The defending National Champions in the Major Baseball League manage to survive. For now. The mounting of a comeback has begun in Chicago. In a low scoring match between the Chicago Cubs and the LA Dodgers, the Cubs would top their adversaries 3-2 in Wrigley Field.

This particular addition to the series would face off Jake Arrieta and Alex Wood. Unlike other faceoffs between the Dodgers and Cubs, this matchup would only allow runs scored off home runs. In similar fashion to Game 3, the Cubs would strike first on a second inning home run from Wilson Contreras. A 491 foot bomb into left field.

Contrasting the previous outing, Chicago would not merely score once this inning. The 437 foot belt into left by Javier Baez would further the gap. This hit is very significant for the second baseman. The end of a 0 for 20 streak slayed the demons which haunted Baez for longer than any Cubs fan would enjoy.

Despite this, the Dodgers would respond the next inning. Another homer, this one from first baseman Cody Bellinger. The score would stay at a 2-1 standstill until the fifth inning following the 378 foot blast.

Off of another pitch by Wood, Baez would once again swing for the fences. And succeed. A 380 foot solo shot into left field put the Dodgers into a 3-1 hole. In spite of their best attempts, LA would stay in the hole. An eighth inning home run by Justin Turner tightens the gap to a single run once more. Nonetheless, this would be the last run scored by either side.

The bullpens for both Los Angeles and Chicago performed well in Game 4 with both sides totaling more than 10 strikeouts a piece. The Cubs would total 12 strikeouts and the Dodgers, 11. The Dodgers would end up pulling 6 members of the bullpen onto to mound in opposition to Chicago bringing only Arrieta, Brian Duensing, and Wade Davis to close.

In the top of the ninth, Game 4 ends in dramatic fashion with a Bellinger hit turning into a Chicago double play. The Cubs stave off elimination to earn another fight. Game 5 between the Cubs and Dodgers will occur Thursday night at Wrigley Field once again. Clayton Kershaw will be on the mound for the Dodgers facing Chicago’s Jose Quintana with the first pitch at 7:08 pm CST on TBS.

The post Cubbie Comeback Continues into Game 5 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Notable Additions: Gordon Beckham 2B, J.B. Shuck OF, Melky Cabrera OF, Emilio Banifacio IF, Adam LaRoche 1B, Dan Jennings RP, David Robertson RP, Zack Duke RP, Jeff Samardzija SP

Notable Losses: Paul Konerko 1B, Marcus Semien IF

The White Sox could be the real deal this season. It looks like they have all the pieces in place to contend, and are ready to make their run. The starting rotation struggled a bit in 2014. The starters finished with a 4.29 ERA collectively. Chris Sale was the one pitcher that did not struggle. In fact, he did the opposite of struggle…he thrived. Sale pitched in 174 innings and finished with a 2.17 ERA. He led the league with a SO9 rate of 10.8. Sale provides the White Sox with a true ace, and has the ability to carry this team. The Sox decided to get Sale some help in the rotation. Jeff Samardzija signed with the team, and is looking to contribute in a big way. He finished last season with a 2.99 ERA through 214.1 innings. Jose Quintana now becomes the number three. I don’t think there are any teams that would be dissatisfied with Quintana as a third pitcher. He is only twenty-six years old, and has showed consistency throughout his first three seasons. Quintana has thrown 200+ innings in back to back seasons. He finished with a 3.51 ERA in 2013, and a 3.52 ERA last season.

The Sox added depth to their offense this offseason. We can start by looking at Melky Cabrera. The outfielder brings a contact bat to the lineup from both sides of the plate. Cabrera hit .301 last season, and hit 16 home runs. Next up is Adam LaRoche. The lefty will take on the role of designated hitter for the first time in his career. LaRoche hasn’t lost his source of power. He finished with 26 home runs and 92 RBI’s in 2014. The Sox also added a utility player in Emilio Banifacio. He can play anywhere in the outfield, and most places in the infield. He brings speed to the lineup, and will be used situationally in 2015. These added players should make a big difference offensively. Jose Abreu will still be the main offensive threat in 2015. The slugging first baseman finished with 36 home runs, and 107 RBI’s. He led the league with a .581 slugging percentage, and was a unanimous decision for Rookie of the Year Award.

