You may recall the last time Kyle Bradish pitched against the White Sox, not so much for his actual performance, but what came after.
Granted, Bradish's performance on May 26, 2024, was memorable in its own right: seven no-hit innings, with only the inefficiency associated with strikeouts (11) and walks (four) preventing him from taking a run at a no-hitter. Then-Orioles manager Brandon Hyde pulled him after 103 pitches, and Danny Mendick immediately spoiled the combined no-hit bid with a homer off fellow Danny Coulombe to start the eighth.
Bradish, who finished fourth in the AL Cy Young race the year before, lowered his ERA to 1.75 after that start, so it appeared to be a classic case of a talented right-handed starter shutting down a lineup sporting a 4-5-6 of Corey Julks, Korey Lee and Bryan Ramos, none of whom even had left-handedness going for them.
No, what made it stand out was the disproportionate response of then-White Sox manager Pedro Grifol, who resorted to a memorable expletive in his postgame media session.
"We got no-hit through [seven innings]. We had a pinch-hitter break it up. The rest of the guys--not the rest of the guys--most of the guys were fucking flat today. Unacceptable."
The comment -- backed by Grifol doubling down by literally saying "I'm doubling down" -- ended up being one of Grifol's few stated regrets, probably because it ended up giving a voice to the voiceless. The previous September, Lee accepted a midgame benching and apologized profusely after not running to first base on a popout he lost off the bat, even if it was apparent that he was being used as an example because he possessed no clubhouse clout.
After Grifol let loose in response to Bradish's gem, Lee responded to Grifol's assessment by saying "he's entitled to his own opinion."
Bradish is making his fourth start since returning from Tommy John surgery, and the line through three outings is typically excellent -- 17 IP, 12 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 HR, 4 BB, 21 K -- including seven innings of one-run ball against the Pirates his last time out. If he's able to suppress a White Sox lineup that scored just three runs in three games in Cleveland over the weekend, Will Venable has a chance to do something quite hilarious.
Spare Parts
Mike Tauchman is the White Sox's nominee for the 2025 Roberto Clemente Award for his family's work supporting families who are wending their way through the challenges of navigating through cleft palate and craniofacial conditions.
Bryce Harper is aging gracefully into the second half of a 13-year contract the White Sox could have signed him to if they had the appetite. Then again, "as long as they win" might be carrying more weight than the White Sox could have shouldered.
It's been a weird year for the Dodgers, who invite weirdness by investing significant resources into injury-prone players. But what's uniquely strange about this season is that they actually have all their important starting pitchers available in September. On the other hand, they're missing their top two catchers, which is how Chuckie Robinson finds himself on the roster of the reigning World Series champions.
The Savannah Bananas are under scrutiny for the charitable arm of their organization, Bananas Foster. The charitable interpretation is that Jesse and Emily Cole, who own the corporate parent of Banana Ball, have the best of intentions as certified foster parents attempting to generate support for the foster care community, but maybe weren't organized well enough to run anything beyond a small-scale nonprofit when the Bananas started booming. The cynical interpretation is that they're self-dealing.
- Four VPs, others affiliated with Detroit Tigers accused of misconduct toward women -- The Athletic
- Tigers' business CEO defends organization after investigation of misconduct toward women -- The Athletic
- It's anti woman to be anti mom -- The Bandwagon
In uglier baseball corporate news, The Athletic published an investigation co-authored by Britt Ghiroli and Alex Andrejev detailing allegations of misconduct toward women ranging from offensive comments to physical confrontation. One executive resigned from Ilitch Sports + Entertainment after being accused of pushing a female coworker down a flight of stairs (he denies the allegations). He found a job with the Chicago Fire FC as the vice president of partnership sales, but the Fire said in a statement last week that the employee "is no longer employed" by the organization after it learned of the allegations from the Athletic article.
Less explosive is the fact that the Tigers are one of three teams without a maternity leave policy, but it shouldn't be overlooked, especially in the context of more sensational allegations. As Hannah Keyser writes, it's an immediate sign of a casual disregard of women that can evolve into something even darker when it goes unchecked. The Ilitch response to the investigation shows it's a sensitive spot, because this paragraph is as funny as it is flimsy.
The Athletic’s report found that the Tigers are one of three MLB teams that do not offer paid maternity leave, but Gustafson took issue with that characterization, saying a paid maternity leave plan has been “in the works for months,” though it has not been shared with employees.
