Tag / MLB

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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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It Was All A Dream About Tennessee

Because they just can’t help themselves, the White Sox once again made off the field news this week when an article in Crain’s Chicago Business broke that Jerry Reinsdorf is considering selling the team and/or moving them to a new location when the lease at Guaranteed Rate Field expires in 2029.  Alternative locations mentioned in the article were elsewhere in Chicago, the suburbs, or Nashville, Tennessee.

Now, first things first.  Reinsforf, who turns 88 next February, is unlikely to sell the team in his lifetime.  Reinsdorf made his bones as a tax attorney who was known for having detailed knowledge of the tax code and the loopholes within.  It has long been speculated that the team will not sell until after his death to shield his heirs from the capital gains tax that would be owed once the team is sold.  Reinsforf and company purchased the White Sox for $19 million back in 1981.  Conservatively, the team is worth upwards of $1 billion dollars today and would likely sell for over $2 billion.  If Reinsdorf sells, he owes taxes on the difference between the selling price and his initial $19 million investment.  If his heirs sell, they will owe tax on the difference between the value when they inherited the team and the selling price.  That’s quite a difference.

As for moving, I would be shocked if the team ended up moving out of state.  Firstly, there are still six years left on the team’s lease for the current ballpark.  A ballpark that, frankly, is in a better condition today than it was the day it opened.  The most likely outcome is that Reindorf and company is just rattling the cage in the hopes of getting concessions on a new lease agreement.  In the unlikely event the team were to move, the most obvious location would be the current Soldier Field, which the Bears are looking to abandon as they head to Arlington Heights.  Tearing down the existing structure would be costly and building something new would be costly (and what about the Fire and summertime concerts?), but could use buyout money from the Bears to cover some of that cost.  Suburban locations could also be on the table.  The teams fanbase is concentrated in the south and southwest suburbs, though last time they threatened to move they were looking to the northwest.  There is too much money to be made in Nashville as an expansion franchise for me to seriously consider that MLB would allow an existing team to relocate there.

All that said, this report will likely turn out to be much ado about nothing.  Which is exactly what you want when you’re fighting for a top draft pick in a season you were expecting to be competing for the World Series.

 

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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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Get Your Bets In (Well, Not Quite Yet)

Back in 2001, the Cubs received approval to build a two-story, 22,350-square-foot structure at the corner of Sheffield and Addison, which would be home to a DraftKings Sportsbook at Wrigley Field.  This week, that sportsbook took a big step closer to becoming a reality, opening to the public as a sports bar while waiting for approval from the Illinois Gaming Board.  To align with Major League Baseball rules, the building is open to anyone 21 and over, with no ticket to that day’s game necessary.  At the present time, there is no way to cross from the sportsbook into Wrigley Field itself.

I’m sure at some point I will make a visit, even if it is just to sample the menu, provided by Levy.  The place appeared to be packed following last night’s Cubs game as I walked past on my way to the El, which bodes well for both DraftKings and the Cubs.

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RIP Bruce Sutter

Former Cub closer Bruce Sutter died this morning at the age of 69.  Sutter, elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006, spent five seasons with the Cubs from 1976 through 1980, earning four All Star nods, numerous MVP votes, and a Cy Young Award.  He was traded to the Cardinals prior to the 1981 season, where he would become one of the most recognizable stars of the game and a World Series champion in 1982.  He signed with the Braves as a free agent after the 1984 season, where injuries would bring his career to a premature end in 1988.  His career total of 300 saves is currently tied for 30th in MLB history.

Sutter began closing games for the Cubs late in the 1976 season, earning 10 saves before season’s end.  When Herman Franks became Cubs manager in 1977, he had Sutter closing games from the get-go.  Despite an August injury, he finished the year with a 1.34 ERA, 31 saves, and a 6.5 bWAR, finishing in sixth place for Cy Young voting and seventh place in MVP voting.  In 1979, Sutter led all of MLB in saves, with 37, for the first of what would be four straight seasons, earning the Cy Young Award along the way.

Following that year, Sutter became the first Cub to enter the new arbitration system.  The Cubs offered Sutter $350,000, an increase of nearly 50 percent from his 1979 salary, while Sutter asked for $700,000.  When the arbitrator awarded the higher figure to Sutter, the Wrigley family claimed they couldn’t afford it.  While Sutter put up another great season in 1980, the Cubs lost 98 games and, after the season, he was traded to the Cardinals for Leon Durham, Ken Reitz and Ty Waller.

Sutter still had one more important role to play in Cubs lore.  In 1984, while still a member of the Cardinals, he was on the mound in the ninth inning of a nationally televised game trying to hold on to a 9-8 lead.  Ryne Sandberg, at the time a young, unheralded second baseman not known for power, hit a home run to send the game to extra innings.  After the Cardinals plated two in the top of the 10th, Sutter came back out to once again try to wrap up the victory.  After two quick outs and a walk to Bob Dernier, Sandberg once again teed off, hitting his second game-tying home run in as many innings.  The Cubs would eventually win what is now known as “The Sandberg Game” in the 11th and Ryne Sandberg was on his way to becoming a star.

