Tommy Pham is back on the White Sox

Here's my hot take of the day that will make me persona non grata among White Sox fans: Tommy Pham is not a "clubhouse cancer." 

The Sox on Monday acquired Pham from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for cash considerations. I know what you're saying: Wasn't the trade deadline Aug. 3?

Yes, yes it was. But Pham was not on Philadelphia's 40-man roster, which means he was eligible to be dealt, and he can still be eligible for postseason play if he's added to a roster by Sept. 1, which is ... checks notes ... today. How about that? 

This move sent fans into a tizzy because they are worried the 38-year-old Pham, known around the league as an intense competitor, will upset the apparently delicate chemistry in the Sox clubhouse.

And, you know, Pham slapped poor Joc Pederson (who wasn't even his teammate) in the face in an alleged dispute over fantasy football in 2022. That must mean he's a bad guy, right? What is this? A soap opera? 

A few things: First, the Sox have spent six months building a strong clubhouse, and if it's truly as strong as we all think it is, certainly it can handle the addition of a personality like Pham's.

Secondly, these are grown men playing for money. They are professionals, and they are expected to do their jobs regardless of what they think about their teammates.

Third, Pham was a member of the White Sox just two seasons ago. General manager Chris Getz and other front office members certainly know him, and if they thought he was a bad person, do you really think they would bring him back to the team now? 

Lastly, as fans, we aren't in the clubhouse. But players are, and veteran Andrew Benintendi, who was remembers playing with Pham two years ago, seems happy about the move.

"I enjoyed playing with him. I'm looking forward to seeing him," Benintendi told MLB.com. "Brings it every single day, is passionate about winning. Yeah, I think he'll be a good addition."

Said Sox manager Will Venable, "It means a lot. I'm really excited about Tommy Pham coming. As you look at it broadly, our need for a right-handed bat against left-handed pitching is something that we're really excited about. And then the human being, the teammate, the edge that he brings, kind of who he is as a total player. I think he's going to make a real big impact here."

For me, the problem isn't Pham's attitude. I welcome this kind of player. I just question whether he can still play effectively in MLB at age 38.

Pham played for three organizations this season: the New York Mets, the Baltimore Orioles and the aforementioned Phillies. His only big-league time this year was in April with the Mets. He appeared in nine games and went 0 for 13 with seven strikeouts.

Most recently, with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, he batted .250/.381/.391 with three homers and 25 RBIs in 44 games. 

I'm guessing we will see Pham play corner outfield when the opposition is throwing a left-handed starter. Left fielder Sam Antonacci, as a left-handed batter, has struggled at times against lefties this year. Right fielder Braden Montgomery, a switch hitter, has been stronger from the left side than the right in his career. 

Those two factoids apparently opened this door for Pham. We'll see if he has enough baseball left in him to make a meaningful contribution over the 25 games on the September schedule.

Anyway, let's welcome Pham back with our traditional video for players whom the Sox reacquire:

Bo Bichette signs with Mets; J.T. Realmuto staying with Phillies

Catching up on some free agent news after the long weekend:

Infielder Bo Bichette is leaving the Toronto Blue Jays. He's signing a three-year deal worth $126 million with the New York Mets, who pivoted after losing out to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Kyle Tucker sweepstakes. 

The Mets are going to be an interesting experiment this year. They lost slugging first baseman Pete Alonso to the Baltimore Orioles in free agency, but they've signed Bichette and Jorge Polanco. And they traded outfielder Brandon Nimmo to Texas for infielder Marcus Semien.

New York's projected infield is Polanco at first base, Semien at second, Francisco Lindor at shortstop and Bichette at third.

Notably, Polanco has never played first base, and Bichette has never played third. All four of those guys have been middle infielders their whole careers. The Mets are apparently going to test the theory that players with experience at shortstop can stand anywhere else on the field.

The Philadelphia Phillies reportedly made an offer to Bichette, but after he signed with an NL East rival, the Phillies pivoted and retained their longtime starting catcher, J.T. Realmuto, on a three-year, $45 million deal. 

I keep waiting for Philadelphia to do something to shake it up, after it has fallen short repeatedly in the playoffs in recent years. But for the most part, it seems like the Phillies are running it back. They've kept two of their top three free agents this offseason, Realmuto and slugger Kyle Schwarber, who signed for five years and $150 million in December. Philadelphia lost starting pitcher Ranger Suarez to the Red Sox.

The Phillies definitely still look like a playoff team, but it feels like they need to change the mix to get to the World Series and win it. 

White Sox trade Austin Slater to Yankees

The White Sox made their first deal of trade deadline season on Wednesday, sending outfielder Austin Slater to the New York Yankees in exchange for right-handed pitcher Gage Ziehl.

Ziehl, 22, was selected by the Yankees in the fourth round of the 2024 draft out of the University of Miami. He's pitched in 16 games this season, 15 of them starts. Fourteen of those appearances came for Low-A Tampa. Across 82.1 innings, he has a 4.15 ERA with 70 strikeouts and 14 walks. 

The Sox have assigned Ziehl to High-A Winston-Salem.

