Hockey

High On The Hog: If They Play, How Will Rockford Look?

By Jon Fromi 1883

A long, long time ago, the American Hockey League was supposed to begin the 2020-21 season this past weekend. In more favorable conditions, I would be readying you for another season of Rockford IceHogs hockey. Lamentably, that is not the case.

The sixty-four thousand dollar question around BMO South (my basement) is when our ‘Bago County Flying Piglets will take to the ice. December? January? Ever?

The tentative starting date, announced back on July 30, was to be no earlier than December 4. Beginning in what’s left of this calendar year seems a pipe dream. The NHL is looking at a January 1 kickoff. It would stand to reason that an AHL opening could follow in that wake, though February seems a better bet.

To the best of my knowledge, Rockford’s staff is still on furlough at this point. Not every AHL franchise is going to be able to swing playing in empty barns. Down Peoria way, the Rivermen are sitting out the SPHL’s season because of the financials. They aren’t the only ones; half of that league is in Peoria’s boat.

Can the IceHogs make a go of a shortened season without ticket revenue? Unless the Blackhawks are subsidizing their AHL affiliate, I kind of doubt it.

Let’s be more positive, though. Assuming the AHL is up and running by, say, mid-January and the Hogs are on board, they will need to field a squad. Who might comprise such a group?

As you may or may not know, Rockford is run for development over winning. We can (and will in the coming months, I promise) quibble about how much development is going on, but the bulk of the Hogs roster will be prospects.

How many returning faces will we see from last season’s club? Well…

 

NHL Contracts

Blackhawks RFAs Jacob Nilsson and Joni Tuulola have both signed to play in Europe. RFA forward Alexandre Fortin and defenseman Ian McCoshen were not tendered offers from Chicago. I also would not expect to see the Hawks re-sign UFAs Joseph Cramarossa or T.J. Brennan. UFA Anton Wedin is also currently playing in Europe.

Dylan Sikura was second for the Hogs in scoring with 33 points (14 G, 19 A) in 45 games last season. Chicago punted on the once-heralded prospect by trading him to Vegas. That move likely closes the door on brother Tyler, Rockford’s captain and leading scorer (34 points), making a return to the IceHogs.

In return for Sikura, Chicago obtained forward Brandon Pirri, originally a second-round draft pick of the Blackhawks in 2009. You might remember the internet losing its collective mind at the announcement of this swap when it happened on September 28.

If you believe that Pirri is returning to the organization to find a home on Chicago’s bottom six, you probably are still bent out of shape over this move. If Pirri spends the bulk of the season with the Blackhawks, you might have cause for a beef with Hawks management.

Here’s where you should take some breaths and relax. When you view this trade as a move to improve the organization’s AHL depth, it’s a huge trade for Rockford.

The 29-year-old Pirri has run hot and cold in the NHL in stints with Chicago, Florida, Anaheim, New York, and Vegas. However, he is an elite AHL scorer.

Pirri was a part-timer in the AHL the past three seasons, splitting time between Vegas and the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. In 124 AHL contests in that span, he has 129 points (62 G, 67 A).

Pirri is Rockford’s all-time leading scorer, with 200 points (68 G, 132 A) in 238 games with the IceHogs from 2010-2014. He led the AHL with 75 points (22 G, 53 A) in 2012-13. No Hogs skater has approached that mark since the Blackhawks traded Pirri to the Panthers in the middle of the following season.

The IceHogs have not had a 50-point scorer in the past six seasons. Last season, they were near the league basement in goals per game. Getting pucks in opposing nets has often been an issue for Rockford.

The IceHogs need goals. Brandon Pirri scores and creates goals. That’s the Reader’s Digest version of why he’s back in the organization. At least I hope it is.

A player who is very likely to wind up in Rockford is the newly acquired Anton Lindholm. The defenseman was a part of the underwhelming return (which included D Nikita Zadorov) for Brandon Saad and Dennis Gilbert in Chicago’s trade with Colorado Saturday.

Lindholm is 25 and has spent most of his pro career in the AHL with San Antonio and the Colorado Eagles. He is a defensive-minded player who isn’t going to score a lot. On the other hand, he is a decent skater and handles the puck pretty well coming out of his own zone. Rockford should be able to utilize his defensive skills.

Returning Prospects

The following players remain in the Blackhawks system and will spend at least a portion of the upcoming (?) season with the IceHogs.

Forward: Brandon Hagel, John Quenneville, MacKenzie Entwistle, Mikael Hakkarainen, Matthew Highmore, Reese Johnson and Phillipp Kurashev.

Defense: Nicolas Baeudin, Lucas Carlsson and Chad Krys.

Goalie: Collin Delia, Kevin Lankinen and Matt Tomkins.

 

New Faces

Forward: Pius Suter, Cameron Morrison, Matej Chalupa, Evan Barratt, Michal Teply, Andrei Altybarmakyan and Brad Morrison.

Defense: Wyatt Kalynuk and Alec Regula.

Goalie: Malcom Subban.

 

AHL Contracts

Rockford seems to have made all of their AHL signings. The biggest of these may be Cody Franson. On Wednesday, the IceHogs inked the defenseman to a one-year AHL contract. Franson is 33 and has a decade of NHL experience with Nashville, Toronto, Buffalo, and Chicago.

Franson spent the last three months of the 2017-18 season with Rockford. He was instrumental in the Hogs run to the Western Conference Final that spring. Franson put up 28 points (9 G, 19 A) in 37 games with Rockford and added 13 points (6 G, 7 A) in 13 playoff contests.

