Chicago Cope

 

The Blackhawks and Bulls didn't make the playoffs, the Bears don't play for a bit. For now, Chicago sports fans get to decide who gets to disappoint them in the interim. One of these Chicago teams has a high payroll, an expertly-plucked manager, a key new addition this year and some of the most impressive winning streaks of the season. The other is the Chicago White Sox. They both essentially have the same record right now. 

And I think the White Sox might honestly have the edge right now? Because the Cubs will do this thing where they win 10 games in a row and are really excited and then they lose 10 games in a row and...like, what was the point of any of that. The White Sox are as inconsistent and up-and-down as any middle of the road team, and they're not really pretending they're anything they're not. They've had a lucky stretch as of late, they're in 2nd in the AL Central, ahead of the Tigers and Royals who've both had terrible months. 

This season, the White Sox actually have some palpable star performances, rather than 'people who are doing slightly better than average'. Munetaka Murakami has 20 home runs, 41 RBIs, and...79 strikeouts but that's less important. Davis Martin is a genuine pitching gem right now, he's 8-1 with a 2 ERA. It takes a lot to have 8 wins through 2 months on a middle of the road team like the White Sox, but Martin's got enough in the tank to make it work. Even Miguel Vargas, who I've written off like three different times now, has an .831 OPS, 12 homers and 31 RBIs. It's a very nice run for the corner infielder who seems to have finally hit his stride in Chicago. And then Colson Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, Tristan Peters, Sam Antonacci and Randal Grichuk are all filing in behind them with terrific seasons and great offensive skill. I knew a lot of these answers would click eventually but this is a very sure, very accurate version of this team. 

And on top of all that they keep bringing up surefire hits. They just threw Rikuu Nishida, a Japanese-born, U.S. based outfielder, into the mix and he's already a defensive favorite. And they just brought up David Sandlin, dealt by Boston for a bag of chips so that's ANOTHER White Sox star you can thank the Red Sox for, he went 6 innings and all he gave up was a solo homer for his debut. They're figuring more stuff out, and getting more and more confident.

Whereas the Cubs...have basically all the pieces for a competitive, division-clinching team...yet can't stay lucky with them.

I dunno if PCA cursing out the Sox fan was the turning point but it can't have helped. It's not that Pete Crow Armstrong's having a bad season per se, as he's an asset in the outfield and on the base paths, but that .677 OPS for a star player just illuminates how people are turning on the guy. This villain arc has allowed people to go 'maybe he's just not that good'. Cause at least when Alex Bregman gets in an argument with a fan on twitter, he remembers to hit .300 and knock 30 long balls or something. But PCA, as valuable as he is in terms of WAR, is a .224 hitter who leads the team in strikeouts, and it's wild that because of his multi-tool prowess that's not a dealbreaker anymore. He's not Taylor Walls bad, but he's verging on it.

The rotation's caved in a bit without Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera and Matt Boyd, plus Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon have had some rough stretches of late. And then you call on Jordan Wicks for the first time in a year, he gets lit up. This looked like a great rotation in March, and it's not coming together. For all that this team is hitting, and they very much are, the injury troubles with the pitching staff have deadened the attack, and have neutralized them at a moment where the Brewers, and to a lesser extent the Cardinals, aren't as put off. 

In the Cubs' defense, they have been finishing off the Pirates quite a bit lately, and seem to be working their way back up. They're giving Ben Brown more of a workload, including some starts, and they're coasting on an incredible run from Ian Happ. They'll likely be fine in the long run. But this month, especially the crosstown series, pointed out how much trouble they could be in this year. They've been getting caught sleeping late the past few years, and this year they need to ensure a different outcome. 

Coming Tonight: The Mets got tired of waiting. The A's jumped at the ideal timing. Be like the A's.

Sale On

 

Since joining the NL for the first time in 2024, Chris Sale has yet to finish a season with an ERA higher than 2.60. His Cy Young season in '24 had a 2.38 ERA. Through 11 2026 games, he has a 2.01 ERA. All of this on what the Red Sox assumed was borrowed time.

Not that it's been enjoyable as of late, but if you wanted to check how the returns for Sale are doing in Boston right now, well...Vaughn Grissom's not even in Boston. He's currently a utility guy in Anaheim. Meaning once again, the Red Sox traded a big piece for prospects that couldn't even stick around long enough to help them do anything. No wonder the fans want John Henry to sell. 

