Kris Bryant's service time manipulation grievance will be heard

Kris Bryant

Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant and the Major League Baseball Players Association have filed a grievance, claiming that the team manipulated his service time in 2015, thus preventing him from becoming a free agent until after the 2021 season.

Bryant is hoping to be declared a free agent after the 2020 season. Arbitrators were expected to hear the grievance this week.

To recap, Bryant by all rights should have broken camp with the Cubs as their starting third baseman in 2015. He batted .425 with nine home runs and 15 RBIs in 40 at-bats that spring training, but he ended up being among the last cuts.

Bryant was sent to Triple-A Iowa to start the season, and told he needed to "cut down his strikeout rate" or some other such nonsense, while Mike Olt opened the season as the Cubs third baseman.

To this day, it remains unclear what alternate baseball universe we're living in if anyone believes Olt is or was a better player than Bryant.

In any case, Bryant was promoted to the big leagues April 17, 2015, and he went on to make the All-Star team, win NL Rookie of the Year and help the Cubs to a 97-win season, a wild card berth and a trip to the NLCS.

However, 2015 did not count as a year of service time for Bryant. You have to spend 172 days in the majors to qualify for a year of service time. Bryant was in the bigs for 171 days in 2015. He was called up one day too late. How convenient.

Fortunately for the Cubs, Olt went down with a right wrist injury at that same time, providing the team some cover for its obvious service time shenanigans. The Cubs can claim that they called Bryant up at that specific time to replace an injured player.

I don't think Bryant is going to win this case. The Cubs didn't violate the rules; they merely violated the spirit of the rules. And legally, that's probably not enough for an arbitrator to grant Bryant free agency a year early.

That said, I hope Bryant wins. Do I care about what this means for the Cubs? Not even a little, but I am a fan of Major League Baseball, and I'm sick and tired of seeing talented players held in the minor leagues for too long, just so teams can gain an extra season of control of those players.

I want to see the best players on the field. End of story.

Obviously, the White Sox have been guilty of service time manipulation. Eloy Jimenez should have been called up at the end of the 2018 season. He was not. And he was going to start the 2019 season in the minors, too, until he signed a team-friendly eight-year contract with the Sox.

Suddenly, Jimenez was the starting left fielder for the Sox, and all that talk about him "needing to work on his defense" went quiet.

The Sox also are manipulating service time for Luis Robert. He should have been called to the majors in 2019. He was not. And he won't start the 2020 season with the Sox, either, unless he agrees to a team-friendly contract extension.

Or, unless Bryant wins his case, and it scares the crap out of all the teams pulling these shenanigans.

You see, if Adam Engel is starting in center field for the Sox on Opening Day, that's just preposterous. Robert should be in that position. Engel over Robert in 2020 is every bit as ridiculous as Olt over Bryant was in 2015.

Triple-A and Quad-A players shouldn't be getting starting jobs over All-Star quality talent in Major League Baseball. One way or another, this nonsense needs to end.

Washington Nationals beat Houston Astros in first two games of World Series

Juan Soto

It's Oct. 24, and the Washington Nationals haven't lost a game since Oct. 6.

The Nationals not so long ago had a well-earned reputation as playoff chokers -- they lost in the National League Division Series in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017. They had never won a playoff series before this season, but hey, look at them now.

Washington has won 18 of its past 20 games dating back to the regular season, and it has won eight consecutive playoff games after its 12-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday in Game 2 of the World Series.

The Nationals have won three elimination games in these playoffs -- the wild card game against the Milwaukee Brewers and Games 4 and 5 of the NLDS against the 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers. And they came from behind in the eighth inning in two of those three elimination games. That's clutch.

Now, Washington leads this World Series, 2-0, and it has the next three games at home. Two more wins and the franchise will permanently shed the "playoff choker" label.

How have they done it? Well, they've gone on the road in this World Series and beat the two best pitchers in baseball, Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander, on back-to-back days.

