Grady Sizemore’s first week as Chicago White Sox manager was a whirlwind, starting with the City Series against the Cubs and ending with a series loss to Aaron Judge , Juan Soto and the New York Yankees. He still is unrecognized in Chicago, which suits him fine. “No, no one knows (me),” Sizemore said with a laugh.
“I don’t mind, yeah.” Cubs manager Craig Counsell doesn’t have that luxury. His team begins a homestand Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays after being swept in Cleveland to move further toward the periphery of the wild-card chase.
If the Cubs finish under .500, Counsell can only hope he goes unrecognized. Every Friday during the regular season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead — for the Cubs and White Sox.
Want more? Sign up for our newsletters . The Sox have been unable to develop a quality right fielder in recent years and hope they finally have an answer in Dominic Fletcher, acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks over the winter. Fletcher started the season poorly, missed a month with a left shoulder strain and recently was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte.
Now he’s getting a fresh start under Sizemore, who knew Fletcher from working together in Arizona. Fletcher, 26, made three great catches against the Yankees on Wednesday and is 6-for-13 with one strikeout in three starts since Sizemore took over. White Sox right fielder Dominic Fletcher catches a fly ball by the Yankees’ Gleyber Torres in foul territory during the fourth inning Wednesday, Aug.
14, 2024, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley) “He’s a good all-around player, especially the defense,” Sizemore said. “He gives us a big lift out there, whether it’s in center or right.
With him and Luis (Robert Jr.) together, with (Andrew Benintendi), it’s a solid outfield. “I hope we can get him going.
He’s swung the bat well the last couple days. We want to keep feeding him.” Cubs designated hitter Cody Bellinger celebrates after scoring on a two-run home run by third baseman Isaac Paredes in the third inning against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on Aug.
9, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune) Cody Bellinger expects his fractured left middle finger to heal by the end of the season.
In the meantime, he has had to deal with some discomfort and a slow process to ramp up his throwing. Bellinger has been limited to being the designated hitter since July 30, a stretch of 13 games. He made progress this week in Cleveland, able to throw the ball with intent and recovering well.
Counsell said Wednesday he anticipates Bellinger to be back in the field this weekend against the Blue Jays. Counsell expects Pete Crow-Armstrong to remain the regular center fielder. Bellinger likely will get a chunk of time in right field while mixing in at first base and center on days Michael Busch or Crow-Armstrong aren’t in the lineup.
Before Bellinger’s injury, Seiya Suzuki had become the primary DH with Bellinger in right. “It’s not going to change a lot,” Counsell said. “It means one of the guys will be DH and Belli will be in the field.
I don’t anticipate a lot changing.” The Cubs are in a stretch of 14 consecutive games against American League teams and are 4-4 so far. They are 21-13 versus the AL this year, the third-best interleague winning percentage.
Record: 29-93. The Sox have the worst record through 122 games in franchise history. The previous mark of 39-83 occurred in 1932.
They’re on pace for 123 losses, which would eclipse the modern-day record of 120 set by the expansion New York Mets in 1962. The Sox record is 106, set in 1970. Friday: vs.
Blue Jays, 1:20 p.m., Apple TV Saturday: vs.
Blue Jays, 1:20 p.m., Marquee Sunday: vs.
Blue Jays, 1:20 p.m., Marquee Monday: off Tuesday: vs.
Tigers, 7:05 p.m., Marquee Wednesday: vs.
Tigers, 7:05 p.m., Marquee Thursday: vs.
Tigers, 1:20 p.m., Marquee Louisville Slugger The bat that the Cubs’ Cody Bellinger will use for MLB Players’ Weekend.
(Louisville Slugger) Louisville Slugger The bat that the Cubs’ Ian Happ will use for MLB Players’ Weekend. (Louisville Slugger) For the first time since 2019, Major League Baseball is bringing back Players’ Weekend, which will take place during the Cubs’ home series versus the Blue Jays. Although players won’t be wearing special jerseys with nicknames on the back, they will be permitted to use customized bats and personalized cleats.
Louisville Slugger created bats for Bellinger and left fielder Ian Happ. Bellinger’s bat features ivy — a nod to Wrigley Field — barbed wire and a tribal stripe that says, “Otta Sluggasson,” a reference to a character in the video game “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla” who was based off Bellinger’s facial features and for whom Bellinger provided the voice. Bellinger said the game’s developers were big Los Angeles Dodgers fans and connected with him in 2018, the year he won the National League MVP award.
That offseason he traveled to Canada to record the voiceovers. “They just wanted to do something to get the game out there, something different to reach a different fan base,” Bellinger told the Tribune. “It’s pretty wild.
” Happ’s bat incorporates his love of coffee: a coffee-colored barrel, coffee beans and coffee cups. It also includes his No. 8 and “Happer” nickname.
Friday: at Astros, 7:10 p.m., NBCSCH Saturday: at Astros, 6:10 p.
m., NBCSCH Sunday: at Astros, 1:10 p.m.
, NBCSCH Monday: at Giants, 8:45 p.m., NBCSCH Tuesday: at Giants, 8:45 p.
m., NBCSCH Wednesday: at Giants, 2:45 p.m.
, NBCSCH Thursday: off The White Sox’s Gavin Sheets gets sunflower seeds tossed at him in the dugout after he hit a home run against the Yankees on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley) The 1962 Mets suffered their 100th loss in their 134th game on Aug.
29. The Sox begin a six-game trip Friday in Houston with 93 losses in 122 games, then continue on to San Francisco for a three-game series. Gavin Sheets enters the Astros series 13-for-24 in his last six games with five doubles, six RBIs and a 1.
417 OPS. “Just getting back to using the whole field,” Sheets said. “It’s what I did really well in April and May.
I started to chase power naturally and did it the wrong way, trying to pull off the ball and hit the ball to right field.” Sizemore said it was just a matter of time for Sheets, who has put in the work all season. “I know sometimes you look at the stats and you see tough months, but I’ve seen a guy that’s been grinding, putting good at-bats together all year,” Sizemore said.
“He got off to a hot start for us and was kind of anchoring us early, went through a little tough time there with some tough luck and some tough at-bats, but he’s been big for us late and making some big plays defensively too.” Column: Grady Sizemore’s strange journey from Mr. Mom to Chicago White Sox interim manager Wild-card standings are working against the Chicago Cubs, who get swept in Cleveland Chicago White Sox season ticket prices will be reduced for 2025 after nightmarish 2-season stretch Column: Luis Robert Jr.
— booed at home — is symbolic of the struggling Chicago White Sox Chicago Cubs offense finally showing consistency — and prospect Brennen Davis’ season is likely over Column: The gig may be temporary, but managing the Chicago White Sox is growing on Grady Sizemore Chicago Cubs take positives from erasing 5-run deficit, but 9-8 loss keeps them below .500 Column: Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees present a giant task — but Chicago White Sox play ‘David’ in 12-2 upset Shutting down Ben Brown is the latest detour for the Chicago Cubs’ young pitchers Column: Should the Chicago White Sox make a change in the TV booth in 2025 or keep the status quo? “Obviously we think really, really highly of NBC and who’s on there now. We’re looking at a lot of different ways to make our coverage of the White Sox better than it is now.
And there’s a lot of different things we’ll be able to do. The ‘Scott Merkin Show’ is going to be, what, three hours a day?” — White Sox executive vice president of marketing Brooks Boyer on the switch in 2025 from NBC Sports Chicago to the new Chicago Sports Network..
