It’s no secret I’m a big fan of interleague play. This upcoming CWS series is a perfect example of why. Interesting team that we rarely see. The ChiSox began as a team in 1901. They’re one of the eight charter members of the American League. They’ve won six AL pennants, and three World Series. They endured the Black Sox years (1918-1920 – famous for supposed game fixing – although it was never quite 100% proven). They’ve had countless great players – Frank Thomas, Luke Appling, Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio, Shoeless Joe Jackson, etc. Just a great history in general – full of good and bad.
Fast forward to today, and the White Sox are in full blown rebuild mode. This past offseason, they made two marque trades involving Chris Sale and Adam Eaton. The return for those two trades was impressive. In fact, it bordered on ridiculous. Joan Moncado, Micahel Kopech, Lucas Giolito, and Reynaldo Lopez are all now in the CWS farm system. But more is no doubt coming. Jose Quintana, Todd Frazier, and David Robertson are all popular trade targets. I have no doubt that former Rockies target Jose Abreu can also be had (although the White Sox have publicly denied this one for some reason). So, as you watch the White Sox this weekend, rest assured that high level scouts from virtually every contending team are watching them right along with you.
My only interleague complaint – I wish MLB would flip where the DH is used. Use the DH for NL home games, and make the pitcher hit at AL home games. This would allow the home fans to see the opposing system.
As for our beloved boys in Purple – after a 2-2 series split with the average (at best) Reds, we come into the series 50-38. So far this season, the Rox have been a team of extremes, to say the least.
On Tuesday, June 20th, German Marquez beat Zack Greinke. The Rox moved to 47-26. 21 games over 500, the high water mark of the season (to date).
Since June 21st the Rox are 3-12. Our long-suspected weaknesses have been exposed – in spades. Four rookie pitchers, each with 5 wins minimum before the all-star break, had not been achieved in baseball history until this talented young group of Rockies rookie starters came along. But it’s completely unrealistic for this to continue. (Almost) 34-year-old Mark Reynolds, in the Majors since 2007, a career 237 BA/329 OBP (with over 5500 plate appearance – a HUGE sample size) is at 286 BA/372 OBP even after his recent cold spell. Once again – not sustainable. The bullpen got off to a great start – but has since “corrected” (in fact – except for Holland – over corrected).
But all is not bleak. The 50-38 record has been achieved without a single appearance from David Dahl or Chad Bettis. Jon Gray has missed most the season. Ian Desmond has missed significant time. A somewhat resurgent Geraldo Parra has missed significant time. Cargo – while only missing a handful of games, has been dreadful and has certainly been MIA since day #1.
So, like most things – the “real” Rox no doubt lie somewhere between the two extremes we’ve seen to date.
Typically, 88 wins will get a team in the Wild Card game. If the Rox go 38-36 from this point forward, we finish with 88 wins. At this moment – the most likely competition for the 2nd WC spot are the Brewers (48-40 – I like this team). Even though the Brew Crew are actually leading the Central, I still believe the Cubs will get their act together and win that Division (otherwise – they’re the most likely competitor for the 2nd WC spot).
It was my opinion that we had to win 3 of the 4 games against the Reds. So that series was a “fail.” The Rox now need to take 2 of these 3 games against the ChiSox. So, let’s sit back a root for the Boyz in Purple this weekend to win 2 and go into the all-star break with a least a little momentum.
Scheduled starters:
Friday: Holland vs. Marquez
Saturday: Quintana vs. Hoffman
Sunday: Rodon vs. Freeland
sdcarp
Rot-roh – looks like one of our biggest competitors is prepared to buy: MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports that the Brewers “are prepared to buy” at the trade deadline and have begun background work on Jose Quintana, Sonny Gray and other starters. Before Opening Day you’d have figured the Brewers would be preparing to sell some pieces at this point in the season, but they are currently sitting on a 4.5 game lead in the NL Central and will try… Read more »
Thats good to hear cuz JB always deal in a shroud of secrecy. So where there’s smoke, JB is lurking.
What was that we saw last night? Solid pitching. Good at bats (against the dreaded soft tossing lefty). Some good defense. NICE!
Quintana tonight, should be fun.
