Ladies and Gentlemen, Your Chicago Bulls

If the Bulls were a rollercoaster ride, hardly anyone would get on for fear of injury or worse. From high to low and back again in a corkscrew flash, that’s them. Hang on, or die. Sunday, the Bulls beat a very good Pelicans’ team on the road. Then, at home Tuesday night against the woeful, dreadful Pistons (9-49), they shot 2-for-29 from beyond the three-point in a 105-95 loss. If that doesn’t get you to scratching your head, also consider Billy Donovan’s crew committed all of six turnovers, vs. 20 for Detroit. Then, last night, Cleveland comes to town fresh off a buzzer-beating win against the Mavericks, the buzzer beater coming from a Max Struss—hey, we had him, right?—shot a step or two beyond halfcourt. Going in, the Bulls had a seven-game losing against the Cavaliers. On top of that, the Chicago penchant for overtime, eight times so far this season, played right into a Cleveland strength. The Cavs had won their last eleven OT contests. So, what happened? Yup, double overtime with the Bulls beating the second-best team in the East, 132-123. How does a team that outrebounds its opponent 74-39 not use that dominance on the boards to win in regulation? By being the 2023-24 Chicago Bulls, that’s how. Given that the 2024 White Sox may be a disaster, 1-5 so far in Cactus League play, I’ll take my chances on the rollercoaster.

His Way, Not the Dodger Way

Jerry Reinsdorf wants a publicly funded stadium, which would be his second since leading a group that bought the White Sox in 1981. A reluctance to spend his own money helps explain the constant mediocrity of Reinsdorf’s team. A transplanted New Yorker, Reinsdorf grew up a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers, the history of which seems not to have rubbed off on him in the least. The Dodgers had Branch Rickey, Reinsdorf gave us Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn. When he finally got around to firing that pair back in August, Reinsdorf announced that he had no intention of going after the likes of Shohei Ohtani; see “reluctance,” above. The Dodgers, though, had no such problem. Consider what the means. A team playing in the third-oldest stadium in major league baseball—a privately owned stadium, at that—went out and signed Ohtani for $700 million. LA also added pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto for $325 million. Back in 2020, they signed Mookie Betts to a $365 million contract. They also have Freddie Freeman. We have Mickey Mouse. Yesterday, the Sox faced the Dodgers in Glendale; the place was packed, courtesy of Ohtani Fever (vs. Nicky Lopez or Paul DeJong fever). Oh, Garrett Crochet fanned Ohtani in his first at-bat, just as he’s fanned him the two times they’ve faced each other in the regular season. But, so what? If Crochet has a breakout season and establishes himself as a number-one starter, all that does is start the clock on his getting traded; look no further than Dylan Cease. Jerry Reinsdorf doesn’t pay for pitching any more than he pays for ballparks.

Gathering Headwinds

In what seems a lifetime ago, I joined a group that tried to save Comiskey Park. Through it all, we faced wave upon wave of useful idiots in service of Jerry Reinsdorf. Whether or not Lenin said it, everyday people and members of the media acted the role. With White Sox Stadium 2.0, this isn’t then. Radio, TV, the press, social media—just about everyone everywhere appears to be against public funding for a new stadium. And I thought the Bears were having a tough go of it. Unlike other owners (the McCaskeys included) who want public funding, Reinsdorf has made next to no effort to engage the public. Politicians, yes, but not Joe and Mary Smith, which has only infuriated the Smiths and their friends. Oh, and the governor of the state of Illinois. You’d think an owner seeking $1 billion in public funds would make the effort, but not Reinsdorf so far. Strange, or lazy or stubborn or some combination of the three. Rarely has anyone been so enamored of his own counsel. If Jerry doesn’t want to put on his leather jacket for a return trip to Springfield, nobody in his inner circle is going to tell him he has to. Which is both good and bad. Good because it further complicates getting a stadium deal done. Bad because I’m sure Reinsdorf is ready, willing and able to go nuclear and threaten to move the team to Nashville. Then what? I honestly don’t know.

