Behind the Nicky Lopez Tournament
ALSO: IT'S A WILD SCRAMBLE FOR NL WILD-CARD PLAYOFF SPOTS
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Welcome back, Clayton Kershaw: the Dodgers’ three-time NL Cy Young Award winner, out after shoulder surgery, makes his season debut tonight against Giants All-Star Logan Webb . . .
The Braves will love to welcome back their long-lost offensive juggernaut of 2023; they entered a four-game series in New York Thursday ranking last in the National League over the last month in on-base percentage (.287), OPS (.670), and batting (tied at .227), and third-from-worst in slugging (.383) — and then scored two runs in 10 innings at CitiField . . .
Kudos to first-year Padre Dylan Cease for pitching the second no-hitter in San Diego’s history yesterday . . .
In the NL Central, the Milwaukee Brewers have plenty of outfield depth to cover for injured All-Star Christian Yelich (back) in Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, and Blake Perkins . . .
Pat Murphy, promoted to Milwaukee pilot after Craig Counsell left, is in the running for NL Manager of the Year, while Counsell has not been able to deliver his old Brewers magic to his new team, the Chicago Cubs . . .
Expected to be deadline sellers, the Cubs could hold a huge bidding war for former National League MVP Cody Bellinger, currently sidelined with a broken hand.
Leading Off
Exclusive: Nicky Lopez Has True Perspective Amidst White Sox Horror Season
By Paul Banks
Major League Baseball draws big crowds, elicits huge ratings and inflames passions, which makes it truly more than just a game. However, it is still a game, and that means it's just win or lose, not life or death.
Chicago White Sox second baseman Nicky Lopez knows that, as his team is currently on pace to finish this season 42-120.
That result would place them one game worse than the infamous 2003 Detroit Tigers, who finished 43-119. It would also make them only marginally better than the team that most baseball historians consider the worst of the modern era — the 1962 New York Mets, who ended up 40-120.
We caught up to Lopez at his first annual Nicky Lopez 16" Softball Charity Classic, where we asked him how he goes about his business everyday, amidst this utterly lost season.
"It's tough to always constantly think 'I wish that went better, I wish this went better,' obviously it's not the season we wish we were having," he said in our exclusive interview.
"But if you put things into perspective, me and my wife went to visit kids at the children's hospital at Rush (University Medical Center) and to see them fighting for their lives — and I go to a field (for work everyday) and if I go 0-for-4 I'm upset; but there's people who are suffering and fighting for their lives."
It was an especially powerful answer from Lopez, but he wasn't done.
"To put it all in perspective, and to take it day by day and try to have fun with it (the rest of the season), it's kind of (about) changing your mindset," he added.
The 16-team softball tournament event was staged at Mount Greenwood Park on the South Side, which is only about an hour's drive from Naperville, the Chicago suburb where Lopez grew up.
Obviously it was extra special for Lopez to host a charity fund-raiser so close to his home. The event benefited charities that help support adolescent and young adult cancer patients and their families.
Lopez grew inspiration to champion this cause after he lost former classmates and his own brother to the disease at a young age.
His father, Bob Lopez, is a 16-inch Softball Hall of Famer who took part in the tournament. He told WGN News it was an honor to help raise money to fight back against cancer in young adults.
"Softball is very near and dear to our hearts," Lopez continued.
"I grew up on a softball field, so all these guys down the right-field line are heroes to me. I looked up to my dad and I followed him around his whole career and my whole childhood — I grew up idolizing them (his dad's team).
"This is bigger than me. I play baseball for a living. This is honoring two foundations for cancer research, and for giving back to people who are going through hard times. So this is about more than just coming out here and competing. It's about having fun with it and donating to a good charity."
Paul M. Banks is publisher of The Sports Bank and contributing editor for USA TODAY and NFL Wires. See https://www.thesportsbank.net/ or https://ravenswire.usatoday.com/author/paulbanks/
Cleaning Up
Ten Teams — Ten! — Vie For National League Playoff Slots
By Dan Schlossberg
Thanks to a system that allows 12 teams to reach the playoffs, the race for the National League’s three wild-card slots is gaining steam like a runaway locomotive.
Entering play Wednesday, the free-falling Atlanta Braves barely maintained the top spot but were hotly pursued by the Cardinals and Mets, who held the second and third spots. The Padres, D-backs, Pirates, Cubs, Reds, Giants and even the Nationals were within five-and-a-half games.
Only the Philadelphia Phillies, with the best record in baseball, and perhaps the Los Angeles Dodgers, who used to have the best winning percentage, seemed certain to get “byes” when October play begins.
Not so certain is the fate of the Milwaukee Brewers, long-time leaders in the NL Central. They’ve already lost their best hitter, Christian Yelich, with a back problem that could keep him sidelined for the season.
Equally uncertain is the trade market, since teams that think they sneak into the playoffs are often reluctant to break up a winning combination.
There are only a handful of sellers, trying to milk the most from the horde of buyers.
Yes, the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels, and Colorado Rockies should be selling, but will the price of their prizes fall as the July 30 deadline nears?
Nobody wants to take on additional payroll at this late date but no one wants to miss out on acquiring players who could help even beyond this season.
Jack Flaherty and other two-month rentals might make a difference but the Tigers already know the wisdom of trading a promising Class B pitcher named John Smoltz for an accomplished veteran like Doyle Alexander. While the veteran lasted one season, the kid lasted 20 — and went all the way to Cooperstown after helping his new team win a record 14 division titles in a row.
There’s a three-way bidding war for Tampa Bay outfielder Randy Arozarena, with the Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and Los Angeles Dodgers all hot to trot.
And the slumping New York Yankees, who started the season so well, need to upgrade their infield and patch up a pitching staff pummeled during the Mets sweep of the four-game Subway Series. Don’t be shocked if the Yanks move Gleyber Torres or even two-time batting champion DJ LeMahieu.
With 258 prospective free agents this fall, all teams have interest in getting something now for players likely to leave at the end of the season. Lots of surprises loom and lots of familiar names could be changing addresses (that means you, Mike Yastrzemski, and probably you too, Michael Conforto).
MLB Network and ESPN will be covering the frantic last few minutes of the July 30 deadline plus the hours that precede them. It should be fun for fans hoping to see their teams rebuild for the two-month stretch run.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is the author of Home Run King: the Remarkable Record of Hank Aaron and 40 other baseball books. To book a talk on books, baseball, or both, email ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia
“I saw him take practice rounds in San Diego and put balls on top of the Western Supply Building taking half-swings. He can put balls in the second or third deck without very much effort.”
— Max Fried on teammate Marcell Ozuna
Ozuna, 33, homered in his last at-bat of the 2023 season to give the Braves their second trio of 40-homer teammates . . .
Ozuna, Matt Olson, and Ronald Acuna, Jr. all topped 40 last year, joining the 1973 Atlanta trio of Hank Aaron, Darrell Evans, and Davey Johnson . . .
A three-time All-Star, Ozuna came within a whisker of a Triple Crown during the virus-shortened, 60-game season of 2020 . . .
He led the NL in runs batted in and ranked second with 28 home runs before the 2024 All-Star break . . .
No National Leaguer has won the Triple Crown since Joe Medwick in 1937.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.