Slater batted .236/.299/.423 with five homers and 11 RBIs in 51 games with the Sox. As a right-handed batter, he's good at one thing: hitting left-handed pitching.

Against lefties this season, Slater posted a .261/.338/.522 slash line that included all five of his homers. For any Yankees fans who are stumbling across this blog, you are not getting a complete player or an everyday player. But you are getting an outfielder who can fill a very specific role.

Platoon Slater against lefties, and he will contribute.

Who knows about Ziehl? He's in his first year in pro ball, and I won't pretend to know what his future is. Most of these type of acquisitions don't work out, but you never know.

White Sox 9, Phillies 3

The Sox used a seven-run seventh inning to beat the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday afternoon. The South Siders took two out of three in the series, and they are now 8-4 since the All-Star break.

Four players age 25 or younger hit home runs for the Sox in this win. Kyle Teel and Colson Montgomery each hit solo homers. Miguel Vargas and Edgar Quero each hit 3-run homers in the decisive seventh inning.

If you had to draw it up, you would want the young guys to be at the forefront of whatever success this team has the rest of the way.

The Sox are 40-69. 

5-for-1 trade now just a 2-for-1

Did you know that newly acquired White Sox pitcher Tyler Gilbert tossed a no-hitter in his first career start as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2021? Sure, he's a journeyman, but he had his 15 minutes of fame.

The 31-year-old left-hander spent most of 2024 with Lehigh Valley, the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Sox acquired Gilbert from Philadelphia last week in exchange for minor league relief pitcher Aaron Combs.

To make room for Gilbert on the 40-man roster, the Sox designated infielder Braden Shewmake for assignment. This Sox offseason has been -- and will continue to be -- characterized by minor moves such as this. Most of them aren't worth an in-depth breakdown, but Shewmake's departure got me thinking about a trade Sox GM Chris Getz made last offseason.

Remember when Getz traded left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer to the Atlanta Braves for five players? As fans, many of us thought, "Wow, how did he manage to get that type of quantity for an underachiever like Bummer?" 

Well, it turns out there wasn't a lot of quality in that quantity. More than a year later, let's take a look at the guys the Sox acquired in that deal:

1. Shewmake. We'll start with the aforementioned Shewmake, who made the Opening Day roster in 2024. Unfortunately, he was one of the culprits in the team's miserable start. He batted .125/.134/.203 with one homer and four RBIs in 29 games with the Sox. He got sent to Triple-A Charlotte, where he got injured. He appeared in only 10 games at that level and batted .152/.152/.182. You may never see him in the majors again.

2. Nicky Lopez. Have you heard that Lopez is from Naperville? OK, enough with that joke. The infielder played 124 games with the Sox in 2024 and batted .241/.312/.294 with one homer and 21 RBIs. He made $4.3 million last season, and as an arbitration-eligible player, he was in line to get about $5 million in 2025. Thus, the Sox wisely non-tendered him. It would be dumb to give that kind of money to a utility infielder.

3. Michael Soroka. The right-hander went 0-10 with a 4.74 ERA in 25 games, including nine starts, with the 2024 Sox. The nine starts were terrible. Soroka lost five of them and posted a 6.39 ERA. After an injury, he found new life in the bullpen late in the season. He was 0-5 as a reliever, too, but his ERA was a much more respectable 2.75 in those 16 appearances. The Washington Nationals apparently think he can still be a starter. They gave him a one-year contract this offseason.

4. Jared Shuster. The Sox converted this left-hander to mostly relief work. He made 39 appearances in 2024, 35 of which were out of the bullpen. He provided 73.1 innings, going 2-5 with a 4.30 ERA. And hey, the 25-year-old is still on the 40-man roster! If he pitches well in spring, he might actually stick with the Sox for a second season.

5. Riley Gowens. The former University of Illinois pitcher and Libertyville native split his time between High-A Winston Salem and Double-A Birmingham last season. He made 25 starts between the two levels, going 7-6 with a 3.84 ERA. Not bad, but Gowens is now 25 years old, and you won't find  him near the top of any of the prospect lists. Most likely, he's an organizational pitcher. But hey, at least he's still in the organization!

So, basically, that 5-for-1 trade is now a 2-for-1. The Sox still have Shuster and Gowens, but ultimately, this trade did not make a meaningful impact.

2024 White Sox become 7th team to lose 20 games in a row

The White Sox lost their 20th game in a row Sunday, as the Minnesota Twins scored eight runs in the first two innings and went on to beat the South Siders, 13-7.

Perhaps it was fitting that 20 runs were scored in the 20th consecutive loss, and the final out was made by No. 20 on the Sox roster -- newly acquired Miguel Vargas.

Here is the list of teams to accomplish this dubious feat:

• 1961 Philadelphia Phillies -- 23 straight losses
• 1988 Baltimore Orioles -- 21 straight losses
• 2024 White Sox -- 20 straight losses (and counting!)
• 1969 Montreal Expos -- 20 straight losses
• 1943 Philadelphia Athletics -- 20 straight losses
• 1916 Philadelphia Athletics -- 20 straight losses
• 1906 Boston Americans -- 20 straight losses
  

With this defeat, the Sox finish the season series against Minnesota with a record of 1-12. They also went 1-12 against the Kansas City Royals.

