To the Contrary

Do a search on the internet, and the White Sox are—or should be—interested in any number of players, e.g., Tarik Skubal, Freddy Peralta, Trevor Rogers. At the risk of upsetting White Sox Nation, I think GM Chris Getz should consider doing addition through subtraction instead. Start with trade-deadline acquisition Luis Castillo. If the soon-to-be 34-year old righty has anything left in the tank, kudos to Sox pitching coach Zach Bove if he can tap it. But don’t hold your breath. In nine games and 31 innings under Bove’s tutelage, Castilo went 1-2 with an 8.42 ERA. I say pay Castillo the $24.15 million he’s due and move on. Hello, David Sandlin, Noah Schultz and/or Drew Thorpe. Outfielder/dh Andrew Benintendi, on the other hand, looks to have more left. The veteran hit only .240 last year but still drove in 78 runs in 421 at-bats. That said, he’ll be 33 next July, and the Sox have a slew of talent in the wings. Hello, Caleb Bonemer, Brooks Baldwin, Ryan Galanie and a whole bunch of others, including Roch Cholowsky. Benintendi will be due $15.1 million next season. If he starts off hot, keep him. Otherwise, move him, release him, once somebody looks ready to take his spot. Cutting ties with Castillo and Benintendi may not be splashy, but I say it’s the right thing to do.

Color Me Skeptical

White Sox manager Vibes Venable won AL Manager of the Year last night. Cheerleading really does pay. Maybe the hardest part of Venable’s job last season was handling the pitching staff. I mean, how many staffs feature 1-1/2 starters, Sean Burke and Davis Martin on a good day? Which brings us to Sox GM Chris Getz, who announced a few hours before news of Venable’s award broke that the team was moving closer Grant Taylor to the rotation next season. To which I say, why? Taylor stands 6’3” and weighs 230 pounds, not exactly starter stats. Consider Burke at 6’6” and 240 pounds or David Sandlin at 6’4 and 215 pounds. Taylor is a big guy who throws hard. He’s shown he can do it for as much as two innings at a time, but over five or six innings? Color me doubtful. And, if by some chance Taylor makes the transition, who takes his place? Hagen Smith wants to be a starter, so I wonder if his heart is in relieving. And, if it is, Smith has concerning control issues. Noah Schultz? See Smith, heart and control, although I’d definitely dust off the starter/reliever designation and see what the big guy can do with it. But it is nice to have some baseball to talk about on an otherwise gray November day.

Not So Fast

If and when the next baseball season starts, free-agent pitcher Tarik Skubal figures to be a very rich man. Agent Scott Boras will see to it. Things are so crazy that Skubal’s name has even been linked to that most skinflint of organizations, the White Sox. That’s rich, if you’ll pardon the pun. By all means, Sox GM Chris Getz should go shopping for a good free agent or two. But a starting pitcher for ten years at up to $400 million? No, thank you, unless the pitcher is Jason Verlander, age 29. Through age 29, Skubal has 66 total wins; Verlander already had 124 by that time; Max Scherzer had 85. Also worth noting is that Skubal has had two elbow surgeries plus however you term Tommy John surgery. At a minimum, caveat emptor. For me, nope.

Hold Off on the Coronation

The headline in yesterday’s Sun-Times teased: “Why has Caleb Williams emerged as a top-tier quarterback?” Because of his “self-control in the pocket, more accurate passing, quicker reads, [and] better anticipation of defensive coverages,” that’s why. Oops. Check that. The Bears’ qb went out and threw four interceptions Sunday night against the visiting Buccaneers in a 27-24 win decided by a 38-yard field goal from Cairo Santos with time expiring. Did I mention the Munsters also had two fumbles, one of which they managed to recover? NBC did the game on Sunday Night Football. Not a good night for commentator Cris Collinsworth. After Williams threw for two first-quarter touchdowns, Collinsworth was moved to compare him to Joe Montana. Oops, again. And I think it was Collinsworth’s partner, Noah Eagle subbing for Mike Tirico, who waded into the Bears’ stadium saga by saying the Bears were motivated by the desire to provide the best possible experience for their fans. Silly me. I thought winning, interceptions and all, constituted the best fan experience.

You Can Bet on It

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is going to run for President; you can bet on it. And he has no intention of running with the label of “the governor who let the Bears move to Indiana” stuck to him. So, if NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the Bears’ George McCaskey and Kevin Warren and members of the Illinois General Assembly got together this week, you can also bet Pritzker was more than an innocent bystander. The Assembly’s fall veto session kicks off the week after next; a stadium deal could get done then; if not, by spring. Arlington Heights will be the odds-on favorite for the new Bears’ home, followed by Chicago as a longshot. Indiana? Hoosierville may want them, but the Bears don’t want to go there. And JB Pritzker doesn’t want them to, either.

Who Are They Trying to Kid?

MLB owners offered an unintended bit of levity with their latest CBA proposal. I mean, they can’t be serious, right? On Tuesday, the owners offered to postpone implementing a salary cap until 2028 (Whoopee!) while increasing both the floor and ceiling. It’s the floor that kind of tickles my funny bone. Owners are willing to force the cheapskates in their ranks to spend a minimum $180.2 million on team payroll. Hmm. What that $180.2 million figure means is that ownership—outside of the cheapskates—is confident that floor figure won’t get in the way of their making tons of money. If I can see that, the players can, too. This proposal is headed straight for the trash can.

But Something to Hear

Bulls’ guard/small-forward Norman Powell is either going to have a bracing effect on his new team, or a short stay. Either way, you have to love what Powell said after the Bulls’ 135-105 loss to the Knicks on Wednesday. “Teams are coming at us and looking at us like it’s lunch,” the twelve-year veteran told reporters in postgame remarks. “Like they’re going to get their numbers [game stats] and it’s going to be an easy win. We’ve got to figure out how to” compete. [quote in today’s Tribune story] Powell has gone to the postseason nine years with the Raptors, Trail Blazers and Clippers, winning a championship with Toronto in 2019, so he knows whereof he speaks. The question is, will his teammates listen? For that matter, will the coaching staff and front office appreciate his stating the obvious to reporters? We’ll see.