Stop Me if You’ve Heard This One Before

I fully expected the Bulls to slip to five games under .500 last night with a game against the Pelicans on the road. Instead, they won, 114-106. Impressive, especially given that New Orleans has a front court with two giants, Zion Williamson and Jonas Valanciunas. To say that opposing players bounce off this duo would be an understatement. Heaven help Alex Caruso, and it did. Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White continue to show this is their breakout season; with Caruso, you get three. Plus DeMar DeRozan and Andre Drummond. Mix it all up, and what do you get? A team that is slowly pivoting away from having Zach LaVine as its foundation. Detroit’s up next, and that should be, has to be, a win. But then come the Cavaliers and Bucks. The Bulls have to take two out of three to get off this treadmill. Since it’s almost spring, I can hope.

Just My Imagination

I don’t try to keep the past out of spring training; let it come. If I can look at a box score and remember the exploits of Manly Johnston and John Cangelosi, so much the better. Tim Elko collected another hit, and Korey Lee added two, three short of what he did with the White Sox last year in 65 at-bats. Edgar Quero hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Mariners, 8-7. Youth will be served. Until it turns into memories of other games, other springs.

Cluck-cluck

Up until yesterday, it was all rainbows and unicorns for the White Sox in Glendale. Everyone looked ready to go; the fielders were fielding, pitchers pitching; hitters hitting. Manager Mickey Mouse even came up with a snappy acronym to embody the new team mentality, FAST, meaning a fearless, aggressive, selfless, technical (???) approach to the game. But then they ruined everything by going out and playing a game. The pitchers didn’t pitch (especially Jessie Chavez, who looked every day of his 40 years while giving up six runs in the first to the Cubs) and the hitters didn’t hit, outside of minor leaguer Tim Elko, who homered in what I think was his first-ever spring-training at-bat. Big guy, right-handed, someone to cheer for until he gets sent down. But a 8-1 beatdown from your crosstown rivals? Not how I’d want to start the season. Way too SLOW: sad, lame, old, worrisome.

A Game of Chicken

Jerry Reinsdorf did an interview with Crain’s Chicago Business this week that may have had the opposite effect of what he intended. Nobody’s buying what he’s peddling. Reinsdorf blamed the team’s predicament on its Bridgeport location rather than team performance. He also said the team would be worth more if sold to out-of-town buyers. He also wants a TIF (Tax Increment Funding) district, which devotes a healthy percentage of locally derived real estate tax revenue to development projects in said district. He also wants the moon. Different critics get ticked by different aspects of the interview. What I see is Reinsdorf playing a game of Chicken 2.0: Give me what I want, or my team walks. The ploy worked in 1988, but that was a long time ago. Right now, the public sentiment for a second Sox stadium is closer to ice cold that cool. The weird thing is, I doubt if Reinsdorf cares. It’s all a game to him, a second publicly funded stadium rammed down the public’s throat. The other side blinked first 36 years ago. Jerry Reinsdorf expects them to cave again before long.

Ahead of Schedule

Clare was three years and ten months when we walked over one day to the Avenue Drug Store on Oak Park Avenue. I wanted the paper, she wanted the wiffle-ball-and-bat set in the toy aisle. How could I say, No? Back home, we went out front so I could pitch to her. The first ball she ever hit came straight at my head. A year or so later, she lined a ball into the gut of a Chicago politician we’re related to by marriage. You should’ve seen the look on his face. Girls weren’t supposed to do that. The homeruns took a few years more. On Monday, I saw a video of my grandson, two years and six months, with a bat in his hand, and his mother pitching. He exhibited a nice, compact swing and made solid contact, though I kind of wish Leo had lined a bal at his mother’s head, so she’d know the feeling. With any luck at all, the homeruns will come before long.

Raining Cliches

The Chicago media couldn’t help itself yesterday reporting on Jerry Reinsdorf’s trip to Springfield: swinging for the fences; hit a homerun; make his pitch. You name the cliché, they used it in talking about the White Sox stadium proposal for the South Loop. Hackneyed phrasing took the place of hard analysis. The state of Illinois faces a budget deficit, and here comes a billionaire asking for a billion dollars (with a billionaire family by the name of McCaskey looking for their own handout). My kingdom for a graph or two showing why the White Sox can build their own stadium without a penny from me. The one nice thing to see, though, was Reinsdorf being Reinsdorf in front of the cameras. How the man hates to have to answer questions. How the media can’t help itself but to ask something, anything, for a sound bite. Who says bad things don’t happen to the right people?