Cole and Verlander were a combined 41-11 this season, but all that matters now is that they are 0-2 this week. The Astros had only lost two in a row at home once since July 1. Make it twice.

The Nationals scored five runs in seven innings off Cole in Game 1, and their cleanup hitter -- Juan Soto -- led the charge with three hits and three RBIs in a 5-4 victory. And Ryan Zimmerman, a member of the Nationals since 2005, hit a solo home run. Good for him. He's been there through all the postseason disappointment, so he probably has a great appreciation for this run.

Washington ace Max Scherzer only went five innings, but he got the win, and I thought it was interesting that Patrick Corbin worked an inning in relief -- a scoreless sixth (more on that in a minute).

Tanner Rainey gave up a run in the seventh, and Daniel Hudson gave up a run in the eighth. But with a 5-2 lead sliced to 5-4, Sean Doolittle closed it out for Washington with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

In Game 2, Verlander and Stephen Strasburg battled through a 2-2 deadlock after six innings. Strasburg was over 100 pitches in the bottom of the sixth, but he extricated himself from a first-and-second, one-out jam to keep the game tied.

His teammates rewarded him by erupting for six runs in the top of the seventh. Kurt Suzuki's homer off Verlander put Washington ahead to stay, and the Nationals tacked on a whole bunch more against the Houston bullpen. As a matter of fact, Washington scored 10 runs in the last three innings; former White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton homered in the top of the eighth.

Remember, I mentioned that Corbin relief appearance. He will NOT get the start in Game 3 as previously expected. Instead, Anibal Sanchez will work for Washington against Houston's Zack Greinke on Friday night.

This is interesting, because you wonder if we'll see Corbin in relief again. If the Nationals have the lead in Game 3, I think they should make Corbin their first man out of the bullpen again. Go for the knockout punch in Game 3, and if you get it, you've got a 3-0 lead in the series, and what does it matter who starts Game 4?

If the Nationals have a 3-0 lead, they can start whomever in Game 4 and know that even if they lose, they still have Scherzer for Game 5 and Strasburg for Game 6, and they'd only have to win one of those games to be world champion. That would be an enviable scenario for the Nationals.

In case you were wondering, 26 previous teams in baseball history have gone on the road and won the first two games of a best-of-seven postseason series. Those 26 clubs have won the series 23 times.

The three teams that rallied from an 0-2 hole? All of them came in the World Series -- the 1985 Kansas City Royals, the 1986 New York Mets and the 1996 New York Yankees.

The Astros are a 107-win team, so you can't count them out. But they are facing some long odds.

Here are the pitching matchups for the first three games of the World Series

Max Scherzer

The 2019 World Series will be a delight for fans of starting pitching. The Houston Astros and Washington Nationals both go three-deep with brand-name starters, and those six pitchers will be on display in the first three games of the Fall Classic.

All games start at 7 p.m. Central. Here are the matchups (Astros' starter listed first, since they have home-field advantage):

Tuesday at Houston: Gerrit Cole vs. Max Scherzer
Wednesday at Houston: Justin Verlander vs. Stephen Strasburg
Friday at Washington: Zack Greinke vs. Patrick Corbin

I was wondering whether the Nationals would go with Scherzer or Strasburg in Game 1. Scherzer is their ace, so he seems like the obvious choice, but Strasburg has been terrific in the playoffs throughout his career. In seven lifetime postseason appearances, he's 4-2 with a 1.10 ERA, with 57 strikeouts in 41 innings pitched.

Of course, Scherzer hasn't exactly been struggling. He won his start against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, and then took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in a win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS. Scherzer has allowed just one earned run on five hits over 15 innings in his past two starts. He has struck out 21 and walked only five over that same span.

Can he beat Cole? We'll see. Cole has been ridiculously good in three postseason starts so far this October. He's 3-0, and he's allowed one run in 22.2 innings pitched, with 32 strikeouts and eight walks.

Right now, it feels as though the Astros are invincible when Cole pitches. But if anyone can outduel him, perhaps Scherzer's the guy.

Tune in Tuesday night.

