Goodbye to 2024

Some Fall Classic—Aaron Judge dropped a ball hit right at him; Gerrit Cole couldn’t be bothered to cover first base on a groundball; Austin Wells got called for catcher’s interference. Plus the Yankees blew a five-run lead to lose game five and the Series to the Dodgers, 7-6. Shohei Ohtani Series MVP? Judge? Nope. Freddie Freeman with his twelve RBIs was. Ohtani went 2-for-19, Judge 4-for-18. So, big teams, big stage, pop-gun results. Bring on 2025 with two different participants, please. Oh, and Aaron Boone will be out as Yankees’ manager. It’s never good to remind people of Mickey Mouse.

Class Act

After watching last night’s World Series’ game, I’m coming to the conclusion that all athletic contests should be played without fans present. Take Yankee Stadium, please. Two morons in right field challenged Mookie Betts in the bottom of the first inning as he leaned into the stands for a foul fly by Gleyber Torres. One fan pried the ball out of Betts’ glove while the other held onto Betts’ throwing arm, to give the other clown more time. The umpire ruled fan interference, and, for all I know, that bad behavior fueled the Yankees to a 11-4 win. The ball-prying clown told ESPN, “I patrol that wall, and they know that.” No, buddy, you’re entitled to watch a game and try to catch a ball that comes your way. If you’re so deluded as to think you’re part of the team (roving thug, maybe), you need help.

They Asked

Clare called last night to ask if I saw Aaron Judge strike out, which he’s done twenty times this postseason. My daughter is proving how spot-on that Progressive Insurance ad campaign is, the one about turning into your parents. She saw a Yankee go fishing for an outside pitch, and she caught herself saying, “And where would that ball have gone had he managed to hit it?” I’m flattered by the imitation. Afterward, Michele asked, “What’s wrong with Aaron Judge? He looks terrible.” I told my wife that, when a hitter goes bad like this, it’s likely one of three things—age, injury, or a slump, something no player can avoid. Judge is 32 and coming off a season where he hit 58 homeruns to go with 144 RBIs, so I’d say it’s not age. An injury? It’s possible the Yankees are trying to keep one secret, but I doubt it. That leaves a slump, which can happen anytime. Unfortunately for Judge, it’s in a World Series where he’s being paired against Shohei Ohtani. Ironically, Ohtani is hitting .091 to Judge’s .083. Freddie Freeman is lapping them both with three homers and a .333 BA, but I digress. My wife also asked, “How can he get out of a slump?” to which I answered, “By getting some hits.” This is where the mental part of the game comes in. Judge has to control the urge to swing at everything and, instead, stay small. Some singles to the opposite field could lead to an avalanche of homers. A slump can turn that quickly. Judge has had pretty decent stats in the postseason until this year, which coincides with his first World Series’ appearance. Some guys have all the luck. Right now, Aaron Judge is not one of them.

Sounds Familiar

Oh, boy. The Munsters lost yesterday in D.C. 18-15 on a Hail Mary pass play that started with cornerback Tyrique Stevenson busy taunting Washington fans instead of being in position. Then, Stevenson ended up tipping the ball into the hands of Commanders’ receiver Noah Brown. Oh, Bears. Wait, there’s more. Stevenson, who also picked up an unnecessary roughness penalty and got beat on a 61-yard reception, didn’t address the media after the game. Coach Matt Eberflus and tight end Cole Kmet did but needed to say different things. Eberflus talked taking lessons from the game while Kmet offered that “to obsess over the result of what happened I think is just a little immature.” Kmet then clarified that he was referring to players, not reporters. Whatever and whichever. He’s wrong either way. One game in the NFL is equivalent to nine games in MLB. That means the Bears now find themselves on what would be a nine-game losing streak for a baseball team. At nine games, I want my manager ticked and demanding accountability from his players, his staff and himself. Mickey Mouse was incapable to doing that, which is one of the reasons he’s now an ex-manager. If there’s a silver lining in this Bears’ loss, it’s that Eberflus will be joining him in the unemployment line sooner than later.

