Acorn and Tree

What’s the old saying, the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree?  Well, that’s certainly true for a certain father and daughter.

The start of the week was pretty stressful for Clare and me, given our dislike for the Cubs.  But to see ex-White Sox reliever Joakim Soria strike out Javier Baez with two runners on to close out the sixth inning of what would be a Brewers’ win (for the Central Division title) in game #163 of the season certainly worked wonders.  And then to see Baez strike out again (sorry, not a fan of players who need to beat their chests all the time) in the 13^th inning of the Rockies’ win of the wildcard sport, well, that made staying up past midnight well worth it.

Michele had to be the go-between all Tuesday night because I don’t like to text.  Daughter would text a remark to mother who read it aloud to father who dictated an always-pithy response to be texted back.  When the go-between went to bed at 10:30, there went our link, though it came back this morning.  “Did Dad tell you the good news?” our delighted child, White Sox fan and Cub hater, texted.  Oh, yes, he did, as soon as he climbed into bed.  Back-to-back games at Wrigley Field leading to two champagne celebrations, both by the visiting teams?  That, too, is a White Sox winner.  

 And now a few South Side observations about our foe to the north.  For starters, all that Maddon magic dust Cubs’ manager Joe Maddon once had is gone.  Where once everything Maddon did—from batting his pitchers eighth to putting slugger Anthony Rizzo in the leadoff spot—worked to irritating perfection, now the guy can’t seem to catch a break.  Maddon bats reliever Pedro Strop, Strop gets injured.  Maddon goes to the bullpen, it implodes.  Maddon shuffles his lineup, nobody hits.  It almost makes me feel sorry for him.

The offseason should be pretty interesting on the North Side.  There are rumors Maddon has fallen out of favor with the Cubs’ front office and will get dumped; we’ll see.  I think some trades and another free-agent signing are more likely.  The Ricketts have created a money machine in Wrigleyville.  What good is that if you don’t spend the cash generated?

I think two of the following will be traded: slugger-without-a-position Kyle Schwarber; third baseman Kris Bryant; centerfielder Albert Almora.  At the least, the return from those deals should make the team younger.  I also think the North Siders will make serious offers to free agents, in particular infielder Manny Machado and/or outfielder Bryce Harper.

Remember, you read it here first.