Having spent the last two seasons in the KHL with Avangard Omsk, Franson may be looking to impress an NHL team enough to earn a contract. This is a big upgrade on the IceHogs blueline. He should make for a fine veteran mentor who can have a big impact at both ends of the ice.

Rockford has a dozen players under AHL contracts. Forwards Garret Mitchell, Gabriel Gagne, Dylan McLaughlin and Matthew Thompson return to the organization from last season along with defensemen Dmitri Osipov and Jack Ramsey.

In addition to Franson, new AHL signings include forwards Riley McKay, Chris Wilke and Mitchell Fossier, forward/defenseman D.J. Busdeker, and goalie Tom Auburn. AHL contracts who don’t seem to be returning are forwards Nick Moutrey and Liam Coughlin, along with defenseman Josh McArdle.

The ECHL announced a return to play model that includes 13 of its teams starting the season December 11. One of those franchises is the Indy Fuel, the Hogs affiliate. I would guess that many of Rockford’s signings will be skating for the Fuel when the ECHL season begins.

 

Keeping The Kids Busy

With no set start date for the AHL as of yet, Chicago has farmed out prospects to European clubs. On September 29, the Blackhawks announced that they have loaned forward Brandon Hagel, Rockford’s leading goal-scorer last season, to HC Thurgau of the Swiss League. Hagel was up with the Blackhawks when play was suspended this spring after an impressive rookie season (19 G, 12 A) with the Hogs.

This move by Chicago is the latest in a series of loans that now include three forwards we’ve seen at the BMO, along with three European signings.

Philipp Kurashev was loaned to LC Lugano of Switzerland’s NLA back on September 5. Like Hagel, Kurashev is familiar to Rockford fans. The 20-year-old’s rookie season with the IceHogs was marred a bit by a head injury that cost him five weeks of action. Up until that, Kurashev seemed to be getting into a groove with Rockford. He finished with seven goals and a dozen helpers in 36 games.

LC Lugano began its season October 1. Also starting the season in Switzerland is forward Pius Suter, who the Blackhawks signed in mid-July to a one-year, entry-level deal. Suter was loaned to the GCK Lions of the Swiss B League on September 8. Suter, ironically, had opted out of a contract with the ZSC Lions of the NLA after being named its MVP this past season.

Forward Michal Teply was signed by Chicago to a three-year contract back in April. The Hawks fourth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Teply returns to his native Czech Republic after spending last season in the WHL with Winnipeg.

Teply was loaned to BK Mladá Boleslav of Czech Republic’s Czech Extraliga on September 5. Also playing in Czech Extraglia will be forward Matej Chalupa, who signed with the Blackhawks at the end of May. Chalupa was loaned to Mountfield HK back on August 15.

Tim Soderlund was loaned to Sweden’s Almtuna IS of the Hockey Allsvenskan League on September 1. The 22-year-old forward struggled to find a role with the Hogs, splitting time between Rockford and the Indy Fuel of the ECHL last season.

Hopefully the AHL is able to set a concrete starting date to the 2020-21 campaign. Until then, I’ll play the waiting game until some sort of training camp takes place. There are countless questions ahead. I will tackle them for you in the coming weeks.

 

 

Hockey

So Long, Crow—and Other Stuff of Lesser Import

By John Pullega 3009

The message to Corey and to everyone else today is that we’ve decided we have some young goaltenders here in Chicago we believe in. –Stan Bowman

The indignities never cease.

We all sort of knew it was coming, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less. The Hawks won’t be re-signing Corey Crawford. There are few superlatives you can apply to Corey Crawford that could adequately describe what he meant to this franchise. The most playoff wins for a Hawks goalie ever (52), two Cups, a .918 SV% over 14 years in a league that didn’t employ dog catchers and train hoppers on the top lines, and countless instances of pulling the Hawks’s collective ass out of a sling when they didn’t deserve anything more than swirlee.

He’s always been our Dangerfield. From bringing in Marty Turco for REASONS; to walking smegma trap Pierre McGuire costing him a Conn Smythe with that WEAK GLOVE horseshit that fueled a fire of giardiniera fartin’, cousin fuckin’ angst among the unwashed; to the constant bus tossings the organ-I-zation couldn’t wet themselves quickly enough to dole out in an effort to offshore blame, Corey Crawford never really got the respect he deserved.

We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: His number belongs in the rafters. I’ll go so far as to say he should go down as the greatest goaltender in Hawks history. Better than Tony O. Better than Glenn Hall. Better than Belfour.

Corey Crawford (and a pandemic, obviously) took this year’s version of the Chicago Blackhawks—a team that iced one of the worst defenses in recent memory—to the playoffs. We surely don’t need to remind you of the Cam Ward/Collin Delia trainwreck of last year, wherein goaltenders not named Corey Crawford averaged a 3.64 GAA and .900 SV%. Throughout his career, Crow made excellent teams into world beaters and pisspoor teams into something feigning passable.

Save his FUCKIN’ RIGHT moment, Crow did it all with quiet, big-dick confidence. No moment ever seemed too big or overwhelming—not even the rough start he had to the Nashville series in ‘15, which Crow came back to save in the end. His memory was short (thanks in no small part to the Hawks’s complete dereliction of player safety, we’re sure), his butterfly pristine, and his presence the one thing you could nearly always count on.

Now we get to worry about the Hawks exploring a trade for Marc-Andre Fleury and his $7 million cap hit, because that has Stan Bowman written all fucking over it. And the free agent market isn’t particularly appetizing, unless you’re counting on a big bounce back from Holtby or are willing to rely on, like, Cam the Magic Talbot. We’d love it if Malcolm Subban would slot in, but, ya know. Collin Delia and Kevin Lankinen behind this defense? The Hawks may not win 15 games next year if that’s what they go with.

