Certified Genius

When last we checked in on Sad-Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, he was hinting loudly he would be open to selling the team. And voilà, Dave Stewart appeared. The ex-pitcher is, or was, heading up a Nashville group that wants to bring major-league baseball to the Volunteer State. That Reinsdorf’s operation is in any sense major league is, of course, subject to debate. Then, the other day on the news, Illinois governor JB Pritzker once again threw cold water/a wet blanket/choose your cliché on the idea of the public subsidizing for a second time a Reinsdorf baseball stadium. If Reinsdorf was sending a message that he might move the team, Pritzker either didn’t hear it or didn’t care. Whichever, it leaves Reinsdorf on the short end of a power play. Now, Clare just got off the phone to tell me Rob Manfred has weighed in on the subject. So, I went online and found a story on CBS Sports in which Manfred called Chicago an “anchor city.” While saying Guaranteed Rate Whatever is in a “tough” location, Manfred added he was confident that “things are going to work out in Chicago and that we’re going to continue to have two teams in Chicago.” Which sort of takes some more leverage away from Jerry Reinsdorf, now doesn’t it? Oh, and I’d be more than willing to show the Commissioner how to get to 35th and Shields. Last and not least, Reinsdorf has started a sports network that nobody seems to want to pick up, or at least Comcast. Right now, unless Bulls’ and Blackhawks’ fans go out and buy an antenna to get the station on regular old TV, they’re pretty much out of luck. Nothing like building the fan base with a de facto blackout of games. Other than that, though, everything is going according to plan in Jerryville.