Happy Halloween from The Baseball Kid

White Sox drop four players from 40-man roster

The offseason purge started for the White Sox on Monday. The team announced that pitcher Manny Banuelos, outfielder Ryan Cordell and infielders Ryan Goins and Matt Skole have been outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte.

The four players will become minor-league free agents after the World Series is over. The moves drop the Sox's 40-man roster to 35 players.

All four of these moves were no-brainers, as October "outrightings" tend to be. For me, the end of the Banuelos Era couldn't come soon enough. At SoxFest 2019, in response to my question about starting rotation depth, general manager Rick Hahn famously told fans that scouts had "pounded the table," urging him to trade for Banuelos. The argument was that the left-hander had reclaimed the health and form that once had him ranked among the top prospects in the game.

The reality said otherwise. Banuelos has been a combination of injured and bad his whole career, and he was injured and bad for the Sox. He went 3-4 with a 6.93 ERA in 16 games (8 starts), and he was plagued with shoulder trouble throughout much of the season.

Cordell batted .221/.290/.355 with seven home runs in 24 RBIs in 97 games. His defense was decent, but not spectacular, and there's nothing about his offensive profile that says, "Keep me."

Goins, a 31-year-old journeyman, batted .250/.333/.347 with two homers and 10 RBIs in 52 games. His playing time dried up in September, because there is a younger, cheaper option as a utility infielder on the roster -- Danny Mendick. And once Mendick joined the Sox late in the season, there were few at-bats for Goins.

Skole, a 30-year-old journeyman, batted .208/.275/.236 with no homers and six RBIs in 27 games. He only received an opportunity because numerous other left-handed bats failed the Sox. When all was said and done, Skole added his name to a list of failed left-handed hitters that included Yonder Alonso, Jon Jay, A.J. Reed and Daniel Palka.

The Sox soon will have to add pitchers Michael Kopech, Carlos Rodon and Ryan Burr back to the 40-man roster when they come off the 60-day disabled list. But Jose Abreu, Ross Detwiler, Ivan Nova and Hector Santiago are impending free agents, and Welington Castillo's contract option is almost certainly going to be declined.

There's a possibility Abreu will re-sign with the Sox quickly, but even if he does, that puts the Sox at 34 men on the roster.

That's comfortable for now, and it will allow them to add pitchers Dane Dunning, Jimmy Lambert and Zack Burdi, along with outfielder Blake Rutherford, to the 40-man roster. All those men must be added to protect them from Rule 5 draft status, and one would think the Sox will do that.

Astros on brink of World Series championship after three wins over Nationals

Joe Ross

Most people didn't see it coming when the Washington Nationals won the first two games of the World Series on the road against the Houston Astros.

The Nationals looked the part of a team of destiny. They entered Game 3 having won 18 of their past 20 games. Well, that hot streak is over, because the Astros won Games 3, 4 and 5 in Washington, D.C.

After Sunday night's 7-1 Houston victory in Game 5, the Astros hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Houston dominated the three games in Washington, winning by a combined score of 19-3. The Nationals never took the lead in any of the three games.

In Sunday's pivotal Game 5, Washington was in trouble before it set foot on the field. The marquee starting pitching matchup between Max Scherzer and Gerrit Cole never materialized, as Scherzer was scratched because of neck spasms and back tightness.

When Scherzer doesn't pitch, you know he's legitimately hurt, too. The man had made 30 or more starts in 10 consecutive seasons coming into this year. Joe Ross got the emergency start for Washington, and while he didn't embarrass himself, you know he's just not like Scherzer. Few are.

Ross went five innings and allowed four runs, giving up a pair of two-run homers -- one to Yordan Alvarez and the other to Carlos Correa.

Meanwhile, Cole went seven strong innings. He allowed only one run -- a solo home run by Juan Soto -- on three hits, with nine strikeouts and two walks. Cole is 4-1 in his five postseason starts, and if this was the free-agent-to-be's last start in an Astros uniform, his legacy in Houston is secure.

Game 6 is Tuesday night in Houston, and Washington will turn to postseason ace Stephen Strasburg to try to force Game 7. Who better to pitch this game? Strasburg has made four starts in these playoffs and won them all, with a 1.93 ERA.

For his career, Strasburg is now 5-2 with a 1.34 ERA in the playoffs.

However, his opposition is formidable in Justin Verlander, who is looking to add to his Hall of Fame-caliber resume with a World Series-clinching win. And Verlander will be looking to atone for his loss to Strasburg in Game 2.

The Astros are now just a win away from becoming the fourth team in MLB history to rally to win a series after dropping the first two games at home. They also are looking to become the first team to win a home game in this series.

Yolmer Sanchez, Lucas Giolito finalists for Gold Glove award

Yolmer Sanchez

One bit of White Sox news from this week that I neglected to mention: Second baseman Yolmer Sanchez and pitcher Lucas Giolito are finalists for the Gold Glove award in the American League.

Sanchez was expected to be a finalist, and he may even win the award. With 12 defensive runs saved this season, he has the edge over fellow finalists DJ LeMahieu (5 defensive runs saved) of the New York Yankees and Jose Altuve (-2 defensive runs saved) of the Houston Astros.

I'm thinking Altuve is a finalist for this award because he's a terrific hitter on a great team. What does that have to do with the Gold Glove, a defensive honor? Absolutely nothing, but we've see guys win Gold Gloves because of name recognition and offensive prowess before.

LeMahieu is a terrific overall player, but he made only 66 starts at second base. Because of his versatility, the Yankees used him all over the diamond. He played first base in the playoffs, so from that perspective, I'd be a little surprised if he gets an award for his defense at second base.

So, yes, I think Sanchez has a very good chance.

I'd be a little more surprised if Giolito wins the award. I didn't expect him to be a finalist, but hey, the guy who usually wins the Gold Glove for pitchers in the AL (Dallas Keuchel) pitches in the National League now. Somebody else has to win.

Giolito joins Seattle's Mike Leake and Minnesota's Jose Berrios as finalists. I don't necessarily think of Giolito as being great at defending his position, but if I had to make a case for him, there is this: Only six base runners attempted to steal against him in 2019, and three of them got thrown out. By way of comparison, 26 of 30 base runners were successful in attempting to steal against Giolito in 2018.

He really cleaned his game up when it came to holding runners close and not allowing guys to just take another 90 feet at will. Giolito improved in several facets in 2019, and that is one. We'll see if it translates into Gold Glove votes.

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.