The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic’s daily MLB newsletter. Sign up here to get The Windup straight to your inbox.
Grape season is underway. Plus: Ken on the source of the White Sox’s malaise, a question about the Dodgers, and Craig Kimbrel’s DFA. i am Levi Weaverhere with Ken Rosenthal — welcome to The Windup!
Merry Clinchmas: Yankees, Brewers clinch playoff spots
As we mentioned yesterday, the Brewers had a chance to clinch today. Turns out, all they had to do was sit in the clubhouse and watch TV as the A’s beat the Cubs 5-3. With Milwaukee’s magic number at just one, that sealed the deal: They are the NL Central champions.
That didn’t stop the Brewers from going out and winning anyway, beating the Phillies 2-1 behind a five-inning, nine-strikeout performance by Freddy Peralta.
Then in the last game of the night, the Yankees and Mariners went to extras in a nail-biter. But – for the second day in a row – I saw something I had never seen before:
- With runners on the corners and no outs in the bottom of the 10th, the Mariners looked well positioned to tie the game. But Randy Arozarena lost his bat swinging at strike three, and Julio Rodríguez, after dodging the bullet, ventured off into foul territory, not realizing it was a live ball.
- Yankees catcher Austin Wells ran up the line and threw a strike. Rodríguez was out — the weirdest strike-’em-out-throw-’em-out you’ll ever see — and the Mariners suddenly had two outs and a runner on first.
Justin Turner struck out, and the game was over. With the win, the Yankees clinched a playoff spot. It’s still not a division title, but they’re assured at least a wild card spot.
Ken’s notebook: How the White Sox plane typifies incapacity
From my last columnwith Britt Ghiroli:
A team doesn’t lose 117 games and counting because of just one thing. In the case of the 2024 Chicago White Sox, a meddling owner, questionable leadership, injuries and an inability to properly evaluate and integrate analytics only begin to tell the story.
The White Sox would need to win seven of their last nine games to avoid tying the Mets, with 120 losses, for the worst record in modern baseball history. They are the first team since 1900 to have three separate losing streaks of 12 or more games. Opponents have outscored them by more than 300 runs. Few expected the South Siders, who lost 101 games last year, to struggle. But no one predicted this level of incompetence.
And yet for all the factors that led to this season’s disaster, as players and traveling staff try to encapsulate how things got to such a sorry state, time and time again they bring up one thing: the plane.
The White Sox charter an Airbus320, a plane first produced in the 1980s. It has only eight excellent seats; the rest is coach. A majority of MLB teams charter larger 757s, with plenty of premium seats for the players and the coaching staff. Even well-known frugal franchises like the Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies and Miami Marlins charter fancier planes. But not the White Socks.
When a player new to Chicago first boarded this season, he said loudly, “Come on, man, isn’t there a plane showing?” A chorus of players burst into laughter. Last year, a tweet comparing the planes used by MLB teams caused an uproar when it was shared between White Sox players while they were on board.
A team plane doesn’t make mistakes or bad baseball decisions. But the White Sox’s decision to use a smaller, older plane reflects how they operate. The difference between the White Sox and other clubs is so stark, players who leave Chicago for other teams celebrate their freedom by weaving each other, “This is the big leagues.”
“They don’t get the little things right or the big things right,” said a recently departed veteran.
The Athletics spoke to nearly 40 current and former White Sox employees and others in baseball about the larger issues plaguing the dysfunctional franchise, which is run at the whims of owner Jerry Reinsdorf. The 88-year-old Reinsdorf led a group of investors that bought the team for $19 million in 1981. (He also owns the Chicago Bulls.) They won the World Series in 2005, but made only three playoff appearances since, losing all of them. three series.
Many of those who spoke to The Athleticssome of whom requested anonymity to speak candidly about Reinsdorf and the state of the franchise, said the owner’s views on the game had hardened; that while at times Reinsdorf carried a large major league salary, he refused to invest in the cutting-edge amenities and infrastructure necessary to succeed.
Whiter Socks: They lost their 117th game. They are three losses away from the 1962 Mets.
Standing Watch: Are the dodgers vulnerable?
