Tag / Guardians

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Fifteen and Holding

Despite dropping their second straight to the Pirates, the White Sox saw their magic number to clinch the AL Central division drop to fifteen yesterday thanks to the Orioles defeating the Guardians 9-5 in Baltimore.  The White Sox conclude their three-game series at home against the Pirates tonight, while the Guardians have the day off.

The 2026 White Sox sit with 75 wins, the most in MLB history for a team coming off of at least three straight 100-loss seasons.  They are looking to become the first team to ever make the post-season after two straight 100-loss seasons.

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Sweet 16

Despite an off day, the White Sox saw their magic number to clinch the AL Central division drop to 16 yesterday thanks to the Orioles defeating the Guardians 6-4 in Baltimore.  The White Sox start a three-game series at home tonight against the Pirates, while the Guardians continue their battle with the Orioles.

The 2026 White Sox sit with 75 wins, the most in MLB history for a team coming off of at least three straight 100-loss seasons.  They are looking to become the first team to ever make the post-season after two straight 100-loss seasons.

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It’s Only 17

Thanks to a 10-1 victory over the Twins last night, the White Sox saw their magic number to clinch the AL Central division drop to 17.  While the White Sox are idle today, the Guardians battle the Orioles this afternoon.

The 2026 White Sox sit with 75 wins, the most in MLB history for a team coming off of at least three straight 100-loss seasons.  They are looking to become the first team to ever make the post-season after two straight 100-loss seasons.

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18 To Go

Despite losing to the Twins last night, the White Sox saw their magic number to clinch the AL Central division drop to 18 thanks to the Tigers holding on against the Guardians, winning 6-0.  With the loss, the Guardians fall out of the final Wild Card spot.

The 2026 White Sox sit with 74 wins, the most in MLB history for a team coming off of at least three straight 100-loss seasons.  They are looking to become the first team to ever make the post-season after two straight 100-loss seasons.

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Playoffs Part The Second

With less than four weeks remaining in the 2026 season, both Chicago teams are primed to be heading to the postseason for the first time since 2020.  The Cubs got the ticketing process started a few weeks back and the White Sox joined the fray earlier this week.

Holding a three-game lead over the Guardians for the AL Central crown, the White Sox sent out post-season invoices to their season ticket holders on Monday for the first time since 2021.  Thanks to what I assume to be operational incompetence, I have no idea what tickets I would be getting, but it appears as though I would retain my normal seats.

The White Sox currently sit as the second seed in the American League, giving them the inside slot for a first-round bye.  The Guardians currently hold a one and a half game lead for the final Wild Card slot, so, even if they fall off for the division, they look to have a good path to the postseason, barring a huge collapse.

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Bolstering The Rotation

After a month of July where only two White Sox starters managed to complete six full innings, Chris Getz pulled off a move that will hopefully bolster the rotation while improving the bullpen, both through less work and by subtraction.  The White Sox acquired right-handed starter Luis Castillo from the Mariners in exchange for reliever Seranthony Domínguez, catching prospect Boston Smith, and outfielder Nolan Jones.  Castillo, 33, is signed through 2027 for $22.75 million with a vesting option for $25 million in 2028.  A three-time All-Star, Castillo has struggled this year, with a career-worst 5.06 ERA.

Dominguez, signed this off-season, has struggled, but has been better as of late in low leverage situations.  Smith, 23, was acquired from the Nationals this spring and has slashed a combined .291/.448/.589 with 22 home runs across three minor league levels this season.  Jones, 28, was acquired from the Guardians in June and is basically organization filler at this point.

With the acquisition, Castillo will move into the rotation with Erick Fedde moving to the bullpen.  Hopefully the two will take pressure off of the rest of the bullpen innings-wise and Castillo’s post-season experience will benefit the entire team come October.

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Looking Ahead To 2027

Returning to their traditional day after the All-Star Game release, Major League Baseball released their tentative 2027 earlier this week, one which hopefully will not be impacted by a prolonged work stoppage.  For the fifth 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 both Chicago teams heading into the second half in line for a postseason appearance for the first time since 2008 and the All-Star Game coming to Wrigley Field in July, the 2027 season looks like it could be an interesting one on both sides of town.  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 the Midwest on March 25, scheduled to be the earliest North American start in league history, facing the Tigers followed by a series against the Royals.  They open up their home schedule against the Brewers on April 1.