Though we all thought the Jack McDowell comparisons would do him in, Chris Sale has become one of the most reliable pitchers of the 'K-or-nothing' era of baseball. This year, Sale's on track to reach 2700 career strikeouts, and his career ERA still sits below 3. He's also on pace to crack 60 career WAR, and he recently notched his 150th career win. Obviously nobody can do what Nolan Ryan did and overthrow for 25 years anymore, but Sale has maintained so much success just by consistently whizzing past people. So far he has 80 Ks this year, and on a Braves team where the next-nearest strikeout artist is trying to stay healthy and the other two everyday guys are leverage/control guys who don't throw hard, it's positively refreshing. The 2025 Braves went in banking on the high-speed guy like Sale, and then Schwellenbach and Lopez got hurt, Sale missed a third of the season and it was up to Holmes and Elder to keep the lights on. Now that the approach has been altered and it's less geared around the overthrowing, Sale can just do what he does and there's plenty of fallbacks.

The failsafes are one of the reasons the Braves are still a league superpower. Last year they got cut with their pants down because they were unprepared for the majority of the pitching staff getting hurt. Now they have swing options. J.R. Ritchie gave it a go, and while it didn't work, he was able to swing out when Strider came back. Martin Perez went from an in-camp maybe to one of the most unexpected rotation weapons in Atlanta, with a 2.70 ERA and 40 Ks in 11 games, proving he truly is the Venezuelan counterpart to Charlie Morton. Mauricio Dubon was the replacement for Ha-Seong Kim at short, and Dubon's been so good even after Kim's return that the position continues to be his. The one thing they couldn't really predict was losing both Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy, meaning Chadwick Tromp is now the starting catching option for the Braves, and Sandy Leon is closing in on him. If this wasn't a really good Braves team with so many other great starring performances, it'd be worrying. But Baldwin'll be back soon, and it's not breaking the team.

There's so much depth to this team, and so many successful seasons, that another star performance from Chris Sale just feels like the cherry on top. I hope they keep at it, as they really could chase the Dodgers for the league championship this year.

Coming Tomorrow- A guy who was traded for Tommy Edman, who's honestly doing a much better job than he would have, and is still looking to win the trade with his new, rebuilding team.

Stat Inflation Ruined My Streak

 

Do you have any idea how much guff I've had to hear from people about how the Yankees technically aren't a good team because they only win series' against sub-.500 teams?? It's been everywhere. You know, despite the fact that multiple pieces are thriving, we have the best pitcher in the AL and we have peak Gerrit Cole back again, nah, doesn't mean anything if we can't take one more from the Jays. Y'know, if it hadn't rained last week we'd have finished the series with the Rays while we were getting hot and killed the narrative. But now it's gotta persist. Exhausting.

Because, honestly, this team doesn't suck. The bullpen can be infuriating, and David Bednar's blown some saves, but we're in most of these games. We're just unlucky right now given the opportunity. 

Ultimately, the core of this lineup is enough to keep me confident. Judge has been cold the last few weeks but he still has 17 homers and 34 RBIs, plus that insane walk-off last week. What's wild is that Cody Bellinger's outhitting him. Not that it's a huge shock, Bellinger's awesome and we know what he can do, but I didn't think he'd outdo Judge at the plate. Right now Bellinger's got a .271 average and 36 RBIs, plus 8 homers and 13 doubles. We knew last year how nice of a fit Belli was, and he's continuing his excellent progress by taking more initiative and being THE guy in more games. The Mark Teixeira comparisons are kinda there, the big contract to supplant the preexisting core, but Bellinger's looking to have a bit more career legs than Tex. And considering that one of these guys is looking forward to election day and the other is looking forward to 420...they couldn't be more different honestly.

This team has also seen the return of Anthony Volpe, hitting .257 with 7 RBIs in 11 games. He seems a bit more accurate than when we last left him, and though platooning him with Caballero is a safe bet, a long-awaited breakout would also be pretty helpful. Benchwise, this team has Amed Rosario and Paul Goldschmidt both being extremely useful, and now we have Max Schuemann being a surprising source of contact prowess. Shame Spencer Jones didn't work out this year though.

