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Saturday stat day: After the Chicago White Sox lost Friday (Sept. 21) to the host Los Angeles Angels and the Chicago Cubs defeated the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field, you have to wonder which team with a 1.5-game lead for a postseason berth — Sox or Cards — is feeling more pressure.
This photograph of former Maxim Hometown Hotties finalist Alyssa Esparza speaks to the randomness of life. Or something like that.
* Sox slugger Adam Dunn struck out three times in Friday’s 6-2 loss as he surpassed 200 strikouts for the season with 202. This is the first time Dunn has gone past 200. One more walk and he will have 100. Just once maybe he will step into the batter’s box without a bat. Well, that’s one way to cut down on his swinging strikes.
* The ever-reliable coolstandings.com lists the Sox, who have the Detroit Tigers trailing them for the American League Central crown, as having a 68.5 percent chance of winning the division and an 0.5 chance for the wild card. Meaning it’s win the division or enjoy the offseason. The Cardinals have a 56.6 percent chance of capturing the second National League wild card. Milwauke, which is right behind St. Louis, is at 28.9 percent; the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are two games back of St. Louis, are listed at 9.6. Of course, a strong finishing kick (the Brewers are 9-1 in their last 10 games) can render today’s numbers meaningless. And, also of course, the Cubs have battled all season to be in the spot they occupy: spoiler.
* At 59-92, the Cubs need to go 4-7 or better to avoid 100 losses. In case you were wondering if the Cubs still had any significant goals to achieve.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates (74-76), who are listed with a 0.1 chance of reaching the postseason, theoretically can finish .500 or better. Something they have not done since 1992. That could rival the Cubs avoiding 100 losses as one of the season’s great accomplishments.
* At 81-69, if the Sox go 6-6 to finish the regular season, Detroit (79-70) would need to go 8-5 to tie for the division title. The Sox are 5-5 in their last 10 and Detroit 6-4 in its last 10. As always, past performance is no guarantee of future results. Something says Detroit manager Jim Leyland would rather be in Sox manager Robin Ventura’s position in the standings than his own.
As the faithful readers around here (and even the less-than-faithful ones, too) might recall, Wynne Lacey appeared on the Sept. 20 “Sports & Torts” show with co-hosts David Spada and Elliott Harris on talkzone.com. Wonderful Wynne went beyond the call of duty and sat down for an additional video to chat about a variety of topics, including the Chicago Soul (a new addition to the Major Indoor Soccer League):
Additional Soul information:
* Home opener Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.
* Former Sting player and former Chilean National Team member Manny Rojas will be the coach.
* The Soul will hold a free launch party on Sunday, Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. at the Sears Centre. Fans will be able to obtain autographs and pictures, play games, win prizes and watch a scrimmage. Food and refreshments will available.
* For ticket information is available by phoning (224) 484-8505 or e-mailing info@chicagosoulfc.com.
* The team’s web site is chicagosoulfc.com.
The Chicago Sky will hold Fan Appreciation Night on Saturday for the WNBA team’s season finale at p.m. against the Washington Mystics at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. The first 3,000 fans attending will receive a bobblehead of coach/general manager Pokey Chatman. There also will be a postgame celebration with players signing autographs and free drinks and dessert served.
The Sky (13-20), which started the season by going 7-1, was eliminated from postseason contention with a loss Thursday at Atlanta.
* Former Bears linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer will make his “Bears Post Game Live” debut on Comcast SportsNet Chicago after Sunday’s contest against the St. Louis Rams. The program also will be available on ChicagoBears.com and CSNChicago.com.
There always is room around here for random videos, especially when they feature former Maxim Hometown Hotties finalists. Here is Alyssa Esparza:
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