Overall against the "weak" American League Central Division, the Sox are 8-34.

The Sox are 60 games below .500 at 27-87. They are the first team to be 60 games below .500 on Aug. 4 since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, who were 15-75 on Aug. 1 of that season -- and 16-78 on Aug. 4.

Yes, this is the worst team since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders.

The Sox are 0-16 since the All-Star break. They have been swept in six consecutive series. They are 0-65 when trailing after seven innings, and 0-71 when trailing after eight innings.

Pedro Grifol's managerial record is now 100 games below .500 at 88-188, yet he's traveling with the team to Oakland for this week's series against the Athletics. How many in a row must Grifol lose in order to get fired? 

My sister is the head coach of my nephew's youth baseball team. She's coaching 11- and 12-year-old boys, but I'm pretty sure if she lost 20 games in a row, she'd be pushed aside and replaced by a different coach.

Somehow, that doesn't happen with the White Sox, who are supposed to be playing Major League Baseball, where you're judged on wins and losses.

Alas, there is no accountability here. There is also no hope.

Diamondbacks prove that nobody knows anything with Game 7 win

So, the Arizona Diamondbacks are in the World Series after their 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.

I'll admit it: I didn't think there was anyway in hell that Arizona was going to win two games in a row at Philadelphia to close that series, but that's exactly what happened. 

This once again proves that the only thing I know about baseball is that I know nothing about baseball.

But, good for the Diamondbacks. They are an improbable underdog story. They won only 84 games in the regular season, and they were the sixth and final team to qualify for the NL playoffs.

Arizona had a minus-15 run differential during the regular season, which pencils out to an 80-82 Pythagorean record. The Diamondbacks become the first team to qualify for the World Series with a losing Pythagorean record since the 1987 world champion Minnesota Twins.

This has created quite a debate among baseball people. Is an 84-win league champion proof that too many teams get in the playoffs? Has the postseason become too watered down? Has the value of a good regular season been disregarded?

Honestly, these debates are as old as time. I've heard them in some form for my entire 47 years on the planet. The nature of baseball inevitably leads to upsets in a short playoff series. There's a tremendous amount of variance in small sample sizes.

The Diamondbacks are hardly the first team to advance this far in the playoffs with a rather pedestrian record. Remember the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals? Yeah, they were 83-78, the champions of a weak NL Central. They also won the World Series.

But let's go back a generation or two farther, to an era when only four teams were allowed in the playoffs. 

Remember the 1973 New York Mets? They were 82-79, the champions of a weak NL East. They beat the Cincinnatii Reds -- the Big Red Machine of the 1970s -- in a five-game NLCS. Then they took the Oakland A's to seven games in the World Series before losing. 

Mind you, that was a dynastic Oakland team. The A's won the World Series three years in a row from 1972-1974, but they needed a seventh game to swat away an 82-win team to take the title.

Were the playoffs watered down in 1973 too? You see, there's no perfect system. I see both positives and negatives in the Diamondbacks' story.

The Good: This shows that a smaller-market team has a chance. Why should fans in New York and Los Angeles have all the fun? Even teams that don't get a lot of media attention have an opportunity if they get into the playoffs and peak at the right time.

The Bad: This disincentives teams to strive for greatness. If you have a 92-win team, why bother adding to it to try to become a 100-win team? We've seen this year that regular-season success is just that. It guarantees nothing in the playoffs.

Like I said, no perfect system. But this excitement and intrigue is what we watch baseball for, right? Let's just enjoy the World Series. Neither the Diamondbacks nor the Texas Rangers have been on baseball's biggest stage in a while. Good for them. I'm looking forward to watching.

Rangers slay Astros; Diamondbacks for Game 7

So, is it time to start talking about road-field advantage?

The Texas Rangers lost all three of their home games in the American League Championship Series, but they went 4-0 on the road. They knocked out the Houston Astros and advanced to the 2023 World Series with a 11-4 victory Monday night.

I have to admit, I wasn't feeling too good about Texas' chances after they lost Game 5 in dramatic fashion. Jose Altuve's 3-run homer in the ninth inning of that game lifted the Astros to a 5-4 win  -- and a 3-2 series lead.

But the Rangers answered big time as the series shifted back to Houston. They used a five-run ninth inning to blow open a tight game in Game 6, tying the series with a 9-2 victory. Adolis Garcia was 0 for 4 with four strikeouts until that ninth inning, when he delivered a grand slam that put the game out of reach.

Garcia continued his heroics in Game 7, going 4 for 5 with two homers and five RBIs. So, in his last six plate appearances of the series, he had five hits -- including three homers -- and nine RBIs. That's clutch.

Corey Seager and Nathaniel Lowe also homered for the Rangers in the deciding game. Texas scored three runs in the first inning, added one in the third and four in the fourth. The Rangers had an 8-2 lead by that point and never relinquished control.