Smart Money

In baseball, there’s a direct correlation between winning and spending. The team with the biggest payroll doesn’t necessarily win it all, but I think the team with the biggest payroll reflecting money spent smart does. Take this World Series. The Yankees spent more on their payroll than the Dodgers, $303.3 million vs. $249.8 million according to USA Today. The Dodgers, though, look to be getting more for their dollar than the right-now pretty-hapless Yankees, who are down 0-2 in the Series after falling by a score of 4-2 last night. New York went with Carlos Rodon to face Yoshinobu Yamamoto, or the $162 million pitcher vs. the $325 million pitcher. It wasn’t even close. Rodon couldn’t get out of the fourth inning, giving up four runs on three homeruns. Compare that to Yamamoto, who went 6.1 innings, giving up one run on one hit. You get what you pay for. With Rodon, the Yankees went hook, line and sinker for the stats agent Scott Boras fed them. What they forgot is Rodon’s history of injuries, which have affected his pitching. The Carlos Rodon who pitched for the Sad Sox was better than the journeyman who posted a 3.96 ERA in the regular season. Yes, Yamamoto was injured, too, in the regular season, but he still posted an ERA nearly a point lower than Rodon’s. The proof was in the pudding, as they say. But I’m not going to jump on Aaron Judge here. Judge is having a terrible postseason with nineteen strikeouts in 40 at-bats to go with a .150 BA. Granted, not much of a return on a $360 million contract, but Judge is the guy who dragged his team into the postseason. Right now, he looks to be having a Ted Williams World Series. I’d take either of them to get me there. By the way, has anyone seen the Yankees’ Marcus Stroman, he of the $37 million contract? That’s what a 4.31 ERA in the regular season will do to a guy.

Get a Grip, Guys

The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman hit a two-out, tenth-inning grand slam last night to beat the Yankees 6-3 in game one of the World Series. It was the greatest game of all time, from what the announcers said and what I read in The Athletic today. Please. Those of us who don’t live on either coast know otherwise. Of greater interest to me was MLBPA executive director Tony Clark calling out teams for the way they handle pitchers. Clark charged that the current analytics-driven mindset is to “have pitchers, starting and relievers, [give] max effort for the period of time that they [teams] can have them. As soon as they seem to run out of gas, as the data suggests they’re going to, [teams] recycle them out and [get ready] to burn out another pitcher.” [today’s online Tribune sports’ section] The story also noted that fastball velocity is up over the last ten years, along with pitcher injuries. Fastballs that used to average 93.3 mph in 2014 are now averaging 95.5 mph, an increase that has seen a near doubling of the number of pitchers who go on the IL, to 484 this past season. So, why not teach more pitchers the knuckleball?

Progress Report

My grandson called—OK, his mom called and put him on the phone—yesterday afternoon to tell me, “Grandpa, I hit the ball over the fence!” In fact, he did it five times, both a testament to his talent and his mother’s resilience. Clare was pitching to Leo just a month after undergoing a Caeserean. Amazon child, that one. Leo has been putting the ball over a six-foot fence into the neighbor’s yard for the past two months, which isn’t bad for a kid three years and three months old. I said something about him clearing the Green Monster, but he didn’t understand. Monsters give him pause, even the ones he can hit a ball over. So, now, I just tell him what a good job he’s doing. He's hitting the ball at least forty feet, in part because both his parents were college athletes and because he likes to make the ball go far. Clare said he’s striding into pitches, which I think is a good habit. I also suggested she emphasize the good stuff that happens when he follows the ball all the way to the bat. You can never start too early. Now, all I have to do is stick around to watch my grandson play organized ball.

Certified Genius

When last we checked in on Sad-Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, he was hinting loudly he would be open to selling the team. And voilà, Dave Stewart appeared. The ex-pitcher is, or was, heading up a Nashville group that wants to bring major-league baseball to the Volunteer State. That Reinsdorf’s operation is in any sense major league is, of course, subject to debate. Then, the other day on the news, Illinois governor JB Pritzker once again threw cold water/a wet blanket/choose your cliché on the idea of the public subsidizing for a second time a Reinsdorf baseball stadium. If Reinsdorf was sending a message that he might move the team, Pritzker either didn’t hear it or didn’t care. Whichever, it leaves Reinsdorf on the short end of a power play. Now, Clare just got off the phone to tell me Rob Manfred has weighed in on the subject. So, I went online and found a story on CBS Sports in which Manfred called Chicago an “anchor city.” While saying Guaranteed Rate Whatever is in a “tough” location, Manfred added he was confident that “things are going to work out in Chicago and that we’re going to continue to have two teams in Chicago.” Which sort of takes some more leverage away from Jerry Reinsdorf, now doesn’t it? Oh, and I’d be more than willing to show the Commissioner how to get to 35th and Shields. Last and not least, Reinsdorf has started a sports network that nobody seems to want to pick up, or at least Comcast. Right now, unless Bulls’ and Blackhawks’ fans go out and buy an antenna to get the station on regular old TV, they’re pretty much out of luck. Nothing like building the fan base with a de facto blackout of games. Other than that, though, everything is going according to plan in Jerryville.

