Paul Sullivan – Chicago Tribune https://www.chicagotribune.com Get Chicago news and Illinois news from The Chicago Tribune Tue, 11 Jun 2024 21:36:01 +0000 en-US hourly 30 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.4 https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/favicon.png?w=16 Paul Sullivan – Chicago Tribune https://www.chicagotribune.com 32 32 228827641 Column: Trio of young pitchers must adjust on the fly if Chicago Cubs want to contend https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/06/11/chicago-cubs-young-pitchers/ Tue, 11 Jun 2024 11:00:31 +0000 https://www.chicagotribune.com/?p=17279167 The development of Ben Brown, Hayden Wesneski and Jordan Wicks could be one of the more important pieces of the pitching puzzle this summer for Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell.

All three young pitchers have bright futures as major-league starters, but with the Cubs rotation set in the first four slots, adjustments have been made for the good of the team.

Both Brown, 24, and Wesneski, 26, have started and pitched out of the bullpen in the first 2½ months of the season, while Wicks, 24, made his first relief appearance Saturday after rehabbing at Triple-A Iowa from a left forearm strain.

The Cubs on Tuesday were forced to change gears again when Brown was placed on the 15 day injured list with a left neck strain. Reliever Colten Brewer was activated from the IL to take his roster spot.

Brown had been filling the No. 5 spot in the rotation and has performed well with a 3.23 ERA in eight starts, averaging 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings with a 0.97 WHIP. His seven no-hit innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 28 was the most dominant performance this year by a Cubs pitcher and gave reason to believe he would get every opportunity to stick in the rotation the rest of the season.

Before his injury, Brown said he would do whatever Counsell feels is best and doesn’t have any problems adjusting on the fly.

“Whichever way I’m impacting the team best is OK,” he said. “I’m just grateful to be here. Just take it with an open hand and make sure I stay on top of my routines and my recovery. This is the first time I’ve (gone back and forth). It’s cool.”

Brown had a brutal major-league debut March 30 in Texas, allowing six runs in 1 2/3 innings after entering in the seventh. Since then he has a 2.68 ERA in 14 appearances with 63 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings.

Obviously there’s a difference between knowing when you will pitch every week and sitting in a bullpen wondering if you’ll get in that day.

“It’s a little mental and a little physical,” Brown said. “There’s every aspect you have to check off when it comes to the mentality of pitching out of the bullpen and pitching as a starter. There are a lot of differences.

“I think it’s easier to bring a reliever’s mentality into the starting rotation than a starter’s mentality into the bullpen. It’s just a matter of acknowledging that (difference).”

Wesneski has a 2.20 ERA in three starts and a 3.32 ERA in 13 relief outings. Like Brown, he had no previous relief experience until last year with the Cubs, when he switched roles after beginning the season in the rotation and being demoted to Iowa.

Wesneski said the biggest challenge is variations in his workout schedule because he wants to do enough running and lifting on days he doesn’t get to pitch.

Cubs pitcher Hayden Wesneski throws against the Braves in the fifth inning at Wrigley Field on May 23, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Cubs pitcher Hayden Wesneski throws against the Braves in the fifth inning at Wrigley Field on May 23, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

“Starting, it’s very scheduled,” he said. “These five days, I’m doing this, this, this and this. I always throw every day. I probably should start taking a day off or so, but the amount of stuff you do (working out) is the difference.”

Like Brown, Wesneski said the mental side of the switch is something he’s learning about on the job.

“You have to be able to calm your nerves and use them,” he said. “The first two innings I don’t need to be nervous. I should be enjoying the game, talking to the guys, feeling things out with the lineup, kind of feel how the game is going. And once the game starts ramping up, that’s when I should start paying attention to the routine and figure out, ‘OK, where am I going to pitch again?’ And be ready. Then you start getting a little nervous, and it happens.

“You have to be able to turn it on and shut it off. Starting, you only have one day of it, so you’re off, off, off, off, all the nerves are gone.”

Wesneski pitched on back-to-back days for the first time last week in the City Series against the White Sox, serving up a home run in both appearances. He has allowed four homers in his last seven outings. Heading into Tuesday’s game at Tampa Bay, he’ll have had five days of rest — basically the typical rest time of a starter.

Wicks threw six innings in his last start with the Cubs on April 23 against the Houston Astros before going on the injured list with the forearm strain. The Cubs could have kept him starting at Iowa until he was needed but opted to bring him back in the bullpen. Wicks allowed one run on three hits in 3 1/3 innings against the Cincinnati Reds, coming on in relief of Brown.

Cubs pitcher Jordan Wicks exits the dugout for the bullpen to warm up before a game against the Dodgers at Wrigley Field on April 6, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Cubs pitcher Jordan Wicks exits the dugout for the bullpen to warm up before a game against the Dodgers at Wrigley Field on April 6, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Counsell said Wicks is “obviously a big candidate” for a rotation spot when one is open. With Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Javier Assad, Jameson Taillon and Brown all throwing well, Wicks was being used out of the pen, but Brown’s injury could change that.

It was one year ago that the Cubs bullpen began to jell, helping the team climb out of a big hole and get back into contention. The Big Three of the surge were Mark Leiter Jr., Julian Merryweather and Adbert Alzolay, the high-leverage trio manager David Ross turned to over and over again with great success until early September, when the heavy workload appeared to catch up.

Counsell hasn’t been able to find the right combination, which is reflected in the numbers. The Cubs bullpen ranked 22nd entering Monday with a 4.33 ERA, and its 13 blown saves were tied for third-worst. It hasn’t been much better than the White Sox bullpen, which led the majors with 17 blown saves through Sunday.

Alzolay’s struggles in the first month forced Counsell to audible, with Héctor Neris taking over as closer. Neris has been scary but effective of late, while Leiter has been solid in a high-leverage role. But the Cubs have yet to locate a suitable replacement for Merryweather, who has been out since April 6 with a stress fracture in a rib.

Wicks and Wesneski will get chances, along with Tyson Miller, to fill the void while Cubs President Jed Hoyer continues to look for relief help before the trade deadline.

Winning while developing young pitchers is never easy, and when you’re trying to do it with a team that’s expected to contend, the degree of difficulty only increases.

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17279167 2024-06-11T06:00:31+00:00 2024-06-11T16:36:01+00:00
Column: Summer reruns are the worst, but that’s what Cubs and White Sox fans can expect to see https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/06/10/chicago-cubs-white-sox-summer-blues/ Mon, 10 Jun 2024 11:00:03 +0000 https://www.chicagotribune.com/?p=17277802 Summer rerun season is upon us, which means Chicago baseball fans are being force-fed the same episodes they viewed last year.

The Cubs are in another swoon, with most of the same cast from 2023 and a new manager in Craig Counsell. A two-game mini-sweep of the White Sox did not provide the balm the Cubs hoped for, despite the entertainment value of the City Series.

The Sox, meanwhile, are in another free fall, with fans eagerly lampooning the team, the owner, the manager and the new announcer who dons blinders daily and pretends all is well. Even partner Steve Stone has often been rendered speechless.

As we head into the sweet spot of June, here’s what we know so far:

Wake-up call

The Cubs woke up Sunday in Cincinnati three games under .500 and tied for last place in the National League Central, 7½ games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. One year earlier, on June 9, 2023, they entered the day 10 games under .500 at 26-36 and 7½ games out of first.

Deja vu all over again?

Maybe. The 2023 Cubs went 50-28 over their next 78 games, aided by Cody Bellinger’s bat, moving into wild-card position before faltering down the stretch. Can another 2½-month summer run help the Cubs — who salvaged the finale of their four-game series in Cincinnati on Sunday — escape their blues?

“Definitely, I think so,” Bellinger recently told me. “A lot of the same guys and a few improvements on top of it. It’s been a little harder than we want it to be, but at the end of the day, there is so much baseball left. We’ve got to wake up, keep fighting and try to be the best version of ourselves every day.”

The operative words are “wake up.”