Please Sign

Back in the spring or early summer of 1988, we attended a White Sox game where team employees (I’m pretty sure the idea of unpaid interns hadn’t caught on yet) stood outside Comiskey Park asking people to sign a petition. It was to keep the team in Chicago. Being difficult by nature, I asked why we weren’t being asked to keep the team in Comiskey Park. You’d think I was asking for a million-dollar handout. Next! We’re about six weeks from Opening Day. I wonder if another group of young people, interns this time for sure, will be outside Guaranteed Rate Whatever circulating a petition to keep the Sox in Chicago. Like the first time, that will mean a boatload of public money to pay for a private stadium. And like the first time, dissent will not be encouraged. Because to question means to betray. Or so thinks one owner.

No So Fast

According to reports in the Chicago media, Jerry Reinsdorf intends to ask for an estimated $1 billion in public subsidies for a new White Sox stadium in the South Loop. Go big or go home, I guess. Forbes puts the Sox value at just a shade over $2 billion. So, in other words, Reinsdorf wants a lump sum half the value of his franchise. In exchange for that, he no doubt will offer to sign a long-term lease as favorable to his team as all the other leases have been since the Sox entered the bizarro world of stadium tenants. Ladies and gentlemen, time for pitchforks and torches. Contract law is all about “consideration,” something tangible that each side gets in an agreement. No consideration, no deal. As it stands, all the public gets in a new stadium deal is pie-in-the-sky projections about future revenue while the Sox get new digs they’ll rent for pennies on the dollar. In addition, franchise value will take a shot in the arm, as it has numerous other times. Nope. No can do. This is how it should go down—you want assistance worth half the value of your organization, then the public gets to be a half partner. Deal?

Grasping at Straws

Michael Kopech, that right-handed enigma on the mound for the White Sox, lost twenty pounds in the offseason in an effort to get his career back on track. Funny, but I never confused the 27-year old with Lance Lynn. But if Kopech wants to think being lighter will translate into results, good for him. Check that. Two years ago, Lucas Giolito came into camp twenty pounds heavier because he thought he needed the extra muscle. Giolito then went out and posted a 4.90 ERA on the season. Here’s hoping Kopech’s this isn’t Giolito’s that. The essence of baseball can be reduced to six words: See ball, hit ball; throw strikes. The devil is in the details, how to do it. If I were his pitching coach, I’d tell Kopech to treat every pitch like it’s the first pitch in the at-bat. He wants to get ahead of the batter, right? Let the other guy nibble or waste pitches. He’s Michael Kopech, dab gummit, and he knows how to throw strikes. First, one. Then, two. Then….

Uniform Appeal

Apparently, players are upset with some kind of new uniform MLB is introducing. It’s all about the fit, or lack thereof. I’m so behind the times on “merch” matters that I belong in a museum. Me, I don’t want to see the White Sox in new uniforms. Some old ones, that’s a different story. I read somewhere that the Sox may have changed uniform styles more than any other major-league team. I’d settle on any of these three: the early 1930s, with S-O-X spelled out on a slant, the letters connected by a bat and a ball filling up the inside of the O; the late 1930s, with the O and X fitting inside the loops of a supersized S; or the 1950s, with the Old English S-O-X and blue pinstripes. I could go to war in any of those. Unlike my daughter, I hate the candy-bar wrapper design from the 1980s. That’s the one Chris Sale cut up with scissors rather than wear. Smart man, that Sale.

Is This Anything?

The Illinois High School Authority announced yesterday it was making girls’ flag-football an official sport starting the next school year. Better late than never, I guess. By late, I mean fourteen-plus years, because Clare loved playing playground football with the boys at St. Bernardine’s. Playing flag-football in high school would’ve brought out the inner linebacker in her. TV did a lot of stories last fall about flag-football at local schools. From what I could tell, many of the girls were two-sport athletes; football allowed them to keep active and competing. It also seems that colleges are starting to offer scholarships for flag-football, and that’s fine by me. But beyond that, what? The Bears are big proponents of flag-football, so that makes me skeptical. Would Kevin Warren and company bother if there were any chance of its growing popularity impacting the Munsters? I doubt it. And if the first female general manager in the NFL got her start playing flag football, we’re still a long ways off of her hiring, now aren’t we? So, yes on the expansion of opportunity for female high school athletes, no on the Bears trying to make themselves looks as if they care about cracking the NFL’s glass ceiling.

