Tag / Rangers

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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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Crosstown Competitors

cws-chiLast Saturday, Geovany Soto and Jeff Samardzija became the 25th and 26th people I’ve seen play in person for both the Cubs and the White Sox.  Here’s a look at those players, in alphabetical order.

DavidAardsma2David Aardsma

After posting a decent season with the Cubs in 2006, Aardsma was traded to the White Sox for Neal Cotts.  Aardsma lasted one season with the Sox, where he was unable to duplicate his success from the year before.

Jason Bere

Drafted by the White Sox in the 36th round in 1990, Bere debuted with the big league club in 1993, finishing 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting.  After an All Star selection in 1994, injuries marred the remainder of his tenure on the South Side, which ended in 1998.  He resurfaced with the Cubs in 2001 and had a decent season, but he went 1-10 in 2002 before being let go.

Neal Cotts

Acquired by the White Sox in the Billy Koch trade, he debuted with the team in 2003.  He was a key contributor in the bullpen during the 2005 championship season, and was the only relief pitcher to appear in all 3 rounds of the playoffs that season.  Following the 2006 season, he was traded to the Cubs for David Aardsma, and he spent the next 3 injury filled seasons on the North Side.

scott_eyre_autographScott Eyre

Joining the White Sox organization in a 1994 trade with the Rangers, he debuted with the big league team in 1997.  He split the next 4 seasons between the rotation and the bullpen, not to mention between Chicago and Charlotte, before being moved to the Blue Jays following the 2000 ALDS loss to the Mariners.  He joined the Cubs as a free agent for the 2006 season and enjoyed 2 seasons of relative success, before falling apart in 2008, when he was traded to the Phillies.

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All Time Team Records

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersAnother 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.  Another disappointing season dropped the winning percentage for the White Sox 7 points, giving them a 16 point drop over the past 2 years.

All-Time Team Records

TeamName Won Loss Winning Pctg
California Angels 1 0 1.000
Arizona Diamondbacks 13 2 0.867
Florida Marlins 15 8 0.652
Philadelphia Phillies 10 6 0.625
Toronto Blue Jays 10 7 0.588
New York Yankees 11 8 0.579
Colorado Rockies 7 6 0.538
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 15 13 0.536
Chicago White Sox 234 204 0.534
San Francisco Giants 8 7 0.533
Chicago Cubs 194 172 0.530
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#169 – Mike Caruso

mcarusoName: Mike Caruso

Rank: 169

Position: SS

Years With White Sox: 1998-1999

Mike Caruso was the centerpiece coming back to the White Sox, along with Keith Foulke, Bob Howry, Lorenzo Barcelo, Brian Manning, and Ken Vining, in the so-called White Flag trade on July 31, 1997 that sent Wilson Alvarez, Danny Darwin, and Roberto Hernandez to the Giants.  Caruso was a 20 year old in Class A who was expected to be the heir apparent to Ozzie Guillen on the left side of the White Sox infield.  He fought his way on to the opening day roster in 1998, beating out Benji Gil, and became an instant success story.

He made his major league debut on Opening Day 1998, going 1 for 5 in a White Sox victory against the Rangers.  By the time the year was over, he had compiled a .306 average, the highest rookie total by a Sox player since Minnie Minoso in 1951 and the best for a shortstop since Luis Aparicio in 1970.  He finished 3rd in Rookie of the Year voting, behind winner Ben Grieve and two spots ahead of teammate Magglio Ordonez.

Things started to go south in 1999.  Without veteran third baseman Robin Ventura to cover him, Caruso’s defense, already thought to be suspect, was exposed thanks to a strong arm and shrinking range.  Offensively, his average dropped to .250 and he managed only 17 extra base hits in 529 at bats, for a slugging percentage below .300.  Manager Jerry Manuel called out his young shortstop, for his poor production, lack of preparation, and a general lack of baseball smarts.

The 2000 season saw Caruso back in the minor leagues, thanks to the arrival of Jose Valentin.  While his former teammates went on to win the AL Central, Caruso struggled against minor league pitching before an injury ended his season prematurely.  Following the season, he was designated for assignment and was selected off of waivers by the Mariners.

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

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by jim

Soriano Calls It A Day

alfonso-soriano-wallA year and a half after being traded by the Cubs, and months after being released by the Yankees, Alfonso Soriano announced his retirement yesterday, saying he’s lost the passion for the game.  After coming up to the big leagues with the Yankees in 1999, Soriano became a regular in 2001 and an all-star the following year.  He was traded to Texas in 2004 as part of the Alex Rodriguez deal.  After 2 seasons with the Rangers, Soriano headed to the Nationals, where he was moved from second base to left field.

Soriano signed an 8-year contract with the Cubs prior to the 2007 season and helped lead the team to back-to-back division titles in 2007 and 2008.  Unfortunately, the Cubs were swept in both division series and, as the team started to unravel in the next few seasons, injuries and time started to take their toll on Soriano.

As new leadership came in and the Cubs started to rebuild, Soriano and his $18 million contract no longer fit with the team’s needs.  After some aborted moves in 2012, thanks to an ill-advised no trade clause attached to his albatross of a contract, Soriano finally agreed to a deal in 2013 to go back to the Yankees.  The reunion was short lived, however.  Despite losing Alex Rodriguez for the season due to a steroid suspension, the Yankees found they could do without Soriano’s production in July.

The end of the season also brought about the end of Soriano’s Cubs deal, making him a free agent.  Rather than subject himself to the open market again at age 38, where he was unlikely to find much of a deal, he’s decided to call it quits.

