Tag / Reds

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Turning The Page To Next Year

baseballs3Major League Baseball released their tentative 2017 schedule yesterday.  While the local squads have differing goals in mind as 2016 winds down, with the Cubs currently sitting pretty with a magic number of 1 and the White Sox playing out the string while trying to avoid their 4th straight losing season, it’s time to turn our attention to next summer for both teams.

The White Sox open their season at what will then be known as Guaranteed Rate Field on April 3 against the Tigers, with 28 of their first 34 games coming against AL Central foes.  Given their lack of success in this arena over the past few years, it will be a tough test to start the new campaign.

The interleague schedule pits the White Sox against the NL West, with trips to Arizona, Colorado, and Los Angeles and home series against the Padres, Giants, and the Dodgers.  The rivalry with their north side foes continues the last week of July, with Monday and Tuesday games at Wrigley Field before moving back to the south side for Wednesday and Thursday.

The season ends with a 7 game homestand against the Royals and Angels before heading to Cleveland for the final weekend.  Assuming the team finds itself in contention, it could be an interesting last week.

Meanwhile, on the north side, the Cubs open the season down in St. Louis, for the first time since 1986, on April 3.  They kick off the home portion of their schedule the following week against the Dodgers.

The interleague schedule pits the Cubs against the AL East, with trips to Boston, Baltimore, and Tampa Bay and home series against the Yankees, Blue Jays, and the Rays.

The Cubs end the year with a 4 game stint against the Cardinals in St. Louis before returning home for the final weekend against the Reds.  One can only assume they will be celebrating their second straight NL Central crown.

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#73 – Mike Cameron

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Name: Mike Cameron

Rank: 73

Position: CF

Years With White Sox: 1995-1998

Mike Cameron joined the White Sox organization as their 18th round draft choice in the 1991 draft.  He made his major league debut on August 27, 1995, going 0-3 in the White Sox 2-1 loss to the Blue Jays at Skydome.  He mostly appeared as a defensive replacement during the last month of the season, appearing in 28 games but getting only 38 at bats, hitting an anemic .184.

1996 saw Cameron spend most of the season in Double A Birmingham, getting a small cup of coffee with the White Sox, appearing in 11 games and getting 11 at bats with a grand total of 1 hit.

Cameron got his first extended major league experience in 1997, appearing in 116 games.  He hit .259 with 14 home runs, with 23 stolen bases thrown in for good measure.  He finished 6th in the AL Rookie of the Year voting.

In 1998, Cameron regressed, as his average dropped nearly 50 points to .210, his home runs were cut nearly in half to 8, and his OPS dropped by nearly 170 points.  Following the season, he made his largest contribution to the future success of the White Sox by being traded to the Reds for Paul Konerko.

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

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2016 All Star Break Standings

baseballs2As the baseball world turns its sights to San Diego for tomorrow night’s All Star Game, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 18 games I attended in the first half of the baseball season, a mish-mash of excitement, followed by disappointment, giving way to uncertainty about what the second half will hold.

2016 Team Records
TeamName Won Loss Winning Pctg
Los Angeles Angels 1 0 1.000
Chicago Cubs 1 0 1.000
Boston Red Sox 1 0 1.000
Kansas City Royals 3 1 0.750
Cleveland Indians 2 1 0.667
Toronto Blue Jays 1 1 0.500
Atlanta Braves 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 8 9 0.471
Texas Rangers 0 2 0.000
Minnesota Twins 0 2 0.000
Cincinnati Reds 0 1 0.000
by jim

All Stars

13641138_10155133635628298_1460960993873466313_oMinutes before today’s game against the Braves, the White Sox announced that Jose Quintana will join fellow starter Chris Sale in San Diego for Tuesday’s All Star game, replacing Danny Salazar, who is suffering with a sore right elbow.  Quintana will be making his first All Star appearance, and will be the third Colombian to appear in the Mid Summer Classic.

Third baseman Todd Frazier, who won the home run derby last year as a member of the Reds, will get the chance to defend his title despite not being named to the team.

On the other side of town, Dexter Fowler, voted in to start for the National League, will miss the game due to injury.  He is currently on a rehab assignment in Class A and hopes to return in the next 2 weeks.

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All Time Team Records

baseballs3Another 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.  Despite disparate seasons on the two sides of town last season, both the White Sox and the Cubs saw their overall winning percentage drop.  The 2016 season looks to be hopeful for both teams, so this trend should reverse itself.

All-Time Team Records
TeamName Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 1 0 1
Arizone Diamondbacks 13 2 0.866666666666667
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652173913043478
Philadelphia Phillies 10 6 0.625
Toronto Blue Jays 12 8 0.6
New York Yankees 12 9 0.571428571428571
Colorado Rockies 7 6 0.538461538461538
Los Angeles Angels 15 13 0.535714285714286
San Francisco Giants 8 7 0.533333333333333
Chicago White Sox 250 222 0.529661016949153
Chicago Cubs 197 177 0.526737967914439
Detroit Tigers Continue reading →
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Reds All Time Leaders – Through 2015

redsWith 3 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the Cincinnati Reds.

