Good News, Bad News

Points to White Sox rookie outfielder Braden Montgomery for aiming high and thinking big. The homerun and triple he hit against the Cubs Sunday didn’t lead him to think he could just make the Sox roster at some point this season. The almost 23-year old has his sights set on Cooperstown. Montgomery told reporters after the game, “My overall goal is to make the Hall of Fame. I’ll take it a game at a time, and we’ll see what happens at the end of it.” [quote from story in today’s Sun-Times] Well, good to hear, and, from what Montgomery’s shown so far, not out of the question. But I wonder, what hat he’d wear at his induction ceremony? If Jerry Reinsdorf makes it to 100-plus years on this planet, there’s a good chance it won’t be a Sox cap. The team has had two homegrown talents worthy of the Hall since Reinsdorf took control of the team in 1981, Frank Thomas and Mark Buehrle. The Big Hurt is in, Buehrle should be and one day perhaps will be. But neither of them played their entire career on the South Side. Then-GM Kenny Williams let Thomas walk after the 2005 season and called him an “idiot” in the process. Granted that Thomas was a man-child, but so was Ted Williams. One team was good enough for the Splendid Splinter and should’ve been for the Big Hurt, too. As for Buehrle, he took the ball; pitched a perfect game among his two no-hitters; and never made waves. But he got the boot as well. Reinsdorf doesn’t like paying big bucks to pitchers, even HOF-worthy ones offering a hometown discount to stay, as Buehrle did before leaving for the Marlins in 2012. I don’t put Paul Konerko in the same group as Thomas and Buehrle because, technically, he wasn’t homegrown. For some odd reason, both the Dodgers and Reds gave up on Konerko, maybe because they tried him at third base and left field instead of first base. Their mistake turned into our gain, and I’m pretty sure “Paulie’s” sixteen years on the South Side would mean he’d wear a Sox cap at his induction ceremony in the not-too-distant future. Konerko was like Buehrle, quiet and dedicated to his craft. Montgomery looks to be more vocal, a la Thomas or even A.J. Pierzynski (who I also think is HOF-worthy, whichever of the possible seven caps he’d choose). In Reinsdorf Land, it’s never a good idea to express opinions. Heck, it doesn’t always help if you stay quiet and mind your own business. Montgomery is an outfielder, not a pitcher, so, there’s that. But I wouldn’t hold my breath about his staying around if he is in fact worthy of Cooperstown.

Stay Calm and Carry On

I know. It’s only spring training. Get a grip. But it’s always fun to beat the Cubs, which the White Sox did yesterday by a 5-1 score. Better yet when your team hits three homeruns off of starter Shota Imanaga. Nice when the other team has to worry about its starting pitching. Second-year catcher Edgar Quero connected off Imanaga in the first, followed by rookie outfielder Braden Montgomery in the second and veteran Austin Hayes in the third. For me, Quero’s and Montgomery’s homers are the clouts that count in particular. Young guys hot, that’s what you want in spring training. Not that Lenyn Sosa is old; the 26-year old added a homer of his own while 25-year old Brooks Baldwin stayed hot with a single and run scored. I still think Sosa gets traded by Opening Day, but good for him and good for the Sox if he keeps on hitting. Somehow, I can see him hitting a ton at Yankee Stadium. Now, back to Montgomery, who also tripled; that gives him two to go with the homer in a 5-for-14 spring so far. How long does Montgomery stay in the minors, or Sam Antonacci, for that matter? Good questions to have and the kind of questions the Sox haven’t had for way too long.

No, Thanks

The Sun-Times quoted some Cubs’ pitchers today about how great it would be to pitch for the United States in the Summer Olympics, if only baseball were a recognized sport. To which I say—No, thanks. I may be the only person in all fifty states to think that the Dream teams of the 1990s made up of American NBA stars was an embarrassing example of Ugly Americanism, but I do. I’d also argue it verges on big-time hypocrisy to lionize the Dream Teams, the antithesis of amateurism, and the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” men’s hockey team, the quintessential example of amateurism. But that’s just me. On a more practical note, I don’t see how NHL fans can stand having their sport shut down for over two weeks so players can to their respective national teams. I’d like to see that happen in the NFL. And I want to know how fans and teams will react when a star player gets injured. I don’t like the World Baseball Classic for how it messes with getting ready for the regular season. What if Tarik Skubal and/or Paul Skenes gets injured? It wouldn’t be any better if the injury happened on the mound at the Summer Olympics.

