Philadelphia Phillies looking tough in NLCS

Anyone else feeling as though the Arizona Diamondbacks have run into a buzzsaw in the National League Championship Series?

The Diamondbacks have two quality starting pitchers in Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, and they had them lined up to pitch the first two games in Philadelphia against the Phillies.

The Phillies did not seem impressed. In Monday night's Game 1, Philadelphia hit three home runs in the first two innings off Gallen. Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos all went deep, and Gallen walked off the mound after five innings with his team trailing, 5-0.

The Diamondbacks, as they have done throughout the season, fought back with two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh, but the Phillies walked away with a 5-3 win.

Game 2 on Tuesday? It was no contest. 

Kelly didn't pitch poorly. He gave up only three hits over 5.2 innings, but the hits were all homers. Schwarber went deep twice, and Trea Turner homered in the first inning. And once Kelly left the game, Philadelphia absolutely pounded the Arizona bullpen and went on to an easy 10-0 victory.

The Phillies have two pretty good starters as well. Zack Wheeler pitched six innings of two-run ball to get the win in Game 1. Aaron Nola tossed six shutout innings to win Game 2.

I was thinking all along that the winner of the Division Series between Philadelphia and the Atlanta Braves would end up as the NL champion. The Phillies won that series, and now they head to Arizona up 2-0 in the NLCS.

The only saving grace for the Diamondbacks is they get to play at home now. However, they've already lost with their two best pitchers on the mound. They face a tough climb against a Philadelphia team that looks awesome right now.

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.

Non-tender list adds outfield options for White Sox in free agency

Eddie Rosario

Teams around Major League Baseball non-tendered 59 players Wednesday, and some of them are outfielders who bat left-handed. 

The White Sox need a right fielder, preferably one with some left-handed pop, so the speculation only increases as more options become available.

We all know George Springer, a right-handed hitter, is the top free agent outfielder on the market. If the Sox are to sign him, it would require the biggest contract in team history, and the competition is expected to be fierce. Therefore, I'm not expecting it to happen.

In a previous blog, I advocated for signing *both* Michael Brantley and Jackie Bradley Jr. Another free agent whom I haven't mentioned is Joc Pederson, a left-handed corner outfielder who just won a World Series ring with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

However, three other players can be mentioned in this mix after they were non-tendered by their respective teams: Eddie Rosario, Kyle Schwarber and David Dahl. Let's look at how these players could fit in with the Sox:

Rosario: If we weren't in the middle of a pandemic, the Minnesota Twins probably would have tendered Rosario, who batted .281/.317/.493 over the past four seasons. He's a free swinger, as that low on-base percentage suggests, but he produces runs. 

Over those same four seasons, he's hit 96 home runs and driven in 306 runs. For his career, his 162-game averages are 28 home runs and 90 RBIs. And he doesn't turn 30 until next September, so he's a good bet to continue that production for another couple of seasons. The Twins apparently decided, however, that he is not worth his projected $12 million arbitration number.

I don't think Rosario's worth that, either, because he's not a great defensive outfielder. No way would I put him in right field. The Twins have always put him in left field. This player would be a decent acquisition for the Sox, because he can play left field in a serviceable way -- better than Eloy Jimenez can -- serve as a designated hitter most of the time and give you some pop from the left side.

In short, he's a fallback option if the Sox fail to sign Brantley, who is the best player on the market for such a role. It's worth noting that neither Brantley nor Rosario are good enough with the glove to be the left-handed half of a platoon in right field.

Schwarber: The crosstown Cubs are cutting payroll, and Schwarber getting non-tendered is the first domino to fall on the North Side. As Sox fans, we give Cubs fans a hard time all the time for overrating their own players, and Schwarber is a prime example of that, so let's not fool ourselves into believing that this player is a great fit on the South Side. He is not.

Schwarber is a terrible defensive outfielder. Absolutely terrible. Sure, he stands in left field with a glove on his hand, much like Jimenez does, but he's a significant liability out there. Schwarber has to hit in order to be effective, but in 2020, he did not hit. He batted .188/.308/.393 with a 50.8% percent ground-ball rate and a 30% strikeout rate. 

He hit 11 home runs. That's nice. It's way better than Nomar Mazara, but "better than Mazara" is damning with faint praise. That's still subpar production for a designated hitter, and that's all Schwarber is.

If the Sox sign Schwarber, he'd be nothing more than the left-handed half of a DH platoon with ... who exactly? While Schwarber will hit some home runs and take his walks, this doesn't feel like the best fit among the available players.

