaging 40 a season.  A 5’11” utility infielder, Brent Lillibridge ,out slugged Adam Dunn his first year on the south side with 13 home runs.

Adam Dunn went on to slug 41 home runs the following year and his average went up to .204 as well. Dunn’s career on the south side was disappointing and more strikeouts are remembered than balls in the seats. Comments like “big oaf” were tossed out more than”there goes one of the best ever to hit one to put the home team on top.”

In 2006, after the White Sox won the World Series in 2005, the team landed Jim Thome. Only If you were mentally crazy you did not like Jim Thome. It was hard to give up Aaron Rowand to pry Thome away from the Phillies. Thome did not help the team repeat in 2006. Who would expect three teams in the same division to win 90 games and you’re the team staying home with no chance to defend your World Series title that year? In 2008 Thome helped the White Sox get into the playoffs hitting the home run versus the Twins in the black out game. The game was the tiebreaker for the AL Central. Thome’s home run was the game winner and the only run of the game and sent the White Sox to Tampa Bay to face the Raysin round one of the playoffs.

You can win games in this league without having the power bat from the left side. Having one in a well balanced line up makes opposing pitching staffs work extremely hard to beat you. An opposite field blast by a left handed power hitting just looks awesome. Maybe Zack Collins will be the next White Sox power bat from the left side. Maybe Nomar Mazara will be able to crank it up versus lefties as well as righties. That right field in White Sox Park is a nice launch pad. Would be nice to exploit that in your own back yard. A left handed power hitter is so hard to find. It’s like a diamond in the ruff. If you get one you have to hold on to it.

 

THE BOYS OF SUMMER MAY BE THE LAST SPORT STANDING 

The Corona Virus is , sweeping through the nation and wiping out everything in the sports landscape including baseball. No March Madness. The NBA and NHL suspend play for right now. Both leagues hope to continue their seasons hoping the virus can be controlled and contained. When? We do not know. Both NBA and NHL were in the midst of closing out the year as teams were making their last push for the playoffs. Playoff basketball, playoff hockey and March Madness are things we look forward to every year. Baseball was in preseason action down in the desert and in Florida. The regular season for now has been delayed as no one can predict when this Corona Virus will pass. When will the United States be in control of this virus that has wrecked havoc arcross the world?

Our government has no clue when all its citizens will be safe to be out in masses. Baseball might be the sport that brings the nation together. The new football league the XFL had half of the season completed as they suspended operations. Then the XFL  called it a year and will pay off their players and let them walk away and get contracts from NFL teams. XFL will relaunch next year in 2021. Delay in a football season for more than one week is hard to come back and play without risking severe injuries. If the NBA and NHL get delayed longer than the time table they have in mind, both leagues may follow and cancel the rest of the season. Would these leagues have like a two week window to knock the rust off? Then you have to think about the draft in these sports. Plus scheduling. Most of these stadiums have concerts and other venues scheduled down the road due to hockey and basketball being over for summer vacation. Besides March Madness the game of basketball for both women and men, the NCAA cancelled all their spring sports.

That leaves baseball as the sport that can make the right adjustments. They can wait this out and still have plenty of time to complete the season and playoffs. In baseball the players need less time to knock the rust off then let’s say a hockey player or baskeball player trying to get their legs under them again. The pitchers are the ones you have to worry about the most. Baseball can adjust the regular season if needed and play less games if that’s the case. Baseball could still have a window to complete spring training as well since the season is long. I’m sure all those players will work out on their own and hope they do not catch the lingering effect of the Corona Virus.

The first baseball game back maybe like those first NFL games after 9/11. That was the last time in my life I saw a pause in the sports landscape. I know things in life are bigger than sports. Especially with dealing with something many people can say they have never been through this or seen it either. It’s getting uglier out there in the world every day. When we finally get through this as a nation, as a human around the globe and we will. People will be pointing fingers at others on what they should have or could have done. By then you will be quite sick of hearing about this virus, and you will need the American pasttime to get you back to familiarity of your daily life of yesterday. The Boys of Summer will be critical for the mind psyche whether good, bad, or ugly. I would take a season of my favorite team playing stupid baseball every night rather than having to deal with the Corona Virus that right now is interfering with what you and I love. Sports. Especially the game of baseball.             

 

SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

MONCARDA EXTENSION

The White Sox strike up a deal with another extension to one of their younger players. This time it’s third baseman Yoan Moncarda who is shown the love with a 5 year 90 million dollar deal. Moncarda is 24 years old and it keeps him on the southside guaranteed 5 years with an option for a sixth year. Yoan Moncarda is the third player the White Sox have extended this spring training. Relief Pitcher Aaron Bummer. Plus their highly touted prospect Luis Robert. Last season White Sox locked up Eloy Jimenez. As you can tell the White Sox have marked their young core and they expect to keep this band togther on the south side of Chicago for years to come.

Yoan Moncarda is one of the prospects the White Sox received in the Chris Sale trade. Last season he switched positions on the diamond. Moncarda went from second base to the hot corner. Then Moncarda, a switch hitter, had a break out year with the bat hitting .315 knocking 25 into the seats while driving in 79. Playing third base he did better with the glove than he did at second the year before. This is the performance the White Sox were expecting when Yoan Moncarda was acquired from Boston.

FLAME THROWER BACK

On March 11th Michael Kopech made his first appearance on the mound for the White Sox after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Last time Kopech pitched was in September of 2018. He missed the whole year in 2019 due to the Tommy John surgery. On his first action in Spring training versus the Texas Rangers, Kopech threw 11 balls in one inning pitched. Six of those pitches hit the 100 MPH mark or higher.

Kopech threw a perfect 1-2-3 inning which included striking out Greg Bird. In 2018 Michael Kopech was called up to the big league roster by the White Sox. Kopech went 1-1 in 4 games with 5.02 ERA before he was put on the shelf that year. Kopech was another prospect that came to the White Sox from that Chris Sale deal that seems to have struck gold.

THE RETURN OF ZACK PUTNAM

      White Sox bringing back relief pitcher Zach Putnam on a minor league deal. Putnam from 2014 thru 2017 was a pretty darn good relief pitcher for the White Sox. Putnam had a very low ERA of 2.71 through that stretch, pitching over 100 innings from the bullpen. The 32 year old was derailed by injuries. After having Tommy John surgery he recovered and came back to have hamstring problems. When it rains it pours. If Putnam still has good stuff he could be a nice piece for the bullpen this up and coming season.    

THE BUCKO WEEKLY

PIRATES, MARLINS AND RAYS LINKED TOGETHER

  When your team continues to be associated with the two Florida teams it’s a very hard pill to swallow. Once again the Pirates join the Rays and Marlins as three teams the MLBPA filed a grievance against. The Major League Baseball Players Association is accusing the Pirates of not trying to be competitive. Not using the revenue sharing money that small market teams receive. In 2016 the Pirates had a 99 million dollar pay roll that year. This year Pirates can’t even win at being cheap. The Pirates have the third lowest pay roll in the league at 51 million.

In 2018 the Pirates were on the same grievance list filed by the MLBPA with three other teams that year. The same three as this year but the Oakland Athletics this go around is not on that list. The President of the MLBPA Tony Clark says these teams have violated the basic agreement they use for revenue sharing. When teams’ payrolls in baseball are too high they get taxed. That luxary tax is shared. Especailly shared with small market teams. The teams generally use the money to improve their performance on the field. Such as players salaries. Bonuses for draft picks to get players to sign. It goes into international bank roll as well. Teams could use it for more scouts or other staff members. Teams use the extra scratch to upgrade player development systems throughout their minor league system. The result is the Pirates and other teams are not being competitive. Pirates are kind of in and out of rebuild ideas. They may not know what they are quite doing yet. Now they made the dreadful list being linked to the Rays and Marlins. 

Drink plenty of Iron City beer and hope the Pirates sell to somebody who actually cares about the team. Cares about the city of Pittsbugh. Puts a team that can compete on the field every year.

SHOW ME THE MONEY

 Whispers heard around the city and down in Florida Pirates might be giving some players extensions. 

Keep on the down low. Pirates are looking to extend some of their younger players. Last year rookie Bryan Reynolds who played outfield had a remarkable first year in the bigs. Hitting .314 with 16 bombs driving in 68 runs.

Then short stop Kevin Newman who played in his first full season in the bigs did very well. Newman hit .308 with 12 bombs and drove in 64. 

The Pirates think the 27 right hander Joe Musgrave can be a fixture in the rotation for years to come. Musgrave has 4 years of experience with a 28-33 life time record on the mound. Musgrave pitched 170 innings last season when multiple arms broke down on the Pirates last season.

Pirates are also linked to giving one of their top prospects an extension like the White Sox did this off season with Luis Robert. Ke’Bryan Hays a third baseman by trade could have a crack at the big league roster at some point this season. Not sure how the PIrates are going to find this money for all these extensions especailly how tight they are with a wallet in need of oiling to be opened.

They may have to hold up a few banks. Perhaps they have some revenue sharing money laying around that was going to be used for a new pool for the owner.

  Maybe the pressure from the MLBPA put this extensions  in motion to establish a young core and keep the young group intact.  

TEBOW IS LIVING THE DREAM EITHER WAY BASEBALL OR BUST

          Will Tim Tebow ever make it to the big league roster? Tim Tebow entered his 4th Spring training camp since deciding he was going to play baseball instead of football. Tebow was a part of the first wave of cuts at the New York Mets camp. Tebow will head to the farm league and work on his game after getting two hits in spring training. One of Tebow’s hits was a home run in 13 at bats. Tebow continues to strike out at a high rate. Tebow did have some walks. It was not enough to keepTebow present in spring training while the Mets figure out their opening day roster for the 2020 seaon. How long will Tim Tebow pursue this baseball dream? Will he ever make it on a big league roster by his baseball talents alone?

  Tim Tebow is 32 years old and last season in Triple AAA it was not very stunning for the former Heisman trophy winner. Tebow’s season was cut short with an injury to his pinky finger. A deep laceration that sidelined him in July. Tebow appeared in 77 games for the Syracuse Mets where he hit a meager .163. Tebow drove in 19 with 4 long balls.  Those are pretty bad numbers considering he worked his way up to the Triple AAA level as he was progressing at the lower levels. Tim Tebow is not part of the Mets 40 man roster or never has been. Tebow could be where he left off last season in Syracuse or perhaps demoted to a lower level. Would another organization take a Tim Tebow under their wings?

Many thought when Tim Tebow was not going to be the starting quarterback in the NFL, perhaps he should try the tight end position. Tebow did not go down that road and instead hung around longer running the wild cat package offense as a quarterback for the Jets. Tebow ended up being cut and that’s when he decided to give baseball a try. Is it too late for Tebow to make the switch back to football? In the XFL there are lots of running quarterbacks behind center in that league. Maybe tight end could be an option as well in the XFL. Something about going back to football and getting your bell rung because some unknown wants their name to be recognized because of Tebow’s celebrity status. Plus 32 years old trying to get back in football shape might not be the problem. I think knocking off the rust and getting back to the grindstone of 24/7 football and getting the mechanics back down is the hard part. Plus Tim Tebow had one pretty good season in the NFL and that was a very long time ago.

It’s up to Tim Tebow on how long he will go with playing baseball. Tebow made some money in the NFL. More money than most of us will ever see in a lifetime. Tebow has made money off endorsements as well. I see plenty of opportunities Tebow will have after he hangs up the spikes in baseball. Tebow’s celebrity status and being set financially can help him stay the course playing baseball. Most minor league baseball players have to give up and go back to the real world to make money. To support their families. To establish other roots of career opportunities before they get too old especially with other things they would like to pursue. Tim Tebow might make it to the big leagues at some point. Will he have earned it? The hard work he put in I can see. I could see the September call up. Will his numbers though justify the call up? The call up will sell lots of jerseys. The call up will put many more fannies in the seats. Business stance it makes sense. Even though whatever road Tim Tebow goes down in his baseball career it will be a huge profit for him at the end of it. A movie or a book deal is in the cards. The story on the road Tebow took and switched sports is something to write about.  If Tim Tebow gets a hit in the big leagues Disney will cash in even more. Tim Tebow could also have the type of story like a Crash Davis as well. Davis made it to the bigs. Tebow played in the NFL. Then Davis played until he hit the most home runs in minor league history. Tebow could quietly play minor league baseball until no one offers him a job. No matter what Tebow is like a cat with nine lives he can use for this baseball dream. Crash Davis left unnoticed. When Tebow is done playing baseball his whole story will become even bigger then his religion beliefs.

SALE NO LONGER A BARGAIN

   Chris Sale for seven seasons on the southside of Chicago was electric. Sale was the ace of the staff and went 74-50 with an ERA at 3.00 during those years. Sale was a south paw with a wicked fast ball and a slider more deadly than anything White Castle had to offer. Many people said with his funky wind up as a pitcher, Sale most likely would have arm problems down the line. Some thought his arm would just be far off. Years went along my thought process I just put a blind eye to the situation thinking it would of already happened and he should be good. Chris Sale’s 4th season in Boston at the starting gates of Spring training has soreness in his elbow. Is this just a bump in the road for pitchers with normal wear and tear? Could this have been what people thought all along? That arm problems will haunt the south paw?

Chris Sale was shut down and an MRI was done. The Red Sox and Sale will avoid Tommy John surgery so far. The Red Sox say it’s a flexor strain. Sale also had other opinions done as well including Dr. James Andrews who has seen this and done this many years for lots of players from the MLB. The Red Sox and Chris Sale will try to do a throwing session in a week and see where they are at in hopes the elbow soreness dissipates on it’s own  after resting it and icing it down. Chris Sale is 30 years old and dealt with the elbow last season. Sale was eventually shelved last season after by far his worst year in the big leagues. Sale’s record was 6-11 with a very high ERA at 4.40.

  I look back at those days before the White Sox tore it all down. The team had two great pitchers in Chris Sale and Jose Quintana. With two pitchers like that you should be able to get to the playoffs if you build around them. The White Sox never won with these two guys. Both pitchers got the White Sox a lot back in trades. Yoan Mancarda, Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech and Eloy Jimenez. These four could be staples a very long time on the southside of Chicago. Chris Sale has helped the Boston Red Sox win a World Series in 2018. Will that World Series be tainted with an asterisk for cheating? Red Sox are under investigation. Jose Quintana has been growing tiresome in the Cubs organization as the production they have not received for what they gave up to pry him away from the Southside of Chicago.

Watching Chris Sale pitch was very special. Every team wants an ace on their staff. To watch them pitch every 5 days keeps you watching even when your team is not that good. I thought if Chris Sale stays healthy he could of been the next White Sox enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Obviously if he pitched most of his career on the Southside. I bet I was giving the blind eye as well to his funky wind up and delivery back then. Sale kind of turned fans off when he’s cutting retro jerseys in the locker room on game day.  Because he did not like them. I moved on from Chris Sale. Right now his 145 million dollar extension starts this season. If these arm problems linger that would drive me crazy being on the hook for a contract like that if he was still playing on the Southside. You want your team to trade people at the right time for value wise. Many times you are stuck and heavily invested and it takes a few years to recover from bad contracts. I’m not saying the White Sox are geniuses like they knew when to get out of the Sale ads. White Sox like to usually linger in the funnies. If the White Sox build something special with this team they have just formed since the rebuild then Sale will be remembered and thanked for what he brought to the table not how he pitched on the Southside.  When the White Sox won it 2005 Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Lee were very easy to forget. The only Sale I need to worry these days about is what  JC Pennies has to offer then if Chris Sale will be the Boston Red Sox ace down the road.                        

SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

NOT A BUMMER OF A DEAL

White Sox continue to build their future core as they strike up a long term deal with left handed relief pitcher Aaron Bummer. Both parties agree to a five year deal worth 16 million for the 26 year old. The White Sox also added club options at the end of the deal. Bummer was one of the best relief pitchers in the American league. You can probably say throughout the entire league as well. In 58 appearences he had no record with 67 Innings pitch with a very low ERA of 2.13. Bummer had 60 punch outs in those 67 innings. Bummer also contributed one save to his credits. 

Bummer could become the future closer on the south side. I’d rather have him in same role as a late inning guy to come into the game as needed to preserve the lead and get the game to the closer. Bummer is one of the best at getting the ground ball. Bringing Bummer in any kind of situation that has gone wrong he can be valuable getting the team out of those kind of jams late in the game. Overall the extension keeps Bummer long term and now he’s part of the core of players the White Sox have extended. Guys like Eloy Jimenez, Tim Anderson, and Luis Robert.

THE MAN WITH MORE THAN ONE GLOVE

Leury Garcia is another guy the White Sox are keeping around. They added a one year deal worth 3.5 million with a club option. Garcia is that swiss army knife of the team. Hecan play any outfield position. He can fill in on the infield as well. I thought he was a decent option as a lead off hitter last season. Garcia batted .279 last season scoring 93 runs driving in 40.  Slugged 8 home runs with 161 hits. Great player off the bench. Garcia can do lots of things like steal a few bases as he swiped 15 last year. Anybody goes down, he’s a nice player to have fill in. Plus I think he will be used a lot as a late inning defensive replacement.  

YOLMER LANDS IN THE BAY AREA

Yolmer Sanchez lands in San Francisco on a minor league deal. Sanchez has a chance to land the second base position for the Giants in an open competition. Word is he had some guaranteed offers with other teams but wanted a starting position so he’s betting on himself. Let’s hope we see him pouring gatorade on himself in a Giant win over the Cubs.

26TH MAN

MLB has expanded the rosters of every team in the league to 26 players, rather than the normal 25 roster spots. One big guy making some noise early on in Spring training is no domestic. He’s an import. He’s a Mercedes. Not Benz. He’s a Yermin Mercedes a 27 year from the Domincan with no big league at-bats yet. Mercedes was plucked away by the White Sox in the rule 5 draft in 2017. Mercedes has been slashing and putting the big part of the barrel on the bat in the minors for the White Sox farm system. He’s a catcher by trade but you may be able to  play some first base as well. Plus throw him in the DH role to keep his bat on this roster. In spring training he has a grand slam and a mammoth shot that he hit that may be traveling still as I type this sentence. We will keep tabs on our new fancy ride out in the desert.

THE BUCKO REVIEW

 

“EL COFFEE” FULLY CAFFINATED

Gregory Polanco arrives to spring training with a clean bill of health. Polonco has been derailed the last two seasons with a shoulder injury he suffered from an awkward slide. The injury limited him only to 42 games last season. Polanco only had 153 At-bats as he hit .242 during that span with six long balls and 17 driven in. In 2018 Polanco was having a productive year hitting .254 with 23 long balls driving in 81 as he played in 130 games.  Can Polanco stay healthy for his seventh season in a Pirates uniform?  Will the 28 year old outfielder be a part of this team for the long haul or possible trade bait? 

Gregory Polanco is the last man standing from the Pirates 2015 playoff team. When healthy he is a nice addition to any team’s line up. Polanco is a solid left handed bat to have in the line up. If you insert a right handed hitter inbetween Polanco and Josh Bell, it makes a tough middle of the order for opposing pitchers. Pirates’ grand plan seems to be in a holding pattern. In no rush to trade everyone. Just the wait and see approach. Either way a healthy Polanco will help your ballclub right now and the future if he can stay healthy. Polonco could net some prospects if traded and obviously healthy.

A HORSE IS A HORSE OF COURSE OF COURSE

Pablo Reyes is the latest Wilbur of the week busted for a positive test of PED’S. Reyes is suspended for 80 games as he was caught on the stuff they use on horses called Boldenone. Obviously he needs something because the 26 year old utility infielder in 71 games in 2019 only hit .203. He drove in 19 and scored 18 runs. Reyes has been a part of the Pirates oragnization now for 8 seasons. He debuted nicely in September of 2018. In 63 at-bats he batted .293 with three long balls and 7 knocked in. He ate his wheaties that year or he had a nice undected horse injection that year. 

DEREK HOLLAND TRYING TO LATCH ON

Derek Holland finished his Chicago tour last season playing for the Cubs. Former White Sox for a season was traded to the Cubs from the Giants last season. His better years are way behind him from his Texas days. Holland is on a minor league deal with the Pirates in hoping he’ll crack the starting rotation. He is a left hander that could come out of the bullpen as well. He could be a spot starter/relief pitcher. If he makes the team a possible trading chip, the team has nothing going for them around the trade deadline.     

AN ASTERISK OF A STORM BREWING

 Houston Astro mania has been sweeping through baseball nation like a natural disaster and it’s getting bigger. It’s getting ugly. Players are lashing out. Death threats have been mailed, hopefully with the proper postage. The Astros press conference was a joke like Jose Altuve’s tattoo on his chest. Lawsuits have been filed. Managers saying the punishment does not fit the crime. Ideas being tweeted out there to take the Astros’ piece of metal away. Piece of metal referring to the Commissioner of baseball that called the sacred World Series Trophy. Like Sammy Sosa later on he apologized for and provided a statement apology for saying it was just a piece of metal. Lebron James even chimed in. Shut Up Lebron, who cares what your opinion is?  Jessica Mendoza stepped down from her Mets gig. ESPN demoted her job from the baseball world. Fire up the pick-up trucks. Use your bats, gather up the torches and pitch forks and let’s go hunting for some Astro meat.

Players around the league have been outraged at the slap in the wrists the Astros got. Dodger players especially because their the team lost in the 2017 World Series. Cody Bellinger ripped the Astros. Justin Turner ripped the commissioner of baseball for calling the World Series Trophy a piece of metal. Most players have looked at video of themselves and their team playing games in Houston. They wonder before how a players from Houston took a nasty pitch without even check swinging like obviously they knew to lay off.. Probably heard the whaling of the garbage cans as well. It’s not just the players from the notable teams that have played the Astros in the playoffs over the years. Your star players in the league like Mike Trout from the Angels have chimed in.  It’s like the Astros are OJ Simpson getting away with murder.

   The Houston Astros owner fired their manager and general manager even though they were going to be suspended for one year. They hired Dusty Baker to guide them in this transitional period for the Astros. Baker has already opened up his trap saying the league has to come down on retaliation for safety of his players. Baker wants the league to give a stern warning to the rest of the league.  Throwing at Astro players will result in big consequences. Will the league go to an extreme level for punishment on a pitcher plunking a Astros player?  Hey Dusty and the MLB why don’t you protect Mike Fiers from death threats before the poor Astro players get beamed with a baseball.           

The commissioner of baseball, Robert Manfred Jr.’s,  punishment for the Astros scandal is something compared  to saying the LA Police officers did not use extreme force on Rodney King as they swung billy clubs at him over and over. In 1919 during the Black Sox scandal, the eight men out for the White Sox went to the court of law. They were found not guilty. Then the new commisioner had to clean up the sport and banned those players for life. Pete Rose’s punishment was severe. The Steroid ERA was a joke by the time all the evidence became public. I know it would be hard to prove what player was on steroids in which at-bats. I know it would be the same thing for the Astro players in what signs did they steal in what at-bat as well. You can’t just ban every player that has played for the Astros the last three seasons. If you did ban all those players for one year that were on the Astros rosters, then you’d be banning the whistle blowers and any former Astro player that is on another roster. If they did ban them for one year and without pay would this ever happen again? That idea would affect more than one team which is not fair. The best thing to prevent this sting on the sport is probably take away what they earned, the World Series piece of metal. Olympics do it all the time for positive doping tests revealed years later. Ask Trump’s buddies from Russia and they will tell you. Just need a commissioner that can call the shots when needed.

The MLB should have the Astros pay for all the damages that were caused in this sign stealing storm. What about the players that were demoted or personnel for teams that were let go because of Astrogate? Would Joe Giraldi still be in New York if his team got past the Astros in the playoffs? Joe obviously liked a cat and landed on his feet in Philadelphia. What about Mike Bolsinger who filed a law suit versus the Astros and MLB? His outing in Houston pitching for the Blue Jays sent him back to the minor leagues. He is accusing the Astros of unfair business practices. Plus Negligence and intentional interference with contractual economic siputations. Bolisinger does want the money for himself. He wants the Astros World Series bonuses to go to a charity or two. Astros should be opening up their check books and pay for their actrocities. Houston owner should take the money out of their players checks if desired. 

The thing about this that makes my blood boil about the Astros is their players and their owner. It took former Astro players on other teams to apologize for their actions of stealing the signs. Then AJ Hinch admitted what was going on in his first interview since he was fired by the Astros. Then the Astros do their own press conference and apologized. Then after the fake apology a few of their players get on their soap box and tell whoever cares to be listening, we will prove to the whole baseball world we are as good as advertised and don’t need to steal signs to win the whole thing. If that is the case then why did you do it in the first place?           

THE BIG SEXY EAST BOUND AND DOWN

Bartolo Colon was MIA in 2019 in the baseball world. This was not Bartolo’s first time he disappeared from baseball. His second stint with the White Sox he went missing for a day and his whereabouts were unknown. Colon ended up finding his way to the White Sox Triple-A team eventually to make a rehab start. Nicknamed the “Big Sexy” Bartolo Colon has resurfaced in the baseball world. Not in the MLB. The 46 year old has a one year deal in the Mexican league. Tell me if you’ve seen this script play out before.

Monclova Acereros will insert the Big Sexy into their starting rotation. The Acereros are the current champions of the league and clearly there is no evidence they have stolon signs to earn their championship.

Bartolo Colon debuted in 1997 for the Cleveland Indians. He has pitched 21 seasons in the majors with 11 different teams. His last year in the majors he pitched for the Texas Rangers in 2018. It was not one of Colon’s best years with a record of 7-12 and very high ERA at 5.78. Colon is a four time all-star. His last all-star appearance he was 43 years old pitching for the Mets at the time. Colon won the Cy Young in 2005 with the Angels as he earned 21 wins that year with 3.48 ERA. Career wise Colon has pitched in 565 games. 552 were games he started. His lifetime record is 247-188 with a 4.12 ERA.

In 2003 during his first stint with the White Sox, I remember he blew one by Barry Bonds when the Giants came to Chicago. Bonds eventually tattooed one late in that game off Colon but that was two monsters in a heavy weight fight that night going at it  against each other. Every at bat and each pitch were magnified. Colon still at that time had the blazing heat and was considered an ace of most teams’ staffs. That year he went 15-13 record on the south side with 3.87 ERA.Then he took the big money the following year as the Angels nabbed him in the open market. In 2009 his best days were over I thought when he signed again with the White Sox.  He proved that his days were not over and went on and pitched almost another 8 seasons after 2009.

When he first came into the league he was a flame thrower and a scary pitcher to face. At the end of his career he had that rubber arm that kept him going out to the mound each season. He lost some of his sizzle of his fast ball. Like many older pitchers that stay in the league, he adapted how he pitched and located his fast balls. Bartolo Colon has the most wins by any Dominican born pitcher. Plus most wins by any Latin pitcher in MLB history which are probably his most proud achievements.

Bartolo Colon will turn 47 in May. Colon has nothing to prove to anybody. I believe he’s pitching in the Mexican league for the love of the game. Not trying to make a comeback to the Majors. I remember what John Kruk once said when a lady told him he should be ashamed of himself being a athlete and drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. Kruk came back with something like, “I’m not an athlete I play baseball.”

Baseball is the best sport because anybody can play the game no matter what size you are. The Big Sexy Bartolo Colon has been overweight almost his entire career. He’s still out there pitching like it’s a Sunday beer league. He may pitch till he’s 50. I think this signing will work well for the Monclova squad. He will attract fannies in the seat. He has developed that gentle big giant teddy bear thing with his fan following. Plus he will help the team win some games on the mound. The Acereros get the best of both worlds bringing in the Big Sexy.                       

NAZI’S RESURGENCE IN SAN DIEGO

Are the Nazis resurfacing in America? Using America’s past time to slowly sink sublinimal messages that Nazisim still exists and is not going away. It’s like a girlfriend who takes over a drawer and then invades your home. At a snap of your fingers you have a roomate not going away. Her familly photos plastered all over finally makes you scratch your head. It’s too late. The San Diego Padres’ new cap resembles the hated Nazi symbol, the Swastika. Navy town a great place to strike first with your propaganda. In the whole league, every team has multiple hats. This year the whole league has hats with their team’s logo and block letters in the logo of the city. The Padres hat done by New Era have one that some believe looks like the symbol of hate in the history of civilization.

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You see the Padres logo with the monk, some call it a friar, swinging the bat. Over the logo you have the interlocking letters. The way the “S and “D” are formed into each other with the top of the “S” cut off, it has a resemblance to the Swastika.

There is an episode of All In the Family where Archie wakes up to find a Swastika painted on his front door. In the episode Edith Bunker, Archie’s wife, asked him “Why do they call it a Swastika?

Archie’s response. “Look at the damn thing. What the hell else would you call it?”   

 Is this hat the Padres had done just another case of Political Correctness? I do not think New Era’s plan was to hide a subliminal message in a baseball cap. The person who came up with the new logo on the cap probably did not even think of anything related to hatred. It’s a freaking baseball cap, not a symbol from decades ago. However people see that symbol unintentionally branded in the hat like that, and it still hits a nerve to this day. Plus all the people that adopt the Swastika still to this day in their lives. You do not want to throw a blind eye on something either.

As a society we don’t want to go down the Schultz path of thinking. Baseball brings people together and should not bring hate or political ties to the game we love. The Padres will be scrapping this hat. They can pick one of the other thousand logos of the friar monk thing swinging a bat. Spring training is upon us. It’s time to put me in coach, I’m ready to play.      

SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

Our White Sox Oscar nominee for his play in the 1970’s. Oscar gamble…..

We know the White Sox love to collect Cubans. Cigars I would not doubt. Cuban players the White Sox have a pipeline for over the years. Current Cubans and without the Dominican wrappers on the White Sox are sluggers Yoan Moncarda, Jose Abreu. Let’s not forget the arrival of Luis Robert which is expected to happen on opening day. In the past White Sox Cubans Jose Contreas and Orlando Hernandez, aka ELDuque, were a part of that 2005 World Seres team.

Then lets not forget the White Sox legend Minnie Minosa.

It will not be official until July 2nd when the new international signing period begins, but the White Sox landed Norge Carlos Vera, an 18 year old pitching phenom. Vera pitched for the Cuban national team. Vera has athletic ability in his blood as his father was a star on the Cuban national team. Vera’s father won many olympic medals as well. White Sox in my opinion seem to evaluate young pitching better than hitting. Norge Carlos Vera has a high ceiling with a 90 mph on his fast ball. Vera towers over 6’3″ and can get his pitch speed all the way up to 97mph. Vera has a deadly slider and a change up to his arsenol. The White Sox are hoping he can be a fixture in the starting rotation in years to come. It’s a 1.5 million deal with the Cuban. White Sox have interest also in highly coveted outfielder defector Oscar Colas. A full box of Cubans will be the future roster on the South side.

THE SOX DEFENSES

The White Sox projected line up on defense is very concerning. Pitching and hitting has improved but the defense to me has raised some red flags The outfield on the corner positions with Eloy Jimenez and the new guy from the Rangers Omar Mazara are liabilities. Not sure what Luis Robert will bring to the table on defense in center field. Then in the infield the left side has Yoan Moncarda and Tim Anderson. Moncarda has only one year at third under his belt. Tim Anderson is still improving his defensive skills but the errors are still very high. At second, sure glove Yolmer Sanchez is gone. That position can be a few different guys, from top prospects Nick Madrigal and Danny Mendrick. Both might be ok out there. I would not compare their defense to Sanchez. That position will also have weakened.

Only position on the diamond the White Sox got better defensively is the catchers position. Yasmani Grandal defensively has the edge over James McCann. Jose Abreu gives the team pretty good defense at first. The signing of Edwin Encarnacion as your primarily DH and get some games at first base. Even one of the catchers can relieve Jose Abreu. These options behind Abreu will not improve the defense. They may weaken it and bring down another notch on the peg leg. Plus Edwin Encarnacion as mainly your DH makes it hard to move Eloy Jimenez to that position from left field. Time to time or late innings, an Adam Engelcan comes in handy. Right now the pitching will have to overcome and the bats will have to bring in the grade A type of lumber almost every night.

NOT A GIANT MOVE

The San Francisco Giants bring back a familiar face. After a one year hiatus, Hunter Pence returns to the city by the bay and signs a one year deal worth 3 million. Pence rediscovered his old swing after a subpar year in 2018. He worked on his mechanics and retooled his swing that worked very well for the 36 year old. Last year in Texas he was voted to the All-Star game. He played in 83 games last season. His average was just below .300 at .297. He knocked 18 balls into the seats driving in 59.

Hunter Pence is a big fan favorite in San Francisco. He spent parts of seven seasons in the bay area as he was part of two World Series championship teams in 2012 & 2014. San Francisco has a much younger team these days. Especailly in the outfield. Bringing in a veteran like Pence is good for the locker room. Plus his work ethic everyday can help the youngsters. Pence brings a lot to the table as well for the Giants. He can fill in for anybody who gets injured. Give players a day off. Plus it gives the Giants a very impactful bat off the bench. Bring him up to pinch hit late in games with runners on and he is a nice weapon to have.   

KENDRY MORALES WALKS OFF STANDING 

The Cuban-born slugger Kendry Morales has called it a career in the MLB.  After 13 seasons with seven different teams the 36 year old is walking away from the game. Last season was just dreadful for Morales as the Yankees released him in July. Morales had 201 at-bats with Oakland and New York and just hit a meager .194 with two long balls. He defected from Cuba in 2004 and landed with the Anaheim Angels. His career started off with a bang and ends with a whimper. In 2010, one defining moment would change Morales’ whole career.

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A walk off grand slam to end the game vs the Mariners. Morales, and whoever would  be very excited, as they won the game rounded the bases. As his team waited for him at home plate he jumped up in the air to get their embrace and landed awkwardly on his leg. It was like snap, crackle, and pop as Morales broke his right leg. He would end up missing the rest of the 2010 season. Morales only played in 51 games until that point. Morales was off to a great start that year hitting .290 driving in 39 and the grand slam was his 11th long ball of the season. That freak injury would sideline him for the 2011 season as well.

Morales then came back in 2012 for the Angels and batted .273 with 22 home runs for the season. It was his last year as an Angel. After that he would play for six other teams which included the Mariners, Blue Jays, Twins, A’s, Royals, and finally the Yankees. He would win a ring with the 2015 Royals. He would finish his career with 213 home runs driving in 740 runs. A life-time batting average of .265. Would things have been totally different if he did not suffer that injury in 2010 for him? No way to tell. Imagine the thought of the leg breaking again took some time after recovery. We do not know how many times it crossed his mind over the years after that. Morales was a left-handed bat that could hit the long ball but with a respectable average. Most left handed power hitters strike out a lot and live or die by the home run and hit in the lower .200s. Morales was able to do other things with the bat.  It’s a nice career Morales had, but it could have been even sweeter without the injury.   

IN DUSTY WE TRUSTY – SHORT TERM ONLY

My three candidates for the new Houston Astros manager would be either one of these guys below.

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What the hell do I know as Houston went with 70 year old Dusty Baker? My line of thinking is the Astros had a big mess in front of them and needed a guy to clean it up. Is Dusty Baker the guy that can come into a tricky situation like the Astros are in? Can Baker steer the ship with a big hole on the side of it? Would Baker’s ego and his way of doing things just add more fuel to the Astros fire? Does he have grandchildren these days to use as human shields versus the press? Baker gets a one year deal with an option for 2021 as the Astros may not be fully into trusty the old Dusty.

Dusty Baker has been managing in the big leagues for 22 seasons. With four different teams. The Giants, Cubs, Reds, and the Nationals as the Astros will be his first American League job.  He has been manager of the year three times. He has piled up 1,863 wins. He led the Giants to the World Series in 2002. He had the Chicago Cubs very close to their first  World Series appearance in about a gazillion years. Each franchise Baker has guided his teams to at least one playoff berth. 

Baker has quite a resume as a manager. Dusty Baker also has a lot of demons in the closet as well. Lots of playoff horrors that would make a waste eating Carp fish throw up. From wearing down the pitching staffs all the way down to the threads of the bald tire exposing those arms down to the bare bone. The mishandling of the Steve Bartman situation at Wrigley field.

Fires were not put out by Dusty Baker that night. From Moises Alou’s tantrum to Mark Pryor on the mound worked up because of the Bartman situation. Then the loaded Washington National teams with all the talent in the world. Baker could not do anything with it. Dave Martinez wins the World Series without a Bryce Harper, by far the team’s best player. That’s a 3-9 record in playoff series Dusty Baker has if your keeping track at home.

Dusty Baker might have his best team ever on paper with the Houston Astros. He has already said he will have no sign stealing on his watch. Dusty Baker is a players’ manager. He will be able to get the players to buy what he is selling. Home games should be no problem as the Astros with the talent they have in place and the Houston faithful in their corner half of their games will be played without a hitch. On the road is where the Astros will find it difficult. Instead of the one or two town rivals that hate your guts and boo your existence. Astros will face a hostile crowd on every road trip. How will this team react?

Plus for sure media will be talking about those road games. Plus the press will be asking them every week about the sign stealing scandal. It will start in spring training. Can Dusty Baker diffuse the media enough to have it not effect his players? Can he bring these guys together enough where they can play baseball and ignore the surroundings? This will not be an easy job for the man munching on his toothpicks like he just quit smoking. The only good thing is Dusty Baker’s track record as a manager. Every where he goes he always starts off strong the very first year with a great season. With that set in stone, Houston may have solved a temporary problem. This Baker hiring could work only as a short term solution. If they try to extend Dusty Baker too long, it will back fire just like it has in all of his other stops he’s as a manager.            

BORN IN CHICAGO WALKED THE PLANK WHILE WEARING WHITE SOX

Charlie Tilson signs a minor league deal with the Pirates this week. Tilson played for his hometown team, the Chicago White Sox, last season. Not sure how many players in the MLB were born in Chicago and have played for both the White Sox and Pirates. When I read the signing of Tilson I thought of another player that was born in Chicago and played for the Pirates, then he was traded to the White Sox. This was Rob Machowiak. These two might be the only ones in MLB history to have this same type of combo. The MLB has been around for a long time so I could be wrong.  Charlie Tilson still has to make the big league roster to ride down the same road as Machowiak.

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Rob Machowiak was born in the suburb of Oak Lawn, Illinois not to far from where I live. He played in nine seasons with four different teams. He started with the Pirates and spent 5 years with them. Machowiak missed the World Series parade in Chicago as he arrived in Chicago during the 2006 season. Perhaps he could of caught a playoff game or two if he was actually living in Chicago in the off season. He might of been present. Machowiak was a nice left handed bat to have in the line up. In 2006  Machowiak probably did a lot for the White Sox playing all over the outfield that year. Filling in for an ineffective Brian Anderson who could not swing the bat if you even gave him one of those big red whiffle bats. Machowiak spent two seasons on the southside hitting .285 with 11 long balls and driving in 59. For the Pirates his average was .258 with 52 long balls and 221 RBI’S. After the White Sox he faded away with the Padres and then ending his career with the Nationals. Always like how he played hard and was a great guy off the bench who’d come up big with some important hits.

Meanwhile Charlie Tilson came from the Cardinals oragnization to the White Sox. That sent south paw reliever Zach Duke to the Red Birds for a highly touted prospect with blazing speed. Tilson said he was a White Sox fan even growing up north of the City. These days Chicago baseball has been integrated. White Sox fans have moved up North. Believe it or not a virus of growing Cubs fans have polluted the South Side blue collar image. Tilson grew up in Wilmette. Tilson’s debut in 2016 ended his day badly and tore his hamstring. Multiple leg injuies after that followed him around and his days of swiping 40 bags in the minor leagues were over. Tilson played well in the field. He was a scrappy left handed hitter as well. Last year for the White Sox he did get 144 at bats. His average was low at .229. He hit his first career home run last year as he drove in 12. Career wise during three injured seasons, Tilson is a .246 hitter with 62 hits and the one and the only Homerun hit last season. He has driven in 23 during that run on the south side. If he is healthy he should latch on to the Pirates opening day roster especially if Pittsburgh is going into a full rebuild. Tilson just needs to stay healthy and I think eventually be a guy that can stay on the roster and be a valuable asset off the bench. Perhaps works himself into the everyday line up as well. Tilson is only 27 so his White Sox days could be the bump in a road for him. New scenery and a chance to play every day inPittsburgh could revive his whole career. Good luck in steel city. The pierogis are just as good in Pittsburgh as they are in Chicago is my advice.                

TWO UNDER THE RADAR MOVES MAY TURN INTO GOLD

There are two moves I like under the radar by two teams this off season in free agency. First Atanta Braves bringing in the King. King Felix Hernandez on a minor league deal. Then the Washinton Nationals with the signing of Starlin Castro. Both teams were playoff teams in the National league. Washington as you know won the World Series. These moves could be very valuable for each team next season. Two sleeper moves that could pay high dividends at the end and result in playoffs once again. Perhaps they come up big in post season as well.

Some will say that the king is done and has left the building. Plaqued by injuries in 2019 the King Hernadez was just a shell of his former self. The 33 year old only pitched 71.2 innings with a ERA that has sky rocketed to a 6.48. Resulting in a 1-8 record in 2019. You can say the last three years the King has not been in control of his castle. In 2018 he was 6-14. In 2017 he went 6-5. Injuries. Lots of innings under his belt. Does he have gasoline left in the tank? If he does have something left, the Braves inked him to a minor league deal. If he makes the squad after spring training it’s only a million dollars in baseball money. Chump change in the couch compared to you and me. If he does not make it, the King rides off into the sunset and the Braves owe him nothing.  If the King is healthy, and I don’t expect him to be the ace ventura he once was. The coaching staff might even have to tweak his mechanics. He could be a good 4th or 5th starter. Could be that guy in the bull pen that can make some spot starts for you. Plus he’s a guy that wants to prove himself. He may be done. If not maybe new scenery. No pressure being the ace of the staff and if he just pitches and is healthy, maybe Atlanta with a roll of the dice gets ten wins out of him.

 Starlin Castro was going to be the next Ernie Banks. Even better. All the talent and hype coming up with the Cubbies. He showed you flashes of how good this kid really was. He also showed you he liked to take plays off. When Theo Esptein came to Chicago and took over the operations, some thought they might build around Castro. Castro was traded out of town. Yankees had him for a few years. He was around when the Death Star was on the rise. When the Yankees got really good they did not hesitate and traded Castro to Miami. Playing for the Marlins is compared to the Cubs teams during those 100 years as lovable losers.

The Nationals lost Anthony Rendon in free agency. They need to replace that offense in some way on the cheap. They signed Eric Thames. They Brought back Howie Kendrick. The signing of Starlin Castro to a two year deal is very intriguing. Castro’s numbers are not the same as Rendon. Castro hit .270 last year with 22 home runs and drove in 86. Castro did not start off the season very good. In the second half Castro found his swing and took off from there. Nationals won the World Series so Castro is coming into a winning situation. He will not be on the verge like when he wore  the pinstrips. He will not be on losing teams like the Marlins and the Cubs. Imagine the Nationals have a great locker room presence. Manager Davey Martinez does not deal with shenanigans from his players. Castro is only 29 years old. He may finally have grown up.   If he has, with the winning enviroment Davey  Martinez might be able to get the best there ever was from a guy named Starlin Castro. Plus 29 years old and a player in his prime. This signing may be the sleeper move of the year.      

THE BUCKO REVIEW

                 THE PIRATES TEAR DOWN HAS BEGUN

The Pirates finally start their rebuild trading thier first asset away. Longest tenured Pirate heading to the desert. Starling Marte dealt to the snakes for two prospects. Marte spent 8 years in Pittsburgh. Marte has won two gold gloves in his Pittsburgh days. He can play all over the outfield. His life-time batting average is .287 with 108 home runs and 420 RBI’S. He has speed due to which he has 239 stolen bases to his credits. Last year he had career highs in homeruns with 23. Also career high in RBI’S with 82. He was part of that 3 year span on those teams that made the playoffs three years in a row. His only knock is he was suspended for 80 games for steroids in 2017. He has a good bat and provides you with great defense which he will do for Arizona in 2020.

Starling Marte will be missed. He nets the Pirates two very young prospects who are both 19 years old. A right handed pitcher Brennan Malone and short stop Liover Peguero. Malone was the 33rd pick overall in the 2019 draft. Malone is a hard thrower as he can get it up there to the high 90’s with his heater.

Brennan Malone is one of the Diamondbacks’ top two prospects. Malone  had 1-2  record in class A ball with a 4.50 ERA in 7 appearances. Liover Peguero is from the Dominican Republic. A short stop who hit .326 in the minors last year. He had 74 hits in 60 games. What intrigues me about his batting stats is he had a little bit of everything down the stat line. Eleven doubles, five triples, and knocked 5 balls in the stands. Plus he drove in 38. A pretty good start for the youngster. The Pirates’ Ben Cherington is excited about the prospects he got back for Marte. Cherington  also got some international bonus money with the trade in amount of 250,000 in pool money. That excitement can be compared to a lady with a credit card going shopping for purses. 

Pirates have finally started this slow rebuild off somewhere. It’s usually one of your super stars that head out the door first. As you can see the first chip being Marte, we do not know who will be the second chip to fall. Pirates should not be in any kind of rush and get the best deal they can get from all  their trading chips. Even if it means waiting until the trade line during the season where you may be able to drive up the price from a desperate team wanting a player for their late season push to the playoffs.

LIRIANO HEADS TO PHILADELPHIA

Free agent Francisco Liriano loves Pennsylvania so much he has a minor league deal with the Phillies. Liriano, mostly a reliever these days, can make some spot starts as well. He came back to the Pirates last year on a minor league deal in which he made the team. Liriano made 69 appearances last year with a 3.47 ERA.

PIRATES MINOR LEAGUE DEALS

Pirates agreed to two minor league deals with two players who have played sparingly over the last several years. Outfielder Jake Elmore who played last season with the team for a cup of coffee. He batted a measley .213 with ten hits and drove in four runs.

Pirates needing a back stop bring in John Ryan Murphy on a spring training invite. Murphy has been in the league for seven years. Last year he split his time with the Diamondbacks and the Braves. Had only 63 at bats for the season. Had 11 hits and drove in seven. Lifetime a .175 hitter. Hope defense and calling a good game is his cup of tea.    

  THE NEW BIG RED MACHINE FORMING IN CINCY

 The NL Central last year came down to a three team race. Reds and the Pirates were the two teams not involved. Pittsburgh looks to follow the same path with last season’s misery except with a new manager. They will eventually go into tear down mode with the new GM on board. Then the three teams two of which two made the playoffs. The Cubs and Cardinals have done nothing. Cardinals lost a weapon in Marcell Ozuna. Cubs lost some bullpen arms and right now are over the cap paying off luxury taxes and to be honest have some bad contracts on the books. Kind of stuck with what they have in Chicago. Milwaukee lost a ton of players. The replacements don’t equal the talent they lost. Then standing in the weeds the Reds have been building the atomic bomb, the Big Red Machine Two. With the latest addition of Nicholas Castellanos. 

 Nicholas Castellanos was acquired by the Cubs from the Tigers last season at the trade deadline. He played very well down the stretch for the Cubs. Cubs could not afford his services so the Reds land him a 4 year deal worth 64 million. Castellanos has an opt-out clause after 2020 season. The 27 year old is a doubles machine with 58 of those last season with the Tigers and Cubs. He finished last year batting .289 knocking 27 balls into the seats and driving in 73 runs. He’s a right handed hitter who plays either one of the corner outfield positions. He has played seven seasons in the Majors all with Detroit except the 1/2 season with the Cubs. He has 120 home runs in his career as he has a lifetime .277 batting average. Tigers park is very hard to hit home runs. Those numbers should go up in Cinncinnati. He is also in the prime of his baseball career. Only knock on him is his defensive skills are not the best.

This move by the Reds takes a weapon away from the division rival. The Reds have another big bat in their lineup with the addition of Castellanos. They added Mike Moustakas earlier in free agency. They landed a Japanese centerfielder free agent. Shogo Akiyama who played for the Saitama Seibu Lions. The 31 year old Akiyama is a  career .300 hitter. He has been in multiple all-star games and won some golden gloves in Japan with over a thousand lifetime hits. Let’s not forget first baseman Joey Votto. Plus rookie outfielder Artistides Aquino’s debut in the majors last season shows he can mash the baseball as he had 19 long balls in a little over 200 at bats. Plus the big bopper in the line up last year with 49 bombs, Eugenio Suarez.

Reds have also been stockpiling pitching. Landing Trevor Bauer last year from the Indians. Then getting Sonny Gray and Wade Miley to build a nice rotation. With the lineup the Reds will put on the field every day, this staff can give up some runs and still win plenty of games. Reds line up they will be trotting out every day, on paper is the best in the division. It’s well mixed. This will be a team that will be hard to strike out. Plus they do not have to rely on the home run to beat you. This Castellanos move right before spring training might be the final piece in this reforming of the Big Red Machine Two. Just hope it does not bomb like Weekend at Bernies two at the box offices.

FIRST ROCKIE CAP IN THE HALL

Larry Walker getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame should be compared to the Cuban Missile crisis. Walker was on the brink of being wiped out in his tenth year on the ballot. Last minute as the votes came pouring in before the buttons were pushed to fire the missiles. Larry Walker gets in and the whole world went on with their life as Larry breathed a sigh of relief. All the 53 year old had to do is clear 75% of the vote. Walker gets a 76.6%, a C grade in school.  That was 304 votes total. Walker’s  voting percentage rose 22% from the year before. Now the Canadian born slugger has to think about which hat he’d like to wear in Cooperstown. Would it be Montreal, the team that drafted him, or would it be the Rockies where he put up the most damage stats wise? We know it will not be the Cardinals where he ended his playing days. Walker went with the Colorado Rockies as his choice.

 Would the Montreal Expos possibly still be around if the 1994 baseball strike never happened? The Expos were having a monster year. The Expos record was 74-40 at the time baseball pulled the plug on all of their operations. 

Some say the Expos could have won the whole enchalada that season. I think they are wrong as I liked the White Sox that year. Larry Walker that year was having a fantastic year. Expos drafted the Canadian and they landed a five tool player as he could do everything from running, a rocket arm,  spectacular web gems on defense and knocking the cover off the ball. He won a sliver slugger award and a pair of gold gloves before 1994. If you go back in the time machine and somehow they played the end of that season. If the Expos would have won it all, Larry Walker might have never been a Rockie. Expos could still be playing in Montreal. Larry Walker’s years in Montreal could have doubled. He would have most of his stats in an Expo uniform. Plus more awards. Plus a ring would not be out of the question. Expos would have been the cap Larry Walker would of worn. Some cities get dealt lemons and baseball moves out of their town like carney workers in the night.

 I love to see players wear an Expo hat in the Hall of Fame. I understand why Larry Walker wanted to wear a Rockies cap instead. First things first, Larry Walker will be the first one ever in the history of the MLB to wear a Colorado Rockies hat in Cooperstown. Being the pioneer in a game that has been around over a 100 years is always something special. Walker put up huge numbers at Coors field in Colorado.They will say it’s a hitting paradise in Colorado. The high altiude makes the ball fly further. On the road Walker was just as good. He won four batting titles with the Rockies. Half of the games are on the road. He was a 4 time all-star in Colorado. He won the NL MVP award in 1997.   

Larry Walker only played in one post season before his arrival in St. Louis. He was traded to the Cardinals after ten seasons in Colorado. In St. Louis he was a hired hitman. His weapon of choice is a bat they needed to help with their playoff push. In Colorado the Rockies made it to the playoffs once with Walker in 1995 and were quickly dispatched by the Braves. The Cardinals’ Larry Walker got to play in the World Series in 2004 versus the Red Sox. They lost. He played two years with the Cardinals and saw post season play in both seasons.

Walker played for three teams in 17 seasons he played in the MLB. Lifetime batting of .313. Over 2000 hits with 383 long balls. Looking at the numbers I think all the experts would put Larry Walker in a Colorado hat. Ten seasons he spent in the mountains. He is most remembered for his time in Colorado as the Expos have been mostly forgotten by most. Colorado first season was in 1993. History will be made when Larry Walker will be enshrined in Cooperstown this summer with a Colorado hat on. He will be forever the first Rockie in wearing the cap. He may have company with Todd Helton who is slowly climbing up the charts just like Larry did it. Will Helton have to wait until his last year on the ballot?  Hope not, let Larry be the one with that story especially being the first.     

