Last Comiskey, Part 3

 

I'll be on vacation until April 3, so until then, enjoy Part 3 of the Last Comiskey trilogy.

Japan beats U.S. in championship of thrilling World Baseball Classic

Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani on the mound. Mike Trout at the plate. Two of the greatest baseball players you will ever see. Two outs in the top of the ninth inning, a one-run game ... and a full count.

These are the moments we want when we watch baseball, right? Ohtani and Trout are, of course, teammates during the regular season with the Los Angeles Angels.

But on this night, they were competitors, playing for their countries. Naturally, the World Baseball Classic championship would come down to this matchup.

Ohtani struck out Trout on a well-placed 3-2 slider, giving Team Japan a 3-2 victory over Team USA.

Full credit to Japan. They went 7-0 in the tournament, becoming just the second team to run the table in the WBC. (The Dominican Republic went undefeated on its way to the 2013 championship.)

The Americans were the defending champions, but they fell just short in this tournament -- ending with a 5-2 record.

Team USA scored nine runs in its quarterfinal victory over Venezuela and 14 runs in a semifinal win over Cuba. However, the Americans managed only two solo home runs -- Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber -- on Tuesday against Japan.

It wasn't for lack of scoring opportunities. Team USA put 13 runners on base -- nine hits and four walks. That should be a recipe for more than two runs, but the Americans went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position, grounded into two double plays and stranded nine runners.

In fact, Ohtani walked Jeff McNeil to lead off the ninth inning, but Mookie Betts followed with a momentum-killing double play. That left it up to Trout, and Ohtani slammed the door with the strikeout.

This was a great game that capped a great tournament. Team Mexico and Team Venezuela also showed very well. The Mexican team defeated the Americans in pool play, and took Japan to the wire in Monday's semifinal. In fact, Japan rallied from behind twice and needed two runs in the bottom of the ninth to pull out a 6-5 win.

The Venezuelan team made a surprising 4-0 run through pool play, taking down the powerful Dominican team, as well as Team Puerto Rico. Venezuela had a 7-5 lead against Team USA in the quarterfinals, before Turner hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to lift the Americans to a 9-7 win.

I've been baffled by some of the criticism of the World Baseball Classic. Some have called these games "meaningless" or "exhibitions," especially after New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz was unfortunately injured while celebrating Team Puerto Rico's win over the Dominican Republic.

I disagree with that assessment. These games obviously mean a great deal to the players who participated, and even grizzled veterans -- like U.S. pitcher Adam Wainwright -- have said they've never played baseball in a louder environment than the one in Miami this week.

As a matter of fact, I'd like to see more of the top American players step up and play. In particular, I'm talking about pitchers. As far as position players go, Team USA had a tremendous group. It featured former MVPs such as Trout, Betts and Paul Goldschmidt. The American roster included the best third baseman in baseball (Nolan Arenado) and the best catcher (J.T. Realmuto).

Turner is a former batting champion who hit five home runs in the tournament. Schwarber is the reigning National League home run king. Heck, McNeill won the NL batting title last season, and he had to share playing time at second base with Tim Anderson, another former batting champion. 

That's an embarrassment of riches.

On the pitching side, Wainwright, Lance Lynn, Nick Martinez and Merrill Kelly made starts for Team USA. Nothing against these four men, because all are good pitchers. Wainwright, 41, and Lynn, 35, have enjoyed long careers in MLB for a reason, but if you were selecting a 1-2 punch for American-born pitchers, I don't think you would choose them at this stage of their careers.

I'm not going to call out individual guys who I think should have played. The regular season is important, and everybody has the right to prioritize what they wish. I just hope we see some American-born aces sign up to pitch next time this tournament is held in 2026.

Last Comiskey, Part 2

 

 

33 years later, I still can't believe the White Sox won 4-0 despite being no-hit by New York right-hander Andy Hawkins. The 1990 season was once of the rare points in my lifetime when the Yankees were a laughingstock. 

