Yankees beat Guardians in Game 5, advance to ALCS

Giancarlo Stanton

So, did Monday night's postponement of Game 5 of the American League Division Series help the New York Yankees? Perhaps.

The Yankees scored four runs in the first two innings Tuesday afternoon and went on to beat the Cleveland Guardians, 5-1, in the deciding game of the best-of-five series.

One thing is for certain: The rain opened the door for each manager to change his pitching plans, and the Yankees took advantage.

Had the game been played Monday night, we would have seen a matchup of No. 4 starters -- Jameson Taillon for the Yankees and Aaron Civale for the Guardians.

But given the extra day of rest, New York manager Aaron Boone brought back his No. 2 starter, Nestor Cortes, on three days' rest to pitch Game 5. Cleveland manager Terry Francona could have used his ace, Shane Bieber, but he opted to stick with Civale.

That decision by Francona backfired immediately. Civale recorded only one out before being knocked out of the game. He walked Gleyber Torres, hit Anthony Rizzo with a pitch and surrendered a 3-run homer to Giancarlo Stanton.

Four batters into the bottom of the first inning, the Yankees had a 3-0 lead, and the game was effectively over.

Cortes held up his end of the bargain, tossing five innings of one-run ball. Three New York relievers combined for four shutout innings to close it out, leaving Cleveland to wonder what might have been had it used Bieber in this game.

The Yankees, who won 99 games in the regular season, will take on the 106-win Houston Astros in the AL Championship Series, starting Wednesday. 

No surprise to see those two teams meet at this stage of the playoffs. All summer long, it's been the Astros, Yankees and everyone else in the AL. They've been on a collision course, and now they'll collide.

2 trades that helped the Cleveland Guardians win the AL Central

Francisco Lindor

Monday night's Game 5 of the American League Division Series between the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees was postponed because of inclement weather in New York.

The game will be played at 3 o'clock CDT Tuesday. The winner will travel to Houston to face the Astros in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series on Wednesday.

That's a quick turnaround, so the big winner in this postponement would appear to be the Astros.

Regardless, I've been thinking lately about how the Guardians managed to win 92 games and basically blow the White Sox and Minnesota Twins out of the water in the AL Central this season. 

Hell, Cleveland was picked to finish third or fourth in a lot of preseason magazines, which is only proof that one never knows.

Two trades that Cleveland made in the recent past come to mind:

Aug. 31, 2020: Cleveland traded Mike Clevinger, Greg Allen and a player to be named later to the San Diego Padres for Josh Naylor, Owen Miller, Austin Hedges, Cal Quantrill, Gabriel Arias and Joey Cantillo.

Jan. 7, 2021: Cleveland traded Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the New York Mets for Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, Isaiah Greene and Josh Wolf.

Look at that return that Cleveland got in that Clevinger deal. Is that about half their roster? 

Naylor is their cleanup hitter and second-best run producer. Miller appeared in 130 games for the Guardians this season as an all-purpose player. Hedges can't hit a lick, but he's Cleveland's primary catcher because of his outstanding defensive work at a premium position. 

Quantrill went 15-5 in 32 starts this season as Cleveland's No. 3 starter. Arias is a 22-year-old who appeared in only 16 regular season games for the Guardians, but hey, he was in the lineup for Game 4 against the Yankees.

Of those six guys in the Clevinger deal, five of them are helping the Guardians right now.

And Clevinger? He missed all of 2021 with an injury. Since the trade, the 31-year-old right-hander has posted a 4.12 ERA and 4.60 FIP over 27 appearances. 

Yes, I think the Guardians are happy with that trade.

I remember when Lindor was traded in January 2021, and many people -- including me -- thought Cleveland got fleeced. We were wrong.

Sure, Lindor is still a good player. He bounced back from a lackluster 2021 to post 26 homers, 107 RBIs and a 125 OPS+ for the New York Mets this season. And Carrasco provided New York with 29 decent starts in 2022 -- he was 15-7 with a 3.97 ERA.

However, I don't think the Guardians are disappointed in the return they got for those two players -- Gimenez and Rosario now are starting middle infielders for them on a playoff team.

