Tag / Orioles

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21 Is The Loneliest Number

Following last night’s 5-1 loss to the A’s, the White Sox have now tied the 1988 Orioles for the longest losing streak in American League history with 21 losses.  Only five teams in the history of Major League Baseball have lost more than 21 games in a row and only one of those streaks, by the 1961 Phillies, have come in the modern era.

197 pitchers have notched a win in the 26 days since a White Sox pitcher last won a game.  In the history of Major League Baseball, only seven franchises have had a stretch worse than the season record of the 2024 White Sox, who will try to get back on track tonight against the A’s.

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How Do You Lose 20 Games In A Row?

The White Sox fell 13-7 to the Twins this afternoon, pushing their franchise-record losing streak to 20 games.  They now own the longest losing streak of the Wild Card era and are one of only twelve teams, dating back to 1889, to lose 20 or more games in a row.  They are now just one game away from tying the American League record, set by the 1988 Orioles, and three from the modern record, owned by the 1961 Phillies. Their franchise record falls to just two games over .500.

The White Sox head to Oakland for the final time and will look once again to snap their losing streak tomorrow night against the A’s.  It has now been 25 days since the White Sox last won a game and Pedro Grifol, who is 88-188 in his managerial career, is somehow still employed.

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Stretching To 19

The White Sox extended their franchise-record losing streak to 19 games last night, losing to the Twins 6-2.  They are now tied for the 12th-longest losing streak in MLB history and have tied the 2005 Royals and the 2021 Orioles for the longest losing streak in the Wild Card era.  They are two games away from tying the American League record, set by the 1988 Orioles, and four from the modern record, owned by the 1961 Phillies.

The White Sox will look to snap their losing streak this afternoon by sending Chris Flexen to the mound.  They have lost Flexen’s previous 15 appearances, last winning a game he pitched on May 8th.  It has been 24 days since the White Sox last won a game and Pedro Grifol is still employed.

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18 And Life

April 10, 2023 was the last time the White Sox won a game at Target Field, going 0 for their last 9 against the Twins on the road.  So, as the White Sox returned to Minnesota last night, it seemed an inopportune place for them to try and break their 17-game losing streak.  They have now lost ten in a row and Target Field and have extended their franchise-worst losing streak to 18 games.

A loss tonight would tie the White Sox with the 2005 Royals and the 2021 Orioles for the longest losing streak of the Wild Card era and would leave them just five behind the 1961 Phillies for the longest losing streak since 1900.  Their season record is now 27-88.  Only nine teams in MLB history have had a worse stretch of baseball, none of which occurred during a single season.

And, in case you were wondering, Pedro Grifol is still employed.

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Sour Sixteen

After a busy day watching teammates getting traded away, rookie Jonathan Cannon took the mound last night looking to stop his team’s record fifteen-game losing streak.  He did his part, throwing 7 innings of 1-hit ball, leaving with a 2-1 lead.  Unfortunately, rookie Fraser Ellard, making his major league debut thanks to those earlier trades, couldn’t hold down the fort and the White Sox fell to the Royals once again, losing 4-3 and extending their losing streak to a franchise-record sixteen games.

Only five other teams have lost sixteen consecutive games in a single season since 1994: the 2005 Royals (19 losses), 2011 Mariners (17 losses), 2021 Diamondbacks (17 losses), and 2021 Orioles (19 losses).  The 2024 White Sox now join this list, while now racking up more blown saves (28) than wins (27).  They will once again try to snap this losing streak this afternoon against the Royals.

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Busted Promise

The White Sox wrapped up the trade deadline action with two final moves: trading Eloy Jimenez and Tanner Banks.  Jimenez, the 27-year-old DH who was one of the centerpieces of the last rebuild, was sent packing to the Orioles, in a move that mostly gives the White Sox salary relief.  The team did receive Trey McGough, a 26-year-old left hander who has split time this season between the Double A and Triple A bullpens for the Orioles.

After a promising start to his career with the White Sox, Jimenez has suffered from repeated injuries and declining output ever since the 2021 season.  This year, he has been hampered by a left adductor strain and a left hamstring and has managed career lows in all three slash numbers.  Rumors abound about his commitment and preparation, or lack thereof, so maybe this will be the kick in the backside he needs to reboot his career.

Tanner Banks, 32, heads to the Phillies.  In return, the White Sox receive William Bergolla, a 19-year-old second baseman known for his strong bat-to-ball skills.  He was ranked as the 10th best prospect in the Phillies system by Baseball America

 

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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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2024 All Star Break Standings

For just the second time, the Midsummer Classic lands in Arlington, Texas.  As the stars of the baseball world gather at Globe Life Field for tonight’s showdown, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 18 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.

2024 Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Detroit Tigers 1 0 1.000
Baltimore Orioles 1 0 1.000
Cincinnati Reds 1 0 1.000
Cleveland Guardians 1 0 1.000
Toronto Blue Jays 1 0 1.000
Houston Astros 1 0 1.000
Los Angeles Dodgers 1 0 1.000
Pittsburgh Pirates 1 0 1.000
San Diego Padres 1 0 1.000
Chicago Cubs 2 1 0.667
Boston Red Sox 2 1 0.667
Kansas City Royals 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 4 12 0.250
Atlanta Braves 0 1 0.000
Tampa Bay Rays 0 1 0.000
Colorado Rockies 0 1 0.000
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Heading To Vegas… Via Sacramento

Last November, MLB owners approved the relocation of the A’s from Oakland to Las Vegas, where the team hopes to have a stadium built by the 2028 season.  A fine plan all around, except that the team’s current lease in Oakland expires after this season, leaving them in a bit of a bind for the 2025-2027 seasons.  After failing to reach a deal with Oakland for an extension, the Sacramento Kings announced today that the A’s will play the next three seasons in Sacramento.

Sutter Health Park, the current home of the Sacramento River Cats of the Pacific Coast League, will house the A’s for through the 2027 season, with an option for 2028.  The River Cats are expected to continue to use the stadium as well, which I’m sure will cause no scheduling issues whatsoever.

The move will end the team’s stay in Oakland at 57 seasons, after previously calling Philadelphia and Kansas City home.  Assuming they ever make it to Vegas, and that seems less likely now than it did in November, the A’s will become the first franchise to have played in five different municipalities while using the same name.  On a personal note, removing Oakland Coliseum from my active stadium count means I would now have eleven parks to get to in order to finish off the set.  I’ve made two trips to the stadium once known as Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, first in 1999 and again in 2008, seeing the Tigers and Orioles respectively.

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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 →