Category / Baseball

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#312 – Larry Thomas

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Name: Larry Thomas

Rank: 312

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1995-1997

Larry Thomas was the second round draft pick of the White Sox in 1991.  He worked his way through the system, eventually making his major league debut on August 11, 1995, pitching an inning of scoreless relief in the White Sox 13-5 victory over the A’s.  He finished the year with a 1.32 ERA in 17 games.

He spent all of 1996 in the big leagues, appearing in 57 games and compiling a 3.23 ERA.  Things went a bit off the rails in 1997, where he gave up 3 runs in only 3 1/3 innings pitched before being sent back to Triple A, thus ending the major league portion of his career.

Following the 1997 season, Thomas was shipped to the Rangers along with Al Levine in exchange for Benji Gil.

Thomas’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →

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#313 – Esteban Beltre

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Name: Esteban Beltre

Rank: 313

Position: SS

Years With White Sox: 1991-1992

Esteban Beltre joined the White Sox organization on May 23, 1991 after being acquired from the Brewers in exchange for John Cangelosi.  He made his major league debut that September against the Royals in an 8-0 loss.

Beltre got an extended look in 1992 when Ozzie Guillen blew out his knee in April, starting 32 games for the South Siders.  His output left a little to be desired, however, and he spent the 1993 season back in Triple A.  His time with the White Sox came to an end during spring training in 1994, when he was traded to the Rangers for Scott Eyre.

Beltre’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

Continue reading →

by admin

A Carlos Marmol Problem

Carlos-Marmol-bummedOne week into the 2013 season, the Cubs find themselves with a Carlos Marmol problem.  In May of last year, new manager Dale Sveum removed Marmol from the closer role after Marmol’s continued control issues and an over-reliance on his slider.  Marmol eventually worked his way back to the closer role and finished the year on a high note.  And that’s when things got weird.

Looking at another year of rebuilding and Marmol’s impending free agency, the Cubs decided the time was right to move him.  Last November, word leaked, from Marmol himself, that he had been traded to the Angels for Dan Haren, but that deal fell apart.  Japanese reliever Kyuji Fujikawa was signed over the winter, with the expectation that he would be the new closer.  The Cubs then told Marmol’s agent to expect a trade during spring training, which, of course, never happened.

The Cubs entered the season with Marmol as their closer, with the hopes of showcasing him for an eventual trade.  What they didn’t plan for was Marmol’s complete meltdown over the first week of the season.  Coming in to yesterday’s home opener, he’s faced 13 batters and has managed to retire 4 of them, culminating in Saturdays blown save to the Upton brothers and the Braves.

The Cubs now find themselves in the unenviable position of needing to send Carlos Marmol out there to prove that he can get people out but unable to do so because he so clearly cannot.  He actually managed to pitch an inning of mop up relief in yesterday’s home opener without giving up a run, but it will take more than that to rebuild whatever value he may have had.

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#314 – Norberto Martin

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Name: Norberto Martin

Rank: 314

Position: OF

Years With White Sox: 1993-1997

Norberto “Paco” Martin signed with the White Sox organization in 1984 as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic.  He spent the next 9 years working his way to the big leagues, finally making his debut on September 20, 1993 in the White Sox victory against the then-California Angels.  He hit .357 in limited playing time as the White Sox surged towards their second AL West crown.  Things were looking up for Martin, until he hurt his elbow playing winter ball.

After having elbow surgery, Martin rejoined the White Sox in May of 1994 and spent the next 4 seasons as the primary utility infielder, averaging nearly 65 games per season.  After the 1997 season, Martin was granted free agency and his White Sox career came to an end.

Martin’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →

by jim

2013 Predictions

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersContinuing the tradition started two years ago and continued last year, here are my picks for the baseball season that is just getting underway.

American League

East: Rays

Central: Tigers

West: Angels

Wild Cards: Blue Jays, A’s

AL Champion: Angels

Cy Young: David Price

MVP: Mike Trout

National League

East: Braves

Central: Brewers

West: Dodgers

Wild Cards: Giants, Cardinals

NL Champion: Braves

Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw

MVP: Matt Kemp

by jim

All Time Team Records

As we head into the 2013 season, here all the all-time team records in games that I have attended.

All-Time Team Records

Team Won Lost Winning Pctg
California Angels 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 12 2 0.857
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Philadelphia Phillies 10 6 0.625
Toronto Blue Jays 9 6 0.600
Chicago White Sox 209 171 0.550
Colorado Rockies 7 6 0.538
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 14 12 0.538
New York Yankees 9 8 0.529
Continue reading →
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#315 – Rob Mackowiak

Chicago White Sox v Chicago CubsName: Rob Mackowiak

Rank: 315

Position: OF

Years With White Sox: 2006-2007

Following their World Series victory, the White Sox looked to retool for their title defense and one of their first moves was to send Damaso Marte, who had fallen out of favor after a poor outing against Boston in game 3 of the division series, to Pittsburgh in exchange for Rob Mackowiak.  Mackwoiak ended up getting more playing time than expected thanks to the failure of Brian Anderson.

The 2007 season took a downward spiral for the White Sox, and Mackowiak found himself moved at the trading deadline, heading to the Padres in exchange for pitcher Jon Link.

Mackowiak’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

Continue reading →

by jim

Active Pitching Leaders – Through 2012

Last week we looked at the active leaders in games I’ve attended through 2012 on the offensive side of the ball.  With spring training winding down, let’s take a look at the pitchers.

Wins

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 31
Gavin Floyd 24
Carlos Zambrano 21
John Danks 14
Ryan Dempster 13

Losses

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 16
Carlos Zambrano 15
Continue reading →
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2013 Tickets – Southside Edition

The first reports of season tickets arriving in the hands of Sox fans across the city came on March 11.  They obviously did not ship them all at the same time, as mine finally arrived last Wednesday.  Unfortunately, they came after the Cub tickets this year, making the experience something of a let down.

2013SoxBoxNothing too exciting about the box this year, with the big difference being the orientation switching from landscape to portrait.  Unlike their competition to the north, there was nothing inside except the tickets and parking passes themselves.

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#316 – Armando Rios

White Sox center fielder Armando Rios.Name: Armando Rios

Rank: 316

Position: CF

Year With White Sox: 2003

Armando Rios signed with the White Sox as a free agent prior to the 2003 season, with the expectation that he would fill the left handed bat off the bench role vacated by the recently departed Jeff Liefer.  Unfortunately, Rios did not perform as well as expected, and he was designated for assignment in early July when the White Sox acquired Carl Everett.

Rios rejoined the team as a September callup for the stretch run, but he still did not perform as the White Sox finished 4 games behind the Twins.  Following the season, Rios was granted free agency, and he bounced around the minor leagues for a while, but never played in the major leagues again.

Rios’ numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

Continue reading →