Thanks to Beating White Sox, Royals in Postseason

September 27, 2014 @ admin → No Comments

There’s nothing quite like clinching a postseason berth on your team’s home field. Of course, it helps if it’s your team doing the clinching and not the visitors. Well, sometimes life doesn’t go the way we envision. Such was the case Friday for Chicago White Sox fans. Those at U.S. Cellular Field had the chance to see the Kansas City Royals reach the postseason for the first time since 1985 (which the statistical-analysis department around here has calculated to be 29 years). A 3-1 victory provided great joy for the Royals and their fans in the stands. And, yes, this is as close to being a part of the postseason as the Sox will be the season. Wait till whenever.

Video below of Olympia champion Oksana Grishina.

* Speaking of fans in the stands at the Sox-Royals contest, there were some who booed the Royals’ success. Yeah, because the Royals have been such a dominant force these last 29 seasons. You think any Royals fans will be booing Paul Konerko at Saturday’s game at which he will be honored? I would think a safe bet would be simple: no.

* Among the highlights of the Cubs’ 6-4 victory at Milwaukee was shortstop Javier Baez going 3-for-5 with only one strikeout. Meaning he has struck out 91 times in 204 at-bats (that’s 45 percent of the time). Baez also committed his 10th error of the season. Meaning he has one more error than home runs. And, yes, your humble correspondent is going to miss giving stats updates on the future Hall of Famer.

* Speaking of Cubs strikeouts, Mike Olt struck out as a pinch hitter. Meaning he has 100 in 225 at-bats (44 percent). The statistical-analysis crew at ElliottHarris.com computes Olt’s numbers to translate to 200 strikeouts if he had 450 at-bats. If Olt has 450 at-bats with the Cubs in 2015, it will either be a sign that the team is really good and can afford to carry a player who strikes out way too much or it will be a sign that the team is really bad. Comforting thought, no? Maybe not.

* For what it’s worth (and admittedly it’s not much), the Cubs and Sox both are 72-88, both are 17 games behind their division leader (with the Cubs holding the tiebreaker by being in last place in their division). The Sox have lost four in a row, while the Cubs have won three in a row. Good luck in determining which is the better team (some of us might conclude they’re both bad teams — and not be wrong). You wanna talk upside? Anyone who thinks either team will contend next season without making some significant talent upgrade ought to be hit upside the head (just kidding; we’re all about peace and love around here).

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Here is where to go for a daily dose of non-gratuitous video (thanks to the energetic efforts of the editorial and video departments at ElliottHarris.com):