Regular Season: Week 22, Aug. 25-31
Hot Take
As expected, the Black Sox have cooled from their blistering July pace to a more familiar “meh” pace, following a 2-4 week with a 3-4 win-loss record.
As usual, frickin’ Des Moines {{{Auggghhh!}}} was a pain in the rear, and Omaha was its reliably annoying self.
But what can we say? If you’d told us at the beginning of the season we’d be sitting at 73-60 at the beginning of September, we’d have drawn up your commitment papers on the spot. So, we’re not going to complain too much.
Still, though. Des Moines. We hatessss it!
One item of note: Chicago is unlikely to call anyone up immediately from AAA Carolina or AA Beloit to take expanded roster spots because those teams (along with Single A Grand Junction) are all still in the post-season picture for their respective leagues.
Beloit and Grand Junction have each clinched their division championships, and Carolina is still fighting for a post-season spot. The Flight is 2 games out of the division lead with 5 games to go, and just 1.5 games out of a wild card spot.
While there aren’t necessarily a boatload of players the Sox would call up, there are a few:
- Carolina’s closer, James Matarazzo, has put together a nice season, and is fresh off a Pitcher of the Month Award for August in the Granville Sub-League. He was 2-0 with 10 saves and a 1.02 ERA for the month, and now is 6-5 with 28 saves and a 3.27 ERA for the year.
- SP Derrek Terry has had an interesting season for the Flight, with a 9-10 W/L record and a 4.28 ERA. He threw a no-hitter against the New Jersey River Rats (Montreal) on July 30, with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts. Scouts aren’t wowed by his skill ratings, but the Chicago brass are still curious to see how he might do against big league hitters.
- Infielder José Silva has been solid for Carolina all season, with a .256/.330/.424 slash line, and likely could be of some help down the stretch for Chicago.
- This season’s top draft pick Gilberto Cordero has been terrorizing AA hitters since joining Beloit in the second week of June immediately after signing his contract. He’s 3-0 with 23 saves and 0.76 ERA in 35.1 innings of work over roughly half a season. Scouts currently rate his stuff at 8/11; his pitch movement at 7/7; and his control at 8/8. He’s not, as you can see, your typical AA pitcher.
Whether that’s true or not is anyone’s guess, but it at least sounds good …
Last Week’s Results:
8/25: Omaha Hawks @ Chicago Black Sox - Loss, 6-3.
Hawks Solve Black Sox, 6-3
W: J. Lima (13-7) L: M. Peña (6-4) S: T. Rodríguez (7).
HR - OMA: A. Ly (23), E. Morales (35), S. Cortesini (4)
8/26: Omaha Hawks @ Chicago Black Sox - Win, 4-5.
Black Sox Win in Glorious Fashion
W: G. Sosa (5-4) L: N. Hayashi (3-2) .
HR - OMA: S. Cortesini (5) CHI: M. Simpson (22), A. Budding (16)
8/27: Omaha Hawks @ Chicago Black Sox - Win, 1-3.
Hang Slugs Black Sox to 3-1 Win
W: D. Bates (10-6) L: S. Clulow (12-6) S: G. Sosa (30).
HR - CHI: H. Hang 2 (39)
8/28: Chicago Black Sox @ Des Moines Kernels - Loss, 5-12.
Des Moines's Santana Goes Ballistic with 5 Hits
W: T. Karnes (6-6) L: P. Jaramillo (5-10) .
HR - CHI: J. Lorenzen (8), R. Wattson (34) DM: L. De La Cruz (35), M. Dalrymple (10)
8/29: Chicago Black Sox @ Des Moines Kernels - Loss, 1-5.
Kernels Stymie Chicago, Take 5-1 Win
W: J. Rivera (6-13) L: L. Gonzáles (9-6) .
HR - DM: L. De La Cruz 2 (37), K. Suzuki (35)
8/30: Chicago Black Sox @ Des Moines Kernels - Win, 10-2.
Black Sox, Budding Pin Bad Loss on Kernels
W: A. Moelling (14-5) L: T. Hashimoto (5-10) S: M. Peña (3).
HR - CHI: M. Simpson (23), L. González (3), A. Budding 2 (18) DM: J. Mateo (14)
8/31: Chicago Black Sox @ Omaha Hawks - Loss, 2-4.
Black Sox Lose, 4-2, at Hawks Field
W: R. Luna (3-6) L: J. Nicto (9-7) S: T. Rodríguez (9).
HR - CHI: D. Dave (23), A. Budding (19) OMA: J. Monger (22)
Heroes of the Week
Aarnoud Budding, DH: 20 AB, 6 H, 4 HR, 8 RBI, .300 AVG, 1.283 OPS
Hao Hang, OF: 28 AB, 9 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .321 AVG, 1.101 OPS
Tomás Durán, 3B: 29 AB, 11 H, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .379 AVG, .920 OPS
Bums of the Week
Pepe Jaramillo, SP: 1 GS, 3.0 IP, 8 HA, 6 ER, 6 BB, 2 K, 18.00 ERA
Manuel Peña, RP: 3 G, 8.2 IP, 11 HA, 9 ER, 3 BB, 12 K, 9.35 ERA
Rocky Wattson, 2B: 28 AB, 4 H, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .143 AVG, .464 OPS
PQS Scores of the Week
| Pitcher | Date | Opp | Decision | 6+ Innings | H<IP | 5 Ks | 3K=>BB | 0 HR | Total PQS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amayas Moelling | 08-25-42 | Omaha | ND | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Juan Nicto | 08-26-42 | Omaha | ND | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| David Bates | 08-27-42 | Omaha | W | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Pepe Jarmillo | 08-28-42 | @ Des Moines | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Luis Gonzáles | 08-29-42 | @ Des Moines | L | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Amayas Moelling | 08-30-42 | @ Des Moines | W | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Juan Nicto | 08-31-42 | @ Omaha | L | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
3 Games at Omaha (Again with Omaha?)
2 Games vs Seattle at Chicago
1 Game vs San Fernando at Chicago