Tag / Brewers

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And Then There Were None

The Cubs career of Kyle Hendricks officially came to an end Wednesday when the free agent pitcher signed a one-year deal with the Angels.  After an eleven-year Cubs career, he was the last remaining member of the 2016 World Series champions to remain on the roster for the North Siders.

Hendricks was first acquired by the Cubs at the trade deadline in 2012 as part of the return from the Rangers for Ryan Dempster.  He made his major league debut nearly two years later, throwing six innings against the Reds at Great American Ballpark and earning a no-decision.  2016 was his best season, winning 16 games and posting a 2.13 ERA in the regular season and making five post-season starts, giving up just two earned runs in 21 2/3 innings between the NLCS and the World Series.  He has struggled with injuries and worsening performance over the past three seasons, making his departure feel inevitable.

While Hendricks was the last continuous link to the 2016 squad, he may not be the last member of that team to suit up for the Cubs.  Rob Zastryzny, who made his major league debut for the 2016 team and made eight appearances down the stretch, was recently re-acquired off waivers from the Brewers and will be given a chance to claim a bullpen spot during spring training.

Hendricks’s numbers in a Cubs uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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2024 Predictions Revisited

Six months ago, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what.  With the Wild Card round in full swing, it is time to revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.

American League

East: Rays

Well, after missing the postseason for the first time since 2016, the Yankees stormed back to take the AL East crown.  Meanwhile, the Rays struggled early and never really found their groove.

Central: Guardians

Would you look at that?  I got one right, as the Guardians led a resurgent AL Central for most of the season.

West: Mariners

The Mariners did lead the division for a while, but, at the end of the day, the Astros managed to win the division for the fourth straight year and the seventh year out of the last eight.

Wild Cards: Astros, Blue Jays, Yankees

I guess I can take solace in the fact that two of these choices are headed to the post-season, though as division champions.  A surprisingly strong AL Central, thanks to getting to face the putrid White Sox many times, landed two Wild Card spots with the Royals and the Tigers.  The Orioles snagged the top spot.

AL Champion: Yankees

The Yankees look to have the hardest path, having to face either the Tigers, the hottest team in baseball heading into the post-season, or the Orioles, against whom they lost eight of their thirteen contests this year.  I hate to say it, but the Astros may make another appearance in the Fall Classic.

Cy Young: Tristan McKenzie

McKenzie struggled this year and split the year between Cleveland and Triple A Columbus.  Tiger starter Tarik Skubal looks to be the front-runner.

MVP: Julio Rodriguez

Another wrong guess.  Aaron Judge will probably take it home for the second time in three seasons.

National League

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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.

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All Time Team Records

After a long, disappointing winter, the 2024 baseball season is set to get underway tomorrow.  To celebrate, it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have identified as having attended dating back to 1984.  Last year, I tied 2011 for my eleventh highest game total of all time, an increase of ten games from the year before, and managed to see 21 out of the 30 teams, so there should be some nice changes.

The White Sox just may be worse this year following a disappointing 2023, with new general manager Chris Getz treading water by bringing in defensive upgrades who can’t hit their way out of a paper bag.  On the other side of town, the Cubs brought in Craig Counsell to push a team that overachieved back into playoff contention but didn’t do a whole lot to improve the roster to help him do so.  The 2024 season may just be a maddening year on both sides of town.

All-Time Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 2 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 16 4 0.800
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
New York Yankees 19 12 0.613
Colorado Rockies 11 7 0.611
Cleveland Guardians 3 2 0.600
Philadelphia Phillies 13 9 0.591
Toronto Blue Jays 17 12 0.586
Los Angeles Angels 20 15 0.571
Boston Red Sox 19 15 0.559
Washington Nationals 7 6 0.538
Cleveland Indians 31 27 0.534
Chicago Cubs 235 213 0.525
Chicago White Sox 366 342 0.517 Continue reading →
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A Shakeup In Wrigleyville

Just over nine years ago, the Cubs stunned the world by hiring Joe Maddon to manage the team while still employing Rick Renteria in the same role.  Since that worked out so well, Jed Hoyer and company decided to do it again, shocking everyone by announcing they were hiring Craig Counsell to become the new manager of the Cubs while simultaneously firing David Ross.  Counsell, 53, becomes the highest paid manager in MLB history with a five-year, $40 million contract after leading the Brewers to four NL Central titles in his nine seasons with the club.

In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, the Cubs were primed to sneak into the playoffs before a September swoon knocked them out of contention.  That swoon likely cost David Ross his job, even if it wasn’t necessarily his fault.  Now Counsell will try to lead the upstart Cubs, and their new core of young talent expected to graduate to the big leagues in the next year or two, past his old club and back to the post-season for the first time since 2020.

Ross finishes his tenure with a 262-284 record in four seasons, with the one division title in 2020.  I imagine he will get another shot at the manager gig someday.

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2023 Predictions Revisited

Six months ago, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what.  With the Wild Card round in full swing, it is time to revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.

American League

East: Yankees

Yeah, I didn’t see this one coming.  The Yankees missed the postseason for the first time since 2016.  Meanwhile, the upstart Orioles came out of nowhere to win the East and take the top seed in the American League.

Central: Guardians

The Guardians put up a fight, but the Twins managed to rebound and re-take the Central.

West: Astros

It came down to the last day of the season, but the Astros did manage to win the division for the third straight year and the sixth year out of the last seven.

Wild Cards: Blue Jays, Mariners, White Sox

Oh boy.  Well, the Blue Jays managed to snag the last Wild Card spot and the Mariners lasted until the final week.  The White Sox, on the other hand, lost 100 games and were out of contention in April.

