Thursday, October 22, 2020

Toughest White Sox offseason decisions: Alex Colome and Leury Garcia

Alex Colome
Over the past two seasons, the White Sox are 92-1 when leading after eight innings. They were a perfect 32-0 in that situation in 2020, after going 60-1 in 2019.

A won-loss record like that is a clear sign that your closer is doing his job. As annoying as it can be to watch Alex Colome work slooooooowly on the mound, the veteran right-hander has had back-to-back successful seasons on the South Side of Chicago.

This year, he went 2-0 with a 0.81 ERA with 12 saves in 13 opportunities. Over the past two seasons, he's appeared in 104 games, going 6-5 with a 2.27 ERA with 42 saves in 46 chances. 

Unless you've got Mariano Rivera on your team or something, you can't really expect better from your ninth inning guy.

However, the Sox face a tough decision on Colome this offseason. He's a free agent, and by the time next season begins, he'll be 32 years old. He was scheduled to make $10.53 million in 2020 before the pandemic reduced everyone's salary, and since he had a strong year, there's no doubt he'll be seeking more on the open market.

Should the Sox prioritize Colome, knowing they have other quality relievers in their bullpen? Aaron Bummer and Codi Heuer both have closer stuff, and both could do the job for much cheaper.

That said, 2021 is a win-now season for the Sox, and can they afford to go into it without a proven closer? Sure, we *think* Bummer and Heuer can do the job, but we don't *know* they can do the job. They haven't been given the opportunity yet.

A strong case can be made, too, that the Sox have bigger needs than the bullpen. They are certainly a starting pitcher short. They need a right fielder and a designated hitter, as well.

But even though Colome likely is heading toward the regression phase of his career, I'd like to see the Sox re-sign him if the price is right. 

The guess here is free agents aren't going to make a whole heck of a lot this offseason. The big-name guys, George Springer and Trevor Bauer, are going to get paid, but second-tier and third-tier guys -- such as Colome -- may not command as much as they would in a normal year. Teams didn't get any revenue from ticket sales in 2020, and spending is going to be down. That's just a reality.

If the Sox were to offer Colome two years, $20 million right now, he'd have to consider it. But if they wait out the market, they might be able to get him at an even cheaper rate -- perhaps two years, $16 million.

It will be interesting to see how the Sox play it with their closer situation this offseason.

The other tough decision ahead? How about oft-injured utility player Leury Garcia? He has a $3.5 million option with a $250,000 buyout.

If Garcia could reliably stay healthy, I think that option gets picked up. However, he missed most of the season this year with torn ligaments in his thumb. And despite all his positional versatility -- and his ability to switch-hit -- the Sox could carry Adam Engel as a backup outfielder and Danny Mendick as a backup infielder, and probably get the same production for less money.

Then the Sox could put that $3.5 million toward filling the aforementioned holes, or trying to entice Colome to return.

I would buy out Garcia, but I'm acknowledging that it's not an easy decision. He's been a good soldier during the rebuild, and he has utility as a bench player. I'm just feeling as though that money would be better spent elsewhere.

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

White Sox help fans commemorate Lucas Giolito's no-hitter

I was at the game April 18, 2007, when White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle pitched a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers.

I have friends who were there July 23, 2009, when Buehrle pitched a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

No-hitters are a rare thing -- only four of them have been thrown in the 30-year-history of Guaranteed Rate Field -- so if you get to see one in person, that could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's a story that gets told and told again for years and years among family and friends.

It's just a shame that one of the aforementioned four no-hitters occurred Aug. 25, 2020, during the season of COVID-19, with no fans in the stands. No one will ever be able to say they were at the game when Lucas Giolito struck out 13 and thoroughly dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates.

One Sox fan I know tweeted, "My cardboard cutout has seen a no-hitter, and I have not. F**** 2020." 

Indeed.

But the Sox did make a nice gesture by sending out replica tickets to all their season-ticket holders to commemorate Giolito's no-hitter. These have my actual seat location on them, and we were able to frame them and put them on display in our home.

I criticize the Sox plenty on this blog, so let's give the team credit for doing something right this time. Thank you, Sox, for giving us something to help us remember one of the happiest moments of the 2020 baseball season.

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Dodgers back in the World Series for 3rd time in 4 years

Cody Bellinger
The Los Angeles Dodgers lost the 2017 World Series to the Houston Astros, and they lost the 2018 World Series to the Boston Red Sox. 

Will the third time be the charm?

The Dodgers are National League pennant winners for the third time in four years, after they beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-3, on Sunday in Game 7 of the NL Championship Series.

Los Angeles was down 3-2 after five innings, but it tied the game in the sixth on Enrique Hernandez's pinch-hit solo home run off A.J. Minter. The Dodgers went ahead to stay in the bottom of the seventh, when center fielder Cody Bellinger homered off Chris Martin.

Both Hernandez and Bellinger homered on 2-2 pitches to cap off eight-pitch battles.

