Family Trip

Clare and I went to the White Sox game against the Nationals yesterday afternoon, which meant we brought my granddaughter along, too. Her mother sent along good womb-vibes courtesy of a 2-0 Sox win. How many people were there? Not so many to keep fans from hearing Garrett Crochet swear when he missed with a pitch; the box score gave the attendance at 11,008. For some reason, we didn’t get to guess. Even though Bryan Ramos didn’t play, he continues to impress. The pregame activity featured a federal judge swearing in 24 new citizens. Ramos watched proceedings from the dugout steps and then helped distribute Sox caps to the new citizen/fans. Civics is a big thing for me; I take my e pluribus unum very seriously. So, to see Ramos and, yes, manager Mickey Mouse do that was, as I said, impressive. But then I had to read in today’s Tribune what Mouse said about catcher Korey Lee, who caught Crochet and went 3-for-3 with an RBI. Well, you be the judge. “I know people want to see Korey play every single day. But that’s not in his best interest right now and, in reality, not in ours either because we have a lot of development to do with him.” Catch-22, White Sox-style: Lee needs to develop more to play more, only development is tied to playing. But you take your wins where you can find them while stepping over the mouse droppings. And, if you’re like me, wonder what planet Jerry Reinsdorf inhabits. It’s obviously not one that includes the neighborhood of Bridgeport. Driving to and from the game, I couldn’t get over the redevelopment that continues in the neighborhood Richard J. Daley and my father both once called home. The old and very, very new mix in Bridgeport unlike any other neighborhood in Chicago; at some point in the not-too-distant future, it will become official with a story in the New York Times. Bridgeport is a place that makes you want to walk around in and explore or, in my case, remember. As for Guaranteed Rate Whatever, it looks like it always has since opening in 1991, a concrete blob in the middle of 70 acres of parking. Not that Reinsdorf ever cared about the fan experience outside his stadium, but it’s definitely there in restaurants on side streets and thoroughfares. Night games and driving present a challenge in growing an entertainment district a la Wrigleyville. It’s by no means impossible, and I’m not even sure how hard it would be, but the Sox have wasted over 30 years not looking for answers. For day games (and more of those, please), I’d encourage fans to do a combination of public transportation and Uber/Lyft; that way, they don’t have to clear out of a parking lot after the game. They can come early; stay after a game; explore. Ditto for driving before a day game. Park the car, explore. Heck, come early to a night game. Park the car, explore. But the Sox have never encouraged it, never shown how to do it or where to go in Bridgeport. What a waste, sort of like most any Kenny Williams’ trade. Or when Rick Hahn traded Chris Sale or Chris Getz…