Category / Baseball

by jim

So Long Sergio

In a somewhat bizarre move, the White Sox began their rebuilding by moving Sergio Santos to the Blue Jays for a minor league pitcher.  Santos emerged as a closer last season in just his second year in the major leagues and his third as a pitcher.  The bizarre part was that he was under club control for 6 more years and was relatively cheap, signed for only $1 million for next season.

In games I’ve attended over the past 2 years, Santos has racked up the following stats:

Career Pitching

Wins Losses ERA Saves IP Hits Runs ER Walks Strike Outs HR Pitch Count Strikes HBP Appearances
3 2 4.13 10 28.333 22 13 13 8 37 2 443 281 0 29
by jim

Our Long National Nightmare Is Finally Over

Ron Santo has been elected to the Hall of Fame.  The former Cub (and, for a brief time, White Sox) third baseman waited for years to get elected and wore the disappointment on his sleeve every time he was passed over.  Now, one year after his death, he is selected by a veteran’s committee made up by his peers.  It’s almost as if they were waiting for him to pass on before bestowing him with the honor.

Passed over for induction was former White Sox outfielder Minnie Minoso, who got a major push and support from the team and the New York Times.  Falling a few votes short, Minoso seems to be penalized for the stunt late in his “career” to become a 5 decade player, returning for a few at-bats in the late 70s and early 80s.  Which is a shame, because he was a tremendous player in his day, becoming the first dark skinned Latin superstar.  Hopefully the voters are not waiting for him to die before they will elect him to Cooperstown.

by jim

2012 Hall Of Fame Ballot

The ballot for next year’s Hall of Fame induction was released earlier this week.  Results will be announced on January 9th.  Here’s my thoughts on each candidate.

Jeff Bagwell – I think that the longtime Astros firstbaseman will eventually get in, but he may have to wait for a few years. 

Jeromy Burnitz – Ah, good old Fabe.  He has no chance, but will go down in history as the man who replaced Sammy Sosa in the Cubs lineup.

Vinny Castilla – A decent player who benefited greatly from the thin Colorado air.

Juan Gonzalez – Seemed destined for Cooperstown before injuries and his own self-importance got in the way.

Brian Jordan – A two sport star that had a solid career, but nothing more.

Barry Larkin – The leading vote getter among non-inductees last year, he should make it this year.

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by admin

All Season Pitching Leaders – Through 2011

Following up on Wednesday’s look at the offense, here are the pitching stat leaders per season for the all the games I’ve attended from 1984 – 2011.

Wins

Year Name Total
2008 Mark Buehrle 8
2003 Matt Clement 6
2006 Freddy Garcia 6
2003 Mark Prior 6
2004 Greg Maddux 6
2005 Mark Buehrle 6
2008 Gavin Floyd 6
Losses

Year Name Total
2003 Kerry Wood 6
2008 Javier Vazquez 6
2003 Matt Clement 5
2004 Greg Maddux 5
2011 Gavin Floyd 5
2005 Greg Maddux 5
ERA (> 8 IP)

Year Name Total
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by admin

All Season Batting Leaders – Through 2011

Offensive stat leaders per season for the all the games I’ve attended from 1984 – 2011.

Home Runs

Year Name Total
2010 Paul Konerko 17
2004 Mosies Alou 15
2004 Corey Patterson 13
2004 Sammy Sosa 13
2003 Moises Alou 12
2008 Carlos Quentin 12

Hits

Year Name Total
2003 Mark Grudzielanek 67
2004 Moises Alou 57
2003 Moises Alou 57
2007 Derrek Lee 57
2006 Orlando Cabrera 56

Runs

Year Name Total
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by jim

That Came Out Of Left Field

Or, to be more precise, third base.  Robin Ventura has been named the next manager of the Chicago White Sox.  I don’t know if anyone saw this coming.  Ventura rejoined the organization last summer as a special assistant to Buddy Bell, but he has no coaching or managing experience above the high school level.  So, was this the right move?

Let me preface this by saying that Ventura was one of my favorite players growing up.  Any problems I have with this hiring have to do with the process and not with him.  With the total lack of experience coaching at a professional level, there is no body of work on which to base an opinion on how Ventura will do leading the South Siders.

Process wise, I wonder if any other candidates were interviewed.  If yes, and Ventura blew them all away, then fine.  But if Ventura was brought in as the fan favorite that is meant to distract the fanbase from the problems with the team, than that is doing a diservice to both the fanbase and to Ventura.

by admin

2011 Final Pitching Leaders

Yesterday we looked at the leaders in games I attended this year on the offensive side of the ball.  Now let’s look at the pitchers.

Wins

Name Total
Jesse Crain 4
Mark Buehrle 3
Gavin Floyd 3
Phil Humber 3
Jake Peavy 3
John Danks 3
Losses

Name Total
Gavin Floyd 5
Jesse Crain 3
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by admin

2011 Final Batting Leaders

What was expected to be a huge offensive season on the Southside turned out to be a major disappointment.  Here are the final stat leaders for the games I attended this year.

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 10
Alex Rios 6
Brent Lillibridge 5
Gordon Beckham 4
Alexei Ramirez 3
Brent Morel 3
Adam Dunn 3
Carlos Pena 3

Hits

Name Total
Juan Pierre 50
Paul Konerko 47
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by admin

2011 Final Standings

I “only” went to 43 games this year, the ninth highest total of my life, and only hit the two local stadiums.

TeamCity TeamName Won Loss Winning Pctg
Los Angeles Angels 2 0 1.000
Detroit Tigers 3 0 1.000
New York Yankees 1 0 1.000
Boston Red Sox 2 1 0.667
Baltimore Orioles 2 1 0.667
Chicago White Sox 24 18 0.571
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by admin

2011 Predictions Revisited

6 months ago, I looked into my crystal ball and tried to predict the outcomes of the upcoming baseball season.  Now that the season has (mercifully) come to an end, and my predicted divison winners finished an average of just over 13 games back, let’s take a look back at how wrong I was.

American League

East: Red Sox

National League

East: Braves

Wow.  Neither team won their division, though both had commanding Wild Card leads heading into September.  Both ultimately blew those leads, missing out on the playoffs on the final day of the regular season.  The Red Sox actually were one of, in not the best team in baseball for 4 months this summer, but they were horrible in the other two, April and September.  The Braves can at least point to injuries to their starting rotation as the cause for their collapse.

 

Central: White Sox

Central: Brewers

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