Small Ball

Yesterday’s White Sox and Cubs’ games were throwbacks to a time when giants, small g, didn’t roam the field and dugout. Thank goodness. In Detroit, the Sox started 5’8” Josh Harrison at third and 5’10” Danny Mendick at second in the Sox 10-1 win over the Tigers; Harrison and Mendick both notched RBI hits while playing errorless defense. Over at Wrigley Field, 5’7” Marcus Stroman threw five innings of two-hit, one-run ball in his Cubs’ debut. The game was decided on a pinch-homerun by 5’10” Mike Brosseau, he who would have his revenge against Aroldis Chapman. Back in Detroit, 30-year old rookie Tanner Banks made his major-league debut by striking out four Tigers over two innings of work. Banks stands 6’1”, so to some extent he towers over Harrison and company, but he’s a throwback in a different way, by not being a power pitcher. Hence, 30-year old rookie. Banks moved the ball around the zone nicely and could’ve passed for a lefty from the ’70s or ’80s, if just for a day. I also saw by way of the box scores that 5’11” Nick Solak, the pride of Naperville North, scored three runs for the Rangers yesterday in their come-from-behind 12-6 win over the Blue Jays. All in all, a day of big things in small packages.