Nationals, Astros making starting pitching popular again

Stephen Strasburg

There are only two teams in baseball that have never made the World Series -- one in each league. One is the Seattle Mariners in the American League.

The other, the National League's Washington Nationals -- who were once the Montreal Expos -- are on the verge of advancing to the Fall Classic for the first time in the franchise's 51-year history.

Washington beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-1, on Monday night to take a 3-0 lead in the National League Championship Series.

How are the Nationals doing it? With starting pitching. Stephen Strasburg on Monday struck out 12 and walked nobody over seven innings of one-run ball.

In fact, the Cardinals have scored a grand total of two runs in the first three games of the series -- that's a good way to dig an 0-3 hole.

In Game 1, Anibal Sanchez, who is Washington's No. 4 starter, had a no-hitter through 7.2 innings. He ended up combining with Sean Doolittle on a one-hit shutout in the Nationals' 2-0 victory.

Washington ace Max Scherzer had a no-hitter through six innings in Game 2. He ended up pitching seven shutout innings with 11 strikeouts in a 3-1 Nationals' victory.

The run the Cardinals scored Monday against Strasburg was unearned, which means Washington starters have not allowed an earned run in 21.2 innings going into Tuesday's Game 4.

That is domination. The Nationals are bucking the bullpen trend we've seen over the past few years. Washington's bullpen is pretty thin -- there isn't much there beyond Doolittle and Daniel Hudson.

But the Nationals have Scherzer, Strasburg, Patrick Corbin and Sanchez. That's a deep, strong rotation that just may carry them into the World Series.

Meanwhile, in the American League, Gerrit Cole struck out seven over seven shutout innings Tuesday as the Houston Astros defeated the New York Yankees, 4-1, in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.

The Astros took a 2-1 in the series, and they regained home-field advantage in the best-of-seven.

Houston is seeking to win its second World Series in three years, and the strength of their team is, well, starting pitching. Cole and Justin Verlander, you can flip a coin in the AL Cy Young race this year. Zach Greinke is their No. 3 pitcher, and while he hasn't been great in these playoffs, he's an ace on most teams around the league.

If the Nationals and Astros both make the World Series, we'll be looking at a matchup of the two deepest starting rotations in the game. So much for bullpen usage ruling the day.

Frank Menechino named White Sox hitting coach

Frank Menechino

Catching up on some news: The White Sox promoted Frank Menechino to be their new hitting coach last week.

The 48-year-old former Major League infielder joined the Sox organization for the 2019 season, when he served as the hitting coach for the Triple-A Charlotte Knights.

Under Menechino's watch, the Knights scored 5.7 runs per game, better than the 5.16 league average. The Knights posted a team .270/.352/.472 slash line, with a 22.3% strikeout rate and a 10.5% percent walk rate.

If you're one of the fans hoping the Sox improve their walk rate next season, the Knights were above the 9.3% league average. Do keep in mind that Charlotte is the most hitter-friendly park in the International League, so the Knights probably *should* be above average in offensive categories.

In other words, do with this information what you will.

Menechino obviously worked with top prospects Luis Robert and Nick Madrigal this past season, and he inherits an offensive core than includes Yoan Moncada, Tim Anderson and Eloy Jimenez.

For what it's worth, Menechino has previous experience as a hitting coach in the majors, and he has previous experience working with a young offensive core.

He was the hitting coach with the Miami Marlins in 2014 and 2015. He was then "demoted" to assistant hitting coach when the Marlins foolishly brought on Barry Bonds to be the hitting coach for the 2016 season. Bonds was a disaster and was replaced by Mike Pagliarulo, with Menechino serving as assistant hitting coach from 2016-18.

After the 2018 season, Menechino was one of four Marlins coaches fired as part of an offseason shakeup. He landed in the Sox organization, and now he's getting another chance to work with MLB hitters.

Of note, Menechino coached Christian Yelich, Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and J.T. Realmuto during his time with the Marlins. All four of those guys are enjoying success now in places not named Miami. It's unclear how much credit Menechino deserves for those successes, but he obviously didn't screw any of them up, either.