Channeling his inner Hawk

White Sox broadcasters Steve Stone, center, and John Schriffen, right, have a laugh with manager Pedro Grifol on opening day against the Tigers on March 28, 2024, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
White Sox broadcasters Steve Stone, center, and John Schriffen, right, have a laugh with manager Pedro Grifol on opening day against the Tigers on March 28, 2024, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Sox broadcaster John Schriffen did a solid for former Sox broadcaster Ken “Hawk” Harrelson. Schriffen did his best Hawk impersonation Saturday on his call of Paul DeJong’s solo home run, bellowing: “Put it on the board, yeeeee-ess!”

Social media went wild, as it often does when Schriffen goes “Full Metal Schriff,” exaggerating a moment to compensate for the Sox remaining the worst team in baseball and the worst in franchise history. He has become a regular feature on the “Awful Announcing” blog and seems to enjoy his newfound notoriety.

Schriffen’s faux pas have been chronicled ad nauseam. During the Cubs-Sox game Tuesday he said: “And the Cubs retake the lead, their first lead of the game.”

Some Sox fans were upset Schriffen used Harrelson’s patented call. But Schriffen has Hawk’s stamp of approval, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, so repeating “Hawkisms” is probably kosher. Like Harrelson, calling attention to himself is part of Schriffen’s shtick.

Mercy.

Welcome to Wrigley

Former White Sox player and manager Ozzie Guillen waves to the crowd before opening day against the Tigers on March 28, 2024, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Former White Sox player and manager Ozzie Guillen waves to the crowd before opening day against the Tigers on March 28, 2024, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

NBC Sports Chicago analyst Ozzie Guillén was charged $60 to park in the Wrigley Field lot Wednesday, even though he is a full-fledged member of the media. Someone from the station neglected to put him on the media pass list.

Guillén was happy to pay the fee out of his pocket but later said: “For that kind of money I should be parking in the bullpen.”

As Sox manager, Guillén famously complained there were “20,000 rats” running around under the Wrigley bleachers. Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney, then the team chairman, politely listened to Guillén’s rant before a game in 2008 and replied: “But Ozzie, the rats are part of the Wrigley Field ambience.”

Kenney insists every revenue stream goes right back into the ballclub, so the Cubs can thank Guillén for helping to pay the players’ salaries.

MLB partners with White House

MLB is stepping up as part of the White House’s “Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose,” an initiative to increase access to overdose reversal medications.

MLB announced that naloxone, a life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication, will now be stored in multiple locations such as clubhouses, weight rooms, dugouts and umpires dressing rooms. All certified athletic trainers also will travel with naloxone on the road.

Players have been subject to testing for pain pills and other drugs of abuse since 2020 after the 2019 death of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who died after ingesting fentanyl.

Wham! Pham! Thank you, ma’am!

Tommy Pham of the White Sox is restrained by coaches during the eighth inning against the Brewers on June 2, 2024, in Milwaukee. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Tommy Pham of the White Sox is restrained by coaches during the eighth inning against the Brewers on June 2, 2024, in Milwaukee. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Before Saturday’s Boston Red Sox-White Sox game, MLB Network was on in the visitors clubhouse with a segment listing five players you wouldn’t want to get into a fight with. One was White Sox outfielder Tommy Pham, who was shown shadow boxing after his incident last week with Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras. (Another classic Schriffren call, by the way).

Pham said afterward he works on his fighting in the offseason because “I’m prepared to f— somebody up.” Pham injured himself on the slide into Contreras and went on the IL two days later. The MLB Network list also included former Cubs pitcher Kyle Farnsworth, who slammed the Reds’ Paul Wilson to the field in an epic fight in 2003.

But the list somehow left off the late White Sox infielder Tony Phillips, who didn’t just talk tough. Phillips actually took himself out of a game in 1996 at County Stadium to confront a heckling Brewers fan in the bleachers and then knocked him out. Phillips was arrested, but charges were dropped and he received only a $5,000 fine from MLB and no suspension.

In a fight between Pham and Phillips, I’d bet on Phillips.

Epic fail

Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks poses for a photograph with a group of cancer survivors before a game against the White Sox on June 6, 2024, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks poses for a photograph with a group of cancer survivors before a game against the White Sox on June 6, 2024, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Kudos to former White Sox closer Liam Hendriks for pointing out the obvious in the downfall of the team in 2022 and ’23. Hendriks, currently with the Red Sox and rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, said the players “failed the city. We failed the front office. We failed everyone around that fan base. And it’s a tough pill to swallow.”

That’s true, of course, but it should be added that the owner and front office failed the team, the city and the fan base with decisions that greased the skids for the downfall. Yet we’re still waiting for an admission of guilt from Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, former executives Ken Willams and Rick Hahn or former manager-turned-adviser Tony La Russa.

Don’t hold your breath, Sox fans.

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17277802 2024-06-10T06:00:03+00:00 2024-06-10T13:40:26+00:00
Column: Chicago White Sox ace Garrett Crochet ready to deal with trade rumors — a recurring theme on the South Side https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/06/08/chicago-white-sox-garrett-crochet-trade-rumors/ Sat, 08 Jun 2024 21:25:40 +0000 https://www.chicagotribune.com/?p=17276908 Garrett Crochet helped end the Chicago White Sox’s franchise record 14-game losing streak Friday with another strong outing in a 7-2 victory against the Boston Red Sox.

He leads the majors with 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings and has been one of the few bright spots for a team that looks destined to be in automatic rebuild mode for years.

So it only makes perfect sense in Sox World that by Saturday morning the big question was where Crochet would be dealt at the trade deadline.

San Diego? Milwaukee? The New York Yankees?

Is there any contender who wouldn’t be interested in the left-hander who makes $800,000 and has 2½ more years of team control?

Crochet doesn’t think too much about the possibility of leaving or about being mentioned in trade rumors.

“It’s kind of a testament that I’ve been throwing the ball well,” Crochet told me Saturday before the White Sox won their second straight, beating the Red Sox 6-1 behind Gavin Sheets’ fifth-inning grand slam. “That’s all I think (about it). Winning games here for the White Sox is my only focus.”

The White Sox should have no urgency to trade Crochet, who is both inexpensive and under team control through 2026. But there’s always the risk for general manager Chris Getz of waiting too long and watching Crochet suffer another arm injury, which obviously would affect his value.

Manager Pedro Grifol had little time to celebrate the end of the losing streak before the subject changed to trade rumors.

“It comes across the desk every once in a while, but we’re not focused on that,” Grifol said Saturday morning, adding trade rumors to his job status on the growing list of topics he says he’s not focused on. “To execute a trade in the big leagues, it takes a little bit of time on both sides, especially when there’s really good players involved. So I’m not focused on that.”

Grifol later added: “We are going to be facing these trade talks questions (or) I’m going to be facing them until July 31st.”

Chicago White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet (45) high fives teammates in the dug out during a game between the Chicago White Sox and the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)
White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet high-fives teammates in the dugout during a game against the Braves on April 2, 2024, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)

That’s assuming he’s still the manager on July 31. But that’s not the focus here, so let’s stay focused.

Grifol’s statement about the time it takes to trade the “really good players” narrows down the field quite a bit. The Sox have only two players with an fWAR above 1.0 — Crochet (2.3) and Erick Fedde (1.6). Luis Robert Jr. would be there if he hadn’t been injured most of the season, so we can add him to the list of “really good players.”

Crochet has the higher trade value because he’s dominating in his first season as a starter, has a 97-mph four-seam fastball and an excellent slider and cutter. And because he’s also a pitcher employed by the Chicago White Sox, he’s likely to be dealt before he asks for a long-term deal.

Robert said last week he would like to stay but is OK either way. Crochet said Saturday that he’d like to stick around as well.

“Everybody’s dream and goal is to play your whole career with one team,” he said. “It’s a very select group of a few guys that get to do that. Like Ryan Zimmerman being Mr. National. That’s just a cool thing.”

Cool, true. But is it a realistic dream?