Aside from the Brewers, the interleague schedule sees the White Sox staying home to face the Marlins, Phillies, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, and Padres, while travelling to see 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 coming out of the All-Star break in mid-July followed by three games at Rate Field the first weekend of August.

The White Sox wrap up the 2027 season in September at home, with a final series against the Tigers before ending the year with three against the Padres.

On the north side, the Cubs kick off their season at home against the Guardians and Cardinals before heading out on the road in early April.  Aside from the Guardians, the Cubs will host the Mariners, Orioles, Red Sox, and Royals while travelling to battle the Angels, Twins, A’s, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Tigers.

The Cubs open September with eleven straight against their NL Central rivals, but finish the month, and the season, on the road to face the Phillies and the Mets.

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First Place

Three years ago, the White Sox finished the season with their worst record since 1970.  Two years ago, they set the all-time MLB record with 121 losses.  Last year, they “improved” by 19 games but still managed their third straight 100-loss season.  Today, they sit alone in first place in the AL Central, the latest they have done so since winning the division in 2021.

Are they for real?  A large part of me says no.  Heading into last Friday’s series against the Phillies, they had the easiest schedule so far in the entire league.  They are currently in the middle of a gauntlet, facing the Phillies, Braves, Dodgers, and Yankees before their first meeting with the Guardians.  That said, the small piece that believes this might really be happening is growing.  After dropping two of three in Philadelphia, they’ve beaten the Braves, who have the best record in baseball, two straight.  They are 25-14 since Mike Vasil acquired his magic wand and, since the Crosstown Series against the Cubs in mid-May, they have the best record in baseball.

Assuming the weather holds out, they have one more game against the Braves tonight before the Dodgers come to town for the weekend.  If they can head into that Cleveland series with their heads above water, then I might just become a believer.

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The First Time

Previously, we’ve looked at the most recent time I’ve seen each of the 30 major league baseball teams play.  Three weeks into the 2026 season, I thought it would be worth going into the wayback machine and see when the first time was that I saw each team live and in person, to the best of my knowledge.  My records only go back to 1984, so anything before that is as yet unidentified.

Breaking it down by decade, we have twelve teams I saw originally during the 80s, eleven in the 90s, and the remaining seven came in the 2000s.  For franchises that have moved, I have lumped them all together.

Earliest Game

Team Name Year
Texas Rangers 8/14/1984
Chicago White Sox 8/14/1984
Toronto Blue Jays 8/30/1984
Boston Red Sox 4/19/1985
San Diego Padres 7/8/1985
Chicago Cubs 7/8/1985
Baltimore Orioles 7/26/1985
New York Mets 8/4/1985
Kansas City Royals 8/20/1985
Cleveland Indians/Guardians 7/16/1987
Seattle Mariners 9/18/1987
California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels 7/28/1988
Detroit Tigers 4/20/1991
Milwaukee Brewers 7/18/1993
Pittsburgh Pirates 8/2/1993
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All Time Team Records

After a long winter, the 2026 baseball season got underway yesterday.  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 posted my thirteenth highest total, an increase of twelve 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 are coming off their third-straight 100 loss season and are hoping to avoid adding a fourth this year.  On the other side of town, the Cubs made it back into playoff contention last year and are hoping to move beyond the NLDS this year.  The 2026 season may look completely different on each side of town.

All-Time Team Records

Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 2 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 17 4 0.810
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Cleveland Guardians 7 4 0.636
Toronto Blue Jays 20 12 0.625
New York Yankees 20 13 0.606
Philadelphia Phillies 13 10 0.565
Boston Red Sox 22 17 0.564
Colorado Rockies 11 9 0.550
Los Angeles Angels 20 17 0.541
Washington Nationals 7 6 0.538
Detroit Tigers 35 30 0.538
Cleveland Indians 31 27 0.534
Chicago Cubs 246 217 0.531
Houston Astros 27 25 0.519
Chicago White Sox 387 378 0.506
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