Jekyll and Hyde

When Bears’ quarterback Caleb Williams is good, he looks like the second coming of, well, no one in a Bears’ uniform since Sid Luckman, and Luckman retired two years before I was born. But, when he’s bad, Williams looks like any Bears’ quarterback over the past fifty years. Cade McNown, anyone? Yesterday at Soldier Field, Williams did his Jekyll-and-Hyde thing during a 31-28 win over the Steelers. He got stripped in the end zone, resulting in a touchdown; overthrew receivers numerous times; and ended up completing just nineteen of 35 passes. Oh, and he threw for three touchdowns while avoiding any interceptions. Go figure. Here's what bothers me (along with most everything else associated with the McCaskey family). The Bears got the ball with just 1:53 left in the game. If ever a team needed to run out the clock, this was it. Two runs and an incomplete pass later, though, and the Bears punted, giving Pittsburgh 1:29 to either tie or win the game. If the injured Aaron Rodgers was behind center instead of backup Mason Rudolph, what do you think would’ve happened? But a win’s a win, and now the Bears travel to the City of Brotherly Love to play the Eagles the day after Thanksgiving. Philadelphia blew a 21-point lead in losing to the Cowboy, so this should be fun. Maybe Dr. Jekyll can keep Mr. Hyde from putting in appearance.

Ick

The Bulls followed their cardiac-arresting 122-121 win over the Blazers Wednesday night with an atrocious 143-107 loss at home Friday to the Heat. Last night’s performance against the league-worst Wizards—1-14 coming into the game—was hardly better. Oh, the Bulls won 121-120, but only because the hapless visitors had problems inbounding the ball with six seconds left. Some pressure caused a turnover with one second to go, and disaster was avoided. After the game, Nikola Vucevic complained that he and his teammates “were very soft” for the first three quarters. [quote from story in today’s The Athletic]. Oh, out of the mouths of veterans. This is a team bad at securing loose balls—hey, guys, Norm Van Lier made the team Ring of Honor for a reason—and securing rebounds on the defensive end. Oh, and the opposition isn’t exactly afraid of scoring in the paint. What to do? Dive for balls, snag rebounds, box people out. Unfortunately, with this team it’s all easier said than done.

Adieu, Tim

The White Sox nontendered first baseman Tim Elko yesterday, a move that probably would‘ve happened whether or not Elko had surgery last month for a torn ACL. Oh, well. I can think of a whole bunch of reasons to wish the soon-to-be 27-year old well. He was a tenth-round draft pick who forced his way onto a major-league roster by hitting the cover off the ball—and possessing a career .289 BA while doing it—wherever he played in the minors. But timing is everything, both when you get your chance and how your mechanics affect production. Elko was the victim of bad timing, then, as evidenced by a .134 BA in 67 at-bats on the South Side. Hated the 30 strikeouts, loved the four homeruns. It would seem to me Colorado is the perfect spot for someone with Elko’s talents; here’s hoping. For what it’s worth, there are two Elko-like players, perhaps with better timing, waiting in the wings. Ryan Galanie, a 25-year old infielder, hit .276 with 94 RBIs across Double-A and Triple-A last season. Galanie doesn’t have the same level of power as Elko, but he doesn’t strike out as much, either. Galanie probably bumped into Caden Connor at some point last year while Connor was moving from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A. A lefthanded-hitting outfielder, the 25-year old Connor managed 64 RBIs on the season while hitting .272 (.333 with seven RBIs in 39 at-bats for Triple-A Charlotte) with only seven homeruns. Wow, a guy who drives in runs by making contact rather than crushing the ball. Let’s give both Galanie and Connor invites to spring training, especially now that Mike Tauchman also got nontendered.

Fool Me Once...

The summer before he bought the White Sox in 1981, Jerry Reinsdorf talked about team ownership as a responsibility: “I’ve always looked at the ownership of a baseball franchise as a public trust, maybe even a charitable thing. I’m serious about that. I never did forgive Walter O’Malley for moving the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.” [quote in Tribune story 1/29/2021, “Recalling Jerry Reinsdorf’s come-from-behind victory 40 years ago for control of the Chicago White Sox: ‘I’ve never celebrated anniversaries of this sort,’” Phil Rosenthal]. Wait, there’s more. In 1990, following a 32-day lockout that pushed back spring training, Reinsdorf told Bob Verdi of the Tribune, “Baseball is more a religion in this country than it is a form of entertainment, and it should stay that way.” [4/8/1990] Oh, what a paragon of public virtue and stewardship and whatever. Or not. Now, Justin Ishbia, the billionaire and eventual new owner of the team, comes out and says something similar, eerily so, this after meeting with the Pope on Wednesday in Rome, no less. Call me skeptical after reading his remarks in yesterday’s Tribune. Ishbia doesn’t think of himself as an owner. “The word I use is ‘steward.’ This team belongs to the city of Chicago, and I’m a temporary steward. Jerry today is the steward. Hopefully, one day I will hopefully [sic] have the good fortune of being the next steward of this franchise.” In addition, Ishbia invited the Pope to throw out the first pitch on Opening Day, once the Sox have themselves a new stadium. The steward-in-waiting was not quoted saying who’d be paying for the new digs. Speaking for His Holiness, I want to know.