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Breaking New Ground

Earlier this week, Major League Baseball became the first major professional sports league to sign a sponsorship agreement with a CBD brand.  The multi-year deal makes Charlotte’s Web the “Official CBD of Major League Baseball,” with the goal, according to a press release, to increase brand visibility among MLB athletes and fans.  The sponsorship deal coincides with the launch of the new WebTM SPORT – Daily Edge, a hemp-derived, broad-spectrum tincture that supposedly meets MLB’s standards for acceptable substances among players.  The MLB logo will appear on the bottle and Daily Edge will be available in gummies, topicals, and oral sprays.

MLB continues to push the envelope when it comes to sponsors that, should their players participate, would end in a suspension.  It will be interesting to see if any player who gets popped for a failed drug test in the future claims that this is all they were taking.

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Changes Are Coming

Major League Baseball is going to look different when it returns for the 2023 season.  The league’s competition committee voted yesterday to introduce a pitch clock and larger bases while banning the shift, among other changes.

The pitch clock will give pitchers either 15 or 20 seconds to deliver the next pitch, depending on if there is a runner on base.  The timer will start when the pitcher has the ball and both the catcher and the batter are in the dirt near home plate and play is ready to resume.  The catcher must be in the catcher’s box with nine seconds left, while the batter must have both feet set in the batter’s box and be “alert to the pitcher” within eight seconds.  Pitchers or catchers who violate the clock will be charged with an automatic ball.  Hitters in violation will receive an automatic strike.  Umpires will have the discretion to award a ball or strike if they determine a player is circumventing the clocks.

Pitchers can step off the mound for a pickoff or any other reason twice per plate appearance if there is a runner on base.  If the runner advances during the same plate appearance, the pitcher gets another two step-offs.  Stepping off resets the clock to its full time.  If the pitcher steps off a third time, the penalty depends on the outcome of the play: if the runners are safe, the pitchers are charged with a balk.  If an out is recorded or the runner advances, no balk is charged.

Hitters will be allowed to ask for and be granted time once per plate appearance, resetting the pitch clock.  A hitter who requests time a second (or more) time in the same plate appearance will be charged with a strike, unless the batter stays in the batter’s box, in which case the umpire has discretion as to whether to charge a strike.

A minimum of four players, besides the pitcher and catcher, must have both feet completely in front of the outer boundary of the dirt, with two fielders entirely on either side of second base, when the pitcher releases the ball.  The penalty for a violation is a ball and the ball is dead, unless the hitter reaches base, in which case the play stands.  If any other play occurs, the manager of the hitting team can choose to accept the outcome of the play.  Umpires will have the discretion to penalize the fielding team with a ball if the umpire determines players are attempting to circumvent the rules.

The bases will increase in size to 18 inches square, from the present 15 inches.

The players, who have four seats on the eleven-person panel, were united in voting against the shift ban and the pitch clock.  Players who were asked for direct feedback in the process felt that not enough of it was listened to or ultimately acted upon, people with knowledge of the process said.

 

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Looking Ahead To 2023

With about six weeks remaining in the 2022 season, Major League Baseball released their tentative 2023 schedule on Wednesday.  For the first time in years, MLB is moving to a balanced schedule, playing 52 games against division opponents, 64 games against non-division opponents in the same league, and, for the first time, 46 interleague games, with series against every team in the opposite league.  With the White Sox looking to bounce back after what has been a disappointing 2022 campaign to date and the Cubs looking to take the next step forward in their rebuild, the 2023 season looks to be an exciting 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 the road in Houston on March 30 for a four-game series against the Astros before returning home to face the Giants in their home opener on April 3.

Aside from the Giants, the new interleague schedule sees the Phillies, Marlins, Cardinals, Brewers, Diamondbacks, and Padres travelling to Chicago, 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 two-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field in late July followed by a mid-August tilt at Wrigley.

After facing AL Central foes only for the first half of September, the season ends with a six-game homestand against the Diamondbacks and the Padres.

On the north side, the Cubs also open their season on March 30, facing the Brewers at home.  After a 3-game series, they head out on the road.

The interleague schedule pits the Cubs against the Rangers, Mariners, Orioles, Guardians, Red Sox, and Royals at Wrigley, while they go on the road to face the A’s, Twins, Angels, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Tigers.

Of their 28 games in September/October, only nine are against their NL Central rivals, though, with the Cubs not likely to contend, that shouldn’t make much of a difference.  They end the year with a six-game road trip against the Braves and Brewers.

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If You Build It, They Won’t Come

One day before the Cubs and the Reds are set to battle in the second Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa, word broke that MLB will not be returning to the site in 2023.  Frank Thomas, the former White Sox star who is part of the new ownership group that owns and operates the site, said that construction plans at the movie site will prevent MLB from returning next year.

Thomas and his partners, who bought the site after the inaugural game last year, plan to put in a youth baseball and softball complex that they hope will begin construction later this year.  The construction work will impact the site’s accessibility.

Will a game return there in 2024?  Too soon to tell, though breaking the inertia of making this an annual tradition will be a hurdle that will need to be jumped.

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London Calling

One of the casualties of the lockdown following the corona virus pandemic in 2020 was the cancellation of the series in London between the Cubs and the Cardinals.  While MLB returned in full force in 2021 and this year, the series in London did not.  Well, MLB announced yesterday that the series would return in 2023 with the Cubs and the Cardinals finally getting their chance to battle overseas.

MLB played in Europe for the first time in 2019, when the Yankees swept a pair of games from the Red Sox, and looked to further expand the game’s popularity throughout Europe by making it an annual excursion.  I imagine if next year’s tilt goes off without a hitch, the annual rollout will continue as originally planned.