You can talk about Crow’s age and recent health as reasons not to re-sign him, along with the Hawks’s tenuous cap positioning. We get that, but we don’t buy it. And it’s possible, perhaps even likely, that Crawford told everyone in the front office to cram whatever offer they had up their ass and spin. That’s the version I’m going to believe, regardless of the fact that that doesn’t seem like Crawford’s style. But it’s hard to look past the difference between the Hawks with Crawford and without him. It’s not like Crow underperformed last year, after all.

It’s tough to lose the best goaltender in team history, someone who still has cornerstone performances in him. It’s a heartbreaker that it’s Crawford, someone who did so much right, so little wrong, and still got unduly treated like he’s not the greatest goaltender the organization’s ever seen.

Of every game I’ve seen and experience I’ve had related to Crow, the one I’ll remember most was meeting him at a signing in a fucking mattress store. What struck me most was how kind, humble, and grateful he was to be in the position he was in. It was a fleeting moment, but I’ll never forget how there wasn’t the slightest hint of arrogance in him. That’s truly a marvel for an athlete of his pedigree.

So long, Crow. A cornerstone on two Cup winners, Crow was also the biggest reason the Hawks even feigned competitiveness over the last three years (Lehner was good too, but fuck him). Without him, the house of cards looks to fall apart.

But as they say, nothing gold can stay.

– In other news of less import, the Hawks traded Olli Maatta for some guy on the Kings. A pure salary dump move, kudos to Bowman for getting anything at all back for Maatta. While it’s a foregone conclusion that Brad Morrison won’t be Dominik Kubalik, he can be a depth centerman on Rockford or something. Maybe. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that a spot has opened up for Ian “Good Fucking Luck, Kid” Mitchell, provided Coach Nathan For You keeps the press box buffet stocked.

– The draft was whatever. You sort of got the feeling that Crow wasn’t coming back with the Hawks selecting Drew Commesso in the second round. Their first rounder, LW Lukas Reichel, doesn’t move many needles at first glance. But in a tradition started by Fels, we’re not going to pretend we watch anything related to juniors. He’s from Europe, which has always boded well for the Hawks. Outside that, we don’t expect anyone from this draft class to make any difference one way or another under the current Kane and Toews contract terms.

That’s all for now.

Baseball

Series Recap: Sox Lose 2 of 3 to A’s – End of the Road

By Andy Jonathan 1661

BOX SCORES

White Sox 4 – Athletics 1

White Sox 3 – Athletics 5

White Sox 4 – Athletics 6

 

And with that, this weird ass season for the Sox comes to a close. I’m trying to muster up the energy to be pissed off about it, but I’m coming up empty. You could see coming into this series how thin the margin for error for the Sox was, and it bled right over that line in games 2 and 3. Operating as shorthanded as they were bore the expected results, but the Sox battled the entire time and they deserve a lot of credit for that.

Without a doubt this team is on the verge of being something very special, and almost juggernaut-esque. Will the front office do what needs to be done to plug the holes going forward? I wish I felt more positive about it, because their track record with such things looks more like Jeff Keppinger than George Springer.

One last time into the breach, dear friends!

 

NUMBERS DON’T LIE

-Tim Anderson, ladies and gentleman. He was an unholy force at the plate this series, and only just missed out on his 2nd batting title in a row. Not only did he shake the regression monster, he hauled off and kicked it right in the dick. Good for him.

-Jose Abreu was amazing in game 1, then suddenly couldn’t get the big hit in games 2 and 3. Such is baseball, but it shouldn’t take away at all from an MVPito caliber season from the captain. Love him.

-Nick Madrigal…not a great game two. Cost the team some runs that loomed large at the end with some mental mistakes. He’s clearly not a finished product yet, but when he is…he’s gonna annoy the shit out of opposing teams for a very long time. Patience, grasshopper.

-Dallas Keuchel had a stinker at the worst possible time. Not much you can do.

-Ricky Renteria is gonna take a lot of heat for the use of the pen in game 3, but he was only playing the hand Hahn dealt him. If Crochet doesn’t get hurt there, it’s an entirely different ballgame. Speaking of, let us all hope that the forearm strain is just that, and not a harbinger of TJ surgery like it normally is. The kid has some Stuff.

-Poor Eloy. He deserved so much better than having his foot let him down this postseason.

-Lucas Giolito is the ace of this team, and anyone who can’t acknowledge that needs therapy.

-Nomar Mazara was not actively terrible this series. I’d like to think his Rona infection (let’s be honest, we all know he had it) affected his game more than he let on, so hopefully he can battle it out for a starting position next year with whoever Hahn doesn’t sign.

-Yoan Moncada is a warrior. Get healthy, young man.

 

Shorter wrap then normal. I’ll be back after the World Series to break down the Sox roster and talk about who should stay and who should go. Until then, you guys all stay safe and enjoy the postseason baseball that’s being gifted to us. It’s been a really fun season, and a bright spot for me in an otherwise dumpster fire of a year. I wanna thank everyone who took the time to read this stuff, and I appreciate every single one of y’all. Also thanks to Matt McClure and the FFUD hierarchy for letting me continue to write here. It’s a lot of fun, and I hope to continue in the future.