One More Day

One more day, and it’s March. That used to mean a whole month of spring training, but, now, you can throw in Opening Day, too, depending on weather conditions. Nothing says spring baseball in the Midwest like snow flurries across the infield. What do I want? Well, I read where White Sox head groundskeeper Roger Bossard said team owner Jerry Reinsdorf told him he wants to stay on the scene until he’s 99. So, definitely not that. But the makings of a good, young team would be a start. Think what ex-GM Larry Himes did back in the day with Frank Thomas, Robin Ventura and Jack McDowell. When Himes got the axe in September of 1990 for insufficient loyalty, his successor Ron Schueler did a decent job of keeping the team young; think Mike Cameron (later traded for an even younger Paul Konerko); Aaron Rowand and Mark Buehrle. Schueler also had a scouting department that knew to sign the likes of Carlos Lee and Magglio Ordonez. Then came Kenny Williams, and the Sox would never be that interested in young players again. So, what do I want? Reinsdorf into retirement sooner than later. And a roster full of prospects that will allow me to dream and compare: You know, he reminds me of…

Just Wondering

The McCaskeys finally found themselves a chump in the state of Indiana, which passed legislation yesterday creating a stadium authority to bring the Munsters over the state line. This is no longer a news story for Chicago media, but a tug-of-war with local bragging rights on the line. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: How sad. One thing I’d like to know, though, is would the cost of a personal seat license vary state to state? For some reason, nobody in McCaskeyland seems interested in bringing the subject up. Maybe the answer is hidden away in one of those blob buildings that make up so much of the stadium-complex renderings.

Hidden Treasure

The White Sox play the Dodgers today, so this should be a good test, given that LA has started spring training with a 5-0 record. The Dodgers’ lineup includes ex-Sox farmhand Alex Call, a third-round pick in the 2016 draft. The right-handed hitting outfielder was traded to Cleveland in 2018 for first baseman Yonder Alonso. Bad trade, that. Call is a nice glove and bat off the bench. Playing for the Dodgers is a testament both to his ability and the acumen of the Sox scout(s) who identified his talent. The same holds for current Sox Brooks Baldwin, a twelfth-round selection in 2022. The switch-hitting Baldwin struggled through the first half of his first real season last year (he also had 114 at-bats in 2024). Then, something clicked in early July with a pinch-hit homerun against these same Dodgers. Baldwin batted .253 in the second half of the season vs. .227 in the first half. He also hit eleven homers overall in 300 at-bats. Guess who’s 4-for-7 with a homerun this spring? Yup, the twelfth rounder. Again, a testament both to the player and the scout(s) who found him. It’s almost enough to make me think the Sox know what they’re doing. But I don’t want to get ahead of myself quite yet.

Clueless, and not the Movie

The Bulls lost their tenth game in a row last night , rolling over 131-99 to the visiting Hornets. Wait, there’s more, or less, depending on how you view things. Despite their embrace of tanking, the Bulls have only the seventh worst record in the league. Shame on you, Billy Donovan, for taking a blah roster and making it competitive, at least until the injuries started piling up. So, if the Bulls can’t win the race to the bottom, what can they accomplish? Outside of showing that Patrick Williams will never develop beyond a journeyman—if that—no matter how many minutes he plays, I’m not sure. Arturas Karnisovas acquired some guys who, once upon a time, were promising, but they were slowed by injuries. Guess what? They’re injured again. I’m looking at you, Jaden Ivey and Anfernee Simons. And let’s not forget big man Zach Collins, out for the season with a big-toe injury that limited him to ten games. Wait, there’s more. Tank time is when you let young talent develop, only in the Bulls’ case, it’s questionable talent, or the talent merits questioning with more playing time. Last night, Josh Giddey had eight points with five assists…and five turnovers. In his last ten games, Giddey has scored in the single digits four times while tallying eleven or fewer points six times. Plus he’s turned the ball over four or more times in five of those games. And Matas Buzelis, even more of a building block than Giddey? The second-year forward is nothing if not a human roller coaster. Last night’s 32-point performance was nice but hardly enough to erase recent two- and four-point performances. Like Giddey, you never know what Buzelis is going to show up on any given night. Long story short, this is a team that stinks too much and not enough all at the same time.