Category / Baseball

by admin

Selling Your Soul

The Cubs made their deal with the devil, Motorola in this case, on Thursday, agreeing to add an advertising patch to their jerseys as part of a multiyear deal to make the company the team’s “official smartphone.”  The patches made their on-field debut Thursday night against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field.

For the home pinstripes and road grays, the Motorola logo will have a blue background with a white M.  The alternate blue jerseys will have a white background with a blue M, while the City Connect jerseys will have a white background with a navy-blue M.  Motorola is also the jersey sponsor for the Padres in MLB and, in Chicago, the Bulls.

The Cubs become the 23rd MLB team to strike a uniform patch deal, worth an average of $7-8 million with the largest deals, believed to be with the Yankees and Blue Jays, worth over $20 million.

by admin

Sour Sixteen

After a busy day watching teammates getting traded away, rookie Jonathan Cannon took the mound last night looking to stop his team’s record fifteen-game losing streak.  He did his part, throwing 7 innings of 1-hit ball, leaving with a 2-1 lead.  Unfortunately, rookie Fraser Ellard, making his major league debut thanks to those earlier trades, couldn’t hold down the fort and the White Sox fell to the Royals once again, losing 4-3 and extending their losing streak to a franchise-record sixteen games.

Only five other teams have lost sixteen consecutive games in a single season since 1994: the 2005 Royals (19 losses), 2011 Mariners (17 losses), 2021 Diamondbacks (17 losses), and 2021 Orioles (19 losses).  The 2024 White Sox now join this list, while now racking up more blown saves (28) than wins (27).  They will once again try to snap this losing streak this afternoon against the Royals.

by admin

Busted Promise

The White Sox wrapped up the trade deadline action with two final moves: trading Eloy Jimenez and Tanner Banks.  Jimenez, the 27-year-old DH who was one of the centerpieces of the last rebuild, was sent packing to the Orioles, in a move that mostly gives the White Sox salary relief.  The team did receive Trey McGough, a 26-year-old left hander who has split time this season between the Double A and Triple A bullpens for the Orioles.

After a promising start to his career with the White Sox, Jimenez has suffered from repeated injuries and declining output ever since the 2021 season.  This year, he has been hampered by a left adductor strain and a left hamstring and has managed career lows in all three slash numbers.  Rumors abound about his commitment and preparation, or lack thereof, so maybe this will be the kick in the backside he needs to reboot his career.

Tanner Banks, 32, heads to the Phillies.  In return, the White Sox receive William Bergolla, a 19-year-old second baseman known for his strong bat-to-ball skills.  He was ranked as the 10th best prospect in the Phillies system by Baseball America

 

by admin

Some Minor Deals

The Cubs struck first today, sending Mark Leiter Jr. to the Yankees for Ben Cowles and Jack Neely.  Leiter’s father, Mark Sr., and uncle, Al, both pitched for the Yankees during their major league careers, so this is something of a homecoming for the right-handed reliever.  Cowles, 24, is a middle infielder currently in Double A.  Neely, also 24, is a 6’8″ relief pitcher who has shone at both Double A and Triple A this season.

On the other side of town, the White Sox shipped Paul DeJong to the Royals, their opponent in tonight’s game, in exchange for Jarold Rosado.  DeJong signed with the White Sox this November and currently leads the team in home runs.  Rosado, 21, has made 27 appearances at Class A, putting up a 1.85 ERA with 4 saves and 45 strikeouts.

by admin

Sad History

Things were looking good for the White Sox as they tried to snap their franchise-record fourteen game losing streak last night, as they carried a 5-2 lead into the 8th inning.  Two solo shots and a grand slam later, the Royals led 8-5 and, for the second time this season, the White Sox had set a new franchise record for futility with their fifteenth consecutive loss in a single season.  They also tied the overall franchise record, set across the 1967 and 1968 seasons.

Thanks to off days and the All-Star break, it has been 20 calendar days since the White Sox have won a game.  They are now 3-20 in the month of July and 27-82 on the season, guaranteeing them a losing season.  On July 29th.

 

by admin

A Blockbuster Deal?

Despite having the worst record in baseball, the White Sox do have some pieces to move at the trade deadline.  Looking to take the easy route, GM Chris Getz decided to bundle them all in the same move.  Erick Fedde, Tommy Pham, and Michael Kopech are all leaving as part of a three-team trade, with Fedde, Pham, and cash considerations heading to the Cardinals and Kopech going to the Dodgers.  In return, the White Sox receive Miguel Vargas, Jaral Perez and Alexander Albertus, all from the Dodgers, along with either a player to be named later or cash considerations.  The Cardinals are also sending Tommy Edman and Oliver Gonzalez to the Dodgers,

Vargas, 24, is hitting .239/.313/.423 over 80 plate appearances this season while playing left field in his third go-around with the Dodgers.  He has also spent time at first base, second base, and third base in the past.  Albertus, a 19-year-old third baseman, is the Dodger’s 16th-ranked prospect per Baseball America and the 23rd according to MLB Pipeline.  He is currently hitting .229/.317/.329 for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga.  Perez, also 19 and playing in Rancho Cucamonga, ranks as the 17th-ranked prospect on Pipeline’s top 30 and 18th on BA.

