Tag / Giants

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#54 – Keith Foulke

Name: Keith Foulke

Rank: 54

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1997-2002

Keith Foulke was acquired by the White Sox, along with Brian Manning, Lorenzo Barcelo, Mike Caruso, Bob Howry, and Ken Vining, on July 31, 1997 as part of the White Flag trade that sent Wilson Alvarez, Danny Darwin, and Roberto Hernandez to the Giants.  He appeared in one game for Triple A Nashville before joining the White Sox bullpen for the remainder of the season, putting up a 3.45 ERA in 16 games and earning his first 3 career saves.

1998 saw Foulke serve as the set-up man for closers Matt Karchner and Bill Simas.  He appeared in 54 games, putting up a 3-2 record and a 4.13 ERA.

Foulke returned to the set-up role in 1999 and had an excellent season.  Working over 105 innings spread across 67 games, Foulke was 3-3 with 9 saves, a 2.22 ERA, and a WHIP of 0.883.  His work earned him a tie for 10th place in the Cy Young Award voting.

With Bob Howry struggling as closer in 2000, Foulke stepped in and, saving 34 games, helped the young White Sox win their first division title since 1993.  Appearing in 72 games, he went 3-1 with a 2.97 ERA during the regular season.  Unfortunately, the ALDS did not go as well.  Foulke pitched in 2 of the 3 games against the Mariners, giving up 3 earned runs in 2 and 1/3 innings pitched.

Foulke remained as closer in 2001 and continued to excel.  He lead the AL by finishing 67 games and set a career high with 42 saves while lowering his ERA to 2.33.  Manager Jerry Manuel lost faith in Foulke during 2002 and he finished the year with only 11 saves, one of 3 White Sox pitchers in double digits.  He went 2-4 with an outlandish 2.90 ERA.

On December 3, Foulke, along with Mark Johnson, Joe Valentine, and cash, was traded to the A’s for Billy Koch, Neal Cotts, and Daylan Holt.

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

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2016 Final Standings

2016wsballThe World Series has come to an end and, with it, the magical 2016 baseball season that put the Cubs on top of the baseball world for the first time in 108 years.  I made it to 39 games this season, the same total as last season, but did not manage to visit any stadiums outside the city of Chicago.  Here are the final standings for those games and the 18 different teams I saw in person, through both the regular season and the playoffs.

2016 Team Records
Team Won Loss Winning Pctg
Los Angeles Angels 1 0 1.000
Boston Red Sox 1 0 1.000
Kansas City Royals 5 1 0.833
Chicago Cubs 6 2 0.750
Cleveland Indians 3 2 0.600
Chicago White Sox 17 15 0.531
Minnesota Twins 2 2 0.500
Toronto Blue Jays 1 1 0.500
Atlanta Braves 1 1 0.500
Baltimore Orioles 1 1 0.500
Detroit Tigers 1 2 0.333
Seattle Mariners 0 2 0.000
San Francisco Giants 0 2 0.000
Oakland Athletics 0 2 0.000
Los Angeles Dodgers 0 2 0.000
Tampa Bay Rays 0 1 0.000
Cincinnati Reds 0 1 0.000
Texas Rangers 0 2 0.000
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Heading Back To The LCS

FlyTheWAfter an exciting 9th inning comeback in Game 4 of the NLDS to defeat the Giants, the Chicago Cubs are headed to the NLCS for the second consecutive year.  They await the winner of the Dodgers/Nationals series and will host Game 1 of the NLCS on Saturday.  The Cubs, who last appeared in the World Series in 1945, have never won an NLCS, losing in 1984, 1989, 2003, and 2015.

The Cubs last faced the Dodgers in the post-season in the 2008 NLDS, losing in a three game sweep.  They’ve never faced the Nationals in post-season play, though Nationals manager Dusty Baker led the Cubs to the 2003 NLCS.

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FB2: Week 36

fb2_week36A good week, my 4th straight over 50,000 steps.  The week got off to a strong start thanks to the regular season finale at US Cellular Field between the White Sox and the Twins.  The rest of the work week hovered right near the 6000 step mark except for Tuesday, which managed to surpass 8000 steps, and Friday, which climbed near 11,000 thanks to a post-work trip to Wrigley Field for the first game of the NLDS between the Cubs and the Giants.  Saturday surpassed 8000 steps thanks to another trip down to the Friendly Confines for game 2 of said series.

Total steps: 52,095

Daily average: 7442.1

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Playoff Pitching Leaders

As the Cubs and Giants prepare to kick off their NLDS series later today, it’s time to take our updated look at the pitching leaders from the 20 post-season games I’ve attended since the White Sox won the AL Central in 2000.