Diamondbacks force NLCS Game 7

After the Philadelphia Phillies won Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, 10-0, I thought the Arizona Diamondbacks were dead.

I was wrong.

Arizona has since taken three of four games. The Diamondbacks tied the series at 3-all with a 5-1 victory in Philadelphia on Monday.

Phillies starter Aaron Nola had been 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA in these playoffs, but the Diamondbacks got to him for three runs in the second inning, highlighted by back-to-back home runs by Tommy Pham and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Arizona's Merrill Kelly tossed five innings of one-run ball, and four Diamondback relievers limited Philadelphia's offense to three singles over the last four innings. For a change, the Phillies did not homer, and that's the key to beating them -- keep them in the ballpark.

Game 7 is Tuesday night. Brandon Pfaadt is pitching for the Diamondbacks. The Phillies will counter with Ranger Suarez.

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.

Wild card round lacks drama, produces 4 sweeps

When the Tampa Bay Rays started 20-3, who would have thought their season was destined to end in the American League wild card round?

The Texas Rangers swept Tampa Bay in the best-of-three series this week, winning 4-0 on Tuesday and 7-1 on Wednesday.

It was one of four sweeps during the wild card round, but the Rays were probably the most disappointing quick exit of the four teams that lost.

Tampa Bay didn't really blow the AL East -- it won 99 games. You have to give credit to the Baltimore Orioles, who won 101 games and came from behind to take the division. 

That left the Rays matched up with the Rangers in the No. 4-vs.-No. 5 series. Granted, this is a very different Tampa Bay team than the one we saw in April. Starting pitchers Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs are all out for the season. The Rays were also missing their starting middle infield -- Wander Franco (administrative leave) and Brandon Lowe (leg injury).

However, it's still has to be considered a face-plant when a 99-win team gets outscored 11-1 on its home field during a playoff series. 

I'm envious of the Texas lineup -- Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia -- these are star-level players, and I think you win with stars in the playoffs. I'm not sure the Rangers have enough pitching depth, starters or relievers, to beat the Orioles in the next round. However, that lineup gives them a chance.

The Rays weren't the only AL East wild card to exit early, as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Toronto Blue Jays by scores of 3-1 and 2-0.

Minnesota has two good starting pitchers in Pablo Lopez and Sonny Gray, but the Toronto lineup was absolutely terrible with runners in scoring position in this series. The Blue Jays stranded 18 runners in the series, nine in each game.

For the Twins, this is their first playoff series win since 2002. They had lost 18 consecutive postseason games before they won Tuesday. Now, they've won two in a row. I guess they were due. Minnesota faces AL West champ Houston in the next round.

National League

No National League Central Division team has won a postseason series since 2019. In fact, Central Division clubs have lost 20 of their last 22 playoff games.

The 92-win Milwaukee Brewers added to that misery by getting swept in two games by the 84-win Arizona Diamondbacks. The Brewers had an early 3-0 lead Tuesday. They lost 6-3. The Brewers had an early 2-0 lead Wednesday. They lost 5-2. 

The Diamondbacks are an athletic team, good defensively, and they showed some power in this series. Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte and Gabriel Moreno all homered off Milwaukee ace Corbin Burnes in Game 1. Alek Thomas started the Arizona comeback with a homer in Game 2.

Now the Diamondbacks will try their luck against the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

On the other side of the bracket, defending NL champion Philadelphia overwhelmed the Miami Marlins, defeating them 4-1 on Tuesday and 7-1 on Wednesday.

That sets up a rematch between the Phillies and the NL East champion Atlanta Braves. Atlanta won a MLB-best 104 wins in the regular season, but Philadelphia upset the Braves in this same round last season.

Without a doubt, Braves-Phillies is the series to watch in the days ahead. The general wisdom says the NL champion will be either the Braves or Dodgers, but the Phillies are the team best positioned to upset that line of thinking.

As I mentioned before, you win with stars in the playoffs, and Philadelphia has some great players -- Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, heck, you gotta throw Kyle Schwarber in there given the way he raises his level of play in the postseason. The Phillies have the stars to match the Braves' guys -- Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, etc.

That series is going to come down to which stars on which team step forward. It should be better theater than this anticlimatic wild card round.

Trea Turner to Phillies; Justin Verlander signs with Mets

Trea Turner

“I really philosophically believe that you win with star players."

It's hard to argue with Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations with the Philadelphia Phillies, because he's built a lot of winning teams throughout his years in baseball.

The Phillies came up just short in 2022, losing to the Houston Astros in the World Series. On Monday, the first day of the Winter Meetings in San Diego, Philadelphia moved to address one of its holes by agreeing to terms with superstar shortstop Trea Turner on a 11-year, $300 million deal.

Turner is 29 years old, and I'm sure by the end of that contract, he probably won't be worth his salary. But that's a problem for another day. The Phillies are looking to win in 2023, and that's commendable. Opportunity only presents itself so often, and it's important to push chips into the middle of the table when the time comes.