Soriano’s numbers in a Cub uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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2014 Predictions Revisited

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersBack in March, just as the baseball season was about to get underway, I made my annual predictions on who was going to win what.  Now that the regular season has come to an end, it is time to take a look back and see what, if anything, I got right.

American League

East: Rays

Well, not a great selection here, as the Rays finished 4th in the East.  Instead, the Orioles won the division for the first time since 1997.

Central: Tigers

It came down to the last day of the season, but the Tigers were able to hold off the upstart Royals and win the division for the fourth consecutive season.

West: Angels

Well, what do you know?  Year after year, I pick the Angels to win the division and year after year, they disappoint.  This year looked to be no different, but they caught fire just as the A’s started to fade, leading to their first divisional title since 2009.

Wild Cards: Red Sox, Rangers

Oof.  The Rangers, thank to injury after injury, finished the year with the worst record in the American League.  The Red Sox, fresh off a World Series title, were not too far behind.  Instead, the small market A’s and Royals took the wild card spots.

AL Champion: Tigers

Cy Young: David Price

MVP: Mike Trout

Only 1 of these still seem like viable choices.  The Tigers managed to get swept in the ALDS by the Orioles and David Price has little to no chance of bringing home another Cy Young Award. Mike Trout, meanwhile, is certainly still in the MVP conversation.

National League

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by jim

Guh

p-dunnLast night, for the second time in three days, the White Sox gave up 16 runs in a drubbing against one of the worst teams in the league.  Of course, this time, they deflected criticism of their lackluster bullpen performance this homestand by throwing Adam Dunn out to the mound to mop up the final inning.

Dunn gave up two hits and one run, the 14th consecutive appearance by a White Sox reliever with at least one run scored, before getting out of the inning.  The internet, and the Rangers, got a huge kick out of it, which I guess was supposed to take the sting out of giving up 32 runs in 2 games.  Dunn, meanwhile, became the pitcher with the third highest home run total at the time he took the mound, behind Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx.

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#220 – Brandon McCarthy

McCarthy_action_bw_sports_t440

Name: Brandon McCarthy

Rank: 220

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2005-2006

Brandon McCarthy joined the White Sox organization as their 17th round pick of the 2002 draft, 3 rounds ahead of Boone Logan.  In 2004, between 3 different minor league stops, McCarthy led all minor league pitchers with 202 strike outs.  He made his major league debut the following May, getting a spot start at Wrigley Field against the crosstown rival Cubs.  He ended up appearing in 12 games for the big league club, making 10 starts.  While the White Sox went on the win the World Series, McCarthy was left off the playoff roster.

McCarthy spent the entire 2006 season with the White Sox, working mostly out of the bullpen.  He appeared in 53 games, starting 2, and finished the year with a 4.68 ERA.  He looked poised to join the White Sox rotation for 2007 heading in to the offseason, but it was not to be.  That December, he was shipped to the Rangers in exchange for John Danks, Nick Masset, and a minor league throw in.

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

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#227 – Royce Clayton

royceclayton

Name: Royce Clayton

Rank: 227

Position: SS

Years With White Sox: 2001-2002

Following their division title in 2000, the White Sox looked to improve their defense by moving Jose Valentin to center field and acquiring Royce Clayton from the Rangers in exchange for Aaron Myette and Brian Schmack.  Unfortunately, things went south for both the White Sox and Clayton.  On June 25, when the White Sox reached .500 for the first time since early April, Clayton went 2-4 and managed to raise his average to a season-high .180.  He also decided that was the perfect time to criticize manager Jerry Manuel for not playing him every day.

“If I don’t [hit] I’m on the bench,” Clayton said.  “I know what I’m dealing with now.  Early in the season I really wasn’t aware of it.  Now I am aware of what I have to do in order to play, and I have a problem with it.”  Did I mention he was hitting .180 at the end of June?  Somehow, Clayton managed to raise his average to .263 by the end of the year, but his relationship with Sox fans and management seemed irreparable.

Clayton was back at shortstop in 2002, with Jose Valentin shifted now to third base.  Despite a good spring, Clayton again struggled as the season began, with his average at .198 at the end of May, leading to another benching from Manual.  Again, he did eventually manage to raise his average to .251, but the damage had been done and, with 3 weeks left in the season, he was released.  “It’s for the best,” Clayton said.  “I wasn’t playing here.  A couple weeks left, maybe I’ll go play somewhere else for the remainder of the season and help somebody else.  It’s best to put the situation behind me as soon as possible and go on.”

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

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#233 – Scott Eyre

scott_eyre_autographName: Scott Eyre

Rank: 233

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1997-2000

Scott Eyre joined the White Sox organization in a 1994 trade that sent Esteban Beltre to the Rangers.  He made his way to the major leagues on August 1, 1997, lasting 4 1/3 innings in a losing start against the Angels.  He would start 10 more games over the final two months of the season, finishing with a 4-4 record but with a 5.04 ERA.

Eyre split the 1998 season between the rotation and the bullpen.  His record dropped to 3-8 and his ERA rose to 5.38.  His struggles continued in 1999, where he started for Triple A Charlotte but worked exclusively in relief for the big league club.  His ERA ballooned up to 7.56, giving up 21 runs in his 21 games.

In 2000, he stuck to the bullpen, both in Triple A and, for the most part, for the White Sox.  He did manage to lower his ERA down to 6.63, but it wasn’t enough to make the playoff roster for the Central Division champions.

Following the season, Eyre was traded to the Blue Jays for fellow pitcher Gary Glover.

Eyre’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →