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Clinching season is underway. Plus: Ken on the source of the White Sox malaise, a question about the Dodgers, and Craig Kimbrel’s DFA. I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal — welcome to The Windup!
Merry Clinchmas: Yankees, Brewers clinch playoff berths
As we mentioned yesterday, the Brewers had a chance to clinch today. Turns out, all they had to do was sit in the clubhouse and watch TV, as the A’s beat the Cubs 5-3. With Milwaukee’s magic number at just one, that sealed the deal: They’re the NL Central champs.
That didn’t stop the Brewers from going out and winning anyway, beating the Phillies 2-1 behind a five-inning, nine-strikeout performance from Freddy Peralta.
Then in the last game of the night, the Yankees and Mariners went to extras in a nail-biter. But — for the second day in a row — I saw something I’d never seen before:
- With runners on the corners and no outs in the bottom of the 10th, the Mariners looked well-positioned to tie the game. But Randy Arozarena lost his bat swinging at strike three, and Julio Rodríguez, after avoiding the projectile, ventured off into foul territory, not realizing that it was a live ball.
- Yankees catcher Austin Wells ran up the line and fired a strike. Rodríguez was out — the weirdest strike-’em-out-throw-’em-out you’ll ever see — and the Mariners suddenly had two outs and a runner on first.
Justin Turner struck out, and the game was over. With the win, the Yankees clinched a playoff spot. It’s not a division title yet, but they’re assured at least a wild-card berth.
Ken’s Notebook: How White Sox’s plane epitomizes ineptitude
From my latest column, with Britt Ghiroli:
A team doesn’t lose 117 games and counting because of just one thing. In the case of the 2024 Chicago White Sox, a meddling owner, dubious leadership, injuries and an inability to properly value and integrate analytics only begin to tell the story.
The White Sox would need to win seven of their last nine games to avoid tying the Mets, with 120 losses, for the worst record in modern baseball history. They are the first team since 1900 to have three separate losing streaks of 12 or more games. Opponents have outscored them by more than 300 runs. Few expected the South Siders, who lost 101 games last year, to contend. But no one predicted this level of incompetence.
And yet for all the factors that led to this season’s disaster, when players and traveling staff try to encapsulate how things reached such a sorry state, again and again they bring up one thing: the plane.
The White Sox charter an Airbus320, a plane first manufactured in the 1980s. It features only eight first-class seats; the rest is coach. A majority of MLB teams charter bigger 757s, with ample first-class seats for the players and the coaching staff. Even well-known frugal franchises such as the Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies and Miami Marlins charter nicer planes. But not the White Sox.
When a player new to Chicago first stepped on board this season, he said loudly: “C’mon, man, no show plane?” A chorus of players burst into laughter. Last year, a tweet comparing the planes used by MLB teams caused a stir when it was shared among White Sox players while they were on board.
A team plane doesn’t make errors or poor baseball decisions. But the White Sox’s decision to use a smaller, older plane reflects how they operate. The difference between the White Sox and other clubs is so stark, players who leave Chicago for other teams celebrate their freedom by texting each other, “This is the big leagues.”
“They don’t do the little or the big things right,” said a recently departed veteran.
The Athletic spoke to nearly 40 current and former White Sox employees and others in baseball about the larger issues plaguing the dysfunctional franchise, which is run according to the whims of owner Jerry Reinsdorf. The 88-year-old Reinsdorf led a group of investors who bought the team for $19 million in 1981. (He also owns the Chicago Bulls.) They won the World Series in 2005, but have made only three playoff appearances since, losing all three series.
Many of those who spoke to The Athletic, some of whom requested anonymity to speak candidly about Reinsdorf and the state of the franchise, said that the owner’s views on the game have calcified; that while at times Reinsdorf has carried a big major-league payroll, he has refused to invest in the cutting-edge amenities and infrastructure needed to succeed.
More White Sox: They lost their 117th game. They’re three losses away from the 1962 Mets.
Standings Watch: Are the Dodgers vulnerable?
