My clearest personal run-in with the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon concerns lingonberries. Before I went to Sweden a handful of years ago, I wasn't positive I'd ever heard of them, and certainly didn't know what they tasted like. Once I started researching the food options around Stockholm, I couldn't stop seeing lingonberries, causing me to wonder how oblivious I'd been.
It might be the same deal with Yoshitomo Tsutsugo. White Sox fans who never heard of the Yokohoma BayStar until this week might not be able to get away from him.
Tsutsugo is an outfielder. He bats lefty. He has a rich history of power and plate discipline. He might not be all that expensive. For those who want to cross "left-handed" and "corner outfielder" off your list with one move, Tsutsugo might be your lingonberry.
Tsutsugo has been one of Japan's top hitters since 2014, and has more or less approached his current form -- 30-plus homers, 80-plus walks, .900+ OPS -- since 2016.
What's not to like? Well, his strikeout rate spiked on him last season. He struck out in a quarter of his plate appearances last year, when a typical Tsutsugo season has a K rate around 18 percent. That makes his bail-and-whale swing a little less charming.
There's also this, from when Mike Axisa started lining up potential suitors in his write-up of Tsutsugo on CBS Sports:
Chicago White Sox: Did you know White Sox right fielders hit six homers with a .565 OPS this season? I'm sure Eloy Jimenez would happily shift to right to get another big bat into the lineup.
I'm guessing word of Jiménez's defensive woes hasn't spread nationally, especially since Jiménez cut down on the goofy bloopers over the last couple months and has settled into a more ordinary brand of below-average. That's just a particularly damning way of saying Tsutsugo is apparently a left-field-only candidate. The Sox could use the numbers, but I don't know if they'll want to add another unproven bat that is a defensive liability when they already have so many to contend with.
Spare Parts
A couple days ago, Steve Stone dropped "I don't know if I'll be back" into a tweet. It turns out that his contract isn't set for next year. Stone is no stranger to dangling the prospect of exploring other options, although loyalty to Jerry Reinsdorf won out of the last time, and he's spent the last few days defending the chairman on Twitter.
One of October's running themes is the number of writers and broadcasters surprised when a deep drive dies on the warning track. Rob Arthur, who has been a leader in explaining the differences of the baseball's behavior, says drag is way up this year. Along the same lines, Baseball America's JJ Cooper said the International League experienced a similar phenomenon in August. I suppose that makes Luis Robert's performance in Triple-A even more impressive.
To leave you with a cliffhanger, this winter's Super Two cutoff hasn't yet been established, but Brewers beat reporter Adam McCalvy gave an indication of where it might be by noting that Josh Hader will be eligible for arbitration at two years and 115 days of service time. That would make for the lowest cutoff over the last decade, so it probably won't go much lower. However, Yoan Moncada and his two years, 106 days of service time will be watching with great interest.