Gimenez had a 7.2 WAR and made the All-Star team in his age-23 season this year. He batted .297 with 17 homers, 69 RBIs, an .837 OPS and a 141 OPS+. And oh yeah, he's the likely Gold Glove winner at second base in the American League this season.

That 7.2 WAR equals the best season Lindor had in a Cleveland uniform -- that coming in 2018.

The 26-year-old Rosario isn't quite as good Gimenez, but I don't think Cleveland fans are disappointed in the 4.1-WAR season they have received from their shortstop. Rosario batted .283 with 11 homers, 18 steals, 71 RBIs, a .715 OPS and a 106 OPS+ in 2022. That's not All-Star level, but it's certainly above league average.

So, how did Cleveland get this good? There are a few different reasons. Shane Bieber is an elite, reliable starting pitcher. Triston McKenzie has made strides to join him at the top of the rotation. Emmanuel Clase is the best closer in the AL, and he has two good relievers setting him up in James Karinchak and Trevor Stephan.

But when you're telling the story of this Cleveland Guardians team, you have to look at these two trades, which netted them three-quarters of their starting infield -- including one All-Star -- a starting catcher and a starting pitcher, plus two other players who are at least helping on the margins.

While the Guardians did move three decent-to-great players in those deals, they absolutely got quality coming the other way.

National League favorites out of playoffs early

The National League Championship Series will feature the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Diego Padres.

Just as we all predicted, right? 

OK, nobody predicted that the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds would advance to the NLCS. The NL produced three 100-win teams this season -- the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets. Shockingly, those favored teams have all been eliminated.

The 87-win Phillies, third-place finishers in the NL East, swept a best-of-three series from the 93-win St. Louis Cardinals in the wild card round. They went on to beat the 101-win Braves, 3 games to 1, in a best-of-five NL Division Series.

The 89-win Padres are even bigger giant killers. They won a winner-take-all Game 3 over the 101-win Mets in the wild card round. Then they shocked the universe by knocking out the 111-win Dodgers, 3 games to 1, in the NLDS.

During the regular season, the Dodgers defeated the Padres in 14 out of 19 meetings. Second-place San Diego finished 22 games behind NL West champion Los Angeles. Didn't amount to a hill of beans in the playoffs. 

Over in the American League, the 99-win New York Yankees staved off elimination with a 4-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland on Sunday night. With the win, the Yankees tied that best-of-five series at 2. That sets up a winner-take-all Game 5 on Monday night in New York.

The 106-win Houston Astros are the only prohibitive favorite not to be challenged in the divisional round. Well, maybe that's a little bit of an overstatement. The Astros won two one-run games in a three-game sweep of the 90-win Seattle Mariners, including a 1-0, 18-inning marathon in Game 3 on Saturday night. Houston was challenged, but passed the test.

The Astros will play Monday night's winner in the American League Championship Series.

All these upsets have created questions about Major League Baseball's new playoff format this year. Two teams that received byes through the wild card round -- the Dodgers and Braves -- lost, and a third team -- the Yankees -- is being pushed to the limit. 

Did the bye create rust for those powerhouse teams? Is it actually a disadvantage to have five days off between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs?

Those are interesting questions, but I'm reluctant to draw any conclusions based on a one-year sample size. 

Keep in mind that the four teams who received byes went 3-1 in the first game of their respective division series. The Dodgers won Game 1, before losing three straight. The Yankees also won Game 1 in their series. The Astros, of course, won Game 1 on their way to a sweep. Only the Braves lost their first game after the extended layoff.

If rust is a key factor in the outcome of these series, wouldn't you think it would show up right away in a Game 1 scenario?

Schedule for MLB wild card round

The MLB playoffs start Friday!

The top two seeds in the American League are the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees. They receive byes into the AL Division Series. In the best-of-three wild card round this weekend, the Cleveland Guardians will host the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Toronto Blue Jays will host the Seattle Mariners.

The top two seeds in the National League are the Los Angeles Dodgers and the defending champion Atlanta Braves. They receive byes into the NL Division Series. In the best-of-three wild card round, the St. Louis Cardinals will host the Philadelphia Phillies, and the New York Mets will host the San Diego Padres.