AL Champion: Yankees

If I’m going to be wrong, this is the way to do it.  The Astros look to have the easiest path, but I’m going to say either the Orioles or the Rays pull this one off.

Cy Young: Alek Manoah

This might be the wrongest prediction in the history of predictions.  Manoah was so bad this year, he spent time in both the Rookie League and AA.  Gerrit Cole looks to be the likely winner.

MVP: Julio Rodriguez

Another wrong guess.  Shohei Ohtani will probably take it, despite injuries ending his season early.

National League

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2023 Final Standings

A disappointing season on both sides of town came to an end this weekend, leaving both Chicago teams home for October.  The Cubs looked like a lock for a Wild Card spot heading into September, and even were holding on to the last spot within the past week, but managed to squander their lead.  The White Sox, on the other hand, managed to lose 100 or more games for just the fifth time in franchise history.  Despite all this, I ended up attending 43 games, tied with 2011 for my eleventh highest total of all time.  I only managed to add one new stadium, bringing my total up to 28.  All told, I managed to see 21 of the 30 teams.

2023 Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Toronto Blue Jays 2 0 1.000
Philadelphia Phillies 2 0 1.000
San Diego Padres 2 0 1.000
Miami Marlins 1 0 1.000
Chicago Cubs 9 2 0.818
Milwaukee Brewers 2 1 0.667
Seattle Mariners 2 2 0.500
San Francisco Giants 1 1 0.500
Oakland Athletics 1 1 0.500
St. Louis Cardinals 1 1 0.500
Detroit Tigers 1 1 0.500
Cleveland Guardians 1 1 0.500
Tampa Bay Rays 1 1 0.500
Baltimore Orioles 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 15 21 0.417
Arizona Diamondbacks Continue reading →
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Looking Ahead To 2024

Using the extra off day in the All-Star break, Major League Baseball released their tentative 2024 schedule on Thursday.  For the second 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 entering an uncertain second half of 2023 following a disappointing year and a half during what should have been the prime of their contention window, and the Cubs looking to take the next step forward in their rebuild, the 2024 season looks to be an interesting time in the city of Chicago.  So, for one day, at least, let’s turn our attention to next summer for both teams.

The White Sox open their season on March 28 against the Tigers, kicking off a six-game homestand that also features the Braves.

Aside from the Braves, the new interleague schedule sees the Pirates, Reds, Dodgers, Braves, Mets, Rockies, and Nationals travelling to Chicago, while the White Sox will go on the road to face the Phillies, Marlins, Cardinals, Brewers, Diamondbacks, and Padres. The rivalry with their north side foes continues with a two-game series at Wrigley Field in early June followed by a mid-August tilt at Guaranteed Rate Field that leaves both teams the rare Sunday off-day.

After a west coast trip in mid-September, the season wraps up with a mid-week home battle against the Angels followed by a trip to Detroit to finish up the year.

On the north side, the Cubs also open their season on March 28, heading out on the road for the first time in five years to battle the Rangers.  After a three-game series, they open the home portion of the schedule against the Rockies.

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

Only six of their 26 games in September are against their NL Central rivals, which could make a difference if the Cubs find themselves in contention.  They end the year with a three-game tilt at home against the Reds.

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2023 All Star Break Standings

For the first time since 2001, the Midsummer Classic returns to Seattle and T-Mobile Park.  As the stars of the baseball world gather in the Pacific Northwest for tonight’s showdown, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 24 games, featuring 60% of the teams in the league, that I attended in the first half of the baseball season, a disappointing one on both sides of town.

2023 Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Philadelphia Phillies 2 0 1.000
Toronto Blue Jays 2 0 1.000
Miami Marlins 1 0 1.000
San Francisco Giants 1 0 1.000
Cleveland Guardians 1 0 1.000
Chicago Cubs 3 1 0.750
Chicago White Sox 10 10 0.500
Tampa Bay Rays 1 1 0.500
St. Louis Cardinals 1 1 0.500
Seattle Mariners 1 1 0.500
Baltimore Orioles 1 1 0.500
Detroit Tigers 0 1 0.000
Houston Astros 0 1 0.000
Milwaukee Brewers 0 1 0.000
New York Mets 0 1 0.000
Pittsburgh Pirates 0 1 0.000
Boston Red Sox 0 2 0.000
Kansas City Royals 0 2 0.000
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It Hasn’t Been A While

Coming in to the 2023 season, I had seen every team since the pandemic-stricken 2020 season save two: the Pirates, who I had last seen in 2019, and the Marlins, who I hadn’t seen in person since 2013.  This week, I knocked both of those teams off the list, with the Marlins coming through Guaranteed Rate Field this past weekend and the Pirates in town at Wrigley Field this week.

Less than halfway through the 2023 season, I’ve already seen fourteen of the 30 clubs, just under half.  That number jumps to 25 when we turn the clock back to 2022.  That’s 83% of the league that I’ve seen in less than a season and a half.  The remaining five I saw in 2021, and I’m sure at least two or three will make an appearance in the second half of 2023.  Anyway, here’s a look at each team and the last time I saw them play.

Most Recent Game By Team

Team Name Date
Washington Nationals 5/19/2021
St. Louis Cardinals 5/26/2021
San Diego Padres 6/1/2021
Boston Red Sox 9/11/2021
Cincinnati Reds 9/28/2021
Seattle Mariners 4/12/2022
Los Angeles Angels 4/30/2022
New York Yankees 5/15/2022
Los Angeles Dodgers 6/8/2022
Texas Rangers 6/12/2022
Atlanta Braves 6/18/2022
Toronto Blue Jays 6/20/2022
Colorado Rockies 7/27/2022
Oakland Athletics 7/30/2022
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