It Doesn't Add Up

Add it all up, and the Bulls should’ve suffered a crushing defeat in Portland last night. When Josh Giddey and Kevin Huerter, the starting backcourt, combine for eleven points and a 21-point, fourth-quarter lead turns into a four-point deficit with sixteen seconds left in the game, you should lose. But the Bulls didn’t. Instead, Coby White hit a three-pointer with nine seconds left to draw his team to 120-119. Then, Jerami Grant made only one of two free throws with eight seconds to go. After a timeout, the Bulls inbounded; White passed the ball to Nikola Vucevic in the corner; and Vucevic nailed the three-pointer as time expired. Bulls 122 Blazers 121. After the game, K.C. Johnson lobbed Vucevic a question about his team’s resiliency, and, give the big man credit, he didn’t bite. No, he said getting the win was nice, but he and his teammates had to find a way to close things out so heroics wouldn’t be necessary every night. Amen to that, Nikola. Still, I’ll take an 8-6 record with the roster close to reaching full strength with the expected returns of Zach Collins and Tre Jones. With those two healthy, the upcoming Christmas season could be merry, indeed.

Tap the Brakes

In 2023, the 61-101 White Sox employed Yasmani Grandal (.234 BA and 33 RBIs in 363 at-bats); Seby Zavala (.155 and sixteen RBIs in 161 at-bats); and Korey Lee (.077 and three RBIs in 65 at-bats) behind the plate. Wait, there’s more, or less, depending how you look at things. In 2024, the 41-121 Sox used Lee (.210 and 37 RBIs in 377 at-bats); Martin Maldonado (.119 and eleven RBIs in 135 at-bats); and Chuckie Robinson (.129 with zero RBIs in 70 at-bats) to do the catching. Then, mercifully, things got better. Last season, rookies Kyle Teel (.273 with 35 RBIs in 253 at-bats) and Edgar Quero (.268 with 36 RBIs in 365 at-bats) did the bulk of the catching after the great Matt Thaiss experiment (.212 with eight RBIs in 85 at-bats) came to an end in late May. And now there are rumors Teel or Quero could be traded. What’s the rush? Once upon a time, the Sox had two young catchers in Earl Battey and Johnny Romano, only for Bill Veeck to trade both of them away so they could make nine All-Star teams between them elsewhere. Veeck thought it was a good idea to go with 35-year old Sherm Lollar as his primary catcher. Trade Teel or Quero too soon, and you risk a repeat of that kind of mistake. Figure out what you’re going to do at first and third base, first. Do Miguel Vargas and Lenyn Sosa stay or do they go, or do you keep one? For the first time in a long time, catching on the South Side is just fine. Hands off, I’d say.

Streakin'

The Bulls came this close in Utah to breaking their four-game losing streak, only to fall 150-147 in overtime to the Jazz Sunday night. With a game in less than 24 hours against the Nuggets in mile-high Denver, our tired heroes looked well on their way to their sixth consecutive loss, to slip below .500 on the season. But, No, they found a way to “contain” Nikola Jokic and hold on for a 130-127 win. Mercy. You don’t really contain a player who manages a triple-double with 36 points, eighteen rebounds and thirteen assists; you just try to minimize the damage. Billy Donovan did that by putting Jalen Smith on Jokic. The big guy had to earn his stats, as reflected by the Denver bench, which managed all of nine points. The Bulls’ second unit, led by Ayo Dosunmu with 21 points, put up 66 points!! The worry here is that increased playing time for Smith, with sixteen points and eight rebounds, could be interrupted by injury. Smith hurt his right shoulder midway late in the third quarter and was seen with an ice pack wrapped around it by game’s end. Fingers crossed there. Because the venerable, 35-year old Nikola Vucevic is suddenly looking, and playing, his age. Vucevic managed 29 minutes last night, going 3-for-13 from the floor. Granted, his three-pointer with 33 seconds left gave the Bulls a four-point lead, but Time waits for no one, and it won’t wait for Vucevic. Zach Collins, Smith and Vucevic could make for a nice, three-headed monster at center. If people can just stay healthy.