Gone

We’re in the middle of redoing ceilings in the basement and on the back porch. What doesn’t kill me—think dust, and plenty of it—will make the house more appealing. I guess. A quarter-century ago, Clare and I would practice in the basement, usually in the fall and winter. She’d hit a wiffle ball or throw a league. Ever so often, a ball struck the ceiling, leaving more of a line than a mark. Early on, Michele also got hit in the head with a wiffle ball while she tried to work on the computer. It didn’t take too many errant throws to get her upstairs. In between gasps for air, I can see how good a job the contractor’s done. One thing is missing, though. I’ll have to get my grandson down here to do some hitting and throwing.

Why I Follow Sports

No doubt it’s different in NYC and LA, where gobs of money go into teams that win far more often than not. Chicago’s different, always has been. Mike Ditka once said Bears’ owner George Halas tossed nickels around like manhole covers. That’s pretty much the modus operandi in these parts. With the White Sox, they’re either too poor to compete (Bill Veeck) or act like they’re too poor to compete (Jerry Reinsdorf). Whatever team you root for in Chicago, you don’t go in expecting championships. It's individual performance that counts. I have a sense of what Luke Appling and Ted Lyons did a very long time ago, Minnie Minoso and Billy Pierce a long time ago, Mark Buehrle and Paul Konerko in what seems like a day ago. Plus Billy Donovan. If he knew what was good for the Bulls as an organization, Donovan would sit on his hands and let his team lose, again and again in order to get a better spot in the draft. But there was Donovan last night coaching his players to a comeback win on the road in Orlando, 125-123 over the Magic. Any night Coby White scores 44 points, you know it’s special. The win gives the Bulls a 25-38 record, as mediocre as it gets, or a little worse. Donovan—and for that matter, White—are Appling toiling away in obscurity, trying their best because that’s what they expect of themselves, whatever the result of the game. Which is what I look for in Chicago sports.

Bears' Nation

24/7/52/364—All day every day every week of the year, that’s the amount of time the Chicago media devotes to news of your Chicago Bears. Anything left over goes to the other teams, pending breaking Bears’ news. The Munsters, fresh off their 5-12 “triumph” of a season, are commanding every platform out there this week. Why? Because they’ve acquired two offensive linemen, one 28 and the other 32. Breaking news—they just acquired a “blocking” tight end. Never mind players at that position are supposed to be able to block and catch the ball. Bears’ management doesn’t even require one of those skill sets. The really irritating part is how the other teams make it all possible. The Bulls, Hawks and White Sox are somewhere between awful and mediocre, which means minimal coverage. The Cubs are mediocre-plus, which means any extra coverage is usually devoted to columnists complaining how cheap they are. August used to belong to the Munsters. Now, March does, too.

Aches and Pains

What, me worry? Colson Montgomery is supposed to be part of the White Sox rebuild, only A) he can’t play because of injury and B) he can’t hit when he does play. The 23-year old shortstop has played in all of three games this spring, with one hit in seven at-bats. The problem? Back spasms, or so they say. Montgomery was limited to 64 games in 2023, also due to back problems. Either the Sox can’t scout healthy players, or they can’t keep players healthy. Neither possibility says anything good about the organization. And, yes, this is where the cranky old baseball fan says, “There are too many injuries. It’s all because of guys bulking up.” Maybe I’m right, maybe not. In a way, I see the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong as the canary in the coal mine here. PCA strikes me as a real throwback to when the leadoff hitter had speed first, power later if at all; the guy strikes me as scary fast. I just want to see how many games he can play. I don’t mean this out of any South Side sour grapes. I just wonder if the Cubs employ a different training/conditioning regimen for their players or if there’s something special about this particular player. Is it possible PCA doesn’t hit the weight room the way other players do? Could Chris Getz and the Sox learn something? Perish the thought.