Philadelphia has a lot of big contracts on its books. Bryce Harper ($26 million), Zack Wheeler ($24.5 million), J.T. Realmuto ($23.9 million), Nick Castellanos ($20 million), Kyle Schwarber ($20 million) and Aaron Nola ($16 million) are raking in the money with the Phillies. Add Turner's $27.3 million AAV to that list. 

But you know what? Harper, Turner, Realmuto, Wheeler and Nola are all blue-chip players, and you win with those types of guys. And while I'm not a fan of "three true outcome" batters as a rule, credit Schwarber for leading the National League with 46 home runs last season.

I wish my favorite team had All-Star talent like the Phillies do. They are giving themselves a chance in the rugged NL East.

Verlander signs with Mets 

Speaking of the NL East, Justin Verlander is signing with the New York Mets, agreeing to a two-year, $86.7 million contract.

Verlander, the Cy Young Award winner in the American League in 2022, leaves the Astros and basically takes the place of Jacob deGrom at the top of the New York rotation.

The Texas Rangers signed deGrom to a five-year, $185 million contract over the weekend, and you figured the deep-pocketed Mets would respond quickly.

Indeed they did, as Verlander will join former Detroit Tigers teammate Max Scherzer to form a 1-2 punch with the Mets.

I think this is a win for New York because even though Verlander is 40 years old, I trust him to stay healthy more than I would deGrom. Verlander gave the Astros 28 starts and 175 innings last season, going 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA.

Meanwhile, deGrom has totaled only 26 starts and and 156.1 innings over the past two seasons combined. He's still one of the best in the league when he takes the mound, but at age 34, you have to wonder what the Rangers are getting there. I'm not a huge proponent of signing pitchers with long injury histories.

Granted, you never really know with pitchers, but I think the Mets are getting a little more certainty with Verlander.

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?

Former Cy Young winner LaMarr Hoyt dies at 66

LaMarr Hoyt

Some sad news to report: Former White Sox pitcher LaMarr Hoyt died of cancer Monday at age 66.

I always think of Hoyt as the ace of the first Sox team I remember -- the 1983 American League West Division champions. That team won 99 games, and Hoyt won the Cy Young award that season, going 24-10 with a 3.66 ERA in 36 starts.

(I was 7 years old in 1983). 

The Sox won only one game in the American League Championship Series that year, and it was Hoyt's 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Unfortunately, the Orioles won the next three games and went on to beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1983 World Series.

I always wonder what would have happened if the Sox had won Game 4 of the ALCS at old Comiskey Park -- they lost that game in 10 innings. Had they won it, Hoyt was lined up to pitch Game 5, and at that point in time, you always liked your chances when Hoyt was on the mound.

In total, Hoyt pitched six seasons (1979-84) with the Sox and went 74-49 with a 3.92 ERA in 178 games (116 starts). He was traded to the San Diego Padres in December 1984, as part of a seven-player deal that brought longtime shortstop and future manager Ozzie Guillen to the Sox.

Hoyt had one good season in San Diego. He won 16 games in 1985, made the All-Star team and was the winning pitcher in the midsummer classic.

But substance abuse problems derailed his career, and after a poor season in 1986, he never pitched in the majors again.

Nevertheless, Hoyt created fond memories for Sox fans of a certain age. He was the best of the bunch in a strong starting rotation that included Richard Dotson and Floyd Bannister in 1983, and that's the way we'll remember him.

Dick Allen, who should be in baseball's Hall of Fame, dies at 78

Dick Allen

Dick Allen, one of four players to win an American League MVP award in a White Sox uniform, died Monday at age 78.

The right-handed-hitting slugger played in the majors from 1963 to 1977, mostly with the Philadelphia Phillies. He played three seasons with the White Sox from 1972 to 1974, and his first year on the South Side was the best of his career.

Allen won the 1972 American League MVP award, batting .308/.420/.603 with 37 home runs, 113 RBIs and a ridiculous 199 OPS+. He led the league in home runs, RBIs, walks (99), on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and OPS+ in what was without a doubt one of the best single seasons ever posted by a White Sox player.

In 1974, Allen's last year with the Sox, he again led the AL in home runs with 32. All total, Allen batted .307/.398/.589 with 85 home runs and 242 RBIs in three years on the South Side.

We mourn the loss of Allen, while also pointing out that this man was very clearly a Hall of Fame player. He should be in Cooperstown, but isn't, and while he still might get there one day, it's unfortunate that he won't be around to receive that honor.

Allen was a seven-time All-Star, who won the National League Rookie of the Year award with the Phillies in 1964. He finished in the top 10 of the MVP voting three times in his career, and during his 11-year peak from 1964 to 1974, he led the league in offensive categories 19 times.

During those 11 years, his offensive WAR was 68.5, better than any other player of that time. That's no small statement, because Allen's contemporaries included Hank Aaron (63.9), Frank Robinson (59.0), Carl Yastrzemski (56.3), Joe Morgan (55.4) and Pete Rose (52.4).

Allen's OPS+ of 165 was also best during that 11-year peak, meaning he was 65% above league average for players at his position.

