I usually don’t write about things other than baseball, but today I feel a need to. Kobe Bryant has tragically passed away along with his daughter Gianna and 7 others in a helicopter crash. My thoughts and prayers go to the Bryant family, along with the other victims. The other victims were: The pilot, 2 of Gianna’s teammates, a JUCO baseball coach, Gianna’s basketball coach, 2 of the teammates parents, and of course Kobe Bryant and Gianna. Kobe Bryant was a legend. There is no other way to describe him. Many basketball players look up to Kobe as a role model, a hero, and a goal. The kind of things that Kobe idolized, hard work and determination, are values that many basketball players and r
It’s September 22, 2017. Danny Farquhar is facing Evan Gattis. This moment will come to define the Astros’ cheating scandal, but we don’t know it yet. It’s a 2-2 count. Catcher Kevan Smith puts down a sign, it’s a changeup. Danny Farquhar is about to pitch, but he steps off of the mound. He calls Kevan Smith to the mound. Smith goes back, and the next pitch Gattis struck out swinging. Yes, they cheated. That one play showed it. But that’s not the question. Why didn’t we notice? In this day and age, technology in baseball is everything. It can be used for good things, such as Moneyball. We won’t ever forget Billy Beane, or his assistant. That is technology at it’s finest. But the Astros, they
The punishment has come out, and Carlos Beltran was fired, and more! The Astros Scandal Punishment The Astros were fined a record $5,000,000, they were pretty much forced to fire their manager and GM, and they lost draft picks. And that was just them. We still haven’t heard the punishment for the Red Sox, and we still haven’t heard if any team is willing to take a chance on Carlos Beltran. But it is enough? First, the draft picks. Mike Trout was drafted. So was Clayton Kershaw. One thing in common, they were drafted in the first round. The Astros lost 1st and 2nd round draft picks for 2 years straight. At first thought, you think, that’s not enough. But then just look at what players have be
What a gosh darn awful division. Or, you could say that it is the best division. Either way works for me. I’m going to show you the facts, and then you decide. The winner, the Cardinals, had the least amount of wins of any division winner. Well, sure, there’s only 6 divisions. But, still. The Pirates were the 2nd best last place team, second to only the 70-92 Padres. The Pirates finished 69-93, so it was pretty close. The next team up, the Reds, were 2nd among second to last teams at 75-87, trailing only the 81-81 Phillies. The Cubs were also second in third place teams, but the Brewers were second to last. Of course, having the worst first place team doesn’t help too much. But, then of cour
It’s been a chaotic offseason. We’ve had player turn down MORE money, players signing that haven’t played a game of major league baseball, and we’ve had a questionable decision by Hyun-Jin Ryu. It’s not that I HATE the Blue Jays, it just, well, the White Sox were in pursuit. Dang Scott Boras! Anyway: Josh Donaldson You look at his batting ans say ‘What’s the big deal?’. You go to his K% and say ‘What’s the big deal?’. And then you look at the OBP, HR, fielding, SLG, and OPS, and you ask yourself ‘What have I done?’. Yeah, he’s good. He’s very good. In 2019 he hit .259, with a .379 OBP and 37 home runs. He was playing with the Braves, so it gets you thinking. Could a reunion happen? There are
The White Sox have signed relief pitcher Steve Cishek to a 1 year, $6 million deal. The contract has an option, that could possibly raise the total to as much as $12 million. Cishek played with the Cubs last year, and he went 4-6 with a 2.95 ERA. He makes it 4 pitchers for the White Sox in the bullpen with an ERA below 3.00. He is the closing piece to the White Sox win-now mentality. Cishek has now played for 6 different teams over 10 years, and he has a career ERA of 2.69. He pitches in a funky sidearm motion. The White Sox’s crosstown foes, the Cubs, have yet to address their pitching need this offseason.
On January 7, 2019, ESPN created an article that was called “Report: Red Sox used replay room to steal signs in 2018 season”. It was reported from The Athletic first. But now, I’m going to tell you what happened, one key twist of note, and what can be done to stop this epidemic. In a newsletter exclusive on October 14, this was my first paragraph: It is October 28, 2018. Chris Sale is pitching. The count is 1-2 against the Dodgers. Manny Machado steps into the Batter’s Box. He knows what will happen, as does everyone else watching, because the score is 5-1. The game is all but certain. The fans are quiet. Chris Sale pitches, a horrible pitch as it almost hits Manny Machado, but Machado swing
Rangers vs Orioles 30-3 You know it really is funny when the Rangers scored 30 runs in a game, especially if they didn’t score any in the first 3 innings. On August 22, 2007, the Rangers dropped a whopping 30 runs on the Orioles. I had only heard about this game, but when I watched some highlights and looked at the box score, I couldn’t contain myself. I started laughing my eyes out. Let me explain why. First of all, let me explain the lead up. The Rangers were sitting at 55-70, and the Orioles at 58-66. They weren’t going to make the playoffs, and they were basically playing for fun. The Orioles would end up 69-93, and the Rangers would finish 75-87. But now it’s August 22, 2007. It’s 5:05
This is my first discussion on my website. This will consist of: player previews, articles, keys to 2020, and more. The White Sox Rebuild: A look Back When Chris Sale was traded on December 6, 2016, the White Sox had made it official. We all saw this coming. That is, everyone except me. I was 9 in the winter of 2016. I was hungry for more baseball, as I was a diehard Sox fan. I hated the Cubs, their newborn fame, and all of their fans. The only White Sox fan I knew was my dad, and even he had jumped a little on the Cubs bandwagon. My favorite player at the time was Adam Eaton, and I desperately wanted for him to be back in Chicago in 2017. I also wanted Chris Sale back, and I was too naive t