Regular Season, Week 4: April 21-27
Last Week’s Results
4/21: Chicago Black Sox @ Vancouver Mounties - Win, 5-1.
Black Sox Slap 5-1 Loss on Mounties
W: D. Bates (3-1) L: D. Ávila (1-2) .
HR - CHI: M. Simpson (4)
4/23: Chicago Black Sox @ Omaha Cyclones - Loss, 4-5.
Cyclones Sneak By Black Sox, 5-4
W: P. Whitlock (2-2) L: G. Sosa (0-2) .
HR - CHI: J. Figueroa (4), T. Durán (3), M. Simpson (5) OMA: A. Ly (1), B. White (7), J. Geerdinkck (4)
4/24: Chicago Black Sox @ Omaha Cyclones - Win, 11-6.
Multi-HR Game for Dave in 11-6 Win
W: L. Gonzáles (2-2) L: S. Clulow (0-2) .
HR - CHI: D. Dave 2 (8), A. Budding (6), R. Wattson (5) OMA: A. Ly (2), B. White (8), J. Monger (6)
4/25: Chicago Black Sox @ Omaha Cyclones - Win, 7-1.
Simpson Slugs Black Sox to 7-1 Win
W: P. Jaramillo (3-1) L: J. García (1-4) .
HR - CHI: M. Simpson 2 (7)
4/26: Des Moines Kernels @ Chicago Black Sox - Win, 1-5.
Kernels Lose to Black Sox, 5-1
W: D. Bates (4-1) L: B. Lynch (1-1) S: G. Sosa (4).
HR - CHI: H. Popo (2), P. Kemp (1)
4/27: Des Moines Kernels @ Chicago Black Sox - Win, 1-2.
Kernels Fall Short at Chicago, 2-1
W: P. Kemp (1-0) L: P. Tañón (3-3) S: G. Sosa (5).
HR - CHI: D. Dave (9)
Heroes of the Week
Mark Simpson, 1B: 22 AB, 8 H, 4 HR, 4 RBI, .364 AVG, 1.472 OPS
Diesel Dave, C: 18 AB, 7 H, 3 HR, 7 RBI, .389 AVG, 1.294 OPS
David Bates, SP: 2 Wins, 13.2 IP, 5 BB, 6 K, 0.66 ERA
Bums of the Week
Amayas Moelling, SP: 0 Wins, 6.0 IP, 10 HA, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 6.00 ERA
Luis Gonzáles, SP: 1 Win, 5.1 IP, 6 HA, 4 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 6.75 ERA
Francisco Salgado, RP: 0 W, 0 S, 1.0 IP, 4 HA, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 9.00 ERA
Record as of April 27
W-L record for Week 4: 5-1, .833
Overall Record: 13-11, .542
Position in Standings: Tied for 4th place with Des Moines and Yellow Springs in the Frick Heartland, 3.5 games behind Louisville.
Hot Take
Ah, the beauty of early season baseball.
All it takes is one good week to turn your fortunes around. One week you’re two games under .500, languishing in 6th place and an afterthought to everyone, including your own front office. And the next? You’ve gone 5-1, climbed over .500 and put yourself right back in the thick of things.
That’s what the Black Sox did last week, which of course begs the question: which scenario will be a better fit for the Sox at the end of the season? Afterthought or a factor in the postseason race?
It will be awhile before the answer suggests itself, but we can revel in at least short-term relevance for now.
One hopeful sign: the Sox range from 2nd to 6th in the Frick team offensive rankings so far, and have an especially potent power game. As a team, Chicago ranks 4th in extra base hits, 4th in homers, and is tied for 5th in runs scored. Catcher Diesel Dave is tied with two other guys for the Frick home run lead with 9, and leads the league with a .689 slugging percentage. 1B Mark Simpson – who won the Frick’s Player of the Week award on April 27 – is 5th with .649.
The Sox have done all that with, still, next to no contribution from star RF Hao Hang, who is slashing .208/.280/.354 on the season.
On the pitching side, the Sox rank well, too: their overall ERA of .3.26 puts them at 2nd place in the Frick, and the starters’ ERA of 3.14 ranks 1st. They rank 3rd in overall runs allowed of 90. Chicago is still holdings its own in the field, too, ranking 3rd in defensive efficiency and 7th in Zone Rating.
If the team can maintain that kind of balance between offense/pitching/defense, it should bode well.
But, then again, you’re talking about the Sox … who knows what the Gods of Baseball may have in store … and the schedule for the coming week does not look promising.
Hang onto your hats!
The Week Ahead
1 Game vs. Des Moines at Chicago
4 Games vs. Twin Cities at Chicago
2 Games at Yellow Springs