Here's your schedule:

Friday, Oct. 7 (All times Central)

Rays at Guardians, 11 a.m. (ESPN)

Phillies at Cardinals, 1 p.m. (ABC)

Mariners at Blue Jays, 3 p.m. (ESPN)

Padres at Mets, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Saturday, Oct. 8 (All times Central)

Rays at Guardians, 11 a.m. (ESPN2)

Mariners at Blue Jays, 3 p.m. (ESPN)

Padres at Mets, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Phillies at Cardinals, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Sunday, Oct. 9 (All games are if necessary, times are Central, subject to change) 

Mariners at Blue Jays, 1 p.m. (ABC)

Rays at Guardians, 3 p.m. (ESPN)

Padres at Mets, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Phillies at Cardinals, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

 

 

Shut up, Rick Hahn!

Rick Hahn

Didn't it seem as though the White Sox were always destined for 81-81? 

By my count, they were at exactly .500 on 28 occasions during the 2022 season, so it's fitting that they ended up at, well, 81-81.

The Sox briefly pulled their record over the .500 mark by winning the first two games of their season-ending three-game series against the Minnesota Twins. Alas, the Twins won, 10-1, in Wednesday's series and season finale, sentencing the 2022 Sox to .500 for all eternity.

This team has earned that fate, because they arrogantly thought they could defend their 2021 AL Central title with minimal effort. The Sox always had that "No worries, we got this attitude," and it was to the point where I often thought, "I don't think they've got this. They just think they do." 

The "big run" was always said to be right around the corner, but it never came. There was always "time" to make a push until there wasn't time. The Sox were an arrogant, overconfident team, and that starts with general manager Rick Hahn.

I've lost track of how many times he's spoken of "competing for multiple championships." He's said it so many times that it's become a cliche. Other phrases such as "talk to me after the parade" and "World Series or bust" have been used time and again.

Here's my reaction to all that talk: Just shut up, Rick Hahn. 

The Sox are not the Houston Astros, the New York Yankees or the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Sox are not in the playoffs every year. They have never even won their division two seasons in a row in their 122-year history. You don't get to say "World Series or bust" unless you are a perennial power that knows it will be playing in October on a near-annual basis.

The Sox are simply not that team. They shouldn't be worried about anything other than trying to win their next game, and this whole strategy of "playing the long game" and "trying to have guys rested and ready for October" blew up in their faces this season. There is no October baseball to be played in Chicago. At least not playoff baseball.

It should be humbling, but Hahn's quotes from his end-of-year press conference Monday still projected arrogance. Here's a statement that caught my attention:

"Two years ago, our baseball operations department was getting nods for executive of the year. A year ago we won the division by whatever, 11 or 12 games, and this year we were picked for being in the World Series, and now we’re being asked if we should be in our jobs."

Guess what, Hahn? You're damn right we're asking whether you should be in your job!

You've been the general manager for 10 years, and you've had a grand total of two winning seasons. TWO!!! And one of them was a pandemic-shortened 60-game season where your team ran out of gas and blew the AL Central title in the last 10 days of the schedule.

Your regime has produced a grand total of two playoff appearances in 10 years, and two playoff wins -- one in 2020 and one in 2021. The Sox still haven't won a playoff series since 2005.

In your 10 years on the job, the Sox have gone 700-817. That's a .461 winning percentage. GMs who win at such a low level generally don't stay employed for a full decade. 

You have no idea how lucky you are that you work for Jerry Reinsdorf, who never fires anybody no matter how incompetent they are. And you sit there and smugly assert that you're above reproach because you've managed one division championship during your tenure -- and that one division championship team got its ass summarily kicked in the first round of the playoffs.

Nothing of substance has been accomplished here, and I'm tired of hearing about how awesome this team supposedly is going to be. Put up some results for once. That means getting to the playoffs AND winning once you get there.

Until then, shut up, Rick Hahn! 

My last game of the season at Guaranteed Rate Field

I made my 20th and final trip to Guaranteed Rate Field for the 2022 season Monday night. The White Sox came away with an inconsequential 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins.

In sharp contrast to last October -- when the stadium was filled with 40,000 people dressed in black, cheering on the AL Central champions -- there was plenty of legroom. The announced attendance was 22,891, but that's a joke. There weren't even half that many fans there. 

