Sox Machine: Chicago White Sox blog

Sox-Cubs, a.k.a. the two worst weekends of the season

The White Sox and Cubs enter their first series of the season with significant leads in their respective divisions for the first time since interleague play began.

Some say that gives the games a deeper meaning.  I think it makes it all the more pointless.

The crosstown classic that became largely irrelevant after the Sox won an actual World Series -- and just not the city's version -- is now just a huge distraction that puts the teams involved at a disadvantage within their divisions.  Using personal feelings to dismiss the series' importance is no longer necessary.

Look at it this way:  Both teams have six games against a first-place opponent over the next two weekends while their division rivals get at least one set against second- or third-tier opponents.  Here's who the other teams will be facing:

• Cleveland: Cincinnati and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Minnesota: Arizona and Milwaukee
• Detroit: San Diego and Colorado
• St. Louis: Boston and Kansas City
• Milwaukee: Baltimore and Minnesota

Two hot Chicago teams clashing makes good TV, but strength of schedule has no bearing in baseball.  That the houses will be packed and ratings up doesn't change the fact that a Sox-Royals and a Cubs-Pirates series mean a lot more for their playoff chances.

Really, the best thing about the crosstown series this year is that it could be used to destroy itself.  Interleague play is hokey as is, and when the Sox and Cubs meet, I can't think of a less enjoyable brand of baseball.

For one, it means I have to read about the Cubs.  I don't hate them by any means, and the Cubs fans I know are quality baseball fans, so I have no problem following the results of their games.  But it does irritate me at times like now, when I go to ESPN.com and see seven Cubs stories in the centerpiece, and have to pick through wondrous tales of their wholly unremarkable history because they might contain something about this upcoming series.  I'm not allowed to ignore them, and that frustrates me.

And then there are the actual games.  I've attended one apiece on both sides of town, and they're not fun.  The reason the atmosphere is "supercharged" is because the stands are packed with too many people who staple their self-esteem to the outcome of six rather meaningless games.  The games may be louder, but the volume has the overtones of desperation.

(I can always tell when the series is approaching by the increasing number of people who reach my site by Googling things like  "Cubs jokes" or "White Sox insults," which I think illustrates my point quite nicely.)

Package it all together, and it's way too much angst and agita for a series that ultimately accomplishes nothing.  Hell, you can derive more meaning from the three-game set with the Rockies. They're a common opponent of the Sox, Indians and Tigers, so you can compare the outcomes and see who did a better job taking advantage of a struggling team.

Ideally, the Sox would take all six games and the Cubs end up losing the NL Central to the Brewers by two.  Maybe the lack of a cash cow in the postseason would outweigh the value of a contrived in-season moneymaker and force Major League Baseball to cut the number of Sox-Cubs games in half.

Or maybe I'm the outlier, and everybody who cares about baseball in Chicago has these games marked on their calendar.  Personally, I've circled the June 30 game against the Indians to denote my favorite part of interleague play:

The end of it.

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Minor league roundup:

• Lehigh Valley 8, Charlotte 2
• Jack Egbert gave up seven runs on six hits over five innings.  Two of those hits were homers, and one was a grand slam.
• D.J. Carrasco struck out four over 3 1/3 scoreless innings.
• Jason Bourgeois went 2-for-4 with a solo homer.
• Jacksonville 8, Birmingham 5
• Dewon Day walked five over two innings, and when paired with two hits meant four runs.
• Miguel Negron hit a two-run homer, and Stefan Gartrell hit a solo shot.
• Cole Armstrong played for the first time since June 11, going 1-for-5.
• Winston-Salem 4, Potomac 2
• Jacob Rasner pitched three scoreless innings of relief, and Kanekoa Teixeira picked up his 13th save.
• Salvador Sanchez, C.J. Retherford and C.J. Lang each had two hits.
• West Virginia 10, Birmingham 2
• Levi Maxwell gave up six earned runs on nine hits over four innings, inflating his ERA to 2.72.
• Santo Luis struck out five over two innings of relief.
• Sergio Miranda went 3-for-3; Jim Gallagher went 2-for-5 with a double.
• Johnson City 4, Bristol 3
• Jedon Matthews went 3-for-4, falling a double short of the cycle, scoring two runs and driving in one.
• Joucer Martinez allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings.
• Michael Lewis added 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief.
• Justin Greene had three hits, including a solo homer.
• Great Falls 6, Helena 5
• Nevin Griffith allowed two unearned runs on four hits over five innings, with no walks and four strikeouts.
  
• Kenneth Williams went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two stolen bases.
• Nick Mahin went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer.