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Second half of action has it's traction as we move into August on the diamond. Tis the month of August, the month that usually brings the most noise. The stove is gettin' hot; and the headlines are gettin' spicy. Bobby Witt Jr. looks poised in staying in the MVP race behind Aaron Judge. AL is set to be a thrill-ride to the very end atop each division's standings. NL Central standings are soon to become a sh**show. Just a whole lotta noise; a whole lotta heat.
Why do we love sports? Well when there is heat; there is sure to be ice as well. The stove is hot, but we still have lots of ice, and lots of slumps going on across the circuit as clubs begin their choke-fest. Or in the case of the White Sox, begin their case to join the dark-side of baseball's history books. The only heat in Southside is the burning of the franchise.
White Sox have matched the AL record with 21 consecutive losses. The Sox are now just the third team in MLB history to lose 21 consecutive games as they are two losses away from matching the 1961 Phillies (23 - NL record) for the longest losing streak since 1900. They aren't too far away from the all-time big league record of 26 set by the 1889 Louisville Colonels (AA). Things have gone from bad, to worse, to historically bad in Southside.
The streak is the worst we have seen since the 1988 Orioles dropped 21 in a row. We are creeping on a month (4 days) since the Sox last won a game. Chicago has been outscored a whomping 114 to 40 across the losing skid, giving up double digits on five occasions, including being on the poor end of a 10-nil shutout by the hands of the Mariners. All this losing while losing Erick Fedde and keeping Garrett Crochet. There is a dark-dark cloud sitting put atop Southside.
Sittin' at 27-88, there is a good chance we see the White Sox break more nasty records if they break the longest losing skid. Technically, by a very small "percent", there is still a chance the Sox could match the all-time bad Cleveland Spiders (Spiders!!?), who ended their 1899 campaign with a historically bad, 20-134 record (.130). Pulling off that feat would see the Sox go 1-46 to end the season... not very likely, but still possible. What is likely however, is surpassing the next in line of the pecking order of bad: the 1916 A's, 1935 Braves, 1962 Mets, and 2003 Tigers could all gracefully see a new team take some of the spotlight in the hall of shame.
The '62 Mets hold the record for the 2nd-most losses in a MLB season (behind Spiders), and the '16 A's hold the record for the 2nd-worst record (win percentage) in a MLB season (behind Spiders). Both those feats could be matched by the White Sox. If I'm being honest, I can see it happening. At this rate, how could you not. Chicago is playing that bad. They have a -251 points differential right now. That's already top-30 worst all-time and they still have 47 more games left to play. If this team ends the season in the same sentence as the Cleveland Spiders, then the league should force them to relocate, doing a full sweep in the process. Do some 'search on those Spiders man; trust me White Sox... you don't wanna be associated! Get it together.
Lets get away from nasty-bad and just talk about some poor-bad. The beauty of baseball (or lack of) is it's long schedule and incredible circus of consistency. Sure, the White Sox are consistently bad. Consistently losing. That may be, but that's not the case across the league, no, across the league we can see a team be dominant for two months of the season; then be awful for two months. For the Phillies, that seems to be their theme. Dominant; then bad. Bad; then good. Since the beginning of the 2nd half, it's been mostly bad; which is not good for the fightin' Phils.
MLB's leading dog for most of the 1st half has since felt the chills. Philly is a lackluster 4-12 to start the 2nd-half, droppin' six in a row and nine out of eleven ballgames to end July. Bryce Harper has been battling some injuries; injuries that have affected his production at the plate in a big way across July. Despite some struggles across the lineup and with their stars; it's the pitching staff that is most to blame for this cold-front. The bullpen has been rocked left and right to start August, and star front-men Suárez, Wheeler, and Nola have each taken some steps backwards in their past outings, especially Suárez.
Suárez (on IL) has been in a bit of a slump on the mound, not winning an outing since June 8th- recording 4 decision losses in 7 starts. Now he fights back issues on the 15-day IL. Once a strong candidate for NL Cy Young, now just a hopeful prayer for a late-season resurge. Not good for the 'Phils, who need to end their slump and STAT... or else they are going to let the Braves and Mets right back into the race atop the NL East.
Phillies have TWO mammoth series against the Braves here in August. They can't continue this downward spiral if they want to win the division. Certainly can't continue this spiral if they want to be the top seed out of the NL. Can't flirt with the same enemy you flirted with last season going into the playoffs. Now is the time to get things back together... not during the NLCS. Buckle up Phillies fans. It may be one rocky ride once again.
I'd direct that same message of not flirting with the enemy of inconsistency to the playoff chasers in the NL Central, but lets be real- the NL Central is going to keep on being the NL Central. I can't write and gloat about being right on the division gettin' rocky and shaky in the second half, because it happens every season! NL Central will never lose it's reign as the most inconsistent division in baseball. It's just never going to happen folks.
Here we are again with the Reds, Cards, Cubs, and Pirates deciding on if they want to win consistently, or lose consistently. Pirates are currently the only Central team, including the Brewers, that isn't currently below .500 in 2nd-half play. The rest of 'em are ridin' the rails. I expect it to be like that the remainder of the season. The Brewers joining in on the theme; now that's what is going to make things real exciting. The NL Central is the only division in baseball with all four teams within single digits of the division leader. Brewers losing 4 of their last 5 has given the pact the chance to catch back a turn with just the Cubs (9 GB) hangin' in the distance.
There is no betting on these teams winning with consistency. Brewers are losing their nod as the only Central club with promise. All five teams are going to ride the rollercoaster. I can feel it. The next month and half, two months of ball is going to be electric within the division. We have multiple inner-Central series coming up on the month's slate that will add some more spice. Cardinals and Pirates have 6-7 games inner-division in August, with the Brewers having 9 divisional games, then 4 to start September. Get your popcorn folks. It should be one helluva ride. Let there be noise.
Expect the same Central theme on the American side too. AL Central is prepped to bring the same type of noise as it's league counterpart, just reduce the amount of teams in the equation by two. We have ourselves a three-way race for the crown between the leading Guardians, the Royals, and the surging Twins. All three bunched together by just five games with the Twins using their 5-game winning streak to sit just 3.5 games back of the Guardians. Sound familiar?
Oh, don't feel in the lust too hard with the thriving Twins, and July Bobby Witt Jr. The AL Central is sure to deliver inconsistent vibes just like the NLC. The three do have some stronger bones than those atop the NLC, however. Each can get hot... like scalding hot. We have seen it with KC, now we are witnessing it again with Minnesota. All three clubs have already sparked a 5-game winning streak here in the 2nd-half. I expect this trend to continue. Up and down. Up and down. Win streaks; losing streaks. Repeat. It's going to come down to the wire, and down to which team can collect the longest win streak. It's a tough bet on which one of the three that will be. I'd like to say KC; the gut says the Twins. The numbers may say the Guardians. The thrill is set; time to ride the waves.
If you know about my 'Diamond Reports', you know I end things on my favorite recent web gem or moment on the diamond. Lately it's been web gems. That streak is ova! Now, I know you Jackson Holliday haters are out there in full swarm; you can sit and pipe down. I love this game; and love seeing legends of the game have their seed be planted in a new era (Matt Holliday). Jax got recalled up for his second rodeo and is finally showing why his potential meter is so high. My favorite moment of the week, is Jax's first big-league moment; the first career jack in GRAND fashion:
video via MLB//X
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