Let’s start by acknowledging that the Dodgers have scored nine, nine, nine and eight runs in their last four games. So, no, I’m not suggesting panic just because of Tuesday night’s 11-9 loss to the Marlins.
But with one division now clinched, it might surprise you to look at the remaining division guides, arranged from largest to smallest.
- NL Central: Brewers – clinched
- NL East: Phillies – 7 games
- AL Central: Rangers – 6 games
- AL East: Yankees – 5 games
- AL West: Astros – 5 games
- NL West: Dodgers – 3 1/2 games
On the one hand, Los Angeles is 27-16 since August 1. On the other hand, they are 8-8 in September. Meanwhile, the priests and Diamondbacks held their own. Here’s how the Dodgers stack up in the second half against the teams chasing them:
The question marks are almost all pitching-related. Gavin Stone is unlikely to return this year. Neither is Tyler Glasnow. Bobby Miller’s 8.52 ERA is well above the second worst in baseball (min. 50 innings). The injuries to others were well documented.
The Diamondbacks cooled off in September, but in San Diego, it’s starting to look like the Padres got a jump in October.
Even if they stick to the division, how confident are Dodgers fans that their squad is a tougher postseason matchup than their division rivals?
Finishes: Orioles DFA Craig Kimbrel
Here’s what Craig Kimbrel’s career line looked like over his first five years in the big leagues:
294 games, 289 innings, 476 strikeouts, 108 walks, 186 saves and a 1.43 ERA.
That’s the stretch writers will have to consider when Kimbrel is on a Hall of Fame ballot. His 440 saves are fifth all-time. The top three are in the Hall of Fame. In fourth place is Kenley Jansen, who is still active.
Alas, 2010-2014 Kimbrel is not the version the Orioles got this year. With his ERA at 5.33, and six blown saves in 29 chances, he was designated for assignment yesterday.
It wasn’t that Kimbrel was bad all the time. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde mostly gave Kimbrel a clean inning, and the two runners he inherited this season, he stranded. In 40 of his 57 outings, he allowed no runs. In 10 of the remaining 17, he allowed one. But those other seven games? 25 runs — inclusive six in his final outing on Tuesday night.
Here’s a chart that illustrates how a mostly good relief pitcher can have a bad season. Notice how the ERA trends down, then jumps up. The lines flatten out a bit as the season goes on (and his total innings increase), but the trend is clear.
A relief pitcher once told me that any pitcher who makes the big leagues is capable of pitching in the big leagues. What separates the greats from the ones who get DFAd isn’t the bad stuff. It’s the consistency — the ability to do it again the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that.
That truth is what made Kimbrel great for most of his career. It’s also why the Orioles decided there was no longer room for the 36-year-old future Hall of Famer in their bullpen.
Shohei Ohtani 50-50 Tracker 👀
Ohtani stole one base in the Dodgers’ 8-4 win over the Marlins yesterday.
- Home runs: 48
- Stolen Bases: 49
Handshakes and High Fives
As Alex Bregman begins what could be his final Astros homestand, Jose Altuve is pleading for a re-signing.
Stephen Nesbitt and Chad Jennings ranked the potential postseason pitching staffs, from best to worst of the best.
After his 200th career home run, Juan Soto’s postgame comments let us know: he hasn’t forgotten about his upcoming free agency.
It’s been a down year for the Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks, but he “100 percent” intends to pitch next year — for the Cubs or elsewhere.
TO wildcard check-in: The Tigers completed a three-game sweep of the Royals, and are now just a half-game out of a playoff position, as the Twins lost to the Rangers. For the Tigers, Parker Meadows was a huge part of the second-half surge.
NL wildcard check-in: The Mets beat the Nats, 10-0 – and Kodai Senga could be back soon. The Braves kept pace, beating the Reds 7-1 to stay two games back for the final playoff spot.
Most clicked in Yesterday’s newsletter: Dennis Lin’s inquiry into who’s on a Jackson Merrill baseball card (2021) (because it’s definitely not Merrill).
Sign up for our other newsletters: The Pulse | Athletic FC ️ | The Bounce | Full Time | Main Tire | Scoop City | See you Saturday
The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all of our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.
(Top photo: Jovanny Hernandez / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