He's Back

Mickey Mouse is back, battle-tested, humbled and ready to show the world what he’s learned. Yeah, right. The second-year White Sox manager talked to the media yesterday on the eve of pitchers and catchers reporting in Arizona. Mouse is quoted in today’s Sun-Times admitting “101 losses will rock anybody’s world,” the silver lining being “you learn a lot through that.” This is what I’ve learned off of last season. Mouse is testy to the point of arrogant. He says he knows fans are skeptical about his abilities, “But there’s a reason I am where I am, right? You just don’t get handed these jobs, right?” Wrong. Jerry Reinsdorf does it all the time. I learned long ago Reinsdorf likes suck-ups, and that’s what his manager did talking about Reinsdorf pal Tony LaRussa, who’ll be at spring training as some sort of senior advisor. Mouse said LaRussa has been “great. I push him every day to give me more [wisdom, I guess]. He’s got a wealth of knowledge, and it’s not just knowledge.” Huh? Oh, Mouse meant, “He’s got a story for everything.” Except, of course, about Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire doing steroids right under his nose.

Mark the Date

Pinch me, this is too good to be true. The Pirates signed ex-White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal to a one-year deal, and Pittsburgh comes to town for a three-game series, July 12th to 14th. Imagine the passed balls and wild pitches, the throws to second instead bouncing into the outfield. Only this time, the Sox will be on the receiving, not the giving, end. Wait a second. July? Will Grandal still be on the roster by then? One can only hope, and I do.

Meanwhile, Over at the McCaskeys

I wonder what the McCaskey clan, Bears’ chairman George in particular, was thinking during last night’s Super Bowl, the Chiefs beating the 49ers in overtime, 25-22? Consider these possibilities. First, ex-Bears’ coach Matt Nagy did a great job as Kansas City’s offensive coordinator. Why, look at the plays Nagy called for Patrick Mahomes. Anybody could’ve won with that game plan. Second, people just don’t understand, and they never will—Mahomes didn’t fit the culture. Drafting him over Mitch Trubisky would’ve constituted a rejection of all that George Halas—blessed be his name—stood for. Third, how did the Raiders get the public to pick up nearly 40 percent of the $1.9 billion cost of Allegiant Field? Who cares if it looks like one of those funny little robot vacuum cleaners plunked down in the middle of the desert?

Just My Imagination

Seven hours from the Game of Games; Taylor Swift back from Japan and no doubt in Las Vegas by now; but I’m thinking baseball. Camps open in just a few more days. What if…what if Yoan Moncada gets off to a slow start for the White Sox, or, more likely, hurts his back before Opening Day? Then what? Danny Mendick was actually given an invite to spring training, so maybe him. Or how about 21-year old Bryan Ramos? The seventh-ranked prospect mostly played at Double-A Birmingham last season, hitting .271 with fourteen homeruns and 48 RBIs. If I’m not mistaken, Ramos showed up in Chicago last month, part of a group of players interacting with kids on the South Side. That would be impressive for someone who only came to the U.S. from Cuba as a seventeen-year old in 2019. Now, if Ramos could just hit his way onto the roster. Or Mendick. It's Super Bowl Sunday. I can dream.

Out of Sync

Tomorrow’s the Super Bowl, it’s precise meaning beyond me. But I’ll get to chase my grandson around the living room and stuff my face with “mini bagel dogs” by Vienna. I’ll leave the conspiracies to those so inclined. Some folks are social drinkers; I’m more a social football fan. I don’t want anybody calling me a Communist over a perceived lack of gridiron enthusiasm. Only this year, I feel more out of sync than usual. You’ve got all these people going ga-ga over a combination of TV ads, halftime entertainment (full disclosure: I can’t even tell you who the entertainment is this year. Prince? The Stones?); and an excuse to eat/drink to excess. I might wash my mini bagel dogs down with some Green River, but that’s it. And it won’t get any better the day after, at least for me. The Chicago media can’t seem to help itself—there’s a stadium story to cover, dab gummit, and that’s what every local news outlet is going to do. I wonder how long until a reporter writes or utters those immortal words, “It’s a done deal” in regards a new White Sox stadium? I’d like Jerry Reinsdorf to spend his own money, and I’d like him to build an updated version of Comiskey Park. But that’s not going to happen. The more I want it to, the more I grow out of sync with the state of things.

