Repeated bullpen implosions are likely to make a supervisor’s hair flip grey, so remember to test again on David Ross and Pedro Grifol on the finish of the season.
The managers of the Chicago Cubs and White Sox can’t appear to discover a method to get on a protracted scorching streak with their bullpens performing so poorly over the primary two months. The porous Cubs bullpen ranked twenty sixth within the majors with a 4.61 ERA getting into Sunday’s sport in opposition to the Cincinnati Reds, whereas the White Sox bullpen sat twenty ninth with an abysmal 5.28 ERA going into their sport in Detroit — which they misplaced in 10 innings after blowing a ninth-inning lead.
Neither crew has had a dependable nearer, although the Sox are anticipated to convey again Liam Hendriks on Monday after he rehabbed with the crew following a stint at Triple-A Charlotte.
Every Monday all through the season, Tribune baseball writers will present an replace on what occurred — and what’s forward for the Cubs and Sox.
Cubs apologize for bobblehead error
As bobblehead mishaps go, it’s exhausting to high having the fallacious uniform quantity to your iconic Hall of Fame outfielder.
But at the very least that offers the Cubs one thing to shoot for.
A bobblehead promotion Saturday went awry, and it was an unforced error by the Cubs’ enterprise aspect.
The Billy Williams bobblehead giveaway had the Cubs nice sporting No. 1 as a substitute of No. 26, a quantity most educated Cubs followers know nicely. After somebody tweeted the error Saturday evening, it opened the floodgates to a lot mocking of the group on-line.
It’s exhausting to imagine nobody within the group noticed the error earlier than the bobbleheads have been delivered to Wrigley Field for dispersal. But it occurred. It additionally got here at an inopportune time, with the crew in a protracted hunch that started in late April and has continued all through May.
The Cubs launched a press release afterward saying they made “a regrettable error by distributing Hall of Famer Billy Williams bobbleheads to fans with the incorrect number.”
“This should have never happened, and we know many fans will be disappointed,” the assertion stated. “We are in the process of having new bobbleheads produced so fans will have an opportunity to exchange the item. Fans who purchased tickets to (Saturday’s) game will be contacted when we receive the new bobbleheads. Due to manufacturing and shipping times, it is very likely we will have these items available next season.”
Wait until subsequent yr?
Sounds like a plan.
Andrew Benintendi cleared for takeoff
Andrew Benintendi lined a double to proper subject in opposition to Logan Allen within the seventh inning Tuesday at Progressive Field. It was an important hit throughout a three-run White Sox rally in a 4-2 win in opposition to the Cleveland Guardians.
Benintendi prolonged his hitting streak to 10 in that sport. But it was three different at-bats, all outs, that he additionally considered as constructive journeys to the plates.
“To get results is always nice, but if you’re only stuck on results you’re not always going to be happy,” Benintendi instructed the Tribune on Wednesday in Cleveland. “(Tuesday) I flew out three times, which is a positive for me because I’m trying to hit the ball in the air a little more and get it off the ground. It’s a step in the right direction.”
Benintendi is slashing .271/.332/.354 in 51 video games throughout his first season with the Sox.
“We haven’t even seen the (Benintendi) that I know is there,” Grifol stated final week. “This is what he does. He hangs in there, he battles. He’s in a great spot and rapidly he takes off and has three weeks, 4 weeks the place you possibly can’t get him out.
“We haven’t seen that part yet. We haven’t seen him yet drive balls in the seats, which he’ll do. But this is what he does. He’s a great competitor, big hits, gets on base and all of a sudden he takes off, does some special things.”
While he doesn’t have a homer, his 14 doubles have been tied for sixth within the American League by Saturday.
The hitting streak ended Wednesday, however Benintendi is slashing .314/.390/.471 (16-for-51) in his final 15 video games with at the very least one hit in 12 of these video games.
“If I wasn’t swinging it well, I would be fouling off pitches and swinging through pitches,” Benintendi stated. “Just trying to keep it simple and not do too much and using the whole field, especially the pull side, which I haven’t used the past two years that much (36% pull percentage this season compared with 30.5% last year according to fangraphs.com). Using the whole field and taking my hits when I can get them.”
Week forward: Cubs
The Cubs famously stole Joe Maddon from the Tampa Bay Rays after the 2014 season and went on to World Series glory two years later. The Rays Way labored nicely in Chicago, with Maddon’s distinctive fashion credited as one of many greatest elements within the tradition change.