“A lot of things are out of my control,” Crochet replied. “I just throw the ball as best as I can and hope for the best. I haven’t had any conversation (with the Sox) or anything like that.”

I asked Crochet if he had spoken with former teammates Lucas Giolito, Carlos Rodon or anyone else who went through the same thing he will be going through if he stays. Pitchers hoping for long-term deals with the Sox are a dime a dozen. Pitchers actually getting long-term deals with the Sox are a rarity.

“I feel like I remember (Dylan) Cease saying something along those lines, that he wanted to stay here,” Crochet said. “Gio might have said the same. I never talked to him specifically, though.”

The number of Sox pitchers who either have been dealt or left as free agents because Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf refused to offer them market value is long and storied. Mark Buehrle talked about it on the Sox telecast Friday night. The Sox were happy to retire his number, but they wouldn’t pay him when they had the opportunity in 2012, so he left for the Miami Marlins.

It’s a recurring theme on the South Side. In my first season as a Sox beat writer at the Tribune 30 years ago, GM Ron Schueler traded Jack McDowell to the New York Yankees for Lyle Mouton and Keith Herberling. Alex Fernandez, another first-round pick, had taken over as the ace in 1995 and repeatedly said the same things as Crochet.

“I’d hate to lose Alex,” Schueler said in summer 1996. “And I think Alex would like to stay here. But I think Alex is probably going to explore the free-agent market if he has a chance to.”

When I asked Fernandez at the end of the 1996 season, he said: “I’d love to end my career (with the Sox). I just hope I can stay and get what I deserve. I respect people’s policy (on long-term deals for starters) and I respect Jerry’s opinion. But why should I give up $6 (million) or $7 million because they don’t want to give a fifth year?”

Fernandez got that five-year deal with the Marlins after the season and won a ring in 1997. The next to go was Wilson Alvarez, who was dealt to the San Francisco Giants in the White Flag trade in 1997. On and on it went.

Former Sox pitchers Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez and Cease all could make the National League All-Star team next month. Rodon could be on the AL squad. I recall Sale and Cease also saying they wanted to stay with the Sox.

Crochet can’t be blamed for not knowing the history of Sox pitchers asking for long-term deals and then departing when they were denied.

“No,” he said. “Pitching tends to be more expensive, or more volatile. I don’t know. I don’t really look into it like that.”

Maybe the Sox will solve that problem by trading Crochet before he even gets a chance to ask.

And then we can all focus on something else.

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17276908 2024-06-08T16:25:40+00:00 2024-06-08T18:11:53+00:00
Column: Been there, done that. Comparing the losing streaks of the 2024 White Sox and the 1997 Cubs. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/06/07/white-sox-losing-streak/ Fri, 07 Jun 2024 19:53:56 +0000 https://www.chicagotribune.com/?p=17274581 It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times.

In this tale of two losing streaks, historic skids by the 2024 White Sox and 1997 Cubs would define their seasons and test the patience of their die-hard fans.

So how did we get here? It’s a long story.

When the Sox beat the Washington Nationals on May 15 for their first back-to-back series wins since early August 2023, outfielder Tommy Pham cautioned fans not to get too giddy.

“We’ve got a tough schedule coming up, so it’s going to take a lot of good baseball played by us to beat some of these teams,” he said.

The Sox proceeded to lose 18 of their next 19 games heading into Friday against the Boston Red Sox, including a single-season franchise record 14th straight Thursday.

In my role as the Chicago Tribune’s senior Cubs losing-streak expert, I can honestly say: “Been there. Done that.”

The 1997 Cubs infamously began their season with a National League-record 14-game losing streak, matching their crosstown rivals in ineptitude before Friday when the Sox tried to avoid setting Chicago’s baseball futility record.

Like the 2024 Sox, the 1997 Cubs discovered new ways to lose almost every day, turning what should have been just a bad stretch of baseball into a historic streak.

The Sox have lost seven of their 14 games by one or two runs. The 1997 Cubs also lost seven of their 14 games by one or two runs. Baseball symmetry: Catch it!

Both teams had some decent starting pitching performances and featured struggling offenses and bullpens that blew late leads. The Sox took a lead into the seventh inning four times during a five-game stretch last week against the Milwaukee Brewers and Cubs — and they lost all four.

The 1997 Cubs hit a combined .179 with a .518 OPS during their streak, scoring 36 runs. The 2024 Sox have been more productive, as hard as that is for observers to believe. Heading into Friday, the Sox hit a combined .212 and scored 45 runs with a .623 OPS during their 14-game skid.

It probably should be noted, however, that 12 of those 45 Sox runs (27%) came in consecutive 7-6 losses against the Cubs, in which the Sox blew a five-run lead Tuesday and a four-run lead Wednesday. The Sox also set a season-high with 13 hits Wednesday against the Cubs.

To make matters more eerie, both teams had a Sosa in their lineup — the Cubs’ Sammy and the Sox’s Lenyn — and Steve Stone in their broadcast booths. Stone teams with John Schriffen on Sox telecasts now and worked alongside Harry Caray for the 1997 Cubs.

Unlike the Sox, the Cubs entered the 1997 season touting themselves as actual contenders. General manager Ed Lynch had signed a new reliever in Montreal Expos free agent Mel Rojas, who became the second-highest-paid closer in the game with a four-year, $13.75 million deal. But Rojas struggled and revealed early in the season he didn’t like pitching in cold weather after pitching in a dome in Montreal.

“Oh, now he tells us,” thousands of face-palming Cubs fans said.

One of the lowlights of the Sox’s current streak was Pedro Grifol’s pronouncement on May 26 that the players were “f—— flat” in a 4-1 loss to Baltimore Orioles and pitcher Kyle Bradish. Several Sox players, including rookie catcher Korey Lee, disagreed with their manager’s assessment and boldly said so in the postgame clubhouse.

The Sox’s streak was only at five games at that point. Grifol doubled down on his criticism the next day but then changed his tune. Before the streak reached 13 games at Wrigley Field, Grifol said: “These guys are busting their ass, man. They really are. And I’m proud of them for that.”

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol heads to the dugout after making his second pitching change of the the seventh inning against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 5, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
White Sox manager Pedro Grifol heads to the dugout after making his second pitching change of the the seventh inning against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 5, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Cubs manager Jim Riggleman tried to project a calm exterior throughout the team’s 1997 losing streak, even as Jay Leno made jokes nightly about the team on “The Tonight Show.”

“I don’t like sarcasm,” Riggleman said.

When their slump hit seven games, the Cubs had led for only five of the 63 innings. Riggleman said he had to “conduct myself the way I ask our players to conduct themselves.”

Cubs manager Jim Riggleman watches his team lose to the Marlins 1-0 on April 10, 1997, at Wrigley Field.(Charles Bennett/AP)
Cubs manager Jim Riggleman watches his team lose to the Marlins 1-0 on April 10, 1997, at Wrigley Field.(Charles Bennett/AP)

How was that?

“Be a professional,” he said. “You’re not going to see me all excited if we win seven in a row, and I’m not going to get down if we lose seven in a row. I go upstairs and look in the mirror and try to figure out some things I could’ve done (differently).”

The streak went on, but Riggleman’s temperament remained the same as the Cubs reached 0-11 to set a National League record for worst start to a season.

Fans hold a banner near the end of the Cubs' 10-7 loss to the Rockies on April 15, 1997, at Wrigley Field. The Cubs fell to 0-11, setting the modern National League record for most consecutive defeats to start a season. (Charles Bennett/AP)
Fans hold a banner near the end of the Cubs’ 10-7 loss to the Rockies on April 15, 1997, at Wrigley Field. The Cubs fell to 0-11, setting the modern National League record for most consecutive defeats to start a season. (Charles Bennett/AP)

“I know I’m getting a good effort,” he said. “They’re all down. I’m not going to kick people when they’re down. I’m down. I don’t want people to kick me when I’m down.”