Rockies Pathetic Offense First Half Overview – Where do our regulars rank among players at their positions? I used Fangraphs’ RC+, which is park adjusted and takes into account total offensive productivity. I used minimum 200 plate appearances for Catchers, and also for LF (since Desmond missed time); 250 PA minimum for all others: Wolters (min 200 PA): 24th out of 24. He started relatively strong (RC+ in the 90s, which is actually above average for a catcher), but he’s… Read more »
All sorts of good stuff here (as usual). Agree regarding Bryant. He’s better than Arenado. Not defensively, but he’s better offensively, more versatile, and brings some speed to the game. The MVP talk between the two of them is silly. For my money – that’s a 2-way race between Kershaw (I don’t care if he’s a pitcher) and Goldschmidt. My vote to this point in the season goes to Goldschmidt. Here’s something ironic – Brendan Rodgers will be a started… Read more »
I make Parra starting LF not Cargo or Desmond. Huh? Bryant is better than Arenado? He leads all 3B in defensive runs saved, RBI leader in majors, and better hitting stats across the board than Bryant. The fans know that by selecting him ASG starting 3B. And I voted Justin Turner in final 5 vote as he’s clearly better than Bryant. Something is seriously wrong with fRC+. Otherwise I agree the offense is pathetic. But my reasons are different. It… Read more »
All this “lack of offense” talk really comes back to the fundamental concept that mid and small market teams have to come to grips with. SELL HIGH (I’m screaming that so perhaps Bridich and Company can here me). Tulo should have been traded a year earlier than he was. Cargo should have been traded 2 years ago minimum. Here’s where it gets harsh – if resigning Arenado looks bleak (only the Front Office, Arenado, and his Agent know the answer… Read more »
RMH, no knock on Arenado. By the eye test as well as advanced defensive stats, he’s having a superb season in the field and a solid season at the plate. He’s neck and neck with Bryant (more offense, not as strong defensively) although that overgrown leprechaun Justin Turner is beating everyone at 3B this year. Damn Dodgers. I am a little worried that we fans – and maybe Rox ownership; we’ll see – may overvalue Arenado a bit. We keep… Read more »
What are you smoking? Parra is 10x better than CarGo as a starter. You saw that tonight with his glove and bat. CarGo is not even worth a bag of balls. Even BB finally came to his senses and had CarGo bat #7 behind Pat Valaika (5 RBI). Speaking of Valaika and story, they should platoon. BB simply has to go with the hot hand. Speaking of Desmond, I’ve been happy with him since he had a real good RISP… Read more »
Valaika does need to play more…..that’s for sure.
Whoah! Freeland with a no-hitter thru 7! I may sit down and watch this one for a while.
A reliable power hitter in the lineup right behind him in the lineup would help immensely. IMO – he’s pressing offensively because (by default) he has to be the guy. He’d be better cast as the #2 offensive guy in the lineup (not #2 batting order….2nd best run producer). To this day, I still think Jose Abreu is a good fit for the Rox.
BTW – I’m referencing Arenado above.
A note regarding platoons and platooning: I think many fans, perhaps most fans, look down on this…..similar to relief pitchers being secondary to starting pitchers. I think these views are outdated. There’s absolutely, positively nothing wrong with a good platoon. In fact, I see some serious advantages. I can even see an occasional situation where it doesn’t have to be a classic left/right platoon. A somewhat realistic (and optimistic) view of the Rox in an August/September playoff run might look… Read more »
I think that’s the way to go rather than be fixated on the same 8 regulars. That way we can roll with the hot bats and get the offense going like a well oiled machine. Arenado and Blackmon are sure fire regulars. DJLM is also close to being a fixed regular if 100% healthy. If the offense is underperforming, might as well put Tapia in leadoff spot with his speed until he tells us otherwise.
You make a good point here RMH – I left out Tapia. Realistically, we shouldn’t count on Dahl until we see him. He’s going to need some significant rehab time in the minors. So Tapia/Cargo in RF with Desmond/Parra in LF does yield the traditional left/right platoons. Tapia has got to play better defense though. If he plays just average defense, he’ll relegate Cargo to sitting on the pine most days. But to date, his defense has been horrific. The… Read more »
From today’s Futures Game and Baseball America: Best All-Around Performance: Brendan Rodgers, ss, Rockies Rodgers did a bit of everything in showcasing a well-rounded skill set, going 1-for-1 with a walk and a sacrifice fly. He has a compact stroke with explosive bat speed, which he showed against Yankees righthander Domingo Acevedo, slamming a first-pitch, 96-mph fastball to left field for a loud single. His next time up, Rodgers showed a patient approach against Pirates righthander Luis Escobar. Rodgers laid… Read more »
Aaron Judge: Wow. The HR Derby is pretty lame, but I’m glad I caught the last couple rounds. I have to say that I’ve never seen such power – generated so easily! – in my whole baseball watching life. I thought Giancarlo Stanton was the new model, but the new new model has arrived.
Saw this on tweet;
Baseball Reference has Kyle Freeland at 3.4 rWAR after 18 starts, on pace for a 6.0 WAR season.
That would rank 2nd in franchise history