Whatever

Well, the baseball establishment got what it’s been praying for, a matchup between possibly the two biggest big-market teams for the World Series. Yankees vs. Dodgers, like I care. Yes, they’re both very good teams, but I wouldn’t classify either as great. The Yankees strike me as top-heavy, with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto and maybe Austin Wells. In my fantasy world, I’m challenging everyone up and in. The pitching isn’t that great, especially if bad Carlos Rodon shows up and the defense? I mean, Judge in centerfield. Yikes. The Dodgers might be a position player deeper, or maybe not. With all due respect to Shohei Ohtani, this year he’s a DH pure and simple. Great hitter but not necessarily a great player, this year. The pitching’s pretty thin, and what it might come down to is…Mookie Betts. Now, this to me is a player who’s earned the monster contract. Anyone who volunteers to move from the outfield to shortstop and second base gets my vote. I also have a sense of Betts being a clutch hitter, so we’ll see. This is a coastal Series. I live in between. Not that big a deal to me.

The High Cost of Doing Business

According to a story that ran in USA Today back on April 3rd, the top three payrolls in baseball are the Mets ($305.6 million) followed by the Yankees ($303.3 million) and the Dodgers ($249.8 million). The Sad Sox came in at fifteenth with a $143 million payroll. Poor Jerry Reinsdorf (double-entendre intended). He’s spent his life as a team owner trying to keep payroll down, first via collusion, then during a strike where he urged fellow owners to hold out for a salary cap. Only he got caught colluding and struck out on a salary cap. What Reinsdorf has always wanted is the NFL’s “cake and eat it, too” advantage, where the players do all the work and the owners pocket most of the profits. That’s why the Bears’ begging for public money to help build a new stadium is so egregious. Football has a salary cap. The Bears’ payroll is the Packers’ payroll is the Lions’ payroll. The McCaskeys just stink at identifying talent worth paying for. Metropolitan Chicago has a population of just under nine million. If Reinsdorf moves the White Sox to Nashville or sells to a group that does, the Sox will draw from a metro area with a 1.3 million population. How is that going to work without a salary cap? One of two ways. Possibility number one is that new owners are willing to lose bushels of money to bring a World Series to Nashville, in which case that will be a first. Ownership that doesn’t care about long-term return on investment just doesn’t happen in American sports. Possibility number two is that fans will be content with coming close like the Guardians did, reaching—but not winning—the ALCS with a $93.3 million payroll. And how is that working in Tampa? Moral of the story—if you want to be one of the last two teams standing in October, you better be willing to spend. Jerry Reinsdorf isn’t and never has been.

David and Goliath

Jhonkensy Noel and David Fry played heroes last night in Cleveland for the hometown Guardians in their come-from-behind, ten-inning 7-5 win over the Yankees. Noel blasted a two-out, game-tying homerun in the bottom of the ninth while Fry launched a 1-2 pitch for the game winner. Both balls may still be travelling. They were, as White Sox fans might say, upper-tank shots. The crowd went delirious, and no one looked entitled, just Midwestern glad to see David take down Goliath. But David needs to do that three more times for it to count. Go, Guardians. Make Aaron Judge chase down balls in centerfield.

Finally

I tell people on occasion that Jerry Reinsdorf and I are in a game of actuarial chicken. It could be me, but I think Reinsdorf just blinked. The Athletic reported yesterday The Chairman may be ready to sell his interest in the Sad Sox and has been engaged in talks with a group headed by ex-A’s pitcher Dave Stewart. Because the Sox were born under a bad cloud, fans are now reading how Stewart and company have been trying to bring an expansion team to Nashville, also a rumored destination for the Sox. But all that matters right now is the blink; anything else is smoke. Baseball abandoning a major market for a mid-sized market (at best) makes little to no sense, like stories that fail to identify anyone else in Stewart’s group. Unless Stewart made some incredible investments with that $19.9 million baseball-reference.com says he earned during his career, there are some unidentified deep pockets behind him. And Reinsdorf’s other team, the Bulls, are undertaking a joint, multi-billion dollar development project with the Hawks for the area around the United Center. You think that project will get a TIF district from the city—or anything else, for that matter—if the Sox move? And you mean to tell me there are no local investors looking to buy in? Like I said, ignore the smoke, give thanks for the blink.