HALL OF FAME 2020 VOTING FINAL TALLY

PLAYERS NEED 75% OF THE VOTE TO HAVE THEIR TICKET PUNCHED TO COOPERSTOWN

*MEANS IN 

X MEANS OUT 

ON THE BALLOT OVER TEN YEARS WITHOUT GETTING 75%OF THE VOTE

FIRST TIMERS ON THE BALLOT NOT ABLE TO GET 5% OF THE VOTE    

NAME	VOTES	% OF VOTES	CHANGE	YEAR
DEREK JETER *	396	99.7%	———	1st
LARRY WALKER*	304	76.6%	UP 22%	10th
CURT SCHILLING	278	70.0%	UP 9.1%	8th
ROGER CLEMENS	242	61.0%	UP 1.5%	8TH
BARRY BONDS	241	60.7%	UP 1.5%	8TH
OMAR VIZQUEL	209	52.6%	UP 9.85	3RD
SCOTT ROLEN	140	35.3%	UP 18.1%	3RD
BILLY WAGNER	126	31.7%	UP 15.0%	5TH
GARY SHEFIELD	121	30.5%	UP 16.9%	6TH
TODD HELTON	116	29.2%	UP 12.7%	2ND
MANNY RAMIREZ	112	28.2%	UP 5.4%	4TH
JEFF KENT	109	27.5%	UP 9.4%	7TH
ANDRUW JONES	77	19.4%	UP 11.5%	3RD
SAMMY SOSA	55	13.9%	UP 5.4%	8TH
ANDY PETTITTE	45	11.3%	UP 1.4%	2ND
BOBBY ABREU	22	5.5%	———	1ST
PAUL KONERKO X	10	2.5%	———	1ST
JASON GIAMBI X	6	1.5%	——–	1ST
ALFONSO SORIANO X	6	1.5%	———	1ST
ERIC CHAVEZ X	2	0.5%	———–	1ST
CLIFF LEE X	2	0.5 %	———-	1ST
ADAM DUNN X	1	0.3%	———-	1ST
RAUL IBANEZ X	1	0.3%	———-	1ST
BRAD PENNY X	1	0.3%	———-	1ST
J.J PUTZ X	1	0.3%	———–	1ST
JOSH BECKETT X	0	0%	———–	1ST
HEATH BELL X	0	0%	———-	1ST
CHONE FIGGINS X	0	0%	———–	1ST
RAFAEL FURCAL X	0	0%	———-	1ST
CARLOS PENA  X	0	0%	———-	1ST
BRIAN ROBERTS X	0	0%	———–	1ST
JOSE VALVERDE X	0	0%	———–	1ST

OZUNA HEADING TO LAND OF WALKING DEAD

Atlanta Braves were busy woodchucks when the free agent market opened up for business.

Chucking wood all over the market to improve their pitching staff. With inking starter Cole Hammels. Then resigning Chris Martin. Then a bigger big bullpen move signing the former Giants closer, Will Smith. They signed another catcher, Travis D’Arnaud. Then everything went quiet over the holidays until now. They bring in a player that beat them in the playoffs. If you can’t beat them sign them and the Braves land another outfielder piece Marcell Ozuna, former Cardinal.

This could have been a move to replace Josh Donaldson’s bat since he took the deal the Twins offered him. Marcell Ozuna could not find the big deal on the free agent market this off season so he settles for the one year deal worth 18 million. He will hope the bet on himself will pay off in a bigger deal next off season like how former Brave Josh Donaldson did the one deal last year. Donaldson turned that into a 4 year 92 million dollar deal. Ozuna, a 29 year old right fielder, hit .429 with two long balls versus the Braves in post season last year. He helped the Cardinals knock the Braves out of the playoffs. Ozuna is a 2 time all-star who hit .241 with 29 bombs and drove in 89 runs. Last season he was the leader of an interesting stat. According to stat cast he had the most hardest hit balls whatever that means. Most shots right at people.

 Marcell Ozuna played two years in St. Louis after being traded there from the Marlins. In Miami he played 5 seasons for the Marlins. Ozuna brings a nice bat to the middle of the line up for the Braves. Which already features Ronald Acuna Jr and Freddie Freeman. The Braves will get a guy with playoff experience. They will also get a guy who will be looking to turn his play into a huge pay day. Can his personality mesh with a guy like Ronald Ocuna Jr.? Both have the flare for the dramatics. Ozuna seems to fit in the Cardinals locker room so he is coachable. This is a good move overall because he can replace the lost production of a guy like Josh Donaldson. Plus Ozuna is in the prime of his career and the Braves seem like they get the most out of players on one year deals. This move will keep the tomahawks sharp and the wood keeps on being chucked in Atlanta. No wonder they keep making it to post season every year.

2020 WILD SHAMROCK HALL OF FAME SELECTIONS

Each writer that is able to vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame gets ten votes. We do not have a vote. However we will throw our hat in the ring and pick the guys we think should be heading to Copperstown. You could agree or disagree. We will warn you, steroid guys have no love with us.

OUR TEN VOTES

#1.DEREK JETER: NO BRAINER

#2.CURT SCHILLING: Bloody sock. His Post season record. Won 216 games in regular season.

#3.LARRY WALKER: Over 2000 hits. Batting average of .313, 922 walks . 400 OBP and 383 Home runs. Plus a Expo and a Rockie. That’s quite a combo.

#4.OMAR VIZQUEL: 2877 HITS. His defense has to be right up there with the Wizard of Oz, Ozzie Smith. HOF for the Cardinals.

#5.JEFF KENT: Stood his ground versus the big headed monster Barry Bonds in the dug out. His offensive numbers compared to other second basemen in the Hall of Fame. Close to 2,500 hits and 377 Home runs.

#6.SCOTT ROLEN:He has to be in the conversation as one of the best third basemen of all-time. Great defender. Over 2,000 hits. Knocked out 316 long balls.

#7.BILL WAGNER: Giving the Astricks some love. Wagner was before the banging of the drums in the garbage can band. A left hander closer. 422 saves. A low 2.31 ERA.

#8.PAUL KONERKO: A big part of helping a historical franchise win their first title in 88 years. Chicago has two teams and if you combined the drought at the time on both sides of two of not winning a championship the numbers are off the charts. Paulie was close to 2,500 hits. Knocked out 439 long balls. Played a good first base. Has his number retired by the White Sox and a statue to go along with it. He was clutch in the playoffs and the World Series in 2005 as well.

#9.TODD HELTON: Helton has those Larry Waker numbers. Life time batting average of .316. 2,519 hits. 369 home runs.

#10.ANDY PETITE:Enough of the Yankees already. 256 wins in regular season. Another guy that shined in post season. Helped the Evil Empire collect trophies.

BIG HEADS, CHEATS, & NO WAY JOSE ON MY BALLOT

ROGER CLEMENS: Did not even need steroids. Everyone is doing it mentality.

BARRY BONDS: Did not even need steroids. Stole the Home run title away from a great guy who earned it, Hank Aaron. Jealous of guys like Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire. Look at the size of your head late in your career. Ginormous.

JASON GIAMBI: Admitted to cheating. Took away a MVP award from my guy Frank Thomas.

SAMMY SOSA: CORKED BAT. Skinny as a rail coming into the league. Amazon when he left the league.

GARY SHEFFIELD: JUST SHUT UP

MANNY RAMIREZ: Looked very ordinary off the juice.

ON THE BEER BUBBLES

These are guys I’m Intrigued by. Some of these names are on the ballot for the first time. I keep these guys on the back burner or put them in the freezer for another day and see if and how the leftovers keep.

Andruw Jones: First ten years in the league were AMAZING. Has 434 Home Runs. One of best defensive center fielders of all-time in his hey day.

Raul Ibanez: Tough out. Over 2000 hits.

Alfonso Soriano: Over 2000 hits, 412 home runs, Rocket arm in the outfield

Bobby Abreu: Almost 2,500 hits,  288 home runs, a career .291 Batting average, Toughest scratch

These are the guys on the ballot that we think have no shot to make it to Copperstown. 

 Cliff Lee, Rafael Fucal, Eric Chavez, Josh Beckett, Brian Roberts, Carlos Pena, Chone Figgins, Brad Penny, Adam Dunn, J.J Putz, Jose Valverde, and Heath Bell.

FIERS & MENDOZA MADLY IN LOVE

 

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 Does everyone even understand the sacred hidden rules of American’s past time? The game has changed to where some of those hidden rules have gone obsolete. Just like pitching inside of the plate. The bat flip is the new thing. The home run trot is slower and filled with more antics of kisses and waving to the skies. Would these things be considered bad sportsmanship? The days of throwing at the next batter for those rubbing in the wounds are slim to none. The game has always policed itself. Now things have drastically changed. What did they say on the playground when we were all kids? That snitches end up in ditches. If most of the hidden rules not exactly in the rule book have changed, why can’t being a whistle blower status change?  

Why does ESPN worker Jessica Mendoza call out Mike Fiers? Who the hell is a Jessica Mendoza and why is she the voice of reason?  Jessica Mendoza also works for the New York Mets. The Astro gate of sign stealing is getting bigger by the day and is formed into a hurricane wrecking everything in its path. Which has now affected the New York Mets who hired Carlos Beltran as their manager. However he was part of the problem when he played for Houston in 2017. He stepped down as did the Boston Red Sox manager the ring leader Alex Cora which both him and management parted ways. Mike Fiers pitched for the Astros in 2017 which Mendoza said he benefited from. Sounds more like sour grapes from Mendoza because she said it’s OK that Fiers tells his new teammates in Oakland about what goes down in Houston only when they are playing them and not the rest of the world. What if those Oakland teammates told people in the media or other teams? Mendoza  thought baseball was not investigating anything about sign stealing.  Why should we say anything? Her theory is if we see someone murdered on the streets, why should we be a witness. Plus let the cheaters keep doing what they’re doing. What if the Mets were playing the Astros in the World Series? We live in modern times with social media. It’s going to get out if not from Mike Fiers then someone else. 

 Why would you keep your mouth shut for your old employer? What ever happened to take this job and shove it? Houston Astros still owe Mike Fiers a 2017 World Series ring. Jessica Mendoza and others will call the former Astro a turncoat. A hypocrite for using the Astros technology in 2017 and then coming out against them. Here we go again in baseball… why can’t a player bunt when the pitcher is throwing a no hitter? You need baserunners and need to stop the groove of a pitcher that is hot. Astros know they are cheating.They have been awarded very well with their cheating. A World Series. What about the players that walk in and out of the organization? Are they still getting paid by the Astros when they leave? If the Astros wanted their dirty secret kept they should have ironed out the details with everyone who leaves like hush money.  

Baseball has changed with the times and that is obvious with the slap on the wrists the Astros got. It is not banning players and management from the game. Pete Rose and  players from the 1919 Black Sox scandal were punished to the extreme level. Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson have cases that their punishment was beyond that. Baseball will always have some form of cheating involved in it. If it goes on beyond the realm of things like steroids and sign stealing, it is not good for the game. What about the LA Dodgers? I’m sure Jessica Mendoza does not care about that franchise or their fan base. They were involved in the World Series in 2017 versus the Astros. Then again in 2018 versus Boston who are being investigated. What about players and workers and management who might have made more money in LA and had contract extensions if they won at least one of those World Series? The poor Mets thought they had their new skipper. Sorry back to the drawing board for the Mets. Next time do your home work. Jessica Mendoza probably feels sorry for a Barry Bonds and not Hank Aaron. The league has changed. If you can flip the bat after a home run you can tell the world the old team you were on are just a bunch of cheaters like Mike Fiers for that one season. If baseball can change, can’t Mike Fiers have a conscience? Seems more players are mad at the Astros, not Mike Fiers.            

HOUSTON WE HAVE A TRASH CAN

The American pasttime is rocked by another scandal uncovered. Houston, you have a problem and the league has busted you like a cat burglar robbing a doughnut shop filled with cops. Sign stealing? Knowing what the pitcher is about to throw to you. This is not the kind of thieving from the runner at second looking at the catcher and relaying a signal to the batter. This is CIA modern technology on how the Astros knew what was coming down the plate.  This is a system they had in place in 2017. The same year they won the World Series. They also uncovered the Astros continuing to thieve teams’ signs in 2018. They must of quit cold turkey in 2019. The league came down on the Astros. Was it strong enough? Boston Red Sox have the ring leader as their manager. Bill Belichick also has to be linked if there is a Boston connection. Two World Series teams in the last three years have big trouble in little China heading their way with only a month to Spring training.

The commissioner of the MLB, Robert Manfred Jr., fined Houston 5 million dollars which is chump change for the owners of baseball. That’s a wily veteran utility player on a one year deal. That is the max set in the baseball scriptures. Manfred also suspended GM Jeff Luhnow and AJ Hinch for a year and they can not be around the game in any way. The professional game, not if one of them are attending their kids game. The baseball police will not raid the field. They also suspended Brandon Taubman, former Houston executive, who was fired for his stupid comments to the female reporter last year. MLB also mandated the Astros will forfeit their first and second round draft picks for the next two seasons. 

The Houston cheats were very clever on how they went about stealing signs from other teams in their home stadium. This was high tech sign stealing. They used illegal equipment to steal the signs. Technology was used to decode and deliver the pitching signs and relay it to the dug out. Astros arranged for the video room technician which they will call the low level employees, to install a monitor displaying the center field camera feed right outside the Houston bench. Former Houston coach Alex Cora was very slick and called the replay room on a relay phone to obtain sign info. They even whaled on trash cans as well to give the batter the heads up.

This was all done on the Astros home field. Talk about having the 12th man advantage of the crowd they refer in football to but to have the inside insight on what is coming,  created a home team domination for the Astros. Scouting reports will tell you certain batters are prone to swing at the slider for your wipeout pitch. Perhaps those balls in the dirt the batter can not resist. Houston batters suddenly had the eagle eye as they held back on pitches they might have swung at if they knew what was coming. Obviously baseball stats is the lifeline of the game. You can tell tale of the tape difference from the Astros hitting on the road to at home as the numbers were totally off from just the swings at different pitches. In the 2017 World Series, Dodgers Ace dominated the Astros line up in LA. A few days later he pitchesin Houston and gets shell shocked. The league found many scenarios like that.

 The owner of the Houston Astros was proactive after hearing the news on what MLB came down on his club with. He held a press conference and fired his General Manager and Manager. AJ Hinch and Jeff Luhrow will get a year off. Then they will be looking for other employment in baseball or elsewhere after that. Meanwhile through the grapevine the league heavily looking in to the Boston Red Sox as well. Manager Alex Cora and the Red Sox agreed to part ways as the storm will be blowing into Bean Town at some point soon. Both the Astros and Red Sox will now have to find another manager only a month away from spring training. Obviously the Astros will be looking for a new GM as well.

MLB says the league will come down even harder if any team wants to walk the same line as the Astros. The league needs to protect the integrity of the game. In 1919 the league came down very hard on the players from the Black Sox scandal. Banning all of them for life for throwing the World Series. Astros are a very talented team and probably did not need to steal signs with their roster. The Astros made it an uneven competition versus the Dodgers in the World Series. An uneven playing field ruins the integrity of the game taking the Dodgers chances of winning out for the title. If the Dodgers won it, players and coaches contracts could be extended. The team could make history with a dynasty by repeating as champions. World Series heroes may help certain players’ resumes and put them in Cooperstown. When you screw with the game it sends a chain reaction throughout the league of others you screwed out of money and merits. 

The Steroid ERA screwed so many players that were pure to the sport of baseball. If your Hank Aaron, you should be the homerun king. Barry Bonds stole that from you. Frank Thomas was a first ballot hall of famer. But one year Jason Giambi, a steroid user, won the American league MVP as Frank Thomas took second that year. Obviously Frank Thomas did not need that award to be enshrined. You can make many more cases like that. Perhaps these steroid mongers not getting the votes is the ultimate revenge as they keep the cheaters out. Sure some will slither through the cracks. I don’t see MLB taking away any titles from these teams for stealing signs. They say the next team caught will get a worse punishment.  Maybe they should take away some team’s title. Would the Red Sox be that team or are they in a same boat as the Astros if they are involved in this kind of shenanigans? The Astros will play in 2020 with shame on their shoulders. Can that type of monkey on their backs fuel this team to win another title? Look at the Patriots in the NFL. Does not sound like it will ever even itself out as the Dodgers and other teams will get the short end of the stick.  Sometimes the baseball gods come through and will align everything right again in the sport we all love. Right know it looks like the cheaters got a slap on the bum.     

TWINS NOT GOING AWAY AND LAND DONALDSON

The Minnesota Twins led  the MLB in home runs hit last year. They set an all new MLB record for home runs hit by a team in one season with 305 . They were an offensive juggernaut last season. They won a very crappy AL Central division with three teams in rebuilds and the Indians half in half out. They encountered the same results in the playoffs  ousted by the the Yamkees. This song and dance has been going on too long as the Yankees are always in Minnesota’s way when it comes to post season. Twins want to defend their division title. They want to get past the death star and go further in the playoffs. They have made a big splash and gave warning to the rest of the league that theTwins are not going away. They land Josh Donaldson. 

The Twins have a new third baseman and their offense just got scarier. The 34 year old veteran inks a big deal to come to Minneosta. Donaldson will get four years worth 92 million. Donaldson is a 3 time all-star and was the 2015 AL MVP. Last season he played for the team he rooted for in the Atlanta Braves and helped them win the NL East for the second year in a row. Donaldson took a one year deal last year after having two straight years of dealing with injuries. He rebounded nicely hitting .259 knocking 37 balls into the seats and played in 155 games. He was also a gold glove finalist at the hot corner. Looks like he has fully healed from the injuries as he brings a quality glove on defense and is another weapon of mass destruction the Twins have in their line up.

PROJECTED MINNESOATA 2020 LINE UP

MAX KEPLER RF

JORGE POLANCO SS

NELSON CRUZ DH

JOSH DONALDSON 3B

EDDIE ROSARIO LF

MITCH GARVER C

MIGUEL SANO 1B

BYRON BUXTON CF

LUIS ARRAEZ 2B

Twins have solidfied thier line up to bring Donaldson to Minneoata.  Then lets not forget the Twins still have super utility man Marvin Gonzalez on the bench. With Josh Donaldson in the fold they will move Miguel Sano to first base. Twins have also added some pitching this off season  signing  Rich Hill and Homer Bailey. They added some arms to their bullpen in Tyler Clifford and  bringing back Sergio Romo who they acquired at the trade deadine last season.

Twins offense will have to keep the Twins afloat until they get starter Michael Pineda back from suspension. Plus Rich Hill will not be ready to go opening day with an arm injury. Josh Donaldson creates a murderers row line up which will help a pitching staff with holes survive. When everyone returns and stays healthy this team could be a sleeper team to get very deep into post-season. Josh Donaldson has helped teams get to post-season and beyond. The Blue Jays he helped break their drought from their last post-season appearnace in 1993 in his MVP year in 2015. Twins hope Donaldson can do the same thing he did for the Blue Jays and more.  Donaldson should fit in well in Minnesota as they do have Viking blood in their state. Many Norwegians live in Minnesota. Plus the football team is nicknamed the Vikings. Donaldson acted in the show Vikings that is on the History channel. Perhaps he can show the world how he  can sacrifice a virgin to start the season. Like baseball needs that going down, with all the  other problems going down.

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THE WILD SHAMROCK FREE AGENT TRACKER

TOP FREE AGENT POSITION PLAYERS

TOP 25 POSITION PLAYERS
# NAME POSITION	LAST YEAR PLAYED FOR	SIGNED
1.ANTHONY RENDON 3B	NATIONALS	ANGELS
2.JOSH DONALDSON 3B	BRAVES	TWINS
3.YASMANI GRANDAL C	BREWERS	WHITE SOX
4.MIKE MOUSTAKAS 3B	BREWERS	REDS
5.DIDI GREGORIUS SS	YANKEES	PHILLIES
6.MARCELL OZUNA OF	CARDINALS	BRAVES
7.YASIEL PUIG OF	REDS/INDIANS
8.NICHOLAS CASTELLANOS OF	TIGERS/CUBS	REDS
9.BRETT GARDNER OF	YANKEES	YANKEES
10.CORY DICKERSON OF	PIRATES/PHILLIES	MARLINS
11.HOWIE KENDRICK UTL	NATIONALS	NATIONALS
12.BEN ZOBRIST 2B/0F	CUBS
13.EDWIN ENCARNACION DH/1B	MARINERS/YANKEES	WHITE SOX
14.JOSE ABREU 1B	WHITE SOX	WHITE SOX
15.JUSTIN SMOAK 1B	BLUE JAYS	BREWERS
16.ROBINSON CHIRINOS C	ASTROS	RANGERS
17.TRAVIS D’ ARNAUD	METS/RAYS	BRAVES
18.ALEX AVILA C	DIAMOND BACKS	TWINS
19.HUNTER PENCE OF	RANGERS	GIANTS
20.KOLE CALHOUN OF	ANGELS	DIAMOND BACKS
21.ERIC THAMES 1B	BREWERS	NATIONALS
22.SCOOTER GENNETT 2B	REDS/GIANTS
23.JOSE IGLESIAS SS	REDS	ORIOLES
24.TODD FRAZIER 33	METS	RANGERS
25.AVISAIL GARCIA OF	RAYS	BREWERS

THE ARMS RACE(TOP FREE AGENT PITCHERS)

TOP 24 PITCHERS
# NAME	LAST YEAR PLAYED FOR	SIGNED
1.GERRIT COLE	ASTROS	YANKEES
2.STEPHEN STRASBURG	NATIONALS	NATIONALS
3.MADISON BUMGARNER	GIANTS	DIAMONDBACKS
4.ZACK WHEELER	METS	PHILLIES
5.HYUN-JIN RYU	DODGERS	BLUE JAYS
6.COLE HAMMELS	CUBS	BRAVES
7.DALLAS KEUCHEL	BRAVES	WHITE SOX
8.RICH HILL	DODGERS	TWINS
9.WILL SMITH	GIANTS	BRAVES
10.WILL HARRIS	ASTROS	NATIONALS
11.DELLIN BETANCES	YANKEES
12.JAKE ODORIZZI	TWINS	TWINS
13.CHRIS MARTIN	BRAVES	BRAVES
14.KYLE GIBSON	TWINS	RANGERS
15.TANNER ROARK	REDS/A’S	BLUE JAYS
16.JULIO TEHERAN	BRAVES	ANGELS
17.MICHAEL PINEDA	TWINS	TWINS
18.WADE MILEY	ASTROS	REDS
19.ALEX WOOD	REDS	DODGERS
20.RICK PORCELLO	RED SOX	METS
21.GIO GONZALEZ	BREWERS	WHITE SOX
22.IVAN NOVA	WHITE SOX	TIGERS
23.JORDON LYLES	PIRATES/BREWERS	RANGERS
24.DREW POMERANZ	GIANTS/BREWERS	PADRES

RANGERS ADD MORE PITCHING

Texas Rangers continue to collect middle of the road arms for its rotation in 2020. Putting them all behind their new ace they got from Cleveland in a trade, Cory Kluber. This time they add 32 year old Kyle Gibson from the Twins. Gibson inks a three year deal worth 30 million. Gibson last season went 13-7 for the Twins but ran out of gas before the finish line. He went to the bullpen after the ERA went up sky high as he finished the season with 4.73. Gibson joins former Twin teammate Lance Lynn who had a brief cup of coffee with the team in 2018 & then was dealt to the Yankees at the trade deadline. Also the Rangers landed Jordan Lyles this off season. Kyle Gibson has a career 67-68 record with a 4.52 ERA.  Plus the Rangers have Mike Minor in their rotation. Rangers rotation definitely on the upswing.  

WOOD COMES BACK TO THE DODGERS

Alex Wood was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in the Yasmiel Puig deal. Wood  returns  to LA, as the 29 year old agrees to a one year deal worth 4 million with incentives that can reach ten million. Dodgers lost one of their top starters as Hyun-Jin-Ru bolted to Canada to the Jays. After his arrest at the Patriots football game in Boston, Rich Hill got a deal with the Twins. Alex Wood did not pitch in that many games for the Reds last year. He was 1-3 with a very high ERA at 5.80. Back injuries kept him sidelined in 2019. The Dodgers are hoping Wood can return to his 2017 from a year he went 16-3 for LA. Lifetime Wood is 54-43 with 3.40 ERA.   

TWINS KEEPING UP WITH THE JONES IN CHICAGO

Minnesota won the AL Central last season. With Cleveland Indians continuing to sell off pieces and Cory Kulber heading to Texas in a trade. A second year in a row seems doable for Minnesota to repeat as division champs. However the White Sox are in the shadows constructing something big on the rise. A slew of young talent has already been assembled for the hated team in black and white. Plus they collected a pair of arms in veterans Dallas Keuchal and Gio Gonzalez. Twins then saw a pair of their own starting pitchers leave in free agency. Kyle Gibson to Texas. Martin Perez to Bean Town. 

Twins strike back with a pair of signings to their starting rotations. As the free agent pitching bin is at the bottom of the barrel now. Both signings are one year deals. Homer Bailey the former Red who played for the Royals and Athletics last season comes to Minnesota with a one year deal worth 7 million. The 33 year old Bailey went 13-9 last season with a high ERA at 4.57.

Then they land former Dodger, Rich Hill. Hill who just turned 40 only made 13 starts last year for the Dodgers. Injuries have plagued his career as he was out with left forearm strain for two months. His time table when he will be available this season is in question. Could be at the all-star break. When he gets healthy and is ready to go he could help put the Twins over the top as he was 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA before he was hurt. He will get the a one year contract worth 3 million. Hill also has incentives in this one year deal that could add  up to ten million if he stays healthy and makes a certain amount of starts for his new team.   

CAN’T BEAT THEM JOIN THEM

Will Harris could either go down with the sinking ship of Astrogate or get the hell out of dodge and not be a part of the drama that will continue to unfold in Houston. You might as well go with a team that you can’t beat as Will Harris chooses the World Series winners the Nationals. The Nationals should give Will Harris a ring this upcoming spring. His pitches late in games versus the Nationals were hit out of the ballpark that helped Washington prevail over Houston. The Nationals came into the playoffs with their weakest link being their bullpen. Their bullpen survived in the playoffs and did respectably. If you’re going to defend your World Series title, more pitching may help. Nationals agree with a deal with the former Astro Will Harris on a 3 year deal worth 24 million. Harris will instantly upgrade this bullpen. He pitched in 68 games last season and he wheeled and dealed on the bump. His ERA was lower than pond scum at 1.50. He went 4-1 and even chipped in with 4 saves.   

DOWN GOES FRAZIER TO TEXAS

Former home run derby champion tour in the Big Apple has concluded and is on the move to another team. In need of third basemen, Texas came calling. The two parties agree on a 1 year deal worth 5 million with an option for 2021. Todd Frazier is a two time all-star who hit .251 last season with the Mets. He knocked out 21 bombs driving in 67 in 133 games for the Metropolitans. I remember the time he spent on the South Side of Chicago. In 2016 he mashed 40 long balls. His home runs have gone down the last few seasons. His average is decent. He’s a decent glove man at the hot corner which Texas finally addressed this season. He seems like a good teammate. Except Adam Eaton might say different. Rangers will be his fifth team. He seems like a temporary fix these days.     

SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

CISHEK FINDS THE RIGHT SIDE OF TOWN IN CHICAGO

 Steve Cishek makes his way to the south side of town on a one year deal worth 5.2 million. He also has a club option  for 2021. The 33 year old pitcher played with the hated Chicago Cubs for the last two seasons. White Sox doing their final touches on their 2020 roster in much need of some bullpen help which Cishek will provide. Cishek is a right handed sidearm submariner who had a 4-6 record for the Cubbies last season. He can be one of those late inning guys that can get people out from both sides of the plate as he had 2.95 ERA last season. He had 70 appearances all together and if needed he had 7 saves. He’s a veteran who has been around with multiple teams over his career. You have to like his career 2.69 ERA with 132 saves in his career as well.

  Steve Cishek makes this bullpen scary good.

Jimmy Cordero, Alex Colome, Kelvin Herrera, Evan Marshall, & Aaron Bummer

DYLAN COVEY

Stop pulling your hair out when I mention Dyan Covey. To make room on the 40 man roster for Steve Cishek, the White Sox designated Covey for assignment. I’m sure with the White Sox love for Dylan, somehow he will find his way back on the roster at some point in 2020. The White Sox way.

THE ARRIVAL OF LUIS ROBERT

The arrival of Luis Robert to the big league club looks to be happening on the south side this spring. Finally the wait will be over. The White Sox gave Luis Robert a six year extension on his contract for 50 million. The same kind of deal and way they did for Eloy Jimenez when they gave him a six year contract extension and he was on the opening day roster last season. Luis Robert is a 22 year old native of Cuba. He is the real deal. He swung the lumber with a .328 batting average, 32 bombs in 122 games. That was at two different minor league levels where he excelled in each level.

YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOARD

Ken “the Hawk” Harrelson is the winner of the Frick award. Which means a for sure ticket to the Baseball Hall of fame for him. The Frick award is awarded to Harrelson for 42 years of broadcasting the American past time. The Hawk was a player as well and had some pretty good years in his playing days. After his playing days were over, he went into broadcasting. He even was a GM for a few years. Luckily his managing a team does not affect his broadcasting achievement into Cooperstown.

Ken Harrelson is 78 years old. He retired from the TV booth in 2018 with the Chicago White Sox. Hawk spent 33 of those 42 years calling games on the South Side of Chicago. One of the biggest of the Homer-style of broadcasting which is begining to go extinct in American’s past time. The Hawk had many sayings as he was a very creative hometown homer announcer that will leave home run calls repeated like folk songs on the south side of Chicago for decdes to come. Ken “the hawk” Harrelson is the fifth broadcaster from Chicago to win the Frick award. 

Milo Hamilton (1992), Harry Caray (1989), Jack Brickhouse (1983) and Bob Elson (1979)

MINOR LEAGUE SIGNING

White Sox bring back Nicky Delmonico as he gets a minor league deal and an invite to spring training. Delmonico was released last June after shoulder surgery. He’s a left handed bat who plays outfield and first base. In three seasons with the White Sox, in 152 games he batted only .227. He launched 18 balls out of the park driving in 54. Like to see Nicky make the team. When the White Sox first  brought Nicky up from the minors he was hitting everything. Injuries he suffered have sidelined him during the three year stretch. He’s worth giving another chance, especially if he’s healthy. Could be a nice bat off the bench.       

TIGERS BUY A USED NOVA

A former Pirate and White Sox will be jump starting his engine in Detroit next season. Ivan Nova gets a one year deal by the Tigers worth 1.5 million. Where do X-Pirates go? Detroit is the X-Pirate safe haven. Last year Tigers signed Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer. Nova was traded to the White Sox last season where he went 11-12 for the year with a 4.72 ERA. Tigers are in full rebuild so Nova will be an inning eater as he gobbled up 187 of those for the White Sox in 2019. I did like how Nova pitched last season. He did have some stretches where he pitched very well. He had some clunkers as well. White Sox addressed their rotation with the signings of Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Keuchal.   

IGLESIAS BACK TO THE AMERICAN LEAGUE

The 30 year old short stop Jose Iglesias makes his way back to the American league, where it all started for him. Same division when he first appeared in the Majors as a Boston Red Sox, now he’ll be wearing the Orioles costume. Baltimore, in much need of a short stop after trading Jonathan Vilar to Miami last month, signs Iglesias to a one year deal worth 2.5 million with a club option for 2021. Jose Iglesias, is more known for his glove than his bat and an all-star in 2015. Last season though he had some thump in his bat as he knocked 11 into the seats with the Reds. Hit .288, by far his best year with the bat. Orioles are rebuilding and one thing you can really use on an inexperienced team is a good defensive short stop. That’s where Jose Iglesias checks all the boxes.  

BLUE JAYS WINNING THE COLD WAR

Blue Jays continue to pick up arms this winter as if they are going to war versus the Yankee Death Star and the rest of the teams in their division. Blue Jays sign Hyun-Jin-Ryu to a four year deal worth 80 million. Not sure what the Dodgers are thinking leaving Ryu to escape LA via free agency. Hyun -Jin-Ryu has been one of the best pitchers in the last two seasons for the Dodgers. This year Ryu had 14-5 record with 2.32 ERA which is the best in the entire league. Ryu is originally from Korea where he pitched seven seasons for the Hanwha Eagles. Then the Dodgers brought him to the states. Now Ryu will head North and play in the same league, but another country in Canada, the only team that resides up North of the border in the league. Blue Jays have been busy bees this off-season in constructing almost a brand new rotation. They acquired Chase Anderson from the Brewers. They signed Tanner Roak to a two year deal. They even brought in a veteran pitcher from Japan in Shun-Yamaguchi. They already had veteran Matt Shoemaker in place as a holdover from last year. It’s a veteran pitching staff that might go well with all the young talent they have in place all around the diamond in position players. Guys like Bo Bichete and Cavan Biggio. Let’s not forget the young superstar Vlaimir Guerrero Jr..   

THAMES HEADING TO DC

Another former Brewer plucked off the free agent boat by another team. Brewers decline Eric Thames’ option year that made him a free agent this off season. Nationals looking to make up some of its offense production losing Anthony Rendon to the Angels this off season. Champs hoping a power left handed bat could help them defend their championship this upcoming season. Eric Thames is that typical power bat from the left side that can crush the ball out of the park versus right handed pitching. He does not do well versus lefties. He strikes out a lot. Last season Eric Thames hit 25 balls out of the park for the Brew Crew. He drove in 61 with only a .247 batting average. He can play a corner outfield position or first base. His defense is not very good. Once upon a time ago he revived his baseball career in Korea and Brewers brought him back to the states. If you can’t beat them, then join them is what Eric Thames is doing.  Brewers lost to the Nationals in the first round of the playoffs last season in the Wild Card game.  

CHIRINOS FOREVER TEXAS

Last season Robinson Chirinos left the Texas Rangers. He never left the state of Texas as he signed with the Houston Astros. Chirinos got to play in the World Series with the Astros. He actually had one of his best years in the majors with the Astros both defensively and with the lumber. Now he’s going back to where his career started with the Texas Rangers who are in dire need of catching help. Robinson Chirinos played for the Rangers from 2013-18 until he took the one year deal with the Astros. The 35 year old will get another one year deal worth 6.75 million to come back to his old stomping grounds. Maybe the Rangers used the Astros to develop one of their catchers for a year since he will return a much polished back stop he never was in a Rangers uniform.  

STORM TROOPER RETURNS TO THE YANKEES

Outfielder Brett Gardner returns to the death star on a one year deal worth 12 million. The 36 year old Gardner showed he still gas left in the tank with a pretty good 2019 campaign with the lumber. He lifted 28 balls into the seats. Drove in 74. Stole some bases. Played in 141 games as well as he showed durability. Yankees had some injuries last season. Bringing Gardner back makes sense and is a good move for a guy that’s been a Yankee since 2008.   

THE BUCKO REVIEW

Pirates have still been very quiet over this off season. No free agent signings. No trades have been executed. The Pirates have completed Derek Shelton’s coaching staff so the team has shown a slight movement in activity. We know the Pirates organization is alive but barely.

BENCH COACH:DON KELLY

FIRST BASE COACH:TARRIK BROCK

THIRD BASE COACH:JOEY CORA

HITTING COACH:RICK ECKSTEIN

ASSISTANT HITTING COACH:MIKE RABELO

PITCHING COACH:OSCAR MARIN

BULLPEN COACH:JUSTIN MECCAGE

MAJOR LEAGUE COACH: GLENN SHERLOCK

COACHING ASSISTANT:HERBIE ANDRADE

BULLPEN CATCHER:JORDAN COMADENA

Joey Cora & Rick Estein are the only holdovers from Clint Hurdle’s staff.

Once upon a time ago, Elis Diaz was the future Pirates catcher. In 2018 he showed solid defense and had some pop to his bat. He knocked ten balls into the seats that year as the future was bright for the international free agent who signed way back in 2008. Last year, Diaz regressed big time. His defense was shaky. What pop in the bat he had disappeared as he batted .241 with only 2 home runs and 28 RBI’S in just a miserable year for him and the Pirates team overall.

In early December after 11 seasons in the Pirates oragnization, he was non tendered and let go. This week Diaz has found a new home. The Colorado Rockies signed Elis Diaz to a minor league deal that will bring him to the Rockies spring training with a chance to make the big club.

TIDBIT PIRATE NOTES:Last year Pirates traded Corey Dickerson to the Phillies. Dickerson became a free agent this off season and now has signed a deal with the Miami Marlins.

UNCLE JULIO’S OPENING UP SHOP IN LA

Angels finally address their pitching problems by picking up Julio Teheran on a one year deal worth 9 million. Angels historically like to pay big money for their position players. They struck one of the richest deals in baseball with their MVP Mike Trout. They paid a hefty price bringing in Anthony Rendon as a free agent this off season.They are still over paying at the Alebert Pujols pumps. They were rumored to be on Gerrit Cole which did not happen. Julio Teheran is not going to the key to the gate keeper to get back to the playoffs. It’s a start though. The 28 year old right hander made six consecutive opening day starts for the Braves. Last season he went 10-13 with 3.81 ERA. He is a two time all-star. They say his fastball is on the decline.  He was left off the Braves post season roster a few months back. An injury inserted his services for the post season where he came out of the bullpen in game 4. He was tagged for the loss in that game which the Cardinals tied the series 2-2 in the best out of five.  You know the rest.

METS PICK UP A SPARE WHEELER

The New York Mets lost one of the Wheelers in their starting rotation. They purchased a 31 year old replacement in Rick Porcello on a one year deal worth ten million. Once upon a time ago Porcello was a Cy Young winner back in 2016 for the Red Sox. That year he led the majors in wins with 22. Last season for the Red Sox, Porcello went 14-12 but his ERA ballooned to a whopping 5.52 which is good for the highest in the majors. Porcello who is from New Jersey grew up rooting for the Mets, his childhood team.  

THE MONSTER MASH

Will the White Sox fans be doing the Monster Mash this summer with the signing of Edwin Encarnacion? Did GM Rick Hahn do a graveyard smash with this signing?  It’s a Merry Christmas Happy New Year type of signing as baseball is still months away and with the holidays we have not wrapped our heads around what to think of this move, bringing the slugger to the southside on a one year deal.  This could be a very exciting move or just another dark road the White Sox have gone down before with veterans they sign at the tail end of their career. It is a cost effective move, a White Sox signature over the years as they are paying the soon to be 37 year old 11 million for his services in 2020, with a club option for 2021.

Last year with the Mariners and the Yankees, Edwin Carnacion hit .244 with 34 long balls driving in 86 runs. In the playoffs he did very well for the Yankees versus the Minnesota Twins. Not so well versus the Astros. Encarnacion has plenty of playoff highlights over his career. In 2016 he launched a 11th inning 3 run bomb to help his team, at that time the Blue Jays, beat the Orioles in a wild card game. He was a big part of those two Blue Jays teams in 2015 & 16 that went back to back appearances in the ALCS. Encarnacion has averaged 37 home runs a year since 2012 and 106 RBI’s. Encarncion’s career numbers have him batting .263, 414 long balls and 1,242 RBI’S.

This is an instant upgrade at the DH signing from last year that was just a revolving door for manager Ricky Renturia. You throw Edwin Encarncion into the everyday line up that features last year’s RBI leader in Jose Abreu. Last year’s winner of the AL batting title in Tim Anderson. The rise of Yoan Moncada. The big free agent signing of Yasmani Grandal. Then two capable youngsters that can swing the big lumber in Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert. This line up is the new creation of the  1977 Southside hit men. 

This move also can effect the White Sox in bad way as well. Edwin Encarncion has played for multiple teams over his career. The list features the Reds, Blue Jays, Indians, Mariners and Yankees. Never heard anything that he’s a bad teammate. Would he be a good fit around the young nucleus already assembled in the White Sox locker room? What does this mean for extra at-bats for back up catcher James McCann? McCann worked very well with starter Lucus Giolito last season in a year of his coming out party as he became an all-star for the first time in his career. What about the high draft pick Zack Collins who could have had some at-bats at the DH position? Yes another year in the minors may help out a guy like Collins as last season he was not what we thought we were going to see from him. The worse scenario is this move turns out to be a dud like the Adam Dunn move a few years back. The White Sox for decades have gone down this road with washed up veterans. From George Foster to Steve Carlton in the 1980’s. The Steroid King Jose Canseco. Ken Griffy Jr. not so griffy like. Manny Ramirez is still a head scratcher. 

WINNING the great words of Charlie Sheen does not mean anything when your winning in the off season. I do like a big bat inserted in this line up.  If  Edwin Encarnacion can just hits his regular career numbers down the line, this move will do wonders for the line up. The White Sox can still rotate a few pieces and keep guys fresh on a weekly basis. It’s better to have problems finding at bats for good hitters on your bench than not have anybody that can sub in and keep the train on the tracks if an injury occurs . The everyday line up card looks complete. The starting rotation is stacked. Can the White Sox make one more key move to help that bullpen? Like in the game of Mortal Kombat     “FINISH IT”.. Don’t suffer another Fatality, another year of not making it to the playoffs.     

SNAKES SLITHER OUT ANOTHER DEAL FOR SOME OUTFIELD HELP

Who says you can’t go home again? Kole Calhoun is heading back to his home state and playing for the Diamondbacks next season. Former Arizona State Sun Devil gets a two year deal for 16 million total with a club option for the third season to play right field. The 32 year old has a power arm as you don’t want to stretch extra bases if he’s out there. Gives the Diamondbacks a left handed hitter in the line up with some pop. Last season he launched 33 balls to the seats. His strike out rate went higher. However Calhiun does walk a lot. Angels paid big money for their new third baseman Anthony Rendon this off season which makes Calhoun expendable. Angels can use that money for pitching.  Diamondbacks are in need of another outfielder since Adam Jones departed to Japan to play baseball there.     

BLUE JAYS ADD AN ARM TO STARTING ROTATION

Toronto Blue Jays this off season have been working on building a solid starting pitching rotation. Earlier in the off season they wheeled and dealed to bring Chase Anderson from the Brew Crew to Canada. Now they ink the bearded man Tanner Roark who split time last seasons with the Reds and Athletics. The 33 year old righty will get a two year deal worth 24 million to play in “Oh Canada.” Last season he had a 500 record going 10-10. He’s 10 games over the 500 mark for his career at 74-64 with a 3.71 ERA. Durabilty is the best word that describes Roark. He’s a guy that will take the ball every 5 days and eat up some innings and keep you in the game. Does not get hurt. He has some playoff experience as well as he started his career with the Nationals his first six seasons.     

THAT’S WHAT I’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT

You can finally say if you’re a Chicago White Sox fan. It’s about time this team opens up their wallet and get marquee free agents. The White Sox came out this off season making a big statement and signing free agent catcher Yasmani Grandal to a free agent deal that is the biggest in team history. After that it’s been back to business as usual. Coming away with few projects. No team collects more project players in baseball than the White Sox. White Sox failed to land Zack Wheeler as they offer him the biggest deal. They did get cute and give incentative laced contracts in years or sign the family up. They gave their home run swing and lost. Team desperately needs starting pitching. You thought they’d stay with what they got. They passed on Madison Bumgarner. Then before Christmas they blow you away with a deal that lands them Dallas Keuchel, a bonafide starting pitcher.

Dallas Keuchal accepts a three year deal pact worth 55.5 million dollars to come to the South Side of Chicago. He also has an option in 2023. Dallas Keuchal is a 32 year old left handed starter who has quite the baseball resume. He pitched seven seasons for the Houston Astros where he helped that organization win their first ever World Series. Keuchal won the Cy Young in 2015 going 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA. He is a two time all-star. He has 4 golden gloves. Last year he was signed late to the Atlanta Braves. No spring training as he signed with them in June and started 19 games as he went 8-8 with 3.75 ERA. Overall his career numbers stand at an 84-71 record with an ERA of 3.67.

This signing gives the White Sox another veteran in the starting rotation. Gives them another left handed arm. Gives them a number one starter. Also gives them another arm who has pitched in the playoffs as they landed Gio Gonzalez not too long ago. Now the White Sox rotation looks very strong rolling out Dallas Keuchal with the rise of Lucas Giolito last year, a good 1 & 2 punch. Then they have Reynaldo Lopez if he can put a complete season together instead of the tale of two halves, they’ll have good stuff. Gio Gonzalez makes a nice 4 or 5 guy. Then you have a young arm in Dylan Cease who showed some nice flashes. Now you do not have to rush your arms that are recovering from big injuries in Michael Kopech and Carlos Rodon. When they are ready and back healthy, holy cats Batman!

You could say the White Sox rebuild has been somewhat the blueprint of the Chicago Cubs. Tore everything down. Then when the young guys started to establish themselves, they brought in a big veteran left handed pitcher in Jon Lester. You can say Dallas Keuchal is the White Sox version of Jon Lester. It might actually be the Yasmani Grandal signing that helped the White Sox land their ace. Dallas Keuchal loved how Grandal handles a pitching staff. Gio Gonzalez’s big reason he came to the White Sox was to play along side Grandal as well. As both of them teamed up in Milwauee last year. Dallas Keuchal also played college ball with James McCann at Arkansas.  However it is getting done and the White Sox are putting the pieces into place. Dallas Keuchal has that Mark Buehrle feeling to it. The defense on the mound. The rubber arm. Like to see the White add a few more pieces before they head to spring training. Another arm in the bullpen. Perhaps another hitter. Right now I’m blown away with a few of these moves.     

MIAMI ADDS A FISH TO THEIR AQUARIUM

Marlins pick up a corner outfielder. They land 30 year old Corey Dickerson who split time with the Pirates and Phillies last season. I thought this guy should have been on the White Sox radar. He was hurt last season, but Dickerson is a great hitter which will give the Marlins a lefty bat. A bat with which he swatted 12 balls into the seats as he hit at a high average of .304. He nets a two year deal worth 17.5 million.

BREWERS ADD SMOAK TO THE LINE UP CARD

Milwaukee Brewers continue to replace the craft beers they lost in the off season to free agency with a low priced Natural Light style of players. The Brewers lost Yasmani Grandal and Mike Moustakas, two middle of the order guys with lots of thump in the line up. The replacements have weakened this team’s roster. First Avisail Garcia from the Rays. Now they get 33 year old first baseman Justin Smoak who played with the Blue Jays last season. It’s a one year deal worth five million and a club option in 2021. Smoak, a switch hitter, knocked out 22 balls into the seats, but his average was a meager .208.  

THIRD TIME AROUND FINALLY THE MOUND

The White Sox, in desperate need of starting pitching, finally add a pitcher from the free agent pool. The White Sox missed on Zack Wheeler as he wanted to be closer to home instead of gobbling up some of the White Sox riches. The White Sox passed on Madison Bumgarner. The stakes were way too high for a Gerritt Cole or Steven Strasburg. Instead of thinking big, the White Sox went down one of their familiar paths and went with a veteran hurler who is on the downside of his career and struck a one year deal with the former Brewer. Another Brewer free agent who is a familiar face to the Chicago White Sox, Gio Gonzalez, will be coming back to Chicago for the third time and has never actually pitched on the big league team.

Gio Gonzalez was originally drafted by the Chicago White Sox. He then was traded to Philadelphia in 2006 that sent Aaron Rowand and him to the Phillies for slugger Jim Thome. Then the White Sox got Gonzalez back a few seasons later when the White Sox sent Sweaty Freddie Garcia to Philadelphia. That brought back Gio Gonzalez and Gavin Floyd. Then the White Sox, yet again traded Gio Gonzalez to Oakland to net Nick Swisher. 

The Oakland Athletics was where Gio Gonzalez finally did get his career going in the MLB. The two time all-star left-hander has gone 130-99 with 3.68 ERA over his 12 year career in the majors. He pitched for Oakland, Washington, and Milwaukee throughout those 12 seasons. In Washington, Gonzalez pitched his best in his career. Gonzalez finished third in the voting for the NL Cy Young in 2012. He then finished sixth in 2017. In 2018 Washington Nationals traded Gonzalez to the Brewers where he helped Milwaukee to the playoffs. Last season in 19 appearances Gonzalez pitched in only 87 1/3 innings. He made 17 starts and had a record 0f  3-2 with 3.50 ERA. He struck out 79 in those 87 innings he tallied.

The rise of Lucuas Giolito happened last season. The tale of two cities with Reynaldo Lopez, the Sox are desperate for an improvement in the starting rotation. Beyond Lopez and Giolito, question marks go up with the remaining spots in the rotation. Dylan Cease, a young righty, was up and down. He was great versus a bad Tiger team. The White Sox have two young starters recovering from surgery. Michael Kopech and Carlos Rodon will return at some point. Ivan Nova departed for free agency and may not return. 

Gio Gonzalez gets a one year deal for 5 million with a 2021 option year. The 34 year is looking to have a bounce back year. Pitching coach Don Cooper is a guy that could get Gio back on track. Is Gio Gonzalez an upgrade over Ivan Nova? Nova ate up more innings than Gonzalez. Gonzalez is only 34 years of age, but he seems to be an older 34 year old as he has a lot of miles on him. I do like the fact that the White Sox new catcher, former teammate of Gonzalez last year, knows him. Yasmani Grandal caught Gonzalez last year with the brew crew. Gonzalez looked good down the stretch for the Brewers as well. The White Sox hope on a few factors of this signing. Don Cooper and Yasmani hope that they can get Gonzalez to carry over his September into the 2020 season. I like the fact he has playoff experience. This is a decent signing if Gonzalez is slated the 4th or 5th starter. They will have to go out and add another arm in free agency or through a trade. Finally 16 years after the White Sox drafted Gonzalez, the fans and if the scouts are still working for the team they will see their man pitch for them.                    

THE SNAKES LAND A COBRA

Some would say Madison Bumgarner is the third best pitcher on the market this season. He could be the 4th best. Diamondbacks are always proactive when it comes to starting pitching in the free agent market. Curt Shilling, Randy Johnson to name a few.. They got Zack Greinke. They know how to bring starters with good history to Arizona. Madison Bumgarner is probably the best World Series pitcher of all-time. The Snakes ink Madison to a 5 year deal worth 85 million. Now Madison can shove it down the Giants’ throats when they meet multiple times each season for the next five years.  

BREW CREW ADD A PIECE

Brewers lost many players through free agency already. Part of the makeover is signing outfielder, Avisail Garcia. Former White Sox, last year with the Rays, goes to beer town on a 2 year deal worth 20 million. The contract is laced with incentives for more money and an option year. Garcia’s problem is just staying healthy. Plus he is very streaky. When he is doing well he looks like an all-star. Needs to be consistent.  

DEATH STAR LOOKING FULLY RELOADED

The evil Empire of baseball now has their death star fully loaded with all the bells and whistles. They plunked down a few golden bars and a few Brinks trucks of cash to sign Gerritt Cole in a monster deal. They say if you can’t beat them then go out and get that guy to join you. Yankees could not beat Cole in the post-season as he was in an Astros uniform. The Astros went on to the World Series after they eliminated the Yankees.

New York Yankees originally drafted Gerritt Cole in 2008. Cole chose college over professional baseball at the time. Gerritt Cole went to UCLA and then was drafted by the Pirates number one overall in 2011. Pirates fell out of contention after they had a three year run in the playoffs so they traded him to Houston. In Houston, Gerritt Cole learned some new tricks from Justin Verlander, especially how to spin the ball more. In 2019, Gerritt Cole was practically unstoppable. He led the league with 326 strikeouts. He pitched 212 innings total which averages 14 k’s per 9 innings pitched. Cole also led the AL in total ERA at 2.50. Cole career record is 94-52 with 3.22 ERA.

Gerritt Cole gets a 9 year deal worth 324 million. That surpasses the 7 year deal the Washinton Nationals paid to bring back their ace Steven Strasburg. Some say the Astros should of pitched Cole in that game seven of the World Series versus the Nationals. Cole was a big part of what got Houston to the World Series. Plus he got flashed with boobs from the stands. In 2019 it was a perfect year for Cole as it might be that kind of year with a sold your soul to the devil type of season.

Gerritt Cole should be the number one guy of the Yankee staff. Number one gunner of the death star as the locals like to call it. He joins a pretty good established staff already intact for the pinstripes.

Yankees have seen the pitching staffs in the World Series for both the Nationals and the Astros. Yankees are not looking too shabby either. They have Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton and Domingo German as they add Cole. They still have J.A Happ who they will probably use for trade bait. The Empire already has a murderers’ row intact, one of the feared line ups in the league. Now with a scary starting rotation to go along with that. Looks like the Empire will strike back in 2020. 

REDS ADD ANOTHER ARM TO ROTATION

Reds creating a nice starting rotation. As they pluck Wade Miley from Houston. He will get a two year deal worth 15 million. He joins a rotation that includes Sonny Gray, Trevor Bauer, and Luis Castillo.

TWIN PICK UP’S FOR MINNESOTA

Twins pick up two free agents. They bring back one of their own free agents in Michael Pineda. They ink him for a two year deal worth 20 million. Last season as a starter for the Twins, Pineda had an 11-5 record with a 4.01 ERA.

Twins also sign a catcher who is no stranger in the AL Central. Alex Avila, the 32 year old back stop, willplay for his third team in the division. Tigers, White Sox and now the Twins. Last season Avila played for the Diamondbacks. He will get a one year deal worth 4.25 million. 

ANGEL IN THE HOT CORNER

LA Angels pay big money at Menards. They wheel and deal, landing the biggest position player on the market. Yes, position player, no typos. They don’t need no stinkin’ pitching. They land Anthony Rendon on a 7 year deal and another big contract on the books at 245 million. Angels already have the best player on the planet in Mike Trout. They have the best Japanese star in Shohei Ohtani. With Justin Upton and the aging Albert Pujols, when is that contract going to end. Yikes they are creating a west coast version of the murderers’ row.

REPEAT CHANCE INTACT WITH STRASBERG BACK

Thought this off season for the Washington Nationals was going to be another nightmare. Last season Bryce Harper, born and raised a National, one of the best players in the league, left you. Broke your heart into a million pieces. It took most of the season to glue everything back together like some CSI techs putting back together a plane after a crash. But you come to grips with reality or at least tell yourself that. Then your team makes it to the playoffs. Well, you’ve seen this before. They get past the first round. Then find their way into the World Series. Your ears perk up. Your tail wags like a dog about to get their daily treat. Then the unthinkable happens and your team that broke your heart wins the whole enchilada.

After you win one your greedy self needs another. Suddenly your MVP pitcher opts out of his contract heads to free agency. You already know your third baseman, Anthony Rendon, is a free agent. Once more the Harper feeling is back again two years in a row. Then Like Michael Jordan when he said he’s back after his first retirement to go play baseball. After the first three championships with the Bulls as a fan you were left with an ending that was not satisfying. Now Steven Strasbug is back and gives you hope to defend the only title you have. 