PECOTA Me This

Baseball Prospectus did its PECOTA projections for the upcoming season yesterday, and, there is was, plain as day: Figures don’t lie, but figurers do. I mean, you don’t need a computer to pick the Twins, Braves and Dodgers to win their respective divisions, or the Yankees, Astros and Cardinals to join them. Once upon a time, a slew of baseball magazines would’ve done the same. I can’t help but think this is the baseball equivalent of generals fighting the last war, plus a dash of Yankees-bias. Put the folks at BP in a time machine and take them to February 1965, what are the odds they’re picking the Yankees and Cardinals in a World Series rematch? I’d say pretty good. Personally, I’m finding it more than a little hard to be a White Sox fan these days, what with the team looking to build a new stadium and no talk of financing, which is a sure sign that a sizable public ask is lurking around the corner. But thank you, PECOTA, for rekindling the fire, if just for one day. Sixty-six wins and last place in the AL Central? We just invited Danny Mendick to spring training. He makes the team, we’re good for 80 wins, minimum.

Off the Shelf

Well, renderings of a new White Sox stadium in the South Loop were made public yesterday, and it certainly wasn’t worth the wait. Unless you like your stadiums designed without a hint of originality. Jerry Reinsdorf and company must think mix-and-match is the way to go. Baseball next to a body of water a la the Giants and Pirates? Check. A homerun porch a la the Ballpark in Arlington? Check. An outfield lawn like just about every Cactus League complex? Check. Oh, and part of the complex is walled in glass. Let’s see, glass and flying baseballs. Hmm. I always thought that was a bad mix. Goes to show what I know. Oh, and nothing about financing. I guess the idea is first to soften the public up with dazzling renderings of Elysian Fields and then start picking pockets. In which case, they need better pictures.

Is This Anything?

On Saturday, the Bulls spotted a pretty good Kings’ team a 30-point lead five minutes into the third quarter before closing to within three points with just under a minute left in a 123-115 loss at the United Center. Then came last night. Our heroes let the very good Minnesota Timberwolves (35-15 coming in) jump ahead by 23 four-and-a-half minutes into the third quarter. But this time, the Bulls came all the way back, winning 129-123 in overtime. Let me put it like this—they beat a team whose front-court would give Paul Bunyan pause. And they started both Andre Drummond and Nikola Vucevic to do it, with Vucevic sliding over to power forward. Daddy likes it when his team thinks outside the box. So, instead of being four games under, Billy Donovan’s squad stands at 24-27. Which leads to the inevitable question: Is this anything? With Zach LaVine out for the rest of the year with a foot injury? With DeMar DeRozan on an expiring contract? Maybe the answer lies with David Bowie. Sometimes, you get to be heroes, just for one day.

Still Waiting

When the Bears announced plans for a stadium/entertainment complex in Arlington Park back in 2022, they trotted out artist’s renderings that bore all the architectural detail of a sketch done on fog. That’s because owners care about revenue flow, not blueprints. Bears’ fog has now floated back down to the lakefront, not far from Soldier Field; again, good luck finding what a domed stadium on the shores of Lake Michigan would look like exactly. A half-remembered dream comes with more clarity. Now, take the above and apply it to the proposed White Sox stadium for the South Loop, only double the fog and halve what’s left over from a dream.