 

Peace,

-AJ

Baseball

AL 2020 WC Series: Oakland Athletics Preview – Root Down

By Andy Jonathan 1657

START TIMES

Game 1: Tuesday 9/29 2:08 PM on ESPN

Game 2: Wednesday 9/30 2:10 PM on ESPN

PITCHING PREVIEW

 

Now we move onto the other side of the ball, the offense of the Oakland A’s. Just looking at the surface stats of the A’s offense, you’d be inclined to think that this is a team that’s built to be opportunistic with opponent’s mistakes and then sit back and let their plus pitching shut the rest down. Well dear reader, you’d be exactly right.

The A’s don’t score runs in bunches, sitting exactly in the middle of the pack in runs scored with 274 of them. Comparatively, the top two teams (one of which happens to be the Sox) mashed in upwards of 30 more runs than Oakland did.

The A’s walk more, strike out less, and steal more bases than the Sox. They’re exactly the kind of team we used to despise in Minnesota in the early and middle 2000s, with one major difference this time: they don’t have their one big monster hitter now. Three weeks ago their all star 3rd baseman Matt Chapman came up lame after ranging to his left on a hot ground ball and attempting to make a spinning throw to first. An MRI after the game revealed a strained hip flexor, which required season ending surgery.

Not only was Chapman 2nd on the team with 10 HR at the time, but he also led the A’s in extra base hits. On top of that, he was by far and away the best defensive 3rd baseman in the AL, with Fangraphs having him at 34 DRS last season, with a 14.8 UZR rating.

This is a huge blow to the A’s on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, and a disadvantage the Sox should hopefully be able to take advantage of in a shortened series. After Chapman, the primary drivers of the A’s offense are as follows:

Mark Canha – LF/CF

2020 Stats: .246/.387/.795  5 hr, 33 RBI, 32 R, 33 BB, 127 wRC+

On the surface, Canha doesn’t seem to be anything super special here (which you’ll start to see is a pattern). He doesn’t hit for a ton of power, doesn’t knock in a ton of RBIs. What he does do is get on base at a prodigious clip, as his .387 OBP is 15th in the entire league, just behind Mike Trout. He sees a ton of pitches, and forces opposing batteries to show all of their weapons in one plate appearance. He’s like a human video session of a pitcher’s strengths and weaknesses.

The A’s currently have him hitting cleanup, which seems out of place as you’d normally like to have someone of his skill set hitting 1st or 2nd, but Bob Melvin has made it work consistently throughout this bizarre season. The Sox staff will have to be aware of what he can do, and try and make short work of him when he comes to the plate.

Marcus Semien – SS

2020 Stats: .223/.305/.679 7 hr, 23 RBI, 27 R, 25 BB, 91 wRC+

OLD FRIEND ALERT. Here we have yet another former White Sox prospect in the sweet swinging Marcus Semien. Traded from the Sox in 2014 along with Chris Bassett for Jeff “Not Here Anymore” Samardzija, Semien quickly found a home at short here in the bay area. Last season was his coming out party, as he slashed .285/.396/.892 with 33 HR and 92 RBI. He also scored 121 runs atop the A’s lineup and swiped 10 bags.

While this season hasn’t come close to what he put up in 2019, he’s still a very large threat atop the A’s lineup. Usually leading off, Semien has power to all gaps, and can lay down a bunt and beat it out if the corners are playing too far back. While he only stole 4 bases this season, the speed and ability is still something pitchers need to take account of. Bob Melvin also loves to hit and run when Semien is on base, easily creating a 1st and 3rd situation before the opposing starter has even settled in.

Ramon Laureano – CF/RF

2020 Stats: .213/.338/.704 6 hr, 25 RBI, 23 R, 24 BB, 108 wRC+

Possibly the most intriguing young player on the diamond for the A’s is Ramon Laureano. Bursting onto the scene last year slashing .288/.340/.860 with 24 HR and 67 RBIs, Laureano’s mix of speed and power made the AL west sit up and take notice. Unfortunately for him, his season has kind of gone off the rails since his suspension back in early August after he attempted to fight the entire Astros team to get to slimy shitball hitting coach Alex Cintron. He then had the quote of the year by saying this about Cintron: “I regret charging him, because he is a loser.”

 

https://youtu.be/0wB3wqslqLM

Despite his down numbers this year, Laureano is dangerous in any count and can put the ball on the ground and beat it out with his plus speed. In addition, if you hang a piece of cheese in the zone, he has the power to make you pay for it.

Sean Murphy – C

2020 Stats: .233/.364/.821 7 hr, 14 RBI, 21 R, 24 BB, 131 wRC+

Sean Murphy has yet to experience a full major league season. Brought up as a September callup in 2019, he impressed the A’s front office by hitting 5 HR the rest of the way to go along with his 5 doubles. Brought along slowly in the A’s stocked minor league system, Murphy was always targeted as their catcher of the future. Thus far, the returns have been exactly what the A’s were hoping for.

Murphy thus far has shown an innate ability to hit for power, along with the patience that is the hallmark of the Oakland offensive system. The fact that he can hit for the power that he does while maintaining a .364 OBP speaks volumes to the kid’s eye. If he’s able to stay healthy behind the plate (he’s already missed time due to knee issues, which for a catcher is never a good thing), he should be the backbone of the A’s lineup along with Chapman for years to come.

Verdict:

As you can see above, the one tying link between all of those hitters is a sky-high OBP. This A’s team is maddeningly patient at the plate, and is completely willing to take a walk at the expense of pulling the trigger at a marginal pitch.