The Reds began life in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association, joining the National League in 1890.  I’ve seen them play 38 times, at 4 separate stadiums across 2 states.

Home Runs

Name Total
Adam Dunn 12
Austin Kearns 3
Edwin Encarnacion 3

Hits

Name Total
Adam Dunn 24
Ken Griffey Jr. 19
Sean Casey 18

Runs

Name Total
Adam Dunn 22
Sean Casey 12
Brandon Phillips 9

RBI

Name Total
Adam Dunn 27
Ken Griffey Jr. 12
Austin Kearns 10

Doubles

Name Total
Jason LaRue 5
Adam Dunn 4
Austin Kearns 4

Triples Continue reading →

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#119 – Tim Belcher

belcher

Name: Tim Belcher

Rank: 119

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 1993

With the White Sox looking for their first division title in a decade, the team bolstered their pitching staff at the trade deadline in 1993, acquiring Tim Belcher from the Reds for Jeff Pierce and Johnny Ruffin.  Belcher was inserted into the rotation, starting 11 games down the stretch and finishing with a pedestrian 3-5 record and a 4.40 ERA.

Belcher made one appearance in the ALCS, picking up the win in relief in game 4 against the Blue Jays by giving up 1 run in 3 2/3 innings.  Following the season, Belcher left the White Sox as a free agent.

Belcher’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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by jim

Upgrading The Hot Corner

todd_frazier1cThe White Sox continued their attempts to upgrade their offense by acquiring third baseman Todd Frazier in a 3 team deal yesterday.  Frazier, who hit 11 more home runs last year than White Sox third baseman managed in the past 2 seasons combined, comes to the from the Reds.  The Sox send Micah Johnson, Frankie Montas, and Trayce Thompson to the Dodgers, who, in turn, will send  Jose Peraza, Brandon Dixon, and Scott Schebler back to the Reds.

With this move, the previously acquired Brett Lawrie will move to second base, filling two long-term holes for the south siders.  If Frazier is able to match his production for the Reds over the past few years, he will easily surpass any White Sox third baseman since Joe Crede went down with a back injury in 2008.

Of the 3 prospects going to the Dodgers, the only big loss would appear to be Frankie Montas, a young pitcher acquired in the Jake Peavy deal.  Montas put up a 2.97 ERA for AA Birmingham last year while also appearing in 7 games for the White Sox.  He likely would have found a spot at the end of the rotation or in the bullpen in 2017.  Micah Johnson was the Opening Day second baseman for the White Sox last year, but defensive problems sent him back to the minors and injuries took part of the season away from him.  Trayce Thompson also spent time with the big league club in 2015, despite a middling minor league career.  He was red hot as a platoon player at first, but cooled down and seemingly looks to be a fourth outfielder at best.

To be fair, the White Sox appeared to be much improved last winter as well, and the 2015 season did not play out as anyone would have anticipated.  One can only hope that, with the upgrades at catcher and now second and third base, the 2016 season will turn out much different.

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#126 – Brook Fordyce

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Name: Brook Fordyce

Rank: 126

Position: C

Years With White Sox: 1999-2000

Brook Fordyce came to the White Sox via trade from the Reds towards the end of spring training in 1999.  The defensively challenged catcher became the team’s starter, and put up the best offensive numbers of his career, finishing with a .297 average, 9 home runs and 49 RBIs.

A broken foot during spring training delayed the start of his 2000 season.  When he returned in mid-May, he wound up splitting the catching duties with Mark Johnson.  He had raised his average to .272, though with only 21 RBIs, when, on July 29th, he, along with a triplet of minor league pitchers, was traded to the Orioles for catcher Charles Johnson and familiar White Sox target Harold Baines.

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

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2016 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

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The BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2016 last Monday.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 6th, with induction taking place next July. After Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 17 holdovers along with 15 newcomers, which may start to cause a bit of a problem.  The current BBWAA rules continue to limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10, and there may be more than 10 deserving candidates, so there will be too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots in a shorter amount of time.  Once again, the BBWAA and the Hall may find themselves with a mess on their hands.

Last Thursday, we looked at the returning candidates.  Today, it’s time to look at the newcomers and who will be thankful come January.

Garret Anderson

The long-time Angel had a proud career, but has no chance to stay on the ballot for another year, let alone earn election at some point.

Brad Ausmus

It should be a quick one and out for the current Tigers manager.

Luis Castillo

Again, a perfectly acceptable career, but will be lucky to get a sympathy vote from a hometown writer.

David Eckstein

Wow, this batch of newcomers is starting to look a little weak.

Jim Edmonds

The defensive whiz will likely get some support, but not enough to get elected in this, or any other, year.

Troy Glaus

Another long time Angel who has no chance of being elected.

griffeyKen Griffey Jr.

The former Mariner, Red, and White Sox outfielder is likely to be the only newcomer elected in his first year of eligibility.  630 career home runs, without a hint of PED suspicion, will let him easily surpass the 75% threshold.

Mark Grudzielanek

Yeah, that’s not going to happen.

Mike Hampton

The one-time poster child for bad long term contracts is unlikely to get much support in what should be his one HOF election.

Trevor Hoffman Continue reading →