Chatting with Danny Farquhar about Houston's sign stealing

Danny Farquhar (and me)

Danny Farquhar's career as a pitcher is sadly over. As all White Sox fans and most baseball fans are aware, Farquhar suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm April 20, 2018, in the dugout during a game against the Houston Astros at Guaranteed Rate Field.

That would be the last time Farquhar would pitch in a major-league game. He pitched in two games at Triple-A in the New York Yankees organization in 2019, before retiring as a player.

Now, Farquhar is back in the Sox organization. He will be the pitching coach for Class-A Winston-Salem during the 2020 season, and it was good to see him make an appearance at SoxFest.

I got in Farquhar's photo line Friday night, and I had a chance to talk to him about a different game against the Astros -- this one a 3-1 Sox victory on Sept. 21, 2017.

Farquhar worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning in this game, but most notably, it was one of the games where the Astros were clearly stealing signs. In this video, Farquhar calls Sox catcher Kevan Smith to the mound to change the signs in the middle of an at-bat against Houston's Evan Gattis.

Turns out, Farquhar heard the Astros banging trash cans every time Smith signaled for a changeup. (Farquhar was mostly a two-pitch pitcher, fastball and changeup.)

“There was a banging from the dugout, almost like a bat hitting the bat rack every time a changeup signal got put down,” Farquhar said in this story in The Athletic. “After the third one, I stepped off. I was throwing some really good changeups and they were getting fouled off. After the third bang, I stepped off.”

So, when I met Farquhar, I asked him if anyone from the media had asked him about the incident immediately after that game. He said no, and he added that it was talked about in the clubhouse that night, so to him, it was somewhat surprising that it took so long for Houston's shenanigans to come to the forefront.

Nobody in the press interviewed Farquhar after his outing. As I stood there talking to him, I noted that relief pitchers don't get many interview requests on days when they do their job effectively, as was the case here. Farquhar agreed and said that had he given up a 3-run homer and lost the game for the Sox, he probably would have had to answer reporters' questions after the game.

The SoxFest police grew tired of me visiting with Farquhar, so they asked me to move along. As we parted, Farquhar said as a player you need to be careful before you accuse another team of doing something wrong -- nobody wants to be known as someone who falsely accuses others, and there's a fine line you have to walk.

The sign-stealing situation came up multiple times at SoxFest, and new Sox reliever Steve Cishek said the Cubs reworked their signs after they lost a game to the Astros in Houston last season.

Cishek wouldn't name names, but said a ridiculous opposite-field home run was hit on a first-pitch slider. The home run ended up boosting the Astros to a 9-6 victory over the Cubs.

I will name names: Alex Bregman hit that home run off Brad Brach.

We haven't addressed the sign-stealing scandal much on this blog, because everyone else is talking about it, and what else is there to say?

I was always taught, if you think someone has your signs, change them. That's what Farquhar did in his scenario in September 2017, and it was fun to chat informally with him about the incident. And, it's good to see him healthy and back with the Sox organization.

We wish Farquhar well in his new endeavor as a pitching coach. He's a smart guy, and I think he'll have a lot to offer for the young pitchers in the Sox organization.

Astros, Dodgers move on to the next round

Alex Bregman

The Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers are the first two teams to advance to the League Championship Series.

Houston defeated the Boston Red Sox, 5-4, on Monday afternoon to win the ALDS, 3-1. Later Monday, the Dodgers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-1, to complete a three-game sweep in the NLDS.

The Houston-Boston game probably was the most interesting of the four playoff games played Monday, because both teams had their respective aces, Justin Verlander and Chris Sale, on the mound by the fifth inning.

Houston starter Charlie Morton lasted 4.1 innings. Boston starter Rick Porcello worked only three innings. I found it interesting that neither manager was desperate enough to start his ace in a Game 4, but both managers were desperate enough to use their ace in a relief role.

I was especially surprised to see Verlander on the hill.  The Astros, after all, led the series 2-1. Had they lost, they had a Game 5 in Houston to fall back on, and I would have liked their chances to win with Verlander starting that game.

But Houston manager A.J. Hinch had other thoughts. He pushed his chips to the center of the table to win Game 4, and win it he did.