And at the same time, Cam Schlittler is still elite, Ryan Weathers and Will Warren can still stay in late and keep runs down, and Gerrit Cole has no earned runs and 12 Ks in his first 2 games back. It's safe to say this guy is back, and he's definitely his old self. I think it worked out that Cole and Rodon switched right in when Fried and Gil got hurt. We have Elmer Rodriguez and Carlos Lagrange down there in case anything else happens. Then again, Elmer is beginning to look a lot like July trade bait. I made the mistake of getting attached to Jhony Brito, I'm hesitant now.

I still think the Yanks are in good shape, and I especially think so after this Royals series. The A's are next, and we've routinely had some trouble with them, but hopefully we can continue our recent dominance and flip the narrative. 

Coming Tonight: I feared his career was over just 2 years ago. In reality, he was getting ready for one hell of a second act. 

Overdrive

 

Shohei Ohtani, for the first time since...I wanna say 2020 or so, is putting up positively human numbers at the plate. Human for Ohtani is still nebulous for most other ballplayers, but there is a palpable downward step from 2025, he's hitting .269 with 9 homers and 30 RBIs. Very normal, very unassuming, not a heck of a lot setting up apart from his contemporaries at the plate. Still a needed hitter with great power instincts, but it's not the pace that got him over 50 long balls the last few years.

Which means it's a good thing he's having his best season to date as a pitcher. 

The last time Ohtani felt this untouchable on the mound, it was 2022, and he went 15-9 with a 2.23 ERA and 219 Ks, enough to get him second in the MVP voting [but because he didn't hit 62 homers he couldn't lap the favorite]. Now he seems even better. In 9 starts he has a 5-2 record with a 0.82 ERA and 61 Ks. Pure dominance on so many levels, without overexerting himself. In fact, last night Ohtani went 6 innings without allowing a hit, only allowing a run on some sacrifice plays. That someone that dangerous as a hitter can also pitch scoreless frames and master the other side of the game, arguably more than the hitting right now, is insanely impressive.

On the heels of that is the fact that the Dodgers' bullpen has been exceptional this month, with little to no run bleeding from stalwarts like Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Kyle Hurt and Edgardo Henriquez. Despite the amount they paid for another lost Edwin Diaz season, they've built a working model that completely outdoes their 2025 model of hoping the extra starters can do long relief. It eviscerates one of the real marks against them from last year, and it gives them yet another leg up on the competition.

Shohei Ohtani is also just the best starter in this rotation right now, and that's taking into consideration Justin Wrobleski's swell, Yamamoto's usual brilliance and the surprise smash that is Eric Lauer. I am beginning to get worried that the potential for yet another Philadelphia Cy Young win will be foiled by a candidate who regularly wins things. I'm miffed about Zack Wheeler losing all those times, and I still think Cristopher Sanchez deserved another look last year. Now Sanchie's on an unprecedented run and I'm not even sure if that'll be enough to stop the writers from giving awards to Ohtani. Not that he doesn't deserve it, it's just...hasn't he gotten enough stuff by now?

The Dodgers still look like a league giant, have Andy Pages and Freddie Freeman surging, and have no trouble keeping the Padres down, in many cases getting other teams to do the dirty work for them. Even with the usual pitching injuries, and a few crucial lineup injuries [Betts and Teoscar], this team isn't slowing down, and still has lots of strength on display. It's a wee bit boring, but even I can appreciate it.

Coming Tomorrow- Ironically a former Dodgers lineup standout, now in a crucial role in opposition to LA's dynasty.

Patience Occasionally Pays Off

 

The Mariners promoted Colt Emerson a few weeks ago, and Emerson's been taking the majority of reps at third in the wake of yet another Brendan Donovan injury. You can tell the Mariners have faith in Emerson because they traded their other infield prospect, Ben Williamson, to make room for him, and so far that seems to be a good move on their part. Emerson's currently hitting .222 with 6 hits and 4 RBIs in 9 games. It's not immediately showing Emerson's high ceiling numbers, but if the Mariners' gameplan over the last few years has taught us anything, it's that they can afford to wait a little while.