During that same time period, Allen ranked fourth in baseball in runs created and on-base percentage, fifth in home runs (with 319), sixth in WAR, seventh in RBIs, ninth in walks, 11th in batting average and 12th in doubles. 

Allen probably isn't in the Hall because he wasn't a good defensive player, and he wasn't well-liked by writers. To which I ask, who cares? Allen had a period of dominance that lasted more than 10 years, during which he was one of the best hitters in the game by any measure. That, to me, makes him a Hall of Famer.

In 2014, Allen fell one vote short of being elected to the Hall by baseball's Golden Era Committee. The committee was to meet and vote again this winter, but that meeting was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (You mean to tell me they couldn't have met on Zoom like everybody else does these days?)

There was a chance Allen could have gotten the call this year, had that meeting happened. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. It's a shame. 

White Sox swing and miss on Zack Wheeler, Cole Hamels

Zack Wheeler

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn has said the team intends to sign two free agent starting pitchers this offseason. However, two pitchers the Sox were linked with signed elsewhere Wednesday.

Zack Wheeler agreed to a five-year, $118 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, while Cole Hamels joined the Atlanta Braves on a one-year, $18 million deal.

According to a tweet from MLB Network's Jon Heyman, Wheeler was the Sox's top target in terms of starting pitchers. Apparently, the Sox front office doesn't believe it can land either Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg, the two elite aces on the market, so the Sox set their sights on the best pitcher in the "second tier" of available starters.

That would be Wheeler, but as per usual, the Sox are the bridesmaid and not the bride. The Phillies beat out the Sox, the Minnesota Twins, the Cincinnati Reds and the Texas Rangers in this pursuit.

According to a tweet from MLB Network's Ken Rosenthal, the Sox's offer to Wheeler was for *more* than $118 million, but Wheeler's wife is from New Jersey and proximity was important.

OK, not sure if I buy that. It's all speculation, but for me as a Sox fan, the bottom line is the Hahn regime continues to come up short far more times than not, and the team still has much to prove in terms of its commitment to winning.

As for Hamels, just days ago he was on the White Sox Talk podcast with NBC Sports Chicago's Chuck Garfien to express his interest in possibly coming to the South Side.

Instead, Hamels will be headed to Atlanta. This loss isn't as big of a deal for the Sox, but let's be honest, Hamels would have been a nice fit as a veteran left-hander in the middle or the back of the rotation.

If the Sox are not in on Cole or Strasburg, and we have to assume they are not until proven otherwise, where does the team go from here? Do they pursue Madison Bumgarner? Dallas Keuchel? Someone else?

The Sox front office continues to earn skepticism from me. I'm not convinced they are going to land the two starting pitchers they need. C'mon, guys, prove me wrong.

White Sox win three-game series against Philadelphia Phillies

Jose Abreu

The White Sox have won only two series since the All-Star break. Somewhat amusingly, both of them were on the road against playoff contenders.

The South Siders took two out of three from the Tampa Bay Rays (65-48) from July 19-21, and now, they took two out of three from the Philadelphia Phillies (58-53) in an interleague series over the weekend.

Going into the series, I thought the Sox (48-61) had a puncher's chance in two of the three games -- based upon pitching matchups -- and it turns out they won both those games in which I thought they had a chance.

Here's a look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, Aug. 2
White Sox 4, Phillies 3, 15 innings: This was one of the most wild games you'll see. The Sox essentially outlasted Philadelphia, because the Phillies had an outfielder on the mound and a pitcher playing left field when the game ended.

That said, Philadelphia pitcher Vince Velasquez made three spectacular plays in left field. He threw out Jose Abreu at the plate to keep the Sox off the board in the top of the 14th. He made perhaps a better throw in the top of the 15th, but the speedy Leury Garcia was just barely safe at home on an single to left by Abreu.

Velasquez also made a diving catch on a liner off the bat of Eloy Jimenez. Two were on with two out at the time, so if that one falls in, the Sox score at least two more runs in that 15th inning. Alas, the 4-3 lead had to be enough, and it was.

Josh Osich (1-0) worked two innings of scoreless relief to earn the win for the Sox. Outfielder Roman Quinn (0-1) got through the 14th inning unscathed while pitching, but he took the loss after giving up the aforementioned run in the 15th.

The starting pitchers in this game were Ivan Nova and Jason Vargas -- mediocre at-best veterans. I figured this was anybody's game, and the Sox won it.

Saturday, Aug. 3
Phillies 3, White Sox 2: This was the game that I thought the Sox would lose, with Philadelphia ace Aaron Nola pitching against Ross Detwiler. And, in fact, Nola (10-2) won and Detwiler (1-2) lost, although we can give the Sox's left-hander credit for not making a fool out of himself.

The day after a 15-inning game, Detwiler chewed up 5.2 innings and gave up only two runs -- back-to-back home runs by Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins.

Down 2-1 in the seventh, the Sox had runners at second and third with only one out, but a ill-fated safety squeeze killed that rally. Yolmer Sanchez made a decent bunt, but Hoskins, the Philadelphia first baseman, obviously knew it was coming. He easily threw out Jimenez at the plate, from about 50 feet away.