For the Sox rotation and bullpen to have success against the A’s offense, they need to stay within their game and throw strikes. Keep ahead of the A’s hitters in counts, and force them to make contact. There’s not a ton of pop there, but there IS an extremely high hitter’s IQ. Pound for pound, the A’s don’t match up to the sheer power the Sox can present, but they can drive a starter out of the game quickly if they start to nibble. Go right after them, and success can be had.

We’ve waited a long time for the Sox to reach the postseason, and there’s no reason they can’t make a lengthy run this year. The march starts now…

 

LET’S GO SOX

 

 

Hockey

That’s It! The Case Cracker! Dylan Sikura for Brandon Pirri Because F*ck You

By John Pullega 2604

We all have our security blankets. Mine is comparing Alex Nylander to a pile of microwaved dog shit. Perhaps yours is drugs, or alcohol, or comparing us to a pile of microwaved dog shit (see?). Stan Bowman’s is trading for/signing players he had under contract before, presumptively because they’re a known known. So god damn it if we aren’t remotely surprised to see Brandon Pirri coming back to Chicago, because fuck you.

Back when the Hawks were doing the will-he-or-won’t-he with Dylan Sikura, plenty of writers spilled plenty of ink talking about how Sikura fought through confidence issues to become a force at Northeastern. He went from a guy to a Hobey Baker finalist, which as we all know from past Blackhawks Luminary Drew LeBlanc is worth about as much as a two-cherry pull tab with a rug-burned scrotum as the last symbol. Despite being a sixth-round pick, there was always an overabundance of hope for him, especially from our quarters.

And aside from not scoring, Sikura wasn’t bad while he was here. In his only sustained stint here in 2018–19, over 33 games, here’s what he did:

  • Led all Hawks skaters in CF% (55+)
  • Led all Hawks forwards in xGF% (50+)
  • Finished top 5 among Hawks skaters in GF% (55+)

Those are decent peripheral stats for a guy who’s just that: a peripheral player. But much like Beavis, he never scored, which was always a fly in the ointment for Sikura. But for a team whose defense is a straitjacket made entirely of human shit and gristle, having players who can keep possession of the puck is paramount. Sikura could do that, but it obviously wasn’t good enough for a team willing to jam three minutes of John Quenneville in your face in an elimination game in the playoffs. We screamed and moaned for Sikura to get playing time over ANY of the following:

Each of whom got more time than Dylan Sikura over the past two years and each of whom brings between dick and ass to the table compared to Sikura. Though Sikura was never going to be a world beater, he could have been a role player on the third line, and that’s all he ever needed to be. It’s what he’ll become in Vegas to be sure. But instead, we got motherfuckers like John Quenneville skating in meaningful games over here. Tightly run ship, that.

Now what, pray tell, does Brandon Pirri bring to the table that Dylan Sikura couldn’t? He had a nice scoring run in Florida six fucking years ago, with 40 goals over 122 games there. And in 18–19, he scored 12 goals for Vegas. His career CF% is slightly lower than Sikura’s despite spending much more time in the offensive zone. Like Sikura, he’s had a hard time sticking in the NHL.

But Pirri is almost 30 and costs $25k more than Sikura. For a team that’s dry humping the cap, every dollar matters. Pirri is the older, balder, fatter son that the Hawks thought Sikura could be. And he’s been here before, which is apparently good enough.

This is the second time in three years that the Hawks have gone from drooling over the potential of one of their picks to trading him for a police horse’s fully filled diaper, Harju being the other. In both cases, you got the sense that they were in some kind of doghouse despite solid play. With all the hype that surrounded Sikura as he made his way to the Hawks, you’d have thought he’d get more than the 47 total games he got here. What’s frustrating is that other than the whole “not scoring” thing, he didn’t do all that much wrong. Certainly, he did more right than any of the aforementioned palookas who played more than him over the past two years.

Brandon Pirri will shuttle between Rockford and Chicago as he’s done throughout most of his career, while Dylan Sikura goes on to become an even stronger possession player on one of the best possession teams in the league. When he pots 15–20 goals next year, the Hawks will justify the trade as we can’t afford that.

It’s a fart in the wind in the long term. Sikura barely got a shake here, and now he’ll go to a team that’s nothing but guys who barely got a shake. How’s that gone for the rest of the league? But this is the state of things, wherein Bowman tries to win the 2014 Stanley Cup yet again.

The retreads will continue until morale improves.

Baseball

2020 AL WC Series: Oakland Athletics Preview – Up In Arms

By Andy Jonathan 1746

After taking a night to stew on the sad showing of this past weekend’s series against the Cubs, it’s time to take a deep breath, look in the mirror, and remind ourselves that despite the suckitude of the last week that the White Sox will be playing Playoff Baseball this week, which should be a cause for celebration.

So despite that big ole hunk of fail this last week, the Sox falling to the 7th seed in the playoffs may have inadvertently landed them in a pretty decent spot against the Oakland Athletics. The A’s won one more game than the Sox this season, and while that was good enough to score them the AL West crown, those wins came against 3 playoff teams, (Dodgers/Padres/Astros) whilst the Sox wins came against 6 (Cubs/Reds/Brewers/Cards/Indians/Twins).

So let’s take a quick dive into who’ll be opposing the Sox hitters this upcoming week, and what they can expect to see.

