Chicago Sun-Times

BILL CHUCK: Baseball by the numbers

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:28:08 -0500

THE CHICAGO FILES 1. The Cubs and White Sox are each 5-5 in the last 10 Opening Days. The Cubs have lost three in a row. 2. It’s rare when the Chicago teams change catchers. Since 2001, the Sox have had only two catchers on Opening Day: Sandy Alomar (2001-04) and A.J. Pierzynski (2005-12). The Cubs have had only two catchers on Opening Day since 2004: Michael Barrett (2004-07) and Geovany Soto (2008-12). 3. Anthony Rizzo will be the Cubs’ fourth Opening Day first baseman in four seasons; Derrick Lee, Carlos Pena and Jeff Baker were his predecessors. Paul Konerko …

From the Bill Chuck files...Chicago Edition

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 12:13:46 -0500

1The Reds’ Shin-Soo Choo has been hit by 10 pitches, more than any other entire team. 2Ten of the Royals’ first 12 homers were solo shots; the other two were grand slams by Billy Butler and Alex Gordon. The Royals hit only one slam last season. 3The Tigers are hitting .290 with full counts, the Giants just .108. 4Jon Lester is now 89-48 (.650 winning percentage) in his career. Fellow Red Sox lefty Babe Ruth was 89-46 (.659). 5The Giants are 0-5 in starts by Matt Cain and the Rays 0-5 in starts by David Price this season.6Last season, with …

Mickey Mantle 1960 contract up for auction

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:02:01 -0500

NEW YORK — The original contract signed by Mickey Mantle for the 1960 season will be auctioned off and proceeds from the sale will be donated to a New Jersey relief fund for Hurricane Sandy. Danny Mantle, the son of the Yankees’ Hall of Fame outfielder says his mom deserves all the credit for keeping the contract along with other artifacts, and that it looks “brand new.” The auction will be conducted by Steiner Sports on its website starting May 1. The Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund is chaired by Mary Pat Christie, the wife of Gov. Chris Christie. …

Report links associate of Yankees’ Robinson Cano to Biogenesis

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:33:15 -0500

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano has denied any involvement with a South Florida clinic under investigation by Major League Baseball after a report linked an associate of his to the facility. ESPN reported Monday that the spokeswoman for Cano’s foundation is listed as having been a client of Biogenesis of America LLC, a now-closed anti-aging clinic in Coral Gables. She told ESPN she did not receive anything from the clinic and said Cano never did, either. Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is among the big leaguers linked to clinic. The Miami New Times reported …

Boston celebrates with the return of pro sports on Saturday

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 18:08:00 -0500

BOSTON — A defiant David Ortiz stood on the Fenway Park infield and told the crowd to “stay strong,” bringing a rousing cheer from Bostonians weary from a week of bombings, stay-at-home orders and a manhunt that locked down the city for a day. Playing at home for the first time since two explosions at the Boston Marathon finish line killed three people and wounded more than 180 others, the Red Sox honored the victims and the survivors with a pregame ceremony and an emotional video of scenes from Monday’s race. “This past week, I don’t think there’s one human …

BILL CHUCK: Baseball by the numbers

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 02:55:11 -0500

THE CHICAGO NINE 1If you are looking for something to love about the Cubs, try this: Fifty-four percent of the time, Cubs baserunners have advanced more than one base on a single and more than two bases on a double, the best rate in the majors. The station-to-station White Sox only have done it 23 percent of the time, second-worst to the Dodgers (19 percent). 2After going 43-75 against righties last season, the fact the Cubs got off to an 0-4 start against them this season isn’t a good sign. 3Through Wednesday, the Tigers had the best average with runners …

Snow delays Mets vs. Rockies game

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:12:00 -0500

DENVER — Colorado’s game with the New York Mets is in a delay despite the efforts by Rockies owner Dick Monfort and general manager Dan O’Dowd to help shovel the field to squeeze in a doubleheader on Tuesday. No new start time has been announced yet. The game was scheduled for 3:10 p.m. EDT, with the nightcap set for 8:40 p.m. Monfort and O’Dowd joined the grounds crew members and assisted in removing most of the eight inches of snow from the outfield. Workers still have to clear snow that’s piled high in front of the Rockies’ dugout and down …

Jackie Robinson Day hits Major League Baseball parks

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:53:23 -0500

Everybody in uniform at the Tampa Bay Rays game Monday against the Red Sox at Fenway Park wore the number “42” as Major League Baseball celebrated its fifth annual Jackie Robinson Day.

