On Further Review...

Immaturity is the buzzkill of professional sports:  Odell Beckham Jr. wearing a $190,000 while lining up to catch a pass, any ballplayer “pimping” a homerun, even those that aren’t.  I need a hero, not a clown.

All of which brings us to White Sox left fielder Eloy Jimenez, who hit his first-ever grand slam last night against the Royals.  For the umpteenth time this season, Jimenez waved to the camera after getting back to the dugout and mouthed the words “Hi, Mom” for the camera.  This routine got old for me a long time ago, until yesterday.  Watching Jimenez celebrate, yet again, I now think he was being serious, if such a thing is possible for a man-child.

Jimenez  doesn’t exactly have the demeanor of Dick Butkus, and why should he?  They’re two different human beings, the one perpetually joyful the other a stand-in for the Grim Reaper.  I worry about innocence existing in the face of bald commerce; after all, things didn’t go well for Roy Hobbs.  But if the real Eloy Jimenez is the one with the ready smile rather than the Butkus-ian death glare, it falls on the White Sox to protect their rookie star and ensure that he matures without ever becoming buzzkill.

There’s more than enough of that going around already.