Steven Strasburg is returning to the Nationals on a seven year deal worth 245 million. The 31 year old right hander was the Nationals’ first overall pick in 2009. He had a cannon for an arm coming into the league. He has compiled up 112 wins with only 58 losses with 3.17 ERA in regular season as National. He went 18-6 last season. National fans have watched him grow up. They have been through pitch counts with him during seasons. They have been through the thick of things with surgeries for their flame thrower. Most importantly he was World Series MVP not that many weeks ago. He pitched 36 1/3 innings this post season with 1.98 ERA. Life time in the playoffs he has 55 1/3 innings pitched with a 1.46 ERA.

Nationals said they could not afford both of their big free agents, Strassburg and Rendon. If you had to pick just one they obviously did and picked the right choice going with the pitcher. His signing keeps the Nationals starting rotation intact which include Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez. Pitching can beat great hitting. Plus the Nationals have brought back Howie Kendrick and Yan Gomes. Losing Anthony Rendon is tough but  he is easier to replace than losing Strasberg. 

It’s usually about money in professional sports especially how a player opts out of an old deal that would set you and I up for a lifetime. Everyone in their own job wants to be promoted or paid more money for what we are good at. Stephen Strasburg could have probably even broke the bank somewhere else. He could have held out longer in free agnecy and got some other team to pay him more than Derek Cole is going to get. He came back to where he was drafted from.Where he won his first World Series. Being a part of history where he helped a franchise win their very first championship in their existence. Now he gives this team their best chnce to defend their title and possbly repeat which is hard to do in basball and most sports. Right now if you’re a National fan, bringing back Strasburg is an early Chritmas gift from Santa. While the baseball Gods are still looking upon you.           

WHITE SOX HEADING DOWN TATIS AVENUE AGAIN 

White Sox come up big with the addition of Yasmani Grandal, signing him to the richest deal in franchise history for a free agent. Then they give the best money offer to free agent pitcher Zack Wheeler. They swung and missed, but they went all in. Rumors had them in talks with right fielder Marcell Ozuna. The team is in need of a right fielder. Which the free agent market has some options if you don’t like Ozuna. White Sox make a trade instead of going the free agent route. They land Nomar Mazara, a 24 year left handed bat who plays right fielder. The Sox give up their 8th ranked prospect in Steele Walker. A guy with lots of potential down the line as he was only drafted in 2018. Not sure what the White Sox are thinking in this trade.

Nomar Mazara has four seasons already under his belt and is only 24 years old. White Sox like him because as a defender he made only one error last season. They like his arm. He’s a big guy at 6’4″ with a 215 pound frame that can run well. He is a guy that bats well versus righties, but against lefties he is absolutely horrible. Right away you’re thinking you have to get someone you can platoon him with. He has a career batting average of .261 and is a very agressive hitter. Does have some pop off his bat. Some balls can fly 505 feet as he launched one off Reynaldo Lopez in the past. His first three seasons he had 20 home runs each season. Last season he had 19. In 2017 he drove in a career high 101 runs. 

Steele Walker is now a Walker Texas Ranger. Walker went to the University of Oklahoma where he played outfield and put up some great numbers. He won quite a few awards for collegiate play. He was drafted number 46th overall in the second round of the MLB draft by the Chicago White Sox. Last season as he played in two leagues, as he was promoted he hit ten homeruns with .284 batting average. He does a little bit of everything as he has some nice speed to leg out 5 triples. Hits for average and has some power. Drove in 62 runs. He’s a guy that is getting better and better each season and the more pitches he sees and more games he logs in, he could be someone special. Definitely will be a starter at some point. Obviously not with the White Sox.

To me this has Fernando Tatis Jr. written all over it. The balls and the stupidness Rick Hahn had when he dealt a very valubale piece to get James Shields who had lost his big game mentality years prior. Nomar Mazara looks like a project. Do the White Sox have a hitting coach named Don Cooper? Nomar is an aggressive hitter which most times means a stupid hitter. A hitter that probably does not take many pitches. Big deal when he makes contact because he can hit it far. Is he a baseball player? What can he do with runners on base is the biggest question. Plus he can’t hit versus lefties. He made one error last season and many sources say his defense needs work. 

Why are we trading prospects anyways? Especially for a project. The White Sox can get their needs from the free agent market and be competitive next season without trading away the future. I’d rather them do nothing than trade prospects that could develop into something. Rather let all of them all play and gel together than see them give away high prospects for nothing. This irks me because they have money to spend. I figured a few free agents picked up. Did not have to be the big fish on the market. But a few guys to complete the line up card and the pitching staff. Steele Walker will end up being some team’s staple for years to come. While Nomar will be on his fifth team by then. Let these guys get better and developed so you can get more out of a deal. If you have to deal which should be the only reason.  White Sox are following the Chicago Cubs rebuild like a carbon copy. Let’s not trade away all the chips on the farm and be the Cubs these days with no farm system that took years to grow.             

RANGERS PICK UP PITCHING

Rangers add a piece to their starting rotation. They sign Jordan Lyles to a two year deal worth 16 million. Lyles split last season with the Pirates and then was traded to the Brewers. Started off hot for the Pirates and then went very cold to frigid degrees. Was traded to beer town where he did very well and helped the Brewers land a wild card spot.

PHILLIES ADD ANOTHER

Phillies continue to spend what they call stupid money. They land themselves a short stop. DiDi Gergorius leaves the death star and is heading to Philly. He gets a three year deal at 42 million package. The seond big signing this offseason for the Phillies. They plucked Zack Wheeler from the Mets. Shopping in the “Big Apple” is the Phillies’ big plan this off season. 

NATIONALS FREE AGENT PICK UP

Nationals are getting the band back together. Mission to defend their World Series title. You have to start somewhere. Might as well start gathering up your own. Not the big National pieces in Steven Strasburg or Anthony Rendon. They brought back catcher Yan Gomes on a two year deal. Then they inked one of their playoff hereos with a one year deal. Nationals bringing back Howie Kendrick with his big bat. Especially the Van Damage he did with a late grand slam versus the Dodgers. Then he was named MVP in the NLCS versus the Cardinals. It took only 6.25 million to bring back the second baseman.      

SOUTH SIDER WEEKLY

SWING AND A MISS

If you’re going after some of the bigger pitchers on the market, the White Sox need to go big or die trying. I like the attempt to land Zack Wheeler as they offered a deal worth 5 years for 125 million which was the highest offer on the table. Wheeler signed with the Phillies rather then coming to the south side of Chicago. His excuse was he would be closer to home playing in Philadelphia. It was a swing and a miss, but it was not last year’s stupid deal they offered to Manny Manchado with incentives instead of guaranteed money.

OTHER PITCHING TARGETS IN FREE AGENCY

I know the White Sox will not go for the big fish in the lake of pitching. Gerritt Cole, well the Yankees are offering the world to him. Stephen Strasburg will be looking for his own island, I imagine as well. Madison Bumgarner intrigues me. The wear and tear on him scares me. I would kick the tires on him. He might want more than what Zack Wheeler got. It makes you think it could work going down the same road as the Cubs did in their rebuild, luring Jon Lester to Chicago. You think of Madison Bumgarner’s playoff experience. You think of that one year he may have pitched the best post season in MLB history where he just dominated. Whether or not he pitched too many innings is the biggest question and concern regarding a big deal for this guy.   

OTHER STARTING PITCHING TARGETS FOR THE WHITE SOX

Dallas Keuchel former Brave and Astros.

Dodger Hyun-Jin Ryu

WHITE SOX WAIVE YOLMER SANCHEZ 

Yolmer Sanchez is a defensive specialist. As he won a gold glove for his work on defense in 2019. He was due to make six million. They non-tendered him so Yolmer has become a free agent. I’d rather the six million go somewhere else then bring him back. His offensive stats have been on the decline. He was always prone to make key mistakes in a game that would cost the team in a big way. Close games & dumb mistakes would open up the flood gates for other teams. Love him as a great guy in the locker room. He will find work somewhere else. Plus I loved how Danny Mendrick played last season, in 16 games he hit .308 and played a few different positions. Plus you have big time prospect Nick Madrigal who could be thrown into action this season.

Wellington Castillo was traded weeks ago to the Texas Rangers for like a bag of balls of a player in return. Good riddance getting rid of that mope behind the plate. Expendable because of James McCann and young catching prospects. Plus the signing of Yasmani Grandal put this guy as just a bad memory gone. Played better on the juice. His highlight on the Southside is the 80 game suspension he got for getting busted for the banned substance.

JOSE JOSE JOSE

Love that the White Sox brought back Jose Abreu. First thing is he leads the league in RBI’S. He plays first base well, not horrible. You can DH him. He brings the offense to the middle of the line up which is always good to have. Because you have to score runs. Driving them in is very hard in the sport of baseball. Plus he’s a countryman, a big brother to many of the young guys on the squad. He reminds me of Paul Konerko as well, how he wanted to come back to the White Sox. Took the one year qualifying offer. Then hammered out a three year extension after that.        

BRAVES FREE AGENT PICK UP

Atlanta Braves continue to be very active this off season. First they addressed their bullpen by signing the Giants closer Will Smith.Then they brought back reliever Chris Martin. Now they add a starter to their rotation coming to terms with Cole Hamels, on a one year deal worth 18 million. He pitched last year for the Cubs. He pitched most of his career with the Phillies.    

PHILLIES FREE AGENT PICK UP

Phillies continue their pact to spend stupid money as they land their first big fish of the off-season. Last year they won the Harper sweepstakes. This season they grab one of the best starters available. The Phillies continue to grab free agents out of their own division as they pick up Zack Wheeler from the Mets. Wheeler had a few teams interested, but goes with the Phillies for a five year deal worth 118 million.   

REDS FREE AGENT PICKUP

12-4 -19 All the Milwaukee Brewers free agents continue to be scooped up in the first few weeks in the open market. This time Brewers division rival Cincinnati Reds land Mike Moustakas. They sign the third baseman to a 4 year deal worth 64 million. Reds’ biggest contract ever in franchise history. 

PIRATES FINALLY ADDRESS THEIR SKIPPER VACANCY

Pirates finally get their new manger. The last opening in the MLB was filled as the Pirates hired their 41st manger in franchise history. Derek Shelton has been announced as the new sheriff in town at PNC park. The last two seasons, he served as the Minnesota Twins bench coach. Last year with Manager of the Year, Rocco Baldelli, and the year before that, Paul Molitor. Pirates finally got the manager position filled because the organization cleaned house when the regular season expired. As the newly hired General Manager, Ben Cherington’s first order of business was to fill the manager position for the Pirates. He did it with a guy he has known for 15 years.

Derek Shelton has quite a baseball resume. He was a catcher which seems the position that makes many great managers. He never made it to the big leagues as a player. His playing career only lasted two seasons 1992-1993 playing in the Yankees’ minor league farm system. Elbow surgery derailed his playing career. His coaching career has been far longer than his playing career. He served as the hitting coach for the Cleveland Indians from 2005-09. Then went to Tampa Bay and did the same thing with the Rays from 2010-16. Then Derek went North and took a Blue Jays position which was called Quality Control Coach. The Blue Jays was where he crossed paths with GM Ben Cherington. Then he made his way over to the Twins organization.

Derek Shelton is a baseball guy. Ben Cherinton said his work ethic, curiosity and desire to learn were three keys to bring him to Pittsburgh. Roco Balderlli, Twins manager, said that Derek Shelton was involved with all aspects of the team as the two of them shared an office. He was prepared and well organized. Imagine the type of guy who is the first person in the building and last to leave. He probably coached the players and was teaching them the right way of things while always interacting with them.

Derek Shelton replaces Clint Hurdle who was fired at the end of the season. Hurdle was the Pirates skipper for 9 seasons. He guided the team to the playoffs for three straight seasons. Clint Hurdle came in when things were a mess and the team did not have a winning record for over 20 years. He leaves with the team that went 69-93 and were basically a mess last year. You could say it was rash of injuries in 2019. Pirates led the league in injuries. You could blame the front office not creating more depth on the roster. Derek Shelton and Ben Cherington have inherited another mess they will have to clean up.

The Pirates are most likely going down the road in full rebuild model. They will be looking to trade all assets for prospects. Building up the farm system will be the main focus. They might add veterans on minor league deals to flip at the trade deadline. The hiring of Derek Shelton is perfect for this job. He’s a guy that has worked in these small market teams like the Twins, Rays, even sometimes the Indians cry poor. He has coached many young players throughout his years as a coach. Being the bench coach, I’m sure he has learned the x’s and o’s of the game itself. This is what the Pirates had to do… find a guy that has baseball sense and is willing to be a part of a rebuild with young players. I think Ben Cherington all along had a list of mangers he would hire mentally if he became a General Manager. Derek Shelton may be the guy that leads them back to the playoffs. Most likely he may just be the bridge gap guy that gets a core of young guys on the verge of greatness and hands it off to someone else to guide them back to the playoffs. Pirates right now are heading in a good direction as all the hires have been very solid.     

PADRES FREE AGENT PICK UP

11-27-19   Padres ink left-handed reliever Drew Pomeranz to a 4 year deal, worth 34 million. Last year, Drew was split between the Giants and Brewers. Pitched better for the Brewers down the stretch. This is the second Brewer free agent to leave “Beer Town.”

BRAVES FREE AGENT PICK UP

11-24-19 Atlanta Braves land catcher Travis D’Arnaud.The 30 year old played a split season with the Mets/Rays. He gets a two year deal that pays him 16 million.

2019 WHITE SOX OFF SEASON MOVE

Finally the White Sox land one of the bigger fishies in the free agent market. They did it without signing the guy’s family. Not bringing in their friends. The White Sox grab the top catcher on the market in Yasmani Grandal, former Milwaukee Brewer. Last season they tried everything in their minds to land Manny Machado. Even with the friends and family, they tried to lure Manny with an big contact. The contract had the years Manny’s camp wanted, but some of the money was incentive laced. Padres gave Manny and Manny only, the full Monty. The first significant move of the off season, and the White Sox open up their piggy bank and spurge. They land Grandal for 4 years at 73 million dollars, the largest free agent contract in White Sox history. 

Yasani Grandal at 31 years of age brings a lot to the home plate and with the lumber. He’s a switch hitter that can get on base and hit for power from both sides of the plate. In 2019, Grandal batted .246 knocking out 28 balls in the stands. He drove in 77 while scoring 79 runs. Grandal likes to see a lot of pitches when he bats. He has a high on-base percentage drawing 109 walks which was good for 4th in the entire league. With the good eye each at bat, it raises the opposing pitchers’ pitch count. Plus the White Sox as a team walked the fewest as they ranked at the bottom of the barrel in the whole entire league with only 378 base on balls. On defense he is what you call a wall behind the plate. Pitch blocking. Ability to gun down runners. The fancy defensive stats have him second in the majors framing runs.Then tied for second in runs from extra strikes. He has the ability to handle a staff as the Brewers were not the best pitching in the league, but they made the playoffs last season.

Last season the White Sox took a flyer on free agent catcher James McCann from the Tigers. That deal turned out well last year as McCann made his first all-star game. He was a guy that could drive in big runs. The White Sox still have James McCann on the roster which gives the team a very nice catching tandem. Plus you can rotate them in the DH position and keep them fresh when they go behind the plate.  I would consider both McCann and Grandal baseball players as they play the game the right way. All about the effort on the field and big on team concept.  Plus having two guys like this in the same line up makes it difficult for pitchers to get two spots out, in key situations especially. Then it gives the young high draft pick from a few seasons ago, Zack Collins, another year to develop his game. Maybe when he improves his game with his lack of defense behind the plate, he could be play some first base or DH especially because he’s a left handed bat in your line up.

I can compare this Grandal move to the one the White Sox made in 2005 by signing free agent AJ Pierzynski. As a White Sox fan, with that signing back then, you know very well how it worked out. They got a hard nosed style of player which you can see in Yasmani Grandal. Last year in free agency, he refused a three year deal with the New York Mets. He bet on himself and signed the one year deal with the Brewers. Then enters free agency again and gets his deal for all the hard work he put in. At the age of 31 he’s playing very well, the same as AJ Pierzynski played in his 30’s. I like that he has played in the playoffs with the Dodgers and Brewers. Bringing that experience to a young and hungry team will be helpful. Yasmini Grandal is excited about all the young arms in the rotation. Love to see the White Sox grab a starter on the market as well. This move might be the one move that can bring others which is very important. Don’t want to see players using the White Sox, like I believe happened last year, as a pawn just to get more money from another team. Still lots to do on the Southside, but I give them credit for a pretty good start.       

THE BUCKO REVIEW

2019 RECORD 69-93 (LAST PLACE NL CENTRAL)

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a horrible year. The team looked like it went back to their old ways before the 2013 season. Before 2013, it was 20 seasons of non-winning baseball in Pittsburgh. The Pirates this off-season have been handing out pink slips like Santa Claus delivering gifts to kids. They have cleaned house pretty much. The President of Operations was not impeached, but parted ways. Maybe that is the polite way of Frank Coonelly stepping down. Most likely forced. The Pirates gave their general manager the axe. Neal Huntington is headed to the unemployment line. Then the skipper. Clint Hurdle is done in a Pirates uniform. Most would have loved to have seen Bob Nutting, the owner, walk away too.

NEW PRESIDENT

It seems like most in town like the hire of the new President of Pirate baseball operations. It’s a familiar face. It’s a face that helped the Penguins win three Stanley Cups. Travis Williams spent 11 seasons with the Penguins. He however comes from the New York Islanders where he was President of Business Operations. His first business was hiring a new GM. That, he checked off his list.

NEW GM

The Pirates hire Ben Cherington as their new GM. Ben was part of that brain trust from Boston.

Pirates could use some money like the cash Boston has to spend. Ben Cherington was a part of that group that has helped the Boston Red Sox win 3 championships. As the Pirates have seen Theo Esptein’s work in the division for the Chicago Cubs. Breaking a 108 year drought. They are hoping the same style of philosophy will work for them with Ben Cherington. First part of business will be find a new skipper. The Pirates will also rebuild their farm system. Ben Cherington specialized in scouting. Which is huge having someone strong at identifying talent and developing the talent at the same time. This will help build the farm system up quickly.

CLINT HURDLE RETIRES FROM THE GAME

Clint Hurdle came from Colorado in 2011 after leading the Rockies to the pennant in 2008. Nine seasons as the skipper for the Pirates he went 735-720-1, which is good for 4th all-time in Pirate managers. Clint broke the Pirates drought of not making the post-season in 2013. From there he got the Pirates to 4 consecutive post season berths. He was 3-5 for the Pirates in the postseason. Pirates missed the playoffs the last 4 seasons including the nightmare of the 2019 season. 

The Pirates are doing things slowly.  Probably to make sure they get things right. Obviously this team is going to into a full rebuild mode, is my best guess. They could go with a younger hire as their new skipper. A guy that can learn and grow on the job. A guy with no experience. Like a new trend that is going on in the league. I would rather have a guy with some experience. Like when the Rays hired Joe Maddon, he had years as a bench coach under Mike Scioscia. Hire a guy who is good with young players. A guy on the rise who has never been a manager.

Hiring Ben Cherington, who might go in the direction of knocking everything down and building from scratch. If that is the case they will probably hire a guy that can relate to the young guys. A guy that can get them to play at the MLB level. This manager may be the bridge type of skipper. Once the talent is already established at the Major League level, they might fire him and bring in an experienced type of guy to get them to the next level. Playoffs and beyond. We will keep you posted on the Pirates’ off-season moves and where they are going. So far so good. 

PAULIE,PAULIE PAULIE

As a die hard White Sox fan, I’m very excited that Paul Konerko is on the ballot for the hall of fame. How time flies. It was just yesterday in my mind, I still get goose bumps thinking of the Chicago White Sox winning the World series in 2005. I would feel like a New York Yankee fan if Paulie gets in on his first shot. That would be two years in a row that a White Sox player makes it to Cooperstown. Yankees seem like they have someone every season. Last season, my childhood hero, Harold Baines. This season, one of the guys that helped deliver Chicago something they had not seen in 88 years at the time, a World Series. Plus, Paulie is a fan favorite and one of mine that played the game on the South Side of Chicago for over two decades.

Years ago, I was not sure Paul Konerko would have a chance to get in the Hall. Paul Konerko has some similar numbers to Houston Astros first baseman, Jeff Bagwell. Plus if you really take a look at Paulie’s numbers compared to people already enshrined, he does have a chance. Especially since in my opinion those steroid guys will not get in any time soon. Plus they will start falling off the map in the next few years. Only hopes for them will be the senior committee down the line. As we know, Paul Konerko played with those steroid mongers and we know Paulie played the game the right way. He was clean from that poison those guys put in their bodies.

Paul Konerko is 43 years of age and played 18 seasons in the majors. Played sixteen of them with the White Sox. You have to like the dedication to the team that gave him a chance and which he grew with. He is a six time all star. He was MVP of the 2005 American League Championship Series versus the Angels. All’s he did in that series is drive seven runs with two home runs in 5 games. He had 439 career home runs. Only 43 players in MLB history have more than Paulie. He has hit 20 or more home runs in one season 13 times. He is one of 34 players in MLB history to accomplish at least 20 something home runs in 134 plus seasons. He drove in 100 RBI’S or more in six seasons. In his career, Paul Konerko drove in over 1,412 runs. That’s better than Robin Yount at 1,406. Johhny Bench only had 1,376. That’s better than his former teammate Carlton Fisk who drove in 1,330. All these guys are in the hall as we speak. Plus some names I did not mention. Paulie finishes his career with a .279 batting average, .354 on base percentage and .486 slugging percentage. He finished with 2,340 hits.

Playing 16 years for one franchise Paulie, earned his number #14 retired on the South Side of Chicago. They also built him his only statue on the left field concourse at the ole Rate. These things would not just be done because of his playoff numbers in 2005. He put up some big numbers for a storied franchise. The White Sox have been around for over a 100 years and they are not like the Marlins or the Rays. He hit 432 home runs for the White Sox which is second all-time to hall-of-famer Frank Thomas. Twenty five players in MLB history have hit 400 home runs for one franchise. Out of the 25, 20 are in Cooperstown. The others on the ‘roids.

THE WHITE SOX LIST WHERE PAULIE STANDS IN SOME BIG STATS

SEOND IN RBI’S 1,383

THIRD IN HITS 2,292

4TH IN RUNS 1,141

3RD IN DOUBLES 406

Paul Konerko has seven post season home runs which is number one all-time. He had 29 multi home run games playing for the good guys. Two times in his career he hit over 40 home runs. Which was done in 2004 and the magic year of 2005. Those 81 home runs in a two year span is a White Sox record . Albert Belle could have played another season for the White Sox after his last monster year, but he opted out of his contract. He would have needed to have stayed healthy the next year as well, and that might not have beat Paulies record. That is the way the cookie crumbles for Albert.

The 2020 MLB ballot does not have many names that will jump out at you. I know Derek Jeter for the Yankees is the only shoe in. Take out all the steroid guys and it gets very interesting indeed. It is possible Paulie could land in Cooperstown on the first ballot. Only problem I see is the Chicago White Sox are not the Cubs. They do not play on the east coast. Some writers might not know all about Paul Konerko, as he does not get the publicity he deserves playing second fiddle to the Cubs and not on the east coast. I can see Paulie getting a good percentage of votes this year and perhaps be on the bubble for the 2021 ballot. I did venture off to see Harold Baines’ speech last season. I did go to Cooperstown for Frank Thomas when he was voted in on the first ballot. To go back to Cooperstown again in back to back years would be something incredible. Yankee fans must have their second home  in that heavenly town. As a fan of the White Sox, these things do not happen often. I hope the writers see what I see and get Mr.Konerko enshrined because in my book, if not next year, he should be in the year after… period.     

  HARPER’S REVENGE

We know the Washington Nationals won the World Series. We know the team did it without their superstar. The superstar they drafted. The same superstar they wanted to have stay in DC. You can say, “Grow old with them.” The Nationals watched him grow up. They wanted to be there when he did his speech in Cooperstown. They even wanted him back and gave him an offer. In this case it was an offer he refused. The Nationals moved on without Bryce Harper. Bryce Harper did the same with his bank account filled with stupid money. Phillies did not make the playoffs. Nationals went to the World Series and won it.

Meanwhile Nationals fans have been riding a roller coaster of emotions in 2019. They saw their young superstar leave town for a division rival. The Nationals started poorly out of the gate. Phillies started much better. National fans did get to boo Bryce Harper on his return to Washington. Dressed in a Phillies uniform, Harper at the time felt nothing. He saw the traitor signs. People probably shouted Judas at him. Harper probably got some hits versus his former team. He probably drove in a few runs. The fans cheered when the Nationals struck him out. Fans were able to express their feelings at the time. Kind of like a therapy. Both parties left the ballpark without closure on their long relationship.

The closure does come to the National fans. They win the World Series and they have not forgotten Bryce Harper. But now the fans have a trophy wife and they are feeling much better. Bryce Harper did not have a care in the world about what the DC fans said about him. The trophy probably opened his eyes. Sure he played coy with the media. He said all the right things as he was happy the Nationals won. Sometimes jealousy kicks in. You leave for a better situation and you know the old situation will not do better than you. The tables have turned in one season of baseball. Some will say that can be like a dog year with 162 games plus playoffs. Don’t forget spring training. 

How can Harper get back at his former team? In a broken relationship with jealousy involved, anything can go down. Tires slashed. Ranting and raving on the Facebook. That is a lot of tires in DC and your former organization to deal with. Since originally it was your fault you left them. Stupid money is not enough, as prestige rich people want your soul as well. If the Phillies are convinced by their billionaire they pay for advice from, regarding who else they should sign this off season. Do the Phillies have enough stupid money left in their account? Can they go out and sign two former teammates of Bryce Harper? What if Philadelphia went out this off season and landed Anthony Rendon and MVP of the World Series, Stephen Strasburg, to their mix. Bryce Harper might have the last laugh after all. He would hold the beating heart of all National fans in the palm of his hands like some Hannibal Lector from Silence of the lambs.

Those two cogs would instantly weaken the Nationals who could be losing those players anyways to whoever. This year’s World Series they might have to soak in as long as they can, because next year they might be in for a rude awakening. If they see Anthony Rendon in the Phillies line up playing alongside Bryce Harper, the sound of nails on the chalkboard will be heard throughout the Nations capital. Jaws would drop. Stomachs would get queasy if Steven Strasburg is mowing down the National line up. Add more insult to injury if these three together win a World Series together. At least they may impeach Donald Trump. However the way things will be going, Trump will serve another term and live in DC another four years. While Bryce Harper will be like Scrooge McDuck swimming in his pool of gold with a new sparkly World Series and thinking how he got his revenge and the last laugh.         

THE ROAD WARRIOR

Can you imagine paying $200.00 for a ticket to a World Series game? Perhaps most likely it is more money than just a number I’m throwing out there, as I was being generous. Plus you are rarely just going to one of these affairs by yourself. Your kid, your wife, father, brother, sister, or friend. I might not have every human scenario covered but you catch my drift. We know just walking into any MLB stadium lightens a wallet. Don’t get me started on the beer prices. You have to eat, right? Throw in a program and the list goes on. The best Jewish accountant may have trouble crunching these numbers. All of this to see your team lose at home. Sure you have the experience. Say you are that type either lucky or Richie Rich to go to more than one game to root on your team. Then they lose that game for the second time. You went to the ballpark to root on your team and pay all that money to come away just with an experience. If your team eventually won the World Series, it would definitely take the sting out of it. If you fall on the other side of the tracks, you feel pain all over.

The 2019 World Series between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals was a very exciting series. It had a little bit of everything. It went the distance all the way to game seven. It featured some will say the best starting pitching in World Series history. Both teams had the same record all the way to the end, if you started the season at the end of May. It was a World Series where the underdog won it and many people root for the little guy. It was the Series that had a first ever World Series for the Washington Nationals, who once were the Montreal Expos. To here what the French are saying about the situation, “I think yes, I will take a pastry with my French vanilla espresso.” It wasn’t just the Nationals winning and beating a Houston Astro team that won 107 regular season games and were looking to create their own dynasty. This series made history because the road team won every game.

We do not count professional football because they play one game playoffs where winner moves on and loser goes home. In the three other major sports that have a playoff format set up with the best out of seven series, this is the first time this has ever happened where the road team won all the games going the distance.  Never happened in the NHL, NBA or the MLB until this year, 2019. That is a lot of games over decades in which the 2019 MLB World Series is so unique. Like Haley’s comet that you have a chance to see every 17 years.

In two World Series, the closest to seven Playoff road wins was five. Which happened in 1906 and then again in 1996. Nationals struck first in Houston and won the first two games. Then Houston went into DC and swept the three games there. This left the last time the home team won a play off game in the nations capital was the Washington Senator team. With the Astros up 3-2 I figured it was all over for the Nationals. Astros have been to the World Series in 2017. They must have just had a hiccup or something at home in the first two games. That did not happen as you know and I know history was made. Nationals won the final two games in Houston. That was game six and game seven and that is the end of that chapter. 

History was made as that completed the World Series where the road team won each game.The road warrior outscored the home team 49-14 in the series. In something we may never see again in any of the three major sports, it is that type of once in life time thing.             

IT TIGURES

The Detroit Tigers this season have been in a full rebuild mode. Their 2019 regular season was dreadful with a 47-114 record. If you do not believe me then ask this Tiger fan.

Last time the Tigers were in the playoffs was in 2014. They were quickly ousted by the Baltimore Orioles in the divisional round, best out of five as they were swept. They had a very good starting pitching staff that year. Those arms failed in the playoffs and that was last time the Tigers were in the post-season.

As we go down memory lane, that was only five seasons ago. In baseball one season could mean drastic changes for any ball club. Players want to get paid. Players might get traded. The team might go in another direction and sometimes you can not keep everyone. If losing seasons pile up, then you’re scrapping the old and going young. In 2019 that is what the Tigers have been doing. Selling off pieces for prospects.

What ever happened to that starting staff of 2014? All of them went to other teams. All of them have now won a World Series with another team. It Tigures. Fan favorite Justin Verlander was traded to Houston. In 2017, Verlander was a key part of that Houston Astros team that won their first ever World Series. I can see the Detroit fans liking to see Verlander get a ring for all his great years in the motor city and being a fan favorite. Then in 2018, Rick Porcello and David Price got their ring playing for the Boston Red Sox. David Price you got in a trade. However Rick Porcello you watched grow, as he came from your farm system. Some mixed emotions.

Then to pour gasoline on the Tigers’ open wounds this season, you watched Anibal Sanchez and one of your ACE Ventura’s for you, Max Scherzer, win the World Series for the Washington Nationals. That completes the five man rotation from 2014. Both Scherzer and Sanchez came from other teams, but still played many years for your city. Some fans wished they would have paid Scherzer to stay in Detroit. Now the anger will be pointed in the owner’s direction.

Being a Detroit sports fan has to suck. Because you watch baseball and you know the Tigers suck. Most fans look forward to the other sports in their town. Lions have been disappointing fans longer than any other team they have in motor city. The Pistons play in the NBA and they have players that are not good buddies with all of the other superstars in the league. Recruiting is an issue for most NBA teams. Never mind the draft like all other sports do it. NBA plays red rover and lets Lebron come over.  Then the Red Wings used to be the easy choice, the old reliable. Deep in the playoffs every season. Hockey has fizzled out like all of the sports teams in Detroit.

I feel the tiger statue lost its stripes in Detroit. Maybe it is a common theme in cats, as the Bengals in Cincinnati have no growl either. If you are a pure baseball fan in Detroit and you like to watch the World Series no matter what. It’s great rooting for former players that have played on your team. But a whole starting staff of talented Pitchers winning a championship in the last three years for other teams is very unlucky. You watched them all pitch every 5 days for you. It made you excited for the possibility of playing in the World Series. But no dice. It Trigures that then another year of bad baseball is on the horizon. When will the madness end?  

NOT ALL BOOBS IN DC ARE BAD

Houston Astros pitcher Gerritt Cole, is having the year of his life. He was the top pitcher in the American League in the regular season. He’s done pretty well in the playoffs. Plus while he’s on the mound on Sunday versus the Nationals in Washington, three models show him their boobies from the stands.

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Perhaps these three gals could be distracting the Astros’ ace, so the Nationals could come back in the game. The three girls, Julia Rose, Lauren Summer and Kayla Lauren were immediately escorted out of the stadium.

 

It turns out these three girls did not have a player as a target. This stunt was for a digital magazine called Shag Mag. It was intended strictly for business. Like a stripper dancing around the pole naked to raise money to pay for her Law degree. This stunt violated the Nationals’ fan code of conduct. Which resulted in the Nationals banning all three girls for life from their stadium. The girls also said they got documentation from MLB that they are banned for life at all stadiums.

 

If Slick Willy Bill Clinton was still President, all three of these girls would be up in his personal sky box at Nationals stadium.

Is lifting up your shirt to show off your proud boobs equal to a life ban in all of the stadiums across the league? Seems like they are being prosecuted for murder over a littering violation. I know baseball is a family atmosphere. Kids are watching and witnessing what adults do on the weekends. When I was younger everybody had the one kid who landed a Playboy magazine. Probably swiped it from the adult in the house they lived with. Seeing Dolly Parton’s boobs just made your eye balls bulge out like they were the best thing you ever saw. These girls lifting up their shirts are not going to scar young kids or other adults around them. If you’re old enough, maybe these ladies are not the type to bring home to meet your mum. However, your father might like them very much. 

I know you want a clean game. I know you want your atmosphere to be wholesome. However look at some of your other fans. The piercings and tattoos all over the body. People in pajamas. People wearing practically nothing and they are let in. I’ve seen a person with a dog collar around his neck for crying out loud. How about the body that should be covered up like a Muslim? Talking about the clothes, not the religion. But these people are proud and they have body blubber oozing out of their shirts, bouncing and waddling while doing the 7th inning stretch. Throw in some people that need to get a hotel room with all the PDAs, practically doing it in the seats. You’re going to need a dress code to get into the ballpark. No shirts, no shoes, no boob showing, no service types of rules.

 

Meanwhile this stunt was a genius business idea as Shag Mag Digital Magazine got a lot of lookie-lous. Players like Gerritt Cole who are due for a big payday after this season, can continue to live the life of Reilly. Sure the flashers did not have a target, but some people in this world have a lucky horseshoe jammed up their cheeks to be a part of this. I would get dog collar harry, man. Meanwhile MLB over reacts. Just kicked them out of the game. If they do it again then perhaps you come up with something a tad stronger. You overreact with documentation on the ban ,it just adds fuel to the fire. Adds more perverts looking at the Shag Mag.

 

Plus you might alienate baseball fans that love some boobs while drinking a beer and watching a game.  

 

2019 WORLD SERIES PREDICTIONS

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(SOME HISTORY OF BOTH TEAMS)

This is the third appearance to the World Series for the Houston Astros. First time they made it was 2005 when they played in the National League.

They were swept by Jermaine and Dye and the White Sox that season. In 2017, Houston Astros won their first World Series beating the LA Dodgers. That same year, Houston became the first team in baseball history to have a National League pennant in 2005. Then an American League pennant in 2017. 

The Washington Nationals use to be the Montreal Expos.

Montreal Expos never made it to the World Series. In 1994, probably their best team was taking the National League by storm. We will never know if that team would have gotten there due to the whole league going on strike the year without a Santa to some. The year with no World Series.

This year Washington Nationals will be making their World Series debut as they have not made it either, since coming from Canada. Last time a World Series was played in Washington, was back when the Senators took the field in the Nations capital. 

Looks like the Chicago Cubs took their stupid W flag from the Senators logo.

I like this one better. The Senators became the Twins. Before they left DC, they were in three championships. They went 1-2 in the World Series winning in 1924 representing the American league.

THE ROAD TO THE SERIES

Houston won the American League West. Then took down the Tampa Bay Rays in five games. Then blew up the Death Star of the Yankees to find their way to the World Series twice in the last three seasons.

Washington Nationals won the first wild card. Then won the wild card game beating the Milwaukee Brewers. Then they went five with the LA Dodgers finally knocking them out. Dodgers were trying to get to their third straight World Series and which they went 0-2. Then the Nationals beat up on the red birds. Sweeping St.Louis Cardinals to advance to the World Series.

PITCHING

This World Series might have the best starting pitching of all time. Both teams are stacked. Both teams are number one and two in the league spending money on their starting pitching.

HOUSTON TROTS OUT: GERRIT COLE, JUSTIN VERLANDER, & ZACK GRIENKE

WASHINGTON TROTS OUT: MAX SCHERZER, STEPHEN STRASBURG PATRICK CORBIN & ANIBAL SANCHEZ

I wish Justin Verlander was going to face his old teammate, Max Scherzer, in one of these games. If you are a Tiger fan watching two pitchers you had a few years ago get Detroit to the World Series. But they could not win it for motor city. The way the Tigers are playing these days, you might be in the fetal position sucking your thumb waiting ’til baseball is officially over.

When it comes to the starting pitching, both teams look pretty even. I would give edge to the Astros just because of the way Gerritt Cole is pitching for them. He has not lost since May. He did not have his best stuff in his start versus the Yankees and shut the murderers row down.

THE BULLPEN

I give Houston the edge on the bullpen. Astros have gone with a three man starting rotation. They have more arms in the bullpen which gives them more options. Washington’s weakness was going to be their bullpen coming into the playoffs. The Nationals have pitched well. However it’s been mostly two guys. Can Sean Doolittle and Daniel Hudson continue doing well in the World Series?

HITTING

Both the Nationals and Astros have some great hitters that will come through in this series.

THESE ARE THE TWO GUYS, ONE FROM EACH TEAM, THAT WILL CREATE THE MOST HAVOC.

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Jose Altuve and Juan Soto will each put up the big numbers in this series, is my prediction. Astros also have George Springer and Alex Bregman. Howie Kendrick has to stay hot.

I give the Astros the edge on hitting because they have a complete line-up with some depth on the bench. The Astros have struck out the fewest in baseball, so they hit for contact. Very hard to strikeout.

MANAGERS 

You have to give AJ Hinch from the Astros over Dave Martinez from the Washington Nationals, the edge there. It’s not AJ Hinche’s first rodeo and he has more experience than Dave Martinez.

THE PREDICTION

This series should go the distance all the way to game seven. It will well fought series. I like the Nationals being a team of destiny. They lose their best player to free agency because Bryce Harper wanted the money. Uncle Scrooge did get the payday in Philadelphia. Many thought this team was dead after he bolted in the off season. Dave Martinez was rumored to be fired in his only second year as the skipper. The Nationals looked like a team dead in the water in May.

Houston Astros are on a mission. They want to get their second World Series trophy to build, most would call it a dynasty. A team they built from scratch years ago by building from the ground up. Selling off all their pieces and waiting until the crop grew up. The crop has been here. The second trophy will be a nice addition to all the growing pains this franchise and fans went through waiting for this moment after watching years of bad baseball.

I love that the Washington Nationals play the most small ball out of any team in the MLB. Especially the year of the home run and the strike out. This team knows how to manufacture runs. They can mash the ball. They are big on getting key hits with runners on.

I think Houston is the complete team. I think the Astros have too many talented players for any team to handle. The Astros led the majors in striking out people from their pitching staff. Plus their hitters struck out the fewest, which I said earlier. They see many pitches. Pitchers can not rely on junk to get them out.

THE X FACTOR goes to Houston, which will be the key to the series. Gerrit Cole is pitching out of his mind, which will help the Astros put the Nationals away in this long drawn out series. Like two Gladiators fighting to the death.

 OUR PICK:ASTROS IN SEVEN 

GIRALDI SHOULD BE NEXT CUBS MANAGER

The Chicago Cubs’ first priority this off season is finding a new skipper. The Cubs recently broke ties with the only manager that guided them to their only championship they have won in 108 years. That is Joe Maddon who left out of town in his Winnebago, he named it his Cousin Eddie. Usually your next search for Spock will be a guy that is totally opposite than the last guy you had. The Cubs will need a guy that will hold players accountable for the mistakes they make on the field. Mistakes that will not continue to occur on a regular basis. They need a guy that will not be the players’ buddy. A guy that will not have dress up parties. They need a guy that has been there and done that. A guy named Joe Giraldi.

The first thing is, Joe Giraldi makes perfect sense because he knows the Chicago Cubs. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs. He was developed by the Chicago Cubs in their minor league system until they brought him up to the big show. He is a local kid, born in Peoria, Illinois. He went to Northwestern University so we know he is very intelligent. Playing catcher his whole career shows you his work ethic. Most catchers make the best managers in the game because they are running the show from behind the plate. Shifting the defenses. Working with all the pitchers and knowing the opponents weaknesses to get them out.

Besides the local stuff, his managing resume is off the charts. Joe Giraldi got his first job in managing from the Florida Marlins. Everyone has to start somewhere, and as we all know, the Marlins organization were the worst run organization in the game. Joe Giraldi lasted only one season with the Marlins in 2006. Joe liked to do things his way and this did not go well with management, so he was fired. He was fired and he was named manager of the year in that lone season because he had the Marlins competing for a Wild Card. Joe Girladi then was hired by the New York Yankees, some will say the best job in baseball. Also the hardest job in the sport in the biggest city  with the biggest media. Joe Giraldi brought the New York Yankees another World Series trophy, and had several trips to the playoffs. 

Theo Epstein, the President of the Chicago Cubs operations is the master mind that built the Chicago Cubs from the ground up. He was the one that found the loop hole in Joe Maddon’s contract and snagged him right under the Tampa Bay Rays’ noses. It was his hard work that resulted in a Cubs World Series in 2016. Theo Espstein’s work has beaten two major curses that nobody thought could be beat. The Curse of the Bambino in Boston. Then the Curse of the Goat in Chicago. Many thought this team should have been a dynasty. You have to win more than one championship to be a dynasty. With two years left on the Messiah contract, what direction will the Cubs go in with this new skipper? Cubs core position players once untouchable, that now look like they have been brought back to earth. Many of them will be looking for their big payday. The Cubs are in need of pitching really bad. With so many bad contracts on the books, can they resalvage what they’ve got and still have eyes on the prize? The Cubs’ minor league system is so depleted with all the bad trades. With two years remaining in Theo Esptein’s contract, will he stay past ten years? When he was hired he even said he only liked to stay in places for ten years.

Can Joe Giraldi and Theo Epstein even work together? Theo Esptein is very hands on. He wants to be in on everything. From the line up. To all the coaches on the staff. Look at Joe Maddon’s staff when he was here. They had coaches in and out every single season like rotating players in at a volleyball game. Meanwhile Joe Giraldi likes to do his own thing. He does not want management in his locker room. He does not want to be called and told what guy they think should be in his line up. Theo Esptein is all about the numbers. All that sabermetrics and analytics jazz. Joe Giraldi is more old school. Joe used numbers, but mostly it was all about hunches and what the gut was telling him. Once nicknamed Binder Joe with his binder filled with data. Probably most of it scribbled with handwritten notes about certain players and their tendencies he recalls from the past.              

I do not think the Cubs will hire Joe Giraldi. He will demand more money than anybody else out there. Even though they are printing money in Wrigley, the Cubs will go with Dave Ross. Who also is a former catcher. He is also a guy who played on that 2016 championship team. He has no experience in managing. Sometimes these non-experienced hires have worked. Most of the time it does not work. The biggest key I see is David Ross can be controlled by Theo Esptein, a guy that has had it his way the whole time. A guy that has built everything from scratch and would not allow a guy like Joe Girladi to steal away his credit. I think Joe Giraldi would give the Cubs their best chance to win with what they’ve got. However I can see them getting back to the playoffs, but they do not have enough horses to win the whole enchilada. I think the Cubs need to go in another direction. Not a complete tear down, but removing the bad deals and trading off pieces, then taking a step back with a younger team with some of your core-players intact. I believe Joe Giraldi can work with a younger team like in the Marlin days. That direction you need to give the man a longer contract. You would need to give him control and trust that he can lead your team back to the playoffs and beyond.  Whether or not Joe Giraldi wants to clean up this mess the Cubs have on their hands, is another question. Overall in the grand scheme of things, can Theo Esptein swallow his pride and let things be run by Joe?  We will find out. My prediction is David Ross will be the guy. Joe Giraldi will be bringing the Phillies or the Mets back to the playoffs.      

2019 MLB CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES PREDICTIONS

LAST ROUND OUR RECORD WAS A SPLIT:2-2

AMERICAN LEAGUE

HOUSTON ASTROS AT NEW YORK YANKEES

Yankees breezed right through Minnesota in a 3 game sweep. Houston we had a problem versus the Rays. It took five gamse for the Astros to dispatch the Rays. By far these two team were the best in the American League during the regular season.

The Yankees have a very scary line up 1 thru 9, a line up that can simply mash the baseball. Houston Astros can mash the baseball too. Pitching will be the key in this series. Great pitching always beats great hitting. Astros have that. I think Astros starting pitching will be far too impressive and you will see the Yankees bats suffer from Verlander and Cole. I think the bullpens are even. I think this series will go the distance. The X factor will be the starting pitching.

OUR PICK:ASTROS TAKE THE SERIES IN SEVEN

THE NATIONAL LEAGUE

WASHINGTON NATIONALS VERSUS ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

You have to give the Cardinals credit all season long. The experts said the Central was supposed to belong to the Cubs. Some said the Brewers. But they won the division out of spite. Then they fight back in the best out of five series versus the Braves. Win game five and now they make it to the next round. One series away from the World Series.

The Nationals come in as the top wild card. Then they fight their demons from the past playoff performance and come back versus the Brewers late in that contest to advance to the next round. Next round is one of the best teams in the league, the LA Dodgers. They somehow found a way to fight back in that series and bring it to game five, which they won. Now they face the red birds.

The Cardinals have the defense and the better bullpen. The Nationals have the starting pitching and a shaky bullpen. A shaky bullpen that has done very well in the playoffs though. I give the edge to the Nationals in swinging the lumber. Lots of guys in that lineup are seeing the ball very well.

I think the Nationals have the confidence level at a sky high limit beating one of the best teams in baseball. That series under their belts, they are hungry for this next series to advance to the Wolrd Series. The Nationals starting pitching will be the key for them winning the series. I love how the Nationals play small ball to manufacture runs when needed and not just rely on the long ball. The Cardinals bullpen will be over used. I think the St. Louis starting staff will run into problems early in the games to make their bullpen become an issue. I think the Nationals quickly end the Redbirds season as the Cardinals simply run out of gas.

OUR PICK:NATIONALS IN FIVE

WE DON’T NEED NO STINKING HARPER

Yesterday the Washington Nationals eliminated the Dodgers from the playoffs. It was the Nationals’ Howie Kendrick who hit a grand slam in the tenth inning to help his team take the deciding game in the best out of five playoff series. It was the unthinkable for three huge reasons and left people having a hard time quite believing what happened. Reason number one is upsetting the team that has represented the National League in the World Series the last two seasons. Reason number two, the Nationals winning a playoff series. Reason three, winning a playoff series without their best player. Yes, the same Bryce Harper who took a few more Brinks trucks more that Philadelphia offered than the team that drafted him. 

Bryce Harper came into the league hyped up to be one of the future stars of the game of baseball. He did not disappoint. He was a left handed batter that could hit for power and average. He was an outfielder that played well on defense. He is a five tool player. Unless some severe injury occurs, Bryce Harper will be a first ballot Hall of Famer with no questions asked. Seven years in DC came to an end when Bryce hit the open market. 

The Philadelphia Phillies showed Bryce the money. It’s 13 years for $330 million dollars that will set up the Harpers for generations to come with that kind of loot.

Last season, Bryce Harper played his last season in a Nasty Nats uniform. The Nationals did not make the playoffs after that crazy exit in 2017 versus the Cubs when Dusty Baker was seated in the managers chair in the dugout. The Nationals hired Dave Martinez who was for a long time, Joe Maddon’s sidekick. In 2019, without their best player, the Nationals stumbled out of the gate. In May it looked like a team that would be selling at the trade deadline. In a very tough division, Nationals rebounded from the slow start and stormed back to get back in the thick of things. Eventually they clinched the first wild card to get back to the playoffs. In the Wild Card game, they had to come from behind late in the game to beat the Brewers. Then they advanced to play the best team in their league.

Every year the Nationals did make the playoffs when they had Bryce Harper, most people thought they were a legitimate threat to any other team in the playoffs. Experts thought they would not just make it to the World Series, but win the darn thing. They had great pitching. They had a very talented line up including Harper who was their best hitter. With all of this on paper. With all the games they had won in the regular seasons. It all resulted in early exits from the playoffs, year after year. 

This season it must have been very hard to be a National fan. Bryce Harper did not take the team’s offer which was indeed a lot of money. Then to see your best player you watched grow up, head to a division rival. When he comes back to visit, all you can do is boo the man that was once your hero.

Things looked black for National fans in 2019. In baseball 162 games can make things change quickly. Phillies don’t make the playoffs as they just fired their manager. Rumors early in the year were you were going to fire your manager. However Dave Martinez continues to lead. Continued to play small ball which the Nationals are the best in the league at manufacturing runs. They also can hit the long ball like Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto did versus one of the best pitchers in the league, Clayton Kershaw. Two back-to-back home runs off the Dodgers’ ace to tie things up in an elimination game. Then we know what Howie Kendrick did. 

In the sport of baseball you need some superstars. One or two superstars are not going to win the World Series for you by themselves. It takes all nine people on the diamond. This is not basketball where the superstar just takes over the game by himself. To win the World Series you need your whole roster, everyone doing their part. The Nationals without Harper are baseball players and playing the game the right way as Dave Martinez’s message has gotten through. Nobody is bigger than the game. I think the Nationals have a shot to make it to the World Series.You knocked out the best National League team. The Nationals have a different hero every night with the bat. That starting pitching is still very scary. Plus the black mark on your squad coming in to the playoffs was your bullpen. Which seems fixed because the arms in the pen are dealing it. The ultimate scenario would be the Nationals winning everything without that stinking Harper on their roster taking up the whole salary cap.  Whatever Washington had in mind is what they could spend. With baseball players you spread around the wealth as you win as a team. You try to keep everyone and have depth. Nationals can spread that money around and keep this team in business. Philadelphia with the cracked bell already in place, they will have to crack into some more piggy banks to build around Uncle Scrooge Harper.  Maybe things are looking brighter in the National skies these days. Because they can’t turn to football like every other city that hates their baseball team.          

2019 MLB PLAYOFF PREVIEW

OUR PREDICTIONS TO START THE SEASON

DIVISION WINNERS

AMERICAN LEAGUE

CENTRAL:MINNESOTA TWINS

EAST:NEW YORK YANKEES

WEST:HOUSTON ASTROS

WILD CARDS:TAMPA BAY RAYS & OAKLAND ATHLETICS

We were perfect in the A.L.

THE NATIONAL LEAGUE

CENTRAL:MILWAUKEE BREWERS

EAST:PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

WEST:LA DODGERS

WILD CARDS: ATLANTA BRAVES & WASHINGTON NATIONALS

The National league we only got the the Nationals right and Dodgers. We did have the Brewers and Braves in the playoffs but in wrong spots.

OUR WORLD SERIES PREDICTION

MILWAUKEE BREWERS VERSUS HOUSTON ASTROS

OUR WINNER: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

We might have had a few that day when we predicted our picks for the playoffs before the regular season.

WE did not make any predictions on the wild card games.

THE WILD CARD GAMES

AMERICAN LEAGUE

TAMPA BAY RAYS AT OAKLAND ATHLETICS

These two cities should of put a wager on this game. Winner gets the other city’s fan base. The one team would have had over a 100 fans.

RAYS WIN

NATIONAL LEAGUE

MILWAUKEE BREWERS AT WASHINGTON NATIONALS

I would of figured Washington would of blown this game because if they win the game they move on to the next round. Brewers play out of their minds in the month of September without their best player, and then blow this game in the late innings.

NATIONALS WIN

THE FIRST ROUND

AMERICAN LEAGUE MATCH UPS

MINNESOTA TWINS VERSUS THE EMPIRE NEW YORK YANKEES

This is the game if you do enjoy the long ball. These two teams should not even play one game.They should just have a cut throat home run derby like on all-star week.

Yankees line up is facing murders row. Every player in their line up is a threat to knock the cover off the ball. The Twins rotation is not a 100 percent healthy. The pitching staff for the Twins does not have much depth.  Yankees starters need to get further in the game to help salvage their big arms in the bullpen.

OUR PICK: YANKEES

Since 2003 the Yankees have knocked out the Minnesota Twins in the playoffs five times.

TAMPA BAY RAYS VERSUS HOUSTON ASTROS

Tampa Bay Rays have gotten to playoffs because of their pitching. It’s been like that since they dropped the Devil out of their name.

Houston Astros by far is the best team in the American league. They could be the best team in the entire league. They have everything covered from defense and offense. Throw in the great pitching staff this team is eyeballing the World Series or bust.

OUR PICK:ASTROS

The Rays will keep some of these games intersesting with their pitching. The Rays offense has been good but areprone to strike out. One of the categories you dont want your team to be at the top of. Houston will be able to score and hold down the Rays line up to their liking.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

  ATALNTA BRAVES VERUS THE ST.LOUIS CARDINALS

I scratch my head trying to figure out how a St.Louis team made the playoffs. Won the National Central. They have the best bullpen in the playoffs. They also have a guy name Paul Goldschmidt.

Atlanta Braves have lots of young talent.