The addition of David Robertson might have been the smartest move that the White Sox made this offseason. Robertson was the closer in New York last season, and finished with a 3.08 ERA with 39 saves. He will give the White Sox someone to rely on late in games.

Breakout Player: Micah Johnson 2B

Micah Johnson hasn’t reached the the Major Leagues yet, but should get time at second base in 2015. He is a contact hitter with little power. He won’t get much recognition in 2015, but he will have the opportunity to make a significant impact. He hit .275 last season in AAA. If healthy I expect:

.271 BA, 36 RBI’s, 19 2B, 5 HR

Game Changer: Tyler Flowers C

Flowers will have an important role in 2015. He will man the rotation of starters, and have the opportunity to drive in runs. If Flowers is able to drive in runs consistently, the offensive will have the opportunity to thrive. He drove in 50 runs, and hit 15 home runs in 2014. Flowers won’t have a lot of pressure on him in 2015 which may work to his advantage.

The White Sox will be a good team in 2015. Their starting rotation is now strong enough to get the team into the postseason and make a solid run. The offensive will be much better than years past. Chicago fans should be excited about the Sox heading into 2015.

Make sure to check back in on March 31st for my complete standing predictions along with a few other fun pieces of news. Until then, you will be able to find a new preview of an individual team from March 1st through the 30th here at KRUI.FM.

The post Chicago White Sox 2015 Preview Edition #9 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

After finishing with 99 losses in 2013, Hahn started his rebuild by acquiring one of Detroits top prospects, right fielder Avisail Garcia, and opening up some cap space by dealing Jake Peavy.

More big contracts including Alex Rios, Adam Dunn, and Paul Konerko were cleared from the books and the gears to Hahn’s plan were in motion.

The next steps consisted of signing the 2014 AL ROY Jose Abreu and trading for prototypical leadoff man and center fielder Adam Eaton.

Expectations for the 2014 season were not high, as it was seen as just a stepping-stone for bigger things to come. Though young and exciting, the ’14 squad was also a frustrating group to watch thanks to a bullpen that was not invested in and a couple key injuries to guys like Nate Jones and Matt Lindstrom which left manager Robin Ventura with slim pickings.

Those injuries, however, forced youngsters like Jake Petricka, 26, and Zach Putnam, 27, to pick up the slack which they did… and then some. Petricka finished the year with a 2.96 ERA and 14 saves in 18 opportunities while Putnam was the proud owner of a 1.98 ERA in 54.2 IP.

Although they finished with 89 losses, the MVP caliber season from Abreu, another CY Young worthy performance from Sale, the continued progression of hurler Jose Quintana, the emergence of Conor Gillaspie at third base, the presence of a real leadoff man for the first time since Scott Podsednik in Adam Eaton, combined with an All-Star season from maybe the best SS in the AL, Alexei Ramirez, gave Hahn and the White Sox the feeling that they were closer to contending than people realized.

This confidence, along with the owner Jerry Reinsdorf’s willingness break the piggy bank, allowed the Sox to tackle some big necessities. Hahn’s shopping list was made up of a Right handed starter to slot between Sale and Quintana, a lefty power bat, left fielder, and a bullpen renovation.

Hahn wasted no time getting started, and signed 1b/DH Adam LaRoche in late November. Not only will his bat take some pressure off Abreu, the Gold-Glover will also be able to spell Abreu at first when needed.

The 35 year old batted .259 with 26 long ones, 92 driven in, and a .362 OBP in 2014 with the Nationals and will bring a nice veteran presence to the clubhouse after the retirement of Paul Konerko.

Lefty power bat? Check.

The LaRoche signing was just the beginning. Next to bolster a rotation that had two great pieces in place with Sale and Quintana but fell off from there. Hahn worked his magic once again and without giving up any major prospects acquired Jeff Samardzija. Now with a three-headed monster at the top of the rotation and the possible call up of Carlos Rodon who is said to be the best lefty drafted since David Price the Sox rotation is looking “Very nice. Very nice.”

Right-handed starter? Check.

