As the Cubs and Giants prepare to kick off their NLDS series later today, it’s time to take our updated look at the pitching leaders from the 20 post-season games I’ve attended since the White Sox won the AL Central in 2000.
Wins
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Mark Buehrle | 2 |
| 18 tied with | 1 |
Losses
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Matt Clement | 2 |
| 18 tied with | 1 |
ERA (> 6 IP)
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Chad Billingsley | 1.35 |
| Clayton Richard | 1.42 |
| Mark Prior | 2.20 |
| Greg Maddux | 2.57 |
| Jacob deGrom | 2.57 |
Strikeouts
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Mark Prior | 13 |
| Continue reading → |
Now that the Wild Card game is complete and we know the Cubs will face off against the Giants in the NLDS, it’s time to take an updated look at the offensive leaders from the 20 post-season games I have attended since 2000. So, without further ado, we start off with:
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Paul Konerko | 3 |
| B.J. Upton | 3 |
| Moises Alou | 2 |
| Kris Bryant | 2 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 2 |
| Chipper Jones | 2 |
| Eric Karros | 2 |
| Daniel Murphy | 2 |
| A.J. Pierzynski | 2 |
| Scott Podsednik | 2 |
| Manny Ramirez | 2 |
| Kyle Schwarber | 2 |
| Jorge Soler | 2 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Moises Alou | 9 |
| Juan Uribe | 8 |
| Derrek Lee | 8 |
| A.J. Pierzynski | 7 |
| Mark DeRosa | 7 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Paul Konerko | 6 |
| A.J. Pierzynski | 5 |
| Jorge Soler | 5 |
| Continue reading → |
As the Cubs prepare for their second consecutive post-season appearance, it’s time to take an updated look at the team records for the now 20 playoff contests I have attended. These contests come from the ALDS in 2000, 2005, and 2008, the NLDS in 2003, 2007, 2008, and 2015, the NLCS in 2003 and 2015, the ALCS in 2005, and, of course, the 2005 World Series.
| Team Name | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Marlins | 3 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Seattle Mariners | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| New York Mets | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Chicago White Sox | 5 | 4 | 0.556 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Atlanta Braves | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Chicago Cubs | 2 | 9 | 0.182 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Houston Astros | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Boston Red Sox | 0 | 2 | 0.000 |
Rick Renteria was officially named the 40th manager in White Sox history this morning, replacing Robin Ventura. Renteria had spent the 2016 season as Ventura’s bench coach. Many players sang Renteria’s praises, including Jose Abreu, Chris Sale, and Adam Eaton. How many of them will still be on the roster when Renteria’s first squad takes the field next April remains to be seen.
Renteria will become only the second man to manage both the White Sox and the Cubs, following Johnny Evers, who led the Cubs in 1913 and 1921 and was the White Sox skipper in 1924. Renteria spent one season leading the Cubs in 2014 before being replaced unceremoniously by Joe Maddon.
Six months ago, as the 2016 baseball season was scheduled to kick off, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what. Now that the regular season has come to an end, it is time revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.
East: Blue Jays
After winning their first division title since 1993 last year, I thought the Blue Jays had what it took to repeat. I certainly didn’t see the Red Sox bouncing back from 2 straight last place finishes to take the AL East crown.
Central: Indians
My first correct prediction, as the Indians won their first division title since 2007.
West: Rangers
Another correct prediction, with the Rangers winning their second straight division title.
Wild Cards: Red Sox, White Sox
Well, I kind of flip-flopped the first two slots in the AL East, as the Blue Jays managed to take the first Wild Card slot. The other pick looked good for the first 6 weeks of the season, as the White Sox sat at 23-10 before completely falling apart. Instead, the Orioles took the second Wild Card slot, making it a good year for the AL East.
AL Champion: Blue Jays
Cy Young: Chris Sale
MVP: Mike Trout
All three of these may still be possible, with the Blue Jays still alive and Sale and Trout putting up superb numbers.
With the 2016 baseball season wrapping up today, the White Sox announced that they would hold a press conference Monday morning and speculation is they will announce that manager Robin Ventura will not return in 2017. Earlier in the week, reports surfaced that the team was willing to extend Ventura’s contract if he wanted to return, but Ventura refused to announce his intentions, preferring instead to wait until the season comes to an end. In his five seasons as manager heading into today’s finale, Ventura has put up a 375-434 record, including 4 straight losing seasons following an epic September collapse in 2012 that cost the team a division title.
Former Cub manager and current White Sox bench coach Rick Renteria is expected to be named as Ventura’s replacement. How much control he will have over his coaching staff and what direction the team will go next year are unknown at this point. But, this move looks to be a step in the right direction.
Name: Mike Sirotka
Rank: 63
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 1995-2000
Mike Sirotka joined the White Sox organization after being selected in the 15th round of the 1993 draft. He made his major league debut 2 years later on July 19, 1995, going 6 2/3 innings and giving up 11 hits while picking up the loss against the Red Sox at Comiskey Park. He made 5 additional starts in the big leagues, finishing the year 1-2 with a respectable 4.19 ERA.