Also, a lot of good stuff on Carlton Fisk in this episode. In particular, I enjoyed Donn Pall's story about the first time he ever shook Fisk off.

White Sox trim spring training roster by 9

The White Sox on Sunday announced a series of roster moves that trim their spring training roster by nine players.

Catcher Carlos Perez and infielder Lenyn Sosa were optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. Infielders Bryan Ramos and Jose Rodriguez were optioned to Double-A Birmingham. Outfielder Yoelquis Cespedes and pitchers Edgar Navarro, Nate Fisher, Andrew Perez and Sammy Peralta were optioned to minor league camp.

Most notable here is the optioning of Sosa, who saw some big league time in 2022 and was mentioned at one point as a possible starting second baseman.

The 23-year-old was 2 for 15 in the Cactus League with two RBIs. The good news is he didn't strike out in any plate appearances. The bad news is he also did not walk. He'll always be a free swinger, but a little more time in Triple-A should help Sosa make better swing decisions at the plate.

Ramos, a 21-year-old third baseman, is the No. 2 prospect in the Sox system. He had a good showing in camp, going 7 for 19 with a homer and five RBIs. Rodriguez is also a top-10 prospect in the Sox system, and he'll start at second base for Birmingham.

One wonders whether shortstop Colson Montgomery, the Sox's top prospect, will also end up in Double-A Birmingham. That would be an interesting starting infield for the Barons.

Michael Kopech sharp in spring debut

Fans and media shouldn't draw grand conclusions from spring training results. The main goal for pitchers, in particular, is to stay healthy and build stamina to get ready for the start of the regular season. If good results come during these outings, it's a bonus.

For White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech, his spring training debut Sunday afternoon against the Los Angeles Angels went just as you would hope. He worked three innings and retired all nine batters he faced in a game that finished in a 1-1 tie.

Kopech, who had offseason knee surgery, is being brought along slowly with the hope that he can start the Sox's home opener -- and fifth game of the season -- April 3 against the San Francisco Giants.

The plan for Kopech on Sunday was to throw about 45 pitches. The thought was he would pitch two innings. Fortunately, he only needed 23 pitches to get through the first two innings, which afforded him the opportunity to go out there one more inning.

Watching the outing, it appeared Kopech threw almost exclusively fastballs and sliders. I noticed only one changeup. His velocity topped out at 98 mph, which is terrific news. That's a sign that he's healthy.

The Sox need him to be healthy, and take the next step as a pitcher this season. He has top-of-the-rotation talent. Now's the time for him to live up to his potential.

The other piece of good news for the Sox involves outfielder Oscar Colas, who homered for the team's lone run Sunday. For Colas, it was his second home run in as many days, and he's batting .400 for the spring.

More importantly, he's only struck out once in 25 at-bats, and he's making good swing decisions at the plate. That was the question mark about Colas -- will he be a wild swinger, chasing everything? If not, he's ready to be the starting right fielder in Chicago.

So far, so good.

The Sox are 7-6-1 this spring.

Last Comiskey, Part 1: It's worth a look

 

If you've got about 40 minutes of time, check out this video on YouTube. It's Part 1 of the Last Comiskey documentary, which details the 1990 season -- the final summer at the original Comiskey Park.

Most White Sox fans will tell you for understandable reasons that 2005 is their favorite all-time season, but I think 1990 deserves a mention in that discussion.

The Sox came out of nowhere to win 94 games and challenge the Oakland Athletics, who were the defending World Series champions and a juggernaut in the American League at that time.

This video harkens back to when Oakland came to town that June. It's a series that I remember attending as a 13-year-old, although the Sox lost the particular game that I was at.

There also are a lot of reflections on the career of organist Nancy Faust, who was a big part of the atmosphere at Comiskey Park. A lot of the footage brought back some memories from my childhood.