The Sox are 80-80 with two games to play. It has been a sorely disappointing season that began with postseason expectations. Fans want heads to roll, and while manager Tony La Russa has retired, we're stuck with owner Jerry Reinsdorf, general manager Rick Hahn and Ken Williams, whatever the hell he's doing these days. 

I was listening to the Sox Machine podcast before the game, and Jim Margalus noted that he roots for White Sox fans more than he roots for the White Sox. This comment resonated with me as a healthier way to look at the current situation on the South Side of Chicago.

It's impossible to cheer for oligarchs like Reinsdorf. It's very difficult to like the arrogant mopes who make up his front office. It's even difficult to root for these players, some of whom have been mailing it in for weeks, if not months.

However, it is very easy to like the fans who come to 35th and Shields every year -- sometimes against their better judgment -- to support the White Sox organization. Even if I can't cheer for Reinsdorf, Hahn and all these other idiots, I can root for the day when our White Sox fan community will finally have a baseball team that makes us proud. This hope is what keeps me going.

Fans have been coming to the street corner where I took the above photo since long before I was born, and they'll still be going there long after I am dead and buried. The bond we share as White Sox fans is one that endures through the generations.

That's something we should keep in mind, as this disastrous 2022 season turns into what will likely be an offseason of cost-cutting and discontent. We still have each other, and this storm of hell, too, shall pass.

See you at the ballpark in April.

Guaranteed Rate Field 20 minutes before the game Monday night. The seats filled in a little bit, but yeah, it was die-hards only.

Michael Kopech's knee surgery creates more White Sox bewilderment

White Sox starting pitcher Michael Kopech first injured his right knee in the first inning of a game June 12 against the Texas Rangers.

I was at that game, and it was one of the most discouraging moments of a discouraging season. Kopech left the mound after throwing only 12 pitches, and he spiked the ball in some combination of disgust and frustration before departing. The crowd let out an audible groan.

I remember thinking, "This is a significant injury. The athlete himself is always the first to know when something is really wrong."

Much to my surprise, Kopech didn't miss a start, although he admitted feeling a "pop" in his knee during that game against Texas.

Kopech remained on the active roster until Aug. 23. During a start against the Kansas City Royals on Aug. 22, he failed to record an out in the first inning, and was placed on the injured list with a strain in his other knee.

His absence was relatively short, all things considered. Kopech returned to the mound Sept. 7 and made two more starts before ultimately heading back to the injured list Sept. 17 with right shoulder inflammation.

With the Sox falling out of the pennant race, reasonable observers were assuming that Kopech was done for 2022. After all, Kopech has tossed a career-high 119.1 innings this season, and that's a reasonably good workload for him in his first full season as a starting pitcher. 

In fact, Kopech will not pitch again this year.

However, a report came out over the weekend that Kopech was not shut down because of his balky shoulder. No, he actually had surgery to "address an issue with the meniscus in his right knee," according to what little information is available on the Sox website. 

That's the same knee that Kopech felt a "pop" in June 12 against the Rangers. The Sox front office hasn't been talking much these days, so I haven't heard or read any official comment on this, but James Fegan of The Athletic confirmed through sources that Kopech had a torn meniscus repaired.

So, was Kopech allowed to pitch with a knee injury that required surgery for most of the second half of the season? And did he injure his other knee and shoulder, perhaps, by compensating for the trouble in his right knee? 

These questions are unanswered. What is clear is that June 12 start marked a turning point in the trajectory of Kopech's season.

Kopech before June 12: 51.2 IP, 24 BB, 51 K, 2 HR, 1.92 ERA

Kopech after June 12: 67.2 IP, 33 BB, 54 K, 13 HR, 4.79 ERA

Let's credit Kopech for gutting it out and not being completely terrible while pitching injured. We have seen Sox starting pitchers do far worse than a 4.79 ERA.

But if Kopech tore his meniscus in June, shouldn't it have been addressed right away? Then perhaps Kopech could have come back sometime in August at full strength? Could these subsequent ailments have been avoided by promptly addressing the first injury?

I'm not a doctor, and I honestly do not know what is best. But I am bewildered by the way the Sox have handled several of their injuries this season. This Kopech situation is the latest one that makes little sense.