But the next day the Cubs made three errors in a 4-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies. Riggleman said loss No. 12 was the worst game he had seen, adding he and his players should be “ashamed” of themselves. An injured Mark Grace, who was moonlighting in the WGN-AM 720 radio booth, said he wouldn’t “bury” his teammates.

“But I’m also not going to insult people’s intelligence and tell them we’re playing good baseball,” Grace said. “We’re 0-12 for a reason. We’ve played lousy baseball.”

Schriffen also hasn’t buried the Sox and remained positive. In Milwaukee, he insisted the Sox were “catching teams at the wrong time.” The rookie broadcaster also boldly predicted Thursday: “I’m going to go out on a limb. I feel good. Tonight is the night the losing streak comes to an end.”

The Red Sox took the lead moments later on a leadoff home run and won 14-2. After the Sox broke their franchise single-season record with loss No. 14, Stone predicted the skid would come to an end Friday night.

The Cubs’ historic streak finally ended at 14 in the second game of a doubleheader against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. Rojas strained a hamstring after retiring one batter in the eighth, leaving eccentric reliever Turk Wendell to try to hold a 4-1 lead. Wendell, who famously brushed his teeth in the dugout between innings, naturally, wore No. 13 for the Cubs.

The Mets pulled within a run in the ninth before Manny Alexander grounded out to give the Cubs a 4-3 win and end their 0-for-April nightmare.

“I apologized to most of the guys for almost having a heart attack,” Wendell said.

The 1997 season was a total bust, but one year later, the Cubs were in the postseason.

The White Sox can only hope to write a similar ending in 2025.

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17274581 2024-06-07T14:53:56+00:00 2024-06-07T16:02:37+00:00
Column: Cubs-White Sox games never disappoint — no matter how dismal the outlook for either team https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/06/06/cubs-white-sox-city-series/ Thu, 06 Jun 2024 16:09:04 +0000 https://www.chicagotribune.com/?p=17270614 “There is nothing Sox fans love more than beating the Cubs,” Chicago White Sox broadcaster Steve Stone said during Tuesday’s telecast of Game 1 of the City Series.

It’s a truism confirmed every time the crosstown rivals meet.

Conversely, there’s nothing Sox fans hate more than losing to the Cubs, other than Jerry Reinsdorf owning the team. That made the two-game sweep by the Cubs at Wrigley Field a nightmare of epic proportions.

The Sox blew a five-run lead to lose the opener 7-6, then blew a four-run lead Wednesday in another 7-6 loss, their franchise-record-tying 13th straight. As the Sox broadcast crew wrapped up the game with the unhappy totals, while the soundtrack of “Go, Cubs, Go” played in the background, new play-by-play man John Schriffen lamented, “To have to hear that song again…”

This was as bad as it gets. But there’s no rest for the weary, and on Thursday night the Sox would have to go right back at it, facing the Boston Red Sox while trying to avoid setting a single-season record for franchise futility. And the .500 Cubs could not rest on their laurels, facing the Reds in Cincinnati to start a seven-game trip.

Having covered all 144 games of the City Series on the North and South sides since the inception of interleague play in 1997, I feel safe in saying this was one of the least anticipated crosstown events ever.

Both teams were struggling, with abysmal offenses that ranked at or near the bottom of the major leagues. The gamut of emotions of their fan bases ran from disappointed to disgusted.

Even the media turnout was relatively small, as former Sox manager and current NBC Sports Chicago analyst Ozzie Guillén pointed out before Wednesday’s game. Bears minicamp in Lake Forest had stolen the show.

Guillén compared it with the golden era of the crosstown games during the first decade of this century, when he managed against Dusty Baker, Lou Piniella and “that bald guy,” also known as Mike Quade.

That was an era that included “the Punch,” Piniella’s feuds with Stone and TV/radio personality David Kaplan, the escapades of Carlos Zambrano and Milton Bradley and the Section 508 brawl of 2007. Every Cubs-Sox series back then had enough drama for a “30 for 30” episode.

Photos: Cubs beat White Sox 7-6 in Game 2 of the City Series at Wrigley Field

Low expectations might have greeted this year’s first round, but warm weather, a well-timed rain delay Tuesday and two intriguing games made it an entertaining series.

As usual, every big moment reminded you of something from the past.

Cubs closer Héctor Neris picked Sox pinch runner Duke Ellis off second base with one out in the ninth to help save Game 1, calling to mind a similar moment on June 10, 2000, at new Comiskey Park. That’s when Sox reliever Sean Lowe picked Cubs star Mark Grace off first base with two outs in the eighth, preserving a one-run lead with Sammy Sosa at the plate and the tying run on third.

On Neris’ pickoff Tuesday, the call came from the Cubs dugout thanks to bench coach Ryan Flaherty. Similarly, Sox bench coach and renowned sign stealer Joe Nossek signaled the play that picked off Grace in 2000. Grace claimed afterward Lowe had balked but added: “You’re not going to get a tying-run balk at Comiskey Park. As a veteran ballplayer, I know that.”

The Sox won 4-3 to put them 14 games over .500 for the first time since Aug. 12, 1996, and they remained two games ahead of Cleveland in the American League Central on their way to a division title. That 2000 rebuild was best remembered for a lineup that led the league with 978 runs, six per game. This Sox team is dead last, averaging three runs per game.

Stone noted during Tuesday’s broadcast that Ellis was not being held at second on the first pitch by Neris, then decided to dance around off the base: “One of the things you can’t be doing is bouncing around. Either you go or you don’t.” Hopefully the human bounce house will learn his lesson and not become a footnote in Cubs-Sox history.

Photos: Cubs beat White Sox 7-6 in a comeback win at Wrigley Field

Mike Tauchman’s walk-off home run off Michael Kopech on Wednesday undoubtedly will go down alongside other great homers in the City Series, including shots by A.J. Pierzynski, Mike Caruso, Christopher Morel and Carlos Lee.

As a Palatine native, Tauchman was asked afterward to put the City Series in context. Instead of giving the expected answer about the rivalry, Tauchman paused for a moment and delivered a thoughtful response about the conjunction of baseball and summer in the Midwest. These kinds of days are the ones you dream about in January when you’re scraping ice off your windshield with a credit card.

“Being a Midwest guy, it starts to warm up and you start getting outside after a long winter and a cold spring,” he said. “There’s a lot of energy. And there definitely was a lot of energy in the crowd the last two days.

“As far as the rivalry stuff, I don’t pay much attention to that. The crowd on our side was really great tonight, and as players we can really feel it.”

We’re fortunate to have two teams in this town, no matter how dismal the outlook for one or both. We can only pray Reinsdorf doesn’t move the Sox when he doesn’t get public funding for his proposed South Loop stadium.

“Getting to be in a city with multiple teams is really cool,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “I think back to last year, obviously Morel’s walk-off here. But also the atmosphere of the games we played in July there (at Sox Park) as we were approaching the (trade) deadline, and we had a significant stretch of games where we really got hot and had a crazy comeback there.

“Regardless of where we are in the standings, I feel the fans always take (the City Series) seriously and it’s cool to be in a place that appreciates baseball and makes those environments happen.”

Asked during the first interleague series in ‘97 to compare the two fan bases, Reinsdorf called Cubs fans “very enthusiastic” and Sox fans “more demanding.”

“They’re more knowledgeable about the game,” he said of Sox fans. “They don’t like to watch bad baseball.”

Words to remember as the Sox continue on a record pace for losses in a season.

As Cubs fans sang “that song” again late Wednesday, Sox fans at Wrigley shrugged and wondered what could happen next. Only three years ago, the playoff-bound 2021 Sox were on a high and the Cubs were about to engage in their great summer sell-off. Like our weather, things change on a dime.

Who knows how many of this week’s participants will be back for Round 2 on Aug. 9-10 on the South Side? It could include a new cast of characters and new stories to add to City Series lore.

That’s the yin and yang of the Cubs-Sox rivalry, the longest-running miniseries in Chicago.

