Chicago Sports Exchange: Cubs, White Sox Forming Championship Mold
Sky: Parker Returns, Team Gets Back In Win Column
Title contention isn’t promised to any team in Major League Baseball.
But with re-emerging bats and a trustworthy bullpen blazing a trail on the North Side, and the South Siders bringing an abstract version of themselves to life, both the Chicago Cubs and White Sox clearly have wide open windows of possibility as the summer heats up.
The latter doesn’t have to look much farther than its own injured list for potential reinforcement (though the Pirates’ Adam Frazier would look pretty good at second base), but the Cubs have a Yu Darvish-sized hole in their starting rotation that could sink a potential postseason run sooner than it otherwise would.
The specifics of Eloy Jiménez, Luis Robert and Nick Madrigal’s return remain in question. As does Jed Hoyer’s willingness to splurge on pitching after he just spent the offseason penny-pinching.
Those questions will be answered soon enough. For now, each team, coming off sweeps of their respective weekend opponents with first-place designations securely in tow, look legitimate enough. Honest.
HOLD — Pennant-Worth Competition Could Finally Test Injury-Laden Sox
It’s open season on hamstrings.
Nick Madrigal is the latest White Sox to have his season disrupted because of an injury to that set of muscles whose job is to make jumping, acceleration and deceleration, and change of direction possible.
But unlike the ones his teammates Michael Kopech, Tim Anderson, Adam Engel, and Billy Hamilton suffered before him, Madrigal’s injury could cost him the rest of the 2021 campaign.
And, when combined with the indefinite absences of Eloy Jiménez and Luis Robert, the Sox from tying a bow around a season that appears to have as good a chance as any of persisting through October.
Madrigal isn’t the plate presence that Jiménez is nor is he fast-tracked for superstardom like Robert. But his bat had been one of the driving forces behind an offense that’s continued to hum along, especially recently. (Madrigal slashed .365/.420/.568 the last three weeks before he stretched his right knee past its limits).
His absence—the length of which should be determined this week—deflates the cushion Leury García, Danny Mendick and Adam Eaton had to find their swings as the utilitymen will be tasked with taking over at second base, not covering for the struggling right fielder.
Maintaining the beat against the middling Detroit Tigers is one thing. Doing so this coming week against the pride of the AL East (Tampa Bay) and the upper crust of the West (Houston) would be quite the bop.
BUY — Cubs’ Attention To Detail Shines In City Connect Jersey
Every jersey reveal isn’t created equal.
Then again, a lousy leak gave the Cubs’ City Connect threads little chance to survive the waves the ones from across town made first. (Warring with pinstripes is not unlike swimming upstream anyway).
That being said, the “Wrigleyville” jersey’s lack of immediate punch is forgiven in its detailing at the edges. Its roll-out being crafted around connectivity was a nice touch, too, even if the premise is based more on wishful thinking than reality.
The Cubs are, in fact, undefeated in their alternate digs though, the navy and powder blue uniforms were worn in a Saturday national broadcast that formed the meat of a glorious three-game sweep of their rivals from St. Louis.
The entire weekend was one long party signaling the real return to full capacity crowds in Chicago and in many ways the MLB with a packed Wrigley Field glistening in front of FOX and ESPN cameras and Cubs die-hard Bill Murray and Bears savior-in-wait (fingers crossed) Justin Fields leading the celebrity brigade in the stands.
For now, that’s something the Cubs can hang over their crosstown rivals, whom much of baseball has already fallen head over heels for, threads and all.
HOLD — Sky Break Fever, But Still In Recovery
Are the real Chicago Sky finally standing up?
It had been exactly three weeks since the Sky’s last entry in the win column when they broke a seven-game losing streak at Indiana’s expense Wednesday.
That skid, the team’s worst in nine years, ran in tandem with the ankle injury that sidelined Candace Parker up until her return this past Wednesday. But it was also dotted with the absences of Stefanie Dolson and Allie Quigley, the swapping of first-round pick Shyla Heal for fellow 2021 draftee Dana Evans, and lots of turnovers (a league-worst 126 of them to be exact).
Whether a product of the spiraling Fever or being back at fullish strength or both, the Sky (4-7) were stingier with their possessions the last two contests. With three of their next six games coming against Eastern Conference front-runner Connecticut (8-3), who scores nearly a quarter of its points off turnovers.
How well the Sky protect the ball could mean the difference between them escaping the depths of the standings or remaining miles away from expectations.
Drew Stevens is a Senior Writer for WARR Media, he lives and works in Chicago