That talent indeed is very impressive. However the Braves are a young team with up and coming super stars like Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna Jr. They could be young and hungry or could be young and stupid. Ronald Acuna Jr. better stop admiring his work in the batters box. Instead “run Forest run no matter what.” Tell this guy they are in the playoffs.

OUR PICK:BRAVES

I think the yutes will be too much for the Cardinals. However the Braves better play hard every play as the Cardinals are the best defensive team. A team that does not make mistakes as they are very fundamentally strong with the little things that it takes to win games.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS AT LA DODGERS

Washington has the best three starting pitchers in the game. The Nationals also are the best team at small ball. They don’t have to rely on the home run for runs. 

The Dodgers are the best team in the National league. They have a team that is deep in depth. Not sure where they grow their talent, but one guy goes down and the Dodgers have a replacement. That’s pitching and hitting.

OUR PICK:DODGERS

Winning a playoff series is the NOT the Nationals cup of tea. Dodgers have been on this road in the playoffs for quite awhile and not hit a speed bump in the second round of the playoffs. I like the Dodgers pitching staff as a whole. I think from top to bottom they will give the National hitters fits, the whole series is the X-factor.   

THE CUBBIE COLLAPSE

Theo Esptein came to Chicago as the messiah. One Chicago newspaper had him walking on water. He gutted out the Cubs organization from top to bottom. He gathered up all kinds of young prospects and constructed a core of talented position players. He even found a loophole to steal manager Joe Maddon away from the Rays. Cubs rebuild was finished and they made the playoffs in 2014. They won the unthinkable and broke the billy goat curse, taking the Series in 2016. The dynasty was created. Everyone expected at least one more World Series from this group. It never happened as they made the playoffs, but they were quickly eliminated. Every year you felt the Cubs organization represented a tower of jenga. In 2019, the tower has been very wobbly. Then finally this month a breeze blew the jenga tower over as all the pieces scattered all over. It was the collapse heard around the world as the Cubs would end their playoff streak and this team might be completely gutted with lots of changes on the horizon.

Who do you blame for the Chicago Cubs collapse? Last September the Cubs blew a five game lead. They were forced to play a 163rd game and were at home for the division title. They lost that and a few days later, lost a wild game at home. Is this management not giving the manager enough horses to finish the race? Can you say Joe Maddon was out coached in crunch time? The Cubs had a 3 1/2 game lead over the Cardinals, August 9th. Last week they were in striking distance of the second wild card but lost 9 in a roll. Swept by rival St. Louis at home. It goes deeper than that. This team was just awful on the road. How were they going to fare if they did make the playoffs but could not win one game on the road. This team has played .500 ball since May 31st. You can put blame on both sides of the equation. 

The Chicago Cubs made their choice and let Joe Maddon go on the last regular season weekend. The Cubs, Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer, are going in another direction. They feel Joe Maddon is not in their future plans. The same Joe Maddon who guided the Chicago Cubs to their only World Series in over 100 years. The feeling that I get from listening to Theo and around baseball is… Joe had a problem holding his veterans accountable for the mistakes they made. Joe would have conversations with them. Mistakes continued to mount especially on the base paths. Cubs led the majors the last two seasons in running the bases blunders. Especially not coming down on repeat offenders of not hustling down the base paths. Javier Baez comes to mind. Did the Cubs lack the hunger after they won it in 2016? When the young core grew up and became veterans, did Joe’s message fall to the wayside? Perhaps Joe Maddon’s best managing is younger teams like Tampa Bay Rays and when the rebuild was done for the Cubs.

This collapse, if you want to call it that, definitely has more scape goats. Look in the mirror Theo Esptein and we can throw Jed Hoyer under the bus as well. Every year you switched the coaching staff around Joe Maddon like cleaning the gutters. Many of your moves that you have made were not savvy. You could say many of them were very stupid in general. You are paying Jason Heyward the type of money for someone that hits 35 bombs and drives in over 100 runs. You over paid for Yu Darvish. He did well this season but last year he was broken hot garbage. Why Brad Brach? Then you signed a broken down closer in Brandon Morrow. Then you had to get Craig Kimbrel which the jury still out with him as he looked like flaming hot garbage. Tyler Chatwood from Colorado a bust. White Sox fleeced you out of two big prospects for Jose Quintana which he has been good bad and ugly.

If the Cubs would stand pat the line up, they could have right now…

A MURDERERS ROW:

Gleybar Torres, Eloy Jimenez, Anthony Rizzo, Wilson Contreras, Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler, Kyle Schwarber, and Javier Baez

Addison Russell is scum so I left him out.

Yes I know you have to trade some of your prospects to help you land veteran players like Adrolis Chapman who they overpaid for as a rental player in 2016. However this trade helped slay the goat that jinxed this team for over a 100 years. Did the Cubs and the higher ups have to mortgage the farm on just bad deal after bad deal? Now all the sweat and tears of hard work in the original rebuild are just gone.

After 2016, most of Theo Esptein and his side kick Jed Hoyers’ moves did not pan out. These moves wiped out their whole crop down on the farm. The Cubs have one of the biggest payrolls in baseball. They have most of their money tied up in players that are not worth it. Plus the core of position players you claim you built around, are due for more money and perhaps contract extensions. The Cubs will have to trade some of their core to retool and at the same time rebuild that farm. They have a two year window according to Theo Esptein for changes will come. Two years is when the man that walks on water’s contract ends. Will he install a yes man at manager to go with his new scheme? He should hire the right guy instead. Help the team not just now but in the future.   

The start of the year, the Cubs owner’s son had written racist emails that were reported and found by the media. Written years ago. Then they had the Adam Russell suspension from spousal abuse they had to deal with.Kris Bryant’s words about the town of St. Louis. Some people think the Cubs did get lucky winning the World Series in 2016. Especially being down 3-1 in a best out of seven series. The deciding game and a rain delay helped slow down the Indians. They could have been eliminated earlier in the playoffs as they got by that series. That year worked out for them. If they did not win that year this thing would have been worse. The core position players you developed once were untouchable. Now they are breaking down and still have some big numbers. Is it time to scrap them and do it all over? Can the Cubs ride the ship and retool and get another World Series to create some type of dynasty? Many expected more than one World Series trophy. Or are they too deep in the hole to get out? Is this why Theo Esptein left Boston to come to Chicago? Sometimes you’re in too deep and need new blood to get you out.    

DUMB AND DUMBER TRADED AWAY FERNANDO TATIS JUNIOR

Can you imagine what the White Sox rebuild would be like if they had held on to Fernando Tatis Junior? The infield would be stacked with young talent. Having Yoan Moncarda at third with Tim Anderson as short and placing Fernado Tatis Jr. at second. You could even rotate all three positions with all three players, like three card monty. Fernado Tatis, the dark day when the White Sox foolishly traded away this young prospect for pitcher, James Shields. It was June 4th, 2016 the same year the Cubs eventually won the World Series on the other side of town. It was the beginning of dark times and no light at the end of the tunnel for the south side baseball team. 

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The Chicago White Sox originally signed Fernando Tatis Jr. in 2015. He was the son of former major leaguer, Fernando Tatis Senior. The White Sox signed the international free agent at the time, when he was only 17 years old. Before he ever played a professional game. Obviously, the scouts saw something in the kid, to ink him at such an early age. Plus he was the son of a former big league player so baseball is in the blood.

The White Sox philosophy before the rebuild was to add middle of the row veterans to mix in with some of the young talent they had already in place. They never went out and landed a big fish on the open market. Most of the times they added players through trades. In 2016, the White Sox were probably in the thick of things for a wild card or close in the division race to call the San Diego Padres to check on Big Game James. James Shields was riding the struggle bus in San Diego as his ERA was ballooning at an all-time high. His record was pathetic. The Padres were paying him big money. The Padres still were able to fleece the White Sox. The White Sox sent the Padres Fenando Tatis Junior and a pitcher named Erik Johnson who is irrelevant. The White Sox land James Shields, a skeleton of his former self. Plus they had to pay him the contract he had. In my opinion, the worst trade in franchise history. Might be the best trade in San Diego history. Stay Classy, San Diego.

Fernado Tatis Junior finally made it to the big leagues in 2019. Just like Eloy Jimenez for the White Sox. Fernado Tatis Jr’s season is over as an injury derailed his rookie season. A rookie season where he is batting .317 with 22 home runs and drove in 53 on 106 hits. At short stop he has been brilliant, making incredible plays night after night for the Padres. You could say he was in the running for the rookie of the year in the National League in the 2019 season. If he did not get the rookie of the year, he would just be a few votes shy behind New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso.

The White Sox have made some nice moves in gathering up lots of talented prospects. In 2019, you can see pieces that are in place in positions all over the diamond. In the back of my head, I still think the White Sox brass is still in place. The same idiots that traded Tatis to the Padres for James Shields, who was untradeable. The White Sox finally were rid of him when his contract ran out. Which was the same time Fernando Tatis took the field in the bigs.

Then you think how the Padres swooped in last minute to land Manny Machado as a free agent. Padres probably knew the White Sox would low-ball Manny and just offered the guaranteed years instead of the White Sox with their incentive-laced contract. The White Sox could have had a line up with Tatis followed by Anderson, followed by Moncardo. Then you have Eloy Jimenez, and Luis Robert who is almost ready and a very dangerous slugger. That would have been five solid position players going into 2020. You wish you could get the Delorean out of the hock shop, go back to the future and stop the White Sox brass, Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn aka Dumb and Dumber, from pulling the trigger on that trade. With all the rest of the talent the White Sox have in the minors, I’m sure we have another Tatis in the mix. Just hope when all the pieces are in place they don’t give up another young piece for a bag of rocks like Shields. I’d rather see the White Sox add veterans through free agency, instead of giving away the next Tatis for a rental player. Keep your farm system strong like the Atlanta Braves.        

THE ROMERO’S DAY AT THE PARK

What would you do if you took your family to a baseball game and got harassed by a fan? Not the kind of harassment because you are wearing a visiting jersey at the home park. One of your own that is rooting for the same team you are, is the one creating problems. His beef is not because of the Texas Rangers hat you’re wearing. His hatred goes deeper. You can say darker because he hates the way you look. Not because you wear a do-rag on your head. Not because your underwear is shown as your pants hang down below your butt. This family looks like your typical baseball fans. Do they not put their pants on one leg at a time? Did they buy their tickets underground? Are beers cheaper for them? This man’s beef is because the Romero family were Hispanic. A Mexican family to be exact. 

The Romero family brought tickets to the Rangers game last minute. Not their usual spot where they like to sit in Globe Life Park, stadium home of the Texas Rangers. The husband, Ramon, likes to get in the seats and first thing take a selfie of him and his family at the ballpark. Here are the words he heard behind him, that he thought had nothing to do with him or his family. “Let me see how I can fuck up their picture.”

A total class act as you can see he has his middle finger extended up, to ruin a nice moment for the Romero family. That was the start of this dark day at the ballpark for the Romero family. This white Ranger fan with an IQ less than a thumb tack, brought the 1950’s back to the ballpark. He was  not shy about how he complained about all the Hispanics sitting around him. How they were all illegal immigrants. Of course President Donald Trump was mentioned, how he should get the wall up on the border faster. I was not at the scene, but I sense in a way it was like a typical day for legendary Jackie Robinson as the first black person to play in the MLB.

The wife, Jessica Romero, wrote in her facebook more highlights that were not on the field. How a little boy accidentally kicked this man’s chair and set him off even more. He referred to him as little Speedy Gonzalez. How he should go back to Mexico for this atrocity. After five innings, it was enough for the Romero family as they left their seats to get away from the Texas redneck with hatred and venom flowing in his body. As a day at the ballpark is ruined, not from the outcome on the field, but in the stands.

Texas is a whole new country they say. Many people have told me about their visits to Texas. How the people in the lone star state were very nice. How the show Friday Night lights portrayed the state as little towns that like their high school football. Could this be just one ignorant person at a baseball stadium expressing his own hatred at his own frustrating life? In El Paso, Texas, Patrick Cousins went Mexican hunting at the local Walmart. Twenty two dead and many injured, many being latinos. Could Texas be a melting pot ready to explode even more?

When I went to my first baseball game as a kid in the early 1980s, at the old Comisky Park, it was magical. My father and I watching a sport we loved together. The bond and the memories forever. Night games will bring out some interesting new swear words as beers are flowing. Directed at the game or the opponent. Think about the Romero’s kid remembering this game. This game where one arse drove his family out of his seats. I remember a 11-0 White Sox shut out of the Angels. I give Ramon credit for walking away. You wonder where were the ushers, the security. Violence does not solve things. However for attacks against your family, this gringo should be stuffed in a barrel and thrown in the lake where he belongs with all the pond scum. The Romero family will get the royal treatment by the Texas Rangers with their story out there. They have a lot of support from the community and beyond. Hope the Texas Rangers and the rest of baseball can create their games as a safe haven for all the communities. A place to go and get away from the everyday worries a family has. My final thought is why does this redneck root for the Texas Rangers? Last time I checked, their whole roster is mixed with all kind of Hispanics. The Rangers are not all white with sheets over their heads.                

THE TRADE DEADLINE AROUND THE LEAGUE

MLB changed the rules this year when it comes to getting players after the July 31st trade deadline. Usually during August and into September, teams could make trades through waivers. You still can. However any player you get will not be able to join your post-season roster. This year’s trade deadline was very quiet. We go through the league and see which teams did well with adding significant pieces to their roster for the playoff run. See which teams improved for their future. See which teams were slashing their prices and everything must go. 

Plenty of teams did nothing. Plenty of teams did nothing and perhaps should have done something.

THE WORST

BOSTON RED SOX: They did absolutely nothing. Yes, they won it last year. They most likely will not even get a wild card to defend their title. Chris Sale does look like an ACE. Looks like he’d not playing with a full deck these days. Maybe he needs a hobby to calm himself. Like knitting or cutting up jerseys. The Red Sox manager does not even know the rules of the game, as the Rays baffled him.

NEW YORK YANKEES: The Evil Empire does not believe great pitching beats great hitting. The Empire has assembled “Murderer’s Row II: The Revenge of Bernie” from his weekend. However that starting pitching is deep in the playoffs. 

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ST.LOUIS CARDINALS:  The red birds find themselves in first in the NL Central. They are only a game up on the Cubs. They are a few games ahead of the Brewers. You are telling me the Cardinals had nothing to improve on their roster. To stand pat. No needs for some more arms. No need for another bat. NOT BUYING WHAT THEY ARE SELLING!!!! 

MILWAUKEE BREWERS: Brewers pitching is in shambles right now. They added reliever Jacob Faria from the Rays. They added again Jordan Lyles from the Pirates who could start or be bullpen help. This team needed a bonafide starter and they did not get one. Are Lenny and Squiggy running operations in Brew town? 

LA DODGERS: Dodgers did nothing at the trade deadline. They have the best record in the majors. You would have thought they would do some shopping for the bullpen. Every year they make significant moves at the deadline. Maybe they are going to be George Costanza and do the opposite, which landed him the job with the Yankees. Will the Dodgers be a show about nothing in the World Series?

I could put down many teams that are in rebuilds that did not do much. But, who wants to talk about Baltimore and others?

THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD

CHICAGO CUBS: Getting rid of Carl Edwards Jr. should have been business a very long time ago. Hearing Hippie Joe Maddon explain why he continued to bring in Edwards late in games, in between his hits from the bongs to get the right words to explain his mind set. Cubs could not be splashy because their farm system is drained. They added some low key bats in Tony Kemp and Nicholas Castellanos. The reliever they did add was from the Blue Jays in David Phelps. The Cubs were busy. But they did not improve their bull pen. Not sure these moves will address their road issues. We do know the Brewers and the Cardinals did nothing. Will that be the red carpet to the playoffs? A carpet of dead Cardinals soaked in beer from teams that helped the Cubs move past them from not being able to pull the trigger.

CINCINNATI REDS: Reds went crazy in off-season with some huge additions this. The team showed no fight in the first half of the season. Except versus the Pirates. I like how they traded Tanner Roark to the Athletics to get something for him after he was one of the guys they traded for in the off-season. This team is too screwy. Like they are in “no man’s land.” Should they rebuild or improve the roster? They traded away Scooter Gennett to the Giants. Another team in the same situation. That’s a guy I would have kept. I do like getting rid of the bat licker, Yasiel Puig. They pick up Trevor Bauer from the Indians. This gives the Reds an Ace Ventura of their staff, which they have not had in some time now. Puig will be a free agent next season. Can Trevor Bauer save the Reds team in 24 hours? No, but they do have control over him for next season and I believe a year after that. 

TAMPA BAY RAYS: I would have loved to see the Rays pull out something huge at the deadline.Like they don’t have enough pitching at the factory to trade and get a slugger? 

They did a sneaky, low under the radar, move and got Jesus Aguilar from the Brewers. If the Rays can harvest any of his magic from last season, this might be a good move. Right now Agilar is riding the struggle bus and can’t get off because the bus cannot go under 50 MPH.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS: They snagged a pitcher from the Reds in Tanner Roark. Oakland never makes the big splash at the trade deadline. Moneyball you have to think. This move will get them a wild card you watch.

MINNESOTA TWINS: Twins were walking on sunshine most of the first half. Not a worry around them. The team was winning lots of games. The team is mashing the ball out of the park. They had a commanding lead on the Central. Then you feel the Tribe breathing down your neck. Smell some type of pierogi soup from Great Lake Brewing which is very tasty. Yes, Cleveland Rocks and wants their division back. Twins respond in improving the pen with the additions of Sergio Romo and Sam Dyson. Will that be enough? They should have went after a starter as well.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS: The Nasty Nats have been a very hot team. They went after arms in the bullpen at the deadline. They scooped up Daniel Hudson, Hunter Strickland and Roenis Ellis. Can you imagine if the Nationals get one of those wild cards, especially with the Phillies falling apart with injuries? National fans would like to take something away from Bryce Harper.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: Phillies added a nice bat in Corey Dickerson from the Pirates.They also added a soft tossing left handed pitcher who goes by Vargas. Jason Vargas. VARGAS, I picture Jerry Seinfeld saying.  “HELLO NEWMAN.”

The Phillie faithful have to be cringing while they say “VARGUS.” Really that is the answer. 

NEW YORK METS: Seems like the whole division is fighting for something except the pathetic Marlins. Mets have been another team from this division that has been hot. They went out and added another starter. One of the best starters available in Marcus Stroman. You think you get traded at the deadline, you’d be helping a team that will make it to the playoffs. Mets stood pat and did not trade others like most experts thought. You have to like the Mets starting five. Is this move enough to overcome the bad start? Or will Marcus Stroman be home for Halloween?

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: It was supposed to be a fire sale in San Francisco. Giants started winning. But they still traded away one of their big bullpen arms and his contract to the Braves in Mark Melancon. Then they get Scooter Gennett from the Reds. Giants are playing the Hokey Pokey, putting one foot in taking it out and shaking it all around. Perhaps they do grab a wild card in Bruce Bochey’s last season coaching, that will make a great story. Seeing Madison Bumgarner pitch in the playoffs would be very exciting.

THE BEST

ATLANTA BRAVES: Before the deadline, love the Braves for signing Dallas Keuchel who was still available. Braves added lots of arms to the bullpen:  Mark Melancan, Shane Greene, and Chris Martin. Braves look like a scary team before adding these arms.

HOUSTON ASTROS: Astros seem to always make the biggest splash of them all. They land Zack Grienke from the Diamondbacks. Now your starting three in the playoffs are Justin Verlnader, Gerritt Cole and Zack Greinke.Would they still have to make a starting pitching move if they held on to Charlie Morton and Dallas Keuchel? Seems like the Astros never run out of trading chips. They must grow a half acre of prospects more than any other team to land big pitchers at the trading deadline or off-season.

CLEVELAND INDIANS: The off-season, the Indians looked like they were checking out for the 2019 season. They were trading away their sluggers. They were telling their fans to enjoy the young guys while you still have a chance. The Indians should have won the World Series in 2016. Beaten by the Cubs to break the curse, means your team is cursed. The team has made the playoffs every year since. Rumors had it they were going to trade away big pitching names. They did end up trading one of them in Trevor Bauer. This trade nets them the thunder they lost in the off season as they get Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes. Indians have been rolling and caught back up to the Minnesota Twins, to get back in the thick of things.The Tribe has plenty of pitching even without disgruntled Bauer. The Indians still have  Corey Kluber from the injured list. Adding Puig and Reyes who both have already twenty something homers hit this season, you have added big time power. The line up looks like another murderer’s row, beware Yankees Indians also have pitching.       

PIRATES AND WHITE SOX QUIET AT THE TRADE DEADLINE

Many people thought both the Chicago White Sox and the Pittsburgh Pirates should have been way more active at the trading deadline. Both teams have many assets that contenders could have used to improve the depth of their roster, trying to make a post season run. Both the White Sox and the Pirates were in the thick of things right before the all-star break. Then the second half of the season, both teams have been in a terrible tail spin. Like in the movie Blackhawk Down, the helicopters spinning out of control as both these teams’ seasons in 2019 have come to a crash landing. The year will be another burning wreackage to chalk up again at the drawing board.

THE PIRATES   

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The Pirates got rid of two players whose contract runs out at the end of this year. They traded pitcher Jordan Lyles to the Milwaukee Brewers. This is the second straight year the Brewers have inquired Jordan Lyles. Pirates picked up Lyles as a free agent in the dollar bin at Target during the off season. Jordan Lyles pitched well in the beginning of the season as a starter for the Pirates. Then he was riding the struggle bus as his ERA ballooned and losses piled up. The Pirates get a double A pitcher in return, Cody Ponce from the Brewers. I like this trade because you got something in return for picking a guy out of the dollar bin. Cody Ponce may not work out. But if he does, that would be huge. If he does not, no loss.

The second trade they sent Cory Dickerson to the Philadelphia Phillies for that famous player to be named later. Plus the Pirates will get some international pool money to be banked for rainy day shopping for some foreign players. Overall I’m not sure what the Pirates are planning for next year. This was a team that needed some pieces in the off season. They hardly did anything. A guy like Cody Dickerson who can swing the bat might be better to keep on your roster if your plans have you going into next year with pretty much the same roster. Even though Cody Dickerson was hurt this year, which many Pirates were. You think you would resign a left handed hitter who has been batting in the 300’s since you got him from the Rays. 

THE WHITE SOX

I’m surprised the White Sox found someone to take reliever Nate Jones. Nate Jones is on the 60 day injured list which is usually the norm for him, who has had multiple injuries his whole career. The Texas Rangers get Nate Jones with one million dollars in international bonus pool money. I guess if someone gave me a lotto ticket like that, I would let Nate Jones live in my pool house. Rangers also get cash considerations from the 33 year old pitcher. White Sox receive two lower level minor league pitchers for the injured prone pitcher. Ray Castro, 22 years old. Joseph Jarneski who is only 19. It’s Chicago and we love last names that end in the ski’s. Let’s introduce him to Pierogi fest.

This experiment with Nate Jones has gone on too long. He has been on the south side for eight seasons and has only been healthy for three of them. His career numbers were pretty good, that’s why they gave Nate so many chances. His record was 22-13 in 284 relief appearances with 3.12 ERA in the American League with nine saves. Nate was a flame thrower right-handed pitcher who had glimpses like a lights out back of the bull pen kind of guy. In 2014, Tommy John surgery. After that the list goes on and on.   

Looks to me with both teams pretty much standing pat, they will go into 2020 with the roster they have and you imagine adding on other pieces. Both teams had other guys they could have easily traded. The offers were probably not to the teams’ liking. White Sox, I expect the rebuild will be to the next level in contending next season. They will add some free agents. They will bring up more of their young talent such as Luis Robert. They will also get their young starters back from season ending injuries. This is a good deal because it was time to move on. Perhaps a change in scenery for Nate Jones might be what the doctor ordered.

The Pirates you hope have a plan of some kind. This year both the White Sox and especially the Pirates have faced a rash of injuries. Healthy, the Pirates probably would have hovered around a little longer in the Central before sinking completely like they have. Pirates still could have used some free agents to fill their holes they had coming into the season. They still will have the same questions and same work to do this off season. If they are not going to help their own roster they have now, they should have went in a rebuild mode at the trade deadline.     

THE BUCKO REVIEW

The roller coaster ride continues in Steel Town. The Pirates looked like they were abandoning ship as they went on a very long losing streak. Injuries kept piling up for the Pirates as they were running out of wooden peg-legs and hooks. They have placed over 25 players on the injured list. The starting pitching took a huge hit. With multiple losing streaks of 7 and 8 games, somehow this team patched up its ship and crept back into the thick of things. At the all-star break, they were only 2 ½ games out of the jumbled up Central.

The starting pitching was coming back slowly. Josh Bell was still carrying the team on offense launching home runs, 27 to be exact in the first half. He also leads the majors in doubles and RBI’S at the halfway point of the season, which is technically not exactly half way through the season.

Bryan Reynolds has been quite a surprise. The 24-year-old outfielder was called up to fill in with all the injuries. He’s hitting in the 300’s with 7 long balls in 67 games. He came from the Andrew McCutchen trade with the Giants. Originally, he would have been a September call up, but he arrived earlier and looks to be not wanting to go back to the farm team.

The second half of the season held another losing streak. The Pirates have fallen ten games under the 500 mark with a 46-56 record coming in with the trade deadline on the horizon. It will appear they will be sellers if they can find someone not injured to trade. Reliever Keone Kela is the big name on the block. Corey Dickerson who is going to be a free agent after this season will probably be walking the plank since Reynolds looks like the permanent staple in the Pittsburgh outfield.

The Pirates in my crystal ball, which has been broken for most of the season, will start playing better after the trade deadline. They are so streaky they make some kind of run during the dog days of summer. They will suck you back on the couch watching their games. Then they will self-implode and sink in one of the three rivers out there in Pittsburgh. Then the attention will go on Big Ben and the Steelers. Which it probably has already.  

SHOULD THE WHITE SOX TRADE OFF THEIR VETERAN ASSETS AT THE DEADLINE?

At the end of the first half, beating the Cubs, the second half looked promising to the Chicago White Sox. They even had three all-star representatives. The White Sox found themselves only two games under 500. Which has been a mountain all year the team has climbed. They sometimes will be one foot away from the top of the mountain, only to slide down it quickly like in the board game of Chutes and Ladders. Sometimes this season they actually made it to the top, breathed in the fresh air, to only lose footing and fall back under the 500 mark with a tumble fashion. In the second half, they opened up losing the first six games they played on the road to find themselves in a hole they might not be able to get out. You could say the 2019 season RIP and wave the white flag. You could just be playing to have a better record than last season so you feel the rebuild is in the next stage. Should the White Sox trade some of their assets that are not part of the future? Or could some of these guys be a part of that future team when the rebuild is over?

The White Sox have some players other teams could use. Like the closer, Alex Colome, who has pitched lights out most of the season closing the door in the ninth. Then you have James McCann who you picked up cheap. No one thought he would put up the numbers he did this season. No one would bet he be in the all-star game. Then you have the first baseman, Jose Abreu, another all-star representative. He’s been the franchise’s best player since he signed with the team. He is in his last year of his contract. All three of these guys could net you some prospects. Some more fish to add to your crowded lake of prospects you already have. If you kept all three of these guys and have them in your future plans, wouldn’t your rebuild get to the final hurdle quicker?

You can say closers such as Alex Colome are streaky each year. This year he is pitching great, next season he might not be the same. So trading him while he is at top of his game can net you something good. Every team is looking for bullpen help. However If you trade him at the deadline, then you will be back to the drawing board looking again to add another closer in the off-season. Keeping Colome makes more sense to me than trading him. He is under control for the next few seasons. Plus his track record shows no injuries. Moreover, his track record shows he’s pretty steady and could anchor that bullpen for years to come. The biggest thing you have is a young pitching staff. To hold up their great performances and getting them the win late in the game when they exit, is better for their confidence than some reliever blowing the game in the ninth. Why add another closer to the to do list?

Wellington Castillo behind the plate is hot garbage. He seems like he needs his ‘roids, p-e-d’s or Flintstone vitamins as Sammy Sosa would call them, to be effective. The team brought up young Zack Collins and he started off with a big bang theory, a home run. After that… nothing. He was sent down. Saying all that, James McCann, the White Sox should keep. He is only 28 years old. Looks like he has found his stroke with the bat. You have to get excited about the way he calls a game. Lucas Giolito is striving this season, partly because of McCann behind the plate. The way he plays defense. The way he frames the pitches and gets the pitcher a few extra strike outs per game. He has a quality arm to prevent any kind of running game on the bases. Back to his offense, he drives in big runs with big hits in crucial situations.

Finally, this leaves me with Jose Abreu. This guy has been a first class type of guy since he signed from Cuba. He is the team’s best hitter. His numbers have been consistent since he came to the MLB. You could say one season his numbers dipped. His bat gives this team lots of production. Especially this season as he made the all-star game once again. Infield, I will not complain about his defense. I like his throw from first base to second base to get the double play in order. Most important he is very good with the young guys such as Eloy Jimenez and Yoan Moncada, two of your future pieces that are doing very well. You have to credit their development from Jose Abreu. Plus, he wants to stay in Chicago.

To the White Sox brass, it’s time to stay intact. You do not have to trade these three guys. We know they will not trade their young pieces such as Eloy and Yoan. I’d rather the White Sox find a deal where they could get a young guy, kind of established in the league, but not quite there yet. Like a pitcher Don Cooper could fix. Small deals out of the radar from the league. Deals that could pay off when this sucker gets into high gear. Wellington Castillo you might be able to get a bucket of balls for. Patience is a virtue as the young prospects will grow. Having the veteran presence there now is the key to this thing. Because you know they add veterans all the time when the young guys come together and get good. Does not hurt to have some as the rebuild continues to climb the mountain and eventually stay on top.  

CRASH DECKER THE BULL DURHAM SEQUEL

Cody Decker’s walk off home run earlier this month goes down as a Hollywood story already done. Cody Decker’s home run won the game for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ triple AAA team called the Reno Aces. It was also Cody Decker’s walk off of his baseball career. The same way Crash Davis, in the movie Bull Durham, went out. Exactly the same way for both of them, last at-bat home run was a record setting home run in the minor leagues. It was the quietest home run hit throughout baseball. Neither will be hated like Barry Bonds, the current home run leader in the MLB. They will not be loved like the man who had the record doing it the right way, Hank Aaron. Cody Decker’s, the record for the most home runs hit in the minors, will just be a small foot note at the bottom of the sports page.      

In the movie Bull Durham, Kevin Costner stars as one of the most exciting characters in Hollywood baseball movies. Yes, Field of Dreams is remarkable. Crash Davis in Bull Durham is even better than “if you build, they will come.” Crash Davis is pretty much a lifetime veteran minor league baseball catcher who had played some games in the major leagues. The plot has him bouncing around team to team trying to get back to the big show, as he calls it. He was only signed by the Durham team who had hopes he could help a young pitcher get to the majors. Eventually he helps that pitcher get to the majors. He then finds himself cut from the team so he finds another team.  Playing for them, he sets the record for most home runs hit in the minors on the big screen.

Cody Decker was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2009. He did make it to the big leagues in 2015, for a brief cup of coffee. Cody played first base and after going 0-11 with one RBI he was sent back to the minors. Most players seem like they go through the Bermuda Triangle as they are never heard from again when that happens. They hang up the spikes after a few more seasons knowing they will not get back. Cody Decker never did make it back to the bigs. But he kept on truckin’ as he played for 13 different professional teams. He bounced around in 6 different MLB organizations. He played in the Kansas City, Boston, New York Mets and Colorado Rockies affiliates. Obviously drafted by San Diego and hit the home run in Arizona affiliate team when he walked off into the Minor League sunset.

Earlier this month, Cody Parker hit his 206th home run at 32 years of age. He walks off into the sunset as the active leader in home runs in the minors which took him 1,033 games to do. That’s 11 seasons batting .260 and driving 645 runs. He had his eight games in the big leagues that might have only lasted a few weeks. Did Cody have some tales of ecstasy from some minor league groupie like a Susan Sarandon type? A marathon of sex to fix your baseball swing. He may not have those stories like Crash Davis in the movie. Cody Decker is married and he has already has a plan for after baseball, with his wife Jennifer Sterger. Maybe she is the Susan Sarandon of this story as the two of them will be hosting a national radio show. It’s for a non profit organization in El Paso, Texas. Maybe this Bull Durham remake is rated PG. As we know, Crash Davis came back, and you know had some more rolls in the hay. Perhaps in-between his new position, coaching baseball after his playing days came to an end.The sequel is always worse than the original.

YANKEES DEATH STAR ALMOST FULLY OPERATIONAL

In spring training, Yankees GM said they are not operating with a fully loaded death star. Yankees just landed the American League home run leader, Edwin Encarnacion, from the Mariners. The Yankees death star now has to feel very close to fully operational with this latest move. Mariners have been in rebuild from the start of the season.They landed Edwin Encarnacion in  a deal with the Indians who have been half in half out with their 2019 season. Mariners took Encarnacion for the reasons to flip him during the regular season. They flipped for a 19 year old prospect. The 27th overall prospect from the grapevine, the MLB pipeline. Juan, then a young right handed arm, could be a future piece of the Mariners starting rotation for years to come. While the Yankees have created another Murders Row with a line stacked one through nine with no easy batters to face.

This season Edwin Encarnacion is hitting only .241 with 21 home runs tallied in 65 games. The Indians brought in Edwin Encarnacion hoping he was the missing piece to get the tribe back to the World Series. Before the Indians he was part of those Blue Jays teams from 2009-2016 that made the playoffs. It was a team filled with sluggers as Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bastista made their line up scary as both of them could really mash the baseball. Encarnacion has over 400 home runs in his career at 36 years old and has a few more years where he most likely will hit over 500 long balls.

The Yankees just activated Aaron Judge from the injury list. They have Giancarlo Stanton on rehab assignment with their triple A team in which he could be back soon. Then you add Encarnacion with all the young prospects they have on the diamond this team and line up will be hard to deal with if you’re pitching against them. The Yankees have such a log jam of talent they had to send Clint Frazier down to the farm. Not for his play as he has 11 home runs this season. With this deal the Yankees are putting the finishing touches on their death star.

People will say the Yankees could use more pitching than offense. The trade deadline is a month away and they could still add some pieces to their pitching staff. The current pitching staff right now is pretty good. One or two more arms can give you that fully loaded operational death star that can blow away the competition one ball park at a time. Clint Frazier I imagine will be trade bait. He might net you a good arm for the bullpen. It just got scarier thinking what else the Bronx bombers could add to this team now, that easily should get deep in the playoffs.

When suddenly your town has an Eclipse you may not want to look at the sky. The death star will be blocking the view as they have their weapons of mass destruction pointed on your city and ballpark. Houston you have a problem. In Minnesota the Twins will send a pair to Noah’s ark to survive the Yankee clipper. Can Chris Sale of the Red Sox be the savior, the Jedi knight to save the galaxy? Or will Sale not like what he’s wearing and be too busy ripping up his clothes to defend Fenway Park? At least the Rays have another city to go to in Montreal.  Yankees might be turning your ball park into a gaping hole across the league unless someone can deliver a plan to stop it.   

ELOY COULD BE THE NEW EL CABALLO ON THE SOUTH SIDE

It’s been a few years that the White Sox and Cubs rivalry has not meant much, like it did in the past. It could be due to the White Sox in the middle of the rebuild. While the Cubs have won the World Series in 2016. They have made it to the playoffs since then, and before they beat the goat curse. The civil war in Chicago used to be something you looked forward to as a baseball fan. Many years before either team won the World Series, the “Crosstown Classic” was the series in Chicago. This was a way to have bragging rights obviously throughout the city. However some years, whoever took the season series seemed to always put the other team in a tail spin for the season.

This year the White Sox rebuild has progressed in many ways. Some of the talent is on the field. Most of the talent is still being developed. The team overall is looking to make that next step and get over the 500 mark. Perhaps get a winning record. The team gets to the 500 mark and can’t get over the hump. It’s like watching that classic Vietnam movie, Hamburger Hill, where the soldiers have to get over the hill to win the battle. It’s a dog fight, but the White Sox have been in plenty of them this year. They are ready to play to the next level of compettition. So bring on the Cubs. They spanked the Yankees and won the season series against a really good opponent there.

Could they beat the Cubs? Who will be the new players like a Frank Thomas, a Robin Ventura and Paul Konerko? Guys that gave the Cubs problems over the years. Perhaps the White Sox faithful would love to see a player rise up and be the ultimate Cubs killer. El Caballo, Carlos Lee, had a marvelous career in and out of the White Sox uniform. He’s last remembered for bring Scott Podsednik to the South Side when they traded Carlos to the Brewers. That was a key trade for the Sox and that 2005 championship team. Thank you El Caballo for that and all the years he took it to the Cubs.

Carlos Lee was the next Mike Schmidt, who played with the Phillies for decades. Both of these players wrecked havoc versus the lovable losers at the time, the Chicago Cubs. I remember when Carlos Lee hit a walk off grand slam versus the Cubs in the Crosstown Classic years ago which was one of my favorite all-time White Sox memories. Carlos Lee hit 39 of his 358 career home runs versus the Cubs. He drove in 109 runs and batted close to .300. If he played like that against the rest of the league, Carlos Lee would be a hall of famer on his ranch, somewhere on the outskirts of Houston, I believe.

On Tuesday night, Eloy Jimenez hit the game winning home run versus the Cubs at Wrigley. The game was tied, the White Sox had a player on base, it was the ninth inning and the Eloy home run which broke his bat put the Sox up 3-1. That was the game winner. Eloy Jimenez, who was drafted by the Cubs. Eloy Jimenez, who was the Cubs number one prospect for years before they traded him for a starting pitcher, Jose Quintana, who pitched for the White Sox.

Perhaps this is the Marvel superhero story like the Punisher. Instead of the Punisher with a skull on his shirt, it’s Eloy with a black shirt and white lettering that says Sox. His revenge to punish the Chicago Cubs for trading him, which in baseball or any sport, players want retribution for what their former team did. Could this motivation become a weapon of mass destruction versus his old team for years to come? Could Eloy be the next Carlos Lee and be the guy that put the shank in each Cubs back for years to come. Punishing them and the baseball as he mashes it more than 39 times like Carlos Lee. Cub Fans are thinking this in the back burner in their minds. White Sox fans are out for blood. To make the Cubs south side road kill once again. For now Cubs fans can watch their team on top of the National League Central. Deep down they know what is materializing on the Southside. Deep down Eloy will haunt the Cubs Faithful. Like Freddy Krueger and it will be a nightmare all over again on Clark and Addison. Carlos Lee’s ghost now is running through Eloy Jimenez, the new El Caballo. Cub Fans be aware.

ANGELS MAKING HISTORY AT THE TROP

  If a record is set at the Tropicana, home of the Devil Rays, does it make a sound ? I owe ten dollars to swear jar for saying Devil Rays. If the Tampa Bay Rays ever move out of the Trop and get a new stadium atleast the Angels have made history, in the worst ballpark in baseball. On Thursday night two Angels made history against the Rays and it was not Mike Trout.

First Albert Pujols, former Cardinal who is still playing out his very long contract, probably into his 50’s. His home run he hit on Thursday night joined a small list of players in baseball history. He becomes the sixth player to hit 200 home runs with two different teams. Well worth the money the Angels spent on this guy. No world series trophies, but tee shirt sales could be on the rise.

Then the record that will overshadow Albert is what the young 24 year Japanese phenom did in the DH slot. Shohei Ortani in his second year with the Angels a two way player who can pitch and bat in which he is pretty good at both. His pitching led to Tommy John surgery. Which resulted his 2019 season was delayed from his recovery. Looks like the Angels will only play him in the DH slot while his arm recovers. No pitching is planned for the 2019 season.

On Thursday Shohei Orthani hit for the cycle which is one of hardest things to do in one game. It’s been done to death most will say. In baseball history that goes back a very long time, new records can come out on any given day or night at the ole ballpark. Thursday night versus the Rays at the Trop of all places. Shohei Ohtani becomes the first Japanese born player to accomplish hitting for the cycle. Last time an Angel player hit for cycle was you know it, Mike Trout in 2013. Chone Figgens last Angel on the road to hit for the cycle, back in 2006. Meanwhile Ohtani has 8 home runs for the season in 31 games. Im sure Trout and Ohtani will have many more records for the Angels together as teammates. Albert Pujols will also rack up a few more records, when he finishes out his life term in the Angels system.           

THE BUCKO REVIEW

The June swoon is happening in Pittsburgh as the Pirates 2019 season is slowly sinking. The first two months of the season, the Pirates’ starting pitching has kept this team threading water. The front office, with their bandaid job in the off season, was hoping this team would stay afloat. Water has quickly broken through and cheapness is reflecting off the terrible owner’s face in Pittsburgh. A team that needed some pieces to keep up with the rest of the National League Central. It was a team that showed you some flashes of great baseball last season. But they needed to fill in the holes and create some depth on the roster. As you can see, the dollar bin way of things has failed.  

The biggest key to the Pirates belly flop has been injuries. The wheels on the bus have come off, losing their key to their success in starting pitching. Jameson Tailon and Trevor Williams, two anchors of the staff, landing on the DL. Then Jordan Lyles, who has done well, has found his way on the DL. Suddenly your ACE is not Ventura-like, as Chris Archer is getting roughed up. Pirates now have the fourth worst ERA in baseball. The Bullpen has the third highest ERA in baseball. Injuries have gutted this team as they have had 12 pitchers this season already on the DL. The Pirates have 23 appearances on the DL report which has to be the highest in MLB this season.

The offense has not been great either. Many of the position players have been the walking wounded. Gregory Polanco has finally made it back from dealing with his own injuries and is still trying to find his swing. Jung Ho Kang has been horrible. It took Starling Marte a long time to get his swing back in the right form. Too many injuries have this team in the bottom of the league in runs scored. Guys like Dickerson and Frazier help set the table for the middle of the order, but they have been sidelined with injuries.

In terrible seasons, you usually do have a few players that have a great seasons. The few bright spots to inspire one to go out to watch this team play.

Josh Bell has already belted out 19 home runs and has driven in 61 in 2019. He is batting .325 for the year as well.

Pirates find themselves in last place in the Central at 30-38.They have lost seven straight. They are only 2-8 in their last ten contests. If this keeps up, the Pirates will be selling off more pieces by the trade deadline. The way the owner runs this team, it is a shame because this team could have been in the thick of things, if they would have opened their wallets. They could have improved the depth of this team and filled in their holes without doing it on the fly and the cheap. Can you build around a few of these guys like Chris Archer and a Josh Bell? Or do the Pirates need to go in full rebuild, tear everything down and start from scratch. Last time they did that, it took this organization a very long time to build something good. Can you trust they can do a good job? Maybe the team will have a sudden resurgence when they get a few of their pitchers back in the next few weeks, to get things back on track. Don’t hold your breath because the 2019 season was doomed from the start.

PAIR OF FREE AGENTS FINALLY SIGN

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Two quality free agent arms finally found homes this week. Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel stayed on the free agent market all winter and into the 2019 season. Two guys that wanted a big deal to get done. Two guys that wanted years and the big money added to their future nest eggs. The deals both of them were offered over the winter, must have been small potatoes. The amount of money they signed for in June with their new teams, is obviously not what they wanted either. With the draft compensation not attached to either player from their original team, it was all about money now to get one of these players. Neither the Chicago Cubs or the Atlanta Braves will have to give up one of their own draft picks because that expired, since a few months of regular season has gone by.

The Atlanta Braves find themselves only two games out of first place. Clinging on to the Phillies’ back like one of those pilot fish that attach themselves to sharks. With a younger pitching staff with some talent, a much needed veteran starter like Dallas Keuchel makes sense. In parts of the seasons, every team falls on hard times. A veteran like Dallas Keuchel can teach the young arms how to avoid bad pitching outings for longer periods of time. To refocus on what has been working. It also brings a talented piece to your rotation right now. A guy that can win big games. Former Cy Young winner. The Braves were a playoff team last season, and this gives them one spot in the series. This is the guy that pitches a few of those big games. He can pitch over 200 innings a year, that allows your bullpen not to be overused. It’s only a one year deal so this is not a risky move, which has a higher ceiling of working well rather than not working at all.

The Chicago Cubs desperately needed a closer and the signing of Craig Kimbrel is a big move. This move just cost money which the Cubs cry poor, but they are printing money in Wrigley. They do not have to get rid of any of their prospects whereas other deals have emptied out their farm system in other deals over the years. The Cubs are in a dog fight with the Brewers for the Central. This move keeps the Brewers from getting Kimbrel, who was kicking the tires on the spread eagle pitcher wind up. Most importantly, this gives the Cubs somebody in the back of the rotation to close the door in the ninth inning. All year, the Cubs bullpen has ridden the struggle bus with a rotating door of arms trying to win close games, but falling short. In 2016 the Cubs had Aroidis Chapman, a one year rental, who they used to get through the second half of the season and playoffs. Finally through the World Series. This time around they have Craig Kimbrel for three years at 42 million dollars.

Both moves by both teams in this situation are very good. You have two pitchers with chips on their shoulders. Two big arms that did not get a deal in the off season that they expected. They are not getting chump change this year. You could say in the baseball world this is chump change in their pockets. Dallas Keuchel can showcase his talents this season because he is going right back out on the free agent market when the season ends. Will he put up better numbers than his record at 12-11 and 3.74 ERA? The Yankees were seeking Keuchel’s talents and it is good to see they struck out. Remember when the Yankees could get whoever they wanted at any time? I like Dallas Keuchel going to the National League too. He should put up better numbers not having to pitch to the American league DH.

Craig Kimbrel might even have a bigger chip on his shoulder than Dallas Keuchel. You help the Boston Red Sox win the World Series. During the World Series, the Red Sox had Chris Sale close out a game. Then your former team, the Red Sox, probably never even called you in the off season. Like waiting for that girl to call you after the one date you thought went so well. Craig Kimbrel had 42 saves last year in the American League. He had a low 2.74 era to go along with that. Those are pretty good numbers and  nothing to sneeze at. I can see Craig Kimbrel using what happened in Boston and looking to prove, to them and himself, that he is one of the best closers in the game.  Walk on water Cubs President of operations, Theo Epstein, has moves like this usually work well.  In the next few weeks we will see how these moves pan out. We probably will see more free agents not get the money they expect. Will this be better for the game of baseball? It probably will not lower the price of a beer at the stadium. However more players may sign longer extensions that could keep your team intact longer.                                                      

BILL BUCKNER DEFINITELY HAS THE MOST CONTACTS 

The MLB lost one of its greats this week in Bill Buckner, at the age of 69. If you looked up “baseball player” in the dictionary, it would  show his picture. A first baseman left handed hitter who was a pure contact hitter and hardly ever struck out. You can’t say that in today’s game of baseball. Bill Buckner died from his battle with dementia and was taken from earth way too soon. He played 22 years in the majors as he came out to play every game no matter what. He showed, in his career, grit and determination playing through aches and pain. He was career .289 hitter with over 2715 hits in the majors. His legacy will always be remembered for the ball that went through his legs in the 1986 World Series.

It was the Mets versus the Red Sox in the World Series that year. Red Sox needed one more win to beat the great curse of the Bambino set back in 1918. It was an October night with Bill Buckner playing first base for the Red Sox, on road at New York’s Shea Stadium. Mookie Wilson came up to bat and hit a slowly rolled ground ball. Billy Buckner just made a mistake on it, it went through his legs and scored the winning run. Mets took game six. The Mets eventually took game seven. It was the play of Bill Buckner that actually helped the Red Sox get that far in the first place. The man was harrassed by fans and the media. For years later, Bill Buckner had to be constantly reminded about that one stinking ground ball. The play that people marked his legacy by. The sad way in life, how people can be so cruel. All the threats and jokes just because of a mistake in a game. 

Bill Buckner I saw close up, as he was hitting coach for the team I rooted for in the White Sox in the late 1990s. As a kid I saw Bill Buckner play for the Chicago Cubs in the early 1980’s. He was the batting champion in 1980, the year he made his only all-star appearance. Over the years the Cubs had some pretty good first basemen. They won the World Series with Anthony Rizzo who still plays for the Cubs presently. You could say he was not playing with a full deck of cards, calling out pitchers who throw to him. Gets riled up like a wrestler as he’s about to be interviewed by Mean Jean. Then you had Rafael Palmeiro who wagged his finger to Congress and denied his steroid use. Later he was busted with a positive steroid test. Then Leon Durham, another firstbasemen, the ball found its way through his legs in game less importance than Bill Buckners play. He loved sniffing the candy. Then Mark Grace who finally won in Arizona. He had a great career in Chicago, but always has parting shots about the Cubs organization. He racked up some DUI’s that cost him a job in broadcasting. So you can say Bill Buckner was, from the 1980’s on, probably one of the best firstbasemen the Cubs had. At least the one with the most common sense.

If you look at Bill Buckner’s numbers they are quite impressive. His numbers in certain categories are better than players enshrined in Cooperstown. With the career .289 batting average and 2715 hits he drove in 1208. He scored over a thousand runs. In 1980, the year he won the batting champion as he only struck out 18 times in 615 plate appearances. He never struck out more than twice in any game he played throughout his career. From 1977 to 1982 he only averaged 21 strikeouts in a season of 162 games. That is a lot of contact. In his whole career he never struck out more than 39 times in a season. Good things happen when you make contact. The Kansas City Royals won it a few years ago because they had a team of Bill Buckners, always putting the ball in play. These days most of the the player’s offense is the home run or they will strike out. The numbers of strikeouts are on the rise each year. The stat to me that I was very impressed by regarding Bill Buckner and his hitting clinic was in the 1970’s and 1980s. He had the second most hits in both of those decades. The king of hits, Pete Rose, was number one in those two decades.

Finally in 2004, the Red Sox nation finally forgave Bill Buckner since they broke the curse of the great bambino. They beat the Cardinals that season. Then won again in 2008. Bill Buckner had his day as he forgave those people that constantly were on his case. He should have never had to apologize for that one play, which he would have made 9 out of ten times. The man showed his determination through the thick and thin times of his playing career. Then to walk back out in Fenway park and let bygones be bygones, shows he is better in his heart than most people in society. So many people take America’s past time to a level of hate and anger. Some take it to a violent stage. It’s the old “sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt” him. Bill Buckner, as a player, as a husband, and father will be missed. He is probably in heaven playing in a few pick up games with the greats like Babe Ruth and Shoeless Joe Jackson. I think I have to put him on the list as one of the best mustaches in sports as well. 

THE WILD SHAMROCK FIRST OUTING OUT IN  2019 AT THE OLE BALL PARK

Our first baseball game of 2019 had us in Chicago at the ole Guaranteed Rate field. Known as the Cell, previous to the arrow going down as the rate logo and then the new Comisky Park before then. Home of the Chicago White Sox. It was a big matchup between two heavy weights in the American league. Toronto Blue Jays invading the good guys at the rate. Both teams are in the middle of full rebuilds.The White Sox have been in their own rebuild quite awhile, and Toronto is more at the beginning of theirs. 

It was a very cold spring Friday night with rain in the forecast. We knew coming in, the White Sox are that team that can be off one night and on the next night. They won on Thursday night so on this Friday we were thinking we might be in a world of trouble. However we knew the Blue Jays are nothing special so we had some high hopes it was going to be a pretty good game.

We were very wrong. It was one of those games where you feel like you wasted your money and time. The very first inning, Justin Smoak hit a towering home run in the right field bleachers not too far from where we were sitting. For the White Sox, Ivan Nova was on the bump and he came off a previous outing versus the Blue Jays where he was very impressive. The former Pirate was awful on this night as the Blue Jays owned him as they scored off him in the first three innings of this contest. In rebuilds, you need beer. Thank God for the goose head in right field.  The holy grail to keep warm. The stuff that would make the game better especially in a blow out where your team is getting destroyed. This was by far classified as a def-con 4. Drink craft beers and drink plenty.

WHAT EXCITED US IN THIS MATCH UP?

The two guys I wanted to see play in this game were the two biggest prospects, one from each team. Eloy Jimenez from the White Sox. Vlad Guerrero Jr. for the Jays.

Eloy Jimenez would have to wait another time for us to see him live as he is currently on the DL. My other choice for the White Sox was Tim Anderson who is off to a great start this season. Saw him grab one in the hole at short and threw out a Blue Jay runner on very nice defensive play. Also got to see local kid Charlie Tilson who played out in right where we were sitting. He had one hit in this lopsided affair.

Vlad Guerrero Junior who could be called chunky butt. Looks like a Tony Gwynn style of body. I saw  Valad Guerrero play in Montreal years ago. Thought he was something special. Like father like son, Vlad Guerro Junior launched a mammoth fly ball to center. It probably would have stayed in the park but bounced off the White Sox outfielder’s glove and went over the fence for a home run. Leury Garcia made a nice effort but it was that kind of night as the Blue Jays dominated.

THE GAME

Both starting pitchers for both teams did not last that long. Both each pitched three innings. White Sox were down 7-0 and finally got on the board in the bottom of third with a pair of runs. Toronto scored a pair in the top of the next inning to let the air out of the sails in that comeback attempt.

The White Sox 3rd 4th and 5th batter in line up, the meat of the order was 0-11.

The Blue Jays lineup, I only recognized two names Justin Smoak and Vlad Gurerro Jr.who both did well. The whole lineup managed 10 runs on a cold night with two long balls.  

After the skies opened up and the rain came down in this contest, we quickly retreated to the Craft Kave.