Not My Problem

Back in the day, I truly hated the Cubs. It’s a South Side thing, and I won‘t even say the feeling’s mutual. Sox fans have never bothered to ask. But I’m a more mellow person now. So, I’ll try not to laugh at the show Sammy Sosa is putting on at spring training in Mesa. Yesterday, I read how he thinks players will listen to what he tells them because he has the career numbers to back it up. And, today, let’s just say things went from silly to absurd. The Sun-Times ran a column Bob Nightengale did for USA Today. Well, technically a column but in truth more of a puff-piece and trial balloon to get Sosa and fellow PEDs-ers into Cooperstown. To call it journalism would be a stretch. Nightengale also talked to Mark McGwire, who admitted to kind of feeling bad about taking PEDs, and Sosa agreed. You see, “There was no testing. There were no rules. We didn’t break any laws.” So says Sosa. Nightengale went on to write, “If truth be told, PEDs were nearly as common as chewing tobacco” in the time of McGwire and Sosa. But everyone looked the other way, and there were no rules. It’s called the honor-system, guys, or a conscience, or the ability to tell right from wrong. Maybe Nightengale wasn’t around then to point out how big McGwire, Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens had gotten, but other reporters were out there. Crickets. No rules, no testing. I guess for some people that means, anything goes. Enjoy your Sammy-la, Cubs fans. You can keep him.

You Can Bet on It

So, Donald Trump says he’s going to pardon Pete Rose and wants him in the HOF while at the same time Commissioner Rob Manfred announces that he’s is considering a petition from Rose’s family to remove Rose from the ineligible list, which would just so happen make him eligible for election to Cooperstown. Trump seems to think it was OK for Rose to break the cardinal rule of baseball since “Charlie Hustle” only bet on his team to win. Yeah, because he had to stop after getting caught. You think Rose wouldn’t have bet the other way once he racked up serious debt to gamblers? But let the powers that be have their way on the matter, provided Manfred at least acknowledges any change to Rose’s status demands reconsideration of Buck Weaver’s and Shoeless Joe Jackson’s. The one didn’t bet against his team in 1919, and the other may have taken the money and played to win, anyhow. How ‘bout it, Commissioner?

Crickets

Well, not only did I save a boatload of money by not buying anything off my eBay watchlist, the White Sox were in fact worth checking out, to the tune of an 18-9 win over the Mariners. Another two hits and two RBIs for Lenyn Sosa. I guess I should be happy both papers had stories on the game, what with beggars (at 41-121) and choosers. Still, I can’t shake the memory of how newspapers used to be on the lookout for…what is it, oh, right, news, as in, did Justin Ishbia buy up any minority shares of the White Sox by the Friday deadline mentioned in other accounts? Crickets. But both papers felt the need to run stories on the Bears. Tell me, isn’t 5-12 a whole lot like 41-121? Or is there something about a .294 winning percentage I’m missing?

For a Few Dollars More

You know things are tough when Lenyn Sosa is the sole bright spot during White Sox spring training, but that’s where things stand with a 1-6 team. Better to get my baseball fix elsewhere, provided I don’t turn into a junkie running through his cash. Because my eBay “watchlist” list could be a very dangerous place to visit. I save stuff I have no intention of buying, or so I tell myself. Like the photo of John Montgomery Ward, a long-ago player, manager and early critic of the reserve clause. The seller wants $30,000, give or take. For $365 I can have a team picture of the 1935 White Sox, with 33 player autographs included. A shot of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis at Comiskey Park has an asking price of $169.99 while a view of the park being set up for a boxing match is going for $225.45. A wire photo of Moe Berg will set me back a mere $195. Or I could always take the plunge and buy an autographed ball. There are two from the pennant-winning ’59 Sox, one for $937.05 and another at $1,284.99. Both have 26 autographs, so it comes down to condition. You be the judge. When in doubt, consider Frenchy Bordagaray, a goofball outfielder from the 1930s and 1940s who tried to get away with wearing a mustache while a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Manager Casey Stengel informed Bordagaray that is there was going to be one clown on the team, “it’s going to be me.” Bordagaray shown twirling his mustache: $112.99. On second thought, I think I’ll check and see if Sosa is in today’s starting lineup against the Mariners.