In news that will fail to shock anybody who watched three games in a row during the 2022 season, the White Sox failed to place any finalists in the Gold Glove hunt.
Rawlings published the three contenders at each position on Thursday, and while the Sox's ghastly work in the field eliminated them from all consideration among position players, I did check the pitchers, because I tend to give little thought to how a Sox starter's fielding stacks up against his peers, and maybe Johnny Cueto or somebody graded out really well in his small sample this year.
But nope, José Berríos, Shane Bieber and Jameson Taillon will compete for that particular honor, so the White Sox's four-year streak of at least one Gold Glove finalist -- and three-year streak with at least one Gold Glove winner -- is over.
Out of morbid curiosity, I figured I'd check SABR's most recent Defensive Index leaderboard (dated Aug. 28) to see if anybody came within sniffing distance of the podium. It turns out the qualifiers graded better than expected. José Abreu, Josh Harrison, Reese McGuire and MOncada graded out as varying degrees of above-average, while AJ Pollock was decent in left. Alas, Abreu was the only member of that group who hit.
On a related note, here's a random misplay my brother reminded me of the other day.
Spare Parts
In James Fegan's overview of the various areas the White Sox require patching, this Rick Hahn quote about lineup balance made literally laugh out loud.
“We always err on the side of great hitters,” general manager Rick Hahn said. “Usually great hitters can hit lefties and righties. There is a fair question about do we need more balance not just from left and right but also from the type of hitters and what their strengths and weaknesses are to complementary to an offensive attack.”
For anybody who might be qualified and thinks you can do better than what the White Sox have done, here's your chance. If any Sox Machinist ends up interviewing for the job, please let me know everything you discover.
The NLCS opened with three of the Phillies' major contract recipients all factoring directly in a 2-0 victory, with Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber homering, and Zack Wheeler throwing seven innings of one-hit ball. It's almost as if there's a lesson there.
The Guardians won the Central and pushed the Yankeees to five games with a contact-heavy approach at the plate, but saw the problems with limited power when facing somebody like Gerrit Cole twice in a series. Meanwhile, the Astros have showed what it's like when you don't have to choose, with four homers against just eight strikeouts over the first two games against the Yankees in the ALCS.
I finally saw my first concert at the Ryman Auditorium, catching one of Jason Isbell's shows earlier this week during his eight-night stay, but the Craig Finn concert I'd planned to catch this week was one of those dates lost to a COVID-19 case in his band. It seems like residencies are the only easy way to play live, and any greater kind of tour is a miserable gamble, especially for smaller acts.
