Tag / A’s

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#128 – Philip Humber

Phil-Humber-perfect-game-pictures-5

Name: Philip Humber

Rank: 128

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2011-2012

Philip Humber was selected off waivers from the A’s by the White Sox in January of 2011.  With Jake Peavy out due to injury, Humber got the opportunity to join the White Sox rotation out of spring training.  He was surprisingly successful, leading the White Sox to move to a 6 man rotation once Peavy returned from injury.  Despite spending some time on the DL after taking a line drive off the bat of Kosuke Fukudome in the face, Humber finished his first full season as a starting pitcher with a 9-9 record and a respectable 3.75 ERA.

Humber returned to the White Sox rotation to begin the 2012 season.  The high point of his season, not to mention career, came on April 21, as he threw the 21st perfect game in major league history, defeating the Mariners 4-0.  The unlikely no-no was his first career complete game.  Sadly, he fell apart after the perfect game, giving up 20 runs in 13 1/3 innings over his next 3 starts.  By July, he was out of the rotation.  At season’s end, he was put on waivers and selected by the Astros, ending his White Sox career.

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

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#129 – Danny Tartabull

Name: Danny Tartabull

Rank: 129

Position: RF

Year With White Sox: 1996

On January 22, 1996, Danny Tartabull was traded to the White Sox from the A’s in exchange for Andrew Lorraine and another minor leaguer.  Tartabull became the starting right fielder for the White Sox, appearing in 132 games and driving in over 100 runs.  Following the season, he became a free agent, ending his White Sox career.

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

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Looking Ahead To Next Year

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersMajor League Baseball released their tentative 2016 schedule earlier this week and, while the 2015 squad focuses on taking the second Wild Card slot, let’s take a look at what’s on tap for next summer for the North Siders.

The Cubs open the season on April 5 on the road against the Angels, the first time they will start the year in inter-league play.  The home slate kicks off the following Monday with a night game against the Reds.

This year’s inter-league slate is against the AL West, with the Rangers, Mariners, and Angels making trips to Wrigley Field, while the Cubs hit the road to visit the aforementioned Angels, A’s, and Astros.  The club also has a 2 and 2 series with the White Sox during the last week of July.

The Cubs finish the season on the road against the Pirates and Reds, which should make for a great pennant race if the team is once again in contention.

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Moving On To Next Year

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersMajor League Baseball released their tentative 2016 schedule yesterday and, with little more to be concerned with for this season, let’s take a look at what’s on tap for next summer for the South Siders.

The White Sox open the season with a 4 game set on the road against the A’s on Monday, April 4.  The home season begins that Friday, when the Indians come to town for a 3 game tilt.

This year’s inter-league slate is against the NL East, with the Nationals, Braves, and Phillies making trips to US Cellular Field, while the Sox hit the road to visit the Mets, Marlins, and Phillies.  A 2 and 2 set with the Cubs occurs the last week of July.

The White Sox finish the 2016 season at home against the Rays and Twins, with 23 of their final 29 games coming against the Central Division.  Should make for a great pennant race if the team can be in contention.

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#146 – Joel Skinner

joelskinnerName: Joel Skinner

Rank: 146

Position: C

Years With White Sox: 1983-1986

Acquired in 1982 by the White Sox as a free agent compensation pick from the Pirates organization, Joel Skinner made his major league debut on June 12, 1983 in a victory over the A’s.  He appeard in only 6 games for the eventual AL West champions, garnering 3 hits in 11 at bats.

Skinner again split time between the minor leagues and the major leagues in 1984, though he had more of a lasting impact at the big league level than the year before.  He appeared in 43 games for the White Sox, struggling at the plate and hitting only .213.

Skinner got another opportunity with the White Sox in 1985, when backup catcher Marc Hill went down with a hip contusion.  He appeared in 22 games and hit a surprising .341.  This convinced incoming general manager Ken Harrelson that he was ready to take over behind the plate in 1986.

To accomodate Skinner, Harrelson had manager Tony LaRussa move Carlton Fisk to left field.  The White Sox stumbled out of the gate and Skinner struggled to hit.  On May 9, with Skinner hitting in the .150s and LaRussa’s job on the line, he moved Fisk back behind the plate and the White Sox proceeded to win 10 of their next 13 games.  Skinner got another chance behind the plate in July when a virus knocked Fisk out of the lineup, but his days with the team were numbered.

As the trade deadline approached at the end of July, Skinner, along with Ron Kittle and Wayne Tolleson, were sent to the Yankees in exchange for Ron Hassey, Carlos Martinez, and a player to be named later, who eventually became Bill Lindsey.

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

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Franchise Four – AL West

Major League Baseball is asking its fans to vote for the four most impactful players who best represent the history of each franchise.  The winners will be announced in July at the All Star Game in Cincinnati.  Today, I will give my Franchise Four picks for the American League West.

F4Astros

The Astros, around since 1962, have 2 obvious options, and both are from their World Series team in 2005: Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell.  After that, there is a bit of a drop off.  Nolan Ryan would seem to be a good pick for the third slot, having spent more years with the Astros than with any other team.  For the last slot, I’ll go with J. R. Richard, whose career was cut short due to a stroke, but still came to represent the franchise in the late 70s.

F4Angels

Despite existing since the 1961 season, the Angels have a complete lack of star power in their 8 nominees.  Garret Anderson?  Tim Salmon?  Brian Downing?  While fine players, none of them would be confused with an all time great.  Of the remaining 5, I will dump Jim Fregosi and take Chuck Finley, Nolan Ryan (again!), Vladamir Guerrero, and, despite being in only his 4th season, Mike Trout.