As a player, Menechino played seven years in the majors with the Oakland A's and Toronto Blue Jays. He was mostly a utility player, posting a career .240/.358/.383 slash line in 1,510 plate appearances.

A .358 on-base percentage? Well, we can't say he didn't walk. I honestly have no idea if this is a good hire. I would have liked to have seen an outside search, but then again, it isn't as if Menechino is a longtime organization man. He's relatively new to the Sox, and all you can do is hope he's the right guy to help this young group of offensive players take the next steps in their careers.

Name That Slash Line answer key

J.D. Martinez

In our last blog, I gave out seven slash lines belonging to assorted players -- some play for the White Sox, some do not. Here are your answers:

Player 1: .315/.367/.548

This is Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada, who not only had a breakout season, but he also had the best offensive season I've seen from a Sox third baseman in my lifetime. Sure, Robin Ventura might have provided more overall value in the 1990s because he was an elite defender at the position, but it's hard to top the .915 OPS posted by Moncada in 2019.

One big key to this Moncada breakout: As a switch-hitter, he's no longer a pushover from the right side of the plate. In 2018, Moncada slashed .209/.287/.297 as a right-handed hitter. But this season, his right-handed line jumped all the way up to .299/.345/.500.

Now, I still expect opposing managers to bring in left-handed relievers to force Moncada to bat right-handed. After all, Moncada hit 21 of his 25 homers in 2019 as a left-handed hitter. And his left-handed slash line was a robust .322/.377/.569.

All that being said, Moncada is now the guy Sox fans want to see to the plate in late-and-clutch situations, and even from his weaker side, he's capable of doing damage to the opposition.

Player 2: .311/.372/.503

This slash line belongs to Houston Astros outfielder Michael Brantley. There's been a lot of talk about the Sox needing a productive left-handed bat to play a corner outfield position, and I can't help but think the team missed on that opportunity last season when Brantley was available.

The best left-handed corner outfield bats available in free agency this offseason are Corey Dickerson and Kole Calhoun. Neither of them is as good as Brantley. Perhaps the Sox should have been more aggressive in their pursuit of Brantley when he could have been had.

Now, it is possible Brantley wasn't interested in the Sox. Who would you rather sign with? The Astros or the Sox? One of the problems the Sox face is that they are not a destination for free agents, and that is the fault of ownership and the front office. They deserve criticism for not being able to "convert" on their targets, and that inability is about more than not being willing to spend money.

Player 3: .284/.330/.503

This is Sox first baseman Jose Abreu, who is a free agent this offseason. It is assumed he will be back with the club, but I have heard some fans express reservations about Abreu going forward, because he will be 33 years old when we reach Opening Day 2020.

The low on-base percentages over the past two seasons -- .325 and .330 -- are concerning. Abreu's career OBP is .349. However, Abreu led the Sox with 33 home runs and led the American League with 123 RBIs. This is a Sox team that ranked 13th in the league in home runs, and I don't think they are in position to be parting with *any* hitter who is capable of slugging .500 or better.

This doesn't mean give Abreu a five-year deal. That would be a mistake. I'd say two years, $30 million with an option for a third year gets it done.

Player 4: .335/.357/.508

Here is the slash line for Sox shortstop Tim Anderson. He walked 15 times all season and still won the batting title. I don't know if we'll ever see something like that again.

I'm guessing this was a career year for Anderson, but this was a significant step forward from the .240/.281/.406 line he posted in 2018. Regression is probably inevitable, but let's say Anderson finds a medium between his past two seasons and hits .290 with a .320 on-base percentage in 2020. If he does that, can we live it?

I think so, especially if he bats toward the bottom of the batting order and continues to supply some extra-base pop. Anderson had 18 home runs and 32 doubles this season, which is just fine for a shortstop.

Player 5: .256/.334/.462

This is San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado, who decided to take San Diego's millions over the millions the Sox offered last offseason.