Next was the bullpen. Disastrous in 2014, the Sox ranked last in nearly every category and blew 21 saves. So what does Rick Hahn do? He goes and brings in Zach Duke, a lefty specialist who had the best season of his career last year and then on the same night he gets Samardzija he shocks everyone and signs David Robertson.

David Robertson is the guy who was given the task of replacing the greatest closer of all-time, Mariano Rivera, in the dog-eat-dog city of New York. None of this seemed to faze Robertson as he posted a 3.08 ERA and converted 39 of his 44 save attempts.

With those two additions, the signing of Dan Jennings from Miami, the emergence of Putnam and Petricka, and the possible return to dominance of Jesse Crain, who signed with the team in January, and Nate Jones, a once depleted Pale-Hose bullpen now looks fairly deep and reliable

Bullpen help? Check.

Last was the gaping whole in left field. Another position where the Sox had been experimenting for a while. The platoon of Alejandro De Aza and Dayan Viciedo surely hadn’t been the answer a year prior as the Sox ended up DFA’ing De Aza towards the end of ’14 and Viciedo this offseason.

The aggressive moves Hahn made early had paid off and caught the attention of Melky Cabrera as he turned down a four year offer from an unannounced team to accept the White Sox three-year $42 million contract.

Left Fielder? Check.

With all those moves including the constructing of a super bench with utility man Emilio Bonifacio, defensive specialist Gordon Beckham, and a dependable backup at catcher in Geovany Soto the Sox are sitting in the catbird seat.

As Detroit’s championship window closes and after the Royals failed to make any moves of big impact this offseason, and the Indians being, well, the Indians, it’s time for the Hahn Dynasty to start conquering the Central.

The post The Hahn Dynasty appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The south siders have been bashed for years in regards to their lack of talent in the minor leagues and had been given the tag of an old, slow team. In his second year as GM, however, Rick Hahn has injected a once old White Sox squad with young and exciting talent.

The White Sox, currently 72-86, have nine more wins than last season with four games remaining. The additions of Adam Eaton and, and Cuban-slugger Jose Abreu have been a huge boost to an offense that struggled to do virtually everything last season. Abreu has stolen the spotlight during his remarkable rookie season with a slash line of .318/.384/.587 to go along with his 35 bombs and 105 RBIs, and oh, did I mention he missed 15 games? Abreu bat gives the White Sox a Miguel Cabrera-like presence in the middle of their lineup that can wreak havoc for years to come.

As crazy as it sounds, Abreu’s numbers have a chance of improving next year when he will have the luxury of Avisail Garcia, 23, batting behind him the lineup. Garcia missed most of this season after suffering a torn labrum, but has shown in the past the possibility of being a five-tool player.

At the top of the lineup, Adam Eaton has lived up to all of the off-season hype after the Sox felt confident enough to deal their 25 year old 40 save closer, Addison Reed. Eaton’s ability to get on base set the table for the White Sox all season long, and it was very noticeable that the Pale Hose offense had trouble scoring runs when he was out of the lineup. Eaton’s ability to work the count and make pitchers throw pitches has made him the epitome of what the White Sox want to see at the leadoff position.

Here’s a look at some key offensive stats of Sox players who will be returning next season.

*= Only played in 44 games

With only 46 million committed to the 2015 payroll the White Sox have a lot of spending money and the arrival of rookie Carlos Rodon will give them three top of the line starters in Sale, Quintana, and Rodon. Sure, it’s a little early to consider Rodon a top of the line starter when he hasn’t thrown a pitch yet, but the kid who has been called “the best left hander drafted since David Price” has lived up to the expectations so far in the minors.

Rodon streaked through single and double A ball, and in his second triple A start he fanned eight over four innings while giving up one run on one hit. If the Sox can land a solid number two in free agency and let Danks and Noesi battle for the fifth spot, they would have one of the better rotations in baseball.

The rest of that spending money could then be used to fix a bullpen that was not invested in for this season and to add an additional bat to the lineup. With an MVP candidate in Abreu, a CY Young candidate in Sale, and an exceptional leadoff hitter in Adam Eaton, the pieces are certainly falling into place for the South Siders to make some noise in ’15.

The post White Sox Planning to Bounce Back in ’15 appeared first on KRUI Radio.