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17270614 2024-06-06T11:09:04+00:00 2024-06-06T13:16:33+00:00
Column: Pedro Grifol’s seat gets hotter after Chicago White Sox mum on report claiming it’s only a matter of time before manager is fired https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/06/05/chicago-white-sox-pedro-grifol-future/ Thu, 06 Jun 2024 00:18:07 +0000 https://www.chicagotribune.com/?p=17269831 Chicago White Sox general manager Chris Getz declined to comment Wednesday on a report by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal that it’s only a matter of time before Pedro Grifol is relieved of his managerial duties.

Getz called the report “speculation” and declined to offer any thoughts on Grifol’s future, saying he would address the subject at another time.

While it’s not surprising to hear that Grifol is on the hot seat with the Sox riding a 13-game losing streak and on pace to lose a major league record 123 games after Wednesday’s 7-6, walk-off loss to the Cubs in Game 2 of the City Series at Wrigley Field, Rosenthal was the first to report that it’s already decided and “the only question is when it will happen.”

Rosenthal said an anonymous Sox player told him “Grifol’s misstep was going public” with his recent criticism that the team looked “f—— flat” in a loss to the Baltimore Orioles. That was a rare moment of public criticism from Grifol toward his players. For the most part he has gone out of his way to defend them over the last two seasons, earning the wrath of Sox fans and media for “sugarcoating” their problems.

Asked about The Athletic report before Wednesday’s game, Grifol said he hadn’t heard about it.

“No, what did it say?” he asked.

Grifol was told the report speculated he would be gone at some point.

“This is part of the job, right?” he said. “Go ahead and ask your questions, but I’m not going to address this every single day.”

Is he able to shrug it off?

“I’m fine with it, addressing these questions, but I’m not going to sit here and address it every day,” he repeated. “But I don’t focus on that stuff. It’s a part of the job. We’re not winning. So when you’re not winning, speculations get higher and higher. It’s a part of what we do.

“We get signed up to win baseball games, and when you don’t, there’s always a possibility of a change being made. I didn’t read the article. I understand the question. I understand the stories. I get it all. I’ll answer the questions. But my answer is always going to be the same.”

Photos: Cubs beat White Sox 7-6 in Game 2 of the City Series at Wrigley Field

Grifol is in the second year of a three-year contract after replacing Tony La Russa after the 2022 season, when La Russa resigned for health issues. La Russa is healthy again and has been with the Sox since the start of spring training, following the team at home and on the road as an adviser to Getz and Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.

Asked if he would speak to Getz about the report, Grifol replied: “No, why would I do that? I mean, I don’t make those decisions. And I’m certainly not going to worry about it.

“My concern is making sure that this team is ready to play tonight, making adjustments from yesterday and trying to see if we can snap this losing streak that’s no fun and extremely painful because we’ve lost some painful games.

“But I’m certainly not going to make this about me and my future here. I’m not going to decide that anyway and I don’t make those decisions.”

Former White Sox player Frank Thomas, left, and general manager Chris Getz talk before a game against the Cubs on June 5, 2024, at Wrigley Field. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Former White Sox player Frank Thomas, left, and general manager Chris Getz talk before a game against the Cubs on June 5, 2024, at Wrigley Field. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Grifol said last week that he believed he had the support of Reinsdorf, who will ultimately have the final decision on his future after Getz makes his call.

“I feel fortunate that I work for an owner like Jerry,” he said. “I just think that he’s been in this game for 44, 45 years, and he’s a baseball guy. I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to work for him and wear this uniform with them. So I’m grateful to be here.”

Reinsdorf, who doesn’t make himself available to the media, thought he had a team in place that would be competitive for the rest of the decade when they made the postseason in 2021 for the second straight year. He had several young stars under contract for years in Luis Robert Jr., Eloy Jiménez, Tim Anderson, Dylan Cease and Michael Kopech, and a Hall of Fame manager in La Russa.

But it all began to go south in 2022 and spiraled out of control during a 101-loss season under Grifol in 2023, leading to the second rebuild since 2017. But Getz’s plans have not worked out, and the July trade deadline will afford the Sox an opportunity to get rid of veterans with value such as Tommy Pham, Paul DeJong, Kopech, Jiménez and others while bringing up some prospects for the final two months.

Is Grifol the right guy to manage a team that would basically be developing at the major-league level while trying to avoid setting a franchise record for losses? Would Reinsdorf turn to bench coach Charlie Montoyo or even La Russa to finish the season? La Russa 3.0 would be a stretch, but he certainly appears healthy again and has watched this team enough to handle the final four months until a replacement is found for 2025.

With the team in free fall, nothing would be out of the realm of possibility.

The Sox not only have to try to attract fans to Guaranteed Rate Field, they also need to get fans excited about the future in time for the new TV venture that was announced this week to replace NBC Sports Chicago. The Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks said the new network would consist of “traditional cable providers, streaming services and free, over-the-air broadcasts” but offered no details about their plans.

Popular Sox analyst Steve Stone is in the final year of his deal and would have to be re-signed. Without Stone, Sox broadcasts would have to rely on unproven play-by-play man John Schriffen, who has been polarizing in his first two months on the job with a style that grates on some fans.

Also up in the air is NBC Sports Chicago studio analyst Ozzie Guillén, whose hard-hitting analysis on the pre and postgame shows have made him must-see TV for Sox fans. Many fans would like to see Guillén replace Grifol, though Guillén interviewed for the opening when La Russa left and was not seriously considered by former GM Rick Hahn.

One reporter told Grifol that it was a “hard job” and said no one could tell him who would do it better than him. Grifol said he knows what he and his coaches “bring to the table” and they “bleed this” job.

“Whether there are other guys out there that could do a better job or not, I really don’t (know),” he said.

Grifol’s seat will only get hotter as summer heats up and the team continues to flounder. Sooner or later, Getz will have to offer a statement of support or cut bait and try something else.

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17269831 2024-06-05T19:18:07+00:00 2024-06-06T07:32:51+00:00
Column: With both teams needing help, could Cubs and White Sox swing a deal at a North Shore Starbucks? https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/06/04/chicago-cubs-white-sox-trade/ Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:49:13 +0000 https://www.chicagotribune.com/?p=17267667 It’s too early for the Cubs to talk about adding on, and it’s too late for the White Sox to talk about anything but a fire sale.

But as the City Series was scheduled to begin Tuesday night at Wrigley Field, the disappointing Cubs and the disastrous Sox were both in need of transfusions.

The Cubs are hoping to salvage the season. The Sox are trying to salvage the decade.

Let’s get this rolling before everyone tunes out baseball and begins preparing for the Caleb Williams era.

Sox general manager Chris Getz and Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, the architects of Chicago’s twin terrors, have a chance to remake their teams with each other’s help. And fortunately for fans, they’ve already become chatty North Shore neighbors with a shared history of rebuilding teams from the ground up.

“We became friends before he got that job,” Hoyer said of Getz. “It’s a hard job to take over and have to make really difficult trades, to have to effectively lose on purpose for a while in order to get better. But I respect the fact he’s going right at it. He’s not cutting corners. He’s traded the right guys. They’ve got a lot of pitching in their minor-league system now because of that.

“If I can offer encouragement at times or a shoulder at times, it’s great. We’ve both been through it, and the concept of rebuilding is one thing. The reality of driving home alone at nights having lost a game and sometimes in a cruel way is real. I try to humanize that a little bit.

“Sometimes in the offseason when he’s thinking about these trades and thinking about rebuilding, it probably feels a little different than now. He’s not shying away from making hard decisions, and that’s the most important thing.”

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer talks with the media before a game against the White Sox at Wrigley Field on June 4, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer talks with the media before a game against the White Sox at Wrigley Field on June 4, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

The hardest decision for Getz, of course, would be whether to trade his biggest star, center fielder Luis Robert Jr., who returned from the injured list Tuesday after missing all but the first seven games this season.

Robert is signed through 2025 with club options for ‘26 and ‘27, so there’s no urgency to unload a player who could be around when the rebuild turns the corner. Getz recently reiterated there are no untouchables on the team, without mentioning Robert by name.

