As we head into the 2013 season, here all the all-time team records in games that I have attended.
All-Time Team Records
| Team | Won | Lost | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Angels | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 12 | 2 | 0.857 |
| Florida Marlins | 15 | 8 | 0.652 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 10 | 6 | 0.625 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 9 | 6 | 0.600 |
| Chicago White Sox | 209 | 171 | 0.550 |
| Colorado Rockies | 7 | 6 | 0.538 |
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 14 | 12 | 0.538 |
| New York Yankees | 9 | 8 | 0.529 |
| Continue reading → |
A.J. Pierzynski’s White Sox career officially came to an end Thursday when the free agent catcher signed a contract with the Texas Rangers, leaving Paul Konerko as the last remaining member of the 2005 World Series champions to play for the South Siders and the White Sox without their most popular backstop since Carlton Fisk.
Pierzynski signed with the White Sox on January 6, 2005 following a year with the Giants that called his professionalism into question. He rewarded the White Sox organization with 8 seasons of stability behind the plate the included 1 All-Star selection, 2 playoff appearances, and, of course, the 2005 World Series championship. Over those 8 seasons, Pierzynski was involved in many key moments that endeared him to the White Sox faithful, including:
The walk-off home run, and resulting bat flip pictured to the left, against the Dodgers in 2005.
The two home runs in a thrashing of the Red Sox in game one of the 2005 ALDS, the first White Sox home postseason victory since 1959.
The controversial dropped third strike that led to a White Sox victory in game two of the 2005 ALCS against the Angels.
The 2006 brawl against the Cubs where Michael Barrett sucker-punched him after Pierzynski enthusiastically scored a run against the crosstown rivals.
Hanging on to the throw from Ken Griffey Jr. to preserve the shutout in the 2008 tie-breaker game that pushed the White Sox into the playoffs over the Twins.
Being behind the plate for Mark Buehrle’s no-hitter in 2007 and Philip Humber’s perfect game in 2012.
In games I have attended, Pierzynski ranks 2nd in games, doubles, at bats, runs, and hits, third in RBIs, sixth in triples, and seventh in home runs.
Pierzynski’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
Name: Jeff Bittiger
Rank: 342
Position: P
Years With White Sox: 1988-1989
Jeff Bittiger signed with the White Sox in January of 1988 after being released by the World Series champion Twins. Getting his first sustained action in the big leagues, Bittiger had a decent year, putting up a 4.23 ERA in 25 games, 7 of those starts. Things did not go so well the following year, as he appeared in only 2 games and had a 6.52 ERA. Following the 1989 season, he was traded to the Dodgers for Tracy Woodson, and the major league portion of his career had come to an end.
Bittiger’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:
Exactly six months ago, I looked into my crystal ball and tried to predict the outcomes of the upcoming baseball season. Now that the season has come to an end, and half of my predicted divison winners are headed home instead of the playoffs, let’s take a look back at how things unfolded.
East: Yankees
The Yankees went down to the wire, not with the Red Sox as expected, but with the surprising Orioles.
Central: Tigers
After picking up free agent Prince Fielder, the Tigers were expected to run away with the Central division. Instead, they underachieved much of the season and battled the overachieving White Sox for most of the season. However, a late season collapse by the White Sox offense helped the Tigers take the division.
West: Angels
The Angels just may have been the biggest disappointment in the league this year. After dropping over $330 million in one day on Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, the Angels were expected to be at the top of the heap this year. Unfortunately, things just did not work out and, even with the addition of rookie of the year shoo-in Mike Trout, the Angels were unable to make a serious run and finished in third place, behind the surging A’s, who swept the Rangers in the last series of the season to take the division title.
Wild Cards: Rays, Rangers
The Orioles and the Rangers will face off in the first wild card play-in game.
In August of 2003, while the Cubs were making a run that would eventually take them to the NLCS and a mere 5 outs away from their first World Series appearance in nearly 60 years, Ryan Dempster blew out his elbow as a member of the Cincinnati Reds and underwent Tommy John surgery. Following the season, the Reds, fearing that the one-time all star was done, released him. In January 2004, the Cubs took a low risk flyer on him, knowing he would spend most of the season rehabbing and hoping to capture lighning in a bottle. Nearly 9 seasons later, I guess you could say it worked out.
Dempster joined the Cubs in August, one year after his elbow reconstruction, and, for the first time in his career, worked primarily out of the bullpen. Dempster returned to the starting rotation in 2005, but after 6 starts, he was named the closer after LaTroy Hawkins continued to struggle. He would prove to be one of the premiere closers over the next three seasons. In 2008, Dempster finally moved back to the starting rotation, surrendering the closers role to another former starter, Kerry Wood. Dempster excelled and lead the Cubs to their second straight division title.