Overkill

Boy, I haven’t seen Bobby Witt Jr.’s name mentioned lately. I wonder why? Up until last week, MLB.com couldn’t get enough of Witt and a handful of other players. Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Francisco Lindor—you get the drift. The names power the brand, and baseball these days is all about branding. And heaven help those who fall by the wayside in the postseason, like Witt or Gunnar Henderson or Tarik Skubal. Everybody loves a winner, the baseball establishment hates all losers. So, it goes. Which makes me wonder what’ll happen when the next Ernie Banks comes along. Like that falling tree in the woods, will anybody notice? Banks spent most of his career on woeful Cubs’ teams; think a skooch better than the present-day Sad Sox. And what positive coverage did they get? At some point, we’ll get to the World Series MVP; that’s the guy who’ll matter the most, according to Rob Manfred and MLB.com. Something about that doesn’t feel right. I’ve got to stop looking at the photos around me, of Minnie Minoso and Monty Stratton and Smead Jolley and…

Zeke Bonura

It was probably 2018, when Daniel Palka blazed through the South Side during his only full season in the majors. Palka could hit balls very far and did it often enough that the TV broadcasts started to show an updated list of most homeruns by a White Sox rookie. Somehow, Clare caught a game I missed and saw a name she was sure nobody born before 19XX had ever heard of. The quiz ensued, and I responded, “You mean Zeke Bonura?” For the next two or three years, every game seemed to have a graphic with Bonura’s name on it. And who was Zeke Bonura? A first baseman who spent the first four years of his seven-year career on the South Side; and, just like Daniel Palka, Bonura could hit the ball far. But he could also hit for average, which would explain his .317 BA and .396 OPB for the Sox. In addition, he averaged 110 RBIs during his time on the South Side. Why they traded him at age 28 is beyond me. Not long ago, I saw a Willard Mullin-like cartoon of Bonura—“The Bull of the Sockyards”—for sale on eBay. Zeke is shown driving a car with teammates on the roof, with the notation he was voted most popular player in Chicago and awarded a car “for driving home so many mates”; on the auction block for holding out each spring; and throwing some leather at first base despite being “heavy-legged.” The cartoon I had to have, and I do. I framed it for display in the basement. Before I took it downstairs, Michele sent a picture to Clare to let her know this is both a Palka and Bonura household.

Hop to It

What George McCaskey lacks in football savvy he make up for in gall. Speaking to the Tribune’s Colleen Kane on Friday, McCaskey gave an update on the search for a new stadium, to be built largely with funds not coming from the McCaskey family. “We want to go where the best deal is possible, where it’s most feasible—financially, politically, geographically.” I’m tempted to point out a good place for the heirs of Halas to go, but manners prevent me from being so blunt. At the same time McCaskey was trying to shake the money tree, henchman Kevin Warren was pushing for the General Assembly to get cracking so the Bears could start a-buildin’ next year. Yeah, hop to it. But McCaskey and Warren might want to tell NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to shut up. One of the selling points for a new stadium is that it will allow the Bears to get a Super Bowl. But then Goodell said the other day he could seed the Super Bowl being played outside the U.S. If that were to happen, wouldn’t that lessen the odds for Chicago getting one, let alone two, for its publicly subsidized plaything?

He Said What?

The Dodgers shut out the Padres 2-0 last night to advance to the NLCS. Kiké Hernandez and Teoscar Hernandez homered to account for both LA runs. After the game, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports asked what made this Dodgers’ team different from others. Before answering, Hernandez asked if they were live. When Rosenthal said, Yes, they were, Hernandez responded, “The fact that we don’t give a f***.” Go, Mets.

Proof's in the Pudding

Did I say something about Dylan Cease needing to prove himself if he wants to get paid big bucks once he hits free agency after 2025? Well… Cease went 1.2 innings in game four of the NLDS against the Dodgers, giving up three runs (all earned) on four hits and a walk while striking out one in a 8-0 LA win. Yes, Cease was starting on three days’ rest, and, for what it’s worth, he went 3.1 innings on Saturday, which doesn’t seem like a lot. On the other hand, Cease needed 82 pitches to get there. Any way you look at it, not a staff-ace performance. I hate sounding like a shill for management, but, if I’m the one shelling out the dough, I want performance in return. This doesn’t apply only to Cease, who’s still making a relatively modest $8 million this season. Look at the Phillies. Signing Kyle Schwarber; Bryce Harper; Trea Turner; and Nick Castellanos hasn’t translated into any World Series rings. In fact, it’ll be the Mets moving on to the NLCS after beating Philadelphia in four. Long story short—no matter the payroll or the hype surrounding a team or whatever Mickey Mouse told reporters in his postgame comments, wins and losses are what count, most of all in the postseason.