Some have pushed the narrative that the Sox are fortunate that they didn't sign Machado, because he had a down season in his first year with the Padres. I don't know. I think the Sox would have been a better team with Machado at third base and Moncada at second -- and light-hitting Yolmer Sanchez in the bench role where he belongs.

I don't subscribe to the theory that Moncada's offensive breakout has anything to do with his position change -- I think he was going to break out anyway. I will acknowledge that Moncada is better defensively at third base than he was at second.

The bottom line on the whole Machado saga is this: The Sox had a chance to prove that they are willing to spend in free agency last season, and they declined to do so. They have another chance this offseason. That doesn't mean they have to sign Gerrit Cole, but it does mean they have to spend the money this time. Finishing second for free agents isn't going to be acceptable anymore.

Player 6: .304/.383/.557

Speaking of free agents the Sox need to sign, the slash line above belongs to J.D. Martinez, who is likely to opt out of his contract with the Boston Red Sox. Let me go on the record as saying Martinez is the free agent I most want the Sox to sign.

The numbers above are still pretty damn good, even in an age-32 season. And need I remind anybody that Sox DHs posted a .205/.286/.356 slash line in 2019? I think Martinez will age well, much like Nelson Cruz and Edwin Encarnacion. For years, the Sox have tried to force a square peg into a round hole at DH. They've signed National League hitters (Adam Dunn and Adam LaRoche) and watched them fail in the role, and it's clear Yonder Alonso had no idea how to adjust to the position.

So, why not bring in somebody who already has proven that he can DH? As we can see from these slash lines, Martinez will provide more offensive value than Machado, and he won't cost as much because of his lack of defensive value.

In fact, Martinez will have no National League suitors whatsoever. And the Astros, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, and Los Angeles Angels do not have an opening at DH. If Martinez opts out of Boston, where's he going to land? The way I see it, the most logical landing places are the Sox, Texas Rangers or Toronto Blue Jays.

I'm thinking four years, $100 million with a player opt-out after two years gets it done. Hey, that same contract lured Martinez to Boston, right?

Player 7: .260/.372/.510

This is Bryce Harper. He'd still look pretty good in right field for the Sox, you know. Much like Brantley, he was a lefty corner outfield bat that was available last offseason, and Sox brass just wasn't aggressive enough.

Granted, Harper was much more expensive than Brantley, and Brantley is arguably better, depending on what you value in a hitter. In that regard, a case can be made that Harper wasn't worth the money and years of commitment.

The main reason I'm putting him here, in fact, is to build my case for the Sox to sign Martinez. Martinez was a better hitter than Machado this past season. He was a better hitter than Harper, too. Just look at the slash lines.

If you sign Martinez, you've got the big bat you need for the center of your order, and you don't have to pay $330 million over 13 years. Then, if you want to sign a lesser hitter -- such as Dickerson -- as a secondary offseason free agent piece to fill right field, that suddenly becomes much more palatable.

You see, the Sox have multiple holes. As much as we'd all love to see a player such as Cole in the starting rotation, would you rather sign four or five good players to fill all these holes, or just sign one stud to play once every five days?

I'd like to sign the four or five good players. Depth and layers of depth looks far more appealing to me than a stars-and-scrubs approach.

It's time to play Name That Slash Line -- America's favorite game show

Well, you read the title. It's time to play Name That Slash Line!

I'll give you the 2019 slash lines for seven hitters. Some of them play for the White Sox. Some of them do not. The answers, and a few thoughts about each hitter, will appear in my next blog entry, which will be posted this weekend.

(I'm going to the Blackhawks' home opener Thursday night, and my sister's 40th birthday party is Friday night, so I'll be taking a little break from baseball.)

Without further adieu, name these slash lines!

Player 1: .315/.367/.548

Player 2: .311/.372/.503

Player 3: .284/.330/.503

Player 4: .335/.357/.508

Player 5: .256/.334/.462

Player 6: .304/.383/.557

Player 7: .260/.372/.510

Anybody? Anybody?