Going back further, Dick Allen's impact on the franchise in the 1970s was also discussed. Allen, of course, won the AL MVP in 1972 as a member of the White Sox. Many of us who are students of the game believe Allen belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The people interviewed in this video include Ozzie Guillen, Faust, Bobby Thigpen, Donn Pall, Jack McDowell, Wayne Edwards, Lance Johnson, Scott Fletcher, Ron Kittle, Dan Evans, Scott Radinsky and Vance Law.

If you're a Sox fan of a certain age, give this video a watch. It's worth the time.

Jose Abreu strikes nerve with recent comments on White Sox dysfunction

Jose Abreu

Let's talk about what former White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu said in a recent Sun-Times interview.

Abreu, the 36-year-old longtime leader of the Sox, signed a three-year, $58.5 million contract with the defending World Series champion Houston Astros this past offseason.

When asked about his departure from the South Side, Abreu said this:

“Sometimes, when you’re at a place where maybe you’re not being respected to the point where you think you should be, you just have to go somewhere else." 

The Sox obviously made the decision to go with a younger, cheaper player at first base for 2023 -- 24-year-old Andrew Vaughn.

But Abreu's comments went beyond his belief that he was disrespected. He added some thoughts on the 2022 season:

“The best way I can put it is just that we weren’t a real family,” Abreu told the Sun-Times. “And I’m hoping that maybe [the Sox] can get to a situation where a lot of the guys there that do deserve to be in a good situation, they can have it there and be able to win. But I don’t really have too much more to say about that.”

With that, Abreu joins a long line of former Sox players who criticized management and the team culture on the way out the door. 

Indeed, even in a down season, Abreu was the team's healthiest and most consistent position player in 2022, yet it's unclear whether he was ever offered a fair contract. So, it's understandable to me if he felt disrespected.

As for these comments about the team not being "a real family," that's no fooling, right? The atmosphere around last year's club seemed toxic, as preseason expectations of competing for a championship crumbled and the team limped to an 81-81 finish.

During the 2020 season -- and for most of the 2021 season -- Sox players seemed to be having a good time playing together. That didn't feel like it was the case last year, whether it was the result of Tony La Russa's management of the team, or some other factor.

Much to my surprise, I read a lot of online outrage about these comments, most of them directed toward Abreu. Some even went so far as to call him a traitor. 

I think I'll take a pass on joining that chorus. Abreu did his job throughout his nine seasons in a Sox uniform. He was a good soldier during that time, during which he often played on bad teams. I take no offense to his comments, especially knowing that his remarks are most likely fair and correct.

White Sox spring roster battle: Utility infielder

Leury Garcia

Who will be the utility infielder for the White Sox in 2023? This is one roster battle I'm keeping an eye on during Cactus League play this year.

There are three players under consideration for that spot: Leury Garcia, Romy Gonzalez and Hanser Alberto. 

With Pedro Grifol being a first-year manager, we can't be sure what he values in terms of his bench. Might he keep two of these three utility players? Possibly, but I would assume that only one of them comes north. If you keep two, they are redundant on the roster. 

Garcia would seem to be the favorite, because he's got two years and $11 million remaining on his contract. If he doesn't make the club, Jerry Reinsdorf would have to pay him to go away. That doesn't seem likely, right?

Alberto is at a disadvantage. He's a non-roster invitee. Gonzalez can still be optioned to Triple-A Charlotte, but at least he has the security of being on the 40-man roster.

I was thinking about this roster battle because all three players started Thursday in the Sox's 6-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

Alberto started at third base and had a big game. He went 3 for 3 with a triple, a double and two runs scored. He's now 6 for 8 on the spring.

Garcia started at shortstop and went 1 for 3 with a two-run homer. Garcia is currently 3 for 10 this spring.

Gonzalez batted leadoff and played right field, going 0 for 3. He is now 1 for 9 in the Cactus League.

The regulars on the left side of the Sox infield, shortstop Tim Anderson and third baseman Yoan Moncada, are off to play in the World Baseball Classic. That means, all these guys will receive plenty of playing time to sort this out.

With Thursday's win, the Sox are 3-3 in spring ball.