Balls and Strikes

MLB will start using its Automated Ball-Strike system come Opening Day, and I’m wondering about consequences. I mean, what if Angel Hernandez was still around? A team starts with two challenges and can keep going until and if the challenges prove unsuccessful. With Hernandez behind the plate, teams would probably be right challenging each and every pitch. At some point in the season, I think umpires will start complaining that they’re being shown up; I’m looking at you, C.B. Bucknor. Either someone like Bucknor cleans up his act, which is doubtful given that he’s been around since 1996, or they’re going to be driven from the game courtesy of ABS. I don’t like the pitch clock because it should be unnecessary, and was up until Mike Hargrove, “the Human Rain Delay,” started doing his shtick back in the 1970s; that’s when umpires needed to step in. And don’t get me started on extra innings or the pitcher only getting three throws to a base per at-bat to try to catch a runner. But ABS I see as necessary. See Hernandez, Bucknor above. With luck, the great majority of umpires will get with the program. If not, they can always resign, at which point MLB might consider another fundamental change, as in women umpires.

Gold Glove

Pirates’ HOF second baseman Bill Mazeroski died last week at the age of 89. It only seems like he earned three of his eight Gold Gloves against me. I started playing Strat-O-Matic Baseball in the spring of 1966. I was the American League, a sad person I knew from St. Gall was the National League. The game is based on a complete season’s worth of stats, so it’s always a year behind. The sad person especially liked to play the Dodgers (Koufax and Drysdale); the Giants (Willie Mays with 52 homeruns); and the Pirates. If Roberto Clemente wasn’t hitting homers against me, Mazeroski was turning double plays. The best fielding rating in Strat-O-Matic is a one, and that was Mazeroski. I’m guessing that at some point the Pirates faced off against the White Sox, a 90-win team against a 95-win team. The Pirates scored 675 runs with a .265 BA to 647 runs for the Sox and a.246 BA. Pittsburgh had a team ERA of 3.01 to 2.99 for Chicago. We would’ve played on somebody’s front- or back-porch, rolling dice and yelling just short of an adult telling us to “Quiet down!”. Clemente homers, Mazeroski turns two but Johnny Romano goes deep in the eighth for a 3-2 Sox win. Really, 89 seems awfully young.

Still Early, But...

I’ll try not to buy World Series’ tickets just yet. A 2-0 start by the White Sox in spring training is nice, but I don’t want to go overboard quite yet. Still, an 11-2 win over the A’s beats an 11-2 loss. In ascending order, Brooks Baldwin homered; Miguel Vargas had a hit and two runs scored; William Bergolla Jr. went 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI; and Edgar Quero collected two two-run singles as part of a 3-for-3 day. What’s not to like? I mean, outside of the A’s using nine pitchers and the Sox seven?

It's a Start

The White Sox kicked off spring training Friday with a 8-1 win over the Cubs, which is always nice. I’m especially happy with who did what, and not just Munetaka Murkami with two hits. It’s the rookies. Second baseman Sam Antonacci connected for a two-run homerun off of starter Jameson Taillon; always nice to go long on an established pitcher. Fellow infielder William Bergolla Jr. went 2-for-2 with two doubles and a run scored. Antonacci is ranked the eleventh-best prospect in the system, with Bergolla right behind at twelfth. Let me count the ways I want them to succeed. First off, they’re smallish, Antonacci standing an even 6’ and Bergolla 5’9”. Second, they’re fast. Antonacci stole 48 bases across three levels while last year, and Bergolla swiped 40 bases for Double-A Birmingham. It doesn’t get any more old school than a speed-first White Sox infielder. And from all accounts, they’re smart, and smart people are the ones who find a way to get to the majors. Yeah, I know, the first day of spring training. But you have to start somewhere.

Chicken Little

The Bears announced yesterday they intend to focus stadium efforts on Hammond, Indiana, an April Fool of a location if there ever was one. But Lou Canellis of NBC 5 Sports went full Chicken Little. Oh, how his family has held season tickets since the Munsters—hey, why not a location in that Hoosier burg?—played at Wrigley Field, in addition to Soldier Field. Apparently, now the Canellis Clans will fire up the GPS to find the new place. Oh, please. The McCaskeys spent how much to buy 326 acres in Arlington? Oh, right, just north of $197 million. Along the way, they’ve jerked the chain of just about every local official from the Loop to the northwest suburb in question, not to mention Gov. JB Pritzker and members of the General Assembly and some school districts in and around Arlington Heights. Way to make friends, guys. I seriously question if the McCaskeys have ever driven to Hammond; they’d remember, because of traffic (and industrial odors). Let me put it this way—the interstates that cross northwest Indiana have the worst truck traffic I’ve ever had the misfortune of driving in. It ain’t gonna get better on a Sunday night in November. But, hey, it’s the Bears, and stupid is their game. With lemmings like Lou Canellis in tow, they can do whatever they want.

A Different Approach

I see where the Mets are taking a go-slow approach with centerfielder Luis Robert Jr. They think—or hope—that a gradual gear-up during spring training will allow Robert to avoid the injuries that plagued him throughout his years on the South Side. Good luck with that. I’m serious. If they can find a way to help Robert avoid the hamstring and hip issues he’s been prone to, then everyone else in baseball should take note. If only they mentioned what kind of program the training staff was going to implement. Instead, it sounds like they’re borrowing a page from the Tony La Russa playbook, ca. late 2021. That’s when La Russa announced his players weren’t going to go 100 percent in order to save themselves for the playoffs. We lost to the Astros anyway. Analytics have turned baseball into a function of size and muscle, an approach that practically guarantees injury; Robert is just susceptible sooner than others. Less muscle, more flexibility, I say, but what do I know?

Rain or Shine, Win or Lose

After the Bears went 5-12 in 2024, they still found a way to raise season-ticket prices by an average of ten percent. What do you think happened after they went 11-5 last season and actually won a playoff game? How about 13.5 percent, on average? Good ol’ Kevin Warren announced the news in a letter to season-ticket holders. If the team president mentioned the disparity between the increase and annual rate of inflation (2.7), I missed it. I keep thinking of the character in “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” who, when asked to show his badge, responds. Well, you know what he said.