McGRATH: If we’re being fair, it’s Cubs who look like No. 2

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 02:39:25 -0500

In a previous life, I oversaw baseball coverage for a newspaper that was the Cubs’ corporate partner. As hard as we tried to be balanced and fair toward both Chicago teams, White Sox fans were eternally suspicious and borderline hostile. No force on Earth, no measurement of column inches was going to convince them we played it down the middle. We could point to higher attendance, TV ratings and national profile to justify a stronger Cubs presence, had there been one. Didn’t matter — the argument was unwinnable. But the last few years haven’t been good to the Cubs. The …

Cubs closer Kyuji Fujikawa on disabled list

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 10:56:00 -0500

A day after getting his first major league win—and after his first blown save—Cubs closer Kyuji Fujikawa went on the disabled list Saturday with a muscle strain in his right forearm. The condition is one the former Japanese closer star has had before, Fujikawa said, adding it is a “short term’’ problem. He will be evaluated further but first indications are nothing more serious, such as elbow involvement, manager Dale Sveum said. The Cubs recalled reliever Rafael Dolis from Class AAA Iowa, but he will not take the closer’s role—nor will demoted closer Carlos Marmol.Sveum said he would decide who …

BILL CHUCK: Baseball by the numbers

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 02:37:23 -0500

CHICAGO NINE TO KNOW 1The number of double plays a team turns is not as important as the percentage of DP opportunities converted. For example, through Wednesday, the White Sox, Astros and Twins led the majors with 10 DPs. But the Astros turned 10 in 85 opportunities (12%), the Twins 10 in 78 (13%) and the White Sox 10 in 51 (20%, the best in the majors). 2Edwin Jackson is 0-2 this month, making him 7-14 with a 4.73 ERA in his career during the first month of the season. Wait for August, when he has been 18-9 with a …

McGRATH: Frank Robinson a pioneer in his own right

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 02:40:49 -0500

There was an appointment downtown that had to be kept last week. But with Frank Robinson around, it could wait. The Hall of Fame outfielder followed Jackie Robinson as a baseball pioneer, becoming the first African-American manager when the Cleveland Indians hired him in 1975. I encountered him after he had moved on to the San Francisco Giants in 1981. He had a reputation for being ornery and difficult, and he could have been murder on a nosy writer as young and dumb as this one. He was anything but. The pregame hours in his office were like a history …

Chad: Dodgers at top of spending spree in Los Angeles

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 12:23:29 -0500

The New York Yankees have had Major League Baseball’s highest payroll in each of the last 14 seasons. But this past offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers — triggered by new ownership and the prospect of new local cable-TV money flowing down the L.A. River to Dodger Stadium* — decided to challenge the Evil Empire for top dollar. That’s like trying to outspend Joan Rivers at Cedars-Sinai Center for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. The Dodgers did it. Maybe. They definitely surpassed the Yankees’ 2008 record total of $209 million, with a projected player payroll of nearly $230 million, but the Yankees, …

Yankees’ Robinson Cano switching agents from Scott Boras to Jay-Z company

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:27:14 -0500

NEW YORK — Robinson Cano plans to switch agents from Scott Boras to a new company formed by musician Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and CAA Sports. Cano will be represented in baseball matters by CAA Sports’ Brodie Van Wagenen. The New York Yankees second baseman is making $15 million this season and can become a free agent at the end of the World Series. “At this point in my career, I am ready to take a more active role in my endeavors both on and off the field,” Cano said in a statement. As of Tuesday, Boras remained Cano’s agent listed …

Derek Jeter scratched after ankle flareup

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 11:22:00 -0500

CLEARWATER, Fla. — New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter has been scratched from Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says the team captain has a “cranky” ankle and will not play in this Grapefruit League contest, which would have been Jeter’s first road game of spring training. Jeter, who had ankle surgery last fall, was slated to be the Yankees’ designated hitter Tuesday, and then on Wednesday, when the two teams meet again in Tampa, Fla., he was on track to play shortstop. All of that is on hold now. Jeter, who suffered a broken left …

Minor league baseball park offers bacon-shell taco

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:04:00 -0500

COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. — A Michigan minor league team plans to offer its fans an oink-tastic treat this summer. Those who come to see the West Michigan Whitecaps play will have the opportunity to chow down on a Baco, a taco with a specially made bacon shell. The Baco was the top vote-getter in the fourth annual Whitecaps food contest, which determines Fifth Third Ballpark’s next culinary delight. The team narrowed to 10 a list of more than 150 fan-submitted menu ideas and turned the contest over to the fans. The second-place finisher was The Bad Joke, a corn dog …