We finished the game under the right field stands in the bar where you watch the game looking out on to the field from the fence level. You are looking through glass and the fence in right to see the action. When it is warmer, it’s very cool and they have the glass doors up. 

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Nothing changed as the Blue Jays continued to hold on to this game that was over before the rain came down. We did get some nice pictures of the Blue Jay outfielder making a nice play at the fence in right field. We were surrounded by many Blue Jay fans.

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Did not think they even had that many fans. The three horsemen stayed the whole game. Thanks to the help of great food and plenty of craft beers to wash out the bad tase in our mouths, we watched our own team performing the way they did.

After the game we went bar hopping. Even peed in a keg urinal at a bar named Turtles by the ballpark. 

It was that kind of night at the ole ball park. Win lose we drink and eat until we are kicked out of the establishment. It’s our motto.

THE SOUTHSIDER  WEEKLY REVIEW

 The month of April has been like a roller coaster ride for the White Sox.  They finish the month with a 12-14 record. Out of the gates they started an awful 3-5 and gave a few games away. Since then they have been playing 500 with a 9-9 record. However they are still giving away games which they should have and could have won. They are 5-5 in their last ten games which should be better. Especially when the White Sox have been playing teams like the Orioles, Tigers and Royals. Against those teams the White Sox need a much better record. When they start playing better teams, will they crumble like they did with the Rays and Mariners? I did like what they did in New York. Taking the series in the Bronx against a team expected to get deep in the playoffs.

The month of April has good, plenty of bad, and some ugly moments all lumped up. Let’s try to dissect this team to see what’s working and what needs to be blown up. Can we get mad because the White Sox are in a rebuild? Some of their players do not think they are in a rebuild mode. Especially the way this division has played that they call the American Central. When the White Sox have been playing well they look like a team that could compete in the Central. Not buying what the Twins are selling. Indians want to be in a rebuild. Tigers and Royals are in a full rebuild. Lots of roster shuffling the first month on the Southside, which could be a good thing.

  THE UGLY

Yolmer Sanchez’s defense is a gate to another world of bad.

He makes an error and it opens up another portal for bad demons that come out and torment the White Sox.

Dan Palka

Last season I compared Dan Palka to one of my favorite White Sox greats, the hammer Dan Pasqua. Last year Palka was knocking the cover off the ball. Huge home runs in crunch-time. I thought for sure he was going to stick on the roster, start off slow, and get his groove. He could not hit a ball the size of a beach ball if it was thrown to him. He was sent down to the minors to work on the swing.  

THE BAD

Sometime you go fishing in the dollar bin at the store and you think you may have found a gem. When you get home, you’re totally disappointed. There’s a reason why it is in the dollar bin in the first place. White Sox picked a Ervin Santana and already brought it out to the curb to junk it.

In three starts, Ervin Santana pitched 13 innings. Surrendered 19 hits in which 14 runs were scored. Sanford and Son may salvage him for another day. Now who’s the Big Dummy? The White Sox have money. Ahem… Dallas Keuchel is available.

TOO FRAGILE

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WHITE SOX PROSPECTS?

Every number one prospect the White Sox bring up gets hurt. Last year Michael Kopech looked good then blew out his arm. This year Eloy Jimenez was exciting to watch every time he came upto the plate. He hit only .241 in first month. His first month with the big club 19 hits.Three long balls. Eight driven in. Then he gets hurt high ankle sprain. We will have to wait and see how he does when he comes off the injured reserve list in probably six weeks.

THE GOOD

Tim Anderson is playing exceptionally well. Not a big fan of the bat flip. He still has hard times with some easy routine plays on defense. He makes many web gems out at short stop, which he makes look easy. With the bat he has been a force to reckon with. Out of the gates he is batting .375 with already six long balls. He has scored 21 runs while driving in 18 in the month of April. He can steal some bases. He can get your team in a brawl. Ask the Royals.

It took Tim Anderson a very long time to arrive to the Majors. You can see improvement from him every year. You can see him becoming a team leader. He is also coming up with some huge hits as well. He already has a walk off. He’s definitely the MVP of the month of April. You have to feel good that the White Sox have one of the hardest positions solidified in this “rebuild not rebuild” as the players call it.  Having the short stop position for years to come is huge thing off the to do list. Maybe it’s a blessing the incentive laced contract the Sox offered, did not lure Manny Machado.

Overall I do like how the White Sox seem never out of game. You have to give them credit, when they are down they seem to make some kind of a comeback. Sucks to get down by so many runs with some of the starting pitching throwing garbage. I loved how they came back when down 8-1 versus the Tigers and won that 12-11. The White Sox so far are very fun to watch. If they can figure out how to to tweak a few things, they could make some noise in the Central.

THE BUCKO REVIEW

The Pirates have been quietly having a pretty good month to start the 2019 season. They have sneaked into first place in the Central with a 12-6 record. They are 7-3 in their last ten games. They have a five game winning streak going on. What has been their recipe for success so far this season? It’s been all about their starting rotation that has this team succeeding early on. It seemed like the only team they could beat early on was the Reds. Now they have shown they are beating any team they play that’s on their schedule.

We know the Pirates have two studs in their rotation. Chris Archer and Jameson Taillon are ace venturas. The other three guys in the rotation have done awesome. Joe Musgrove has been pitching lights out. Trevor Williams is off to a good start. How about the performance of Jordan Lyles? The Pirates picked him up in the off season at the flea market, haggled the vendor down, and he has shown you he’s a bang for the buck they are paying him. He is 2-0 with 0.53 ERA in three starts. Musgrove has 0.81 ERA. The Pirates by far have the best starting five in the National League. They have the second best ERA in the league at 1.97. Only the Tampa Bay Rays are better then the Pirates’ starting five.

The Pirates need their starting five to continue to do well because they have their own MASH unit. The latest Starling Marte is heading to the DL. He is off to a slow start, but he is so valuable to the everyday line up. The good news is Gregory Polanco is starting a rehab assignment. Polanco was the Pirates’ biggest offensive threat last year as he lead the team in just about everything. Hopefully the Pirates’ position players can get well soon and get back in the lineup. Meanwhile the starters need to hold down the fort while their big bats heal.

 JUNG HO KANG: Kang is the beast of the week with his bat heating up. Three home runs and he has driven in seven so far. Kang started off slow and looked like he needed a few stiff drinks.

THE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

JORDAN LYLES: The Pirates traded away Nova in the off season. They pick up Lyles from the dollar bin and he looks like a CY young candidate.

MY DOG CARLOS

When Carlos Zambrano was pitching for the Chicago Cubs, I compared him to Roy Munson from Kingpin. Especially the part when Roy Munson, who is played by Woody Harrelson, is sitting at the bar. Then Munson suddenly lashed out to a complete stranger next to him.

“Who you callin’ a psycho?” he asks.

Carlos Zambrano was a three-time all-star in his major league career. He won 132 games in the big leagues. He was a part of back to back playoff teams in 2007 and 2008 with the Chicago Cubs. No one remembers that. They remember a guy like Roy Munson lashing out at people for no reason. Last time he pitched was back in 2012 with the Marlins. You think you’re done hearing about guys like Carlos Zambrano. If Jason can come back to life and do almost a dozen movies of him chasing people around in hockey masks, then why not let these X Cubs names resurface. This is not about if Sammy Sosa finally learned English again that he had forgotten in front of congress. This is about crazed dog foaming at the mouth, Carlos Zambrano, wanting to pitch again.

Carlos Zambrano has seen the light. A youth conference he attended in Venezuela, started his inner faith with the lord. He has climbed the mountain and got stoned with Moses. Maybe he hung out with Jonah inside the Whale on Noah’s Ark. God is in the man’s life and told Carlos baseball is where you belong. You can say Carlos is on a mission from God. The 37 year old who turns 38 in June is on a comeback to get back in the game. He has already started his journey and pitched in Winter ball in the Mexican league. He does not want to be a starter like he once was. He wants to come out of the bullpen and get back to the Majors, possibly play for the Cubs again.

You do not go from pitching Mexican winter ball, right to the Majors. Zambrano is coming back to Chicago to pitch for an independent league team in Rosemont, Illinois. They even named the team after him and call themselves the Dogs. Originally it had a logo of a hot dog. Zambrano, who probably has a cult following still in Cub Land, is hoping he will get support from those fans. He’s hoping the second part of his journey will lead him back to the majors.

Will Carlos Zambrono have to pack enough prozac to get through even a Minor league schedule? Does the pitching coach have to talk nice and calm and slow when he goes out to the mound to tell Crazy Joe Davola what he should pitch to the next batter.

This is the same guy that had a fist fight with his own catcher. Marty Barrett, I bet you is not his facebook friend, for that incident in 2007. Carlos even went after other teammates. The biggest black mark he left in his career was when he abruptly retired after getting ejected from a game versus Atlanta. He drilled Chipper Jones. He then proceeded to scream at the umpire. Then he assaulted the Gatorade jug and left. Like a little kid taking his ball and going home. Then Theo Espstei,n one of his first ever moves was ridding the Cubs of this mental distraction that plagued the Cubs. I would consider since the Cubs won the World Series in 2016, Zambrano and those teams were some of the dark days of that organization.

The Chicago Dogs will be adding a pure junkyard dog to their roster. A junk yard dog who has probably been neutered several times over. The Dogs will have more fannies in the seats with this move. They will probably sell more hot dogs as well. This does not have that feel good story of one of those athletes you root for in a comeback attempt. It has the feel of wanting the car wreck in a race. Wanting the two goons on the ice to drop the gloves. Like Mike Tyson chewing off someone’s ear. Not sure how many people will be looking at how many players Carlos strikes out. Would Vegas have a line set up for how many melt downs over and under? I will bet on over as Carlos will lose his mind at some point, I’m guessing around the festivius pole, in July fireworks will explode.

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MLB RECORD BROKEN

The thing I love about baseball besides the game is the rich history of the sport. It’s a sport that has been around and America’s past time for it seems forever. Every season you still see some old record be broken. The 2019 baseball season has just started as it is not even two weeks old yet. The Seattle Mariners already broke a team record. Yes it looked like the Mariners were on a rebuild trading many of their great players. The stuff they got back in return and the players they kept, the Mariners have started this season off with a 13-2 record right out of the gates. In each game at least one player has hit a home run. That is 15 games which is a new record breaking the 2002 Cleveland Indians who had 14 consecutive games to start a season.

Chicks would love the Mariners right now.

Remember Jay Bruce? The former Red. Now he is like a DJ on WKRP in Cincinnati traveling up and down the dial.

Jay Bruce is not Dr.Johnny Fever. However  Jay Bruce has been traveling from team to team. This year he is with the Mariners and he already has seven long balls. Jay Bruce has friends in low places as his teammate Dan Vogelbach has 5 homeruns. The Mariners have three guys that have 4 homeruns. You might recognize Edwin Encarnacion. Also Domingo Santana and Tim Beckham. Mitch Hanniger tied the team record with one of his three homeruns in game 14. Former White Sox catcher was traded to Mariners in off season, Omar Narvaez, already has two home runs. Then Dee Gordon rarely hits a home run. He got a lead off homer that led off the game and broke the team record held by the Indians as now the Mariners own it.

THE RECORD BOOK

#1. 2019 SEATTLE MARINERS 15 GAMES

#2. 2002 CLEVELAND INDIANS 14 GAMES

#3. 2017 DETROIT TIGERS/  1957 CHICAGO CUBS 13 GAMES

#4. FIVE TEAMS WITH 12

2013 NEW YORK METS, 2001 ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

2007 TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS (PUT A DOLLAR IN THE SWEAR JAR YOU SAID DEVIL), 1997 COLORADO ROCKIES, 1986 CINCINNATI REDS

THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD

In 1987 the folks of Lake Forest a suburb outside Chicago witnessed man versus nature. It was not the Texas chainsaw massacre. It was the Lake Forest chainsaw massacre. Well known actor Mr.T had a chain saw and he pitied the fool that would mess with his mission to knock down over a 100 trees on his own 7 acre property. The town was in an uproar. Decades later we now have another celebrity, a baseball player, making trouble in neighborhood . It’s not what is being knocked down, it is all about what is going up in a suburb outside Chicago, Evanston, Illinois. Yu Darvish’s installation of the cedar Berlin wall around his mansion is making his neighbors hostile. Perhaps they might be Cub fans and may now walk to the Sox side of town.

Yu Darvish was a free agent pitcher signed by the Chicago Cubs in 2018. He was paid an Ace Ventura type of money in a six year contract worth 126 million dollars. Maybe Donald Trump could use some of his money for his wall on the borderof Mexico. Perhaps Yu can recommend his contractor too. Yu Darvish is not off to a great start in Chicago. He seems like he is in the same boat with Steve Bartman as the hatred of this guy is really growing intensely. This was before he installed his fence around his mansion he built. Arm problems in 2018 sidelined Yu Darvish most of the season. This year if he gets through 4 innings with under six runs, people in the Cubs organization think he’s bouncing back to his old self. Things not going well for him, he might need protection from the locals who could come after him with pitch forks and torches.

In Evanston, Illinois the town is very strict on their zoning laws especially when it comes to fences on your own property. For the Darvishes to be able to get a fence in the first place, they needed approval by the neighbors. Evanston has water front properties by Lake Michigan that gives your back yard a breathe taking view. The Darvishes did get an agreement with their neighbors the Eylers for them to build a fence. The Eylers believed the Darvishes were going to install a wrought iron fence. Which makes sense because it’s a fence that is not going obstruct their view. In the end the Darvishes bamboozled their neighbors who were thinking a  wrought Iron fence the whole time. Instead the Darvish cedar wall came up and now blocks the Eylers view. It’s like when the Cubs block the rooftop owners with the new renovations of the ballpark.

Like Ronald Reagan said to the Russian President, “Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall.”

Craig and Alexis Eyler want the Darvishes to please tear down this fence. Feeling like they were treated, the Eylers are taking this to court. The Eylers have a pretty good case for the Darvish wall to fall. Eylers have a cited easement on their property. It dates back to the 1940’s. It says and grants the Eylers property an unobstructed view of the lake. Maybe Judge Judy will have this case in her court when it takes place in July. That sucks for the Eylers because that is all of spring and most of the summer looking at the Darvish wall. If the Eylers win their case in court versus the Darvishes. If Yu Darvish continues to struggle on the mound. Can you picture all those angry Cub fans throwing things and spitting on Steve Bartman when that incident took place? The rage of the Cubby blue will be over at Eyler’s house with their sledge hammers knocking over this cedar fence. Perhaps they use the wood after with a bonfire off the lake. Darvishes will need a tank of some kind to defend their mansion. The best scenario would give Mr. T another chainsaw and have him go to work on the fence. I like when a plan comes together.

THE SOUTHSIDERS WEEKLY REVIEW

In week one on the Southside of Chicago, I have seen some good, bad, and very ugly things going on with this team. The White Sox failed to land one of the big fish on the free agent market. They were very busy in the off season retooling the roster with all sorts of moves. I expected a better start than what I have seen from the Chi Sox performances, off to a 3-5 start.

White Sox record 3-5 after the first 8 games.

The first thing I will get to is the bad followed up with the ugly. I save the good news for last.

THE BAD

Looking at the 2019 roster and the depth of the starting line up the team still has holes.

The Bullpen young guys are unproven. They brought back most of their young guys from last season. The inexperience they have is a glaring weakness. Some of these guys did well last season with no pressure on them. In the first 8 games with something to play for, their lefties who are their specialists, are not frightening. Stand there with the bat on your shoulder and you will be walked. It is time to say good bye to Nate Jones. This guy is living off the one great inning he threw five thousand years ago.

On the field this team has holes. In center field, Adam Engel can’t hit a lick. Leury Garcia, your average utilty guy, is nice with the bat but on the field, prone to a few mistakes. He also strikes out too much in key situations. Yolmer Sanchez can earn the bone headed player of lots of games so far. Yolmer has made some great plays. He has come up with big hits. Do the mistakes cost the team more than his heroics?  This everyday line up has too many weaknesses. Too many strike outs.

THE UGLY

The ugly has arrived early this season like last season. It’s not winning ugly, this is the Bad news Bears style… what’s going on after 8 games. Yolmer Sanchez, easy plays he did not make and opened up big innings for the opponents. Plus the team is getting blowing out again. It’s a streak of games during which the White Sox have gotten their arses kicked. This happened last year where I thought this team needed the rule of the slaughter it was so very bad.

Then managing the game. Do the White Sox have another wrong guy as their manager? Ricky Returia is far better than Robin Ventura in managing. But in the game versus the Indians, the team took a 3-1 game lead in the 8th inning on the road. The White Sox back end of the bullpen looks marvelous. The brass went out and got a set up reliever in Kelvin Herrera and traded for Alex Colome, a closer. Ricky throws in one of his young specialist lefties who walks the first batter and all hell breaks out and the team loses the game. Why the hell did you go out and get guys for the 8th and 9th inning if you’re not going to use them?

THE GOOD

The presence of Eloy Jimenez in the line up is well worth watching. He is taking his lumps but at the same time he is being productive. He’s getting experience every game he plays. He will eventually learn the pitchers in the whole league. He’ll get better as time goes on and the more pitches he sees, he will be able to improve his weaknesses. I have a great feeling Eloy will have a steady improvement after each week and become the superstar the White Sox want him to be.

Alex Colome is a very angry man. He looks angry on the mound when he comes in to pitch. He has nasty stuff and he is one hell of a closer that the White Sox need with young pitching staff. He gets my player of the week.

Out of the White Sox two wins, Alex Colome has two saves. He has five strike outs and he goes after the best hitters on the opposing teams. Just hope he will get more opportunities. Hate to see a closer rot away on the bench as the team can’t get a lead late in the game.

MIA

Still waiting on Jon Jay debut as he is on the DL. Plus Manny Machada pet groomer is due in at Sox Park at some point to make his debut on dog day. All the Machado family minus the meat in Manny.

THE BUCKO WEEKLY REVIEW

After the first week of the 2019 baseball season Pirates find themselves in second place in the NL Central.

5-3 record after eight games.

The fist week in Pirate land has been all about their pitching staff early going. Then add in beating up on the Reds with a 4 game sweep and that is why the record is at 5-3.

Yesterday the Pirates concluded their 4 game sweep of the Reds. Plus had some altercations with the men from Cincinnati. Tempers flared with some hit batters and some throwing behind the batter. Derek Dietrich of the Reds admiring his two home runs watching the mammoth shots he hit, flying out of the stadium and into the river. Yasiel Puig was very feisty as he was one of the ejected players in this melay. In the end, the Pirates prevailed while the Reds live with the people under the stairs in last place.

ALL ABOUT THE PITCHING

Pirates starters have been impressive so far. Joe Musgrave with a stellar performance in his first start.  Chris Archer and Jameson Taillon, the two aces of the staff have razzle and put the dazzle on batters. The bullpen is off to a great start preserving the lead or keeping the score the same as the starters exit.

BATS HAVE NOT HEATED UP TO THAT STEEL TYPE TEMPS YET

The Pirates bats have been hot and cold. Too cold in my opinion. Starling Marte has been off to a slow start as the team’s best player by far. Jung Ho Kang who looks like he needs a drink or two in the batters box. Erik Gonzalez is still trying to find his swing as he too is off to a slow start.

The power has been coming from the big man Josh Bell who has two home runs. Adam Frazier is swinging a good bat with his first home run in the lead off spot yesterday. The signing of Melky Cabrera, the Melk man, is still delivering with a .391 batting average.

I give Melky as my player of the week for the Pirates. The way he is swinging the bat. Plus how his security in crowd control in yeterday melay with the Reds.

MIA

Pirates have three guys they could use on the DL. Cory Dickerson who swung the bat well last season is out.Gregory Polanco has been out for awhile. Plus Pirates are waiting on Lonnie Chisenhall debut.

It’s a shame the Pirates did not add more to this roster already in place. This team could use some help in a few positions. Maybe the return of the injured will help put this team in a better position. However I would have loved to have seen another player or two with what they have and the injured players back forming a nice solid team . Then I think things would really get interesting in the NL Central.

THE WILD SHAMROCK 2019 MLB PREDICTIONS

DIVISION WINNERS

AMERICAN LEAGUE

AL EAST: NEW YORK YANKEES

AL CENTRAL: MINNESOTA TWINS

AL WEST: HOUSTON ASTROS

DIVISION WINNERS

NATIONAL LEAGUE

NL EAST: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

NL CENTRAL:MILWAUKEE BREWERS

NL WEST: LA DODGERS

WILD CARDS

AMERICAN LEAGUE: OAKLAND ATHLETICS/TAMPA BAY RAYS

NATIONAL LEAGUE: ATLANTA BRAVES/ WASHINGTON NATIONALS

AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP

HOUSTON ASTROS VERSUS NEW YORK YANKEES

NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP

MILWAUKEE BREWERS VERSUS ATLANTA BRAVES

WORLD SERIES MATCHUP

MILWAUKEE BREWERS VERSUS HOUSTON ASTROS

WORLD SERIES WINNER

THE BREW CREW

PLAYER AWARDS

MVP’S

AL: MIKE TROUT  ANGELS

NL:CHRISTIAN YELICH  BREWERS

CY YOUNG

AL:GERRIT COLE ASTROS

NL:JACOB DEGROM METS

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

AL:ELOY JIMENEZ WHITE SOX

NL:FERNADO TATIS JR. PADRES

HOME RUN KING

JOEY GALLO RANKERS

HOME RUN DERBY WINNER

AARON JUDGE YANKEES

MANAGERS OF THE YEAR

AL:KEVIN CASH RAYS

NL:CRAIG COUNSELL

THE CHEAPER PAIR OF SOX

The White Sox this off season was the ultimate tease to the fans. Rumors had the second team in Chicago involved in all sorts of free agents. The team brought in some guys from trades such as Ivan Nova from the Pirates. Plus Yonder Alonso from the Indians. They even showed some razzle with acquiring Alex Colome and then they hooked line and sinker you with the signing of Kelvin Herrera, one of the top relievers in the game. Then White Sox acted like your X-girlfriend playing you like a fool. Your brain was full of mush. You only thought about the good stuff. The bad history between your relationship with this team was suddenly forgotten. Your heart was rapidly pumping with joy that something good was going to happen. Your mind was in a trance from her breasts. At the end, those two boobs Rick Hahn and Kenny Williams, did it again. Ripped your heart out and stole your baseball season like the Grinch stealing your Christmas.

White Sox showed they have no dazzle as they had a chance to make a big splash for this team and its fans. They could not land either Bryce Harper or Manny Machado, both of them 26 years old. Both of them in their prime of their careers. Either one of them would have taken your full rebuild into another gear. Either one of them would have put fannies in the seats. Who knows, with the addition of one of them it could have possibly propelled you to win the worst division in baseball. With the Tigers and the Royals in their own rebuilds. The Royals catcher, their all-star, is out for the year. That leaves you with the Indians and the Twins. The Indians were selling off pieces and then adding them in the off season. Meanwhile the Twins last season came down to earth from the previous season when they made the playoffs as a wild card. The Twins added some veterans. Their roster is still not scary.

The White Sox history shows the same thought process that is going on today. In 1997 the team found themselves only 3 games behind Cleveland. The great white flag sale occurred before the trade deadline and they gave up the rest of the season. The White Sox’s biggest free agent signing was Albert Belle. At the time the thought process was Frank Thomas, Robin Ventura, and Albert Belle in the same line up.  That was one hell of a splash, but injuries occurred. The White Sox had an opt out clause on the Albert Belle deal and this beef of the order never really played together on the field all at once. Albert went to the Orioles and the White Sox did not make the playoffs. You could say Albert Belle’s Orioles days were not that long after he left. It tells me their contract offers are always half in half out. Example: Manny Machado they had an opt out clause and a contract laced with incentives for less years. The White Sox offered 8 years instead of the ten years Manny got from the Padres. When the White Sox signed Albert Belle, the team could have used more pieces. Again half in half out.

In 2005 the White Sox pulled out the unthinkable. A World Series. It was because of some of the trades they made in the off season. Moves like slugger Carlos Lee to the Brewers that brought you Scotty Pods. Then not resigning Magglio Ordonez. Both moves were a head scratcher but both moves panned out. After that World Series, finally this baseball team for a brief moment became a first class citizen in a two baseball team town. Then to not even make the playoffs the following season is just shameful while the team won 90 games. Finally in 2008 the White Sox found themselves in the playoffs once again as the team was just a skeleton of their former selves in 2005. The soap operas with Kenny Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen went on for years. They were not lucky on any of the moves they made during that span. They did not have anything special going down on the farm either. Could of there been a move to get a few pieces that could have kept things rolling during that window? Again nothing splashy. They hold back and stay away from splashy moves. Maybe a splash or two could have kept this group going more than one thrill ride.

After the parade in 2005, the White Sox gave the spotlight back to the Cubs, known as loveable losers. The White Sox have not made it to the playoffs since 2008, as the Tampa Bay Rays bounced the good guys that wear black relatively with ease. Since then the Cubs made it to the playoffs. Then they scrapped everything and went in full rebuild. Then in 2016 the Cubs did the unthinkable and won the World Series. They beat the curse of the goat and came back down in seven game series to beat the Indians that season. The White Sox then followed the Cubs and Astros blueprints and went into their own rebuild. A full rebuild. The Cubs still been making the playoffs every year after they won it in 2016 but it looks like they have fallen on hard times especially the way the season ended last year. One and done in the wild card game. Before that to see the Brewers steal the division from you late in September. To see the Cubs cry poor in the off season and not spend.  Could you imagine what a Bryce Harper or Manny Machado would have done if the White Sox landed either of them? A chance to kick the Cubs while they’re down and control the baseball buzz in your own town. The White Sox say they don’t care about the Cubs. Both teams do not play in the same league or obvious divisions. I think it does affect the White Sox. Deep down they hate what the other side of town is doing.  It feels like a knife wound deep into your chest. You can taste the blood in your mouth. Most of the fans feel the same pain.

The White Sox have lots of prospects. Lots of talent gathered over this rebuild. We do not know if it will pan out. Chances are the team has a lot of key pieces assembled that makes things very exciting. Do you trust this organization with the keys to a brand new car? History tells you they do not have the brain power to grow all these prospects and develop them. To plug them in at the right place where their talents will thrive. They had ace Chris Sale. They also had Jose Quintana. Two great young pitchers and they could not find enough talent around them to make the playoffs one time.  They have two wild cards these days. Not even close to the second one.

Why are they still scared of Scott Boras? I’d rather have Bryce Harper than a Manny Machado. Both are very talented players. If you had to pick one, Byrce Harper would have been my choice. The bad history with the agent tells you they put all their efforts into the one basket of Manny Machado. Especially signing his inner circle. Harper a left handed bat which is very valuable. Future hall of famer. Plus a guy that fans want to see. Manny Machado is a great player. His head is not screwed on very tight though. Admits he will never be Charlie Hustle. That would not go well on the blue collar side of town. Plus Manny Machado is a cheap shot artist while he plays the game.

The White Sox went 0-2 on the swings for the superstars this off season. One, I tell you the truth they probably did not even get to the showroom to even kick the tires on Harper’s sports car because of fear of the Boras. What about the next wave of talented free agents? Love to say the White Sox will win just with the prospects and only the prospects. We know that is hard to do. They will have to splurge and find a talent to help lead by example. Somebody that has done it before and can lead a young group to the promise land.  Can the White Sox open up their wallets and make an offer without the moving parts? Do they not have some parents in this organization to tell these morons that looks ridiculous on their ideas of what a good offer is so they can’t leave the house dressed like that. Then when their prospects finally grow and are represented by Scott Boras, are the White Sox going to let their own Harper they grow walk out the door? Maybe it will be the Cubs that gobble up an Eloy Jimenez when he finally becomes a free agent. Hope this off season will be a lesson to learn and the next superstar out there on the waters will be different. Next time the White Sox will have a bigger boat to land the shark of all talents. Leave the boat with the holes in it, aka Kenny Williams.

THE WILD SHAMROCK FREE AGENT TRACKER

TOP 25 POSITION PLAYERS

#	NAME/POSITION	LAST YEAR PLAYED FOR	SIGNED
1.	BRYCE HARPER OF	NATIONALS	PHILLIES
2.	MANNY MACHADO SS	DODGERS	PADRES
3.	AJ POLLOCK OF	DIAMOND BACKS	DODGERS
4.	JOSH DONALDSON	BLUE JAYS/INDIANS	BRAVES
5.	YOSMANI GRANDAL C	DODGERS	BREWERS
6.	NELSON CRUZ DH	MARINERS	TWINS
7.	ANDREW MCCUTCHEN OF	GIANTS/YANKEES	PHILLIES
8.	MICHAEL BRANTLY OF	INDIANS	ASTROS
9.	WILSON RAMOS C	PHILLIES	METS
10.	JED LOWRIE SS	A’S	METS
11.	MIKE MOUSTAKOS 3B	BREWERS	BREWERS
12.	MARVIN GONZALES UTL	ASTROS	TWINS
13.	DJ MAHIEU 2B	ROCKIES	YANKEES
14.	ADAM JONES OF	ORIOLES	DIAMOND BACKS
15.	BRIAN MCCANN C	ASTROS	BRAVES
16.	DANIEL MURPHY 2B	NATIONALS/CUBS	ROCKIES
17.	STEVE PEARCE 1B	RED SOX	RED SOX
18.	KURT SUZUKI C	BRAVES	NATIONALS
19.	NICK MARKAKIS OF	BRAVES	BRAVES
20.	ASDRUBAL CABRERA IF	PHILLIES	RANGERS
21.	JOSE IGLESIAS SS	TIGERS	REDS
22.	JOSH HARRISON UTL	PIRATES	TIGERS
23.	LONNIE CHISENHALL	INDIANS	PIRATES
24.	JUNG HO KANG IF	PIRATES	PIRATES
25.	EVAN GATTIS DH	ASTROS

THE ARMS RACE (TOP 25 PITCHERS)

#	NAME	LAST YEAR PLAYED FOR	SIGNED
1.	PATRICK CORBIN	DIAMOND BACKS	NATIONALS
2.	DALLAS KEUCHEL	ASTROS	BRAVES
3.	CHARLIE MORTON	ASTROS	RAYS
4.	CRAIG KIMBREL	RED SOX	CUBS’PPPPPPPPPPP[
5.	JA HAPP	BLUE JAYS/YANKEES	YANKEES
6.	NATHAN EOVALDI	RED SOX	RED SOX
7.	HYUN JIN RHU	DODGERS	DODGERS
8.	ADAM OHAVINO	ROCKIES	YANKEES
9.	ANDREW MILLER	INDIANS	CARDINALS
10.	DAVID ROBERTSON	YANKEES	PHILLIES
11.	CC SABATHIA	YANKEES	YANKEES
12.	GIO GONZALEZ	NATIONALS/BREWERS
13.	KELVIN HERRERA	NATIONALS	WHITE SOX
14.	GARRETT RICHARDS	ANGELS	PADRES
15.	CODY ALLEN	INDIANS	ANGELS
16.	JOE KELLY	RED SOX	DODGERS
17.	ZACH BRITTON	ORIOLES/YANKEES	YANKEES
18.	WADE MILEY	BREWERS	ASTROS
19.	TREVOR CAHILL	A’S	ANGELS
20.	LANCE LYNN	TWINS/YANKEES	RANGERS
21.	CLAY BUCHHOLZ	DIAMOND BACKS
22.	ERVIN SANTANA	TWINS	WHITE SOX
23.	MATT HARVEY	METS/REDS	ANGELS
24.	JOAKIN SORIA	WHITE SOX/BREWERS	A’S
25.	SHAWN KELLY	A’S

PHILLIES STUPID MONEY LANDS THE FISH THAT SAVED PHILADELPHIA

The Philadelphia Phillies owner came out and said they were going to spend stupid money this off season. They made some trades. Landing J.T Realmuto. They landed Jean Segura. They went out and signed Andrew McCutchen and David Robertson. They were rumored to be involved in the Harper and Machado sweepstakes. They lost out on Machado. To get both of these superstars would have taken a miracle. In the midst of spring training. The Phillies hit a walk off homerun… the front office… they land Bryce Harper in a mega deal worth 330 million dollars for 13 years. Are the Phillies the National League Yankees or Red Sox? They definitely have entered the conversation.

Bryce Harper will get the biggest contract in baseball history. Harper is only 26 years old and he will be 38 years old when this contract comes to an end. I guess you can say it’s a better deal than Albert Pujols where the Angels will be paying him into his 40’s. Harper did not want any opt out clause like Manny Machado gets after 5 years in San Diego. Harper will only get 25 million per season compared to Manny Machado’s 30 million per season. However Harper gets 13 years, over the total ten years if Manny Machado does play out that contract.

Barring any set backs, Harper for sure will be a hall-of-famer. At 26 years old, he already has one MVP. He’s coming off a season where he hit 34 home runs for the Nationals. His average was lower than usual at .249. He did drive in 100 runs. His on base percentage is very high as he does walk a lot. Bryce Harper in seven seasons in Washington has a career batting average of .279. This season he should get to the 200 mark in long balls as he had 184 of those with the Nationals. In seven seasons, he already has 922 hits and has driven in over 500 runs.

Last season, the Phillies were in the thick of things with Atlanta. The team ran out of gas and and fell out of contention. The division will be stronger as everyone has improved unless you’re a Marlin fan. Washington added pitching. But the loss of Harper, will that set them back?  Mets revamped their roster making many moves in the off season. Will that be enough to catch up to the Phillies? Were the Braves just a fluke last year that peaked too early? They have lots of young talented players and also added pieces to their roster. The division is stacked unless you’re a Marlin fan.

Being able to land big free agents and winning the off season does not mean the Phillies will win the World Series. Teams that have the big pocketbooks definitely have better chances than small market teams. The Nationals had a great team over the last few years. A roster with loads of talent and they did not win with Harper. The Philadelphia Eagles won the Superbowl with the arm of Nick Foles, not their number one draft pick, Carson Wentz. Teams can get red hot when it comes to the playoffs. All star teams with many big names fall hard at times. Looks good on paper but that’s why they still play the games.

A team with the off season the Phillies had, it has to make the fans feel good about the upcoming season. To be a pretty good team last season. Then to net the biggest fish on the market with lots of other talent, gives your team a better shot at winning. Plus the pipe dream of Mike Trout, another big fish coming home when he hits the free market. If they land Trout playing along side of Harper, it would give the Phillies the two biggest super stars in the game. Obviously the biggest goal is a World Series. They might be seeking more with paying out that kind of loot and having ideas to add on more.  They are definitely on the road to be the Yankees of the National League. If they do not win at least one World Series, perhaps you could say two in the next 13 years, this was not well spent money. If they win like the Yankees when they used to buy World Series trophies,  the Phillies off season will be remembered for years to come.

ANOTHER PIRATE WALKS THE PLANK AND HEADS TO MOTOR CITY

The rebuilding Tigers have been stocking up on former Pirates. First it was Jody Mercer. Now the Tigers added Josh Harrison, as they need help at second base. It’s only a one year deal worth two million dollars. It was an offer that was getting dusty on the table, as it was offer some time ago. Josh Harrison obviously could not find anything better. With spring training in action he finally took his only deal. Josh Harrison became a free agent when the Pirates declined his 2019 option, for S10.5 million dollars.

Josh Harrison is a two time all star. Spent his whole career in Pittsburgh of 8 years. He has a  life time batting average of .277 with 52 long balls. Last year he only played in 97 games. He was on the shelf with broken hand for six weeks. The same hand he broke in the 2017 season. In 2018 Josh Harrison drove in 37 while hitting 8 long balls with a .250 batting average.

The Tigers fill a need in a rebuild. They get Josh Harrison on the cheap. With a chance to flip him at the trade deadline for a prospect. This gives Josh Harrison a chance to get back to his all star form. If he can keep his hand healthy and have a good year, he can get a longer deal from another team next season. If he gets traded late in this season and helps a team in a playoff run that can help his cause to stick with a squad.

The penny pinching pirates made a good choice not paying him $10.5 million for this season. They have a better option with Adam Frazier taking over the second place position. I could say the Pirates could use the 10.5 million dollars on filling another hole on the roster, but we know that is a crazy thing to say. Rather stupid thing to say. Perhaps if the team is in contention for a playoff spot, they might add to the team then. Lets not hold our breath on that either.

WHO NEEDS MACHADO WHEN WE HAVE  AN ERVIN IN THE FOLD

It did not take the White Sox long to get over Manny Machado. Most teams would of turned their attention to Bryce Harper. Some would of taken a stab at Marvin Gonzales. Twins signed him to a two year deal. If you can not find the right position player then stocking up on pitching, is always a good thing. You can’t have enough arms. Do you think the White Sox would go after big guns, the likes of a  Dallas Keuchel or even the eagle man, Craig Kimbrel ? White Sox found themselves a nice used Yugoslavian tank, still leaking oil. White Sox nabbed an Ervin Santana to minor league deal.

The fourteen year veteran pitcher is 36 years of age. He has pitched for four teams, recently with the Twins. Last year the right handed only had 5 starts. Only pitched in 24 innings, due to tendon in his right hand. Surgery derailed him for the remainder of the season. Then the Twins declined his 14 million option this off season, making him a free agent. In 2017, Ervin Santana was remarkable. His record was impressive 16-8 with only a 3.28 ERA. In 2016-2017, Santana was a work horse. He was ranked number 11th in the game, total Innings pitched. During that span he only had 3.32 ERA, which is good in the American league. Santana has career record of 149-125.

The White Sox rotation right now include Carlos Rodon, Ivan Nova, Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolto. Dylan Covey and Manny Banuelos are options for the fifth and final spot of the rotation. We have seen what happens to Dylan Covey, after once through the line up. Manny Banuelos is a wild card anything can happen with him. Adding Ervin Santana, if he makes the team he would be paid only 4.4 million, on a one year deal. If he repeats his performance in 2017, it is a great deal. If the White Sox are bad and out of contention by the trade deadline, Santana if he doing well, could be flipped.  These are the type of deals the White Sox are good at. Finding those cheap dollar bin deals at the MLB dollar store. When it comes to the bigger deals. The likes of Machada or a Harper, the White Sox come out like the people that shop at Walmart.

DARKER DAYS CONTINUE ON THE SOUTH SIDE

The first pitch of regular season has not even been thrown yet. If I could only fast forward this upcoming season on the South Side of Chicago. The 2019 White Sox should be better with the moves they have made during this off season. No way they can lose another 100 games in back to back seasons. It’s the whole Machado deal that suddenly went south. Not the south that fans wanted in Chicago. But to see Kenny Williams, Rick Hahn and the White Sox brass bring a knife to a gun fight is extremely exhausting. Then the deal blows up in their faces, they take their ball home, and go crying home to mommy. Exactly, “No crying in baseball.”

To me, the White Sox thought this was a done deal in their minds. As time went on Machado was still unsigned and it went on for over 100 days. Teams were reporting to spring training and Machado was still out there. It seems the White Sox had a brain freeze thinking their offer would work. It’s not like the San Diego Padres went through the back door with their offer. The whole world knew the Padres were the mystery team. Machado’s camp wanted a ten year deal for 300 million. The White Sox instead offer an 8 year deal for 250 million. Which is 31.25 million a year instead of the standard 30 million a year he would get with a ten year deal. But wait, the White Sox had incentives in this contract. Oh boy incentives like someone coming back from injury or a bad year on a one year deal taking a risk on someone. The incentives would have maxed this 8 year deal out to 350 million over the 8 years. Manny Machado chose what any normal person would have taken with these two offers. The guaranteed ten years at 300 million. It comes down that the White Sox would rather pay more money in 8 years than go two extra years and pay a lower amount in some kind of cutesy deal. What were the logistics of these incentives in this contract? This is not a flea market where you haggle for the best deal on a pair of dirty socks.

“I’m wearing my shade so you guys don’t see the shock in my eyes.”

This was said By Kenny Williams when he found out Manny was headed to San Diego. Rick Hahn’s response was that he was pissed off. Needed to be alone, stew in his anger and think about the slap in the face they got from Manny Machado. Yes, because it is always someone else’s fault in White Sox town. Blame Manny for turning down your offer.  I do not even know why the Sox still have Kenny Williams working for the team. In my opinion, he should have been shown the door years ago. That’s another subject for another day.

Then it boggles my mind that you put all of your eggs in Manny’s basket. In my opinion, Bryce Harper would have been my choice out of the two players. But you went after Manny very hard as you signed and traded for his inner circle. How’d that work out for you?  Let’s say the White Sox get done stewing as they are the victim and cry it all out.  Let’s say they switch gears and try for Harper. The Harper camp knows he’d be the second fiddle choice which is obvious, showing your hand the whole time with tongue hanging out and your eyes popping out of your head for Manny. Would not be surprising if Kenny Williams sang love songs outside Manny’s window with a guitar. Love hurts. Love scars.

Bryce Harper will not become the White Sox rebound. The only reason the White Sox went after Manny Machado in the first place was so they would not have to deal with Harper’s agent Scott Boras. Boras and the White Sox do not have the greatest relationship over the years. I really don’t think the White Sox can get a sit down at the adult table with the Harper camp. It would be interesting to hear what kind of money the White Sox think is a good offer to land the likes of a Bryce Harper. What kind of amateur offer they make. What I do know is the Padres should send the White Sox a thank you card. If the Padres find themselves in the World Series in a few years, it could be for two reasons. The day the Padres fleeced you out of Fernando Tatis Jr. for a aging pitcher James Shields, who was never or at the time of the trade was, what he was known for in Big games. Fernado Tatis Jr. is a top prospect and should be an every day player for the Padres this season. Then people will recall the day you wined and dined Manny Machado for months. The Padres waltz in last minute, cut in on your slow dance and became prom king. The San Diego Padres, a small market team, took a big market team to school, twice.

THAT’S A LOT OF MACHADA

Finally, the wait is over. Finally someone opened up their piggy bank and splurged on a Manny Machado, aka Mr. Charlie ‘Not hustle.” It is not the Evil Empire. Yankees used to get anybody they wanted. People thought the Phillies would get him. Philadelphia has been adding pieces and wanting to spend stupid money. Then people were thinking the White Sox because they signed Manny’s inner circle. Perhaps they even signed his dog groomer. It was a team out of the woodwork at that end. Spring training just started and San Diego Padres are making some noise.They land Manny Machado in the biggest free agent contract in American Sports. The money just sickens you. Ten year deal worth 300 million dollars.Manny Machado was one of the biggest fish on the free agent market. It was going to take a big offer to land him on your squad. Padres will be paying him $30 million per year. The contract has an opt out clause after 5 years. If Manny wants more money or does not like the way things are going in San Diego, he can flee after 5 years. He would only be 31 years old and still have plenty of baseball years left. Padres are getting a guy only 26 years old, and he’s just about to hit his prime years. In seven seasons, he has a career batting average of .282. He already has over a thousand hits. Drove in over 500 runs while racking up 175 long balls. Last year with the Orioles and Dodgers, he hit .297 with 37 long balls while driving in over a 100 runs. Manny can play either third base or short stop. He is not a defense liability. He is definitely an impact player on both sides of the ball. Known for the big bat over the glove work.Manny Machado can fit whereever your team is at in the standings. If you have an elite team, he can help you get to the championship level. If you’re one of those teams that are always on the bubble, but not making it into the playoffs he should put you over the top. He can be the center piece of the rebuild. He can be a big piece of a team in a rebuild jumping to the next level, and that’s where the Padres stand.  Last year they invested long term with Eric Hosmer, former Royal, on a 144 million dollar deal. The Padres have talented prospects. The team only won 66 games.  Adding Manny with Hosmer gives you two big bats in your line up everyday. Plus Fernado Tatis Jr. and Luis Urias are two prospects that are ready to go this year. The Padres have a core of position players established to play along side of each other for years.Since the San Diego Chargers left town, you are down to one major sport in your town out of the big four leagues. The Padres are the only game in town. Bringing in Manny Machada to a team on the rise with young talent, is a huge deal for this town. Last time the Padres had someone hit 30 home runs in one season, was back in 2010 with Adrian Gonzalez. Last time the Padres were respectable, was when Tony Gwynn had the lumber in his hand. The Padres are not the Red Sox, Dodgers or the hated Yankees, where free agents are knocking at their door. They will have to overpay like they did for Eric Hosmer. They will have to dish out a few hundred brinks trucks for the talent of Manny Machado. San Diego has the best weather in the league, but it’s not enough to get players wanting to go there. The young prospects the Padres have assembled, look great. Everyone needs pitching. With Manny in the house, more players may follow. Right now the future looks bright in sunny San Diego. Which is always a good reason for San Diego to stay classy.

 

 

 

PIRATES HOPING THE MELK MAN IS NOT EXPIRED YET

Attention ladies and gentlemen we have a blue light special on X Cleveland outfielders in aisle five. Another budget buy for the Pirates as they stock up on Cleveland Indian outfielders. Melky Cabrera joins his former teammate, Lonnie Chisenhall, in Pittsburgh on a minor league deal with an invite to Spring training. This is the second veteran within a week that the Pirates have signed to a minor league deal. Last week was Francisco Liriano.

 

Melky Cabrera is a switch hitting outfielder at the age of 34. This will be his seventh team for the 14 year veteran. Last year in 78 games for the Indians, he hit .280 with 6 long balls while driving in 78. He’s a career .286 hitter who has some pop from both sides. He’s an average defender who has a strong arm and is able to throw people out from the outfield. He is a guy that has served a 50 game suspension for PEDs. He is a good clubhouse guy who is a team player.

I imagine the Pirates are thinking Melky Cabrera would come off the bench for the team as the fourth outfielder. With Cory Dickerson and Starling Marte already in place for two of the three spots. Lonnie Chisenhall would probably get the other spot. I like this signing a lot. I think you have plenty of options to use a guy like Melky Cabrera. He can rotate in and out of the line-up each week . He is a switch hitter which would help in certain match-ups facing other teams’ pitching.  He is insurance just in case because Lonnie Chisenhall has a history of getting injured. He can provide pop with the bat coming off the bench, either pinch hitting or double switches. In American League ballparks, he can DH.

I’m surprised Melky is available and did not have your typical one to two year offer from somebody. You could have still got him on the cheap. I know he is better than a minor league type of deal invite to spring training. The Pirates have many holes on the roster. The Melkman will be able to help patch up one of them. At this point, you wish the Melkman was just icing on the cake rather than the foundation. Still many free agents available to fill in your roster needs. Still time to improve the team. Will the Pirates brass actually open up their wallets and get some of the bigger fish in the pond? Probably not with more bargain players flooding the market, it’s not the Pirates style. Dollar bin or bust is the yearly slogan in Steeltown.

  WHITE SOX ADD MORE OUTFIELD DEPTH IN INKING GUYER

White Sox are still believed to be in on some of the big fish still out there in the pond . It did not stop them adding a guppy to their tank. White Sox improve their outfield depth with the signing of Brandon Guyer. Brandon Guyer played with the Indians last season. Indians acquired him from the Rays in 2016. He has been placed on the White Sox 40 man roster. If he makes the team he will get a 1.6 million dollar deal for one year. If he does not make the big club, then he starts the season in the minors and will get only $150, 000 clams.

 

Brandon Guyer’s stock dropped last season where he played in 103 games, only hitting a meager .203. Brandon Guyer is remembered for his post season play in 2016. He hit off the charts in the ALDS. A .750 batting average. In the Series versus the hated Chicago Cubs, he hit .300. He was part of the rally that tied the game up late in game seven. He hit a double with two outs driving in a run to make it a 6 to 4 game. He was on base when Davis tied the game with a two run home run. In extra innings, he drew a walk. Give him an extra million dollars since he is a Cubs killer. Can’t hurt to improve the depth of the outfield and bench as this is a safe roll of the dice type of move. If it pans out, great. If it does not, no one will even remember this article ever existed.

RIP FRANK ROBINSON

This week, the MLB lost one of its greats. Frank Robinson passed away at the age of 83 years old.

Frank Robinson has one hell of a baseball resume of all the things he accomplished in America’s past time. He played for 21 seasons in the Majors. He was a first ballot Hall-of-Famer in 1982 as the numbers tell the tale. Frank Robinson was deadly with the lumber. He knocked 586 balls out of the park. The stat I like is he hit a home run at 33 different ball parks during his time. That was like Fred McGriff had practically every stadium he hit a home run in when he played for multiple teams. Frank Robinson played for five teams during his career: Reds, Orioles, Indians, Dodgers and Angels. The Indians, he became a player manager.

Chicks dig the long ball, that’s why I threw those home run stats at you first. Frank’s bat racked up 2,943 hits driving in over 1,812 runs. He made twelve all-star teams. He was MVP in both leagues and still to this day, is the only person to ever do that. He was drafted by the Reds and won Rookie of the Year in 1956. The Reds traded Frank Robinson at the age of 30. They thought he was too old. Frank had no problem with that as he won the triple crown that year when he racked up his 2nd MVP award for the Baltimore Orioles. Might want to pencil in the Reds and put them on that list of stupidest trades of all-time. Frank was also the World Series MVP that year in 1966. Talk about Reds in the face of that GM.

Players and managers always said Frank Robinson played with no fear. Earl Weaver, former coach of Frank, would say he played with guts and probably spit a wad of chew out his mouth right at your feet since he’s a feisty manager. Maybe he did have guts because he dared pitchers to hit him as he hugged the plate when he batted. Pitchers did hit 198 times which is still good for 9th overall all-time.

Frank Robinson was also a trailblazer for the game of baseball. He was the first African American manager in the majors. He actually managed 16 seasons. His winning percentage was only a .475 as his record was 1065-1176. Definitely under .500, however a thousand wins is very impressive. He even took honors as Manager of the Year with the Orioles. As manager, he got around like he did as a player. He coached in Cleveland, San Francisco, Baltimore, then made his way up to Canada and coached the Expos, and came back to coach the Nationals when they moved from Montreal to Washington.

Frank Robinson also worked in the front office. He worked for the MLB. I remember he was working in the Orioles front office and the team started off 0-6. They looked horrible. Frank Robinson took over the duties of the manager. The losing streak reached 21 games. I remember their first win against my White Sox. They were due and they beat the White Sox for their first win of the season. He managed to get the team to play better. The following year the team won 87 games and Frank Robinson again earned himself another award winning manager of the year honors.

Frank Robinson was born in Texas, 1935. Beaumont, Texas to be exact. His family moved to Oakland, California where Frank played basketball and baseball at McClymonds High School. His teammate in basketball was NBA great Bill Russell, who probably collected awards like Frank did. In 2005, to throw in a Forrest Gump feel to Frank Robinson’s life story, he was giving the Presidential Medal of Freedom award. President George W. Bush gave him that award in person.

Never got to see Frank Robinson play live. He would be a player I would love because he played the game the right way. He was a very talented individual. He loved the game. His passion for the game was most of his life. Probably born with a bat in his hands. Probably as I write this he is talking to some of the other greats that have passed away, and were at one time great baseball players themselves. He’s probably comparing his swing with the likes of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the Babe in the field of dreams. Perhaps the game of running bases with Jackie Robinson. He will be missed as a great person in his lifetime. Plus, just the game of baseball is not the same without people like Frank.

PIRATES PULL OUT A LIRIANO FROM THE DOLLAR BIN

Did you ever look through one those bins of DVDS at Best Buy? A variety of them marked down to really low price. Most of the DVDS you never heard of. Obviously the store wants clear their old stock. The penny pinching Pirates found themselves an old classic. It might not be up to snuff with, the likes of a Weekend at Bernies. But What is? The Pirates found a 35 year old pitcher they are familiar with. Francisco Liriano is coming back to Steel town on Minor league deal, in hopes of making the team this spring.

The 13 season Veteran pitched for the Pirates from 2013 through 2016. In 3 years, he compiled up a 41-36 record with 3.67 ERA in 107 starts. His best year was in 2013, where he won 16 games. He also was the winning pitcher in the wild game versus the Reds that year. The Pirates going into spring training have all right handed pitchers, dueling it out for the starting rotation. If Francisco can make the squad, it would give that rotation a different look with at least one left- handed pitcher. He could also be a bullpen option as well. Long relief guy. Left-handed specialist. Can make those emergency starts, due to injuries.

Last year Francisco Liriano pitched for a bad Tiger team. A team that suddenly went into a rebuild and selling off it’s pieces. Last year Francisco pitched 133 Innings going 5-12, with a high 4.58 ERA. He also made 26 starts for the Tigers last year. Pitching in the American league your ERA will balloon up, especially on a bad team. He made 26 starts though, which you know he stayed healthy the whole year.

Francisco Liriano will never be the all-star pitcher he was in 2006, with the Minnesota Twins. He is the type of pitcher that has a good year followed by a bad year. His career record is 107-111, 4 games under 500. Since the Pirates are not going after the top or even middle tier free agents, you might as well take flyer on a pitcher your familiar with. He cant be the worst 5th starter in the entire league. Maybe he becomes that Genie out of the bottle for you and has one of his good years. He’s coming off a bad year. He might be due for a good year. I do like he is coming back to one of his old stomping grounds. He is familiar with the situation in Pittsburgh and will be comfortable. With those factors he could have a good year. Another factor I like he was part of the 2017 World Series Champion, Houston Astros. The stories, his wisdom can help the young pitching staff get better, that the Pirates have assembled.

DAVIDSON HEADING TO LONE STAR STATE

Matt Davidson was another White sox player not tendered an offer this off season, was simply let go. No one plucked the third basemen/ First basemen who also can throw a wicked curve ball on the pitching rubber. Texas Rangers agreed to minor league contract that will bring Matt Davidson to the Rangers spring training, in hopes he makes the squad in 2019.

