Tag / Mariners

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2016 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

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The BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2016 on 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.

Let’s take a look at the returning candidates today before moving on to the newcomers.

Jeff Bagwell
Years on ballot: 5
2015 Percentage: 55.7

Bagwell bounced back last year with a small increase, but things continue to look bleak for him thanks to seemingly unsubstantiated PED rumors.  I fear he’ll continue to wait for that elusive call.

Barry Bonds
Years on ballot: 3
2015 Percentage: 36.8

The all time home run champion saw his vote percentage rise for the first time last year, but not significantly.  I doubt he’ll see much more support this year, leaving him on the outside looking in.

Roger Clemens
Years on ballot: 3
2015 Percentage: 37.5

Roger Clemens, he of the 354 career victories and 7 Cy Young awards, also found himself with a slight rise after his third run through the voting process.  For some odd reason, perhaps by having played for more teams, Clemens continues to get marginally more support than his fellow PED poster child Barry Bonds.

Nomar Garciaparra
Years on ballot: 1
2015 Percentage: 5.5

Considered at one time on an even keel with Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, Garciaparra is likely to drop off the ballot after this election.

Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 2
2015 Percentage: 14.0

The 2000 NL MVP saw his support wane in his second year of eligibility.  With the number of candidates coming down the pike, the future does not look good for him.

Edgar Martinez
Years on ballot: 6
2015 Percentage: 27.0

The longtime DH for the Mariners has had plenty of support from the Internet but not as much from the BBWAA, though his percentage did increase slightly last year.  His long career as a DH in the Pacific Northwest may be holding him back.

Fred McGriff
Years on ballot: 6
2015 Percentage: 12.9 Continue reading →

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#128 – Philip Humber

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Name: Philip Humber

Rank: 128

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2011-2012

Philip Humber was selected off waivers from the A’s by the White Sox in January of 2011.  With Jake Peavy out due to injury, Humber got the opportunity to join the White Sox rotation out of spring training.  He was surprisingly successful, leading the White Sox to move to a 6 man rotation once Peavy returned from injury.  Despite spending some time on the DL after taking a line drive off the bat of Kosuke Fukudome in the face, Humber finished his first full season as a starting pitcher with a 9-9 record and a respectable 3.75 ERA.

Humber returned to the White Sox rotation to begin the 2012 season.  The high point of his season, not to mention career, came on April 21, as he threw the 21st perfect game in major league history, defeating the Mariners 4-0.  The unlikely no-no was his first career complete game.  Sadly, he fell apart after the perfect game, giving up 20 runs in 13 1/3 innings over his next 3 starts.  By July, he was out of the rotation.  At season’s end, he was put on waivers and selected by the Astros, ending his White Sox career.

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

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2015 Final Standings

baseballs3Now that the Cubs have been swept from the NLCS by the Mets, the physical attendance portion of the 2015 baseball season, for me, has come to an end.  I made it to 39 games this year, in 4 stadiums (1 new) across 2 countries.  Here are the final standings for those games, and the 15 different teams that I saw in person this year.

2015 Team Records
Team Won Loss Winning Pctg
New York Mets 2 0 1.000
Kansas City Royals 3 1 0.750
Detroit Tigers 3 1 0.750
Toronto Blue Jays 2 1 0.667
St. Louis Cardinals 2 1 0.667
Minnesota Twins 4 3 0.571
Seattle Mariners 1 1 0.500
New York Yankees 1 1 0.500
Cincinnati Reds 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 16 18 0.471
Chicago Cubs 3 5 0.375
Baltimore Orioles Continue reading →
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#133 – Tony Bernazard

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Name: Tony Bernazard

Rank: 133

Position: 2B

Years With White Sox: 1981-1983

Tony Bernazard was traded to the White Sox from the Expos for Rich Wortham on December 12, 1980.  During the strike shortened 1981 season, Bernazard became the starting second baseman, hitting .276 with 6 home runs while leading the team with 106 games played.

In 1982, the White Sox were poised to make a run for a division title, with Bernazard leading the way.  Unfortunately, his season came to a premature end when he suffered a broken leg on September 12, and the White Sox faltered down the stretch without him, finishing in third place, 6 games behind the division-winning Angels.

Expectations for the White Sox were large in 1983, but the team got off to a slow start.  On June 15, with a record of 28-32, the White Sox looked to shake things up and shipped Bernazard to the Mariners in exchange for Julio Cruz.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Bernazard’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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All Time Playoff Team Records

baseballs3As the Cubs prepare for tonight’s NL wild card game against the Pirates, the first post-season appearance by a Chicago team since the inception of this blog, it’s time to take our first look at the team records for the 17 playoff contests I have attended.  These contests come from the 2000 ALDS, the 2003 NLDS and NLCS, all 3 rounds of the 2005 post-season, the 2007 NLDS, and both the ALDS and NLDS in 2008.