1996 saw Sirotka splitting time between Chicago and Triple A Nashville. His time in the big leagues did not go well, as he worked mostly out of the bullpen and finished the year with 7.18 ERA in 15 appearances.
Sirotka again split time between Triple A and Chicago in 1997, but saw markedly better results. In 7 games with the White Sox, he went 3-0 with a sparkling 2.25 ERA.
Sirotka earned a spot in the White Sox rotation coming out of spring training in 1998. He started 33 games, going 14-15 with an elevated 5.06 ERA.
1999 saw improvement in Sirotka’s numbers, as he lowered his ERA by over a run to 4.00 while finishing the year with an 11-13 record.
Sirotka got off to an inauspicious start in 2000, giving up a hit to country singer Garth Brooks, who was playing with the Padres, in spring training. Once the games counted for real, though, Sirotka put up the best season of his young career, going 15-10 with a 3.79 ERA as the White Sox won their first AL Central crown. Sirotka started, and lost, game 2 of the ALDS against the Mariners at Comiskey Park.
The following January, Sirotka, along with Mike Williams, Kevin Beirne, and Brian Simmons, was traded to the Blue Jays for David Wells and Matt DeWitt. When Sirotka was found to have a shoulder injury, Blue Jays GM Gord Ash accused Kenny Williams of withholding information and labeling Sirotka as “damaged goods”. Ash appealed to Commissioner Bud Selig, who refused to overturn the trade. Sirotka never pitched in the major leagues again.
Sirotka’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Name: Jose DeLeon
Rank: 64
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 1986-1987, 1993-1995
Jose DeLeon was acquired by the White Sox on July 23, 1986 from the Pirates for Bobby Bonilla. As the White Sox rolled towards a 5th place finish and a 90 loss season, DeLeon was a bright spot, going 4-5 in his 13 starts with a 2.96 ERA.
1987 was another disappointing year for the White Sox, but DeLeon was a stalwart of the rotation, going 11-12 with a 4.02 ERA. The following February, he was traded to the Cardinals for Ricky Horton and Lance Johnson.
DeLeon rejoined the White Sox on August 10, 1993, acquired from the Phillies for Bobby Thigpen. He appeared in 11 games over the final two months of the season, putting up a 1.74 ERA as the White Sox won their first division title in 10 years. DeLeon did not appear in the ALCS, which the White Sox lost to the Blue Jays in 6 games.
DeLeon returned to the White Sox bullpen for the 1994 season, going 3-2 with a 3.36 ERA in 42 games before the strike ended the year on August 12. When play resumed the following year, DeLeon had lost his mojo. He went 5-3 with a 5.19 ERA in 38 games prior to being traded to the Expos on August 28 for Jeff Shaw.
DeLeon’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:
For the second consecutive year, the Cubs are heading to the postseason after clinching their first division title since 2008 with last night’s Cardinals loss to the Giants. Their next target is to clinch home field advantage throughout the NL playoffs, where they hold a 6 game lead in the loss column over the Nationals with 15 games left to play. The Cubs hope to avenge last year’s sweep in the NLCS at the hands of the Mets.
The downside to clinching his early is that the next important game the Cubs play will be 3 weeks from today when the NLDS kicks off. Hopefully they will be able to kick off the rust as they attempt to end their 108 year championship drought.
Major League Baseball released their tentative 2017 schedule yesterday. While the local squads have differing goals in mind as 2016 winds down, with the Cubs currently sitting pretty with a magic number of 1 and the White Sox playing out the string while trying to avoid their 4th straight losing season, it’s time to turn our attention to next summer for both teams.
The White Sox open their season at what will then be known as Guaranteed Rate Field on April 3 against the Tigers, with 28 of their first 34 games coming against AL Central foes. Given their lack of success in this arena over the past few years, it will be a tough test to start the new campaign.
The interleague schedule pits the White Sox against the NL West, with trips to Arizona, Colorado, and Los Angeles and home series against the Padres, Giants, and the Dodgers. The rivalry with their north side foes continues the last week of July, with Monday and Tuesday games at Wrigley Field before moving back to the south side for Wednesday and Thursday.
The season ends with a 7 game homestand against the Royals and Angels before heading to Cleveland for the final weekend. Assuming the team finds itself in contention, it could be an interesting last week.
Meanwhile, on the north side, the Cubs open the season down in St. Louis, for the first time since 1986, on April 3. They kick off the home portion of their schedule the following week against the Dodgers.
The interleague schedule pits the Cubs against the AL East, with trips to Boston, Baltimore, and Tampa Bay and home series against the Yankees, Blue Jays, and the Rays.
The Cubs end the year with a 4 game stint against the Cardinals in St. Louis before returning home for the final weekend against the Reds. One can only assume they will be celebrating their second straight NL Central crown.