I thought this was cool and so we posted it for your enjoyment. This is my friend Paul Chivari from Chicago. He's the guy that came up with this terrific BYB jingle:
We wrote about it in THE BYB JINGLE YOU CAN'T GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD. Anyway, he wanted to share a preview for the Yankees - White Sox Weekend. I hope you enjoy it. Be nice, he's a good dude. -Casey
The last time the New York Yankees visited Chicago it was for back-to-back series against the Cubs and the White Sox in May of last year. That was when I reached out to Robert Casey to have him appear on my radio show and gain the New York perspective on what that road trip would mean for the Yankees. At that time I had no idea that I was in store for one of my most treasured friendships that I’ve gained in the world of sports. After all of our interactions and contributions to each others projects it feels like more time than just fourteen months have passed.
Now that the Yankees are back in Chicago I felt that it would only be right if I gave my Chicago perspective on what the forthcoming White Sox-Yankees series means to me. So I present to you, BYB nation….
The White Sox are finally playing their best offensive baseball all season. In their last eight games they outscored their opponents 56-17 while winning seven of those contests. All of those games were on the road, but they were against weaker American League squads in Cleveland and Boston. Ace right hander Jeff Samardzija, who is in a contract year, started the road trip as a big trade piece for a team towards the bottom of the league standings. Now, with the trade deadline falling just hours before this series kicks off Samardzija is in a position where he may stay with the team for the remainder of the season. Only 3.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot, the White Sox front office feels that they are contenders and choose to remain buyers rather than the sellers many expected them to be at the deadline. With both teams looking to add help to their respective rosters in the hopes of a run to a title, anything can happen to either the White Sox or the Yankees at the deadline. Both teams may stand pat, though both have been linked to big names.
Trade rumors?
The Yankees did acquire outfielder Dustin Ackley but they desperately need some starting pitching. This was a known fact before right hander Michael Pineda was scratched from his Thursday start in Texas then placed on the 15-day DL. Despite this setback to the rotation, the Yanks were linked to San Diego Padres closer Craig Kimbrel.
The school of thought is that by adding Kimbrel the Yankees will have a formidable back of the bullpen with Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances. That never happened. The biggest names of the starters that were connected to the Yankees were David Price and Cole Hamels. They're both gone now. James Shields is still available, but with three years remaining on his deal, the cost may be too rich for even the Yankees. Who knows….maybe Jeff Samardzija could switch locker rooms this weekend.
The White Sox trade hopes aren’t as bright. With the Detroit Tigers in demolition mode the only viable option for the White Sox would have been Yoenis Cespedes, but he's a Met apparently. The Sox did land Justin Sellers for infield depth, but probably won’t be the boost their offense could use.
What to expect
The White Sox recent success shouldn’t scare anybody right now. A home stand against the Yankees and Rays followed by a three game series in Kansas City will more than likely bring them back to where they were a week ago - at the bottom portion of the American League standings. This weekend will be a big series and they may have run out of momentum after Thursday’s loss at Boston. Their 24-22 home record needs to improve and their starting pitching has been good all year, but if the Yankees are anything like the team that posted an average of nearly nine runs a game in Texas this week the White Sox pitching staff could be in for some long games. The Yankees will face two left handers in Rodon and Danks and are 18-11 against lefties this season.
While the White Sox may be hot, they have yet to prove themselves against any major contenders at US Cellular Field. Melky Cabrera has been on fire and Jose Abreu brings a ten game hitting streak into Friday’s contest. Rookie lefty starter Carlos Rodon may struggle against the veteran Yankee sluggers unless his slider is dominant. John Danks has been better recently but is 2-3 lifetime against the Yankees and has had trouble against Mark Teixeira and Jacoby Ellsbury.
Jeff Samardzija is the only real x-factor the White Sox have to combat the Yankee power bats only allowing five home runs in nine starts this season at home.
Prediction: Yankees take two out of three
--Paul Chivari, White Sox fan
& Friend of Robert Casey
Twitter: @PaulChivari
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