Cubs Prevail! All-Star Berths for Rizzo, Sale

July 11, 2014 @ admin → No Comments

Think of it as one of the most successful days in Chicago baseball history. Off the field, where success is easier to come by. At the ballot box, where success is easier to come by — even when the ballot box is located in cyberspace. Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo and White Sox left-hander Chris Sale won Major League Baseball’s Final Vote competition for the National and American League, respectively.

Thank you to Playboy’s Kimber Cox for recently following me on Twitter.

* And so it was that on the sixth day, the Cubs won. For the first time since they traded Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to Oakland on July 4, the Cubs ended a six-game losing streak Wednesday. They rallied from an early three-run deficit to force extra innings and prevail 6-4 in 12 thanks to Luis Valbuena’s two-run, game-winning triple. The A’s are 5-1. Your humble correspondent promises to make no mention of any records since the trade (well, unless perhaps Samardzija, who won his Oakland debut, manages to win Friday night).

* Second baseman Arismendy Alcantara is on the Cubs roster because second baseman Darwin Barney is on paternity leave. Alcantara is in the starting lineup because … well, why not? After going 4-5 in his second-big league game, Alcantara is batting .444. Small sample size to be sure. Any way Barney can be the on paternity leave guy, so Alcantara can remain in the lineup? Oh, wait. That would mean a guy called up from Class AA would accrue big-league playing time. Meaning he could become arbitration eligible sooner and a free agent sooner (even if that would be years away). It serves no purpose to give Cubs fans hope for this season. Unless the front office decides otherwise.

You can follow her on Twitter at @theKimberCox.

* After the White Sox’ 4-3, 10-inning loss to Boston at Fenway Park, you have to wonder which number Sox fans should be more concerned about: losing pitcher Ronald Belisario’s earned-run average (5.16) or the irate fans’ collective blood pressure after a second consecutive White Sox walkoff loss (best guesstimate would be that blood-pressure readings would be off the charts).

* Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips and St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina will be sideline for possibly a couple of months with injuries that could impact their team’s chances for a postseason berth. The Cubs are fortunate they don’t have such problems (OK, and they’re also unfortunate not to have players that good).

* Speaking of Cubs prospects (as we were a couple of paragraphs ago), third baseman/future Hall of Famer Kris Bryant hit his sixth home run for Class AAA Iowa and his 31st of the season — in a 7-1 loss. Still looking for the mathematical formula that translates minor-league home runs/performance into big-league results.

* Sources report it is really annoying for media outlets waste time and/or words with reportage (if it can even be called that) on free agents LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Pau Gasol, etc. that provides nothing of any substance.

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