A change of scenery should do Kopech some good, who has had bright spots and not so bright spots during his White Sox tenure.  Fedde, signed to a two-year deal after dominating the South Korean league last year, was solid in his return to MLB.  Pham was basically signed to be traded at the deadline, so no surprise to see him going elsewhere.

Did Getz get enough back in this trade?  Early word in the baseball Twitterverse says no, but it is hard to tell when a majority of the return are still in their teens.

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

Continue reading →

by admin

Losing 14 Again

The White Sox tied their franchise record for consecutive losses in a single season yesterday, dropping their second straight game to the Mariners by the score of 6-3 for their fourteenth straight defeat.  Over the course of their 125-year history, the franchise’s previous fourteen game losing streak came less than two months ago.

The overall team record is fifteen straight losses, which happened with five losses to end of the 1967 season followed by another ten straight to start the 1968 season.  The 2024 incarnation will attempt to avoid tying this mark tonight, as the Royals come to town for a three-game series.

by admin

Buying, Not Selling

The Cubs, who are a mere percentage point out of last place in the NL Central as of this moment, should, by all rights, be selling off as we approach the trade deadline, are instead stocking up on major league assets.  They struck this afternoon, acquiring Isaac Paredes from the Rays in exchange for Christopher Morel, Hunter Bigge, and Ty Johnson.

Morel has supplied many big moments over the past two seasons but has struggled to turn those moments into sustained success.  Paredes, who originally signed with the Cubs as an amateur in 2015, made his first All Star team this year and is still under team control for three more years, which means this is likely a move for 2025 and beyond rather than an expectation that the Cubs will jump back into contention this year.

by admin

Tragic Number 13 (Again!)

For the second time this season, the White Sox lost their thirteenth consecutive game, dropping last night’s contest against the Mariners 6-3.  This is the first time in franchise history that they have had multiple ten-game or more losing streaks in the same season.  Prior to this year, the only previous single season thirteen game losing streak came 100 years ago in August of 1924, a season they finished 66-87.  The 2024 White Sox have already lost 80 games.

The current losing streak comes amidst a July featuring of 18 losses in their 21 games.  They will look to avoid tying the franchise record for consecutive losses in a single season, set last month, this afternoon against those same Mariners.

by admin

Looking Ahead To 2025

Last week, on the extra off day in the All-Star break, Major League Baseball released their tentative 2025 schedule while I was away in Amsterdam.  For the third year in a row, MLB is keeping with a balanced schedule, playing 52 games against division opponents, 64 games against non-division opponents in the same league, and 46 interleague games, with series against every team in the opposite league.  With the White Sox about to cement the worst season in franchise history and the Cubs trying to figure out what went wrong on their way back to contention, the 2025 season looks like it could be a long one for the city of Chicago.  So, for one day, at least, let’s turn our attention to next summer for both teams.

The White Sox celebrate the 125th anniversary of the franchise, opening their season on March 27 at home against the Angels, kicking off a six-game homestand that also features the Twins.  They will make their first visit to Sacramento, the new home of the A’s, in the last weekend of April.

The interleague schedule sees the Phillies, Marlins, Cardinals, Brewers, Diamondbacks, and Padres coming to Guaranteed Rate Field, while the White Sox will go on the road to face the Pirates, Reds, Dodgers, Braves, Mets, Rockies, and Nationals.  The rivalry with their north side foes continues with a three-game weekend series at Wrigley Field in mid-May followed by another weekend at Guaranteed Rate Field the last weekend in July.

After wrapping up the home portion of the schedule in mid-September against the Orioles and Padres, the White Sox wrap up the 2025 season on the east coast, battling the Yankees and the Nationals to finish up the year.

On the north side, the Cubs head to Japan to open their season on March 18 with a two-game tilt against the Dodgers in Tokyo.  They return to the US to face the Diamondbacks on March 27 before heading to Sacramento for the first time to face the A’s.  They open up the home portion of the 2025 season on April 4 against the Padres.

Aside from the A’s, the Cubs will head out on the road to face the Twins, Angels, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Tigers, while the Mariners, Orioles, Guardians, Red Sox, and Royals will be coming to Wrigley Field.

Only ten of their 25 games in September are against their NL Central rivals, which could make a difference should the Cubs find themselves in contention.  They end the year with a six-game homestand, facing the Mets and the Cardinals.