Memo to Sox manager Rick Renteria: Please stop with the safety squeeze bunt. The opposition knows it is coming, and it is foolish to play for the tie on the road anyway. I know the Sox strike out way too much, but the excessive reliance on bunting isn't winning games for this team, either.

Sunday, Aug. 4
White Sox 10, Phillies 5: Coming into this game, the Sox had scored only 44 runs in their previous 22 games, so it was refreshing to see them put some runs up against Drew Smyly and the Philadelphia bullpen.

Garcia's grand slam highlighted a five-run second inning. Jimenez connected for a three-run homer, his 18th of the season and first since July 14, and Tim Anderson added a solo home run in the ninth.

I figured Reynaldo Lopez and Smyly was a fair fight in terms of the pitching matchup, and Lopez (6-9) survived some rough moments the third time through the batting order to pick up the victory.

He went 5.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits. That's where it helps to have the run support. Philadelphia cut the lead to 5-3 in the sixth and had two men on base, but Aaron Bummer entered and got an inning-ending double play to settle things down and end the Phillies best chance to tie or take the lead.

Report: White Sox make formal offer to Manny Machado

Manny Machado

As of 9:40 p.m. Thursday, the lead headline on mlb.com reads, "Report: White Sox make formal offer to Machado."

For this blog, I've tweaked that headline a little bit, just in case anyone out there believes the Sox are trying to sign Dixon Machado. (You can never have enough utility infielders, right?) Or maybe the Sox are trying to bring back Robert Machado as a roving catching instructor or something.

Nah, this article actually talks about the Sox's interest in superstar free agent Manny Machado. I believe the report because it comes from USA Today's Bob Nightengale, who has more credible Sox information that most national reporters.

Nightengale reported the long-term offer is serious, but closer in value to $200 million over the life of the deal than $300 million. If that's the case, then maybe Bruce Levine's report that the Sox want to give neither Machado nor Bryce Harper more than seven years is accurate.

Personally, I still think it's going to take a 10-year offer worth $300 million to lure Machado to the South Side, and I won't believe that the Sox are willing to do that until I see it. If the Sox are going to offer only seven years, then they will finish third in the pursuit of these high-end talents.

Robertson to Philadelphia

Former Sox closer David Robertson has signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. The deal is worth $23 million and contains a club option for $12 million for 2021 with a $2 million buyout.

Robertson probably becomes Philadelphia's closer at this point, unless the Phillies decide to add either Craig Kimbrel or Zach Britton. Of course, Philadelphia also is in the running for both Machado and Harper, so I'd be surprised if the Phillies do anything else significant before they get an answer from the two superstars on the market.

Sources: White Sox send Jim Thome to meet with Bryce Harper

Bryce Harper

Are the White Sox competent enough to land one of the offseason's biggest free agents, outfielder Bryce Harper?

As a Sox fan who does not believe in the current owner and front office, the guess here is no. Harper already has turned down $300 million over 10 years from his current team, the Washington Nationals. So, what makes us believe that the Sox -- a team that has never signed a player to a nine-figure contract -- are going to go the extra mile and offer Harper, say, $400 million over 10 years?

I expect Harper to sign somewhere else, and come SoxFest, we will hear general manager Rick Hahn talking about how the Sox didn't value Harper at the same level as Harper's agent did. Sox brass will say, "Hey, we tried," and expect fans to give them points for making the effort.

To me, making an effort isn't good enough. I'm sick of losing, and I want this front office to get the team into contention now, this offseason, not in 2021.

Of course, there's a real possibility that Harper would not come to the South Side of Chicago even if ownership meets his high price. Other clubs such as the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly are in the mix, and all can offer something that the Sox cannot: proof of recent success and the presence of a win-now roster.

Will a major free agent want to join the Sox, knowing they are coming off a 100-loss season and have lost 195 games over the past two years? Not sure. If I'm Bryce Harper, and obviously I am not, why would I take a leap of faith that all these Sox prospects are going to pan out? Would I be willing to wait until 2021 to have a legitimate chance to win the World Series? I doubt it.

The Sox, for their part, sent Hall of Famer Jim Thome to Las Vegas to meet in person with Harper, and to try to sell him on coming to the South Side, according to a report from Yahoo's Jeff Passan.

Thome is, of course, one of the nicest men in the game of baseball, and if there is anyone who could pitch a player on the Sox, it probably would be Thome. But I'm not convinced that even he can woo Harper to the Sox.

Some of the latest MLB transactions ...

Robinson Cano

Catching up on a few things ... the Seattle Mariners are selling everyone, I guess. Here are three transactions that have happened in the past few days:

• The Mariners traded former All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano and All-Star closer Edwin Diaz to the New York Mets in exchange for outfielder Jay Bruce, relief pitcher Anthony Swarzak and prospects Gerson Bautista, Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn.
• The Mariners traded All-Star infielder Jean Segura and relievers Juan Nicasio and James Pazos to the Philadelphia Phillies for first baseman Carlos Santana and shortstop J.P. Crawford.
• The Washington Nationals have signed left-handed pitcher Patrick Corbin to a six-year, $140 million contract.