First time I ever seen Matt Davidson play up close was the 2017 season. It was cold day on opening day week in Chicago. The cold only brought out a few people that day.I was one of those idiots that braved the temps to an early April game. I was able to wheel and deal for some box seats a gentleman offer me looking to unload them. I got them at a steal. On that Day the White sox won the game. The offense had sizzling hot bats versus the Tigers pitching that cold day. Matt Davidson hit two home runs on that cold  day which was pretty impressive.

Matt Davidson was always known as power hitter that could strike out a lot. Last year he struck out 165 times. The White sox acquired Davidson from the Diamondbacks. It took Matt Davidson a few seasons to work on his craft to finally make it to big club. He had a cup of coffee for the Diamond backs. When he finally made it to the big league for the White sox it only lasted for a cup a tea, due to a injury. In 2017 his first full year he 26 long balls. He drove in 68, hitting .220. His batting average went up 8 points in 2018 ,but his home runs went down to 20 and he only drove in 62.

In 2018 it was his pitching that was most talked about when it came to Matt Davidson. He pitched three scoreless innings. He has a wicked curve ball that baffled hitters. The innings he tossed were in games the team was getting blowing out. He wants to become a two way player. Coming out of the bullpen when needed . Plus playing the hot corner and he also logged in some games at first base. Plus he is a power hitter so you have in the DH slot for many games, perhaps to rest his arm for the bull pen.

The White sox are going in another direction as the prospects are coming up from the minors .Plus they are looking at up grading talent by trade or through free agency. Rumors have it they are trying to seek a Manny Machado. They already traded for Yonder Alonso a well established power hitter with less strikeouts. The White sox have no more room for developing or waiting on guys like a Matt Davidson. Davidson needs many at-bats as power hitter and the White sox can not give him those at- bats.

Texas Rangers are in rebuild and can test the waters on a Matt Davidson. The Rangers rebuild is in its first stages, while the White sox are looking to make a leap into the next level, competing. I like Matt Davidson I think he is good player to have since he is jack of all trades. He a streaky player with the bat. Seems to hit most of his home runs very early in the season.  He needs to cut down on the strikeouts. It depends when you hit the home run when it counts or in garbage time. Cutting down on missing the baseball will get more positive results no matter what for the likes of Davidson and others.

The idea of a player pitching and playing a position on other days is very interesting. Pitching in blow outs is different then coming in when the game is on the line. Teams make adjustments. It’s good to be jack of all trades. Only thing Davidson has not mastered any of them yet. Could working on pitching ruin what he has done hitting? Texas will be a good place for him to find himself. A place that give him a chance to sharpen up all the tools in his shed. Or a chance to pick his poison and go with it.

AVISAIL GARCIA NOW A RAY

 

He arrived with a bang, but went out with a whimper on the Southside. Avisail Garcia was mostly hype during his six years playing for the White Sox. The White Sox thought the 22 year old was going to be their next 5-tool player when they got him in a three-way team trade. The White Sox sending Jake Peavy to the Red Sox. Tigers gave up a young 6’4″ power hitting beast that can do it all on the field. Tigers compared him to Miguel Cabrera, their all-star first baseman.  They thought of him as Miggy junior.

 

Avisail showed flashes of greatness during his stint with the White Sox. Nagging injuries were his krytonite as he could not stay healthy on aregular basis. In 2017, he put together a very fine year as he made it to the all-star game. It was his best season on the south side. Last year his stock bottomed out. More injuries. Only played in 93 games as his average dropped to a meager .236, whereas he was in the low .300’s the year before.  He was pulled from a few games by his manager Ricky Renteria for not hustling down the baseline.   Avisail was quick to apologize as he admitted he was in the wrong. The White Sox non-tendered him when the season came to end and he became a free agent. The White Sox are planning to go in a different direction in 2019.  They have plenty of prospects on the horizon that could be making their debuts in 2019. Meanwhile Avisail finishes his White Sox career hitting .274 with 74 long balls.

The Rays desperately need some power influxed into their line up. They have tried to sign Nelson Cruz. The Twins landed him. They tried to get Paul Goldschmidt in a trade, Cardinals sealed that deal. They have been rumored in the J.T Realmuto sweepstakes. They did add Mike Zunino and Yandy Diaz. They get Avisail Garcia on the cheap.  He will get  a one year deal for 3.5 million with incentives to made another 2.5 million. This is a great deal for the Rays. If Garcia can stay healthy and avoid the strikeouts, he could have a rebound type of year especially with incentives on the line. If he has a bad year,  a one year deal with that type of money in baseball is like losing $20.00 dollars in the slot machine out of Joe Sixpack’s wallet. Plus he was an all-star not too long ago.

I think Avisail Garcia needed new scenery. I think the White Sox have no room for him as he is expendable with all the prospects and the guys they have in place already. Plus they are rumored to be involved in free agents far more talented and that are outfielders, such as Bryce Harper. I think the Rays have problems signing big name free agents, so they need to get their weapons through trades. Gambles like Garcia have paid off in the past for the Rays. They are rumored also to be kicking the tires on Matt Davidson, another White Sox free agent who also has power. The Rays always have pitching. If they can fill their hitting needs any way they can get them. If these moves all pan out they could snag a wild card because of the pitching they assembled.

WHITE SOX ADD A FLAME THROWER

I’ve been skeptical so far this off season with some of the White Sox moves. Rumors have it they are involved in almost everybody out there. Even the big fish, the sharks of the pond like Harper and Machado. When have the White sox plopped down a ton for a player? They are used to the dollar bins at Target for their diamonds in the rough. Perhaps the year they signed Albert Belle to that big deal that had an escape clause. They are very lucky because that escape cause saved them a ton of money from Menards that year. They signed Jose Abreu to a big deal, but he was not a guy the whole league was going after that year.

Many of the deals have been small potatoes. Guys with only 1 to 2 years on their present deals. Bridge player types. They made a formal offer to the Manny Machado people. They also signed all his neighbors and friends. Plus they are in touch with the Harper people. The one move that has opened my eyes to think finally this team is serious. It took a signing of one of the top 50 free agents to get me hooked, line and sinker. The signing of Kelvin Herrera reshapes that bullpen. It gives them a look with Alex Colome, a guy they got from the Mariners, along with Nate Jones, into something to actually stop other teams from getting runs late in games. Three solid options.

 

Kelvin Herrera was one of the best relievers in the game from 2014 thru 2016. He was part of the light out bullpen the Royals had, that got them to two World Series. One of them the Royals won. Last year he pitched in 48 games for the Royals and Nationals. He had an ERA of 2.44 with 38 strike outs in 44 1/3 innings pitched. He had good numbers even though he suffered through a shoulder injury very early in the season. He also tore his Lisfranc ligament in his left foot at the end of August, which sidelined him for the rest of the year. Both injuries he will be able to get back to normal health from, and will be ready for spring training. White Sox have him for two years at an 18 million dollar deal with a third year option.  Herrera will be a late inning guy. He has the stuff  to be the closer or the set up guy. He can come in, shut down any of your opponents’ top guys and preserve the lead.

If the White Sox were not seriously wanting to improve in 2019, they would have never signed this guy and paid him this type of money. They could easily continue the rebuild and find cheap options like they normally do and fill in spots in the bullpen. Or plug young guys in those spots and hope they come up with a fix. This tells Manny Machado and Bryce Harper they are ready to build this thing and get it going in 2019. They have added short bridge-type players as they await on the army of big time prospects to rise out of crops. Right now without counting on any of those prospects, this team looks way better than they did last year, after losing 100 games. Plus a few teams in the Central division in full rebuild. Indians are half in mode, half selling mode.  Twins are the only team that seems to be in to compete for the Central. If the Sox can land one of the big fish in either Harper or Machado. Insert one of them in a line up, that is pretty good right now. The Central could be there for the taking.

BOSOM BUDDIES

White Sox continue to bring in the whole entire Manny Machado circle. The White Sox just inked veteran outfielder, Jon Jay, to a one year deal. Jon Jay is one of Manny’s closest friends. In December, the White Sox landed Manny’s Brother-in-Law ,Yonder Alonso, in a trade with the Indians. All three guys work out together in the off season and are a very tight group. White Sox will also go very hard at Manny’s barber and his pet groomer. The team hopes to have them all in the fold as well. Bring Manny’s whole world to the south side in hopes he signs with the team. The White Sox have made Manny Machado a  formal offer. Will the money be enough?  Will the team need to throw big money at the barber and the pet groomer to relocate them to really seal this deal?

 

Jon Jay brings the team another outfielder. A potential lead off hitter. A good glove man who can play all three outfield positions. The 33 year old turns 34 in March and will join his sixth team in five seasons. Last year he hit .268 and scored 74 runs splitting time with the Royals and Diamondbacks. Jon Jay is a left handed hitter who could split time with right handed center fielder Adam Engel, who is basically known for his glove and not the bat.

White Sox did not pick up Avisail Garcia’s option this off season, letting him walk into free agency. Going in, the team only had Adam Engel, Leury Garcia and Nicky Delmonico on the big league roster in the outfield . Jon Jay could be a rotating piece and gives you a veteran 4th outfielder. This is very valuable especially if none of the big prospects are ready to take their next big step to the show.  Plus, you do not have to rush them if they are not ready. A one year deal is peanuts as he can be traded at the deadline if needed. However he could be that one chip that will land you the big fish in Manny Machado.  The White Sox are going in the direction of the movie, Field of Dreams, if you built it they will come. Perhaps the White Sox’s new slogan should be, if you sign them he will come.

ALL IN THE FAMILY

White Sox continue their wheeling and dealing this off season. They acquire first baseman Yonder Alonso from the Indians. Indians get an outfield prospect from the White Sox, Alex Call. Lots of things jump out at you with this trade. Trading with a division rival. You already have an All-Star first baseman in Jose Abreu. The thing that will blow you mind away is, Alonso happens to be Manny Machado’s brother-n-law.

We know the Indians are shredding salary like the kid in Christmas story wants to shred the rabbit outfit he is forced to wear. Jose Abreau has one year remaining on his contract. Many teams could be interested in his talents. Another idea you keep both of them and rotate them in and out of the DH slot and out in the field. Would be a way better line up, if both sluggers were in it every day. Yonder Alonso definitely has some pop in his bat.He only hit .250, which is good for a slugger. Left handed power hitters are very good to have, especially more than one. The White Sox already have Daniel Palka, who has power and hits home runs in crunch time. This line up suddenly does not look like a 100 loss team.  We know Abreu and Palka can hit for power. Add Yonder Alonso 23 long ones and his 83 RBI’S to the mix. Something is starting to happen on the South Side.

The X-factor about the whole trade, is the link to Manny Machado. Manny Machado is married to Yonder Alonso sister. Both live in the same neighborhood in the off season. They only live a few blocks from each other. Both are very close. Yonder Alonso now jack of trades for the White Sox. Obviously he is a player and you can add front office recruiter to his resume. Could he help land one of the biggest fish out there on the free agent market? Yonder Alonso said he love to be neighbors with Manchardo on the South side of Chicago too. Can you imagine a line up with Manchardo, Alonso, Palka, and Abreu in, on a daily  basis?  It will also take a few brinks trucks to complete the deal. Keeping it all in the family might not be such a meathead idea. If it does not work out people will be yelling Ding bat at the organization, especially if the bats go ding, even if you landed the big fish.  However ten years from now, you could be singing those were the days on the South side of Chicago.

JODY MERCER INKS A ONE YEAR DEAL WITH THE TIGERS

Looks like the Pirates will be going in with the young out with the old. Free agent Jody Mercer leaves the Pirates ship and signs with Detroit. Mercer known more for his defensive skills than his bat, gets a one year deal. He will be a stop gap bridge type player, while the Tigers are in a full rebuild. If he plays well, perhaps he can be used as a trade chip for the Tigers, to get a prospect or two at the trade deadline. Jody Mercer played seven years for the Pirates. Played in 800 games. Had a .256 batting average with 55 long ones, while driving in 277, during that span. He will be remember most for his defense, during his time on the Pirate ship.

WHITE SOX ADD ANOTHER BACK STOP TO THE MIX

After trading Omar Narvaez and letting Kevan Smith get picked up from waivers, by the Angels. The White sox catching position seem kind of depleted. Only Wellington Castillo left, with some interesting prospects to choose from, in the minors. Just in case the prospects were not ready the Sox added a veteran to the mix. James McCann signs a one year deal with the White sox.

James McCann spent five seasons in the motor city. Originally was drafted by the White sox, back in 2008. James McCann chose to go to college instead. After Arkansas state the Tigers, drafted him in 2011. In five seasons playing for the Tigers, he has a career batting average of .240 with 40 bombs, 177 RBI’S in 452 games. In 2017, James had by far his best season with the bat, as he tallied 13 bombs driving in 49. Last season in a 118 games he batted a low, .220 with 8 bombs driving in 39, on bad Tiger team.

James McCann is only 28 years old. He is known for his defense when it comes to his position, as a catcher. He’s one of the best in the business controlling a running game. This has been a weakness for the White sox, for a very long time. He could be asset against teams that are known for stealing bases. He could be used in late innings, to help close out games, if the closer finds himself in a jam of some kind.

I do not think this signing will rule out Zack Collins and Seby Zavala from being called up. If they are ready you could definitely add them to the mix. Will both Castillo and McCann be all star catchers in the future ? With the McCann signing it gives those young prospects mores seasoning in the minor leagues. Your not rushing them. It gives them a chance to have unlimited amount of bats down on the farms. If their ready you can always dump one of these veterans, without blinking an eye.

Overall I like the signing of McCann. Is Castillo off the juice? Not sure Wellington Castillo is a guy to get excited about. He seem to be better on the juice, then when he came back off the juice, as he served his 60 game suspension last season. The McCann signing gives the catching position depth. It’s only a one year deal. If the team is bad, its  another guy you could flip at the trade deadline.  I think defense and pitching win lots of games. Love the idea about a catcher keeping base runners at large. Take pressure off the pitchers. Only if you combined both Wellington Castillo and Jame McCann talents into one catcher. Perhaps an all star in the making.

DECEMBER 11TH TRADE

WHITE SOX AND PIRATES MAKE A DEAL

Both the White Sox and the Pirates, so far have been fiddling with their own rosters. Reshaping their roster, into some kind of direction. The jury is still out with what direction either team is going, or if they even have a plan. Both teams become trade partners, at the baseball winter meetings.

The big name in this trade, White Sox land pitcher Ivan Nova. Meanwhile, the Pirates land a pitcher also. Yordi Rosario, a young prospect and the Pirates receive some international bonus pool money. Monopoly money for some out of states talent to build up the account. For the next available Cuban that escapes.

Ivan Nova is in his last year of his contract. The Pirates save 9.2 million dollars shipping him to Chicago. With that money coming off the books, they could look into adding other pieces in free agency, to fill in their holes. They also can slide one of their up and coming young pitchers into the rotation. The rotation so far has some talented young starters in place. Chris Archer, the big catch of the summer from the Rays. Plus Jameson Taillon and Trevor Williams.

The White sox are looking to fill their rotation, perhaps with a veteran or two. Ivan Nova fills the need as an inning eater. A guy that will make every start when his turn is called. The White sox have three younger pitchers already in place. Carlos Rodon, Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito. The team also has some young prospects that could make the jump to the majors, at some point next season. Last season the team had a big blow, when Michael Kopech injured himself. He was pitching well in the Majors from the time he was called up. The injury, needs your typical Tommy John surgery. He will miss all of 2019.

Will the Pirates invest the money they do not have to pay Nova?  Invest into something that will help their team get better, in the 2019 season. The Pirates were up and down last season. They did win 82 games. They had a streaks at times, where they looked like they would be contending for a wild card. The Pirates  payroll is pretty low. If they chose to go on spending spree and get the missing players to complete their roster. They could make a run at the NL Central. So far they been digging in the dollar bin, for players like Lonnie Chisenhall. Those are good to do because they do pan out. You might find a Weekend at Bernie’s. However you never know when you will get a Weekend at Bernie’s two. Then losses pile up. Obvious the penny pinching theory would not work that year. Plus other years the team has been down this road.

From the White Sox side of things the Nova trade is a cheaper version of Jame Shields. Ivan Nova achieved a better record at 9-9, with the Pirates. Novas ERA, is very high for a NL pitcher, at 4.19. Ivan Nova pitched better at home, at PNC park than on the road. His ERA, much lower at 2.99, in 14 starts. On the road, he was horrible, in 15 starts with a 5.42 ERA. Then the stat that scares me the most, he gave up 26 home runs. How many will he serve up at Guaranteed Rate? White Sox stadium is way home run friendly than PNC park. This year things could be better for the White Sox. You might not need a Nova to eat 200 innings, like James Shields did.  If things go south Nova has never pitched 200 innings. James Shields sounds better for some reason.

The Nova deal from the Pirates prospective is good. They can always replace him with a cheaper veteran, that can produce a 500 record.  For the White sox this deal is stupid. I know the needs for a veteran pitcher in the rotation. They need a guy that is better than what Jame Shields did last year, for the ridiculous amount of money he got. I still don’t know what direction this rebuild is going. They traded and landed a younger closer from the Mariners. They let two younger catchers go elsewhere, to keep an older veteran ,in Wellington Castillo. If the White sox are bad and Nova is good they could trade him at the deadline. Rumors are swirling the White sox are interested in many big fish this year, in the free agent pool. They could at least come up with a starter, that has a lower ERA and a winning track record than the heaps they had or are getting.  Most of all what heaps are they thinking to add? Both teams need something better than what we are getting.  It is still early. I have growing tired of that excuse.

MCCUTCHEN IS MOVING BACK TO PENNSYLVANIA

 

Andrew McCutchen, the former Pirate, is moving back to Pennsylvania. This go around, not the Steel City. He is heading to Philadelphia and joining the Phillies in 2019. Pirates traded McCutchen in the off season before the 2018 season. In 2018 Andrew McCutchen spent time in the Bay Area with the Giants. Then the Giants traded him to the Yankees at the trade deadline. At the age of 32, he batted .255 combined with both teams. He hit 20 bombs while driving in 65 with both teams combined.

Andrew is not a fine wine as he gets older. His numbers are decreasing with age. The Phillies are rumored to be after everyone that has a pulse, including the big fish. Andrew McCutchen is the first piece of many they are seeking. McCutchen gets a three year deal worth around 50 million and a club option.

Phillies were in the thick of things last year for the division. They were definitely in the race for the Wild Card as well. Late in the season the team ran out of gas. Phillies were a very young team that signed some bigger names last year in free agency. With the McCutchen signing, the Phillies might be forced to trade away some of their younger talent to strengthen other positions. Since the outfield could be a log jam.  If McCutchen’s numbers continue to drop after each year of this new deal,  it could set a team that built a nice young foundation back. Especially if they move young guys that are up and coming. The three year deal gives  McCutchen some stability. Which could ease his mindset and get back to his good days when he played with the Pirates years ago. Either way, this move is a gamble and will be a wait and see approach.

THE HALL CALLS TWO CHICAGO GUYS

On both sides of Chicago, fans of each baseball team should be happy. It is the off season and most fans are counting the days until spring training. They are waiting for their team to make a trade, or sign a free agent to make their team better. Neither team has not signed Bryce Harper yet. However each team has a blast from the past going into the hall of fame in 2019. Imagine both of them will be wearing Chicago hats and they give their speeches this summer.

“HAROLD, HAROLD, HAROLD!”

The chants of “Harold, Harold,” filled the stands when Harold Baines came up to bat. The old days of Old Comiskey Park on the Southside of Chicago. The smell of hot dogs in the air. Swirling wrappers scattering around in the right field corner. Nobody cares as it is late in the game and the man up to bat with the high leg kick in the batter box, will deliver for the home team with late innings heroics once again. Yesterday, the 16 person committee, who call themselves Today’s game committee, elected Harold Baines in the 2019 Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

As a White Sox fan you knew Frank Thomas was a first ballot hall of famer.  After the Big Hurt you wondered who would make it into the hall wearing a  White sox cap. Paul Konerko is definitely in the White Sox hall of fame. The team even retired his number. His overall numbers I think might come up short. Other heroes from the 2005 World Series, numbers would definitely come up short. Further away than Paulie’s numbers. Perhaps Chris Sale if he stays healthy and pitches well. Will that pitching style delivery he has come into play and shorten his career? All of that is thrown out the window because he ended up being traded to the Red Sox.  A World Series with Boston and you will forget about ever wearing White Sox.

Harold Baines never did well on the main ballot. He never even came close to get the right amount of votes to get into the hall of fame. Reasons of being a primary DH most of his career, was the main factor. Harold had a major knee injury that slotted him into the DH position. The DH position kept his baseball career alive. He thrived in his new position. Harold  had 2,866 hits in a career which is 134 short of the usual automatic shoe in of 3000 hits that gets you immediately elected. Players like David Ortiz and Frank Thomas have changed people’s minds about these sluggers that have played most of their games as a DH. Harold Baines only played two innings in the field during his last nine seasons in the Majors. Teams need a DH which is important in the AL. Plus both leagues need pinch hitting in late innings. Harold Baines played 22 years and has been through some labor strikes. In 1981, plus1994 where the league cancelled the playoffs and the World Series and part of the 1995 season. That’s 56 games he did not get to the batters box. That’s 56 games with which he probably could have gotten the 134 hits to get to 3000.

 

Harold Baines was originally drafted number one by the White Sox. He is only the third player who was drafted number one overall to make it into the hall. He joins two well known sluggers already in placed  Cooperstown: Chipper Jones and Ken Griffey Junior. Harold played 22 years in the Majors. He did 14 of them with the White Sox. He had a few stints as he was involved in a trade that sent him to Texas for Sammy Sosa. Besides the White Sox and Rangers, Baines suited up for the Indians, A’s, and his home town team, the Orioles. Baines retired in 2001 and finished with 384 home runs with a life time batting average of .289. Harold Baines went into coaching after he retired. He was one of the coaches that helped the White Sox win the World Series in 2005

When I was younger and a diehard baseball fan. The White Sox winning ugly 1983 team was what I was brought up on. Harold Baines, Carlton Fisk and Ron Kittle were my favorite players when they won the division back then. It was the first division title in Chicago from either baseball team in decades.  The early 1980s I played baseball for the White Sox little league team. I collected baseball cards and my dad brought me to my first ever ballgame at the Old Comiskey Park. When the beaded man with the high leg kick on each swing came up. Chants of “Harold” filled the crowd. It was like the wave. Or standing up to sing, “Take me out to the ballgame.” It came naturally and stayed with you the rest of the Sox games Harold played. It was branded inside my head like a catchy jingle on the television.

 

Some experts probably do not think Harold Baines has any business entering the hall. They will break down all the stats and dissect it a thousand times over and tell you he does not belong there. All those fun new stats which baseball is all about these days. It’s all about numbers and percentages and pie graphs and charts. To me it’s all about the eye test. I do not care how long he played for. How many at bats he had. Or what he had for dinner that night. I’ve seen him tie up games and send it to extras. During a late school night game, the adult we were with  walked us out early because one of the kids with us was sick so we had to leave early. It was during extra innings. Got to the car and Harold Baines sent everyone home happy with a game winner. Later in life I met a guy at a job who was actually my boss. Hated the White Sox. He was Brewer fan.  Before the Brewers went to the NL they were in the AL and a rival of the White Sox. Now the Southside faithful root for the Brew Crew. My boss hated Harold Baines for the reason that he’d come up to bat and came up with the right leg kick each time and put the bat on the ball with power. Resulting in a game winner after game winner. Would you give a man a statue while he was still in the league if he was a bad player or an average player? Welcome to Cooperstown #3, sorry for the long wait.  See you this summer .

 

CLOSE THE DOOR LEE

I never understood why Lee Smith was not elected to the hall of fame a long time ago.  Smith was 6’6″ 265 pounds.  A man with an intimidating mound presence. With a fire ball that he could blow by you. He was the man that came out of the bullpen, to close the door. To end the game. To end the game, victorious. They call it the closer position in baseball. The most important position in the bullpen. One of the most important positions on a team,especially if you want to have any kind of success that season.

Lee Smith pitched for 18 years in the Majors. His services included 8 teams during his long career.He started in Chicago on the North side of town. There he pitched 8 seasons with the Cubs. After the Cubs, he pitched another ten years. He pitched for seven more teams. The seven teams includes the Red Sox, Cardinals, Yankees, Orioles, and the California Angels they called themselves at the time. Plus the Reds and Expos. He experienced some heated rivals playing on both sides of the Cubs/Cardinal rivalry. Then in the American league seeing both sides of the Yankee/Red sox festivities.

The numbers he put up are just jaw dropping. He retired from the the Majors as the all-time save leader. He held that record from 1993 until 2006. Eventually broken by Trevor Hoffman. He set the MLB record games finished, with 802. He racked up 1,022 games pitched. Which was third most in history when he retired. Led the leagues three times in saves. He set the NL record, with 47 saves for the Cardinals in 1991. That year he was also runner up for the Cy Young award. He still holds the Cubs record for most saves of all-time with 180. He had the Cardinals all-time record,that also fell in 2006. He racked up three Rolaids relief man of the year awards. Then add seven all-stars to the mix.

Players like Lee Smith, fall through the cracks when it comes to voting these players in the hall. He has gotten a good amount of votes through the years, when he was on the ballot. However he still needed a good amount to get in. The Today’s game Committee was unanimous with all 16 votes to put  Lee Smith in. Those are the most important votes he ever got, because now the long road as finally come to a close. Lee Smith can close the door, one more time, when he takes the microphone this summer in Cooperstown.

WHITE SOX OFF SEASON MOVES (DECEMBER  HO HO HO)

OFF SEASON TRADE LANDS A CLOSER TO THE SOUTH SIDE

The last two seasons the White sox have been in a rebuild. What are their plans for the 2019? Lots of rumors have them involved in some big splash free agent talent across the league. The team does have money to spend. The rebuild already has some young talent in place. They still have many holes on the active roster to fill.  They still have a slew of young talent on the verge waiting in the minors, eager to come up and be a part of the big league club. Before the rebuild is complete. Is it smart to land  some guys in their peak, while they are available in free agency? Do you wait patiently and let the talent ooze on the roster when they are ready? Either way you will probably still take some lumps in 2019.

White sox make their first significant trade of the off season. I would say their biggest move so far. This coming from a trade with the Seattle Mariners, a team that is selling off their pieces ,as they are heading for a complete rebuild. White sox have now gotten rid of their second catcher this off season. Omar Narvaez is heading to the Mariners. In late October, Kevan Smith was picked off of waivers by the Angels. Wellington Castillo is your main back stop now. With this move in the books. It leads me to a big question.o Is the White sox number one catcher prospect Zack Collins, ready to come up to the big club?

The White sox receive a pretty good chip back from the Mariners. Alex Colome, a relief pitcher who would slide in the closer role. Alex Colome led the majors in 2017 in saves with 47. Last season he split time with the Rays and the Mariners. In 70 appearance with both two teams his record was 7-5. He posted a 3.04 ERA in the American league. He had 30 holds along with 12 saves, as he was not the closer the entire season. He fanned 72 batters in 68 innings pitched. Obviously the Rays traded him to Seattle in the middle of the season, when the Mariners were making noise for a wild card slot. For the Mariners he went 5-0 and posted a 2.53 ERA. He appeared in 47 games pitching 46 1/3 innings with 49 strike outs.

This move excites me because the team needed a closer last season. I know last year was all about the rebuild. Someone to close out games for young pitchers builds them confidence for the future, is my take on it. Still would of preferred Kevan Smith over Wellington Castillo as my starter. Omar Narvaez had a nice season, as his numbers went up across the board. I think he is expendable, just because I do not see him being a starting back stop for a team in the playoffs. He is nice guy to come off the bench or fill in for injured guy.

Overall I think this trade will work out big for the White sox. However it does not tell me what direction the White sox are heading with this rebuild, for the 2019 season. Alex Colome is only 29 years old. These are his prime years coming up. The White sox could flip him at the trade deadline and accumulate more younger talented prospects. This trade could net in a bigger fish. Since we do not have the White Sox plan in front of us, he might be the guy that gets the White Sox over the hump and back to the playoffs. Everything would have come together rather quickly. Obviously the young guys would need to step it up and other holes would need to be filled in by free agents. The one thing that stands out with this move, is perhaps the arrival of Zack Collins which is piece all the fans are excited about.

PIRATES OFF SEASON MOVES (NOVEMBER RAIN)

LONNIE CHISENHALL  INKS A YEAR DEAL WITH THE BUCS

It’s not a big splash, but the Pirates landed free agent Lonnie Chisenhall on a one year deal. This is another move the Pirates are rolling the dice on. Can Lonnie Chisenhall  stay healthy? It’s the million dollar question? He only played in 29 games last year for the Indians, however he batted .321. Lonnie has played his whole career with the Indians. Lonnie has dealt with calf and shoulder problems over the last two years. Plus concussions can be very tricky at times. When he is healthy he can be a great left handed bat in your line up. Most likely he would be the corner piece outfielder, most likely in a platoon situation. He is 30 years old, but a new team with a new surroundings might be what he needs. If the Pirates are bad and he does well, it can be trade bait halfway through the season. I like these gambles by the Pirates. Last season got you Cory Dickerson who did very well in the Pirates uniform. This team needs to fill a few holes they have. Overall the Pirates do not have a high payroll. They have some great pieces in place. If they can add some bigger names in the positions they need, this team will be in the thick of things.

JUNG HO KANG BACK IN THE MIX

Pirates are rolling the dice on one of their own. Bringing back Jung Ho Kang, on a one year deal. He has a checkered past. He is a player that has dealt with many injuries over the last few seasons. However, he is a guy that has big power. Especially, how the Pirates could use power. As a team last season, they were 13th in the National league, hitting the ball into the seats. Jung Ho Kang’s dealt with a wrist injury, that limited him to only three games in the Major leagues.  He spent most of the season in the minor leagues. In 2016, he wrecked a rental BMW in South Korea.  Hitting a guard rail at high speed as alcohol was involved. He racked up his third DUI conviction in his country. In 2017, South Korea turned down his Visa to leave the country to continue his baseball career. The Pirates are hoping he can be the guy that belted 15 home runs in 2015.  Even in a shortened season due to injuries. Then be the guy who hit 21 home runs in 2016. Obviously they are hoping  a injury free season. Hoping he stays away from the Chicago broads. Since  he was investigated for sexual charges from a Chicago woman, a few years back.  You’re not paying him much in baseball money. A one year deal is not risky. If he can become a good citizen and show off that raw power he has. Most important, stay healthy and this could turn into a great move. The Pirates still need more help. They need to open up their wallet and get some players to fill the holes on their roster to help them compete in the Central.

WHITE SOX OFF SEASON MOVES (NOVEMBER RAIN)

JAMES SHIELDS OPTION NOT PICKED UP

Ken “The Hawk” Harrelson would say “HE GONE”…

White sox fans are dancing in the streets hearing the news about James Shields, not coming back to the Southside. In one of the worst baseball trades in team history. Getting a guy that once was a great pitcher. He never showed he had his old stuff. He was known as BIG GAME JAMES. Big Game never showed up. With the San Diego Padres he was struggling with their ball club and they still fleeced the White Sox for a big prospect, while even throwing in a pitcher. The big prospect, a guy named Fernado Tatis Jr., who will probably have a great career that is in the process of taking off.  White Sox fans had to suffer through the broken shell of the old James Shields.  James Shields’ record on the south side was a disappointment, 16-35. With an ERA that reached up to 5.31. I will give him credit during the rebuild, since no team wanted to take him off our hands. He did mentor the young guys. He did rack up a lot of meaningless innings. You need guys in the rotation that can pitch every 5th day and go far into games, to save the bullpen. The team wished they were meaningful innings pitched in these games. Games that meant making the playoffs. Rather have a young guy come up and get experience, instead of marching him back out there in 2019. I like this move. I give it two thumbs up. If I lived in the South of the country, I would give this move three thumbs up.

NATE JONES OPTION PICKED UP

The White Sox are like that kid who will not give up that one toy that keeps breaking down over and over. Nate Jones is like that teddy bear with the stuffing guts coming out and has one eye. In seven years on the south side, he only appeared in 60 or more games in one season, three times. Obviously the team loves the powerful arm that throws smoke in the high 90’s. Last year he appeared in 33 games. His ERA was respectable at 3.00 in the A.L. He was 5 out of 8 in save opportunities. He does not have the closer mentality, plus he can’t stay healthy to be named the official closer. The Sox probably hope he can stay healthy in 2019 and be an important set up guy in the late innings. If he can have a year where he appears in 50 or more games, then this will be a win win. If he does well a contract extension, buyer beware. I would not over pay him with his track record. Especially with years in any deal. I like this move. If it works well done. When he does well he is hard to hit. Bullpen guys are hard to find. In the playoffs it seems bullpens become the most important pieces, now a days.  He could also be trade bait if the rebuild is still in a struggle to launch. If it does not work and he can not stay healthy. Even if he has a bad year.  Might be the last year of watching Nate Jones on the south side of town. Either way this move  will not break you, or make you. The White sox need a slew of moves to fix all the holes.

WHITE SOX OCTOBER OFF SEASON MOVES

KEVAN SMITH CLAIM OFF WAIVERS BY ANGELS

This is terrible move by the White Sox,  just letting Kevan Smith go on waivers. The Angels snatched him up.  Another teams junk, is always another teams treasures. Kevan Smith is the definition of what a catcher in baseball is all about. I know the White sox have a slew of catchers to choose from. Besides the young prospect Zack Collins, Kevan Smith is the guy I would of kept. Wellington Castillo is on the juice. He did not impress me before he got caught on the substance. Then Omar Narvaez, had a nice year at the plate.  All his numbers across the board went up. However Omar can’t throw out any base runners, even if his life depended on it.  I was not very impressed with the games he called behind the plate either.

Meanwhile the Angels picks up a guy who is a pure baseball player. These are the guys you actually need to win games and get to the playoffs. The guys that do the little things. The guys that get dirty in the process of doing the little things. Kevan Smith was born in Pittsburgh. Played baseball at Pittsburgh University. He even played football there. He  was quarterback that eventually played line backer for the Panthers. Like catching in baseball and the positions he played on the grid iron are positions you want your guy that brings his lunch pail to work. I think he always called a great behind the plate. His defense was pretty good. He was a great hitter. Batted .292 last year. In 2017 he batted .283. He is 30 years old but a guy that is starting to hit his peak. I would of liked to seen him groom the young prospect Zack Collins. Then catch half of the games in 2019. Kevan Smith is a team player and guy that can lead by example. To get nothing for him is just stupid by the White sox management. This move will come back and haunt this team at some point next year.

2018 WORLD SERIES PREVIEW

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We were hoping the World Series would feature Milwaukee Brewers versus the Houston Astros. Then as our outcome, we were hoping the Brewers would prevail and win their first title. Early in the season, we predicted the Houston Astros would repeat and be facing the Washington Nationals. Figured without “We do not Trust Dusty Baker” who’d tell you he prefers “Trusty Dusty.” The Nationals went down in flames with all that talent on that roster. That’s why they play the games and you can’t declare a winner on paper regarding who has the best roster.

Both teams have a rich history of playoff baseball.

RED SOX: 8 World Series titles

DODGERS: 6  World Series titles

As you can see both franchises have won 14 World series titles combined.

LAST TIME EACH TEAM WON THE SERIES

RED SOX 2013

DODGERS 1988 (Loss in the World series last year)

The networks will be doing their happy dance that two big markets are playing in the World Series. If it was Brewers and Astros, what would they have done ?

BREAKING IT DOWN WHO HAS THE EDGE

STARTING ROTATIONS: EDGE DODGERS

Chris Sale has not gone deep in a game for months. He was just hospitalized not too long ago. Watching Chris Sale for years playing for the White Sox he always has a great first half. Then the second half of the season, he seems too tired and worn out. David Price finally won a playoff game in the American League Championship. It took him like 15 tries to accomplish this victory. His track record is not good.

Dodgers of course have their Ace Ventura in Clayton Kershaw. He had some big starts already in the playoffs, especially his last outing which was superb. The Dodgers also have Rich Hill and Hyun Jin Ryu who’s been awesome in the playoffs. Then the young rookie Walker Buehler who continues to impress.

THE BULL PEN: EDGE DODGERS

During the seven games against Milwaukee, the Dodgers bullpen posted a 1.45 ERA during that championship series. Boston has done good mixing some of their starters in the pen with the relievers. However the man with the bird stance, the closer Craig Kimbrel, has been knocked around as he’s been tipping his pitches while he spreads his wings. Dodgers overall better. Plus much deeper.

HITTING: RED SOX

1 thru 9 the Red Sox have a murderer’s row. The Dodgers have some thump with the lumber as well. Boston has the best offense in the whole league. All the big offensive stat categories the Red Sox had. Runs, Average, On Base Percentage, and total bases. The Red Sox knocked around a great staff in Houston. Meanwhile the Dodgers are a very good offense too. They led the National League in the deep ball and runs scored.

BENCH: EDGE DODGERS

Boston Red sox have Mitch Morland and Rafael Dever. While the Dodgers have Joc Pederson and Max Muncy. Both teams have some big boppers that can come in and do some Van Damage. Dodgers get the edge in bench because they use all of their players, which most National League teams do. The Dodgers like to mix and match them the whole series and they do very well at rotating the personnel in and out.

BEST OUT OF 7 SERIES

OUR PREDICTION: DODGERS IN 7

Like most championships, good pitching will be able to beat good hitting. Plus the Red Sox pitching in my book is not deep enough. The Dodgers can swing the bats and put up runs. It will be hard for the Dodgers to out-slug the Red Sox. I think the pitching the Dodgers have will slow down this Red Sox just enough to outscore them in very close games. I think the pitching and hitting at Dodger stadium will benefit the home team. Plus my biggest reason that will help the Dodgers win the title this year… is they were there last season. With the loss they will be hungry. Plus just history it seems like the teams that get back to the series in back to back years coming off a loss end up winning the second year. Like the Kansas City Royals did a few years ago.

 

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY LET KOPECH PITCH

Lately on the Sox side of the town in the Windy City, things have been a little stale with the rebuild. I know Rome was not built in a day. White Sox fans have waited patiently and want to see all the young talent come up to the big leagues. The White Sox have collected a lot of pieces selling off their assets in the last few seasons. You feel pretty good about the Adam Eaton trade as we have seen  Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito pitched last season. Both pitched well. However this year they both had some hicccups. Now they seem back on track pitching well. Those are two middle of rotation guys which will make the starting staff better. The White Sox fans are waiting on the bigger names they’ve gotten. Giolito and Lopez are hamburger meat while players like Kopech are the steak. Sox fans are blood thirsty to see how they will do.

Let’s talk about the ACE? The Ace Ventura. The Chris Sale trade haul that was talked about all over the baseball world. The trade that netted us two automatic superstars in Yoan Moncarda and Michael Kopech. Moncarda has been up and down since he took over the every day second base duties. He leads the majors in strikeouts. Then at times he has shown some flashes with the glove and the bat. Times where he hits a walk off home run or drives in a crucial run to tie the game. I think Yoan Moncarda will grow into a pretty good player. But he’s not like Frank Thomas or Magglio Ordonez who instantly came up and the first few bats were tearing the cover off the ball. Then on the other side of town you see guys like Kris Bryant and others come up and knock the ball all over the place. It feels like your rebuild is riding the struggle bus. Cubs success is one of the worst nightmares for most White sox fans.

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Then finally the Ace is called up. Suddenly the White Sox fans have a pep in their step as the hype is real. Michael Kopech puts more fannies in the seats on Tuesday night against the Twins on his first start in a White Sox uniform. Will he come down to cutting up the retro jerseys like Chris Sale? Let’s hope not. The first start saw the Twins put two runners on the bases before Michael Kopech could get anybody out. The fear was real. The heart breaking instantly you want to jump out of your own skin seeing this unfold. You want to scream to fire all the front office. You want to give up. The kid comes through and gets out of the inning without allowing a run. He only pitched two innings that night because the baseball gods said they’d seen enough as thunder erupted. The skies opened up with showers to wash away the rest of Michael Kopech’s start. Though he pitched two scoreless innings as the rain delay was too long for him to come back out. But you saw something.

Now like a drug addict you tune into his next start against the Tigers. Nowadays the Tigers are more like the Tigger from Winnie the Pooh… nothing special. No worries, Kopech is still facing major league hitters in a major league city. In this contest he goes six innings only allowing one run. He razzled and dazzled the Tigers. The poise on the mound when he got in trouble with a few hit batters or runners on was ACE like. Plus he seems like a guy that wanted and commanded that he pitch inside where many pitchers avoid that nowadays. If you can demand the inside corner and actually own it, this kid is going to be remarkable.  He finds a way with some excellent pitches and gets out of the jam. He had some strike outs. The way he pitched and moved the ball around the plate to keep the hitters off balance was something like watching Chris Sale’s first few games in the big leagues. Even though Kopech could throw the ball by you, he has an arsenal of pitches that change speeds and the slider is crisp and makes it hard for batters to pick up exactly what he going to do. The game against the Tigers, he got his first major league win.

Then comes his former team that traded him away, the Boston Red sox. It was a home game again for the young hurler. He started off hitting a batter. First two guys got on base. Then he erased one of them picking the guy off on second base. Then his stuff against his former organization was lights out for the men that wear the wrong sox, the Red Sox. The Red Sox are by far the best hitting team in the majors. Michael Kopech shut them down. Did not allow a run. However the skies opened up again as the rain came down close to two hours. His night ended with the long delay. With those three starts, with only like 11 innings pitched, so far I have seen the light.

With Michael Kopech now with the big team, I feel the future is bright. I feel like at least we were able to get an Ace for an Ace. Chris Sale could earn his first Cy Young award this year for the Boston Red Sox. He came close a few times wearing the White Sox uniform. Kopech’s performance these last three starts kind of erases the Chris Sale era away. Gets that bad taste out of your mouth hoping Rick Hahn did not trade the prize cow for some beans. For now the fans on the Sox side of town could come off the ledge. Watch their future ace work the hitters. Then blow them away with a flame thrower fast ball. In back of all of the fans’ minds, will still be itching for the next piece. You know the next piece of the Sox side is to have the last laugh against the Cubs. The Quintana trade that netted a big time slugger in Eloy Jimenez. When he arrives and starts knocking the balls out of the park, the rebuild will switch gears. Now let’s hope Mother nature could be better on days when Michael Kopech pitches at home so we can see the future Ace from our favorite seats at the ball park right next to the beer guy.

AMERICAN PUB CRAWLERS

We are not the American Pickers on the cable networks. Obviously we are not on the television. However we are pub crawlers from time to time. Sometimes a bar stool to stay put on to watch baseball is better than going to pub to pub. On this magical pub crawl we ran into some baseball history.

Inside a bar on the South side of Chicago, actually in the burbs, we found a treasure from the old Comiskey Park. Home of the White Sox for decades. One of the oldest stadiums when it stood tall. Memories of the chants of  “Harold” and wrappers blowing around on the field on windy sticky night. Hoping, maybe praying, Harold Baines would end the game with a home run and a sox win. It was the time when the neighborhood was built around the park. It was where every fan that lived in the neighborhood was a blue collar worker and loved their team. Yes, a turnstyle from the old park where family and friends for generations went through it to watch their team in action. We did not offer anything to the bar which is called the Hot Corner. We know the answer… even the American Pickers could not buy something that is a precious relic to the bar and something that gave them decades of memories. An instant conversation starter. As Pub Crawlers we took our picture on that outing. We even shared the memories we had at the old park from the days our daddies brought us to the games. The day I had a Pacific Submarine as my dad tried to sneak a can of Bubble Up into the park, no dice there.  Instead a an overpriced Coke on ice was ordered in an oversized plastic cup. Everything was bigger back then including the Big Mac and the Dilly Bar. Simpler times which were always great in your childhood, as you can see us just a bunch of older kids around the turn style from the olden days.

BASEBALL’S VERSION OF TANGO AND CASH

July 31st as the trading deadline expired, Bryce Harper remained with the Washington Nationals. Nationals were about 5 games out of first place at the all-star break trailing two teams in their division. The Nationals only got rid of a relief pitcher at the deadline as they kept Harper and others holding on to hope the Nasty Nats would show some nastiness and crawl back into this thing. As the dog days of summer continue to pass by, it looks like it will be a year where they will not make the playoffs. The good thing about this is no mishaps in the playoffs to create doom and exit the first round in flames. The bad thing is it might be the last year the Nationals have Bryce Harper in uniform. His contract ends after regular season and he could be off to greener pastures.

In my town of Chicago, we’d love to see him join the White sox. Which is not going to happen, in a rebuild no way Harper would join the good guys in black. That leaves me to the other side of town where the fans drooled last weekend and cheered for Harper and probably begged him to sign with the Cubs in 2019 from the stands. Women probably showed Harper their breasts. While some of the men that sit in those stands might have wanted to show him what they got under the hood to. It’s a unique beer garden they call Wrigley Field. The friendly confines that has so much losing history is now the place to come to as a player. That stupid goat leaving the World Series early in 2016 thinking the Indians had things wrapped up leading 3 games to 1. That Goat has been dealt with, his head in some European pot of stew.

I think the Cubs have no room for Harper due to a log jam of outfielders on the roster. Especially the ones that makes 25 million dollars a year, and hey we know Jason Heyward does not play like a man making that kind of cheddar. No one will want him Heyward in trade to take him off the Cubs hands either. Meanwhile if the Nationals did trade Harper at the deadline that would have ended his days in DC. Harper would not have come back and signed the following year. I do like players that stay on one team for their whole career but I really do not think that will happen. A deal should have been struck a long time ago between the Nationals owner and top brass with Bryce to keep him in DC. At least DC has Trump living in their town still. Not making America any better is on hats this blog has for sale.

Lets screw the Cubs and the Nationals and bring Harper to the American league. This idea is maddening but it’s an idea I got from the movie Tango and Cash.

Sly Stallone is the great detective in yuppyville while Kurt Russell is a great detective in the bad neighborhoods. Both Detectives make daily headlines of the biggest busts in their town. When Bryce Harper came into the league, another super star came into the league at the same time and he has been the star in the American league. He plays for the Angels and he is named after a fish. If you said a Fish called Wanda you were very close. Mike Trout exactly. Trout is like the boy scout working the high level cases like Sly Stallone. Then bring in Bryce Harper, a guy that works in slums where all the crooked politicians hang out in DC. Then you bring them together on one team. They could form a tandem. A tandem which would be a wrecking crew creating havoc across the league.

                     The new Tango and Cash

Put both these super stars together in one line up it might not be fair for the rest of the league. The only thing I do not like about this is it sounds too NBA. Gather up the best talent and put them on one team. Would Lebron James not get enough publicity if Harper ended up with the Angels? Does LA still have the Chargers and are they still playing at the soccer stadium this upcoming season?

The line up gets very interesting with more big names. They still have an aging superstar in Albert Pujols who is on the decline. With a move getting Harper, this could rejuvenate Albert and give him another chance to win the World Series with another team. Plus you have the Japanese sensation that can hit and pitch. Even though he hurt himself pitching and perhaps they might just make him a hitter as the jury is still out on that future move. Shohei Ohtani is still very good with the stick in his hands. With Harper, Trout, Pujols and Ohtani you have yourself a murderer’s row type of line up. Only problem is if Ohtani is not pitching and the Angels pitching as a whole has not been something to write home about. Like most teams they would have to seek some pitching for the rotation and the pen. With Harper aboard and with what they would have in run production, that would line up some pretty good arms. Also playing  in the warm state of California helps. Plus with Harper and Trout that would make the Angels bigger than the Dodgers as Hollywood has always been a Dodgers town. Could they play second fiddle to Angels in the Outfield?

THE WILD SHAMROCK MLB POWER RANKINGS AT THE ALL-STAR BREAK

TOP TEN TEAMS

RANKING             TEAM              RECORD

#1.           HOUSTON ASTROS        59-31

COMMENTS:  Still the World Series champs. I love their starting pitching against any other rotation in the league. Even with Dallas Keuchel not having an awesome season like they are used to seeing. If Dallas gets hot in the second half of the season, into the playoffs they will be hard to beat. I like that the Astros will have some meaningful games in the division in the second half as the red hot Mariners are breathing some Texas toast heat on the Astros necks. Evan Gattis is just a beast with his mammoth blasts. The beaded man had 30 RBI’S in June.

#2.             BOSTON RED SOX                60-29

COMMENTS: My question is, can Chris Sale have enough gas in the tank for the playoffs? Every year he is lights out first half. Then he slows down in the second half. Last year he was not Chris Sale like, in his first ever appearance in the playoffs. It seems like David Price can not beat the Yankees. Yankees are like Lex Luther being able to control Superman type of stuff going down in David Price’s arm. Have you met Rafael Devers? Yankees have. He had a grand slam in Yankee stadium to make all the New Yorkers wonder who the f***k is this?

#3.                NEW YORK YANKEES        56-49

COMMENTS: The line up is filled with sluggers. The guy at the end of their bullpen in Chapman is lights out. Not sold on their starting rotation. Sabathia, Tanaka, and Gray are on the chutes and ladders slide going down at hyper speed. The Bullpen has cracks in the foundation. They can definitely win a Home Run Derby. Trade deadline ARMS ARMS AND ARMS. Cold war style just buy any nukes you see. Can the Evil Empire stock pile before the deadline?

#4.            ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS      49-40

COMMENTS:  To me it’s all about pitching and defense and the Cobra Commander has assembled this in the desert. However they need a big bat in that line up. I scratch my head. Why did they not resign JD Martinez? He was available in the off season for a long time. They should have hammered out some kind of deal with him. If the snakes can land a big bat or maybe two spark plugs to add to the team’s already good defense and pitching, they could make a deeper run this October in the playoffs.

#5.         CLEVELAND INDIANS            49-37

COMMENTS:  Looks like the Indians rock in Cleveland since Lebron abandoned ship. I still like Drew Carey rocking Cleveland. Indians are in the worst division in baseball. The second half is just like BP pitching and fielding practice as they will feast on the Central. They always have problems with their starting rotation at the back end with injuries. They should bite the bullet and go out and get a big arm at the trade deadline. I would add another piece to the bullpen so you don’t over use Miller like you did in the last few seasons.

#6.           PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES        48-37

COMMENTS:  Rocky’s town is full of surprises in the sporting world. First the Eagles winning the Superbowl. Now the Phillies are top of their division as the Nasty Nats are free falling. You knew it was coming as the Phillies assembled a nice offense with lots of young talent. They even went out and snagged Arrieta in the free agent market whothe Cubs probably wish they had back. It’s a team that was not supposed to be this good this quick. We will see if they can continue the pace in the second half.  Can they make a deal to sustain success?

#7.                        CHICAGO CUBS           49-36

COMMENTS: The Cubs season is like a teeter totter up and down. They just go through the motions looking tired one week, and like world beaters another. They are not in a good division so they can tread water until they feel like taking the Central from the Brew Crew. Plus they have no problems beating the Brew Crew. The Cubs will get in the playoffs, but what will that starting pitching do in the playoffs? Darvish is a lemon. Yes, a  126 million dollar lemon to be exact. Their starters in a playoff series do not scare me. The man that walks on water in Chicago, Theo Epstein, the president of operations will have his work cut out for him at the trade deadline to wheel and deal without the assets they used to have.

COULD DARVISH END UP LIKE THIS JAPANESE WRECK ?

#8.                SEATTLE MARINERS            56-33

COMMENTS: Like Hank Hill would ask, “What the Hell Bobby?” How and where dd the Mariners come from as they are looking for a wild card this year. Maybe even taking the division away from the world champs. The Mariners had a big blow to the team earlier when they lost Robinson Cano, a big bat, to sniffing the glue as he’s suspended for 80 games. Mariners pitching has been off the charts led by the King. The youngster Marco Gonzales has been a force to reckon with as he is logging a lot of quality starts as innings are piling up on the young hurler. In the back end Edwin Davis has been closing the door on opponents not giving up the lead to secure the victories that are piling up quickly. They have the right amount of veterans as position players. I can see them definitely clinching a wild card as they will continue to win a lot of games.

#9.            MILWAUKEE BREWERS             53-35

COMMENTS: If the Cubs were not in the league, I would say the Brew Crew are going to the World Series. Can imagine sitting club level with Lenny, Squiggy, Laverne and Shirley at the World Series. The Fonz jumps the shark before the game. However the Cubbies are in their way. If the Brewers can make a splash at the trade deadline, perhaps they could hold on to their lead in the Central. They do have lots of assets to wheel and deal with. The question is will they go for it.

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#10.                   ATLANTA BRAVES             49-38

COMMENTS:  HOT ATLANTA as the Braves are making a run to try to get back to playoff baseball in the valley of the Walking Dead. They are stacked with young talent. The 20 year old Ronald Acuna Jr. instantly sparked this team when he arrived. Starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy got hurt. They just called the farm and added left hander Max Fried. He instantly got a victory against the Cardinals. Can all this young talent sustain this type of run in the second half? With the Nationals free falling, Braves find themselves eye to eye with Philadelphia.

HAS EDWIN JACKSON PLAYED FOR YOUR CITY ?

Edwin Jackson has almost played for half the teams in the league in his career. Edwin Jackson has been in my town twice in his career. As he has played for both the White Sox and the Cubs. However he did not last that long in Chicago as he was off to another team. Maybe his nick name should be suitcase since he never can settle in one city.  Desperate for a starting pitcher, the Oakland A’s came calling for Edwin’s services. Usually when you play for Oakland late in your career, you’re on your way out of the league.