Look at Cole Young, who was honestly inessential in his midyear callup last year. They brought him in to be a better choice at 2nd, he...sort of was, but didn't hit. Now, with another few months under his belt in the majors, he's figured a ton more out, with a more pronounced contact game, complete with 10 doubles and 23 RBIs, and some excellent defense at 2nd. He's been one of the most confident pieces of the lineup thus far, and in a season without Cal Raleigh's better numbers, that's worth a ton. Young wasn't an immediate smash in Seattle, but the Mariners didn't give up on him. Same with Emerson Hancock, who regularly brought up the rear of the five man rotation; Hancock's now a surer, more consistent starter, with a 2.78 ERA and 63 Ks in 11 games. He might honestly have the best line of any of the five right now, which is kinda insane. 

The waiting approach also applies to some of their acquisitions. J.P. Crawford, Dominic Canzone and Victor Robles hadn't completely hit their potential yet when they were traded, yet they've all found pivotal roles in this lineup. Crawford's still a welcome contact hitter, and though he's a little less accurate than usual he's still got 7 home runs. Canzone is the fun bench/DH bat whose power boosts have been welcome this year. Robles is still a great help defensively in the outfield, and he can hit .300 to boot. I'd even through Luke Raley in this category, because the Rays didn't get a ton of use out of him but in Seattle he's become one of the most reliable sources of power. Dude's got 11 home runs so far. 

The inverse of this is the guys the Mariners lose their patience with typically don't have a ton left afterwards. Kyle Lewis's peak WAS in Seattle, and after that season he barely touched the majors. Jarred Kelenic just got DFA'd by Chicago, proving the Mariners were right to give up on him. Easton McGee also hasn't really recovered from the injury he suffered right after his Mariners debut. They just seem to know when to pull the trigger and when to hold off.

Thanks to a strong series against the A's, the Mariners are momentarily back in first and hoping to build on the narrow lead. They've got Julio hitting, the rotation's looking surer than before and the wins are coming more frequently than they were in April. I think they can hold this for a little while, but the amount of time it took them to get here is slightly concerning. 

Coming Tonight: I was reminded the other day that this guy's been in the majors for nine years now. It's no less wild than it was in 2018. 

A Matter of Thrust

 

2026 has seen a lot of potential purveyors of 'new school' MLB thinking, guys like Blake Butera and Tony Vitello who have a younger, more advanced approach to building a winning team. And you hope that there can finally be a new breed of five-steps-ahead manager who can revolutionize how people think about running a team. I think about what Stephen Vogt's done in Cleveland, and how he's turned that team into a run production machine. Kevin Cash counts, all the analytics is driving the bus rather than contracts. Perhaps Darren McCaughan also fits. 

But one of the main reasons I want there to be a new breed of managers is because there's still a handful of them who are living too far in the past. I thought getting rid of Tony LaRussa was gonna help this. Now I'm fearing there's still some of this 'pro-decorum' energy about.

The Giants, for reference, have this outfield thrust they do when they win games. And it's Harrison Bader, Jung Hoo Lee and Drew Gilbert mostly, they do this hug-thrust thing when they win. Tony Vitello seems to be fine with it. Let 'em have fun. Well, Abner Uribe of the Brewers does this triple-crotch thing when he strikes out the side the other day, and it's full on reliever dominance stuff. And then after the game, Pat Murphy's going 'well, that's not how we do things here'. 

I can never tell where the line's gonna be with these guys. It's just a thrust, it's not like he assaulted someone, and even then he'd probably keep his job anyway. Pat Murphy's doing the whole 'this is the way things are done' schtick that I hated when LaRussa did it. And it's not like Murphy's comparable to LaRussa in that many other ways. Murph was taking pancakes out of his pocket last year. How is that 'the way things ought to be done'?? I'm pretty sure they're meant to go on a plate. I dunno what upscale restaurant Pat Murphy's going to, where the waiters put the pancakes directly in your pockets, but if that's The Way We Do Things Round Here than why not get silly and go 'your mum' when you strike a guy out, or whatever the hell Uribe's doing? Who's he hurting? 

So now you're gonna have Abner Uribe out there, stock serious at gunpoint, afraid to have fun. This is what got Yermin Mercedes run out of the leave, cause some old codger with a superiority complex told him The Way Things Are Meant to Be Done, regardless of any, ahem, difference in background or heritage. Carlos Estevez does the 'I am about to pulverize you like the man from the anime' stance every time he notches a save- nobody starts a shit-fit. He's not literally going 'I am going to pulverize you', just like Abner Uribe isn't actually saying he's gonna perform any lewd acts on anybody. The Way Things Ought to Be Done is just a gatekeeping tool men of a certain generation use to prevent anyone from reaching their level of success. Pat Murphy's committed to a lot of new school tactics, but this could be costly.