But Cubs administration soured on Maddon after the core of the rebuild failed to determine itself over the lengthy haul. After a short stint with the Anaheim Angels, Maddon has been out of baseball since final yr.
Maddon’s alternative with the Rays, Kevin Cash, is now thought-about the gold normal of major-league managers, persistently successful with low-salaried groups. In his ninth season with Tampa Bay, Cash has a greater file than Maddon, whereas each made 4 postseason journeys with the Rays and received two Manager of the Year awards.
This yr’s Rays rank twenty eighth in major-league payrolls at $74.5 million however have probably the most dominant crew within the sport at 39-16, a .709 successful share. They arrive at Wrigley Field on Monday for a three-game sequence, the top of a Cubs homestand that began with a lot promise.
After a day without work Thursday, the Cubs start a 10-game West Coast journey with a four-game sequence in San Diego. By the time they return dwelling, it could possibly be the beginning of “Sell-off Watch 2.0.”
- Monday: vs. Rays, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
- Tuesday: vs. Rays, 7:05 p.m., Marquee
- Wednesday: vs. Rays, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
- Thursday: Off
- Friday: at Padres, 8:40 p.m., Marquee
- Saturday: at Padres, 9:10 p.m., Marquee, FS1
- Sunday: at Padres, 4:30 p.m., Marquee
Week forward: White Sox
The Sox spent most of May within the division, taking part in 20 video games in opposition to American League Central foes.
They have simply three division video games in June: Friday-Sunday in opposition to the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Sox are 12-11 in opposition to the AL Central this season after wrapping up a stretch of 13 consecutive division video games with Sunday’s 6-5, 10-inning loss to the Tigers. The Sox went 8-5 through the stretch.
The upcoming video games in opposition to the Tigers are the Sox’s final in opposition to an AL Central opponent by the All-Star break. They received’t see one other division crew till July 21-23 in Minnesota.
Outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jiménez returned to the lineup Sunday after lacking time following an appendectomy in early May, and second baseman Elvis Andrus could possibly be again for the sequence in opposition to the Tigers.
Grifol stated Andrus “felt good” after going 1-for-3 with a run Saturday in his first rehab sport with Triple-A Charlotte. He’s working his approach again from a strained left indirect.
“Everything I got from him and the trainers checked out good,” Grifol stated. “We’ll see how this thing goes. I don’t get too caught up in rehabs unless something happens, but we’re checking boxes now, just making sure everything is feeling good. And so far so good.”
- Monday: vs. Angels, 7:10 p.m., NBCSCH, FS1
- Tuesday: vs. Angels, 7:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Wednesday: vs. Angels, 1:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Thursday: Off
- Friday: vs. Tigers, 7:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Saturday: vs. Tigers, 1:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Sunday: vs. Tigers, 1:10 p.m., NBCSCH
What we’re studying this morning
This week in Chicago baseball
May 29, 2013: Cubs’ Dioner Navarro has the primary three-homer sport of his profession.
He linked from each side of the plate at Wrigley Field to guide the Cubs to a 9-3 win over the White Sox. Navarro drove in a career-high six runs and scored 4 occasions.
May 30, 1922: Cubs and Cardinals make a commerce between the morning and afternoon video games of a Memorial Day doubleheader.
Outfielder Max Flack was despatched to the Cardinals dugout for outfielder Cliff Heathcote. They performed one sport for every crew.
May 31, 1970: Sox’s Luis Aparicio and Walt Williams every gather 5 hits in a 22-13 rout of Red Sox.
Williams additionally scored 5 occasions. The groups collected 40 hits, one in need of the AL file set in 1950.
June 3, 2003: Cubs’ Sammy Sosa ejected for utilizing a corked bat.
Sosa was ejected within the first inning after his bat shattered on a groundout to second base and items of cork have been discovered among the many shards. Plate umpire Tim McClelland conferred together with his crew, then ejected Sosa for utilizing a corked bat. Sosa apologized “from the bottom of my heart” after the sport.
He acknowledged possession of the bat, explaining that he often used it for batting follow and residential run exhibitions to entertain his followers. He stated it had been inadvertently blended in together with his common bats.
“I just picked the wrong bat,” he stated. “I apologize to my team, to my fans. I apologize to the commissioner of baseball.”
McClelland stated he noticed a half-dollar-sized piece of cork within the bat, about midway down the barrel.
Sosa was later suspended eight video games for the incident.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com