He took the mound for Oakland yesterday and Edwin Jackson tied an MLB record for the most teams played for. He tied another well traveled pitcher, Octavio Dotel, both players had played for 13 different teams.

THE LIST OF TEAMS

#1. DODGERS

#2. DEVIL RAYS

#3. TIGERS

#4. DIAMOND BACKS

#5.WHITE SOX

#6. CARDINALS

#7. NATIONALS

#8. CUBS

#9. BRAVES

#10. MARLINS

#11. PADRES

#12. ORIOLES

#13. A’S

He was traded from the White Sox to the Blue Jays, but he never suited up in Toronto because they dealt him to the Cardinals on same day he was traded from the White sox. In that trade was also the well traveled Octavio Dotel the guy Jackson has tied with in most uniforms worn. For both guys going city to city could be good bad or just ugly. Unless they are the type of people that like to travel across the states and see things and experience life in every city. Both can probably point out a good Chinese place in each town. Can you imagine the closet full of home and away jerseys he has collected over this span of time? If you throw in the Sunday uniforms that some teams wear only on that day? Plus throw back uniforms. He needs to have a storage unit in some town. Maybe multiple units across the states. I think I have many different softball shirts and jerseys collected playing all these years. It’s only one or two teams I have with different sponsors on the back of them. Edwin Jackson is only 34 years old so he will have a chance to break this record at some point if he pitches well enough.

DRAFTING SOME LUMBER

When the Kansas City Royals won their World Series a few years ago, a few things stood out. Great bullpen. Pretty good starting staff. However the thing what stood out to me is the team did not strike out. They were a team that put the ball in play no matter what count they were in. It seems baseball has gone to the home run and the strike out. They want flame thrower arms with 100 mph fast balls. Then they want the guy that can hit the ball out of the stadium, however prone to be struck out a zillion times. The White Sox and the Pirates added themselves a pure hitter with their number one pick in this year’s draft.

The White Sox had the number four pick and drafted Nick Madrigal from Oregon State, an infielder. The experts think he is the best pure hitter in the draft. With his size at 5’7 and 160, people compare him to Jose Altuve from the Houston Astros, which are big expectations. Due to wrist injury he only played in 32 games last season. However, look at the RBI Baseball video game numbers he had put up. He batted .406 with 7 doubles, 4 triples and put three balls in the seats. Had 32 RBI’S while scoring 32 runs in 32 games. He also has a .470 on base percentage. He will fit nicely in between some of the young power guys they have that are still developing.

The Pirates at number ten, took outfielder Travis Swaggerty out of Southern Alabama. Love the last name. He came in as a two way player coming into college, but he gave up pitching and did very well with the bat. I like this youngster because he seems he can hit for power as he put 13 balls in the seats. He has a good eye as he walked 54 times in 57 games giving .455 on base percentage. He can drive in runs with 39 RBI’S. Batted .296 and had 10 doubles. Plus the importance of having a left handed hitter in your line up is huge.

This year’s draft is loaded with talent. I think both teams with their first pick got what they wanted and have a piece for the future. Both players could be knocking at the door to be called up by the end of 2019, perhaps sooner. Both teams are not going anywhere this year. As the White Sox are in full rebuild. Meanwhile the Pirates were cooking right out of the gate and this was after they got rid of their best two players in the off season. However as the games continue to pile, the Buccko’s are slowly coming back down to earth. Bring on the future it’s looking bright for both teams.

LENNY IS NO SQUIGGY

Shakedown, breakdown, Lenny is busted again. Lenny Dykstra continues to find trouble. Maybe trouble follows him. This time he holds an Uber driver hostage. I guess Lenny wanted to change the destination and the Uber driver declined. Lenny, I imagine, might have asked, “Do you know who I am?”  He said later on his own twitter, that the driver did not respect a legend. The Uber driver said Lenny put a gun to his head. Police did not find any weapons. However they did not come away empty handed, as they found cocaine, ecstasy and Marijuana on the former all star Met and Phillie.

He was nicknamed “Nails” for his hard nose play when he arrived in the league in the early 80’s. His cheeks were filled with tobacco as he ran into walls tracking fly balls in center field. He was a scrappy type of player and was a hard out to get by pitchers. He was a spark plug that set the table for a lot of good teams he played on during his 12 year career. He had one of the biggest hits in Mets history, a walk off home run in game three of NLCS against the Astros in 1986. Fans will always remember his lead off home run in the Wold Series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Down two games to nill, his homer was the key into the Mets getting back in the series and eventually winning it. Later in his career, he joined the Philadelphia Phillies who looked like the Dirty Dozen with their facial hair and cheeks full of tobacco. They looked like a bunch of beer guzzling softball players in a beer league. Dykstra helped that team get to the series against Toronto in the 90’s. Lenny hit .348 in that series with 4 home runs. However Joe Carter hit that home run that took down that beer guzzler team in one of the most exciting home runs in a Series since Kirk Gibson coming off the bench for the Dodgers. In 12 years, Lenny Dykstra batted .285 for his career. He racked 1,298 hits with 802 runs scored. He stole over 285 bases. He legged out 281 doubles, 43 triples, while putting 81 balls in the stands.

Maybe it’s the people you associate yourself with, that can lead you down the wrong path. If you hang out with assholes, most likely you turn into an asshole. Former Mets like Wally Backman, Dwight Gooden and Daryl Strawberry. Probably many of those Philadelphia teams had guys that he ran with, who were not the greatest citizens. He even ran with Charlie Sheen that came out in his book years later. All those guys on the Mets liked to go out and chase down bitches til the wee hours of the morning while snorting the white sugar until the sun came up. Dykstra was named on the Mitchell report as one of those guys that were on the juice. He admitted later on he needed to keep his job and the ‘roids helped with that. During his career he crashed his car into a tree while driving drunk causing him to break a few ribs. Then nagging injuries started to catch up with the center fielder.

Then when his baseball career finally came to an end, trouble continued to follow him. The list seemed never ending. He had charges of grand theft auto, multiple drug possessions,  and money laundering. Lenny made millions and millions of dollars playing in the MLB. However he had even had bankruptcy fraud indictment on the list. He one time purchased one of hockey legend Wayne Gretsky’s mansions to flip. That deal backfired in his face. He took people’s money in scams as well. He had a sexual harassment charge from a 17 year old girl who worked at a car-wash. I guess in Lenny’s mind… grass on the field, play ball. Lenny even put ads on Craigslist for personal assistants and housekeepers. They did not know massaging him was on their to do list getting the job. As they walk in on their first day to see Lenny in a robe, he took it off and he had nothing on under it. Thrown into the fire before the day’s first coffee break.

Lenny Dykstra was so hard for money he even sold his World Series ring. In his book, Nails, he bragged about all his sexual conquests over his lifetime. He even went on Howard Stern telling him and his listeners about these women he had in the bedroom dug out, or on the massage table. He even came back for a second show, with two gals to back up his book. Lenny was a guy that even threatened umpires in the batter’s box to get a better count. Make up stories he had pictures of them with hookers. Many kids growing up probably loved Lenny Dykstra and idolized him. I will say his play on the field was very impressive. Obviously ‘roids might have helped him later in his career. But out of the gate coming out of the minor leagues, he played the game hard which you have to respect. However drugs and booze may have clouded his mind and affected his judgement. Some guys are just assholes from day one. His former teams reunions of those great years… neither the Mets or Phillies ever want him there. He might have been a legend back then in the 80’s and early 90’s, but now he might be the only one who thinks he is a legend still. Lenny Dykstra would never be a Squiggy in my opinion. That’s the trouble with being a fan of a certain player. At times it comes back to haunt you and you can not believe you liked a piece of crap like him.

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WHAT A MANN WHAT A MANN WHAT A MANN

Can you imagine all the bus rides one person can consume in 17 years playing baseball in the minor leagues? All the small towns and all the greasy spoons. All the Motels leaving the lights on for you. How many suit cases do you go through from all the traveling seeing America? Many people dream about traveling through America in their Cousin Eddie’s Winnebago. That’s what retirements are all about. However this adventure was not just minor league affiliates and Independent leagues across the states, this went across the seas to Japan. There may be more bus rides through their minor leagues and across their country. Instead of greasy spoons you might come across more sushi places than you care for. This is kind of like the characters Mr. Baseball and Crash Davis rolled up into one. However in those movies, those characters have played in the big show. The big show is the light at the end of the tunnel for this pitcher. Brandon Mann now can finally say he has come a long way baby as he has arrived in the Majors. Can Disney do another Rookie movie?

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Drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2002, Brandon Mann played for 5 major league organizations. These include the Dodgers, Pirates, Athletics, and now the Rangers where he finally made a dream come true. He went overseas and played two seasons for Yokohoma, a Japanese minor league team. Then he dabbled in some independent leagues as well. He compiled a 46-48 record in the minor leagues. His record overseas for the two seasons was 3-9. Throw in some Independent career records and the man has pitched a lot of baseball. He has collected a lot of jerseys going up and down the ladder in minor league affiliates in each organization. Then falling down the slide like in chutes and ladders as another year goes by not getting to play in the big leagues.

What goes on in a person’s mind during almost two decades of chasing a dream? How many times did he just want to hang up the cleats and move on to something else? His wife, probably his girl the whole time through this, had to be very supportive. Some women would not put up with the husband going to work, playing a game for a living, and not making enough to support both of them and who knows how many little ones could be involved. He is 34 years old and women usually would end the madness, especially if he’s only making peanuts. Many arguments I imagine had to occur. In the independent leagues, he might have had to sleep in some fan’s basement. Some of those leagues, the fans take in players like adopting a dog. Plus all the challenges of being away from your loved ones. Then all the younger players thinking you’re the coach as you enter the team club house as years feel like they are passing you by.

Being a south paw is one main reason why he probably did get to stick around. Every team is looking for a lefty specialist out of the bullpen. For 17 years, Brandon Mann worked on his craft to get better. Most people would have folded up their tent and found something else in a heartbeat. Somehow he stayed positive and motivated at the same time. All of this and his small support staff finally made this long journey happen last Sunday. His contract was purchased by the Texas Rangers and he was brought up to the show. They put him in his first ever game and he pitched 1 and 2/3 of an inning giving up one hit, however he gave up no runs. That will keep him in the Majors a little longer by putting up goose eggs. The man who has more jerseys than “Joe Softball” from one of your local beer leagues, finally has a jersey that is the real McCoy. Like Marty McFly would say, if you put your mind to it you can accomplish any thing.

It was a long road for Brandon Mann. However it’s not how you get there, it’s how you perform under the lights when you arrive. Welcome to the Majors MR.MANN!!!!

 

TERMINATOR TO THE URINATOR: THE RISE AND FALL OF ALBERT BELLE

He was one of the biggest free agents the White Sox ever signed. Money wise. Plus a big name with a big bat along with some ‘tude. When the White Sox landed former Indian, Albert Belle, there were thoughts of him and Frank Thomas wrecking havoc through the league. Plus you had Robin Ventura, another big tom. making them into a fearsome three. You added up home runs in your head. This was the beginning of something special for years to come. The parade route, the World Series trophy, you could see the day light from years of dark days even years from not getting to the big stage and winning it all.

Albert seemed to be a very intense individual. Perhaps anger management would have done him justice. First game back against his former team, chants of “Joey” swept through the crowd like the wave. Joey is Albert Belle’s real first name. He flipped the crowd off in left field bleachers for not giving him a parade coming back with the rival. Anger seemed to follow and catch up with him. When his house was egged, he chased down kids in his SUV. It reminded me of a very old cartoon. The cartoon was about new modern day cars. They had a car for people who liked to run over people. It had the extended bumper to be sure to knock the person down. Then while your car goes over the person, you could see who you ran over through the glass floors.

Albert Belle is now 51 years old and still getting into trouble. He was seen allegedly urinating by his car in a parking lot in Scottsdale, Arizona. This is where I think of the Seinfeld episode where both Jerry and George get busted for public urination in a parking structure. It seems Albert did not really hide what he was doing as he was somewhat intoxicated I guess at the same time. A concerned citizen walking by made a remark to Albert who was finishing up. Then Albert shook his genitals at the man who was with his daughter. Albert may have been just shaking the few drops off in his mind. The guy called the police. Then he was arrested for indecent exposure and given a DUI.

On the field Albert Belle was feared by pitchers. The face he had looked like he wanted to kill you and your family when he up at bat. He also had problems on the field during his career. He took out Fernando Vina on the Brewers. It occurred on the base paths. Vina ended up with a broken nose, and Albert was suspended. When he started with the Indians he was at the local clinic getting treated for alcoholism.  The bottle and people who pissed him off never stopped the slugger as he put up big numbers. He had 381 bombs in his career. In 1995, in a short strike season, he launched 50 of them in the seats. The angry man I watched when he played in my neighborhood had a huge second half for the White Sox in 1998 where he tallied 49 home runs total. I swear it seemed 30 of them were in the last few months of the season.

• 

• 

The big three: Thomas, Ventura and Belle in those seasons never were able to play at the same time due to injuries. The dream came down like losing in a game of Jenga. The tower of bricks come crashing down as you knew it was over. The White Sox and Albert Belle had an escape clause in the contact. Either the White Sox could commit to Albert and give him a better deal or let him walk. They let him walk as he was paid a ransom by the Baltimore Orioles. Highest in the league. After two years of a 5 year deal, Albert had to hang up the spikes for good. It was not because he was a mean individual. Perhaps karma got him. It was not his drinking. He was diagnosed with a degenerative hip that had osteoarthritis.

He ended up making up with the Indians. He would help his former organization in spring training. He goes down as a bad ass power hitter. He may not like the way everything played out with his career. He will never make it to the Hall of Fame. He never won a World Series, but he was close with the Indians once a long time ago. Obviously he has not changed that sunny personality he has. He’s still being chased down by demons from his past. If he only could have stayed healthy and played out that 5 year contract…probably to this day eats at him bit by bit. The numbers he could have had at the end would of probably gotten him in the hall. Would you vote for a steroid guy or a complete asshole? Albert just needs to shake it off and maybe things will get better.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE PINCH HITTER SPECIALIST IN TODAY’S GAME?

In the recent passing of Rusty Staub, I thought to myself… whatever happened to that pinch hitting role in present times? The game of baseball rosters are filled with specialists. Most of these specialists come out of the bull pen, not the dug out. These days teams carry 13 to 14 pitchers. When I was growing up they had more position players. They only carried ten pitchers on their rosters. These days it would be hard for a guy whose only job is to come up in a crucial part of the game against a tough reliever with men on base and get a hit. Teams have a guy on the bench that is a jack of all trades. They play the field and the manager would throw them in at that role. The guys that are not quite the slugger you put at the DH position. These guys’ fielding days have passed them by. Only reason on the roster is because they are good under pressure. These are players that are hard to strike out as they will put the ball in play every time.

Growing up and today still, my favorite team was the Chicago White Sox. They had a guy, Jerry Hairston, whose role was pinch hitter. From 1973 to 1989 he had 90 hits with eight home runs in that role.

Rusty Staub was a great baseball player for his career. Injuries at the end of his career kept him in the majors a few more years in a pinch hitting role. Rusty was known as one of the greatest Montreal Expos. Expos retired his number ten he wore. To this day the locals speak in French and talk about Rusty.  After the Expos Rusty was big hit in the big apple. In 1983, he set NL record with 8 straight pinch hits. That year he tied an MLB record with 25 RBI’S from the pinch hitting role. The pinch hitting role kept him in the league for a few extra years. He actually had 500 hits for four different teams in his career. In 1983 I was a kid and it was nice seeing some of these guys at the end of their careers still playing and doing things to help your ball club win games.

Dave Hansen played years with the Dodgers. From 1991-2000 he had 13 home runs and 60 RBI’S during that span from just pinch hitting. Jerry Lynch in 1961 put on a clinic for the Cincinnati Reds. He made 59 plate appearances. Batted .404, with 12 walks. Slugged 4 doubles, 1 triple and went yard 5 times. He had 25 big RBI’S that year. Then Cliff Johnson from 1972-1986 had 20 home runs with .876 OPS. The 20 home runs stood for 24 years after Cliff retired.  During the 1970’s Manny Mota’s record for the most hits by a pinch hitter stood for over 20 years. Then in 2001 Lenny Harris broke Manny Mota’s record with his 151st hit. Since no one has a permanent guy doing pinch hitting, this record might stand for decades.

Pinch hitters need ice water running through their veins. You are sitting on the bench most of the game, then you get your number called. You come up against some kind of Bullpen specialist that is going to throw a laser pitch upper 90’s as your butt may still be asleep from sitting the whole time. Matt Stairs hit a 2 run blast in a 2008 post season game. That home run lifted the Phillies over the Dodgers in game 4 of the NL championship. His career could have been over, but from the age 38-42 he had 15 pinch run home runs. He tallied 23 total in his career. The slugger had 265 total in his career.

I think the role of the pinch hitter can be very important especially if you’re a team that plays a lot of close games. Sometimes a few close games cost you from making the playoffs. If you have a guy that can put you over the top a few games, is he worth more than an extra reliever? It would be a luxury to have a guy with ice water in his veins ready to get up to the plate when he is called on to get the job done.

THE WILD SHAMROCK 2018 MLB PREDICTIONS

 

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Division Winners

AL EAST: YANKEES

AL CENTRAL: INDIANS

AL WEST: ASTROS

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Division Winners

NL EAST: NATIONALS

NL CENTRAL: CUBS

NL WEST:  DODGERS

WILD CARDS

AMERICAN LEAGUE: RED SOX/ ANGELS

NATIONAL LEAGUE: BREWERS/ ROCKIES

SNEAKY PETE (TEAMS THAT WILL SHOCK YOU AND FALL SHORT)

AMERICAN LEAGUE: BLUE JAYS

NATIONAL LEAGUE: METS

PLAYOFFS

AMERICAN LEAGUE

ALDS WINNERS: ASTROS/INDIANS

ALCS WINNER: ASTROS

NATIONAL LEAGUE

NLDS WINNERS NATIONALS/DODGERS

NLCS WINNER: NATIONALS

WORLD SERIES: NATIONALS VERSUS ASTROS

WORLD SERIES WINNER ASTROS

 

AWARDS:

CY YOUNG

AL CY YOUNG: COREY KLUBER INDIANS

NL CY YOUNG: STEPHEN STRASSBURG NATIONALS

MVP

AL MVP: MIKE TROUT ANGELS

NL MVP:BRYCE HARPER NATIONALS

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

AL: SHOHEI OHTANI ANGELS

NL: RONALD ACUNA BRAVES

MANAGER OF THE YEAR

AL: ALEX CORA RED SOX

NL: DAVE MARTINEZ NATIONALS

WHO’S ON SECOND? NOT ME

Extra innings in baseball was always exciting to me. It’s one of the best sports when it comes to deciding a win after a tie in regulation. They do it right because each team needs both their offense and defense to perform to get the victory. I remember when I was younger, watching the White Sox and Harold Baines winning a few of those types of games with a home run. Seeing the scoreboard light up and send fireworks shooting in the sky as you invested your time into watching the marathon and it was well worth the wait.

 

As a White Sox fan in 2005, I was watching the World Series game that went into extras. The bars were about to close when finally Geoff Blum gave the White Sox the lead. Then they had to go back out on the field to get 3 outs to preserve the victory. You’re playing the same game same rules instead of going into something entirely different.  Extra innings every pitch is important. You get sucked in with the emotions and wait nervously about the outcome. Then the rush comes when your team wins. It goes down as one of the greatest feelings of all time. Especially if you’re there live. Most importantly this outcome is who you’re with, family or friends, you will be talking about it for life.

 

MLB continues to mess with the American past time. The commissioner of baseball Rob Manfred is trying to speed up the game. They have taken away the throws that involve the intentional walk. Now this season they will give each team only a certain amount of times they can go out to visit the pitcher on the mound. They have talked about pitch count and have done that in the minor leagues. Now they want extra innings to be quicker. They want to start each half of an inning with an automatic runner at second base. The runner will be the previous batter from the last inning. Obviously you can put in a pinch runner and take a person out of the line up.  This is something they will be doing this season in the minor leagues.  MLB wants to make the games quicker. They also want to see pitchers stay healthier. Especially in the minor leagues where pitchers are moving up levels and some get demoted to certain levels as well.

If they are worrying all these pitchers are throwing too many innings, then why don’t they play less regular season games? Maybe they should add more pitchers to the active roster as well, if this is a common problem. I do not know what ever happened to the complete game in baseball. Back in the day pitchers pitched the whole game every night they went out to the bump. When I was younger, pitchers went longer. Even in losing battles. But those players wanted to go the distance. They had ice water in their veins. It seems very rare for a guy to go the distance over the last ten years. Now a great pitcher is considered going six innings for you. Then turn it over to a bull pen of specialists. In 2005, the White Sox starting pitchers in the playoff series against the Angels pitched 4 complete games. That will never never happen again. Another thing is these pitchers blow out their arms, and the surgery gets them back on the mound and pitching the same way or better.

Baseball is a marathon. It’s a long game of 9 innings. It’s a long season of 162 games. Now you change the extra innings with a guy at second. The first guy is going to bunt. Then the next guy will get intentionally walked in hopes of an inning ending double play. Many of the games will end with the sacrifice fly. This sounds like a disaster of an idea. Basketball should play a game of horse in their overtime. In football they should line up at the goal line. Maybe have the kicker end the game with a kick off.  Hockey goes to overtime first, and then goes to the shoot out. I’m surprised they having brought in the Home Run Derby idea after ten innings of play. You know they had that on the white board. Line up your best three sluggers and have a contest to decide the game. This rule destroys a lot of strategy of the mangers. It sucks for teams to fight their way back in the game and then go to extras with new rules. I’d rather go with a tie in regular season then do something that just hurts the game of baseball. If they continue down this road, spitting will be outlawed in baseball. Adjusting your batting gloves in the box will give you an automatic strike. Those batters that draw a line in the sand will have to run to first backwards. You can tinker with the game. Don’t turn the game into a circus act at the end.

ARRIETA COULD MAKE THE NASTY NAT’S EVEN NASTIER

These days Jake Arrieta is probably doing his yoga. He’s probably thinking about his future riches in his yoga pose. Breathing in his happy place. Thinking of buying an island he can call Jake the Snake Island. Only a month away from the beginning of 2018 baseball season and Arrieta still unsigned. As he goes into the lotus position he counts in his head the kings ransom his weasel agent is trying to get for him. While he breathes deep slow breaths, his agent Scott Boras is putting the nylon stocking over his head and is heading to some club’s front office to demand you pay him big money as he wants brinks trucks filled with gold. The Cubs offered him the type of deal they over paid for Darvish’s services but the bank robber and Arrieta this time in his kapotsana pose turned them down. Eventually some deal will get done. I believe revenge will be on the mind as Scott Boras will plant that in Arrieta’s head during adho muka pose.

First you think the Milwaukee Brewers would love to have Arrieta on their staff. They have a young staff. They have one of their main guys, Jimmy Nelson, coming back in June. Plus they were kicking the tires on Darvish. Plus The Brewers went out and signed Lorenzo Cain. Plus they traded for Christian Yelich. Those are two outfielders to add to last year’s mix of outfielders which they still have. Brewers have a young team that peaked very early last season. They need to add some pitching if they want to get past the Cubs. However they have trading chips to actually get a pitcher that way. Their thinking is why over pay for Arrieta if we already have a plan in motion? If they can get an Archer from the Rays, that’s a way better path than Arrieta. Plus next year the free agent pool will be swamped with all kinds of talent. Why waste it on a guy who wants his own island and wants some ridiculous six year contract at 32 years of age he’ll never live up to. Plus the Brewers if they are in contention can add an arm at the allstar break.

This leaves me to believe Jake Arrieta’s best chance is the Washington Nationals. This is a team that can’t get out of the first around with all the talent they have. It was the Cubs that knocked you out of the playoffs last season. This is a team that Scott Boras fleeces on a regular basis. The Nasty Nats are to Boras like that easy girl you can call up in the wee hours of the morning for a booty call. However besides that, this totally makes sense. They got rid of Dusty and I’d never trust Baker as their manager. They hired Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez who is very familiar with Arrieta. Can you imagine a starting rotation with Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Jake as your number three or four starter? If the Nats and the Cubs met in the 2018 playoffs the Nasty Nat’s have lots of advantages. Martinez is very familiar with the way Joe Maddon manages. No Baker to make bone head mistakes is a big plus. Then you got former Cub, Jake Arrieta, who would want to stick it to his old team is always a factor. Plus this might be the Nationals’ last year with their face of the franchise Bryce Harper so I think you need to go for broke here. If they find their way out of first round they might be that team to win it all. There’s always a team that you think is going to be able to get to the World Series every year with the loaded roster they have. Washington gets to the World Series and Jake gets his island to do all his yoga poses on.

PRINTING MONEY IN WRIGLEYVILLE

The Chicago Cubs needed to address their pitching staff this off season as a main concern. They have added some nice bullpen pieces to the mix. But they needed to address their starting rotation as well. The man that walks on water, Theo Epstein, and his side kick, Jed Hoyer, went big and signed Yu Darvish. They went with the theory if you can not beat them then sign them on your team. Which is a good way to do things. As your team adds a weapon, the Dodgers lose a weapon. This is a big time splash in a very quiet free agent off-season. Is this the right move is the question I will ask.

Theo Epstein has taken over and rebuilt the lovable losers from ground up with a plan that they would win multiple World Series. They have won one World Series with three playoff appearances. The plan is to build a team that would get to the playoffs every year and have a chance to win the Series every year. Like the Braves but more championships. Maybe like the Red Machine of the 70’s. The Cubs before Theo came to town always had the money. Since Theo has taken over, now they money to burn.

How many bad contracts can you give until the burn comes back to haunt you? They have one title paying Heyward a boat load of money to do nothing. They could have won that World Series without him. He is still on the team and you are paying him money like a guy that should hit over 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs. Then you have Jon Lester and you are paying him a few brinks trucks. He has done well for you and he helped you beat the goat to win that first World Series. With years still to be paid on his contract his skills are on the decline. He had a bad stretch last year where he looked like he was not going to be on your playoff roster.

In 2018 you gave a 31year old pitcher a six year 126 million dollar contract. A guy that had tommy john surgery and missed the 2015 season and parts of the 2016 season. He made your line up look very bad last year in the playoffs. But he was lit up in the World Series by the Astros. Some say he was tipping his pitches. The Dodgers got him in trade at the deadline last year. They did not make an effort to resign him which should tell you something. Darvish has thrown 2,172 innings between the States and Japan. Six years paying him big money with all that mileage is living on the edge.

I believe the Cubs did want to resign Jake Arrieta. However he wore a ski mask and put the gun to Theo’s head and gave him a sack and said fill it up. Arrieta is 32 years old and wants a six year deal. I can’t see him pitching until he’s close to 40. His innings per start have been on steady decline. He has lost 2.5 MPH on his heater. He will never be the same Jake who dazzled you in the World Series. He will not be the same guy who went on that incredible run that he was unstoppable. Reminded me of the Jose Contreras run in 2005 and some of 2006. He has no major arm problems, however he has a nagging hamstring. Maybe he needs more yogurt and yoga to solve that issue. This is a guy I would only want to sign for two years and way less money. Three years tops.

I figured the Cubs would try to land Alex Cobb instead of the older pitchers on the market. They signed Tyler Chatwood who was playing for the Colorado Rockies last year. He’s only 28 years old and it makes sense with other young pitchers they have in their rotation that are very good with young arms. Last season they traded a big chip to the White Sox for Jose Quintana. However he is young and they have him under contract for a long period of time. They already have Kyle Hendricks who will likely be their future ace. They did not resign old dog Lackey. You only had one worry: How long would Lester hold up for? Now with Darvish this could go south quickly. I think Cobb or a potential trade for a younger pitcher would have been a better avenue.

I’d rather go younger with pitching to match all your young core position players. All those position players are due for big contract extensions at some point.. I know the Cubs have plenty of money. However too many big contracts without the results, will take you back to the Soriano days. If no other team takes one of those bad contracts if needed to unload, it could result in the Cubs losing one of those position players when they hit the open market. Don’t tell me that it did not play out as they went with the cheaper option in Darvish over mean lean fighting machine Arrieta. It will depend how many World Series championships this team will bring home. Because that is the only thing that helps people forget about money they burned on a player that did not live up to their contract status. Now they have three guys they are paying in the high teens, in millions of dollars not pesos, that are not even the top three guys on the roster.

THE WILD SHAMROCK ALL STAR MOVIE BASEBALL TEAM

This is my baseball team formed out of HOLLYWOOD. Actors and actresses that have played in a baseball movie on the big screen. I put together a front office. A coaching staff. The most important thing – a roster. These are baseball movies from all ages. Some make sense. Some I had to move some players around so they might not be playing the position they played in their movie. Some made it in just because I’m a fan of them over others. However I think I have a winning formula with this ragtag bunch.

OWNER: ROGER DORN (MAJOR LEAGUE) CORBIN BERNSEN

Roger Dorn is my owner. He didn’t have too much success in the movies. But he was better than all the other greedy owners in all of the other films.

MY FRONT OFFICE

The Movie Money Ball is all about the front office. It’s all about putting together a team on the cheap. Since these are people from Hollywood, I think this team will be expensive. However Money Ball is all about putting a winning team out there on the field with numbers. So I went with two actors from Money Ball that will be my front office.

GM BILLY BEANE MONEY BALL (BRAD PITT)

ASSISTANT GM PETER BRAND MONEY BALL (JONAH HILL)

REFRESHMENT CONSULTANT

MORRIS BUTTEMAKER (BAD NEWS BEARS(1976) WALTER MATTHAU

The man brings a cooler of beer coaching little league baseball. This is the man that will drink with the players and work behind the bar in the clubhouse. He will also be in charge of sponsors.

TEAM PHYSICIAN

ANNIE SAVOY (BULL DURHAM) SUSAN SARANDON

She can help the players relax in all kinds of ways. Plus get them in peak physical condition at the same time. She can even tell the player how to adjust their swing.

TEAM ANNOUNCER

HARRY DOYLE (MAJOR LEAGUE) BOB UECKER

The best in the business.

COACHING STAFF

MANAGER KID GLEASON EIGHT MEN OUT (JOHN MAHONEY)

OTHER COACHES

BENCH COACH: BILLY MARTIN (THE BRONX IS BURNING) JOHN TURTURRO

HITTING COACH:TOMMY DUGGAN  (A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN) TOM HANKS

PITCHING COACH: JAKE TAYLOR  (MAJOR LEAGUE) TOM BERINGER

MY STARTING LINE UP POSITION PLAYERS

CATCHER: JACK PARKMAN (MAJOR LEAGUE 2) DAVID KEITH

Parkman was not a team player. However he was a super star catcher. Plus he had the shimmy that drove the ladies mad. Looks bad ass in White sox colors.

FIRST BASE: ROGER MARIS (61) BARRY PEPPER

SECOND BASE: KELLY LEAKE (BAD NEWS BEARS) JACKIE EARLE HALEY

SHORT STOP: BENNY THE JET RODRIGUEZ (THE SANDLOT) MIKE VITAR

THIRD BASE: BUCKY WEAVER (EIGHT MEN OUT) JOHN CUSACK

LEFT FIELD: JACKIE ROBINSON (42) CHADWICK BOSEMAN

CENTER FIELD: WILLIE MAYS HAYS (MAJOR LEAGUE) WESLEY SNIPES

RIGHT FIELD: ROY HOBBS (THE NATURAL) ROBERT REDFORD

He leads the league in knocking the cover off the baseballs.

DH: PEDRO CERRANO (MAJOR LEAGUE) DENNIS HAYSBERT

He leads the league in chickens slayings.

BENCH

OUTFIELDER: HIROSHI KAMIKAZE TANAKA (MAJOR LEAGUE 2) TAKAAKI ISHIBASHI

The man runs through walls.

OUTFIELDER/INFIELDER: BABE RUTH (THE BABE) JOHN GOODMAN

Leads the league in hot dogs eaten. Best pinch hitter in the game for this team.

INFIELDER: JACK ELLIOT (MR. BASEBALL) TOM SELLECK

CATCHER: CRASH DAVIS (BULL DURHAM) KEVIN COSTNER

pic of crash

OUTFIELDER: SHOELESS JOE JACKSON (FIELD OF DREAMS) RAY LIOTA

In case your wondering there are two Shoeless Joe’s. One from Field of dreams and one from Eight men out. Since Kevin Costner is already two characters we needed a representative from the movie Field of Dreams.

INFIELD: ARNOLD “CHICK” GANDIL (EIGHT MEN OUT) MICHAEL ROOKER

We need one guy just in case of zombie apocalypse to save the team.

PITCHING STAFF

STARTERS

EBBY CALVIN “NUKE” LALOOSH (BULL DURHAM) TIM ROBBINS

BILLY CHAPEL (FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME) KEVIN COSTNER

Some games we have Kevin Costner playing two positions. It’s amazing how he is Crash Davis behind the plate catching for himself as Billy Chapel on the pitching mound.

MEL CLARK (ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD)  TONY DANZA

This guy had GOD as his pitching coach

EDDIE CICOTTE (EIGHT MEN OUT) DAVID STRATHAIRN

Got to have at least one knuckle baller on the staff.

BULL PEN

JIMMY MORRIS (THE ROOKIE) DENNIS QUAID

MONTY BREWSTER (BREWSTER’S MILLIONS) RICHARD PRYOR

This guys has the best ways to invest money made from the game we love.

AMANDA WHURLIZER (BAD NEWS BEARS 1976) TATUM O’NEAL

This woman can do lots with a bucket of beer.

CLOSER: RICKY “WILD THING” VAUGHN (MAJOR LEAGUE) CHARLIE SHEEN

Just in case you want to know. The Wild Thing is still sleeping with our owners wife.

I think this team can whack the ball all over the ball park. I have a great defense in place. Plus my pitching staff is terrifying. Plus I think the coaching staff is best in the league. I have smart people in the front office. However my owner lacks intelligence, but he makes up with good intentions. Time to PLAY BALL !!!

 

CHIEF WAHOO SCALPED

 

I grew up watching Archie Bunker in the show called All In the Family. He was a bigot that made fun of all the races. I guess you could say he was an equal opportunist. All in the Family at that time was doing something never done before. Words at that time you knew about, but never thought you’d hear them on your television. The words which are very offensive. However it was a different time back then. People would label you by your race. I picked up the clothes at the Swedes place. The owner was Swede. Did you get meat from the Kraut? Meaning the German butcher. This was the way older generations talked. They labeled people. This happened in all races. Lots of this at the time was sticks and stones will break my bones and names would never hurt me. This has all changed. The way of speaking. The labeling of a person’s race. Except Donald Trump, he’s on another island by himself.

The Cleveland Indians have decided to rip the Chief Wahoo patch off their uniforms like a General losing their stripes. The smiling one feathered cartoon Indian head has been around since 1938. It’s been in some big movies. Who can forget Wild Thing coming out of the bull pen wearing the Indian head striking out the side? It has represented some great teams. Many bad teams as well. For years the Native Americans have been pressuring the organization to remove the Indian. The Cleveland Indians have over the years reduced Chief Wahoo by wearing hats with a big C on it to represent the city of Cleveland. That was usually on the road as at home games, Chief Wahoo would reappear on the hats and sleeves.

The Native Americans have been battling many sports teams and colleges for years to change their names.  Even high schools and grammar schools have changed their indian logo to something else or have completely changed names.  Marquette University changed their name from Warriors to Golden Eagles. They could of just changed the logo as a Warrior can mean so much. The University of Illinois got rid of their Chief. That indian head looked done in great taste. At halftime the mascot was in all Indian attire. Even did the Native American dances in good taste. Florida State University pays money to the local tribes to keep them happy. The Washington Redskins continue to stand up to the Native Americans and other people that want them to change. The Redskin logo in my book looks good. I think the Native Americans want the name changed over the logo.  You never hear of anyone trying to get rid of the Chicago Blackhawk logo. That probably is the best logo in sports. What about the Atlanta Braves and Kansas city Chiefs with the tomahawk chop?

What is a good logo and what is a bad logo when it comes to this controversial subject about Native Americans? What can you say in this politically correct world without it coming back as a hate crime. If Redskins is racial what about Red Man tobacco. I’m Irish so I can be insulted as being called pasty white. Should I be insulted by The Notre Dame Fighting Irish Leprechaun? Few years back a college Intramural sport coined the name the Fighting Whities as their team name. Always loved and laughed if someone refers to me as a Kracker or honkey. It seems like some Indian logos are better than others. Seems money thrown at anything can make things go away. However some people might not see things like I do. Maybe some of these logos do hurt. Maybe the logo represents a group in the wrong way. Maybe this wrong way of thinking can affect a group long term. When it comes to jobs if people think a certain group is not qualified just because of their old history, it can make things unfair. Nobody wants to be at the bottom of the food chain. This country has many great things as it has every group represented around the world and their traditions. However we still judge a whole group by it’s cover and have problems turning the page.

The Cleveland Indians will still sell merchandise with Chief Wahoo on it. But it will not be on the main uniforms. I love history. Especially baseball history. I think many of the older throwback uniforms are better than the modern day uniforms.  I like the Cleveland Indian logo. It is only a cartoon. Those characters at the amusement parks never look like you own self as you ride a skate board or on skis.  If I was a Native American and had to pick one logo that I would get rid of in sports, it would be the Cleveland Indian logo. I would get rid of the Lucky Charms leprechaun if I had my choice. However I thought of one way the Indians could still use most of the logo and just change the team name. They get rid of the feather on the logo. Then call themselves the Cleveland Pippens.

 

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Scotty Pippen would obviously have to receive free tickets for life. The staff might not like No Tippin’ Pippin.

WE DON’T GET NO STINKING VOTES HOWEVER THAT WILL NOT STOP US

The people that vote for the Baseball Hall of fame get ten votes. We do not actually get to vote. However we are going to vote for our ten players we think that should get votes. Ten players we think should get into the hall of fame. We know everyone we voted for will not actually get in. However we will try to keep the Steroid guys out. We are going with guys that earned it the hard way. We do not conduct our own drug tests.We do not play Doctors on the television. If we do actually pick a guy that is connected with steroids well that’s shame on us. We like to keep the hall clean. Even though you and I know some players have slid under the door and got in. The back door. Curses Batman!

NO SHENANIGANS ON THE WILD SHAMROCK 2018 HALL OF FAME VOTES

#1. JIM THOME   612 HOME RUNS, 2328 HITS, 1699 RBI’S

The Mayor!!! Who does not like this guy?

#2.VLADIMIR GUERRERO 449 HOME RUNS, 1496 RBI’S 2590 HITS, .318 BA

Never wore batting gloves. We need at least one more Expo in the Hall.

#3.TREVOR HOFFMAN 601 saves

Come on already, what is the hold up on this guy? 601 saves, It’s a No-brainer.

#4.CHIPPER JONES 468 HOME RUNS, 2726 HITS, 1623 RBI’S .303 BA

When you think of all those Brave teams you think pitching. This guy is the Braves best position player during that span. One of the best third basemen of all-time.

#5.EDGAR MARTINEZ 309 HOME RUNS, 2247 HITS, 1261 RBI’S .312 BA

The DH has been a position now for decades. If NFL let in Special team players in their hall, then for Christ sakes let in some DH’s. Plus this guy has done a lot for Seattle on some of those great Mariner teams. Driving in huge runs on daily basis.

#6.MIKE MUSSINA 270-153 WITH 3.68 ERA

He pitched during the steroid era. That’s a pretty good ERA pitching in the American league. He won some big playoff games as well.

#7.CURT SCHILLING  216-146 WITH 3.46 ERA

This guy loves talking politics. Which some writers will vote for the STEROID guys over him because, Curt likes the Freedom of speech. He speaks his mind. Let’s talk bloody sock. This guy had ice water in his veins come playoff time.

These next three players I might be swinging for the fences. I like these guys better than most of the new guys on the ballot.

#8. FRED MCGRIFF 493 HOME RUNS 1550 RBI’S, 2490 HITS .284 BA

Fred has probably played for every team in the league. The one stat I did like about him,  he actually hit a home run in each park in both leagues. They might of added some new stadiums after he completed that. He quietly put up all these numbers as well.

#9. JEFF KENT   377 HOME RUNS,  2461 HITS, 1518 RBI’S, .290 BA

I believe people hated this guy for many reasons. I liked when he stood up to Barry Bonds when they were both on the Giants. His numbers for a second basemen are pretty impressive though. Joe Morgan probably does not like him. As he thinks he should be the only second basemen in the hall.

#10. JOHNNY DAMON   235 HOME RUNS, 2769 HITS, 1139 RBI’S, .284 BA

He helped Boston win a title then played for the Evil Empire in pinstripes. I’m not a fan of either team. That would bother me if that situation did take place on my favorite team. Did some great things as a lead off hitter. He hit for power. He did a little bit of everything. Including some great defense in the outfield.

THE PIRATE REVOLUTION

How would you like to be a Pittsburgh fan? Recent events that have just taken place in your city would make anybody mad as a hatter. To watch your Steelers implode against the Jaguars. Your team coming in was thought to be the only one that could take down the evil empire in the AFC. Perhaps you did the unthinkable and got past the hated Patriots, your team could of went to the Superbowl. Could of even won the big game coming up in early February. Instead a dark cloud looms over a cold town as the Jaguars come into your building and eliminate you from post season. Then as you feel the punch to the gut, the dark cloud over your city strikes again. This time your baseball team. Two of your best players traded away for peanuts without any cracker jacks in return. With your baseball team in another rebuild. Your football team seems to be light years away from training camp. Your only thing you have is Penguin Hockey. They are 6-4 in their last ten. However they are jumbled up in the middle of the standings. If they can’t jolt past a few teams. If they fail down the stretch to make the playoffs. The skies will remain dark for a long period of time in Pittsburgh.

Another rebuild is on the docket for the Pirates. It just seems like yesterday they finally broke a very long drought of not making it to the playoffs. It was a span of 20 years from 1993 to 2013 where people witnessed very poor baseball played. When they finally did snap this ugliness, they watched playoff baseball for three straight years. They never reached NLCS and only got out of the wild card game once. Playing in the the one game playoff games does not help either. A game that is like two Cowboys at high noon standing off as one lives and one goes home in body bag. You wait 20 years to get to the playoffs. Then play 162 games for what? One game to lose and go home.

Do you have faith in Pirate ownership? Last year according to the Forbes report the Pirates were the 17th most valuable franchise. They took in 265 Million clams in revenue. They spent 51 Million in operating costs. It is a small market team. However they can’t say they are poor as they brought in a lot of cheddar. PNC, in my opinion, is one of the coolest stadiums Ive ever been to. Have not seen them all. But this ball park was a great experience. With the profits looming large for Pirate ownership,  how come they never added bigger additions? Sure they signed washed up veterans in hopes they’d make a come back on the cheap. They did that very well. But to have a team with a solid nucleus of young talent and not to go out and add a big time bat. Or a big time pitcher during that span is shameful. They had a nice window of three years as a team that was exciting to watch. To stand by and not add a solid piece to put them over the top is why owners irritate their own fan base.

Recently the Pirates dealt super stars Gerrit Cole to the Astros and Andrew McCutchen to the Giants. The tear down is on its way. Who’s next Josh Harrison? If the owners can’t provide help for a team it took 20 years to build. How do they think fans are going to react when they can’t get a lot in return for their own players. Will this rebuild take another 20 years to see their next playoff baseball game at PNC park? They are waving the white flag as they’ve seen the Cubs aka loveable losers turn around and beat the goat that plagued them for years by winning a world series. It’s a team set with a great nucleus to compete for years to come. Then you have the Cardinals who are always competing. Both these franchises are not scared to make things happen, unlike the Pirates. Then you have an up and coming team, Milwaukee. Brew town young talent is on the rise. Now if they land talent to overcome, what do you think as a Pirate fan? The Reds are the only other team in the Pirates division that is on a rebuild. They are building around their superstar Joey Votto.

Now Pirate fans are fighting back. They have started a petition to force owner Bob Nutting to sell the team. The original goal was 35,000 signatures. However the petition is up to 42,000 people aiming for 50,000 people that are telling Bob Nutting you are doing a bad job. As an owner, Bob Nutting is like all other big time business, and probably use company surveys to judge their employee’s performances. Pirate fans deserve much better. It’s a fan base that knows the game. It’s a city of hardworking citizens that take pride in their sports teams. Like in the game show Family Feud, the survey says GET THE HELL OUT OF DODGE BOB. We don’t need your kind in this town.

GAMBLERS VERSUS STEROID MONGERS

In 2017, the veterans committee already voted Jack Morris and Alan Trammell to the Hall of Fame. Well deserved!!! Those guys should have made it in the regular voting process. This season Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and Trevor Hoffman should be shoe-ins. Love to even see Omar Vizquel and Vladimir Guerrero make it. All these players have great resumes. All of them are clean. Not tainted by any demons of their past. This is what the Baseball Hall of Fame is all about. What about the guys with the numbers but who have the tainted pasts? People keep talking about how the steroid mongers will eventually get in. Maybe a few have already slipped under the cracks in Cooperstown. What about the gamblers? Should the gamblers get in before the mongers?

There are two guys that would be Hall of Fame shoe-ins even if they did not get on the juice late in their careers, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. These are two guys that did not need the juice. You can argue a few more mongers but these are the top two talents of the ‘roid era. Barry Bonds was a hitting machine and Roger was a number one ace for years.  Roger used the juice to help prolong his career on the mound. While I think Bonds was just jealous of all the attention Sosa and McGwire were getting in that year where they were knocking the ball out of the park almost every night. If you stopped time and go back to the future in the Delorean before someone injected their bums with the juice. Even before they rubbed the motion lotion on each other. What would their numbers be at in their career? Not sure medical science could give us the facts on the first time they went down this dark road. Maybe we cut their leg off and look at the rings like a tree we can find something. I think if their careers hadn’t ended on that day they decided to get drugged up. If they had chosen to do it the harder way like Hanz and Franz did by “pump you up.”  They would be in the Hall as we speak.

This leaves me with the gamblers. Pete Rose known as Charlie Hustle. Before that Shoeless Joe Jackson one of the eight men out in the 1919 black sox scandal. We know Pete Rose still leads the league in all-time hits. He still has a few other stats which he is a league leader in. I was impressed that he had played at least 500 games at five different positions in his career as well. Before Shoeless Joe was banned, he had played 13 seasons in the Majors. He had a lifetime batting average of .356. He had 1772 hits in much shorter seasons during his time. He racked up some MVP awards and was a part of the Championship in 2017. If we go back in time with the gamblers, when did Pete make his first bet? His bets came when he was a manager of the team. While Shoeless Joe could not read and was coerced into signing a statement that he was involved. He might have received money, but he was convinced that everyone was throwing the series at the time. His stats spoke differently though throughout the 1919 series. Before both these guys got involved with these scandals, could you say they were shoe-ins to the Hall of Fame?

Gambling seems like the bigger sin from which both Jackson and Rose had a lifetime ban from the league. While the steroid guys have their name written in mud with a dark cloud following them. The Steroid guys were brought to congress. Sammy Sosa forgot he spoke English. While Rafael Palmeiro wagged his finger at congress. None of the steroid guys were brought up on any criminal charges. Which is worse – gambling or illegal drugs? Would you rather have your kid make a bet or would you rather see your kid inject something dangerous into his or her body?  Both betting and injecting your body can hurt you and can hurt others. Your actions can affect other people, especially family. Any vices usually will affect family first.

Gambling ruins the game especially if you have insiders taking a dive. Plus you are ruining the game as no one wants all their sports to be like wrestling where everything is fake. Gambling has been around forever just like all the vices people have in life. But if you want to make a wager on a sport, that is your business. That’s why we have Las Vegas. You do your reading and you carefully check the lines of the game. You check out the injury report. You figure out a great bet to put down. Everything could go your way. But then someone takes a dive or throws a game and you lose money that you could have won. Money you could have invested to make more money. Money you could have used to help someone in dire need of help. It’s a domino effect. It can have a chain reaction of many lives, that’s what one thrown game can do.

Steroids are also dangerous. Sure you should have the right to do anything to your own body. Steroids can shorten your life span like lots of drugs can do. With your life ending because you want to be better at your game, you affect family and friends. Plus what about people’s records? Guys like Babe Ruth and Roger Maris made that home run record stand for decades. Then to see Hank Aaron break that record and what he had to deal with along the way. All the death threats. All the racist remarks. Then to see big headed Godzilla monster Barry Bonds break it and before that Mark McGwire. What about awards? Jason Giambi got the MVP award during which he was juiced up. This probably got him a few brinks trucks of money out of the deal. Hall of Famer great Frank Thomas was runner up. What if he was one MVP year short of making it to the Hall of Fame? Another thing is steroids killed all the people that were on the bubble. The people that were in the Minors very close to making it to the big show. They chose not to do it while others chose to do steroids and they made it to the show. Gambling, just like steroids, it leaves a long line of people affected by one persons choice.

I bet it is very hard to keep the Hall of Fame pure. I know the league should be about the best and the best when it comes to day to day things in their lives. People probably have gotten in the hall who do not belong because of what they did. You always hear about how a Bonds and Clemens will get in some day. Suddenly their votes are increasing. If you let the steroid people in, shouldn’t you lift the ban on the gambler? How come known people that were on steroids, did not get banned from baseball? Because the league knew they had a steroid problem. It was an era that helped save the game. Chicks dig the long ball. People were coming to the ball park to see the long ball. If these steroid guys do get in or are already in, is that fair to the gambling guys? At least Jackson and Rose earned their numbers the hard way by playing every game the right way. Both Jackson’s and Rose’s stories should be looked at and reviewed before they let the steroid mongers into the hall. Now the MLB has changed the ball as everything is wound tighter. It could be their way to eventually change the numbers. Their way to erase the steroid era. Will it be too late? Where does it leave guys like Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson? Their names still tainted. While guys like Clemens and Bonds get in the back door.

 AMBASSADOR PIERZYNSKI

When he played for the Twins, you could not stand him. It was like when Dennis Rodman played for the Pistons. You know the type of player that you absolutely hate their guts. The way they haunt your team. The way they rub salt in your wounds. You respect how they play the game. It’s the blue collar type of player that knows every little thing about the game. All the tricks of the trade. Does all the little things down to a detailed science. But mostly does all the dirty work.  It’s that person you hate facing, but you love him when he wears your favorite team’s uniform.

Chicago had a few of these special players over the years. They were scattered around all the professional teams over the years. They were not players that grew on trees. However the one the White Sox had, was a catcher.  He had the one moment that will freeze in time which helped the White Sox break an 88 year old drought. The famous drop third strike against the Angels. The one play that helped catapult the team to the series and beyond. The way he handled the pitching staff. Four complete games starting pitching in the A.L championship is unheard of, especially the way baseball has gone with specialty pitchers. He did not pitch those games, but he caught them. AJ Pierzynski played 8 years on the South side. He built up a cult following on the Southside. It might be his only following he has ever had in his career. A man who was booed by every other ball park except the White Sox faithful.

The White sox have just named him an ambassador for the team. In 8 years on the South Side the way he knew the rules of the game, was as if he wrote them himself. He knew every twist every turn like the back of his hand. What level he could take it to and be right. The way he got down and blocked balls in dirt. He was like a goalie in hockey making save after save.  Many times preventing the other team from getting ahead. Those plays behind the plate preserved a Mark Buehrle No hitter or lots of shut outs in general. He laughed at Marty Barret for clocking him after a slide into home plate. AJ was never shy with anything as he said what he felt. He was a guy that was very hard to strike out. He had some power from the left hand side of the plate. But he was the guy that would come up to bat and approach the at bat depending on what the situation was. He found a way to move the runner. He found a way to take one for the team. He would also get the big hit and drive in a late run across the plate. He was a guy that brought his lunch box to the park and whatever needed to be done in that situation, he would give it all to accomplish that.

AJ Pierzynski retired after the 2016 season. After 19 seasons playing the hardest position in baseball. At the age 0f 40 years old he has already worked with Fox as an analyst for the last few years. Some of the years have been after regular season was over as a player. Long time Sox announcer, “the Hawk,” Ken Harrleson is hanging up the microphone after a long career announcing games for the Chicago White sox.  He will only be doing about 25 games this upcoming season, his final year. One game both The Hawk and AJ will announce together. That game will be very special to AJ as they both grew up in Florida. Both live there in the off season and they call it home.

As an Ambassador for the team, he will be around the ballpark more often. Which is something good for the fans and the Chicago White Sox. Besides doing the duties of ambassador, should the Sox bring him into coaching? I know we already went through the horrible years with Robin Ventura. I still wake up in the middle of night with night terrors of his stupid moves he made while he coached.  AJ answered the question in an interview and said he’d love to coach at some point. They say catchers make the best mangers. Especially a guy that knows all the rules of the game. The little tendencies of the game to get an edge. Plus I think the biggest thing he can do well would be his ability to handle the pitching staff. Who to put in. When to take a guy out. Which guy should face the other team’s best hitter.  Because he caught a ton of games. He knows when a pitcher is out of gas. He heard every excuse in the book during his mound visits.  He could be a great guy to have on Renteria’s bench in present time. Especially with the young team they are building. Even if he does not coach, I do like the move to having him at the ball park. To give some of his input would not hurt. The more bright people you have assembled around a group of ball players, the better the team will be on the field.

THE 2017 ROOKIE OF THE YEARS

This week both leagues announced the rookies of the year. For the American league, it was no surprised as the big man, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, won it. In the National league it was Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers who won it. Both of them won it with ease as both of them had monster years in regular season and played deep in the post season.