As the Cubs fortunes went south following the 2008 season, Dempster remained one of the few bright spots, especially this year, where he is among the league leaders in ERA despite getting little to no run support. Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, the time to say goodbye has arrived. Ryan Dempster has been traded to the Atlanta Braves Los Angeles Dodgers New York Yankees Texas Rangers, where he will be reunited with former battery mate Geovany Soto.
In Cubs games I have attended, Dempster is second all time with 13 wins and 68 appearances and tied with Joe Borowski for first all time in saves, with 14. Dempster’s numbers in a Cubs uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →
With 81 games in the books, we are officially at the halfway point of the 2012 season. The so-called experts at Sports Illustrated made some pre-season predictions that are looking a little off a this point.
| Team | Won | Lost |
Predicted Wins |
Predicted
Losses |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NL East | |||||
| Washington Nationals | 47 | 32 | 84 | 78 |
The Nationals were expected to improve this year, but they appear to have taken a giant leap forward. |
| New York Mets | 44 | 38 | 75 | 87 | One of the surprises of the first half, the Mets were thought to be also-rans following their off-season ownership troubles. |
| Atlanta Braves | 42 | 39 | 82 | 80 | The Braves have kept a steady ship following last season’s late collapse. |
| Miami Marlins | 39 | 42 | 89 | 73 | The Fish surrounded a great May with struggles in April and June. |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 37 | 46 | 94 | 68 | Injuries to Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Roy Halladay have kept the Phillies out of their usual spot in the pennant chase. |
| NL Central | |||||
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 45 | 36 | 70 | 92 | Last year the Pirates flirted with respectability for the first time since 1992 before faltering after one bad call cost them a game. This year, they may be for real. |
| Cincinnati Reds | 44 | 37 | 89 | 73 | The Reds are right at their expected pace. |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 43 | 39 | 87 | 75 | The defending champions have dealt with the loss of Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter better than anyone expected them to. |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 38 | 43 | 84 | 78 | After finally winning the NL Central last year, the Brewers have struggled after losing Prince Fielder. |
| Houston Astros | 32 | 50 | 57 | 105 | The rebuilding Astros have been a little better than expected in their final season in the National League. |
| Chicago Cubs | 31 | 50 | 66 | 96 | The rebuilding Cubs have been a little worse than expected in Theo Epstein’s first year as the savior of the franchise. |
| NL West | |||||
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 46 | 37 | 83 | 79 | The Dodgers had a surprising first half, sparked on by their ownership change. |
| San Francisco Giants | 45 | 37 | 90 | 72 | The Giants have had an eventful first half, with a perfect game and 4 straight shutouts. |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 39 | 42 | 88 | 74 | The DBacks struggled in the first half, and that was before losing Daniel Hudson for the season. |
| San Diego Padres | 33 | 50 | 70 | 92 | The Padres have been a little worse than expected in the first half. |
| Colorado Rockies | 31 | 50 | 79 | 83 | The Rockies have struggled in the first half and have turned to a 4 man rotation to try and turn things around. |
Heading into the 2012 season, here all the all-time team records in games that I have attended.
All-Time Team Records
| Team | Won | Lost | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Angels | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 12 | 2 | 0.857 |
| Florida Marlins | 15 | 8 | 0.652 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 10 | 6 | 0.625 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 8 | 5 | 0.615 |
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 13 | 10 | 0.565 |
| Chicago White Sox | 191 | 158 | 0.547 |
| New York Yankees | 9 | 8 | 0.529 |
| Chicago Cubs | 188 | 168 | 0.528 |
| Continue reading → |
Continuing the tradition started last year, here are my picks for the upcoming baseball season.
East: Yankees
Central: Tigers
West: Angels
Wild Cards: Rays, Rangers
AL Champion: Angels
Cy Young: C.C. Sabathia
MVP: Albert Pujols
East: Braves
Central: Brewers
West: Giants
Wild Cards: Phillies, Dodgers
NL Champion: Braves
Cy Young: Zach Greinke
MVP: Jason Heyward
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 |
| Continue reading → |
A disappointing first half of the baseball season came to an end (a few weeks back). Hopes of a pennant chase have thus far been thwarted by an anemic offense that is threatening to break some long held records, and not the good kind.
| Team | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Rangers | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| LA Angels | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Detroit Tigers | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 2 | 1 | 0.667 |
| Chicago White Sox | 15 | 12 | 0.556 |
| Washington Nationals | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Oakland Athletics | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Minnesota Twins | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Chicago Cubs | 3 | 3 | 0.500 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 0 | 3 | 0.000 |
| Seattle Mariners | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| LA Dodgers | 0 | 2 | 0.000 |
| Kansas City Royals | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Cleveland Indians | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |