Random Thoughts 2.1

[Jiddy]

 

[Mingo]

Robert is not playing at 100% - you can tell he is not running at full speed and is attempting zero base stealing. I say that not to excuse his not being locked in defensively lately - not getting his glove down - and not hitting the cutoff man on his throws - or getting the ball back in quickly - those things he can certainly approve and Capt. Jose ought to let him know about it.

Grandal has gone nuts - not longer an esoteric argument about his intangibles, but instead a blunt force tool for dominance at the plate. I hope he get carry this bat into the playoffs.

I was critical of Moncada's effort a few weeks ago, but he has since contributed well at the plate - and been playing gold glove defense at 3rd.

Very nice outing from Kopech last night - 2.1 innings of great pitching. Confidence is a very big key for him.

Cesar Hernandez needs to get with it - or he will not be back next season. He is playing ok defensively, but is in a zilch period at the plate. The best of the White Sox Minor leagues - are mostly middle infielders.

Both Vaughn and Sheets will need to readjust to the League's adjustment to them. Reminds me of Robert at the end of 2020.

 

[idseer]

Cesar Hernandez needs to get with it - or he will not be back next season. He is playing ok defensively, but is in a zilch period at the plate. The best of the White Sox Minor leagues - are mostly middle infielders.

hernandez sucks and will never "get with it". has no clue what the strike zone is and never will

 

[Jiddy]

 

[Jiddy]

Robert is not playing at 100% - you can tell he is not running at full speed and is attempting zero base stealing. I say that not to excuse his not being locked in defensively lately - not getting his glove down - and not hitting the cutoff man on his throws - or getting the ball back in quickly - those things he can certainly approve and Capt. Jose ought to let him know about it.

Grandal has gone nuts - not longer an esoteric argument about his intangibles, but instead a blunt force tool for dominance at the plate. I hope he get carry this bat into the playoffs.

I was critical of Moncada's effort a few weeks ago, but he has since contributed well at the plate - and been playing gold glove defense at 3rd.

Very nice outing from Kopech last night - 2.1 innings of great pitching. Confidence is a very big key for him.

Cesar Hernandez needs to get with it - or he will not be back next season. He is playing ok defensively, but is in a zilch period at the plate. The best of the White Sox Minor leagues - are mostly middle infielders.

Both Vaughn and Sheets will need to readjust to the League's adjustment to them. Reminds me of Robert at the end of 2020.

Grandal has been crazy good. Guess he was waiting in the weeds…

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Grandal has been crazy good. Guess he was waiting in the weeds…

Grandal, Robert, and Garcia have been providing the big sticks of late.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

 

[Mingo]

Just a quick shout out to the Cleveland what's their names. After being no hit three times this season - and currently handing out magic number losses at an alarming rate - I suggest they need to change more than their name - next season.

@Jiddy will be wearing his Central Division pennant T-shirt by this time next week easy.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Dodgers' Trevor Bauer out for rest of 2021 season as MLB investigates sexual assault allegations

Bauer is done pitching in 2021 with the league and MLBPA agreeing to extend his administrative leave again

www.cbssports.com

I never gave any serious thought to signing Bauer, being it was obvious that his contract demands would be way out of our league (pardon the pun).

Still, for those who thought we might have had a shot...............now aren't you glad we didn't?

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

The wild, Wild Card races for both leagues:

AL:
Toronto.............81-64
New York..........81-64
Boston...............82-65
Seattle...............78-67
Oakland............77-67

NL:
Los Angeles.....93-53
St. Louis............75-69
Cincinnati.........75-70
San Diego........74-70
Philadelphia....72-72
New York.........72-74

With division titles in all but the NL West pretty much sewn up, the real battles lie within the WC races. For the AL, both spots are wide open with three teams in a tie for those two positions. Seattle and Oakland are a bit back and would have to really pour it on to snag one of the spots, but they're at least still in the race.

For the NL, the Dodgers have the top position locked in, unless they overtake the Giants for the division lead, which would then mean it's SF with the lock. This leaves an intense battle for the final WC. Right now the Cards, Reds, and Pads are within one game of each other. Philly and the Mets are lagging behind, but can't yet be counted out.

Should be an exciting finish and it wouldn't surprise me if one or two of these final spots aren't secured until the last day of the season. My guess is there are a lot of fans in these cities who are nervously watching the scoreboard each night. To a certain degree, so are we fellow Sox die harders, but it's only to see if we play the Astros at home or on the road for the opening series.

 

[Jiddy]

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Been loving our stay downtown. This is the last of our 4 night stay here. We've been quite happy that the weather has been so cooperative. The warmest it's been was 84, the coldest 68, with much of it hovering in the 70's. What a shame that Chicago has such a soiled, yet sadly accurate reputation of violence. The trouble is, this violence is isolated in only certain parts of the city, yet it paints a broad stroke for all of it. IMHO downtown is the most beautiful and cultural urban core in the entire country. It's a town of skyscrapers, parks, museums, and above all, architecture. The lakefront and its environs are the stuff of legend, and the public transportation here is second to none. We've used it at times to get from various points A to points B, altho mostly the Mrs and I have been relying on foot power to get around, as this is very much a walking city. We will miss all this when we depart back to the burbs tomorrow.