A’s Starting Pitching

While Bob Melvin has yet to release his rotation for the upcoming games, one can make at least an educated guess as to who will be starting the first 2 against the Sox. Odds are, Melvin is going to turn to his hottest pitcher of late for Game 1:

Chris Bassitt

2020 Stats: 5-2, 2.29 ERA, 7.86 K/9, 1.16 WHIP, 3.59 FIP

Pitches: 4 Seam (54.3%)/Slider (2.9%)/Cutter (23.2%)/Curve (9.4%)/Changeup (10.3%)

Oh, look. A member of the A’s that was drafted by the White Sox. How weird that so many A’s players started with the Sox organization! (facepalm emoji)

You can see right off the bat that Bassitt is the type of pitcher that would be right at home in the Cleveland rotation. He’s a very patient pitcher that doesn’t have overpowering velocity (his 4 seamer tops out right at about 93 mph), but is very efficient in the zone. His breakout this season has been propelled by almost completely ditching the slider for a cut fastball, which he throws in almost any count.

Once he’s got 2 strikes on you, however, he usually turns to his curveball which is almost excruciatingly slow:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1293662761243869190

As you might imagine, Bassitt is the type of pitcher that could frustrate a younger, more aggressive lineup like the White Sox. The one bright side to him is that his FIP is considerably higher than his ERA. While the A’s have pretty stellar defense, it’s not to the point that there should be 2.00 of difference in his ERA vs FIP. So Bassitt can be gotten to, and with the slow offense of the A’s, he doesn’t have to be pummeled.

Which brings us to our likely game 2 starter and A’s Superprospect:

Jesús Luzardo

2020 Stats: 3-2, 4.12 ERA, 9.00 K/9, 1.27 WHIP, 4.19 FIP

Pitches: 4 Seam (53.5%) Slider (22.4%), Change (23.9%)

After a few setbacks due to injury, the much heralded arrival (at least if you’re in a fantasy baseball dynasty league) of super pitching prospect Jesús Luzardo finally happened. While his first two starts were nothing to write home about, you could absolutely see the stuff was there.

His velocity is the type of stuff that hasn’t been seen in Oakland since the days of Dave Stewart, and his slider has almost the same average velo as his fastball, with the kind of “shit-your-pants” movement usually reserved for knuckleballs. He’s not afraid to throw it at the back foot of a righty hitter either:

https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1307418069220888576?s=20

The only thing fairly average about him right now is his change, but when it’s still coming in at 88 mph it can be a devastating weapon. Control can be an issue, though not so much in the walk department (2.76 BB/9), moreso leaving his fastball out over the plate. He has issues with the long ball (1.37 HR/9) which can play right into the hands of the Sox hitters, who I’ve been told can hit the ball a long way when given the chance.

Game 3 would most likely be Frankie Montas, who is one of the hottest pitchers in baseball right now (and also another former member of the White Sox organization) but here’s hoping we don’t have to get to that point.

If the Sox are able to get to Bassitt and Luzardo, they still face one of the best bullpens in the AL and perhaps the best closer in the league in:

Liam Hendriks

2020 Stats: 3-1, 1.76 ERA, 12.33 K/9(!), 0.67 WHIP (!!), 1.14 FIP(!!!) 15/16 Save Opp

Pitches: 4 Seam (70.3%), Slider (22.2%), Curve (7.0%)

Goofy Face: 100%

Despite looking like a total goober, Hendriks has been nothing but nails this entire season. His fastball has some high heat, as he can reach 99mph, and his slider is wipeout-type stuff. He only blew one save the entire season, and he’s given up a total of 5 runs the whole year. He really just doesn’t break at all, and the Sox would do well to never give him the chance to shut the door, because if he’s in the game it’s pretty much already over.

The rest of the bullpen is all the type you’d expect from a Billy Beane-constructed team. Solid but unspectacular. They were 4th in the AL overall in RP stats, but take out Hendriks and they fall to 8th. The Sox pen currently sits 6th, and that’s with Rodon’s numbers thrown in there. If the Sox can get a lead on Bassitt and Luzardo, I like their chances to take the series in 2 games.

If they head into the later innings tied (or god forbid, behind), the hill becomes much steeper to climb. The Sox strategy against the starters should be the same as it’s been: hit the ball a long way. Home runs are going to be their easiest path to victory this series, as if this turns into small ball, the advantage flips to the A’s pitching and D. Thankfully with the series being played at a neutral site (looks to be LA) which is WAY more hitter friendly then the cavernous OF of Oakland, the edge moves a bit in the Sox favor. Oakland’s team ERA is 4.47 on the road vs. 2.89 at home, so they can be had.

The Sox need to take care of this series in two, as we’d prefer to avoid having to discuss who the Sox 3rd starter will be, things becoming much more urpy at that point.

 

 

 

Baseball

Series Recap and Cubs Preview: Desperation Station

By Andy Jonathan 1526

BOX SCORES

White Sox 4 – Indians 7

White Sox 3 – Indians 5

White Sox 2 – Indians 3

White Sox 4 – Indians 5

 

That…was not good. In a series that bare minimum needed to result in a split for the Sox to maintain their hold on top of the AL Central standings, instead saw Cleveland return the favor from the end of the season last year when the Sox swept them and crushed the Tribe’s playoff hopes. The Sox could very easily have won every game this series, and yet somehow managed to find ways to lose each one in increasingly frustrating ways. All of this culminating in Rick Renteria’s mystifying decision to throw Carlos Rodon to the wolves in the bottom of the 7th last night. Let’s put a bow on this box full of shit before we move on to the last series of the regular season, shall we?