The last move is too bad, because Corbin was one of the players who was on my wish list as a White Sox fan. Of course, if the Sox signed him, he'd probably blow out his elbow next season anyway.

Chris Sale's loss to Philadelphia costly to his Cy Young chances

Chris Sale

In case you were wondering -- and I'm sure you are -- the White Sox are 49-70 in their last 119 games. That is not a small sample size: This team stinks, and it has stunk for a long time.

The Sox dropped their fifth consecutive game Wednesday, an 8-3 loss to the lousy Philadelphia Phillies, and they've been outscored 36-17 during this losing streak.

The South Siders (72-80) are just two losses away from clinching their fourth consecutive losing season, and they'll need to win at least four more times just to equal last year's 76-86 record. They have the schedule to do it -- Tampa Bay and Minnesota are coming to town for the last week of the season -- but it remains to be seen whether the Sox can muster enough energy to care about these final games.

This late-season misery continues to hammer home the point that the organization needs numerous changes -- in the front office, on the coaching staff and most of all on the field. We've highlighted all those things on this blog at different points during the year, and we're still waiting for some sign that team brass has noticed problems that seem so obvious to us as fans.

Maybe when the season ends ...

In any case, even ace Chris Sale caught the suck bug in Wednesday night's game. The All-Star lefty has had a good second half of the season, although his outstanding pitching has not often been rewarded in the win column.

Unfortunately, this outing against Philadelphia will not go down as one of his finer moments. He gave up six runs over four innings and hit three batters. It was ugly, and the poor performance ended his stretch of six straight outings where he pitched eight innings or more.

Sale had averaged 118 pitches per start over the stretch, so maybe the heavy workload has started to catch up with him. His velocity seemed to be down a touch last night, and he was all over the place with his slider to right-handed batters (causing the three HBPs). Fortunately, Sale only threw 72 pitches Wednesday, and there's an off day Thursday, so that lesser workload and extra day in between starts could allow him to recharge before he faces Tampa Bay on the next homestand.

This bad game lifted Sale's ERA to 3.23. He trails the other two major Cy Young award contenders in that category now. Boston's Rick Porcello is at 3.08, and Cleveland's Corey Kluber is at 3.11. While Sale's 16-9 record is fairly impressive pitching for a bad team, his odds of winning the award are not good considering he's going up against two pitchers on likely playoff teams. Kluber is 18-9 for the Indians, and Porcello is 21-4 for the Red Sox.

A lot of people like to talk about how wins are a poor measure of a starting pitcher, and I agree, but at lot of those old-school voters don't. They want to see a pitcher who wins for a good team get the Cy Young. And, hey, if Porcello gets it, who am I to say he doesn't deserve it? He's 10-2 with a 2.40 ERA the second half, and he just had an 89-pitch complete game in a critical win over Baltimore in his last outing.

I think Sale is going to settle for third in this year's Cy Young vote. There's still time, I suppose. If he is awesome in his last two starts, and Kluber and Porcello both falter like Sale did Wednesday night, things could still change. But I wouldn't bet on it.

It's hard to justify postseason awards for anyone on this White Sox team.

James Shields gets a moral victory in loss to Philadelphia

James Shields

The Philadelphia Phillies entered Wednesday's game against the White Sox as the only team in baseball with a team on-base percentage (.299) below .300.

Sox right-hander James Shields entered Wednesday's game with a 7.62 ERA over his first 14 starts with Chicago.

Bad pitching vs. bad hitting. The movable object against the resistible force. Who would win this Battle of Titans?

As it turns out, bad hitting prevailed. The Phillies didn't exactly light up Shields the way the rest of the league has this season, but they did enough to beat the Sox, 5-3, and split the brief two-game series.

Shields (5-16) went six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits. He struck out six and walked none, so his peripherals were better, although he once again gave up two home runs. They were both solo shots, one to Cesar Hernandez in the third, the other on a fat, hanging breaking ball to Tommy Joseph on an 0-2 count with two outs in the sixth. Shields also gave up three doubles, for a total of five extra-base hits, so there was no shortage of hard contact.

Still, this was a moral victory for Shields, who had given up six or more earned runs in each of his past four starts. For the first time since Shields beat the Cubs on July 26, he was not a complete disgrace. He was merely kinda bad.

When he walked off the mound for the final time after the top of the sixth inning, the Sox were still in the game, trailing 4-0.

They made in interesting when Dioner Navarro cut the Philadelphia lead in half with a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth. The Phillies added a run in the eighth to go up 5-2, and held off a Sox rally in the ninth.

Philadelphia closer Jeanmar Gomez gave up an RBI single to Avisail Garcia with two outs in the ninth to make it 5-3. Navarro came to the plate with two men on and a chance to potentially tie the game with an extra-base hit, but this time he grounded out weakly to second to end the proceedings.

Hey, at least the game was watchable, right? Most of the time it is not when Shields takes the mound.