First Impressions

Hats off to the Cubs, sort of. With a few more games like yesterday’s 5-3 loss to the Pirates at Wrigley Field, the North Siders could actually kill the national pastime. A four-hour game in 36-degree cold? Eleven walks for the visitors vs. thirteen strikeouts and two hits for the home team? Forget COVID. Pneumonia and hyperthermia will do in the faithful, along with heart attacks and strokes. The Pirates used seven pitchers, the Cubs eight. By my count, the Cubs changed pitchers in the course of an inning four times, slowing down the game even more. Over in Anaheim, the White Sox managed to choke up a lead and lose to the Angels 4-3 in a mere 2:51. And our pitchers only walked four batters and our hitters only struck out ten times. The thing is, though, you can’t have your second baseman throw away a potential bases-clearing double-play ball in the bottom of the eighth inning; do that, and bad things are bound to happen. They did. And I have growing concerns about Nick Madrigal’s skillset in the field. Danny Mendick, you may have more value to this team than you can imagine.