“There’s some players on the team that I think make a little more sense than others,” he said. “ As the season progresses or you head into the offseason, you’ve got to weigh your upcoming season, what you have in the farm system. Those types of things can change fairly quickly based on the needs you have internally. It’s got to match up with other clubs.

“But we’re open on (all) players on our club just because we know we’ve got to make strides to get back into a competitive team here in the AL Central.”

Robert understands the business of the game. When I asked him Tuesday whether he wants to be with the organization long term, he said through interpreter Billy Russo he’s OK either way.

“Definitely, I would like to stay with this organization,” he said. “This organization, they gave me the opportunity to play in the majors and make my dream come true. But if they decide otherwise, I will go to do my best somewhere else.”

It’s unlikely Robert would go, but who knows? The Sox need a lot more talent in the system to get this rebuild off the ground, and no player would net more than Robert.

Would Hoyer and Getz get together and talk deals over an Iced Lavender Oatmilk Latte? Michael Kopech could be energized throwing in front of a packed house at Wrigley Field. The Cubs have some starting pitching in the system that could interest Getz.

Hoyer said they spoke about some trades over the winter, but nothing came to fruition.

“There’s always some active politics that go on between the two teams, so it’s not the easiest trade partner,” he said. “But it’s a pretty open relationship. We talk about that stuff, and maybe at some point we’ll get a significant deal done.”

The last “significant deal” between the teams was at the 2021 trade deadline, when the Cubs sent closer Craig Kimbrel to the Sox for infielder Nick Madrigal and reliever Cody Heuer. Kimbrel struggled as a setup man to Liam Hendriks, while Heuer’s career was sidetracked by injuries in 2022 and Madrigal was sent to Triple-A Iowa on Sunday after failing to find any consistency in a backup role.

The biggest Cubs-Sox deal in recent history was the 2017 trade that sent Eloy Jiménez and Dylan Cease to the South Side for José Quintana. Hoyer was asked if Cease was the player he and Getz talked about over the winter.

“I don’t think that was going to happen,” he said, laughing.

On the other hand, if the Cubs don’t wake up soon, Hoyer could be the one looking at a fire sale. That’s something he knows how to do, having dealt a slew of stars at that ’21 trade deadline, including fan favorites Javier Báez, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo.

The trade deadline is still weeks away and Hoyer said he still believes in this offense, but if the status quo continues, he has Cody Bellinger, Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner available to dangle to prospective buyers.

Hoyer admitted it’s “undeniable” the Cubs have played poorly since late April, but he added: “We’ve already shown it’s in there. I just expect us to play better.”

It doesn’t make sense to pull the plug in the first year of manager Craig Counsell’s $40 million contract, and the Cubs showed last year they can go from 10 games under .500 to wild-card contention with two good months.

But believing the ’24 Cubs can do it is one thing.

Watching them do it is another.

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17267667 2024-06-04T19:49:13+00:00 2024-06-05T07:10:55+00:00
Column: A brief history of the 118-year-old Cubs-White Sox rivalry, from ‘bitter dregs’ to booing Michael Jordan https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/06/04/chicago-cubs-white-sox-rivalry/ Tue, 04 Jun 2024 11:00:19 +0000 https://www.chicagotribune.com/?p=17245504 The Cubs and White Sox begin the battle for the Crosstown Cup on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field, renewing a rivalry that started in 1906.

From the first intracity World Series to the A.J. Pierzynski-Michael Barrett fight to Eloy Jiménez’s game-winning home run at Wrigley, it has been one long, strange trip.

Here’s a CliffsNotes version of some of the key moments of the last 118 years:

1906: In the first and last World Series between the teams, the Sox club nicknamed the “Hitless Wonders” prevailed 8-3 in Game 6 to clinch a 4-2 series victory.

“With the game one-sided from the start and almost a hopeless battle for the Nationals, the contest would have been robbed of its interest to a neutral,” the Tribune reported. “But there were no neutrals among the 20,000 baseball-mad spectators. Realizing only the most unexpected of events could rob their heroes of the hard fought for honors, the thousands whose sympathies were with the Sox turned the affair into a jubilee of noise. … Nothing like it ever before was seen on a baseball field. To the losers were the bitter dregs of unexpected defeat.”

Or, as Sox broadcaster John Schriffen might say after a rare win: “Taste the bitter dregs of unexpected defeat, losers.”

1922: After the final game of the annual Cubs-Sox exhibition series, safe-blowers broke into the Comiskey Park offices and cracked open a safe in search of $28,871 in gate receipts, according to the Tribune. Sox traveling secretary Harry Grabinger “at first said the cracksmen got less than $100,” the report said. “Later he admitted the amount stolen would reach $1,000, and still later that it was ‘something more than $2,000.’ He denied the entire receipts had been stolen.”

A photo accompanying the Tribune story showed Miss Lillian Casey, then secretary to Sox owner Charles Comiskey, sorting through files scattered on the floor by the alleged “bandits.” Casey was also my grandmother. I can only hope she was in on the heist.

1966: In a midseason charity game at Comiskey Park, Cubs manager Leo Durocher and Sox manager Eddie Stanky faced off for the first time in Chicago before a crowd of 47,064. The Sox won 5-4 on home runs by Pete Ward and Tommie Agee, but the Stanky-Durocher matchup was the highlight.

“Durocher went to the coaching lines in the Cubs sixth, and the Sox bench — at the given signal of Stanky — showered him with baseballs before the inning began,” the Tribune reported. “Leo retrieved four of them and threw them high into the seats. Sox General Manager Ed Short proclaimed: ‘He’ll get a bill for $12.'”

Column: Bromance between Chicago White Sox manager Pedro Grifol and Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf is one for the books

Throwing baseballs at the opposing manager never should be condoned, though it certainly would add some spice to the first Pedro Grifol-Craig Counsell matchup Tuesday.

1981: After a players strike interrupted the season, the Sox and Cubs marked the return to baseball on Aug. 7 with a 0-0 tie in an exhibition game at Comiskey. The Cubs won the next day’s exhibition at Wrigley in what was dubbed Mayor Byrne’s Charity Series. The Sox were held scoreless for the first 14 innings of the two games, in case anyone thought this year’s offense was lame.

Originally the teams considered playing in July at Soldier Field because neither Comiskey nor Wrigley could be used with the players on strike. The problem was the right-field fence would have been only 210 feet from the plate because the baseball field would have been shoehorned into the football stadium. The current Cubs and Sox lineups surely would benefit from a move into a shoehorned Soldier Field.

1994: For the first and maybe only time in Chicago, Michael Jordan was booed.

Michael Jordan tips his hat after hitting a two-run double in the Windy City Classic exhibition game against the Cubs in1994 at Wrigley Field. (Val Mazzenga/Chicago Tribune)
Val Mazzenga/Chicago Tribune
Michael Jordan tips his hat after hitting a two-run double in the Windy City Classic exhibition game against the Cubs in1994 at Wrigley Field. (Val Mazzenga/Chicago Tribune)

Jordan, then a Sox prospect on his way to start a new career at Double-A Birmingham, played for the Sox in an exhibition game at Wrigley. “I heard a lot of ‘rookie’ calls, but I was able to block that out,” Jordan said of Cubs fans’ reaction.

“This is just the sort of respectful reaction reserved for authentic baseball players in actual baseball games, not larking celebrities in a benefit social, so it must be considered a compliment,” Tribune columnist Bernie Lincicome wrote.

Jordan wound up with a single, a double, two RBIs and an error in a 4-4 tie. It was as close as he would come to playing on a major-league field.

1997: The teams’ first meeting since 1906 in games that actually mattered took place in June at new Comiskey Park when interleague play began. According to the Tribune, WGN’s telecast of Game 1 with Sox announcers Ken Harrelson and Tom Paciorek was the station’s highest-rated Sox telecast of the season to date, up 136% over the season average. The Game 2 WGN telecast with Cubs announcers Harry Caray and Steve Stone was the highest-rated Cubs telecast of the season, 74% above the average.

