Playing with Fire

 Forgive White Sox general manager Rick Hahn if he starts channeling Rodney Dangerfield anytime soon.  Hahn just wants his team to get a little respect.

After all, the Sox have made five major player upgrades this off-season—Adam LaRoche, Zach Duke, David Robertson, Jeff Samardzija and Melky Cabrera.  The Cubs have had three, Jon Lester, Jason Hammel and Miguel Montero.  So, what’s the Tribune’s big Sunday baseball story?  Why, how Jon Lester showed major-league talent in high school.  And when I put WGN radio on in the afternoon, what was the topic of conversation?  The Cubs, even though the call-in guest wanted to talk more about the Sox.  Why, you’d think WGN and the Tribune were still in the baseball business, which they’re not.   

So, the Cubs win the battle of headlines, “A star from ‘wow’ to now” vs “Cabrera juices lineup.”  Still, the Cubs are playing with fire as they build up their expensive new free-agent signing; we did that with Adam Dunn.  If Lester works out, no one will care, outside of Sox fans like me.  If he flops a la Dunn, though, Cub fans will be holding up signs telling him to go back to Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma.  More and more, big-dollar contracts risk big-time backlash when they don’t work out.   

Right, Adam?