The big defensive play, not surprisingly, came from right fielder Mookie Betts, who robbed Atlanta's Freddie Freeman of a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning. If that ball gets out, the Braves go ahead 4-2, and who knows how that changes the game and the strategy moving forward?

Interestingly, the Dodgers won this game without using longtime ace Clayton Kershaw, or longtime closer Kenley Jansen. Los Angeles used five pitchers, none of whom worked more than three innings: Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Blake Treinen, Brusdar Graterol and Julio Urias.

There aren't any household names among those five pitchers, but that list shows the depth of the Dodgers, and it's shows the diverse way in which Los Angeles built its team.

May and Gonsolin were drafted and developed by the Dodgers; both are products of the 2016 draft class. Treinen was a free-agent acquisition. He was coming off a down year with Oakland in 2019, but he found new life with the Dodgers. Graterol was acquired from the Minnesota Twins in a three-team blockbuster last offseason -- the same deal that brought Betts to Los Angeles and had the Dodgers sending pitcher Kenta Maeda to Minnesota.

And Urias was signed as an international free agent out of Mexico at age 16. Now 24 years old, the left-hander finished the game Sunday with three perfect innings. Frankly, it would have been foolish for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to go to Jansen, although the veteran right-hander was warming up in the bullpen when the game ended.

Urias was cruising, and there was absolutely no reason to believe he couldn't protect that one-run lead. Protect it he did, and now we'll see how the Dodgers fare against the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series.

The Rays are making their first World Series appearance since 2008, when they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies. The Dodgers are attempting to win the World Series for the first time since 1988, a remarkable drought when you consider the overall success of the organization.

Los Angeles will turn to Kershaw in Game 1 on Tuesday night. Tampa Bay will counter with right-hander Tyler Glasnow.

Monday, October 19, 2020

Tampa Bay Rays win American League pennant in unconventional way

Charlie Morton
The Tampa Bay Rays have scored 71.9% of their runs this postseason on the home run. That probably doesn't surprise you, right? This is, after all, the era of home run-or-nothing baseball.

The Rays posted a team batting average of .202 in a five-game AL Division Series against the New York Yankees -- and they won. Then the Rays batted .201 in a seven-game AL Championship Series against the Houston Astros -- and won again. They are going to the World Series for the first time since 2008.

Tampa Bay defeated Houston, 4-2, in Game 7 on Saturday night. Their offense was fueled by, what else, the home run ball. Randy Arozarena hit a two-run homer in the first inning, and Mike Zunino hit a solo shot in the second off Houston starter Lance McCullers. The Rays took an early 3-0 lead, and their pitching made it stick from there.

Arozarena, the rookie outfielder, hit seven home runs all season. He has seven home runs and 11 extra-base hits in the playoffs, including a remarkable .382/.433/.855 slash line. It's difficult to swing the bat much better than that on the big stage.

But here's the thing about the Rays that shows how the game has changed: Not a single one of their starting pitchers worked into the seventh inning during this ALCS. When a team bats .201 as a team and still wins, you would think they were being carried by dominant starting pitching. Not so.

Here's what the Rays got from their starting pitchers in each game:

Game 1. Blake Snell -- 5 IP

Game 2. Charlie Morton -- 5 IP

Game 3. Ryan Yarbrough -- 5 IP

Game 4. Tyler Glasnow -- 6 IP

Game 5. John Curtiss -- 1.1 IP

Game 6. Snell -- 4 IP

Game 7. Morton -- 5.2 IP

This is a far cry from the 2005 White Sox, who threw four complete games in the ALCS and needed only two outs from their bullpen in a five-game series win.

Things are much different than they were 15 years ago, and if you watched Game 7, there was every reason to believe Morton could continue pitching. 

Through those 5.2 innings, the veteran right-hander had allowed only two hits and one walk. He had six strikeouts and had thrown only 66 pitches -- 48 of them for strikes. At one point, he retired 14 consecutive Houston batters.

You could make the case he was "in trouble" in that sixth inning. The Astros had two runners on for the first time in the game -- on a walk and an infield single. There was no sign that Morton was tiring, and 10 or 15 years ago, there's no question he would have been allowed to pitch out of his own jam.

But not in 2020. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash wanted a high-leverage reliever, Nick Anderson, to face Houston's Michael Brantley with two on and two out in a 3-0 game in the sixth inning. Anderson did, in fact, retire Brantley on a routine grounder to second base to end the threat. 

Anderson and Pete Fairbanks worked those last 3.1 innings. They gave up two runs, but they didn't surrender the lead. Ultimately, the Rays won, so you can't really second-guess Cash's decision-making. He stuck with what he's done throughout the season, and there's no arguing with success.

But hey, how about Morton? He was a member of the Astros in 2017 and 2018 before joining the Rays for the past two seasons. And in that time, he's pitched four winner-take-all playoff games and won them all, while posting a 0.46 ERA.  

