NEWSLETTER
Happy Friday! Well, for everyone except for the pilots who were supposed to be manning the Colorado Rockies flight last week but instead allowed a member of the Rockies coaching staff to hop in the pilot’s seat for a fun little video that probably won’t end well for those pilots. Plus, we’ll dive into some depressing statistics and trends that illustrate just how bad the Chicago White Sox are and talk about which MLB games I’m watching this weekend.
One Colorado Rockies coaching staff member got the best seat in the house on a recent charter flight, and now the FAA is investigating.
The Rockies are 4-15 and off to their worst start in franchise history. More turbulence is the last thing they need right now. However, after a video that appeared to show a Colorado coach sitting in the pilot’s seat of a United Airlines charter flight surfaced, they’re now the subject of an FAA investigation.
The since-deleted video, posted to Instagram by coach Hensley Meulens, was captioned, “Had some fun in the cockpit on our flight from Denver to Toronto. Thanks to the captain and the first officer of our United charter that allowed me this great experience.”
The Rockies flew to Toronto on April 10 for a series with the Blue Jays, and that’s when the incident occurred. Anyone who has a pulse should be well aware that the feds take the security of the flight deck very seriously, especially post-9/11. Hence, a federal investigation is underway.
In a statement, the FAA confirmed it is investigating the incident. “Federal regulations restrict flight deck access to specific individuals. We do not comment on the details of open investigations,” an administration spokesperson said.
As for the Pilots—who in all likelihood will and should face the brunt of the consequences for the flight experience—they’ve been suspended by United Airlines and, in all probability, have probably flown their last flight for the airline.
United Airlines released a statement on the incident:
“We’re deeply disturbed by what we see in that video, which appears to show an unauthorized person in the flight deck at cruise altitude while the autopilot was engaged. As a clear violation of our safety and operational policies, we’ve reported the incident to the FAA and have withheld the pilots from service while we conduct an investigation.”
Hensley Meulens, who posted the video on Instagram, is the Rockies’ hitting coach. He’s in his second season with Colorado and has previously worked with the Giants, Mets, and Yankees.
Just how bad are the Chicago White Sox?
The White Sox were off on Thursday (thankfully, I needed that mental break), which gave me some time to peruse Fangraphs and understand how bad this team is. I like to call it a statistical sadness. I knew they were awful, but the numbers—well, they’re downright laughable.
Take a look for yourself:
I flew to Chicago last weekend to surprise my dad for his 60th birthday. We went to the White Sox-Reds game Saturday afternoon while my mom and sisters worked to get their house ready for a surprise party when we returned. To fully grasp what I’m about to tell you, you must understand that my father has spent the better part of six decades living and dying with that baseball team and passed that down to me. They’re so bad right now that we were in the parking lot as I scrambled to text my mom to see if I needed to buy her more time to prepare before the seventh-inning stretch.
They can’t hit. They can’t field the baseball. They can’t run to first base without getting hurt. They can barely pitch. They have one of the worst managers in baseball, one of the worst GMs (promoted after being a failed farm director), and the second-worst owner in baseball (only to John Fisher).
All that to say, it’s only going to get worse.
As Jayson Stark pointed out in his recent column, the White Sox’s 3-15 start has them on pace to be one of the worst teams ever.
The 1962 Mets were 40-120. The 1899 Cleveland Spiders were 20-134. Those are the two losingest teams in baseball history. What do they both have in common with the 2024 Chicago White Sox? They were both 3-15 at one point on their way to 120 and 134 losses, respectively.
Even more damning for the White Sox, the 1962 Mets offense scored 76 runs in their first 18 games. The White Sox have scored 38 runs in their first 18 games. Even the 1899 Spiders scored 63 runs through their first 18 games.
There are many more depressing parallels to the losingest teams of all time in Stark’s column, which was the final nail in the coffin that was the sliver of optimism that White Sox fans had a few weeks ago when a new season opened. Give it a read. Or don’t. Just know that the White Sox are on pace to be the worst team of all time in 2024.
Here are the MLB games that I’m watching this weekend
Extra Innings
Jack Leiter strikes out the first batter of his MLB career on three pitches pic.twitter.com/XmolB8p82d
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 18, 2024
Meet Jurrangelo Cijntje, a BOTH handed pitcher for the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Imagine stepping up to the plate and the pitcher flips around depending on which box you dig into.
Absolutely filthy.
pic.twitter.com/eWrDCuYauf— SEC Unfiltered (@SECUnfiltered) February 19, 2024
3D tracking — Paul Skenes, 8 K in 3.1 IP pic.twitter.com/n4FsuQDW8o
— David Adler (@_dadler) April 19, 2024
Jac Caglianone has homered in EIGHT straight games pic.twitter.com/wpubhQoyye
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 19, 2024