Dahl: The Colorado Rockies non-tendered Dahl because he had a terrible 2020 season. He batted .183/.222/.247 with not a single home run and nine RBIs. Remarkably, that's below the Mazara line!

An oblique strain and a right shoulder injury limited Dahl to 24 games this year, and injuries have been a recurring theme for him. In his career, he's suffered from a lacerated spleen and a fractured foot, among other problems.

He's only played 264 games for the Rockies over the past four years, but in general, it's been a productive run. For his career, he's batted .286/.334/.494 with 53 doubles and 38 home runs. 

All that said, the injury problems mean he cannot be a Plan A for any team that looks at 2021 as a win-now season, and the Sox are certainly in that camp. I would expect Dahl to sign with a rebuilding team, maybe the Detroit Tigers, on a one-year deal to try to rebuild his value.

From a Sox perspective, he would be the very last option on this list. 

Lucas Giolito, Yasmani Grandal rejoin the active for White Sox

White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito appears to be on track to start Opening Day against the Kansas City Royals.

Giolito, who had been sidelined by a minor ribcage strain, pitched for the first time in a Cactus League game Friday, working the first inning in a 6-3 win over the Cubs. He threw 15 pitches and faced four batters. His only blemish was a HBP to Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber.

He also struck out Sox nemesis Willson Contreras looking on a 3-2 changeup. After the outing, Giolito went to the bullpen to "get his work in" in a more controlled environment, throwing another 20 pitches or so.

Friday was March 6, and if you count off the days -- and you assume that Giolito has four days' rest in between outings -- that lines him up perfectly to make the start against Kansas City on March 26.

Also of note Friday, catcher Yasmani Grandal made his first Cactus League appearance of the spring. Grandal, who has missed time with a calf injury, made three plate appearances. He struck out twice and walked once.

Grandal did not play Saturday, but he was back in the lineup Sunday against the San Diego Padres, catching right-hander Reynaldo Lopez is a split-squad game. Grandal went 1 for 3 with an RBI double and a run scored in a 6-0 Sox win.

On Monday, Grandal served as the designated hitter and had his best game of the spring, going 2 for 3 with a double, a solo home run and two runs scored in a 3-3 tie with the Cincinnati Reds.

We'll know Grandal is ready if he catches back-to-back days. That hasn't happened yet.

Obviously, it goes without saying that the Sox need Grandal healthy and ready to start the season. The "big offseason" doesn't look as good if the big free-agent acquisition opens the season on the injured list.

Yoenis Cespedes' steal of third base: Most overlooked important play in NLCS Game 3

The Cubs played a lousy defensive game Tuesday night in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. The New York Mets took advantage of most of their opportunities and got strong pitching from Jacob deGrom to earn a 5-2 victory at Wrigley Field. The Mets now have a 3-0 stranglehold on the best-of-seven series.

Here in Chicago, some of the postgame laments are focusing on a couple misplays in left field by Kyle Schwarber, and a wild pitch by Trevor Cahill in the top of the sixth inning that allowed New York's Yoenis Cespedes to score the go-ahead and eventual winning run. Cubs shortstop Javier Baez made an error on the first play of the game, and right fielder Jorge Soler also had a horrible misplay in the sixth inning, so there were no shortage of defensive gaffes by the Cubs.

But the most overlooked important play in the game proceeded Cahill's wild pitch. With Cespedes on second base and one out in a 2-2 game, the Cubs' middle infielders, Baez and Starlin Castro, fell asleep. They were not holding Cespedes close, and he got a huge jump on Cahill and stole third base with ease.

The Mets successfully stole third base just five times during the regular season, but this is the fourth time one of their baserunners has swiped third in the postseason. New York is being more aggressive in the playoffs. The Cubs should have caught on to that by now, but apparently not.

That stolen base put Cespedes at third with just one out, which is always crucial. As it turns out, Cahill made the big pitch he needed to get the second out. Travis d'Arnaud grounded out to third base, and Cespedes could not advance. Michael Conforto then struck out swinging on a pitch in the dirt, but the ball skipped past Cubs catcher Miguel Montero all the way to the screen. Conforto reached first safely on the dropped third strike, while Cespedes raced down the line to put the Mets up 3-2.

They tacked on two more in the seventh, with help from a Schwarber misplay, but do you think that steal of third base was crucial? You bet it was. That wild pitch means nothing if Cespedes is still standing on second base.