Whether this week’s telecasts on Marquee Sports Network and NBC Sports Chicago can climb the ratings ladder with these two struggling teams is doubtful. The 15-45 Sox have lost 11 straight and are on pace for the worst record in modern major-league history. The 29-31 Cubs have lost 22 of 34 to fall two games under .500.

2006: The greatest moment in Cubs-Sox history occurred on May 20, 2006, at U.S. Cellular Field as Cubs catcher Barrett punched Pierzynski after a play at the plate to spark an all-out brawl.

Cubs catcher Michael Barrett, left, and White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski get up after a collision at the plate on May 20, 2006, at U.S. Cellular Field. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)
Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune
Cubs catcher Michael Barrett, left, and White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski get up after a collision at the plate on May 20, 2006, at U.S. Cellular Field. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

“The way I look at it is, if I’m out walking down the street and somebody knocks me down and I get back up and he’s standing over me or coming back at me again, what are you going to do?” Barrett said two days later.

Nothing has come close to that incident since, though the presence of Sox outfielder Tommy Pham suggests the Cubs might want to tread carefully. “I’ll never start anything but I’ll be prepared to finish it,” Pham said Sunday after being taunted by Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras following a play at the plate. “There’s a reason why I do all kinds of fighting in the offseason because I’m prepared to f— somebody up.”

Schriffen apparently is ready to jump in.

2019: The “Thanks, Cubs” game became a part of Cubs-Sox lore when former North Side prospect Jiménez cranked a two-run home run off Pedro Strop for a 3-1 Sox win at Wrigley. Sox broadcaster Jason Benetti’s home run call included the in-your-face phrase, “Thanks, Cubs,” a suggestion the Cubs had gifted the Sox a superstar in the 2017 trade that sent Jiménez and Dylan Cease to the South Side for José Quintana.

With the polarizing Schriffen having replaced Benetti and Jiménez on the injured list for the umpteenth time, an appropriate response from Cubs fans might now be: “You’re welcome.”

2024: The Hitless Wonders team that beat the Cubs in the 1906 World Series batted .230. Amazingly, the 2024 Cubs ranked 26th in the majors through Sunday with a .228 average, while the Sox were last at .214.

If the ’06 World Series was the pinnacle of the 118-year-old rivalry, this year’s City Series could be considered the bitter dregs.

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17245504 2024-06-04T06:00:19+00:00 2024-06-03T18:28:25+00:00
Column: A bad look for the Chicago Sky over a cheap shot — and not a lot of talk — against Caitlin Clark https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/06/03/chicago-sky-chennedy-carter-caitlin-clark/ Mon, 03 Jun 2024 11:00:45 +0000 https://www.chicagotribune.com/?p=16879129 If Caitlin Clark ever makes it into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, perhaps she can thank Chennedy Carter during her induction speech.

Carter’s cheap shot against Clark during the third quarter of Saturday’s nationally televised game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky became a trending topic on social media, was discussed during a “Good Morning America” segment on Sunday and helped make the Sky-Fever into a true rivalry.

Carter put a shoulder into Clark during an in-bounds play, knocking her down, and called her a name, according to lip readers. The play was not reviewed and was ruled an away-from-the-ball common foul.

Asked about it during a postgame news conference, Carter replied: “Next question.” Asked again, she said: “I ain’t answering no Caitlin Clark questions.” Asked what Clark had said, Carter said: “I don’t know.” Asked what she said to Clark, Carter responded: “I didn’t say anything.”

Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon then stopped the questioning with a stern, “That’s enough. We’re good. She’s good.”

The reaction from the cheap shot was to be expected. Carter was widely criticized on social media, including some racist terminology used to describe her actions. And the narrative of Clark taking unnecessary flak from the rest of the WNBA players for taking the spotlight from everyone else gained steam, just after TNT’s Charles Barkley ripped the league’s players for being “petty” in their treatment of the new star.

After the huge outcry Saturday, the WNBA on Sunday reviewed the play and determined it was a Flagrant 1 foul. Too little, too late.

Either way, it was a defining moment for the WNBA, which now has a window of opportunity to get massive publicity with the NBA playoffs in an intermission before the NBA Finals begin Thursday. This kind of controversy can help fuel the league’s growth, as any publicity is good publicity.

Former NBA player and ESPN analyst Austin Rivers said it best in a video posted on social media when he said the WNBA was unfairly ignored for years but is now treating Clark unfairly.

“Now this woman comes along and brings the world in, and is now giving you all the proper attention and respect,” Rivers said. “And you guys are getting these brand deals and getting this money. And instead of being appreciative and acknowledging that, you guys are like coming at her with these hate-ass comments, talking about ‘Oh, well, it’s not just because of her. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Last night our game was sold out and she didn’t play. Last night we flew a charter and she wasn’t on that flight.’

“Let’s stop it. It’s not a coincidence you guys are just now chartering flights her rookie year. It’s not a coincidence that now that she’s in the WNBA, everybody is paying attention to the WNBA. I shouldn’t say everyone, but a lot more people are. OK? It’s not a coincidence. It’s the Caitlin Clark effect.”

Clark is known to be a trash-talker, so perhaps she has to accept that many other players will be gunning for her all season long and she will be on the receiving end of some unnecessary physical contact.

But the jealousy from her fellow WNBA players for lifting the league into another stratosphere with her fame and talent level is obvious. And it’s reminiscent of when several NBA stars froze out Bulls rookie Michael Jordan during the 1985 All-Star Game in Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS - FEBRUARY 10: Michael Jordan #23 of the Eastern Conference All-Stars takes a break during the 1985 NBA All-Star game against the Western Conference All-Stars at Market Square Arena on February 10, 1985 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1985 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Michael Jordan of the Eastern Conference All-Stars takes a break during the 1985 NBA All-Star game at Market Square Arena on Feb. 10, 1985 in Indianapolis(Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

The famous “freeze-out game,” reportedly engineered by Detroit Pistons star and Chicagoan Isiah Thomas, became part of the Jordan legend. His All-Star teammates kept the ball away from the Bulls rookie in an attempt to embarrass him and put him in his place, even as he was elevating the NBA to a higher level. Jordan’s performance in the slam dunk contest was considered “showboating.”

According to the Chicago Tribune report by Sam Smith, one writer from Detroit said, ”The attitude of the players was Michael Jordan will get star treatment when he learns how to act like a gentleman.”

During his Hall of Fame induction speech, Jordan sarcastically thanked Thomas, Magic Johnson and George Gervin for their participation in the freeze-out.

“They say it was a so-called ‘freeze-out’ in my rookie season,” Jordan said. “You guys gave me the motivation to say ‘You know what, evidently I haven’t proved enough to these guys. I gotta prove to them that I deserve what I’ve gotten on this level.’”

Jordan went on to do just that, and when he took a physical beating from the Pistons’ “Bad Boys” it steeled him in his drive to win championships and become the greatest player of all time.

Clark may not be like Mike. But like Jordan, she’s simply going to have to prove herself over and over again. No matter the complaints of her coach or the team’s owner, this treatment is probably not going to stop. Clark will be on the receiving end of flagrant fouls again. “Mean Girls” might be the updated version of the “Bad Boys.”

On a separate note, the lack of accountability from Carter after the game was unfortunate, and Weatherspoon’s unilateral decision to stop the questioning about an incident that happened during the game is unacceptable as well.

This is professional basketball, not college. Just answer the questions and stop acting petulant.

Sky rookie Angel Reese was fined $1,000 by the league on Sunday for failing to make herself available for postgame interviews. The Sky were also hit with a $5,000 fine for not having all players adhere to the WNBA media policy.

Reese apparently is fine with all the publicity she gets for her shoes or outfits or her appearance at the Met Gala. But she can’t talk about her first meeting against Clark?

Just a bad look for the Sky on Saturday. Don’t complain about a lack of media attention when you act like this.

Remember, the Sky-Fever game was scheduled for national TV because it featured the league’s two most recognized rookies — Clark and Reese. Like it or not, their rivalry from college will be part of their narrative forever, so deal with it.

