Gobble-gobble

Baseball is many things, but it is not a meritocracy. Not when you look at Dylan Cease’s new contract. The soon-to-be 30-year old starter is reported to have signed a seven-year deal with the Blue Jays worth $210 million. This after the righthander posted a 8-12 record with a 4.55 ERA for the Padres last season. On his career, Cease has 65 wins and 58 losses to go with a 3.88 ERA and three complete games out of 188 starts. It was once said that, “Chicks did the long ball.” GMs also dig strikeouts beyond reason. Cease has 1231 in 1015.1 innings pitched. This is a contract based more on that ratio than anything else. In comparison, the Red Sox committed highway robbery last season when they gave Garrett Crochet a six-year, $170 million extension (including an opt-out after year five). In either case, nice to be an ex-White Sox starter.

Reinventing the Wheel

The Sun-Times ran a story today about a report the Chicago Architecture Center released, “Win/Win: The New Game Plan for Urban Stadiums.” Apparently, the Cubs and Wrigleyville are the ideal way to go. Who knew? What the Cubs did different from other Chicago teams is what they didn’t do—tear down their home and/or try to move to the suburbs. The Bulls and Blackhawks are starting to build their own version of Wrigleyville around the United Center. Too bad the United Center replaced the Stadium, aka, the Madhouse on Madison. As for the Bears leaving Soldier Field for Arlington Heights, God only knows what the McCaskeys will dump on their fans. My guess is the talked-about “entertainment district” will be urban in the way a Hollywood backlot is. Which brings us to the White Sox, who have plenty of land to develop around The Rate. Of course, they also had a ballpark just as unique as while different from Wrigley Field. Jerry Reinsdorf could’ve fashioned “Soxville” while strengthening ties to Bridgeport, which is slowly but surely evolving into one of Chicago’s hottest neighborhoods. My father wouldn’t recognize his old haunts. I doubt Richard J. Daley would, either. The story reminds me of all these commuter suburbs that are attempting to build old-fashioned downtowns; it can be done, but not easily or cheaply and without much chance of recapturing the spirit of the original, pre-WWII downtowns with their density and varied architecture. Oh, well. Soon, the Sox will have a new steward. Maybe he’ll have vision enough to see the potential that abounds at the corner of 35th and Shields. It's the holiday season. I can hope.

More Ick

The Bulls needed both Kevin Huerter and Nikola Vucevic in the lineup Saturday night to beat the one-win Wizards by a point. But minor injuries forced Huerter and Vucevic to sit out last night’s game against the two-win Pelicans, and the Bulls got blown out, 143-130. Mercy. Rather than stand up, these Bulls stood around when they weren’t committing turnovers, seventeen to be exact. At least now I know to appreciate Vucevic’s modest presence on defense. Without him, the Bulls were outrebounded, 70-41 (!!), and outscored in the paint, 78-44 (!!!). Oh, and the Pelicans stole the ball thirteen times while letting the visitors to the same a mere four times. Vucevic drew considerable attention for his comment about the Bulls being too “soft” too often. Well, if things don’t improve and fast, the big man’s going to need another word or two to describe team performance against opponents with four or more wins.

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.