Another City Series is over, and despite the Chicago White Sox’s historically bad season and a sub-.500 campaign by the Cubs, this year’s crosstown matchups were about as good as it gets, entertainment-wise.
The Cubs bounced back from the dead in a pair of 7-6 wins at Wrigley Field in early June, and they fended off a late Sox rally Friday in a wild, 7-6 victory at Guaranteed Rate Field. That led into Saturday night’s finale, in which the Cubs broke an eighth-inning tie for a 3-1 win and a season sweep.
A rare day off on a Sunday presents both teams a chance to decompress before heading into the stretch run, when the Cubs will attempt to get into the thick of the National League wild-card race and the Sox will try to avoid setting a major-league record for losses in a 162-game season.
Here are four questions from the weekend.
1. If the Cubs finish strong but don’t make the postseason, can their season be considered a success?
President Jed Hoyer was asked that very question last August during the Cubs’ late-season surge into wild-card contention. He wisely said he would answer after the season. The ultimate answer was “no,” as evidenced by the firing of manager David Ross.
Craig Counsell, who replaced Ross, was asked the same question Saturday with the Cubs edging closer to legitimate wild-card contention.
“Let’s play the season before answering questions like that,” Counsell said.
Of course, Counsell said at the Cubs Convention in January he expected the Cubs to make the playoffs: “You don’t think I can do it? Watch.”
But that’s nothing new with him.
“Those are just expectations that get set at the beginning of the season,” he said. “Every team, hopefully while I’m here, should be expected to make the playoffs. But the ‘if’ (question), with a lot of games left, I think can wait.”
2. Can a moral victory suffice in this horrible White Sox season?
Left fielder Andrew Benintendi said Friday’s one-run loss after trailing 7-0 felt “like a win.” Interim manager Grady Sizemore concurred while adding he was not trying to “downplay” the loss to the Cubs.
“The fight and the energy in that dugout, it felt like a playoff game,” he said. “The crowd was going nuts. I hope they are all like that, honestly.”
No one had the heart to tell Sizemore that, no, they are not all like this. Honestly. The crowds will diminish now that the Cubs have left the South Side until 2025, though some energy should remain for the New York Yankees’ arrival Monday for a three-game series.
Sizemore, in his first two games as interim manager, already looks comfortable in his new role, and his players seem to be responding to him. Everything is new for Sizemore, who admitted he was reluctant to talk to the media as a player.
“I’m not great in front of a camera,” he said Saturday. “I don’t always say the right thing. But I’m trying to embrace the role and be a good spokesman and a good leader for this team, this franchise and this city.”
If the Sox do get a “Sizemore Bounce” the final seven weeks, he could make it difficult for general manager Chris Getz to look elsewhere for a manager.
3. Was Getz interviewing A.J. Pierzynski before Saturday’s game?
Pierzynski, who was working Saturday’s telecast for Fox Sports, joked that his pregame talk with Getz on the field was an “interview” for the 2025 managerial vacancy.
Getz said Thursday he wants someone who’s currently in a major-league uniform and outside the organization. In truth, Pierzynski said he would be interested in the job if Getz expanded his criteria.
“Of course,” Pierzynski told the Tribune. “You want to obviously come help turn this around because right now it’s not very good. But I’m not going to be mad because they’re doing what they want to do and have a certain plan in place.
“That’s all Chris and I were talking about — what they’re looking at and what they have. He was filling me in on where they are. It was a good conversation.”
Getz confirmed it was a nice conversation that wasn’t about the managerial position. He understands that as a media member, Pierzynski is paid to give opinions on baseball, including on the Sox.
Pierzynski lost his job as a Sox ambassador after criticizing the decision to hire Getz without interviewing outside candidates.
“You get a free shot to talk to 29 other teams’ best guys,” Pierzynski said Saturday. “Why would you not use that, even if (Getz is) the right choice? Hell, you might learn something about why this team does this or that. It might help you when you get hired.”
4. Did Getz shun Sox TV analyst Steve Stone during Friday’s in-game interview?
Social media was abuzz Friday when Getz joined John Schriffen and Stone in the booth early in the game. Getz was seen facing Schriffen with his back to Stone and never turned toward him, even when Stone was asking a question.
Some observers thought the tension was obvious and that Getz was purposely disrespecting the veteran announcer for reasons unknown.
Getz, who says he doesn’t look much at social media, laughed when I asked him about it Saturday night. He said an NBC Sports Chicago producer had given him a headphone and was talking into his ear during the interview. The producer told Getz to face the camera when talking, so he was unable to turn and face Stone.
The two have an amicable relationship and were seen talking on the field before Friday’s game. In the end, it was just another strange occurrence from the Sox broadcast booth.
Stone is in the final year of his contract and could become a free agent if the Sox don’t re-sign him. He won’t talk about it until the end of the season.
The Sox would be crazy to let Stone leave after a season like this, as the Cubs did in 2004.
Stay tuned.