Let’s start with an acknowledgment that the Dodgers have scored nine, nine, nine and eight runs in their last four games. So, no, I’m not suggesting panic just because of Tuesday night’s 11-9 loss to the Marlins.
But with one division now clinched, it might surprise you to look at the remaining division leads, arranged from biggest to smallest.
- NL Central: Brewers — clinched
- NL East: Phillies — 7 games
- AL Central: Guardians — 6 games
- AL East: Yankees — 5 games
- AL West: Astros — 5 games
- NL West: Dodgers — 3 1/2 games
On one hand, Los Angeles is 27-16 since Aug. 1. On the other, they’re 8-8 in September. Meanwhile, the Padres and Diamondbacks have held their own. Here’s how the Dodgers stack up in the second half against the teams chasing them:
The question marks are almost all pitching-related. Gavin Stone isn’t likely to return this year. Neither is Tyler Glasnow. Bobby Miller’s 8.52 ERA is well over a run higher than the second-worst in baseball (min. 50 innings). The injuries to others have been well-documented.
The Diamondbacks have cooled off in September, but in San Diego, it’s starting to look like the Padres have gotten a jump start on October.
Even if they hang on to the division, how confident are Dodgers fans that their squad is a tougher postseason matchup than their division rivals?
Endings: Orioles DFA Craig Kimbrel
Here’s what Craig Kimbrel’s career line looked like through his first five years in the big leagues:
294 games, 289 innings, 476 strikeouts, 108 walks, 186 saves and a 1.43 ERA.
That’s the stretch that writers will have to consider when Kimbrel is on a Hall of Fame ballot. His 440 saves are fifth all time. The top three are in the Hall of Fame. In fourth place is Kenley Jansen, who is still active.
Alas, 2010-2014 Kimbrel is not the version the Orioles got this year. With his ERA at 5.33, and six blown saves in 29 opportunities, he was designated for assignment yesterday.
It wasn’t that Kimbrel was bad all the time. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde largely gave Kimbrel clean innings, and the two runners he did inherit this season, he stranded. In 40 of his 57 outings, he allowed no runs. In 10 of the remaining 17, he allowed one. But those other seven games? 25 runs — including six in his final outing on Tuesday night.
Here’s a chart that illustrates how a mostly-good relief pitcher can have a bad season. Note how the ERA trends down, then jumps up. The lines flatten a bit as the season goes (and his total innings go up), but the trend is clear.
A relief pitcher once told me that any pitcher who makes the big leagues is capable of getting big-league hitters out. What separates the great ones from the ones who get DFAd isn’t the nasty stuff. It’s the consistency — the ability to do it again the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that.
That truth is what made Kimbrel great for the bulk of his career. It’s also why the Orioles decided there was no longer room for the 36-year-old future Hall of Famer in their bullpen.
Shohei Ohtani 50-50 Tracker 👀
Ohtani stole one base in the Dodgers’ 8-4 win over the Marlins yesterday.
- Home Runs: 48
- Stolen Bases: 49
Handshakes and High Fives
As Alex Bregman begins what could be his final Astros homestand, Jose Altuve pleads for a re-signing.
Stephen Nesbitt and Chad Jennings have ranked the potential postseason pitching staffs, from best to worst-of-the-best.
After hitting his 200th career home run, Juan Soto’s postgame comments let us know: he hasn’t forgotten about his upcoming free agency.
It was a down year for Kyle Hendricks of the Cubs, but he “100 percent” intends to pitch next year — for the Cubs or elsewhere.
AL wild-card check-in: The Tigers completed a three-game sweep of the Royals, and are now just a half-game out of a playoff position, since the Twins lost to the Guardians. For the Tigers, Parker Meadows has been a huge part of the second-half surge.
NL wild-card check-in: The Mets spanked the Nats, 10-0 — and Kodai Senga could be back soon. The Braves kept pace, beating the Reds 7-1 to remain two games back for the final playoff spot.
Most-clicked in Yesterday’s newsletter: Dennis Lin’s investigation into who’s on a 2021 Jackson Merrill baseball card (since it sure isn’t Merrill).
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(Top photo: Jovanny Hernandez / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