TeamName Won Loss Winning Pctg
Florida Marlins 3 0 1.000
Seattle Mariners 2 0 1.000
Los Angeles Dodgers 2 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 1 0 1.000
Chicago White Sox 5 4 0.556
Tampa Bay Rays 1 1 0.500
Los Angeles Angels 1 1 0.500
Atlanta Braves 1 1 0.500
Chicago Cubs 1 7 0.125
Houston Astros 0 1 0.000
Boston Red Sox 0 2 0.000
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2015 Predictions Revisited

baseballs2Six months ago, as the 2015 baseball season was scheduled to kick off at Wrigley Field, 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 a middling first half, the Blue Jays turned things around after the All Star break, especially after acquiring David Price and Troy Tulowitzki at the trade deadline, earning them their first division title since 1993.

Central: Indians

Well, I correctly predicted the end of the Tigers reign after four seasons, but I wrongly assumed that the Royals would regress after their World Series appearance last year.  Instead, they went and ran away with the AL Central crown while the Indians struggled to stay out of the cellar.

West: Angels

It came down to the final day, but the Rangers, who finished in last place in 2014, managed to hold off the Astros and the Angels to win the division.

Wild Cards: Tigers, Mariners

I completely missed the boat here, as both teams failed to live up to their pre-season expectations.  The Yankees return to the post-season and so do the surprise Astros.

AL Champion: Angels

Cy Young: Felix Hernandez

MVP: Mike Trout

Only one of these seems like a possible choice at this point, with Mike Trout the frontrunner for the MVP award.  The Cy Young award is up in the air at this point.

National League

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Looking Ahead To Next Year

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersMajor League Baseball released their tentative 2016 schedule earlier this week and, while the 2015 squad focuses on taking the second Wild Card slot, let’s take a look at what’s on tap for next summer for the North Siders.

The Cubs open the season on April 5 on the road against the Angels, the first time they will start the year in inter-league play.  The home slate kicks off the following Monday with a night game against the Reds.

This year’s inter-league slate is against the AL West, with the Rangers, Mariners, and Angels making trips to Wrigley Field, while the Cubs hit the road to visit the aforementioned Angels, A’s, and Astros.  The club also has a 2 and 2 series with the White Sox during the last week of July.

The Cubs finish the season on the road against the Pirates and Reds, which should make for a great pennant race if the team is once again in contention.

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Fitbit Week 31

Week31_FBAnother successful week, saved by a very impressive day at the end to boost the totals above blah.  Things got off to an unassuming start with Kid’s Day at US Cellular Field on Sunday, where the White Sox managed to sneak past the Mariners in extra innings.  Monday’s afternoon coffee run helped to bump it up over the 7000 step mark.  Tuesday through Thursday were all touch and go, but did all manage to cross the 5500 step barrier.

Most of Friday was spent in a car driving to Canada, but I still managed to just barely cross 6000 steps, thanks to my running around in the morning to pack and then briefly walking around the city while looking for dinner.  Saturday, however, turned things around for the week, as I broke 15,000 steps for the first time with the Fitbit and notched my 4th best total of all time.  The morning started with a walk for breakfast, followed by a trip down to the waterfront for some exploring.  After that, it was over to the Rogers Centre for exciting Blue Jays baseball, then back to the condo and, eventually, a trip out for dinner.  All told, I finished just over 16,000 steps, my highest total in over 2 years.

Total steps: 55,488

Daily average: 7926.9

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#147 – Matt Merullo

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Name: Matt Merullo

Rank: 147

Position: C

Years With White Sox: 1989, 1991-1993

Matt Merullo was selected by the White Sox in the 7th round of the 1986 draft.  When Carlton Fisk broke his hand days in to the 1989 season, Merullo got his chance with the big league club.  He made his major league debut on April 12, 1989, going hitless in one at bat against the Mariners.  2 days later, he made his first start in the White Sox home opener, and notched his first hit, his first home run, and his first caught stealing behind the plate.   He got in to 31 games total that season, hitting .222 in 81 at bats with that lone home run.

A knee injury, plus the continued presence of Fisk and Ron Karkovice, kept Merullo in Birmingham in 1990.  He split the 1991 season between Double A and the big leagues, appearing in a career high 80 games despite hitting only .229.

1992 saw Merullo splitting time between Triple A and the White Sox, and he only made it in to 24 games with the big league club.  He spent the majority of 1993 back in Triple A, playing only 8 games with the White Sox, hitting an anemic .050.

With spring training winding down in 1994, Merullo was dealt to the Indians.

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

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Franchise Four – AL West

Major League Baseball is asking its fans to vote for the four most impactful players who best represent the history of each franchise.  The winners will be announced in July at the All Star Game in Cincinnati.  Today, I will give my Franchise Four picks for the American League West.

F4Astros

The Astros, around since 1962, have 2 obvious options, and both are from their World Series team in 2005: Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell.  After that, there is a bit of a drop off.  Nolan Ryan would seem to be a good pick for the third slot, having spent more years with the Astros than with any other team.  For the last slot, I’ll go with J. R. Richard, whose career was cut short due to a stroke, but still came to represent the franchise in the late 70s.

F4Angels

Despite existing since the 1961 season, the Angels have a complete lack of star power in their 8 nominees.  Garret Anderson?  Tim Salmon?  Brian Downing?  While fine players, none of them would be confused with an all time great.  Of the remaining 5, I will dump Jim Fregosi and take Chuck Finley, Nolan Ryan (again!), Vladamir Guerrero, and, despite being in only his 4th season, Mike Trout.

F4As

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