Both teams are in rebuilding mode, so without Clark and Reese playing it would be like the NBA scheduling a nationally televised game between the Pistons and the Washington Wizards.

The rematch between the Sky and Fever in Indianapolis on June 16 will air nationally on CBS.

The ratings should be a smash.

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Column: Ángel Hernández vs. Steve McMichael, Bill Walton’s legacy, a possible Pedro Grifol successor and other sports thoughts https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/06/02/angel-hernandez-steve-mcmichael/ Sun, 02 Jun 2024 11:00:14 +0000 https://www.chicagotribune.com/?p=15973183 There probably will come a day when AI takes over sports writing and computer-generated stories are the norm.

But as long as humans still write on tight deadlines that get earlier by the day, we’ll continue to crank out random observations and opinions that may or may not be relevant to your interests as a sports fan.

In other words, generate this, AI.

Who’s next?

Manager Pedro Grifol might make it through the rest of the season in spite of the White Sox’s pitiful record because no one can fix this team. But Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf eventually will be forced to make a change, if only to persuade Sox fans to come back to the ballpark.

Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, who was mentored by former Sox manager and current adviser Tony La Russa, is someone to keep an eye on. Schumaker’s 2025 option was voided over the winter at his request, according to the Miami Herald, making him a free agent after this season.

Schumaker took the Marlins to the postseason in 2023 and was named National League Manager of the Year. But they forced out general manager Kim Ng and didn’t add much in the offseason before starting off slow and dealing star infielder Luis Arráez to the San Diego Padres last month to start the inevitable sell-off.

Like free-agent manager Craig Counsell last November, Schumaker will be highly coveted. And to paraphrase an infamous remark Reinsdorf uttered to sports writer Toni Ginnetti after the “White Flag Trade” of 1997, anyone who thinks La Russa won’t have a big say in choosing the next Sox manager is crazy.

Ángel vs. Mongo

Cubs catcher Willson Contreras talks to home plate umpire Ángel Hernández after he is called out on strikes to end the game with two men on base against the White Sox at Wrigley Field on July 24, 2017. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
Cubs catcher Willson Contreras talks to home plate umpire Ángel Hernández after he is called out on strikes to end the game with two men on base against the White Sox at Wrigley Field on July 24, 2017. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)

Umpire Ángel Hernández’s sudden retirement resurrected his famous ejection of Bears Hall of Famer Steve McMichael during a Cubs game against the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 7, 2001, at Wrigley Field.

Before singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” in the TV booth, McMichael famously took the mic and berated Hernández for earlier ruling the Cubs’ Ron Coomer out at home plate in the sixth inning after Coomer attempted to score on a wild pitch.

McMichael said he and the ump would “have some speaks,” inciting the crowd even further. Hernández stared at McMichael and jerked his thumb in the air, which was interpreted as the first (and last) ejection of a seventh-inning stretch singer.

Cubs marketing vice president John McDonough told the Tribune’s Fred Mitchell the next day that the team “complied immediately, as we would with any umpire’s request.” McDonough called McMichael’s taunting “regrettable” and said GM Andy MacPhail had apologized to the umpires. Manager Don Baylor falsely claimed a forfeit was a possibility.

McMichael apologized later and said: “It was all for giggles. You know me and my sarcastic humor. If somebody takes it personally, I’m sorry.”

Moral of the story: Mongo recognized an umpire’s incompetence long before MLB finally woke up to the fact.

Glove story 

On May 8, 2012, Cubs reliever Kerry Wood served up a game-winning, two-run single to Dan Uggla in the eighth inning of a 3-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves at Wrigley Field. Wood then tossed his glove and cap into the box seats behind the Cubs dugout.

When I asked Wood after the game why he threw his glove into the stands, he glared at me and replied: “That’s irrelevant, dude.” (For the rest of the 2012 season, I was referred to by fellow writers as “the Irrelevant Dude.”)

Manager Dale Sveum shrugged off the glove-tossing controversy the next day when asked if he cared about Wood’s reaction.

“Of course I care,” Sveum said. “I don’t condone it or wish it to happen all the time. But we all know in this game that there are frustrations that happen and sometimes we regret things we do. We’re not perfect human beings.”

On Wednesday at Citi Field, New York Mets reliever Jorge López walked off the field after a poor outing and tossed his glove into the stands. Unlike Wood, López was chastised by management and designated for assignment the next day.

“We have standards here,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “When you’re not playing well, guys will show emotions. There’s frustrations, but there’s a fine line and yesterday went over that line.”

Too bad for López. You played in the wrong era, dude.

It’s the Hard Knock Life

Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze and quarterback Caleb Williams pose for photographs at Halas Hall in Lake Forest on April 26, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze and quarterback Caleb Williams pose for photographs at Halas Hall in Lake Forest on April 26, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

The Bears will venture into the world of reality TV with their appearance on “Hard Knocks,” which could be just the kind of infomercial they desperately need to promote the idea of public funding for their proposed stadium in a Soldier Field parking lot. No doubt President and CEO Kevin Warren is salivating at the opportunity to be seen and heard.

Unfortunately for the Bears, the Illinois legislature punted on any stadium debate during the spring session, leaving it for the fall veto session, when a three-fifths majority is necessary to pass any legislation.

Yep, it’s the hard knock life fur youse, McCaskeys.

High praise for Bill Walton

All the tributes to former basketball great Bill Walton, who died Monday from cancer at 71, tiptoed around his reputation as a legendary stoner.

They called him “counterculture,” “a Deadhead” and “chronic fun-seeker” but ignored the obvious fact he enjoyed partaking from time to time. Walton didn’t just play a stoner on TV, he walked the walk, calling for the legalization of marijuana during an ESPN broadcast in 2015.

If there was a Stoner Hall of Fame for professional athletes, Walton would be a first-ballot selection, along with former NFL star Ricky Williams and former pitcher Bill Lee.

Breaking Bad

White Sox catcher Martín Maldonado attempts a bunt in the fifth inning against the Orioles at Guaranteed Rate Field on May 25, 2024. (Griffin Quinn/Getty Images)
White Sox catcher Martín Maldonado attempts a bunt in the fifth inning against the Orioles at Guaranteed Rate Field on May 25, 2024. (Griffin Quinn/Getty Images)

Former Baltimore Orioles slugger Chris Davis finished with a .168 average in 2018, the lowest in major-league history among qualified position players. In the third year of a disastrous seven-year, $161 million deal, Davis’ slash line was an abysmal .168/.243/.296.

Current White Sox catcher Martín Maldonado, meanwhile, began the weekend hitting .081 — the worst in the majors of players with 90 or more plate appearances. His slash line entering Friday was .081/.182/.128, and his minus-1.5 fWAR was second-lowest to teammate Andrew Benintendi’s minus-1.7.

But there’s hope Maldonado will bust out of his slump. Former Sox shortstop Royce Clayton, also a defensive specialist, was hitting .099 on May 29, 2001, when a single put him over the .100 mark. Observant Sox fans chanted “MVP! MVP!” as Clayton ran to first, angering some of his teammates. Ray Durham called Sox fans “childish.”

Clayton wound up hitting a respectable .263 and continued to play solid defense.

Even if he doesn’t turn it around like Clayton in 2001, Maldonado probably won’t get enough plate appearances to break Davis’ dubious record. Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena (.159) and Seattle Mariners catcher Mitch Garver (.166) are neck and neck for that honor.

Future shock

With Negro League stats becoming official and upending baseball’s record books, it should be noted that Pete Rose, the all-time hits leader with 4,256, could lose his crown if Nippon Professional Baseball someday gets acknowledged as a major league.

At that point, Ichiro Suzuki would become the new hit king with 4,367, including his 1,278 hits in Japan, while former Japanese slugger Sadaharu Oh would become the all-time home run leader with 868, surpassing Barry Bonds’ 762.

Perhaps Shohei Ohtani will surpass Oh before NPB is officially ruled a major league, making that irrelevant, dude.

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