Crunch Time

This is interesting. The Padres are giving the ball to Dylan Cease tonight in the hopes of eliminating the Dodgers after last night’s 6-5 win gave San Diego a 2-1 lead in the NLDS. Interesting because Cease started game one just four days ago and couldn’t get out of the fourth inning, despite having two- and three-run leads to work with. At the risk of repeating myself, anyone wanting to be paid like the staff ace needs to pitch like one. The Padres are at home, and, if last night was any indication, the crowd will be nothing short of electric. It's all on you, Dylan.

Harry Chappas

I’m at that point in life where no visit to baseball-reference.com is complete without glancing at the “In Memoriam” listing of names. That’s where I found Harry Chappas’. His was not a happy story. A 5’7” shortstop, Chappas had stints with the White Sox from 1978 to 1980, between the ages of 20-22. These were bad Sox teams, with owner Bill Veeck looking for ways to recapture the excitement generated by the “South Side Hitmen” of 1977. Which led Veeck to push the notion that Chappas was a mere 5’3”, a king-sized Eddie Gaedel, if you will. After his career ended, Chappas told Sports Illustrated, “I began to realize that Bill Veeck just wanted me to be a gimmick to put people in the seats.” [SI, 9-29-1997] In which case, so did Sox announcer Harry Caray. I can’t remember a player who suffered more from Caray’s “love-em to hate-em” routine. That was Harry Caray, those were the late ‘70s White Sox. Chappas batted .245 with 45 hits, 26 runs scored and twelve RBIs over the course of his career. He appears to have had a hard life after baseball and died last month at age 66. Not all memories turn golden with the passage of time.

Rumors

Let’s see. One online rumor I read has Buck Showalter pushing to be the next manager of the Sad Sox. If so, no. Showalter might’ve worked in place of Tony LaRussa, definitely as a replacement for Ozzie Guillen, but, now, at 68 Showalter’s too old. According to Jon Heyman in the New York Post of 10-3-24, Rick Hahn wanted to hire A.J. Hinch to replace Rick Renteria but was vetoed by…wait for it, Jerry Reinsdorf, who insisted on LaRussa. If so, Hahn must wake up every morning cursing cruel fate. Hiring Hinch probably would’ve saved his job, and it would’ve kept Jake Burger on the South Side and… There are all sorts of names being mentioned for the Sox job; none of them move me one way or the other. I’d offer it to Guillen, provided he knew what he was getting into. Otherwise, let the “process” play itself out.

Same Old Same Old

There are lots of ex-White Sox players in the postseason. Why? It’s not because the front office can’t find talent. It’s because the front office doesn’t know what to do with talent once it finds it. Of those players who saw action yesterday (not including extended cup-of-coffee Tommy Pham), Yankees’ reliever Tommy Kahnle and Padres’ right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. performed well, the Padres’ Dylan Cease and the Dodgers’ Michael Kopech not so much. Kahnle threw .2 scoreless innings in New York’s 6-5 win over the Royals in the ALDS while Tatis went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in San Diego’s 7-5 loss to the Dodgers in the NLDS. That leaves former teammates, now adversaries, Cease and Kopech, both of whom looked like they were still with the Sad Sox. Cease couldn’t hold a three-run lead his team gave him in the first inning, instead giving up a game-tying three-run homer to Shohei Ohtani with two out in the bottom of the second. Bad Dylan was on display with a walk that made possible the homerun, on a 2-1 pitch. Walks, pitching from behind—not how you cash in come free agency, Dylan. Cease was up to his old, frustrating tricks in the fourth after his teammates gave him a two-run lead the inning before. Two one-out singles ended his night and put on the tying runs. Cease’s line reads 3.1 innings; five runs allowed, all earned; six hits; two walks; and five strikeouts. Which brings us to Kopech. The wild one entered the game in the eighth inning, sandwiching two walks around a strikeout. With the Sox, that would have been enough to lose, but the Dodgers are a major-league team, so Kopech escaped without giving up any runs. I wouldn’t want Kopech back; just too much can go wrong with him. Cease, I don’t know. He went 14-11 with a team that won 93 games, and he’s never won more than fourteen in a regular season. If I’m robbing the bank to sign a topflight pitcher (see Zach Wheeler), I want better stats than that. Like the Sad Sox are going to sign quality players, right?