 

To the bullets:

 

Numbers Don’t Lie

-Let’s get this out of the way to start: Renteria fucked up something pretty huge last night. Taking a returning Carlos Rodon (who hadn’t faced live hitting against legit major leaguers in over 2 months) and having him come it to try and get one out with the bases loaded in a game the Sox absolutely needed to have when he had Marshall, Bummer, Heuer and Foster available to him is inexcusable. The results were completely predictable, and I’m sincerely hoping this hasn’t broken Rodon’s brain. Ricky Renteria takes way too much shit normally from this fanbase and I think he actually does a pretty good job all things considered, but this dump truck full of criticism completely deserves to run him over. Even Frank Thomas in the post-game show was flabbergasted, and was more than happy to let his feelings be known. Not something you see every day.

-On the plus side, Rodon’s velocity was back, hitting the upper 90s with his fastball. Granted he was clearly overthrowing it, and 97 without movement isn’t gonna help anyone but the guy in the batter’s box but it’s the one small positive out of last night’s mess.

-Eloy came up lame after his double in the 7th, which was later revealed to be “foot soreness” (whatever that is). Fingers crossed it’s nothing that keeps him out too long as the Sox are about out of time.

-The Sox offense actually showed signs of life the last two games, which is a welcome sight after the previous 5. A lineup like this that doesn’t take or see many pitches is always going to be prone to slumps, so hopefully this is them coming out the other side of it.

-Luis Robert finally got a day off yesterday, and with 2 starts against left handed pitchers on tap this weekend I fully expect him to shake off his slump. Or not.

-Watching Yoan Moncada breathing heavily on the Sox bench for 10 minutes after his triple and needed to be fanned by Ricky Renteria is terrifying to see. COVID continues to be not something to fuck around with 8 months later and yet people are still fucking stupid about it.

-The Sox are now a game behind the Twins for the lead in the AL Central. 3 for us against the Cubs and 3 for them against the Reds. It’s not over yet, which brings us to:

 

Series Preview: Cubs at White Sox – Yes, It Actually Matters

VS

 

PROBABLE STARTERS

Game 1: Yu Darvish (7-3, 2.22 ERA) vs. Dylan Cease (5-3, 3.52 ERA)

Game 2: Jon Lester (3-2, 4.40 ERA) vs. Dane Dunning (2-0, 3.19 ERA)

Game 3: TBD vs. Reynaldo Lopez (1-2, 4.68 ERA)

Q&A With The Legendary Sam Fels

 

I really, really, REALLY was hoping this series wasn’t going to matter for either team and they could just play out the series with an eye on resting their players for the post season. The Baseball Gods have had other plans, however, so here we are. A series that actually matters for BOTH teams, despite them having clinched a postseason birth.

We all know the situation the Sox find themselves in, but the Cubs have somehow not managed to secure the NL Central title with the Cardinals 2.5 games behind them. The North Siders come into the series in similar straits as the Sox, losers of their last 3 and unable to find their offense without the aid of a GPS, having only scored 13 runs in their last 7 games.

The hottest hitter the Cubs have right now (and I say this with no measure of irony) is Jason Heyward, he of the .283 average and 6 home runs. The offense really just hasn’t gotten going on the North Side, and they currently rank 13th out of 15 teams in the NL for standard batting stats ahead of only the Reds and Pirates (who just took 3 of 4 from them).

On the pitching side, the Sox will face the rejuvenated Cy Young candidate Yu Darvish on Friday night. Darvish, despite having a few less than stellar (merely pretty good) outings in his last 3 still has to at least be in the conversation for the award that we all know is going to Trevor Bauer. The last time the Sox faced Darvish he held them in check, only allowing one dinger to Jose Abreu (he does that to people) and striking out 10.

Saturday is a different story, with Jon Lester making what is most likely to be his final regular season start in a Cubs uniform. Last time out the Sox torched him for 8 runs, 4 of which came from the long ball. More of this would be welcome this weekend.

The Cubs don’t have a starter listed for the finale this weekend, but if they lose the first two to the Sox and the Cards win both of theirs I would expect to see Kyle Hendricks on short rest. If that’s not the case I would think it would be Adbert Alzolay and Jose Quintana eating innings for game 3.

We know what this means for the Sox. A good weekend could be the difference between facing the Yankees in the first round and the Indians. Despite the fact that the Tribe just managed to steal 4 games in a row against them, I know I’d rather see them than Garrett Cole and that Death Star of an offense the Yankees field every game. Just get it done.

 

Let’s Go Sox

 

Baseball

Series Recap: Sox Lose 2 of 3 To Reds – Shrug Emoji

By Andy Jonathan 1385

BOX SCORES

Game 1: White Sox 1 – Reds 7

Game 2: White Sox 5 – Reds 0

Game 3: White Sox 3 – Reds 7

 

MEH.

That’s really the only descriptor that can sum up this weekend of White Sox baseball. The starting pitching, the timely hitting, the focus, all…meh. Which is really kind of understandable, really, to come out a little flat after the balls to the wall series against the Twins earlier in the week. If the next series looks like this, then perhaps we might begin to worry. As for now, treat it as an aberration and move on to the next one.

 

TO THE BULLETS!

 

NUMBERS DON’T LIE

-We learned two main things this weekend: Jonathan Stiever is young and inexperienced (DUH) and Dain Dunning is the team’s number 3 starter until proven otherwise.

-Dylan Cease finally found a bullet he couldn’t dodge: the patient plate approach of the Cincinnati Reds. The book was out on him, and the Reds hitters were all prepared to make Cease get THEM out and do him no favors in the process. Cease went 3+ innings and threw 80 pitches while walking 7 hitters. Almost every count went full, and Dylan just had no answers to their patience. His breaking stuff actually looked the best that it has in quite awhile, but his fastball control flat out sucks right now. Obviously after seeing the lows and highs of Lucas Giolito I’m not willing to write Cease of by any means, but if his control isn’t there he’s not much more than a 5th starter for this team.

