Tag / Pedro Strop

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October Leaders – Through 2020

With a full year of baseball on tap after last year’s troubles due to a combination of the corona virus and needless labor squabbles, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for each month in games that I have attended.

As we wrap up the regular season and head in to post-season play, the usual futility of Chicago teams has led to my attending only 36 games during the month, my lowest total since March.  I’ve managed to see a game on 21 out of the 31 days of the month, with 4 games on 2 separate occasions leading the way, and no games on the 10th, 13th, 16,th, 17th, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, and 31st.

Home Runs

Name Total
Kris Bryant 4
Javier Baez 3
Dexter Fowler 3
BJ Upton 3
Enrique Hernandez 3
Miguel Cabrera 3
Paul Konerko 3

Hits

Name Total
Kris Bryant 11
Javier Baez 11
Dexter Fowler 10
Anthony Rizzo 10

Runs

Name Total
Dexter Fowler 7
Juan Pierre 7
Paul Konerko 6
Daniel Murphy 6

RBI

Name Total
Kris Bryant 9
Paul Konerko 7
Miguel Cabrera 7
Ivan Rodriguez 7
Enrique Hernandez 7

Doubles

Name Total
Dexter Fowler 4
7 tied with  3

Triples Continue reading →

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By The Numbers – 49

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #49.  60 different players have donned #49 while playing in Chicago, 36 for the White Sox and 24 for the Cubs.

Chris Sale, the 13th overall selection by the White Sox in the 2010 draft, pitched 11 games in the minor leagues before making his major league debut on August 6, less than 2 months after being drafted.  Sale worked out of the bullpen for the remainder of the year, earning 4 saves in 21 appearances. Sale returned to the bullpen in 2011, picking up another 8 saves while posting a 2.79 ERA.  In 2012, Sale moved in to the starting rotation full time, where he racked up 5 straight All Star nods and finished between 3rd and 6th in Cy Young award voting each season.  In 2015, Sale set the White Sox franchise record with 274 strike outs and, in 2016, he tied his career high with 17 victories and threw a career high 226 2/3 innings pitched in between spats with the front office over Drake LaRoche and 1970s throwback jerseys.  That December, the rebuilding of the White Sox began when Sale was traded to the Red Sox for, among others, Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech.

Jake Arrieta was originally acquired by the Cubs in July of 2013, coming over from the Orioles, along with Pedro Strop, in a trade for Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger.  After 7 starts for Iowa, Arrieta joined the rebuilding Cubs and showed vast improvement over the pitcher he was with the Orioles.  He turned into an ace for the Cubs in 2015, winning the NL Cy Young Award, and was a key contributor to their World Series championship in 2016.  He threw two no-hitters for the team, one in 2015 against the Dodgers and the second in 2016 against the Reds.  He became a free agent following the 2017 season, but returned in 2021.

 

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Jake 2.0

The Cubs are bringing Jake Arrieta back for the 2021 season, signing the right-hander to a one year, $6 million deal.  Arrieta, who will turn 35 next month, was originally acquired by the Cubs in July of 2013, coming over from the Orioles, along with Pedro Strop, in a trade for Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger.  After 7 starts for Iowa, Arrieta joined the rebuilding Cubs and showed vast improvement over the pitcher he was with the Orioles.  He turned into an ace for the Cubs in 2015, winning the NL Cy Young Award, and was a key contributor to their World Series championship in 2016.  He threw two no-hitters for the team, one in 2015 against the Dodgers and the second in 2016 against the Reds.  But, after leaving following the 2017 season for the Phillies, he has not been the same pitcher, suffering injuries each of the past 3 years.

Hopefully Cub fans have realistic expectations for Arrieta in 2021.  If they expect Arrieta to be a leader in the team’s attempts to repeat as division champions, they are likely to be disappointed and that disappointment may tarnish their memories of Arrieta and what he accomplished from 2014-2017.  If they see this as the nostalgia-based move it likely is, and accept the neither Arrieta nor the team will see the same success that they’ve become accustomed to, then it could be a nice distraction to take away from what looks to be a rebuilding (or reloading, at best) year.

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Playoff Pitching Leaders

Well, the White Sox have been pushed off the post-season stage and, thanks to yesterday’s rainout, the Cubs still need to take 2 from the Marlins to avoid the same fate.  It’s time to take our updated look at the pitching leaders from the now 30 post-season games I’ve attended since the White Sox won the AL Central in 2000.