I wasn't as surprised to see Sale work in relief because, well, it was do-or-die for the Red Sox. If you're gonna die, die with your best on the mound.

Verlander entered in the fifth inning with his team leading, 2-1, but he lost the lead quickly by giving up a two-run homer to Boston left fielder Andrew Benintendi. That ended up being the only hit Verlander allowed over his 2.2 innings of relief, but for a time, it looked as though he was going to take a 3-2 loss.

Sale was brutal in a Game 1 defeat, but he was dealing in the middle innings Monday. The Astros did not get a single hit off him in the fourth, fifth or sixth innings. Sale fanned six and did not walk a batter over his 4.2 innings of relief.

However, the Astros broke through with a two-run eighth inning. Alex Bregman tied it with a home run off Sale to start the inning. Evan Gattis singled sandwiched in between two outs, and Sale was removed from the game with two outs in the top of the eighth and the score tied at 3.

Boston closer Craig Kimbrel was ineffective. He walked the first hitter he faced, George Springer, then gave up an RBI single to Josh Reddick that put the Astros ahead, 4-3. Houston added another run off Kimbrel in the ninth, which proved to be key. Rafael Devers had an inside-the-park home run for the Red Sox in the bottom of the ninth to make it 5-4, but it was not enough.

Give the Astros credit. I always say you're not going to win championships beating up on chump pitchers. You have to go through people, and Houston went through two All-Stars -- Sale and Kimbrel -- to score three late runs Monday.

As a result, they await the winner of the series between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians, which is tied at 2-all. Game 5 is Thursday night.

Random thought: Will the Braves trade Brian McCann?

Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann has missed the first month of the season while rehabbing a torn labrum in his right shoulder. But, the six-time All-Star is expected to return to the Atlanta lineup within the next week.

I noted McCann went 2-for-4 with a home run and a single for Class AAA Gwinnett Friday night. In six rehab games between Gwinnett and Class A Rome, McCann is batting .364 with four home runs, nine RBIs and five runs scored. Sounds to me like he's ready.

But here's the problem for the Braves: Rookie catcher Evan Gattis has played well in McCann's absence, belting seven home runs and winning National League Rookie of the Month honors in April.

McCann isn't coming back to the majors to sit on the bench, so what will the Braves do with Gattis? From everything I've read, they intend to use him as a bench bat, maybe giving him some starts in the outfield or at first base. Makes sense. You don't want to demote a guy who has been a productive player for you.

But here's my question: Has Gattis done enough to make the Braves believe he is their catcher of the future? And, if so, will they trade McCann, who is in the last year of a seven-year contract that will pay him $12 million this season?

Or, do they look at Gattis as nothing more than a former 23rd-round draft pick on a career hot streak? Will they look to resign McCann, who is hardly old? He's 29, but he is coming off his worst season in 2012 and a fairly significant injury.

If I were the Braves, I don't think I'd give McCann the $12 to $15 million per year he'll likely command in free agency. That's too much money in my mind for a catcher. That said, if I were the Braves, I would not trade McCann. I'd hang on to him, play for this year and hope he's healthy enough to be a critical piece in a drive toward an NL East championship. If he walks at the end of the year, so be it.

But what if they do decide to deal McCann? Which teams need a catcher?

Well, start with the Yankees, who have half their team on the disabled list and have Francisco Cervelli getting the majority of the starts behind the plate. Anytime a left-hander power hitter becomes available, you have to believe New York will be in the hunt.

Maybe Detroit? Doesn't it seem like Alex Avila always breaks down by the end of the year? Never underestimate Tigers owner Mike Ilitch. The octogenarian wants a World Series title before he dies and will spend any amount of money to get it.

I think Washington could use an upgrade behind the plate, but of course, there won't be any trades between the Nationals and the Braves. Those two teams will fight for the NL East lead all year.

Then, of course, there's the White Sox. I still don't understand why the Sox believe in Tyler Flowers. Through 28 games, Flowers is exactly who I thought he would be. He's hitting .186 with four home runs and 26 strikeouts in 70 ABs. About once a week, he hits a home run, and that's his sole contribution to the offense.

Can you tell I'm tired of the Flowers experiment? First week of May and I'm already looking around to see if there are any real catchers who might be available in a trade.