Chicago -
By Roger Wallenstein
Year Two of The Rebuild
Is now part of history.
Rickey’s boys show some promise,
But the future’s a mystery
We saw some improvement
Which pleases the bosses
The Sox have youth and enthusiasm
Along with a whopping 100 losses.
The mistakes were plentiful.
The misplays were telling.
It’s a learning experience.
That’s what they’ve been selling.
Posted on September 30, 2018
By Thomas Chambers
Racing luck, in my game, is a term used to describe almost anything good that happens to a horse and rider in the course of a race.
Saving ground in tight parabolas around the track is great, but being allowed to save ground by horses who don’t challenge is racing luck.
Being in the eye of a storm of traffic is bad, but when it’s a bubble of protection, like a round flying wedge, you break out and finish forwardly, that’s racing luck.
Pestered anywhere on the track, the slow ones fall by the wayside, you slingshot from ginger footwork on the turn on the rail out to the four- or five-hole into the stretch and cruise to the wire. That’s not only racing luck, it’s also getting, or being handed, a great trip. Woo-hoo.
Posted on September 28, 2018
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
Theo, Jed > Maddon. Plus: Joe Maddon’s Take On The Addison Russell Investigation Quite Senate Republicanlike; Magic Mack vs. Fitzmagic; and Seal vs. Kayaker – Why We’re Not Vegetarians.
Posted on September 28, 2018
By Steve Rhodes
One in an occasional series tracking former Cubs.
1. Henry Blanco
Popularly known as Hank White, Blanco is the bullpen coach for the Nationals.
Posted on September 27, 2018
By Roger Wallenstein
The kid – well, maybe not a kid, but a twenty- or thirty-something – said his name was Comiskey, and I’ll be damned if, without any encouragement, he produced his driver’s license to prove the veracity of his claim.
“You the grandson of Chuck Comiskey?” I asked, referring to the last of the long line of the family that owned the White Sox from 1900 until 1959.
“No, I’m his great, great, great nephew,” came the robust reply, making me think he was going back to the original Comiskey, Charles A., otherwise known as the Old Roman.
No matter because all the fans, including more than a few of the North Side variety, sitting around us behind home plate in the upper deck at The Grate on Friday afternoon took notice when the guy unfurled the large “L” banner while the athletes from both sides of town were preparing for the first pitch in what was to become an enticing 10-4 White Sox triumph.
Posted on September 24, 2018
By Jim Coffman
Did you see Cardinals rookie quarterback Josh Rosen stopping to ask his offensive coordinator for a play call as the clock ticked below 40 seconds remaining yesterday? He could not have looked further over his head. He then threw a pick six that was negated by a penalty but that didn’t save him. It wasn’t long before the Bears ended the game perfectly – with one final sack.
Cardinals starter Sam Bradford may have struggled mightily in the second half, throwing interceptions, losing a critical fumble, but you can’t bring in a rookie for his first NFL action with just over two minutes remaining and your team down by two.
Say what you will about Matt Nagy, and he had a rough day for the Bears despite the 16-14 victory, but acknowledge he’s got fellow rookie head coach Steve Wilks beat. And be thankful the Cardinals made just enough mistakes to give the Bears the victory and the lead in the NFC North.
Posted on September 24, 2018
By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
The truth comes out about Brandon Morrow, the latest reliever the Cubs manager has ruined. Plus: Addison Russell Placed On Administrative Leave; Confounding Cubs; Mitch Trubinsky; NU & The Zips; and Post-Thibodeau Stress Disorder.
Posted on September 21, 2018
By Steve Rhodes
An occasional column featuring the whereabouts of ex-Cubs.
1. Jeimer Candelario.
The Cubs sent the Candy Man to the Tigers last season along with Isaac Parades and some cash in exchange for Justin Wilson and Alex Avila. Parades is still just 19 and not expected in the bigs for a couple more years. Candelario could be Detroit’s third baseman of the future, though he has been as frustrating at times to manager Ron Gardenhire as heroic. He’s tallied 19 home runs and 53 RBIs this season, though his OBP is just .317.
Posted on September 19, 2018
By Jim Coffman
As the clock dipped below five minutes remaining in the second quarter of the Bears’ 24-17 victory over the Seahawks last night, I found myself almost rooting for the Bears offense to wrap up the drive they were on relatively quickly. That way the Seahawks would get the ball back in the final two minutes and Khalil Mack and Co. could resume their relentless pursuit of quarterback Russell Wilson.
That turned out to be a bit of a mistake when Wilson, who let’s be clear is one of the top five quarterbacks in the league at this point, led his team to a 56-yard field goal in the closing seconds. But even as that drive was happening, the Bears’ collective defensive menace could be felt on virtually every play.
How cool is this?
Posted on September 18, 2018
By Roger Wallenstein
The close of the Hawk Harrelson Era has been neither sudden nor precipitous. It has been more like a leaky faucet, laboriously dripping drop-by-drop for the past two seasons since the team announced that 2018 would complete his 35-year tenure calling Sox games.
Last season, as he was winding down, he covered only road games. His duties this year have been confined to Sundays at home. He’ll describe the three-game series this weekend against the Cubs, and that will be it.
The elongated swan song has been punctuated this month with Hawk Day on September 2nd followed by an hour-long documentary, Hawk, that aired for the first time last Thursday on NBC Sports Chicago, the local network partly owned by the White Sox.
Whereas Frank Thomas was summarily dismissed in 2005, Ozzie Guillen was axed in 2011, and the team cast away Mark Buehrle – Harrelson calls Buehrle his all-time favorite Sox player – to free agency in 2011 at the age of 32, Harrelson’s departure has been a lovefest dictated primarily by Hawk himself.
Posted on September 17, 2018