Aaron Judge will never field any questions that he is on the juice. He comes in standing as tall as the Green Giant at 6’7″. The giganticsaurus weights in at 282. The man led the whole league in home runs at 52. Led the A.L in runs 128 and walks 127. He won the Home Run Derby. He even helped his team get deep in the playoffs in which they were one game away from the World Series. He is the ninth Yankee to win rookie of the year, the last being the great Derek Jeter.

Cody Bellinger led the National league in home runs with 39. He drove in 97 while scoring 87 runs while batting .267. He’s only 22 years old and he helped get his team one win away from taking the World Series. This is the second year in a row the Dodgers had one of their players as rookie of the year. Last season was Cory Seager. He is the 18th Dodger to win this award. The Dodgers have the most out of any franchise.

I believe the baseball is juiced. With all the home runs hit this year. Plus both these rookies broke records in their first year in the league. Cody Bellinger set the National league single season rookie record with 39 balls landing in the seats. While breaking the records of Wally Berger of 1930 and Frank Robinson of 1956 in which they had 38 long balls. Then Aaron Judge was the judge jury and he executed 52 long balls breaking the  MLB record of 49 hit by Mark McGwire. McGwire, known as a steroid monger later in his career, did hit 49 in his rookie year when he was slim and trim. Maybe the juiced baseballs are a way to eclipse some of these records set up in the steroid era.

Both of these players are young with bright futures ahead of them. Both have great teams they play on presently that could win a world series very soon. Both could break some more records down the road. Does the Judge have a shot at Barry Bonds’ single season record? I see the Judge will probably not have to pay for any meals in New York so he can feed that 282 pound frame. Meanwhile Cody Bellinger has his own version of his own World Series trophy.

WHERE EVERYONE DOES NOT KNOW YOUR NAME

Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play baseball in the MLB. Many people forget about Larry Doby being the second African American to play baseball. Everyone knows Colin Kaepernick is well known for kneeling for the National Anthem. At the time, he was a back up quarterback, but had history in the league. I can’t name his disciples who kneel with him on the 49ers sidelines. One weekend it got ugly because President Trump poured gasoline on the flames. Like a moron who would store his ammunition in an oven. The kneeling then became ugly where teams were singing kumbaya interlocking hands, some standing and kneeling. All the attention. I still only think of one guy every time players kneel, Colin Kaepernick.

Then who’s this guy Bruce Maxwell?. Did you know he was the first MLB player to kneel in the national anthem? Yes, his parents are probably so proud. He plays for the Oakland Athletics. Did not know the A’s were still playing in the majors. Billy Beane and his moneyball ways are not getting any pub these days. The A’s have not even been close to even sniffing the playoffs. It looks like Billy “bargain bins” Beane is not getting the talent he once was getting. Except for the catcher that is hitting .237 – three home runs and 22 RBI’S this past season. Bruce Maxwell was never heard of in the baseball world. Maybe the few fans that showed up to an Athletic game saw him kneel before the game. Maybe they thought someone was throwing out the first pitch to him. I never heard of Maxwell on the baseball field for his play or getting his knees dirty. If an Oakland Athletic hits a home run, does it make a sound?

Bruce Maxwell goes back home to Huntsville, Alabama this off season. He hangs out with the local councilman and some other guy. They head to a place called Keegan’s Public House. Bruce Maxwell claims the waiter refused to serve him because he knelt for the National Anthem and the waiter was a Donald Chump, I mean Trump supporter. Bruce claimed the restaurant was being racist. The restaurant claims Maxwell is liar liar pants on fire. Matt Henry, the 42 year old waiter, said he refused to give Bruce Maxwell’s friend a beer because his ID was expired. Matt said he has seen a co worker get fired for serving an underage person a drink. The waiter also said he never heard of Bruce Maxwell and never knew he knelt during the National Anthem. The waiter thought at the time the incident was done. Then who got this incident out to the media and why? Is the waiter going to get better tips for refusing the first ever guy to kneel for the National Anthem during our national past time. Or does it  help Bruce Maxwell who sucks at baseball?  Is Maxwell a pioneer. Maybe a Rosa Parks. However we do not know why he kneels for the National anthem. Probably the same reason some of the NFL players are kneeling for.

I was not there at the restaurant. But then Bruce Maxwell makes the news for the second time, this time in Arizona. I will count the Alabama thing the first time with being the first baseball player to kneel as one thing since nobody knew who he was or what he did. In Arizona he pointed a gun at a food delivery person. Who was female. She must of forgot the honey nut cheerios or the extra sauce. Bruce Maxwell was arrested on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon along with disorderly conduct.

My take on Bruce Maxwell is he is an attention seeker. Plays the race card in his home town over an expired ID. Then points a gun at a delivery person. He sounds like a guy with mental issues. Who gets into two scrapes in that short of time? Yes, Johnny Football was the answer I was looking for. He’s a complete dum dum for a whole lot of other reasons. Maxwell I would not want to be leading something I believed in. He would lead you off a cliff or the wrong side of town.  The whole National Anthem protests have brought out many stupid people including the guy that runs the country. But Maxwell and Colin Kapernick as your Rosa Parks just make my stomach turn. This country was built with some great leaders. Many people spilled blood for this country. I just hate when the complete insane rise out of the wood work to throw their two cents in the ring. Most times, it just adds to the problems, not a solution.

IN DUSTY I DON’T TRUSTY

After managing two division titles with the Washington Nationals, Dusty Baker got the ax. Both division titles led to early playoff exits. That has been a common theme for the Nationals before they hired Dusty. The Nationals that have a loaded roster of talent people from all over the baseball world, are scratching their heads on why this team can’t get past the first round of the playoffs. With their pitching talent and their offensive power house, to go to a game five with the Cubs and have mental lapses and lose a close one, would make any fan of the team want to jump off the cliff.

The Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos have already been through eight managers since 2002. A few seasons ago, Dusty Baker was not even their first choice. They wanted Bub Black however they did not want to pay him what he wanted or even what he was worth. They settled for number two in Dusty Baker, who possibly might not have  been their second choice. In 2012, Jim Riggleman resigned due to an unfair contract situation. It was in June and the team was getting hot as the win went over the 500 mark. Would paying the bigger amount of money for Bud Black land the Nationals into the second round of the playoffs? Both Dusty Baker and Bud Black are managers that have a track record. Both have been around and if you look at their record and history, you should know what you’re getting yourself into.

Dusty Baker is the MLB version of Marty Schottenheimer in the NFL. He’s a guy that can win you a division and you know you’re in for an early exit in the playoffs or some kind of heartbreaker. Sure Dusty had the Giants knocking at the door for a World Series title against the Angels. He even was up in that series. He almost had the Cubs in the World Series. At the time the Cubs had not been to the World Series in a zillion years. Dusty has had plenty of talent on all three of these playoff teams.

People will say it’s hard to win a division title in baseball. It’s 162 games a season and it becomes a grind towards the end. It’s also managing differently in regular season than the playoffs. In regular season you’re playing bad teams and good teams throughout the season. In the playoffs, you’re playing the best. The match ups in the regular season are not always lined up the way they are in the playoffs. Your ace in regular season could be going against the other team’s number 4 or 5 in a lot of games throughout a 162 games. In the playoffs, your ace is going against the other team’s ace. Yes you need to manage in regular season to win the title to get in the playoffs to play the best in the first place. However, Dusty had loaded teams to get through the regular season with ease.

One of the biggest things I have with Dusty Baker in the playoffs is the way he handles his pitching staff. The second thing seems like a black cloud follows this man. In Chicago, he ruined Kerry Wood and Mark Prior until their arms practically fell off. His pitching changes cost the Giants from winning the World Series. I think it cost him in the recent series with the Cubs.  But the bigger thing is the bizarre games that happen when he’s managing. The Steve Bartman game is the biggest. After seeing Moises Alou and his pitcher Mark Prior throw tantrums after the foul ball that they thought Bartman interfered with. First Alou would have never caught that ball. Second, he did not walk out to calm Prior down after the situation took place. Then in the recent series when the Nationals self destructed in that game five. Dusty has a terrible aura on him, a smell of playoff doom oozing out of his body.  Locked in my mind is that also after a tough loss, he managed the Cubs he had his kid on his lap in the after game press conference. Way to avoid the tough questions Dusty.

I can see why the Nationals sent the toothpick chewer packing after this season. I would have never hired him in the first place. Now they need to go after Joe Girardi. Giradi who recently was let go by the Yankees should be the top target for the Nationals. Joe Girardi was able to get his young Yankees one game away from the World Series. A team that was not expected to even make the playoffs. Plus Girardi has a great track record which includes a World Series win. It’s time for the Nationals to pony up for Mercedes instead of kicking the tires on retread Honda. Plus Bryce Harper is on the verge of walking out the door because the Nats probably won’t pony up that kind of money for the talented phenom. Joe Giraldi would give the Nationals their best chance to win the series quickly while they still have Harper. It would give them a manger for years as well, instead of going through skippers like changing your underwear.

THE WILD SHAMROCK

WORLD SERIES PREDICTION

The championship series I went perfect 2-2.

Dodgers eliminated the Cubs in five games.

I had the Dodgers doing it in six games.

Astros eliminated the Yankees in seven games

I had Astros winning in six games.

WORLD SERIES FEATURES HOUSTON ASTROS VERSUS LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Last time the Dodgers have been to the World series was in 1988

Last time the Houston Astros have been to the World Series was in 2005

Los Angeles has won six World Series titles.

Houston has still never won one.

Fun fact

Both these have play my Chicago White sox in a World Series.

White sox beat the Astros in 2005.

While the Dodgers beat the White Sox in 1959

I predicted the Dodgers would win the series before the season started. I will continue to stand by that prediction.

WORLD SERIES PREDICTION: DODGERS IN SIX

I think the Dodgers are playing with the eye of the tiger. I think everything they have going for them is running like a well oiled machine. I think they are deeper in team depth, which includes both starting pitching and bull pen pitching. Houston is a great team. The Astros offense is top notch. But I have questions about their pitching. After Verlander and Dallas Keuchel who do you have? Dodgers have great hitting as well. However they have the edge with better pitching. Pitching always beats great hitting.

RESPECT ME

The other day I was watching some highlights of the Nationals and Cubs series. They were showing some highlights. Then I heard someone bellow “RESPECT ME”Then he went on in some kind of rant. I was pretty sure it was baseball highlights however it sounded like an inter view Mean Gene would do.

What was the Macho man Randy Savage doing on baseball? Maybe it was the junk yard dog. However it was the Cubs’ first baseman Roddy Rizzo Piper letting everyone know how he feels when you pitch to him.

Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs was a little crazed there as he was mad the Nationals did not walk him. His thought process was how dare anybody pitch to me with runners on. Like the great Rizzo should be walked every time runners are on base because if not he will get a hit and drive them in automatically. I did not know Rizzo was already a hall of famer. His batting average this year is .273 and he has a career average of .268. He had a good year but is he a player that you walk in any kind of situation with runners on?”I WANT TO MAKE GUYS PAY. I HIT WHERE I HIT IN THE ORDER, I DRIVE IN RUNS AND THAT IS THE MENTALITY I ALWAYS TAKE IN”.Then he went on to say “RESPECT ME RESPECT ME”Those are the words of his rant. That’s great stuff. Inside your own head. Not that everyone in the world should know your mentality on how you’re awesome. Most people if they said anything like Rizzo said out of their own mouth, they would ask “Did I just say that out loud?”Or you would hope you were wasted when you gave your bellow to opposing pitchers. He did drive in the run. It was a duck snort that landed in between the infielders and outfielders just getting down as they were all running to get this titanic blast off his bat.Then he went in for a rant after hit.Anthony Rizzo is a big part of the Chicago Cubs. He had a lot to do with them winning the World Series. But those kinds of rants are for the WWF. He reminds me of one of those idiot boxers that get in a fight with their opponent at the weigh in talking trash. You see him after he gets a hit and he’s pumping his fists like a boxer. The Cubs have a few of these types on their team. They like to watch their home runs instead of running. The relief pitcher Carl Edwards Junior strikes some one out and oh the theatrics he puts on pumping his fists a few times yelling up in the air like some kind of wolf hollowing at the full moon. RESPECT THE GAME. I hope a pitcher throws at him. Old school baseball he would have a little chin music coming his way. Then you would see him play the game instead of ranting and raving like some kind of lunatic. For christsakes you’re not Roy Hobbs hitting the ball over the fence every time. Act like you’ve been there before. I thought I saw everything with Sammy Sosa blowing kisses at everyone. Mark my words some team will hate your guts for the showing off and making silly threats. They will beat the Cubs and Roddy Rod Rizzo like a red headed step child. Then Rizzo and the Cubs will squirm away and take his ball and run home.

 

 

THE WILD SHAMROCK

ROUND TWO MLB PREDICTIONS

The wild card games I was 2-2 in Arizona and The Spankees from New York.

Then in the best out of five series I went 2-4.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Boston versus Houston is the only one I got perfect. I had this one decided in 4 games and Houston moving on.

LA Dodgers versus Arizona is the other series I was right on with the Dodgers winning it very quickly. For some odd reason I had the Diamond Backs actually showing up and making it a series all the way to game 5.

WHAT WENT WRONG

 

Cleveland at New York. I did not see this coming. I watched the first game and Jack Bauer’s brother Trevor was masterful on the bump. As the Judge looked like the jury and Indians line up was very impressive. Then the Indians made a huge comeback to steal game two away from the Yankees. Then it all went down hill from there. The Indians won 22 in a row late in the season. I figured they’d get deep into the playoffs. I had the Indians sweeping the Yankees. However Yankees come back down 2-0 and won it at Cleveland in game 5.

 

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• 

Washington at Chicago. In the beginning of the year I had the Cubs in the NL championship. However I was suckered into the Nasty Nat’s pitching offensive power house. I thought Cubs pitching was lacking a lot from their previous year. I Trusty Dusty which was very stupid. Even though my thought process was I bet Dusty would rather beat the Cubs in the playoffs, than win the World Series. I thought Washington was due to win a playoff series. Krusty the Clown thought the Washington Generals were due to win a game against the Harlem Globetrotters. Washington professional teams can not get out of the first round. Seriously the Capitals and the Nationals tear up the regular season and they get awarded with first round exits. I’m off the Washington train for anything.

The Beginning of the year THE WILD SHAMROCK 2017 PREDICTIONS

AMERICAN LEAGUE

DIVISION WINNERS: RED SOX, ASTROS, INDIANS,

I was perfect on my A.L div winners

A.L WILD CARDS: BLUE JAYS, MARINERS

My Wild card picking was nowhere near the ball park.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

DIVISION WINNERS: METS, GIANTS, CUBS

Only 1-3 in division winners. I got the weakest div. prediction right.

N.L WILD CARDS: DODGERS, NATIONALS

0-2 in the Wild Card for the N.L. However at least I have the Nationals and the Dodgers making the playoffs.

IN THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTIONS

A.L ASTROS VERSUS RED SOX

N.L DODGERS VERSUS CUBS

MY WORLD SERIES HAD DODGERS VERSUS ASTROS

Since I still have a shot at predicting the right World Series out come I’m Going to pick those teams for the Championship round.

A.L CHAMPIONSHIP: ASTROS VERSUS YANKEES

PREDICTION: ASTROS IN 6

N.L CHAMPIONSHIP: DODGERS VERSUS CUBS

PREDICTION: DODGERS IN 6

Both series will start off well for all teams. They will be like boxers in the first round of a fight and exchange a few jabs nothing special. Then Astros and Dodgers will eventually fatality the Cubs and Yankees, which is good for the game.

UNIQUE HOME RUN LANDINGS

I have always wondered who has hit the most home runs over the green monster in Boston. What about the most cheap home runs around that pesky pole in Boston? We know Barry Bonds has the most splash home runs in Giants stadium. Who has knocked the most home runs on to Waveland avenue in Wrigley? Lots of stadiums have those unique landing spots where it’s hard to hit home runs. I’m going to find these spots in old and new stadiums across the league and crunch some numbers to see which players have knocked the ball the most in these spots. See which opponent has knocked the most in these landings.

THE OLD COMISKEY PARK.

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The old Comiskey park was not a home run hitting paradise. At the newer White Sox park, it’s a “guaranteed rate” you hit a home run every game it seems.  The unique landing spot for a home run was the roof top at the old Comiskey. The old Comiskey stood for 80 years. Only 44 home runs landed on the roof of that stadium. Only 31 players have hit the ball on to the roof. Twelve of those players have worn a White Sox uniform when they did it.

OPPONENTS TALLIED 21 ROOF SHOTS

OPPONENTS
GEORGE BELL	2
JIMMY FOX	2
TED WILLIAMS	2
MICKEY MANTLE	1
BABE RUTH	1
LOU GEHRIG	1
HANK GREENBERG	1
BILL SKOWRON	1
ELSTON HOWARD	1
BOOG POWELL	1
DON MINCHER	1
HARMON KILLEBREW	1
SAL BANDO	1
RUPERT JONES	1
BRIAN DOWNING	1
JOSE CONSECO	1
LARRY SHEETS	1
KIRK GIBSON	1
ROB DEER	1

HOME TEAM TALLIED 23 ROOF SHOTS

WHITE SOX PLAYERS
RON KITTLE	7
GREG LUZANSKI	4
CARLTON FISK	2
EDDIE ROBINSON	1
MINNIE MONOSO	1
DAVE NICHOLSON	1
BUDDY BRADFORD	1
TOM EGAN	1
DICKIE ALLEN	1
RICHIE ZISK	1
HAROLD BAINES	1
DAN PASQUA	1

Ted Williams, George Bell and Jimmy Foxx tallied the most by an opponent with two each.

For the home team Ron Kittle had the most and he has the record for the most roof top home runs at the old Comiskey with seven.

THE WILD SHAMROCK

2017 MLB PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

WILD CARD GAMES

MINNESOTA AT NEW YORK YANKEES

COLORADO AT ARIZONA

I’M GOING WITH THE HOME TEAMS FOR THE WILD CARD

PREDICTION:ARIZONA/NEW YORK

BEST OUT OF 5 SERIES

THE AMERICAN LEAGUE

NEW YORK YANKEES VERSUS CLEVELAND INDIANS

PREDICTION: INDIANS SWEEPS YANKEES 3-0 IN SERIES

BOSTON RED SOX VERSUS HOUSTON ASTROS

PREDICTION: HOUSTON WINS IN 4 GAMES

NATIONAL LEAGUE

CHICAGO CUBS VERSUS WASHINGTON NATIONALS

PREDICTION: NATIONALS IN 5 GAMES

LOS ANGELES DODGERS VERSUS ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

PREDICTION:DODGERS IN 5 GAMES

CHASING ROGER MARIS

Yes, I know in 1998 Mark McGwire hit 70 bombs. Chasing him that corker Sammy Sosa had Wrigley in its only excitement back then with 66 bombs. Then they did it again in 1999. Then Inhumanoid Barry bonds.

Bonds hit 73 bombs in 2001 to put the final mockery out of Roger Maris record. The steroid era made all of the stuff Roger Maris had to go through when he broke Babe Ruth’s record, meaningless. All the questions Roger Maris had to take from reporters because he was breaking a baseball icon, Babe Ruth’s, impressive single season home run record. Babe Ruth did not play as many games as Roger did. Imagine some human scum gave Maris death threats for trying to break Ruth’s record. People probably dissected the Maris family, his roots and how he got to the majors, like dissecting a frog in science lab. However, he still broke Ruth’s record that stood for decades.

Roger Maris’ record stood for decades until 1998 when McGwire and Sosa razzled and dazzled fans all year with their Willey mammoth shot home runs. Then Barry Bonds was jealous of all the attention they got. Then immediately Bonds went to the lab to turn himself into Frankenstein. McGwire admitted he was on the juice, while Sammy is still in denial. Barry Bonds has never said he did when the evidence is so stacked up in the closet and under the rug, it’s ready to explode in the size of a huge meteorite. People say to put asterisks on their records. You can tell by the growth spurts they had in the prime of their careers. Heads blown up the size of beach balls on bodies that looked like they were made out of granite. In my mind and in many people’s minds, Roger Maris’ record stands.

I don’t think it will be done this year. But the future looks bright with a few sluggers on the rise. Giancarlo Stanton stands at 59 as of today. With only one game left on the schedule he would need two home runs to tie Roger Maris. A three home run game would break Roger Maris’s record which are hard to come by. Maybe not this season but in the future, stars like Stanton and rookie JUDGE from the Yankees might be the guys to break Maris’s records. Guys that have worked on their bodies the right way in a gym, not in a lab.  With the baseball being changed balls were flying out of the yards at a record pace this year. The balls will be the story when these young sluggers start breaking records. Then the reporters will bring you back to the day where Babe Ruth was hitting bowling balls out of the park compared to the league ball they have at this present time. With all that going on perhaps these up and coming sluggers could permanently erase the steroid records out of the books. Can this be a conspiracy? Maybe Major League Baseball wants to eliminate the steroid era by changing the ball. We will never know until their records are gutted from the books with new records on the rise.

WINNING!!!

I hate to be all Charlie Sheen like. I’ve been watching the White Sox rebuild from the beginning as they dealt some of their best talent in the off season. At the time I felt it sucked we could not win with these players that I invested in watching over the last few years. When you have pitching talents like Sale and Quintana and never have seen them pitch in a playoff game, it makes your stomach a little queasy. Who’s to blame? I don’t have time to unroll the Santa Clause naughty and nice list. However from the front office at the time when the first deal of the rebuild was going down, I can see some White Sox front office guys highlighted on the naughty list. I know it is too early to tell who got the better deal in the trades as some will take a few years to figure out.

The one trade the White Sox made I look at as right now they are winning, is the Adam Eaton trade. Of course Adam Eaton is out for the whole year and has only played in 23 games for the Nationals. If he was healthy and playing now for the Nationals, Eaton would help that great team even become a better team. Adam Eaton brings great defense in the outfield. He can hit for some power along with his average as he was batting .297 in the 23 games he played in. He can be a great lead off hitter like he was for the White Sox for the last few years. The Nationals do have him locked up in a friendly contract for the next few years as well. If Eaton comes back next year and helps the Nats win the World Series, then this trade could be in the Nationals’ favor.

However Adam Eaton might have to do a little more. The White Sox received three pitchers for Adam Eaton and two of them are pitching for the Sox at this time. Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez have been amazing to watch so far as they have razzled and dazzled hitters and it’s been fun to watch. Both of them are starters. Both of them go after hitters which is a huge deal. They both have lively arms and both are young.  Both of them have the same pitching records at 2-3. Lucas Giolito has the better ERA at a respectful 2.58. Reynaldo Lopez is up there at 4.84. These two guys are locks already in the starting rotation. They may become main staples for years to come. Plus the third guy, Dane Dunning, is doing well in the minors and he too might become a staple in the starting rotation. If you build around pitching and great defense you can get to playoffs every year. Great pitching always beats great hitting.

You miss guys like Adam Eaton. But you can find other young talents like Eaton. If the Sox turn Eaton into 2 to 3 starters for years to come, no matter what Eaton does the White Sox will win this trade. You might be able to say Rick Hahn fleeced the Nationals into getting a big haul for Adam Eaton. Eaton will never be in the hall of fame. He can help you win and he is very valuable. However 2 to 3 talented young starting pitchers is finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the Sox. Rick Hahn probably felt Like Charlie Sheen when he says he’s winning. Charlie’s version is much different than Rick’s I imagine as Charlie’s involved a hooker and some drugs. Rick on the other hand, is envisioning World Series trophies dancing like sugar plums in his head. It’s still early to tell on the rest of the trades the sox made. But chalk the Eaton trade up 1-0 good guys.

MILK MAN STILL DELIVERING

My first thoughts when it comes to the nickname, Milk Man, is a player the White Sox had in the year 2000. It was a magical year on the Southside that year as the team won the division. They had your big boppers and they had some great pitching. They also had some unsung heroes which included Herbert Perry, the White Sox third baseman. They called him the Milk Man because he delivered. It could of been a career year for Herbert Perry as he only played two seasons on the South Side. He bounced around the league after his days with the Sox. But that one season he batted .308 in 109 games with 12 bombs and 61 driven in. He always seemed to drive in the big runs in crucial situations to earn his nickname the Milk Man.

Milk men come and go with teams.They retire or they move on to other routes. Or they travel down other pastures looking to deliver for another team. Three years ago the White Sox signed another milk man named Melky Cabrera. He even had the name, melk, in his first name. He was a journeyman type of player as he was already with a few organizations before signing the contract. He even had some dark clouds following him. When he played for San Francisco he was busted for having illegal substances in his body. He was having a great year with the team before being busted. He obviously cleaned up his act and signed one year deals until he got the three year deal with the Sox. At the time most people raised their eye brows thinking this move may or may not work.

The White Sox are having their midnight madness sale of their players these days as they slash prices and Rick Hahn dresses in a powder blue suit yelling, “Everything must go.”

Melky was one of the last to go as he was dealt to the “RoyAL’S” with cheese. They were one  of his former teams he had played for. Melky’s first year with the Sox started slow. But the switch hitter then started hitting from both sides of the plate and became a very hard out. He has always been hard to strike out as well. He’s a contact hitter who hits the ball very hard. Almost every at bat the ball jumps off the bat. In the field he catches everything. However at times he stumbles or take the wrong route to the ball, but still makes an off balance catch. It does not look purtty but he catches the ball. What I love about him the most is his powerful arm. The way he zips the ball back into the field to nail a base runner is like a work of art. Two and a half years with Melky in a Sox uniform went by like a snap of your finger. I have learned the guy is very good in the club house. He’s a great leader. I knew eventually someone was going to come and purchase him at Rick’s big sale. He sat all lonesome by the new stereos that just arrived. For a moment you thought maybe they would hold on to him. But with his contract going to expire, you knew in time someone would want him. Because these day it’s prospects or bust as the motto on the South Side.

Kansas City kicked the tires on Melky and made the deal with the White Sox. In 18 games with the Royals, Melky is hitting .324 with three dingers and 15 driven in, including a go ahead RBI against the Sox a few weeks ago. Actually it was one of the three home runs he has hit in a Royal uniform since the trade.

He even was the first player this year that was traded and returned to his old stomping grounds to receive a standing ovation from the South Side faithful. Melky in the Royal uniform tipped his cap to the fans. The sox even gave him a score board tribute with a two minute video of Melky’s greatest highlights in Sox uniform. You really never see that happen. He was only here for 2 1/2 years. But he made an impact on the fan base and the organization. Can you say second stint with the team? Melky did not rule that out. Only the baseball god’s could make that happen. When the rebuild is finished, Melky would be up there in age. If he still has that bat speed from both sides of the plate, I would love to have him as the DH. Maybe he could be like Harold Baines and play into his 40’s. I know it’s a pipe dream. I’m sure at the time the rebuild is complete, a new Milk Man will be upon us. He will walk out of his truck and deliver throughout the South Side, as fireworks explode in the distance.

YOU CAN’T BUY YOUR LOVE

Fourteen years ago a fan of the Chicago Cubs woke up excited to see his team play that night. It was not a normal regular season game. The Cubs were at a place at the time which many fans of Cubbieland never seen before. The brain had visions of a World Series. To be a Cub fan at the time, your thought process was I will die never seeing my team in the World Series. It was like that in Chicago on both sides of town. However the Cubs had the longer streak of not getting to the series in World Series. Both Chicago teams combined, your chances of a man landing on Mars were better than your team making it. As the fan brushed his teeth that morning, he knew the team was playing well and had lots of talent. He even felt deep down inside he was going to see history unfold right in front of his eyes as he had a great ticket along the left field line.

Meanwhile in present times, the Cubs team is stacked with talent trying to make another run at history. This time they are trying to repeat after they finally won a World Series in 2016. For lots of fans it was a joyous time. Time to celebrate. It was time to remember family members that had passed away and think how they could not be there for this magical time in history. For one fan it might of been a relief. It might of been a monkey off your own back. As you have to live like Bin Laden used to live in hiding…cave to cave. Now the Cubs want to get into the DeLorean and travel back to the future. However it’s more like quantum leap to go back in time to fix things that have went wrong. The Cubs want to give Steve Bartman a 2016 World Series ring. It’s like helping the old girlfriend who inspired you to become something, then when you get to the next level you dump her for another model. Since the Cubs have the new upgraded phone and are on top of the world they want to fix a wrong that they did not fix in the last 14 years.

Steve Bartman sees the ball in his direction, reaches out and grabs the foul ball that looks to be out of play. Looks to be unplayable for any player on the field. Like most fans if they saw a ball coming at them they would react. In my opinion many people should of been taken out to the woodshed and are responsible for this situation that made the friendly confines a dark place. In 2003 a player who says he rubs his own urine on his hands to get a better grip of the bat. He says he could of caught that foul ball that Bartman reached out for. Then he threw a tantrum out on the field after he missed the ball that he would not of caught if no fans were sitting there. Moises Alou would be the person I would put into a town square and stone him. Then the pitcher Mark Prior at the time had a melt down when he should be responsible and thrown into a pit full of live gators. These two got the crowd going even more with their public overreactions. Plus as you can see by doing a quick google search, they over played the same highlight over and over of the Bartman play. What about those other fans that were reaching out for the ball? They should be lined up and blindfolded for the firing squad. Then all of the loser Cub fans that threw stuff at Bartman as he was ushered off. Then you have to go higher up and put major blame on the Cubs front office. As you can see I have the same plot as the front office could walk the plank.

Can you imagine being Steve Bartman? The million of replays of the same play over 14 years. The questions people asked him that worked with the man. Even if they don’t ask him any questions the thoughts they have. You know what they are thinking. Being in constant hiding. Even being afraid for your life against some crazed Cub fan who wants to do you harm. The media wanting to do a story on you. They say he had offers from the Marlins to come down to Florida. Would that have been like a witness protection program? Could he wear his hooded sweatshirt on the beach? Headphones obviously. He could of had a whole new life. However it is believed he stayed in Chicago in hiding. Now the Cubs want to give him a ring. Like my mum used to say to me as a wee lad, “You’re a day late and a dollar short. Where were you a decade ago? We have won the World Series now so everything is forgiven. Don’t be like that old girlfriend Mr. Bartman and take them back. The Cubs are like that crazed dog that is nice and cuddly one moment and all is forgiven. Then the next biting your neck and ripping the skin off as blood gushes out of you like lava from a volcano. We see your ring but you need to raise the ante to much more if you’re going to get him at the table. Shame on you to try to buy him off with your bling.

 

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CHICAGO CUBS

Last season the Cubs were beating up on all the competition at this time of the year. They had a commanding lead in the NL Central. This year the wheels of Cubbie nation are falling off one piece at a time. The team that had a magical last year are running into many problems. Did the Cubs have a lucky year last year down 3-1 in the World Series and then to come back and take the series and break over 100 year drought on the North Side of Chicago? I think every team has some luck when they win the World Series. However you need everything to come together and the Cubs had that in 2016. It’s only the half way point and the Cubs only find themselves a few games behind the Brew Crew for first place. Indeed it is a crappy division. Probably one of the worse in baseball. Many people are thinking they eventually will take the division and make the playoffs. Then follow that up with catching lighting in a bottle and run through the playoffs and get back to the World Series. I’m going to tell you why that will not happen.

First thing this team never experienced last year was injuries. The Mash unit has their hands filled as players are getting hurt left and right. It’s not just their average players, it is their super stars that are seeing the Disabled list. Kris Bryant and Ben Zobrist two main cogs in that line up have or are spending time trying to get healed up. Last year disaster Jason Heyward is on the disabled list as he was having a much better year than last year. When you hit rock bottom a few steps in the right direction will make your year better than what money you are paying him and what his performance on the field was. Then your best pitcher from last year, I believe has been out for a few weeks, in Kyle Hendricks. They say last year Cleveland had some key players out and they still made it to the World Series. The Indians probably could of used Danny Salazar instead of relying on Ace Corey Kluber to make a third start in World Series. Salazar would of been better than Trevor Bauer who was playing with his toys and got hurt from his drone. He still pitched but was not really useful. Injuries seem to come in packs and this team has been bitten by the injury bug which is not guaranteed to stop.

In the beginning of the season, the Cubs did not resign lead off hitter Dexter Fowler. The Cubs are practically printing their own money over in Wrigleyville. I don’t see why you let Dexter walk out the door and head to rivals the hated Cardinals. Then Maddon and his easy pleasey attitude, who thinks he’s the smartest person in the room, puts World Series hero power hitter Kyle Schwarber as your lead off hitter. That back fired as he has been sent down to the minors and is still striking out. Joe Maddon is a very great manager but I don’t see any accountability on his players this year. He’s got that carefree fragrance coming off his pores where everything is going to be alright. Like he’s smoking a blunt like the professor on Animal house getting high with his students. This walking on water will eventually sink the ship as the team will fall apart right in front of our eyes. No petting zoo or dress up day will be able to save the day.

Then the aging starting pitching has been a big disappointment. Lester has had his ups and downs. Lackey is just terrible. Jake Arrieta seems to be off the juice. Did he give up yoga like how he gave up holding runners on? Back up catcher Miguel Montero expressed some words about Jake not holding on runners when the other team stole seven bags that game. Montero probably should of just said his thoughts to Jake inside the club house. However he spoke to reporters and this lead to Montero being designated for assignment. The truth hurts he told the Sun Times, “You cant handle the truth.” Cubs I guess cant handle the truth and they quickly got rid of him. Now they have two catchers without much experience. How will that affect the pitching staff as the season continues on? Bring back Dancing with the Stars David Ross?

Then you have the young short stop, Addison Russell. He has been a very bad man off the field according to his wife and her best friend. They are involved in a big divorce that brings extra baggage to the locker room. This drama will continue to unfold as more and more details come out. His head is hardly in the game as well with this monkey on his shoulder. Women could be like piranhas at times and they will keep biting until this thing explodes in Addison’s face and Cub Nation. You try to have fun with a woman pissed off, it hardly ever ends well.

I see too many lapses in the field of play. The defense is not as crisp as they were last year. Too many errors and blunders. Defense was a big part in 2016. The pitching was a lot better last year. They are not scoring the runs as they did last year. It is very hard to repeat in baseball. The Yankees did it last years and yeas ago. In Chicago repeat champions don’t really happen except for the Bulls. Look at the ’85 Bears, they should of won at least one more Superbowl. The White Sox in 2005 could not repeat and won 90 games. Two other teams in their division won more games then them that year. The Black Hawks have won it every other year. I do not see the Cubs repeating this year. They could retool and make a strong comeback in 2018. Maybe the goat was done and on vacation in the islands when the Cubs were down 3-1 against the Indians in the World Series. Maybe the goat is back with a vengeance and it will be another 100 years until the Cubs win it again.

SCOOTERIFIC

If you had to live one night over and over what night would you pick in your life? That is a loaded question. It could be anything. The day you got married. The day you saw your first born. But what if the day you remember and want to relive again again is the day you did your best at something you enjoy doing. Maybe on this day you did your craft the best you ever have, and maybe you never got back to that high.

On Tuesday night a utility player for the Cincinnati Reds had the game of his life. He played out of his mind. Ryan Joseph Gennett, aka Scooter Gennett unloaded on the St. Louis Cardinals in a big big way. He had one of the best offensive performances in the history of the league. Baseball has been around a long long time. What makes this story special is nobody knew who Scooter Gennett was until Tuesday when he hit four home runs in a game. The first Red to do that. Even all of the greats that have played in Cincinnati, no one has done that in a Reds uniform. Even those great players from the big red machine. Scooter was dumped by the Brewers in spring training and the Reds picked him up from the scrap heap. They kept him on the roster as he made the team. Everyone loves a underdog coming out of no where like Rocky Balboa.

The Scooter was actually born in Cincinnati in 1990. He refused to wear his seat belt in the car so his mother brought him to the Police station. The mother was looking for a scare tactic to set her future slugger in the right direction. Ryan felt like he needed to disguise his name from the Police officer who did the questioning so he immediately used his favorite Muppet baby, Scooter, as his aka. After that Police station visit, Scooter was his name. The family moved to Florida when he was nine years old. In 2013 he made his major league debut for the brew crew.

Scooter Gennett was making his 19th start of the year. He was in the outfield on his Famous Amos night when Scooter became a house hold name. Maybe he took some Flintstones vitamins that day. Maybe he signed a deal with the devil. However he’ll probably try to redo his routine over and over, whatever he did on Tuesday leading up to the game. Before coming into Tuesday he only had one game in his career that he had hit more than one home run in a game. That was August 13th 21013 against the Rangers when he was in the Brewers’ uniform. The Reds won Tuesday 13-1. Ten of the 13 runs were driven in by Scooter. He finished with a 5-5 day, 4 dingers, ten RBI’S, and four runs scored. He came in with only three home runs hit so far this year. He beat that in one night. He only had 38 home runs in his career before his magical night.

• 

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LETS TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE BEST OFFENSIVE DAYS IN MLB HISTORY

SCOOTER GENNETT  REDS  (6-6-17)  5-5, 4 HR’S, 10 RBI’S, 4 RUNS

ANTHONY RENDON NATIONALS EARLIER THIS YEAR 6-6 3 HR’S, 2B, 10 RBI’S 6 RUNS

JOSH HAMILTON RANGERS 5-8-2012 5-5 4 HR’S 2B, 8 RBI’S, 4 RUNS

SHAWN GREEN DODGERS 5-23-2002 6-6 4HR’S, 2B, 7 RBI’S, 6 RUNS

FRED LYNN RED SOX 6-18- 1975 5-6, 3 HR’S, 3B 10 RBI’S 4 RUNS

JOE ADCOCK BRAVES 7-31-1954 5-5 4 HR’S, 2B,7 RBI’S 5 RUNS

GIL HODGES DODGERS 8-31-1950 5-6 4 HR’S, 9 RBI, 5 RUNS

WALKER COOPER REDS 7-6-1949 6-7, 3 HR’S, 10 RBI’S 5 RUNS

TONY LAZZERI YANKEES 5-24-1936 4-5, 3 HR’S, 3B, BB, 11 RBI’S 4 RUNS

Obviously you can see these big games of offense do not really happen that often. You always have to root for the Spankys, the Scooters or the Sweet Chucks of the world.

• 

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CHRIS SALE RETURNS

Chris Sale by far is the best pitcher the White Sox has ever had. When I went to Cooperstown to see the Big Hurt enter the hall I wondered who will be the next White sox to enter. It had to be a guy wearing the sox cap not like Tim Raines who played only a few years for the Sox and he will be going in as a Expo. I thought of Paul Konerko. I even thought of Mark Buerhle. Both players their legend on the South side will live forever but their numbers would not be enough to get them in. Who knows though with the way most of the guys on the roids are not getting in. Something will have to give. Either roid guys or players like Konerko. I always thought our next shot would of been Chris Sale. If he continues to do what he is doing he will get in. It will be Carlton Fisk all over again and Sale will either choose the Red Sox hat or the MLB will choose it for him. He probably will win all the awards with the Red Sox that he did not win in Chicago. He will probably pitch and do well in the playoffs that he never even got to sniff as a White Sox.

Last off season the White sox gave up their ace in a trade with the other Sox in the league the Red Sox. Some were speculating he was out of control. Cutting up the retro jerseys and being very vocal about the Adam LaRoche situation to Kenny Williams. He even went beyond player and wanted Kenny Williams fired. He was always not shy of what he actually thought. He was not a player to tow the company line. Many people in the whole world never like how their company does it’s business or how they handle certain situations.

Last Tuesday Chris Sale returned to U.S COMISKULAR RATE FIELD. It was a three game series between the pair of Sox. On Monday the White Sox did a classy thing gave him a scoreboard tribute with all his great highlights as a White Sox and thank you. Then on Tuesday it looked to be one of those clash of the titans match ups between Sale vs Quintana. Both former teammates and best friends. The game did not live up the hype of a pitchers’ duel. Instead Quintana was rocked. Sale also gave up six runs and he was chased out of the game after 5 innings. Sale still had his strikeouts. Sale even still got the win in a game that turned out to be a slugfest.

The White sox got a good haul for dealing their ace. But shame on the White sox for having such talent like Sale and Quintana, a two headed monster, and not even making a wild card. I know Kenny Williams was the GM that put together the team that won it all in 2005. But what have you done since? In 2008 they made it to the playoffs and were ousted by the Rays. Again what have you done? He hired a manager with no experience. Love Robin Ventura, one of my favorite players of all time, but he was awful. That’s four years of Sale wasted right there. If they would have hired a manager with experience and able to bring in their own guys, not keep the same coaching staff for a lifetime, things could of been different. You might of had a manager to have prevented the bring your son to work fiasco with Adam LaRoche. He would of probably stamped that out before it hit the press. Plus he might of had prevent Sale scissorhands at the retro jerseys. Robin was like a cigar store Indian standing there as Don Cooper would dust him off time to time. Plus Kenny depleted the White sox minor leagues WITH BAD TRADES. The biggest thing I hated about white sox ownership and management is they would make a bunch of moves to improve the team. But they were always one or two players away, but would not spend the money to get the players they needed on the open market when they were right there. Hope when this rebuild is done and they are missing one key piece I hope they will go get it. Because if not it will be the same old story and same old song and dance on the Southside. I do agree with Sale though, Kenny Williams should of been fired a long time ago.

 

KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE

 

It was another weekend in the Barage and one topic of conversation that came up is your all time favorite players on your favorite team. My favorite team is the Chicago White Sox while one of the other knights on the bar stool is Phil and his team is the Cubs. Yes it’s a divided house. Each of us came up with a roster of our favorite players. These players have played during our time growing up watching the team from a little lad until now as we are now taller then the bar. It’s not the all time players at each position. It’s favorite player that we rooted on so we might of missed better players at that position during our span watching the team play for decades.

We created our own starting line up. We created our own bench along with a starting rotation and a bull pen. We even have our own coaching staff. In total we have 25 players and three coaches.

OUR ALL TIME FAVORITE PLAYER TEAM IN MLB
SID’S TEAM	PHIL’S TEAM
CHICAGO WHITE SOX	CHICAGO CUBS
COACHING STAFF
MANAGER
OZZIE GUILLEN	JOE MADDEN
(Notice we went with the mangers that have lead their teams to a World Series title.)
HITTING COACH OR ASSISTANT COACH
WALT HRINIAK	ALAN TRAMMELL
(Great hitting instructor for both pairs of Sox)	(Former Tiger short stop)
PITCHING COACH
DON COOPER	CHRIS BOSIO
(Both are the team’s current pitching coaches.)
STARTING ROTATION
BLACK JACK MCDOWELL	GREG MADDUX
(Flipped off Yankee fans for booing him)	(Hall of Famer)
MARK BUERHLE	KYLE HENDRICKS
(Both pitchers contributed to World Series titles)
JOSE CONTRERAS	KERRY WOOD
(in parts of 2005 and 2006, he went the best I’ve ever seen	(20 strike out game in 1998)
BRITT BURNS	RICK SUTCLIFFE
(First game I ever went to, he pitched)	(Hangs out with Bill Murray)
ERIC KING	HE’S GOING WITH A 4 MAN ROTATION
(He only had one good year. I liked him when the whole team was bad)
BULLPEN
CLOSER
BOBBY THIGPEN	WADE LEWIS
JUAN AGOSTO	RYAN DEMPSTER
CHAD BRADFORD	LES LANCASTER
MATT THORNTON	SEAN MARSHALL
SHINGO TAKATSU	TRAVIS WOOD
JON LIEBER
CARL EDWARDS JR.

 

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POSITION PLAYERS (BENCH)
DAN PASQUA (The Hammer)	KENNY LOFTON
BO JACKSON	ANDRE DAWSON
(Bo Knows)	(Hall of Famer)
IVAN CALDERON	DERRICK LEE
CRAIG GREBECK (Little Hurt)	RYAN SANDBERG
(He hit two homers off Randy Johnson)	(Hall of Famer)
TADAHITO IGUCHI	KRIS BRYANT
AJ PIERZYNSKI	WILSON CONTRERAS

• 

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STARTING LINE UPS
FIRST BASE
PAUL KONERKO	ANTHONY RIZZO
SECOND BASE
STEVE LYONS	BEN ZOBRIST
SHORT STOP
SCOTTY FLETCHER	SHAWON DUNSTON
THE HOT CORNER
ROBIN VENTURA	JAVY BAEZ
LEFT FIELD
RON KITTLE	ALFONSO SORIANO
CENTER
AARON ROWAND	DEXTER FOWLER
RIGHT FIELD
HAROLD BAINES	JASON HEYWARD
DESIGNATED HITTER
THE BIG HURT, FRANK THOMAS
(Hall of Famer)

• 

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WHICH TEAM DO YOU THINK IS BETTER?

MLB HISTORY

With all the games being played every year in one season in the MLB. It’s a game that has been around for decades. Even with so many stats you would think everything has been done to death. Baseball has some records nobody will break in my life time because the game has changed. You would think it takes only a elite player to be part of MLB history. It amazes me with the history going back as far they still today have things done for the first time in history of the game.

Last Friday April 14th the White Sox started three outfielders with the same last name Garcia. Leury Garcia, Willy Garcia, and Avisail Garcia. It was the first time in history that a team has started three outfielders with the same last name. You might think the Johnson’s or the Jones or even the Smith’s but now the three Garcia’s will be part of MLB history. Can you imagine if they were all brothers? None of the Garcia’s are related on the White Sox. Every year intriguing history and even individual stats come up in America’s past time.

THE WILD SHAMROCK MLB 2017 PREDICTIONS

American League

EAST DIV WINNER:  BOSTON RED SOX

CENTRAL DIV WINNER:  CLEVELAND INDIANS

WEST DIV WINNER:  HOUSTON ASTROS

HOW THE TEAMS WILL PLACE IN EACH DIVISION:

EAST	CENTRAL	WEST
RED SOX	INDIANS	ASTROS
BLUE JAYS	ROYALS	MARINERS
ORIOLES	WHITE SOX	RANGERS
RAYS	TIGERS	ANGELS
YANKEES	TWINS	A’S

WILD CARDS:  BLUE JAYS/MARINERS

AL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP:  ASTROS VS RED SOX

AL WORLD SERIES REP:  ASTROS

AL MVP:  MIKE TROUT (ANGELS)

AL CY YOUNG:  CHRIS SALE (RED SOX)

AL ROOKIE:  YOAN MONACADA (WHITE SOX)

AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR:  AJ HINCH

NATIONAL LEAGUE 

EAST DIV WINNER:  NEW YORK METS

CENTRAL DIV WINNER:  CHICAGO CUBS

WEST DIV WINNER:  SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

HOW THE TEAMS WILL PLAY OUT IN EACH DIV:

EAST	CENTRAL	WEST
METS	CUBS	GIANTS
NATIONALS	CARDINALS	DODGERS
MARLINS	PIRATES	ROCKIES
BRAVES	REDS	PADRES
PHILLIES	BREWERS	DIAMOND BACKS

WILD CARDS:  NATIONALS/DODGERS

NL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP:  CUBS/DODGERS

NL WORLD SERIES REP:  DODGERS

NL MVP:  BRYCE HARPER (NATIONALS)

NL CY YOUNG:  MADISON BUMGARNER (GIANTS)

NL ROOKIE:  TYLER GLASNOW (PIRATES)

NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR:  BUD BLACK (ROCKIES)

2017 WORLD SERIES DODGERS VERSUS ASTROS

WORLD CHAMPS:  DODGERS

 

HARLEY DAVIDSON AND THE MARLBORO MAN

On the North side of Chicago everyone is talking about the Cubs repeating. It’s a whole different story on the South side of town. It’s a rebuilding year so baseball this spring will be how can the Sox declutter the garage. It’s out with the old in with the new. It will be you and the Beer man at the game because no one wants to go watch the rebuild.  I figure they will trade the rest of their veterans at the all star break.  It will be like an auction. What can the Sox  get for so and so as Rick Hahn will be the auctioneer and say sold to the highest bidder.

In a rebuilding year now as a fan you must focus on watching the youth of your team. You want a core of players assembled. You want to see progress. You want to see team chemistry. Most important you want to see a team playing hard and growing together. These are times when you root for certain players you like. Some of these players you will watch them grow. Some of them will crash like a burning inferno.

I remember players like Magglio Ordonez and the Big Hurt making an impact right from the start. I remember when Sammy Sosa arrived and he banged out two homers at the Metro dome against the Twinkies in his first game. Paul Konerko when he arrived in a trade was a roller coaster up and down but he is my definition of a baseball player. We know and we hope the prospects that we got for Sale and Eaton should turn out into Gold. However I like to see some of the young guys that bring their lunches to the park. The pure baseball players. I like to see which ones can hit the long ball. I want to see Johnny lunch pail drive in the big runs when ducks are on the pond.

Two players I’m intrigued by are Nicky Delmonico and Matt Davidson. Both play third base.  Matt Davidson is the one that can swing for the fences while Nicky Delmonico looks to me like a pure baseball player. These guys could be like Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man kind of tandem. Who knows if these guys will ever play together as teammates? Matt Davidson came over years ago from the Diamond backs and he should be on the 2017 squad. He had a chance to play last year but he got hurt. He strikes out a lot but he has been improving and trying to make more contact. He’s a tall right hand hitter a with a long swing. The G-Spot stadium this summer could be a launching pad for this young third basemen. Matt Davidson could turn out to be a Jeff Liefer. Jeff had that one great year in 2001 when he hit 18 home runs. I believe he got more playing time due to injuries and he did well with the extra at bats. However he turned out to be a one year wonder. He struggled the following year with the Sox and then bounced around the majors for the rest of his short career in MLB. Then he went back to the minors and he came up in a story where he locked himself in a porta potty during the game. If Davidson can cut down his strikeouts I can see him being the DH at the start of the season. Then if they trade Frazier then he would take over the hot corner.

Meanwhile Nick Delmonico is only 24 years old. He was an all star last year for the Sox triple A team, the Charlotte Knights. He was drafted by the Orioles in 2011. He wears number 82 in the spring training games. Yes those high numbers mean most likely you will start the year in the minors. This kid showed me he can flash the leather in the filed. I was impressed with his hitting. He was batting lefty and he was tattooing the ball when he made contact. For a non roster invitee to spring training he was batting .262 with five homers and twelve driven in. I know it’s spring training but I had a feeling about this guy as I looked in my crystal ball I can see him being a part of the New Sox rising.  Anybody named Nick you have to say “HEEEY!”

      I might be grasping for straws but Nicky Delmonico and Matt Davidson will be two sleepers for the South side in a few years. If I’m wrong I blame it on the pint of Irish Whiskey I drank while I wrote this.

REBUILDING THE SOX SIDE

SHOULD CUBS SIGN ARRIETA TO A LONG TERM DEAL?

#56

The Chicago White Sox will be retiring Mark Buehrle’s number this summer. Will the down arrow logo of Guaranteed Rate stadium be pointing up on that wonderful afternoon on the South side of Chicago? It will be pointing up at ten other Sox greats to have had their numbers retired along with Jackie Robinson’s which is league wide. Some people will say this is just a way to get the news off the current team which is in a rebuild. First, last year’s shenanigans of “bring your son to work” day with Adam Laroche who quickly retired during spring training. Then Edward Scissorhands, Chris Sale, cutting the old retro jerseys up before game time. The rebuild began after the season when they traded Sale and Eaton for lots of prospects. The two people that were the ones that spoke against management. Maybe we need to bring someone back from the past to remember the good ole days instead of the dark cloud over the down arrow on 35th and Shields.

People will say that other White Sox greats should have their jersey retired before a Mark Buehrle. Well, I can agree with that somewhat. However this team won the World Series in 2005 and that was breaking a 88 year drought. They have only been to one post-season after that. The fans have seen the Cubs on the North side win a World Series last year. Plus the Cubs are built for the long haul and could end up winning another one down the road with a young nucleus in place. The history of the White Sox is like Haley’s comet – they come around with a talented team every 17 years or so and they are still not Guaranteed a rate to win the World Series.

If you look at Mark Buehrle’s numbers I think he deserves his jersey retired. For one, he was a World Series hero. He won two games in the playoffs. He came in and got a save in game three of the 2005 World Series. His life time record is 214-160 which 161-119 were with the Sox. This guy was like Brett Favre as his rubber arm allowed him never to miss a start. Eleven straight seasons of 200 innings pitched, 30 starts, and double figure wins.He probably could have pitched another year or two, but he retired. He ranks 4th in the franchise in strikeouts starts and quality starts. He was sixth in wins as well. Yeah, probably some Sox pitchers definitely have done better. Let’s not forget the no hitter. Only 15 of them were thrown before he did his in 2007. Then let’s talk about the perfect game in 2009 against the Rays. He pitched like he was from the old school of baseball. No pitch count needed for him.He pitched 27 complete games for the Sox as well. He rested your bull pen almost every fifth day he went out to the bump.

Mark Buehrle is also a class act. Great teammate. If I ran a team I would want one or two of him in my rotation. He provided Chicago with a lot of great memories as well. I will drink to number 56 going up with the other greats. I don’t think he will make it to Cooperstown, but you never know. If they keeping avoiding all the steroid junkies, it could happen. Some of them are sliding through the little doggie door though. Most of the summer it will be like old times at the ball park as we will have our own beer guy.  Crowds will be elsewhere. I give up the convenience of the beer guy sitting next to me cracking open some beers with me as the game goes along. I give up my feet stretched over the seat in front of me for one game. June 24th, when Mark Buehrle’s number is retired, we will drive the DeLorean down memory lane and back to the future.