Mistakes by Rank

Sad Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf long ago made it clear that the biggest—and probably only—regret in his life was letting Tony LaRussa go. Where does that leave Terry Francona? Francona started his coaching career in the White Sox organization and even managed Michael Jordan at Double-A Birmingham. Francona’s first MLB managing job came in 1997, with the Phillies. The immortal Terry Bevington was at the helm of the Sad Sox that year. So, there are mistakes and mistakes in the world of Reinsdorf, some people who got away he regrets and some he doesn’t. Francona must fall in that second category. I mean, he was available to manage and interested in returning to the dugout. The Reds signed him to a reported three-year deal yesterday. Managers who win two World Series don’t come around that often. The Sad Sox must think they can do better, unless, of course, they contacted Francona and were turned down. But wouldn’t we know if that were the case?

Pony Up?

Pete Alonso hit a three-run homer in the top of the ninth last night to give the Mets a come-from-behind 4-2 win over the Brewers that puts New York in the NLDS against the Phillies. Alonso has said he patterns himself after Paul Konerko. “When I kept watching on TV, it was, ‘I want to be like that guy. I want to be like Paul Konerko.’” [Tim Britton article in The Athletic, 7-30-2019] And last night, he was. Alonso is a free agent come season’s end. If Jerry Reinsdorf is serious about regaining the trust of White Sox fans, he can make a run at Alonso. I doubt Paul Konerko would mind.

Three's A Charm. Right.

Let’s do a quick review of Sad Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf as a judge of managerial talent. In 2020, he fired Rick Renteria and took a pass on AJ Hinch as his replacement, going instead with his old pal, Tony LaRussa. How did that work out? Hinch and his Tigers, the team that did hire him (along with announcer Jason Benetti, by the way), just swept the Astros on the road and move on to face the Guardians. Once LaRussa proved physically unable to handle the everyday grind of managing, Reinsdorf settled on Mickey Mouse as his replacement. Interesting that the Royals, at the time also in the process of hiring a new manager, passed on Mouse, their bench coach, and instead settled on Rays’ bench coach Matt Quartaro. The Royals lost 106 games their first year under Quartaro, five more than the Sad Sox under Mouse. And this year? They swept the Orioles in Baltimore to move and face the Yankees. I wonder why Kansas City didn’t want Mouse, who was a longtime part of the organization? Anyway, I’m sure Reinsdorf and the Sox will get it right this time. Three’s a charm. Right?

Duck!

With baby Maeve coming home from the hospital last Friday, we’ve been on grandparent duty this week, which in my case means throwing lots of batting practice to Leo. At three years and two months, my grandson wouldn’t seem to be much of a threat at the plate, but that’s just what he wants you to think. Swing and miss, I take a step closer to make my next pitch. Swing and miss, another step in, then another, then…Whack! A line drive to the head. Repeat. And a couple of minutes later, Whack! again, followed by the second stern lecture on why it’s not funny to hit someone in the head, “Do you understand?” I doubt it. So it falls on me to stay back and try to find Leo’s sweet spot, which will allow me to be in position to field any comebackers. Still, the kid shouldn’t be able to hit a wiffle ball so hard, not at three years and two months.

Collateral Damage

Perhaps the biggest victim of the Sad Sox collapse is Eloy Jimenez, he of the homerun swing and multiple injuries. Eloy showed a world of promise his first two seasons, in 2019 and 2020. His rookie year, he hit 31 homers in 122 games. The injuries started piling up in 2021, and, well, now he’s gone, shipped off to Baltimore and demoted to the minors last month. Go on the Orioles’ website to their 40-man roster; Eloy is the only one wearing his cap to the side. New organization, same Eloy, which is too bad. If he’s ever going to reach anything close to his potential, Jimenez needs to grow up, which was never required of him with the Sox. Ex-manager Rick Renteria wasn’t afraid to bench players, including Yoan Moncada and Tim Anderson, and he probably would’ve grown tired of Eloy’s “Hi, Mom!” routine had he not been fired after the 2020 season. Tony LaRussa, of course, couldn’t be bothered to show Eloy right from wrong. LarRussa let the man-child be. And now Eloy’s stuck in Norfolk, uncertain what the future holds.