And it takes the sting out of a really excited, and varied, Brewers team, succeeding as very few [including me] knew they would. Losing Freddy Peralta hurt, but Miz and Harrison have been incredible, and have instilled a rotation stability that many thought was still a few years away. And yes, Logan Henderson's hurt again, but look at Coleman Crow filling in for him. They're being VERY careful with his service time, but he's succeeding at the MLB level. The team is hitting, and William Contreras is hitting .308 with 33 RBIs, which is a very strong stat for a catcher. Turang, Bauers, Chourio, Yelich and Mitchell are all following behind. And when not being yelled at by a manager, Abner Uribe's working out in the ninth, with 5 saves already. The interesting bit about this team is how many former starting options, like Aaron Ashby, D.L. Hall, Carlos Rodriguez and Shane Drohan, are working better as relief pieces than they would have been otherwise. A variation on the Dodgers' 'whatever you do don't hand the ball to a reliever' strategy from last fall [which has subsided to reveal a pretty fantastic bullpen actually].

The Brewers are a great team hitting their stride. The last thing they need is random decorum BS to bring them down, much like the 2021 White Sox were brought down by theirs. Hopefully good prevails here.

Coming Tomorrow- In 2025, the reaction to his presence in the Mariners' lineup was '...you're absolutely right, Leo Rivas IS the better option'. Now, he's finally delivering what he was supposed to. 

Mass Production

 

The modern Guardians teams, with their contact-first, contracts-later approach, always have this way of surprising me. I can never tell who's gonna be the guy that takes over and picks up the brunt of the work. If you'll remember, Jose Ramirez was like that, he went from a guy who was taking some reps at third to a powerful contact hitter to someone who will retire as a Cleveland Guardian and get a statue at the Jake. Brayan Rocchio was like that, he became an infield standout, then stunk for a year and is now a true standout again. This is just what they do.

On a team featuring Jose Ramirez, Rhys Hoskins, Steven Kwan, Chase DeLauter and Kyle Manzardo, the guy who leads the Guardians in home runs is Angel Martinez, a left-fielder in the midst of a breakout season, with 9 long balls and 27 RBIs. Right now Martinez has a higher OPS than Ramirez, and though his last week has been a bit slower, he's still an exciting, productive player. 

And the great thing about this team is that if someone like Martinez is slowing down, someone else can pick back up. Recently Daniel Schneemann has been getting hot, and he's been making some incredible leaping catches in the outfield. Kyle Manzardo's power numbers have slowly picking up, and he's been given more prime moments to shine. Rhys Hoskins has 5 homers, including one against his former team. And the biggest revelation of the season so far has been Travis Bazzana, the former #1 overall pick who's taken to the bigs with ease, hitting .292 with 3 homers, 10 RBIs and 7 stolen bases in his first 25 games. If this is the degree of excellence we can expect from the 23-year-old as he continues in the majors, the Guardians are gonna be fine.

That's very much the theme of this season, as even if they lose people, and even if they can't contend financially with the Tigers and Royals, they have the infrastructure to outlast everybody. Gavin Williams, Parker Messick, Joey Cantillo and Tanner Bibee are a very formidable core rotation foursome, with each bringing something very important to the table. Williams is having the best overall season, and he completely shut down the Phils the other night, but Messick might be the most dominant pitcher, with his expert pitch placement and low-speed craftsmanship. And Cade Smith happens to lead the league in saves with 18, despite a few of the issues that plagued him last year still persisting. 

This is an extremely good-looking Guardians team, with so many failsafes baked in and so many elements working. Undeniably they're one of the top two teams in the AL right now, and definitely one of the best teams in baseball, and they're doing this without breaking the bank or breaking the game. I'm not saying I need a Guardians-Dodgers World Series to make the point clear, but it'd be way more fun than a Rays-Dodgers Series.

Coming Tonight: If the Braves don't give up on this guy, they don't get Drake Baldwin. Or...maybe they just don't get his defensive catching numbers.