In Memoriam

From time to time, I like to buy the current Baseball Digest, a publication “for love of the game since 1942.” It’s mostly features without a whiff of analytics. BD was one of those magazines I’d pick up off the rack at Charles’ Drug Store on the corner of 55th and Kedzie. I had no idea so many of the people appearing then would end up in the Tribute section now. Let’s just say that a whole bunch of former ballplayer died between December of 2022 and 2023. It’s like everyone from the 1965 Strat-O-Matic season had a target on their backs. I mean, Jay Alou; Bobby Bolin; Brooks Robinson; Ken Suarez. Stop, already. But it doesn’t. It seems that the White Sox were especially hard hit: Dave Frost; Ray Herbert; Dennis Higgins; Deacon Jones; Fred Klages; Cotton Nash; Dave Nicholson; Gary Peters; Bob Priddy; Dennis Ribant; and Lee “Bee-Bee” Richard. Yikes. Plus Albie Pearson, the first major-league ballplayer I ever laid eyes on, in June of 1962. Suddenly, it feels very cold here in the basement.

Signs of Change or Just Rearranging?

New White Sox GM Chris Getz pulled off two trades of some import yesterday. Getz definitely looks to be of a more aggressive nature than his predecessor, Rick Hahn. Whether this amounts to anything more than rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, I can’t say yet. Getz sent pitching prospect Christian Mena to the Diamondbacks for outfielder Dominic Fletcher. He also parted ways with reliever Gregory Santos, shipping him to Seattle for outfielder Zach DeLoach, a pitching prospect and a draft choice. So, would I have made these deals? Yeah, probably. Mena’s 21 and throws hard, amassing a 8-7 record and 4.85 ERA over Double-A and Triple-A. The thing with pitching is, you never know. Last season will either be Mena’s best or a total outlier for someone who goes on to win 100-plus games. Fletcher is already 26, though he hit .301 with fourteen RBIs in 93 at-bats for Arizona in 2023. His minor league stats show good pop and a nice batting average (.295 career) for the lefthanded-hitting outfielder. So, come on down, Dominic. DeLoach is a year younger and, like Fletcher, bats lefthanded. Without so much as a cup of coffee in the bigs, all I can do is go by his minor-league stats, and last year he hit .286 with 23 homeruns and 88 RBIs. So, there’s that. If nothing else, Getz went out and acquired yet more talent not affiliated with the Royals, and that’s a good thing. As to how good, spring training starts in two weeks.

Loyalty

I checked the White Sox website this morning to see the Sox reportedly signed veteran outfielder Kevin Pillar to a minor league deal, with an invitation to spring training. So, what exactly makes Pillar more attractive than Adam Engel, also a free agent? Or Danny Mendick, who’s no longer with the Mets? Maybe if Engel and Mendick signed with the Royals and then got cut at the end of March, we’d go after them then. It would make perfect, White Sox sense.

Back and Forth

The Bulls have the uncanny ability to go 4-1/2 steps forward, five steps back. Make that 469 steps ahead, 500 back, which, with some quick math, gives you their winning percentage. Last week, they pulled to within two games of .500, only to lose three out of their next five. Mediocrity, thy name is Chicago Bulls. Just check the roster to see what I mean. There are four good players, tops—DeMar DeRozan, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu and Alex Caruso. Only DeRozan is old at 34 while Dosunmu and Caruso tend to perform better off the bench. That leaves the suddenly-good White as the only starter to build around long-term. Yes, Andre Drummond is a more-than-serviceable center, but his days as a starter look to be in the rearview mirror. Zach LaVine is just as much of a mistake for Arturas Karnisovas as he was for Gar Forman and John Paxson. Nikola Vucevic? He’s always going to be a stat leader on bad teams. Think the other Frank Thomas with the early Mets. On top of everything else, LaVine has next to no trade given his nagging injuries this season. At a minimum, he has to be the one to go. As for the team, the bigger the deal the better. But how do you engineer blockbuster deals with broken bats, if you’ll pardon my wrong-sport metaphor?

Showtime

Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes faced off against Northwestern up in Evanston last night. The senior guard poured in 35 points as Iowa prevailed, 110-74. The 7,039 fans in attendance made for the first sellout in the history of women’s basketball at NU. The girl’s got game and star power. What I wouldn’t give to see Clark play for the Sky. Too bad she looks to be going elsewhere if she declares for the WNBA draft this year. But if Clark decides on a fifth year of eligibility, who knows? A couple of weeks from now, Steph Curry of the Warriors will go up against Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty in a three-point shootout during the NBA’s All-Star weekend. That should be interesting. Add Clark to the mix in the not-too-distant future, and, whoa, you’d have a whole lot of people watching, me included.