-The Tim Anderson/Trevor Bauer headline lived up to the hype, as Timmy managed to take him deep in the 5th inning on Saturday night. Credit to Bauer for taking it with good humor saying TA should have bat flipped it.

-Nomar Mazara also managed to go deep off Bauer, however, so how hard can it be?

-Dallas Keuchel struck out a season high 7 batters, but he didn’t complete the 5th inning which is not something that’s happened in quite awhile. The K’s are nice, but I don’t think anyone would trade 7 Ks for 7 innings.

-Matt Foster and Cody Heuer are now officially “A Thing”

-Luis Robert is in a full on slump now, and a night off might not be the worst thing in the world for the kid. Give him a chance to get his brain in order.

-As of right now, the Cubs and Twins have each won one this weekend with tonight’s game to go so the lead still stands at 2.5 over the Twins. Go Cubs….I guess.

-Next up is 4 against Cleveland, which taking 3 of 4 could possibly result in the Indians missing the post season 2 years in a row because of the Sox. I’d love to see it, because I don’t think any of us want a 3 game series with that pitching staff in the first round.

 

Moving on…

 

Baseball

Series Preview: White Sox at Reds – Southside Kings in the Queen City

By Wes French 1160

VS

Records: Sox 33-17/Reds 25-26

Start Times: Fri 6:10/Sun 12:10

TV: NBCSN/FOX/NBCSN

Redreporter.com

PROBABLE STARTERS:

Friday: Tyler Mahle (1-2, 4.31 ERA) vs. Jonathan Stiever (0-0, 2.45 ERA)

Saturday: Tejay Antone (0-2, 2.76 ERA)vs. Dallas Keuchel (6-2, 2.19 ERA)

Sunday: Trevor Bauer (4-3, 1.71 ERA) vs. Dylan Cease (5-2, 3.20 ERA)

PLAYOFFS, BABY!

The First Place White Sox travel to Cincinnati this weekend having clinched the first playoff berth the franchise has seen since 2008. TWELVE YEARS! Much has changed…

The team clinched an overuse of the term “Soxtober” by coming from behind to beat the hated MinneHOta Twins Thursday afternoon, securing postseason representation by taking three of four from their closest pursuant in the Division. Not much time for celebrations, though, as the team heads to the Queen city for three with the resurgent Reds, winners of five straight and thinking about a postseason trip of their own. The Reds have gone 7-3 in their last 10 to take over Second place in the NL Central and an automatic playoff berth – for now.

The exciting Sox bats weren’t exactly on full display against the Twins, but their 14 runs across the four game set were enough to buoy strong pitching performances from the pitching staff in the mid-week series. One would think they’d like to see more from the supporting cast around Jose Abreu and the timely Eloy Jimenez, and especially while visiting the notoriously hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park. Sox hitters will look to do so against a few RH SP, none of which instill much fear outside of the polarizing Trevor Bauer. Bauer is hated by many, and rightfully has earned much of that hate, but us haters have to acknowledge the stellar campaign he’s put together in this most odd of seasons – 9 GS, 4-3, 1.71 ERA, 12.88 K/9, 2 CG shutouts, 2.1 WAR. The douche is making himself some money for his mercenary FA plan on the horizon and you can bet some time in the MLB playoff limelight would only improve his position, as would a dominant performance against the potent Sox lineup.

The Sox will also look to the bats to ease what looks to be an all-hands-on-deck type of weekend for the pitching staff. Jonathan Stiever takes his second, and possibly final, turn in the rotation and will look to go a bit further than the 3.2 innings he gave his team on Sunday against Detroilet. Dallas Keuchel makes his return from an IL stint on Saturday and the series wraps with escape artist Dylan Cease, so the bullpen is going to need to be as good as ever to hold down a surging Reds offense. That task is made even harder by the announcement of Setup Man Evan Marshall hitting the IL, with recent draftee Garrett Crochet getting the call to take his spot on the roster. He’ll almost assuredly make his MLB debut in relief this weekend, possibly in a big spot against the likes of veteran Joey Votto or powerful Jesse Winker. Votto boasts three homers in his last seven games, a stretch that’s seen the Reds go 6-1 while claiming sole possession of second place in the pillow fight that is the NL Central. Cincinnati finds itself a half game ahead of St. Louis and one ahead of Milwaukee as all three are under .500 overall.

We as fans get a glimpse as one of the “what could’ve been” scenarios when Nick Castellanos steps in to face Sox pitchers and patrols RF. I guess one of the positives of this truncated schedule is we haven’t been subjected to too many of the ones that got away in the offseason RF search, but it’s going to be hard not to focus on the Mazara/Castellanos comparisons all weekend. The Sox won’t be paying that situation much mind, though, and will need to show they’re focused on more than just this playoff berth as they have a chance to solidify their lead in their own Division and set up to clinch the AL Central next week in Cleveland. It’s easy to look ahead to that four game series and see Lucas Giolito on Monday and get excited, but the Reds are in a fight of their own and cannot be overlooked. My feeling is we’re going to see some high scoring games, likely with a lot of bullpen usage from the White Sox regardless.

The magic number for the Central Division crown is officially 7; the Sox have 10 games to play. This is entirely in the team’s control and a strong showing in Cincinnati while the Twins deal with the Cubs at Wrigley will give this fanbase even more to celebrate. Maybe even a whole ass AL PENNANT.

Don’t Stop Now Boys!