The White Sox picked up a three-time All Star for a negligible amount of money and some spare parts, mostly in return for giving the Red Sox the future right to not have Kevin Youkilis. He’s no longer the fearsome hitter of the Red Sox’s championship teams, but the Greek God of Walks will be an improvement over the White Sox’s league-worst third basemen.
The hometown hero, who traded supremacy with LeBron James and Chris Bosh throughout their ultimately unsuccessful run to the playoffs last year, has ceded leadership of the team to his younger teammate. And it’s made them a better team, and the likely champions this year.
The White Sox’s young left-hander hasn’t just been the best pitcher in a deep rotation—he’s ever so slightly outpitched perennial Cy Young candidate Justin Verlander, making him arguably the best pitcher in baseball so far.
After suffering one of the worst seasons in modern baseball history last year, Adam Dunn is hitting the ball as hard as anyone in baseball—and averaging career highs in isolated power, strikeout rate, and walk rate. Plus: the best home run of the season so far.
The Cubs are tied for the worst record in baseball after their 12-game losing streak, the fifth-worst in team history. But they’re easily the worst—if by worst you mean hardest to watch—team in baseball through the first third of the season.
After the USOC settled its score with the IOC and paved the way for a future U.S. Olympic games, there’s inevitable random chatter about another Chicago bid. If you thought the NATO summit was irritating and/or a police state….
The save, a product of Chicago journalism, changed the face of baseball. But perhaps we can do better with shutdowns and meltdowns. Sabermetricians, and maybe Len Kasper, will lead the way.
Joe Cowley has taken a lot of heat for his “satirical” tweets about women, but he took an especially bad week to use Title IX to needle a female peer: the 40th anniversary of the law that revolutionized female athletics in this country.
Don’t blame Thibodeau (but maybe blame the NBA, if not for Rose’s injury specifically than for a rash of injuries in this compressed season). Thibodeau, the team’s secret weapon, still leads an efficient and well-coached group.
The iron-gloved, power-hitting Tigers are currently tied with the surprising White Sox for the AL Central lead—in part because the White Sox have given up substantially fewer runs, thanks to good pitching, and perhaps a superior defense.
