The Sox sent their ace to the mound on Wednesday afternoon. He faced off against one of the aces of the Giants’ staff in Tim Hudson. Well, one ace showed up; be glad you didn’t bet the under on this one. Hudson got rocked, and Sale had a 7-2 lead going into the 7th inning. Then decision time started for Ventura. Already at 100 pitches with a 5 run lead, Ventura marched Sale out there. He already wasn’t pitching his best game; give the kid a break one game. Don’t you believe the bullpen can get 9 outs with a 5-run lead? Sale proceeded to give up a single and a walk before he was pulled at 111 pitches. Well, the bullpen did hold the lead… barely, as the Sox won 7-6 and swept the 2 game series from the defending World Series champs. Nice bounce back series by the Sox, as they depart for an 11 game road trip. I just don’t understand why they insist on Sale having to throw 100+ pitches each and every time out. The other part of the Sox dynamic duo hit his 20th HR, becoming the 3rd fastest player to do so. Sale & Abreu will have to continue to lead this team. Currently at 2 games below .500, this long road trip will be a good measuring stick for the Sox. When they return home, we will be just past the midway point of the season. With Minnesota, Baltimore, and Toronto on the docket, my prediction for the road trip is 5-6, which I’m sure the Sox would be happy with, as they continue to prove they’re a .500 team.
Meanwhile, the Cubs continued to rebound from their horrific start. They won another road series (that’s 2 in a row) as they beat Miami 6-1. Was that the Cubs ace on the mound Wednesday afternoon? Well, he sure has been pitching like one. Jake Arrieta struck out a career high 11 batters in this one. His month of June is not so bad either. With an ERA of 0.73 and a 29/5 Ks to walk ratio, the Cubs may have found another trade prospect…. I mean, they may have found another keeper. Well, either way, he’s been great, and the Cubs haven’t been so shabby either this month with a 10-7 record. Not bad for a team that started off the season 13-27 through their first 40 games. They are still 10 games under .500, but with a 10 game home stand coming, I see them improving on that record…slightly. I predict a 6-4 record against the Pirates, Reds, and Nationals. This will bring them to 8 games under. I’m not sure how much better they will be, but maybe reinforcements are on the way?
Kris Bryant has joined Javier Baez at AAA. Well, it’s about time. His AA #’s this year: .355 BA, 22 HRs, 58 RBIs, .458 OBP, and .702 Slugging %, which were all good for best in the Southern League. With both of the Cubs top prospects in AAA, will we see both later this summer? There were 2 pitchers that were promoted to AAA with Bryant: Arodys Vizcaino and Armando Rivero. Both have had ERAs of under 2 so far this year. The Cubs #1 draft pick this year has already been promoted to A ball. Schwarber needed 5 games before being moved up. It’s nice to see movement in the Cubs system… it’d be even nicer to see these guys here.
What if the Cubs DIDN’T trade their starters away? What if the Cubs brought up both Baez and Bryant after the all star break? Could this team contend THIS year? Well, I think they would make their way a lot quicker towards .500. It’s still a big hole to climb out of in a pretty tough division. The offensive help is really needed; the Cubs dynamic duo of Rizzo and Castro can’t do it all alone. They are trying though…
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With 3 hits from both of them in Wednesday’s victory, they continue to be key in each and every Cubs victory. For Castro, it’s his 12th 3-hit game of the year; I think I heard that’s tied for best in the majors. When someone else contributes, like Schierholtz did today with his 3-run HR, this team can win some games. I like Nate… as a 4th outfielder. It still holds true, that if Rizzo and Castro don’t do it, the Cubs usually don’t win. Like their loss on Tuesday… Rizzo and Castro were 1-8 with 5 Ks. Junior Lake tried to lead the cause with another HR, but it wasn’t enough. Imagine if Lake and Mike Olt were a little more consistent… OK, a lot more consistent.
I don’t think this team is that far from contending. Big words for a team that’s 10 games under, but I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it. I’m going to send a letter to Theo in an attempt to prevent him from trading our top pitchers away. No… don’t do it! Let’s become BUYERS at the trade deadline. Let’s make a deal for another starter. Let’s add another bat. Let’s bring up Baez and Bryant. Let’s sign Samardzija. You can’t tell me that if all of that happened, that doesn’t get this Cubs team to .500 this year. Is that good enough? No, but you get to .500, and then go from there. It’s time now… not next year, or 2016, or 2017.
It’s wishful thinking on my part… I know. I just know what I see on the field, and that’s improvement… finally. Why not add to this team instead of taking away? I believed in the plan Theo… I still do. I think it’s time for phase 2. The rebuild has been grueling, but we are seeing results. Time to sign, promote, and add. The time is now.
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