Some notable baseball figures who died in 2018

Year in review articles often include a list of notable people who died in the past 12 months. When I read those, I often think, "Geez, I didn't know that guy was gone."

Here is an alphabetical list of some baseball figures we lost in 2018:

Tito Francona, 84: He played 15 years in the big leagues for nine teams, including a half-season with the White Sox in 1958. The career .272 hitter batted .363 for the Cleveland Indians in 1959. His son, Terry Francona, now is the manager for the Indians.

Oscar Gamble

Oscar Gamble, 68: Known for his ridiculous Afro, the left-handed hitter totaled 200 home runs in his 17-year career. He had two separate stints with the White Sox. He hit a career-high 31 homers for the Sox as a member of the 1977 South Side Hitmen. He also finished his career in Chicago in 1985.

Augie Garrido, 79: He made 15 College World Series appearances as a coach (eight of them at the University of Texas) and won an NCAA record 1,975 games.

Doug Harvey, 87: The Hall of Famer umpired for 31 seasons. His nickname was God. Seriously.

Bruce Kison, 68: He pitched 15 seasons for three teams and finished his career 115-88 in 380 games (246 starts). His best years were with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1970s. He pitched 11 scoreless innings in the playoffs for the 1971 world champion Pirates.

Willie McCovey, 80: The Hall of Fame first baseman played all 22 of his seasons (1959 to 1980) with the San Francisco Giants. He totaled 521 home runs and won the National League MVP award in 1969, when he hit .320 with 45 home runs and 126 RBIs. That season, he led the NL in both on-base percentage (.453) and slugging percentage (.656).

Red Schoendienst, 95: He was a 10-time All-Star as a second baseman with the St. Louis Cardinals and spent 67 seasons as a player, manager and coach with the St. Louis organization. He totaled 1,041 wins as a manager.

Rusty Staub, 73: The six-time All-Star totaled 2,716 hits over a 23-year career, and he was the first star player for the Montreal Expos. Staub was an original member of the Expos, who joined the National League as an expansion team in 1969. Staub hit .302 that year, despite playing for a 52-110 team.

Luis Valbuena, 33: The utility infielder played 11 years with five teams, including the Cubs. He died in a car crash in Venezuela, along with former Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jose Castillo.

It's time for the Cubs to get rid of Darwin Barney

Outside of shortstop Starlin Castro and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, the Cubs have gone with a musical chairs approach to their infield. Between second and third base they've rotated Luis Valbuena (20 starts), Emilio Bonifacio (12), Mike Olt (16) and Darwin Barney (16).

Bonifacio has also gotten time in the outfield, but this is a pretty even job-sharing arrangement. That makes some sense in that the Cubs have a lot of guys they're trying to sort out, even if not for their direct benefit, then to give scouts from other teams a look-see at players so they can be peddled for something interesting in a trade.

Olt is a former top prospect not far from the form that made him one, so getting his career back on track would be huge. Valbuena and Bonifacio are playing like credible stopgaps or bench options should a better team come calling for one of them. Maybe the Cubs will like Bonifacio enough to hammer out an affordable contract extension.

Barney is hitting like one of the worst hitters in all of baseball. Which he is outside of pitchers and backup catchers. That's not just his meager 63 plate appearances this year (.127/.226/.181, so emphasis on meager). That's been his career in the majors (.242/.241/.331). That's really what his body of work in the minors would have suggested (.288/.337/.378).

There's his glove, which is excellent at second base and would probably play well at short or third. But as good as it is, it won't carry him as a starter at any position, and you'd really rather he never have to hit, making him a second-best utility infield option on a decent bench. That means he's not likely to bring the Cubs back much value in trade.

After making $2.3 million this season, I think it's also safe to say that if he's not sent to another team, the Cubs won't be tendering him a contract and taking him to arbitration for next season.

Barney simply has no value to the Cubs right now, and keeping him around is eating into something the team has right now that's very valuable, and that's playing time for those other guys who might play their way into the long-term picture, or at least boost their short-term value.

Even as a "rebuilding" team, the Cubs have other, better options. They should go with them.

It's time for the White Sox to trade Matt Thornton

Let's get right to the point of today's blog entry: There is no way Matt Thornton should be back with the White Sox in 2014.

Thornton is already overpaid this season. He's making $5.5 million. The White Sox hold a $6 million option on him for next year with a $1 million buyout. 

It would be insanity to pick up that option.

Thornton is being paid like a closer, but at this stage of his career, he's nothing more than a situational left-handed reliever. Just check out his lefty-righty slash line for this year:

vs. left-handers: .176/.236/.629
vs. right-handers: .333/.429/.866

Thornton looks like a pitcher who no longer trusts his stuff against right-handed batters. Case in point, Monday night's game against the Cubs. Thornton entered the game in the eighth inning of a 2-2 tie. He retired the left-handed batting Anthony Rizzo, then started picking at the corners of the plate against a pair of right-handed hitters.

It's difficult to walk the free-swinging Alfonso Soriano, but Thornton managed to do it on four pitches. He then fell behind 3-and-1 to switch-batting Dioner Navarro before giving up a single. Then, the left-handed Luis "Boom Boom Valbuena, who inexplicably owns the Sox, punked Thornton for a two-run double that gave the Cubs a 4-2 lead. That ended Thornton's night, and he took the loss as the North Siders went on to an 8-2 victory.

Thornton is 36 years old, and he's been in steady decline over the last four years. His numbers reflect that. Take a look at the statistics below. In particular, pay attention to the rising ERA and declining strikeout rate.

ERA
2010: 2.67
2011: 3.32
2012: 3.46
2013: 4.00

Ks per 9 IP
2010: 12.0
2011: 9.5
2012: 7.3
2013: 6.7

WHIP
2010: 1.005
2011: 1.358
2012: 1.231
2013: 1.296

Hits per 9 IP
2010: 6.1
2011: 9.1
2012: 8.7
2013: 8.3

HR per 9 IP
2010: 0.4
2011: 0.5
2012: 0.6
2013: 1.3

You can see the problem. Thornton doesn't miss as many bats these days. He gives up more hits and home runs than he did in the past. His ERA climbs each year as a result. It's nothing to be ashamed about. It's just reality for an aging pitcher who has made 60 or more appearances for 7 seven straight seasons. Soon, it will become 8 straight seasons.

There's no reason for the White Sox to waste $6 million on this declining pitcher for next season. Thornton is still useful as a situational left-hander, but you can find guys to fill that particular role for much less money.

There are rumors the Boston Red Sox are interested in Thornton's services for the rest of this year. If I'm White Sox GM Rick Hahn, I'm pulling the trigger on that deal.

Thornton's subtraction from the Sox roster will not hurt the team now or in the future. Thornton has done a nice job for the Sox through the years, but his best days are past and it is time for a change -- for both the player and the team.