MLBRT 8/15/2024

The questions and discussion…  

1) Last Saturday (8/3) in the Yankees/Blue Jays game Aaron Judge hit a homerun in the first inning and then the next three times Judge came to bat the Jays issued three intentional walks, including a free pass, with nobody on base and two outs in the second inning, which was the first time in more than 50 years that a player was intentionally walked in that situation that early in a game. 

In the game on Sunday, Judge was intentionally walked with two outs and a runner at first base in the fifth inning with the Blue Jays leading 2-0. In a post-game press conference Manager Aaron Boone told reporters “Oh, so that’s beyond the (Barry) Bonds treatment. Now we’ll call it the Judge treatment.”

Then on Wednesday, against the Angels, he was once again walked intentionally, making Judge the first Yankees player with five intentional walks in a three-game span since it happened twice to Roger Maris in 1962.

Going forward into the remainder of the season, and very probably into the post season will teams tend to intentionally walk Judge rather than allow him to swing his bat especially in close  games? Why or why not?

And if opposing teams are going to use the “Bonds Treatment” when Judge comes to bat what can the Yankees do counter that strategy? Why?

They actually may have already done what they need to do to counteract the “Bonds Treatment” in having catcher Austin Wells bat behind Judge in the lineup along with Giancarlo Stanton being activated from the IL.

In the 15 games Wells has appeared in since he was inserted into the cleanup spot in the order behind Judge he is slashing .345/.420/.517 including slugging a HR in one game right after the opposition intentionally walked Judge.

And in the 9 games Stanton has been in since being activated he has had 2 HRs and 7 RBIs.

And that’s the best way to counter the intentional walks being handed out to Judge.. have batter produce who hit behind him.

Ironically in the Wednesday night versus the White Sox, the Sox, with a man on second, intentionally walked a red hot Juan Soto… he had a 3-HR night in the Tuesday game and then hit a HR in his first AB in the Wednesday game…  to face Aaron Judge instead and Judge promptly worked the count to 3-0 and then on a high inside slider managed to pull his hands in and then muscle the ball into the Sox bullpen for a 3-run HR.

2) The Chicago White Sox, who tied an American League record this month with a 21-game losing streak, have fired manager Pedro Grifol along with bench coach Charlie Montoyo, third-base coach Eddie Rodriguez and assistant hitting coach Mike Tosar and named former All-Star outfielder Grady Sizemore as his interim manager.

Will the termination of Grifol, and his coaches, do anything to improve the White Sox this season or are they still most probably destined to set a new modern day team record for losses in a single season? Why or why not?  

With any change in the on the field managers there is sometimes a spike in the team’s performance tha tamed the change. And that kinda, sorta happened with the Sox when after they had lost 24 of 25 games they erupted in Monday night game to give interim manager Grady Sizemore his first win by pounding the Yankees 12-2.

Then things retuned to what has become “normal’ for the Sox this season… they lost the next two games to the Yanks.

Bottom line, this Sox team is historically bad and not a change in mangers is not going to mean diddly in changing anything for the Sox for the remainder of this season.  

3) Besides hiring the team’s next manager, what else does GM Chris Getz and his team need to do to fix the Chicago White Sox? Why?  

Spend some of owner Jerry Reinsdorf’s cash and try to attract as many free agents as they can to come play for the Sox.

This team needs wholesale changes up and down their batting order as well as to their on-field defensive personnel.

It wouldn’t hurt if they could also try adding two, or maybe even three, pitchers to their rotation.

That’s how bad this team is.  

4) As the 2024 MLB season winds down, the managerial hot seat heats up and the White Sox Pedro Grifol is the first managerial casualty.  

Which manager will most probably be next? Why?

I’m leaning to the Rockies Bud Black.

Under Blacks management the Rockies haven’t had a winning season since 2018, and presently they are on pace for a second straight 100-loss season.

If the losing continues in Colorado then something needs to change. Right?

And since the owner can’t fire the team then Black’s number could be the next one up to be fired.

5) On July 11, after sweeping the Dodgers in a three-game series, the Phillies were 61-32 and first in the NL East by a fair margin over the Braves. Since then the Phillies have gone 8-14, including 3-7 in their last 10 games and their record now stands at 69-46. However, they still have a comfortable lead in the East but now it’s over the Mets and not the Braves.

Should the Phillies be concerned that their season is on the brink of disaster or is this just a slump that will eventually end?

This has been a season of streaks for every team that has been considered as the number one team i the monthly MLB rankings. Not one team has been spared.  The Yankees, Dodgers, Orioles and even the Guardians who have been a surprise team among the top temas this season, have all gone through extended winning streaks followed by extended losing streaks and back to winning games on a regular basis.

The Phillies have just joined the club.

Any time a team loses a bunch of games there is always some level of concern but overall this Phillies team will eventually ride out their slump and begin winning game again and still comfortably win the NL East by a decent margin.

Extra Innings…