Wins

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 2
18 tied with 1

Losses

Name Total
Matt Clement 2
18 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Chad Billingsley 1.35
Clayton Richard 1.42
Mark Prior 2.20
Greg Maddux 2.57
Jacob deGrom 2.57

Strikeouts

Name Total
Mark Prior 13
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Playoff Batting Leaders

baseballs2Now that the Wild Card game is complete and we know the Cubs will face off against the Giants in the NLDS, it’s time to take an updated look at the offensive leaders from the 20 post-season games I have attended since 2000.  So, without further ado, we start off with:

Home Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 3
B.J. Upton 3
Moises Alou 2
Kris Bryant 2
Miguel Cabrera 2
Chipper Jones 2
Eric Karros 2
Daniel Murphy 2
A.J. Pierzynski 2
Scott Podsednik 2
Manny Ramirez 2
Kyle Schwarber 2
Jorge Soler 2

Hits

Name Total
Moises Alou 9
Juan Uribe 8
Derrek Lee 8
A.J. Pierzynski 7
Mark DeRosa 7

Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 6
A.J. Pierzynski 5
Jorge Soler 5
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2016 Predictions Revisited

baseballs2Six months ago, as the 2016 baseball season was scheduled to kick off, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what.  Now that the regular season has come to an end, it is time revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.

American League

East: Blue Jays

After winning their first division title since 1993 last year, I thought the Blue Jays had what it took to repeat.  I certainly didn’t see the Red Sox bouncing back from 2 straight last place finishes to take the AL East crown.

Central: Indians

My first correct prediction, as the Indians won their first division title since 2007.

West: Rangers

Another correct prediction, with the Rangers winning their second straight division title.

Wild Cards: Red Sox, White Sox

Well, I kind of flip-flopped the first two slots in the AL East, as the Blue Jays managed to take the first Wild Card slot.  The other pick looked good for the first 6 weeks of the season, as the White Sox sat at 23-10 before completely falling apart.  Instead, the Orioles took the second Wild Card slot, making it a good year for the AL East.

AL Champion: Blue Jays

Cy Young: Chris Sale

MVP: Mike Trout

All three of these may still be possible, with the Blue Jays still alive and Sale and Trout putting up superb numbers.

National League

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Back To The Postseason

2016centralchampsFor the second consecutive year, the Cubs are heading to the postseason after clinching their first division title since 2008 with last night’s Cardinals loss to the Giants.  Their next target is to clinch home field advantage throughout the NL playoffs, where they hold a 6 game lead in the loss column over the Nationals with 15 games left to play.  The Cubs hope to avenge last year’s sweep in the NLCS at the hands of the Mets.

The downside to clinching his early is that the next important game the Cubs play will be 3 weeks from today when the NLDS kicks off.  Hopefully they will be able to kick off the rust as they attempt to end their 108 year championship drought.

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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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#69 – Roberto Hernandez

roberto-hernandezName: Roberto Hernandez

Rank: 69

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1991-1997

Roberto Hernandez was acquired by the White Sox, along with Mark Doran, via trade with the Angels in exchange for Mark Davis on August 4, 1989.  After falling victim to numbness in his hands caused by blood clots and emergency surgery to transplant veins from his thigh into his forearm, he made his major league debut on September 2, 1991, getting the start and going 7 innings for the victory in the White Sox win over the Royals.  He appeared in 9 games in the final month of the season, making the only 3 starts of his career, and finished the year with a 7.80 ERA.

In 1992, Hernandez split the year between Triple A Vancouver and Chicago, eventually supplanting Bobby Thigpen as the team’s primary closer.  He finished the year with 12 saves and a sparkling 1.65 ERA.

Hernandez had another great year in 1993, saving 38 games in 70 appearances with a 2.29 ERA as the White Sox won their final AL West title.  During the ALCS against the Blue Jays, Hernandez threw 4 scoreless innings in 4 appearances, earning 1 save.

In the strike-shortened 1994 season, Hernandez struggled.  His ERA jumped to 4.91 and he saved only 14 games before the season ended on August 12, despite leading the league in games finished.

When baseball returned in 1995, Hernandez bounced back somewhat, once again leading the league in games finished and lowering his ERA by nearly a full run to 3.92.

1996 was a true return to form for Hernandez.  He led the league in games finished for the third straight year and lowered his ERA by 2 full runs to 1.91.  He earned his first All Star selection and, with 38 saves, finished 6th in Cy Young Award voting.

Hernandez was well on his way to another strong season in 1997, with 27 saves and a 2.44 ERA, when he was included in the infamous White Flag trade on July 31.  With Jerry Reinsdorf announcing that “Anyone who thinks we can catch Cleveland is crazy,” Hernandez, along with Wilson Alzarez and Danny Darwin, to the Giants for Brian Manning, Lorenzo Barcelo, Mike Caruso, Keith Foulke, Bob Howry, and Ken Vining.

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

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