 

[Jiddy]

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Tonite's the big 5-0, as in my 50th high school reunion. After a nice trip to Greektown and having lunch there, at the moment we're just chillin at the hotel down the street, altho we might take another drive to check out the gorgeous forest preserves. In the interim, seems to be a good time to point out some worthless stats and other boring info.

*As we all know, the magic number right now for the Sox to clinch the Central is 5, thanks in part to the Jidster's clever pictorial reminders. Keep it up Jiddy!!!
*When combining the won-loss records of both leagues, the Sox would be an astonishing 11.5 games back of SF.
*The best team in baseball who fails to make the playoffs will be either the Red Sox, Jays, or Yankees.
*As much as we could be playing better this back half, we're still not nearly as disappointing as the Padres, who have been folding like a deck of cards. I had them pegged as the 2nd best team in baseball to start the season. They're still in the playoff hunt, but could just as easily miss them altogether.
*Pito is one ribbie behind KC's Salvador Perez for the Major League lead, but still owns the 3 year lead and will conclude the season with this honor.
*About a week ago I had Shohei Ohtani as the one to beat for the AL MVP. But now I'm leaning toward baby Vlad to win it. The kid is putting up ungodly numbers and if the Jays make the playoffs, he'll likely get it.
*A bit surprised in a sense that the Stros don't have the AL's best record, being they lead the league in hitting, pitching, and fielding.

 

[Mingo]

We shall see if the White Sox system of giving the Starters and Pitchers frequent rests and time off will make them fresh for the playoffs - or if the Sox will pay for a loss of continuity by doing so.

Romy Gonzales is looking certainly like a major league hitter after starting the season in High A.

I'm more worried about Eloy Jimenez as he has had a very long power outage since the Field of Dreams game (5 weeks ago).

Guys with connections to White Sox acquisitions:

Trevor Bauer - Domestic abuse allegations
Marcel Ozona - Domestic Abuse Allegations
Machado - and Tatis Jr - arguing in the dugout with each other last night - as the Padres spent money without regard to player chemistry.

The SF Giants - get my vote as the team most like the 2005 White Sox.

 

[Jiddy]

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

Today we head out back home - we'll take 4 days to hit up V-Town. What an incredible time I had at my big 5-0 HS reunion. Altho I also attended the 40th as well, we all sure have changed physically in that added decade. Didn't matter one bit, there was such a strong bond with everyone, even those who didn't really know one another too well during our high school years felt the love. 10 of us stayed beyond the reunion timeframe and closed down the bar at 2am. Yes, I had a nice little hangover the following morning. At the very least there will be a 55 year reunion, but there's also the possibility of having a mini get-together in 3 years (ie, class of '71 when almost all of us will be age 71 - cute, eh?).

One nice post-reunion happening. Got to watch both the Bears and the White Sox win their respective contests yesterday, altho this involved a LOT of hitting the last channel button.

 

[Mingo]

View attachment 280309

Very cool idea!

 

[Mingo]

Today we head out back home - we'll take 4 days to hit up V-Town. What an incredible time I had at my big 5-0 HS reunion. Altho I also attended the 40th as well, we all sure have changed physically in that added decade. Didn't matter one bit, there was such a strong bond with everyone, even those who didn't really know one another too well during our high school years felt the love. 10 of us stayed beyond the reunion timeframe and closed down the bar at 2am. Yes, I had a nice little hangover the following morning. At the very least there will be a 55 year reunion, but there's also the possibility of having a mini get-together in 3 years (ie, class of '71 when almost all of us will be age 71 - cute, eh?).

One nice post-reunion happening. Got to watch both the Bears and the White Sox win their respective contests yesterday, altho this involved a LOT of hitting the last channel button.

Tell us you got the coveted designation in the Yearbook - as the student most likely to be a White Sox fan!

 

[idseer]

Today we head out back home - we'll take 4 days to hit up V-Town. What an incredible time I had at my big 5-0 HS reunion. Altho I also attended the 40th as well, we all sure have changed physically in that added decade. Didn't matter one bit, there was such a strong bond with everyone, even those who didn't really know one another too well during our high school years felt the love. 10 of us stayed beyond the reunion timeframe and closed down the bar at 2am. Yes, I had a nice little hangover the following morning. At the very least there will be a 55 year reunion, but there's also the possibility of having a mini get-together in 3 years (ie, class of '71 when almost all of us will be age 71 - cute, eh?).

One nice post-reunion happening. Got to watch both the Bears and the White Sox win their respective contests yesterday, altho this involved a LOT of hitting the last channel button.

glad you had a good time! my last one was our 35th (20+ years ago now) and out of a class of over 250 approximately 50 showed up. still enjoyed it. but hey, my mother's last reunion was 3 people out of her graduating class of 13! she ended up being the last survivor in fact at 97.