Wins

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 2
Jon Lester 2
Jake Arrieta 2
25 tied with 1

Losses

Name Total
Matt Clement 2
29 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Aroldis Chapman 0.00
Stephen Strasburg 0.00
Kyle Freeland 0.00
Johnny Cueto 1.13
Chad Billingsley 1.35

Strikeouts

Name Total
Jon Lester 25
Jake Arrieta 22
Mark Buehrle 13
Continue reading →
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2019 Games Of Interest

April 6 – White Sox Hoodie
April 27 – Jose Abreu Silver Slugger Bobblehead
May 4 – R2D2 Bobblehead & Star Wars Night
May 5 – Los White Sox Soccer Jersey
May 5 – Cubs Hooded Pullover
May 17 – Fireworks
May 18 – Carlos Rodon Bobblehead
June 1 – Chicago-themed White Sox Jersey
June 13 – Free T-shirt Thursday
June 15 – White Sox Hawaiian Shirt and Fireworks
July 15 – Kris Bryant Bobblehead
July 27 – White Sox Spider-Man Bobblehead and Fireworks
August 11 – Harold Baines Day and HOF Plaque
September 15 – Pedro Strop Bobblehead
September 28 – Halfway to St Patrick’s Day
September 29 – Fan Appreciation Day

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2017 Final Pitching Leaders

baseballs3Sunday, we looked at the leaders in the 49 games I attended this year on the offensive side of the ball.  With the World Series kicking off tonight in Los Angeles, it’s time to wrap up our look back at the 2017 season with the pitching leaders, starting with everyone’s favorite pitching statistic:

Wins

Name Total
Miguel Gonzalez 3
Lucas Giolito 3
Dan Jennings 2
David Robertson 2
Jon Lester 2
Buck Farmer  2
Carson Fulmer 2

Losses

Name Total
Jose Quintana 5
Derek Holland 3
Carlos Rodon 3
James Shields 2
Mike Pelfrey 2
Pedro Strop 2
Aaron Bummer 2

ERA (> 10 IP)

Name Total
Lucas Giolito 0.86
Luis Severino 1.29
David Robertson 1.59
Anthony Swarzak 1.59
Dan Jennings 2.13

Strikeouts

Name Total
Jose Quintana 38
Jon Lester 32
Carlos Rodon 32
Continue reading →
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LCS Pitching Leaders

With Game 1 of the 2017 NLCS between the Cubs and Dodgers in the books, it’s time to take an updated look at the pitching leaders from the 9 LCS games I’ve attended prior to last night since 2003, featuring the White Sox, Cubs, Angels, Marlins, Dodgers, and Mets.

Wins

Name Total
Jacob deGrom 1
Paul Byrd 1
Brad Penny 1
Chad Fox  1
Mark Buehrle 1
Bartolo Colon 1
Ugueth Urbina 1
Kyle Hendricks 1
Aroldis Chapman 1

Losses

Name Total
Jason Hammel 1
Mark Prior 1
Jose Contreras 1
Trevor Cahill 1
Kerry Wood 1
Kelvim Escobar  1
Mark Guthrie 1
Joe Blanton 1
Clayton Kershaw 1

ERA (> 4 IP)

Name Total
Jarrod Washburn 0.00
Mark Buehrle 1.00
Jon Lester 1.50
Kyle Hendricks 1.59
Steven Matz 1.93

Strikeouts

Name Total
Kyle Hendricks 10
Josh Beckett 8
Continue reading →
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Playoff Pitching Leaders

With the NLDS between the Cubs and the Nationals tied at a game a piece, it’s time to take our updated look at the pitching leaders from the now 26 post-season games I’ve attended since the White Sox won the AL Central in 2000.

Wins

Name Total
Mark Buehrle 2
Jon Lester 2
22 tied with 1

Losses

Name Total
Matt Clement 2
23 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Aroldis Chapman 0.00
Johnny Cueto 1.13
Chad Billingsley 1.35
Jon Lester 1.35
Clayton Richard 1.42

Strikeouts

Name Total
Mark Prior 13
Continue reading →
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2017 All Star Break Pitching Leaders

Now that the All Star Game is behind us and we await tomorrow’s start of the second half of the season, let’s take a look at the first half leaders on the defensive side of the ball for the 24 games I attended:

Wins

Name Total
David Robertson 2
Dan Jennings 2
Miguel Gonzalez 2
13 tied with 18

Losses

Name Total
Jose Quintana 3
Derek Holland 2
Pedro Strop 2
17 tied with 1

ERA (> 6 IP)

Name Total
Buck Farmer 0.00
Carlos Carrasco 0.00
Anthony Swarzak 0.00
Sonny Gray 1.29
Luis Severino 1.29

Strikeouts

Name Total
Derek Holland 26
Continue reading →