AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

The Rundown: Cubs Clicking Ahead of Crosstown Classic, PCA Finds Offensive Groove, White Sox Fire Pedro Grifol

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 8, 2024

“And there ain’t no road just like it anywhere I found. Running south on Lake Shore Drive, heading into town. Just slippin’ on by on LSD, Friday night trouble bound.” – Aliotta Haynes & Jeremiah, Lake Shore Drive

The Cubs finished their homestand with five wins in seven games — they should have gone 6-1 — and now head to Guaranteed Rate Field for a two-game set with the surging White Sox, who have won one of their last 23 games.

The South Side gets a bad rap, particularly among Cubs fans. I’m originally from the Marquette Park/St. Rita Parish neighborhood (near 63rd & California), though our parents called it Chicago Lawn back then. We played a lot of alley baseball, where logistics meant first base was 30 feet from home plate, but second base was about 100 yards equidistant between first and third. We also played Bounce or Fly (also known as 500), Running Bases, and, well, as the kids say, IYKYK. My buddies and I traded baseball cards, wadded several Bazookas into our mouths, bragged about our fathers, and cracked wise about our friends’ sisters. I’ll never forget getting Mickey Mantle in a trade for two Topps Dick Allen cards and a Stan Bahnsen.

I once painted a strike zone square on the side of our garage and got grounded for a month. Back then, being remanded to the house in the middle of summer was a fate worse than death. Punishment works a little differently these days. Kids are sent outside and banned from their video game consoles and iPads when they act up. Oh, the humanity.

Marquette Park was a special place to play baseball. Two esplanades totaling a square mile in acreage are dissected by Kedzie Avenue, with two sprawling lagoons and an inconvenient nine-hole golf course. The concourse was usually off-limits to us because the older kids would go there to smoke weed or cruise its boulevard. Foghat, Frampton, and Fleetwood Mac provided the summer soundtrack, though I was more into Stevie Wonder and Chicago at the time. I had a crush on a girl named Madonna, dreamed of playing third base for the Cubs, and rooted for my heroes: Burt Hooton, Billy Williams, Jim Hickman, and Joe Pepitone. Ernie Banks was just a few months before my time.

The Cubs-White Sox rivalry was a lot different then because the teams never played each other during the regular season. It wasn’t easy rooting for Chicago’s North Side Baseballers near our home at 63rd & Albany. Relatives on my mother’s side of the family all worked for Mayor Daley or held union jobs, and they were all Sox fans. The only thing I liked about the White Sox was that they played night games and sold churros at Comiskey Park. It’s easy to forget that Ed Spiezio once started ahead of Beltin’ Bill Melton, or that Carlos May once hit 20 home runs despite missing most of his right thumb.

Professional athletes were built a lot differently then, too, no disrespect to Greg Luzinski, Wilbur Wood, LaMarr Hoyt, or Rick Reuschel. Players smoked cigarettes and drank beer in the dugout, especially between games of a doubleheader. Believe it or not, Harry Caray was just as big a deal for the White Sox as he was for the Cubs. Few remember the name of the ChiSox broadcaster he replaced in the early 1970s. That would be Jack Drees if you’re keeping score at home. Caray defiantly adopted Falstaff as his Chicago beer of choice after he was driven away from St. Louis by Augie Busch Jr. for alleged sexual impropriety. Ooooh for the long one, am I right?

And yes, we have Caray to thank for the ever-present Joe Buck. Joe’s father Jack, a Hall of Fame legend, replaced Caray in St. Louis.

It’s tough to admit, but the White Sox were regularly better and a lot more fun than the Cubs in the 1970s. Things have changed dramatically since. As much as I now miss nothing but day baseball at Wrigley Field, I bet Sox fans still pine for the days of Jimmy Piersall, Andy the Clown, Nancy Faust, Bill Veeck, and that glorious exploding scoreboard — replete with pinwheels and ’70s-era graphics — lighting up Chicago’s whitewashed stadium. Where have you gone, Eric Soderholm?

I’m not here to bury the White Sox. Jerry Reinsdorf and Chris Getz do a fine job without my assistance. Baseball in Chicago is much better when both teams are competitive, so here’s hoping beach has a bright future, the sooner the better. I’d love to see a Crosstown Classic World Series just once in my life. That would be the definitive end to any Cubs-Sox argument, hopefully allowing me to return to my old neighborhood without such a huge chip on my shoulder.

Still, Mr. Reinsdorf, please hire A.J. Pierzynski to replace Pedro Grifol, who was fired this morning. Pierzynski may not make the White Sox better, but he will restore some much-needed heat to the rivalry. I’d love to see him and Craig Counsell go head-to-head.

The bottom line is that both teams have combined for just six championships in one century and an additional score. That’s pathetic and needs to change soon.

Note: All of this was written before the news about Grifol dropped.

Cubs News & Notes

Odds & Sods

The Pirates must be good if Aroldis Chapman is this jacked up.

Central Intelligence

How About That!

Grifol’s dismissal feels like a mercy killing of sorts. The first-time manager lasted less than two seasons, going 89-190. Chicago is currently 28-89 (.239), a 38-win pace for the season.

The White Sox need to go 15-31 to avoid losing 120 games, matching the 1962 Mets’ loss record.

Grady Sizemore replaced Grifol on an interim basis and Reinsdorf will wait until the offseason to name a permanent manager.

Skip Schumaker is the leading candidate to replace Grifol. Ozzie Guillén might be under consideration, too.

Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber tagged the Dodgers for three home runs in a 9-4 win on Wednesday.

Orioles rookie Jackson Holliday became the first rookie in AL history to homer in three consecutive games.

The Braves announced that 2021 NLCS MVP Eddie Rosario has been designated for assignment.

Marcus Stroman is struggling badly, so the Yankees will use Tuesday’s rainout to push him back in the rotation.

Billy Bean, a former Dodger who went on to become the first diversity chief for Major League Baseball, died on Tuesday. He was 60.

Baseball Time Machine

I think I was about 11 years old when I met Pete Rose and Wolfman Jack on the same day at the same event. Both were at the Chicago Auto Show, held annually in February, where the Wolfman was promoting his syndicated radio show for WFYR. Rose was, as always, promoting himself. They both signed my Cubs cap, and I remember telling Rose the Cubs would win the World Series that year. I don’t remember his response, but I like to say he told me, “Don’t bet on it, kid.”

Extra Innings

Busch has been a blessing, no doubt.

They Said It

  • “We looked carefully to see how [Paredes’ power] would play. We felt good about it. I do think he’s a little bit more adjustable hitter. That’s the profile he’s adopted, but he can adjust. He sees the ball well. You look at his walk-to-strikeout numbers, they’re really impressive in a league you don’t see many guys with those walk and strikeout numbers.” – Jed Hoyer
  • “It’s the game of baseball. Ups and downs – throughout the Minor Leagues, throughout college – that’s been part of my career. Sometimes you feel like it happens only to you, but it happens for everyone. The biggest thing for me [when it happened] in the Minor Leagues was just getting at-bats. I wanted to grind through that a little bit and get used to that a little bit, and figure out some things. I want to be consistent every year. I know there’s ups and downs, but you’re trying to make those downs a little smaller.” – Busch

Thursday Walk-Up Song

There are few areas in Chicago where random residents break out into a choreographed dance routine. By the way, I do miss old Maxwell Street and those delicious grilled Polish sausages and pork chop sandwiches.

If you watch closely, you will see what looks like a Caray impersonator among the dancers.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterAugust 8, 2024
Back to top button