That guy is good in the playoffs, and generally underrated overall -- just like the Rays often have been as a team.

Friday, October 16, 2020

It's time for everyone's favorite game show: White Sox player comparisons

Here are two season stats lines for two White Sox position players, one from 2020 and one from the past. Can you name them?

Player A: .256/.333/.314, .646 OPS, 139 plate appearances, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 8 RBIs, 10 stolen bases

Player B: .228/.295/.294, .589 OPS, 149 plate appearances, 6 doubles, 0 triples, 1 home run, 15 RBIs, 0 stolen bases

While you ponder that, we'll play some baseball videos from YouTube. Scroll down when you think you have your answer ...




Got your answer? Player A is Willie Harris, a backup infielder, the 25th man on the 2005 world champions.

Player B is Nomar Mazara, the starting right fielder for the 2020 Sox.

That's right, 2005 Willie Harris had a higher OPS than 2020 Nomar Mazara, and he had the same number of home runs in 10 fewer plate appearances.

I think that adequately answers the question of whether Mazara is a non-tender candidate this offseason. No way in hell he deserves a raise on top of the $5.56 million he was scheduled to earn in 2020.

Let him walk.

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Sorry, White Sox fans, I think we'll have to live without James McCann

James McCann

It seems as though many White Sox fans want catcher James McCann, who is a free agent this offseason, to re-sign with the team for the 2021 season.

You can't blame those fans, because McCann has done his job both seasons he has been a member of the Sox. His partnership with ace pitcher Lucas Giolito is well documented -- we reached a point this year where we knew it would be McCann, not Yasmani Grandal, catching Giolito's starts.

And McCann was plenty solid with the bat, posting a .289/.360/.536 slash line with seven home runs and 15 RBIs in 31 games.

However, I'm afraid those fans are going to be disappointed, because McCann is going to sign elsewhere. The Sox have other holes to address in the starting rotation, in right field, at designated hitter and possibly the bullpen, and I don't think they are going to be able to afford the luxury of two starting-caliber catchers.

Furthermore, McCann has earned the right to be a full-time catcher somewhere, and that opportunity will not exist for him in Chicago as long as Grandal is on the roster and is making $18.25 million a year.

McCann will be the second-best catcher on the free agent market behind J.T. Realmuto. It just so happens that both New York teams might be looking to upgrade their catching situation this offseason. Realmuto could very well get paid by the Yankees, and if he does leave Philadelphia, we could see McCann as a member of the Phillies in 2021. 

It would make good sense for both parties. 

I read something online today where a Sox fan proposed "getting what you can" for Grandal, then re-signing McCann.

Umm, sorry, no chance that happens. 

I realize Grandal's .230/.351/.422 slash line did not impress some fans, but in a "down year," he still managed a 117 wRC+. A switch-hitting catcher whose offense is 17 percent above league average -- and whose framing is above average -- is not getting traded. If anything, the Sox need to get more left-handed offensively, so it makes no sense for them to part with anyone who can be productive from the left side of the plate.

I've also heard the idea of bringing back McCann as a primary catcher and kicking Grandal over to DH more days than not. 

There were seven games in 2020 where the Sox had McCann behind the plate and Grandal at DH. It seems like a good lineup choice, right? After all, Edwin Encarnacion had a dismal year, and Sox fans were justified in being tired of seeing him bat fourth or fifth in the lineup.

Unfortunately, Grandal just wasn't any damn good as a DH. He batted .087/.214/.130 with no homers and only one RBI, adding to the Sox's woes at that position. 

It's too bad if McCann has played his last game in a Sox uniform. He's been productive, and he's been a good leader. But the fit isn't there anymore, and it's almost certain he'll be moving on.

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

2021 MLB draft order is set

Just in case you were wondering, the 2021 Major League Baseball draft order is set. It's nice to see the White Sox closer to the bottom than the top for a change. 

The Houston Astros do not have a first- or second-round pick in 2021 because of the cheating scandal.

  1. Pittsburgh Pirates
  2. Texas Rangers
  3. Detroit Tigers
  4. Boston Red Sox
  5. Baltimore Orioles
  6. Arizona Diamondbacks
  7. Kansas City Royals
  8. Colorado Rockies
  9. Los Angeles Angels
  10. New York Mets
  11. Washington Nationals
  12. Seattle Mariners
  13. Philadelphia Phillies
  14. San Francisco Giants
  15. Milwaukee Brewers
  16. Miami Marlins
  17. Cincinnati Reds
  18. St. Louis Cardinals
  19. Toronto Blue Jays
  20. New York Yankees
  21. Chicago Cubs
  22. Chicago White Sox
  23. Cleveland Indians
  24. Atlanta Braves
  25. Oakland Athletics
  26. Minnesota Twins
  27. San Diego Padres
  28. Tampa Bay Rays
  29. Los Angeles Dodgers