F4As

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You Get A Prospect! And You Get A Prospect!

chi-russellApparently, the joy of calling up Kris Bryant on Friday wore off for Cub nation, so they decided to dip in to the well one more time on Monday when they decided to call up Addison Russell, the stud shortstop prospect they acquired from the A’s in the Jeff Samadzija trade.  Russell, who had been moved to second base last week, replaces Arismendy Alcantara, who kicked off the prospect parade last summer but had struggled in limited playing time this year, on the roster.  Like Bryant, Russell struggled in his major league debut, going hitless in 5 at bats and garnering 3 strike outs.

AP INDIANS WHITE SOX BASEBALL S BBA USA ILNot to be outdone, the White Sox also decided to call up their top prospect on Monday.  Carlos Rodon, the team’s first round draft pick last summer, was slated to join the starting rotation at some point this season, but instead was brought up to head to the bullpen.  He also made his debut Tuesday night, and it was also a rocky one.  He gave up 2 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks in 2 and a third innings.

Chances are both will bounce back and help their respective teams this summer and for years to come.  The hopes of an entire city lie on their shoulders.

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Crosstown Competitors

cws-chiLast Saturday, Geovany Soto and Jeff Samardzija became the 25th and 26th people I’ve seen play in person for both the Cubs and the White Sox.  Here’s a look at those players, in alphabetical order.

DavidAardsma2David Aardsma

After posting a decent season with the Cubs in 2006, Aardsma was traded to the White Sox for Neal Cotts.  Aardsma lasted one season with the Sox, where he was unable to duplicate his success from the year before.

Jason Bere

Drafted by the White Sox in the 36th round in 1990, Bere debuted with the big league club in 1993, finishing 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting.  After an All Star selection in 1994, injuries marred the remainder of his tenure on the South Side, which ended in 1998.  He resurfaced with the Cubs in 2001 and had a decent season, but he went 1-10 in 2002 before being let go.

Neal Cotts

Acquired by the White Sox in the Billy Koch trade, he debuted with the team in 2003.  He was a key contributor in the bullpen during the 2005 championship season, and was the only relief pitcher to appear in all 3 rounds of the playoffs that season.  Following the 2006 season, he was traded to the Cubs for David Aardsma, and he spent the next 3 injury filled seasons on the North Side.

scott_eyre_autographScott Eyre

Joining the White Sox organization in a 1994 trade with the Rangers, he debuted with the big league team in 1997.  He split the next 4 seasons between the rotation and the bullpen, not to mention between Chicago and Charlotte, before being moved to the Blue Jays following the 2000 ALDS loss to the Mariners.  He joined the Cubs as a free agent for the 2006 season and enjoyed 2 seasons of relative success, before falling apart in 2008, when he was traded to the Phillies.

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Vacation Recap – Arizona Part 2

cbrWhen we left of yesterday, the conference had come to an end and we had travelled to the airport to pick up the rental car.  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that, from the time we got in line at the rental car facility to the time we drove away, would take an hour and a half.  That left little time for the day’s activity: a trip to Camelback Ranch in Glendale to watch the White Sox take on the visiting A’s.  Sadly, the White Sox would fall once again, and, due to an extreme lack of shade that seems to be due to the stadium’s orientation, we left early despite having wonderful seats just a few rows behind home plate.  After the game, we headed to the new hotel, which was quite a step down from the Phoenician resort, but Allstate was no longer picking up the tab, and enjoyed a nice swim to cool down.

Sunday had nothing really planned, so, after checking out a few fliers in the hotel, we decided to take a lake cruise along Lake Pleasant.  There were a lot of mountainous views and some educational talks about the history of the man-made lake and the Phoenix area in general.  Following the cruise, we returned to the hotel for another swim.

Monday saw the trip winding down and, again, there were no specific plans.  After hearing good things from some fellow travellers, we decided to go to the Heard Museum, which claims to be one of the premier Native American museums in the United States.  If this is true, it does not speak well of our nation’s collection of history regarding it’s native people.  After about a half hour, the decision was made to cut bait.  Next, we returned to a time-tested activity: baseball!  We headed to Chase Field, home of the Diamondbacks, for a tour.

chasefield-poolThe tour took us all around Chase Field, including a look into the famous pool out in left field, and then up to the suite level, and, finally, into the visitor’s clubhouse and then the Diamonback’s dugout.  All in all, a good way to spend an afternoon and I certainly hope to return one day to catch a game.  Hopefully, from the pool.

Following the tour, and a quick lunch at the TGIFridays overlooking the playing field, we returned to the hotel where I met up with a co-worker who recently moved out to Arizona.  This was followed by one last trip to the pool and then, sadly, it was time to return home.

Thankfully, the trip home was uneventful, unlike last year’s disaster.  The weather even cooperated somewhat, with temperatures in the upper 50s, so there wasn’t such a tremendous let down from the 90s we saw for a week.

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All Time Team Records

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersAnother exciting baseball season is upon us, and it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have attended.  Another disappointing season dropped the winning percentage for the White Sox 7 points, giving them a 16 point drop over the past 2 years.

All-Time Team Records

TeamName Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 13 2 0.867
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Philadelphia Phillies 10 6 0.625
Toronto Blue Jays 10 7 0.588
New York Yankees 11 8 0.579
Colorado Rockies 7 6 0.538
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 15 13 0.536
Chicago White Sox 234 204 0.534
San Francisco Giants 8 7 0.533
Chicago Cubs 194 172 0.530
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