(670 The Score) Any fool knows optimism greets April in every baseball city, but particularly in Chicago and especially this year.
The White Sox carry legitimate World Series aspirations that permeate every discussion. The Cubs simply want to get on with this season so they can start defining whatever it becomes, because not even the men in charge seem to know yet.
Remember, too, that two years have passed since baseball's last springtime Opening Day, heightening the anticipation and fascination to levels impossible to measure and harder to describe. With COVID-19 and the pandemic of 2020 came perspective across America concerning the role sports play in our lives and, perhaps, a deeper appreciation of the national pastime developed. You know what they say about what absence does to the heart.
Oh, what we all would have given a year ago to cling to the hopes of our favorite teams, to argue over baseball's unwritten rules instead of ballpark protocols or to worry about batting averages and not positivity rates.
A year later, the umpires won't be the only ones at the ballpark wearing masks and a shot in the arm isn't referring to the impact of a new free agent. Slowly, gradually, the rhythm of baseball will return and all of it feels wonderfully familiar even if things will remain a little different for awhile.
It's not yet the way it used to be in the game, but normalcy appears to be on deck.
And not an inning too soon.
For the White Sox, the new normal includes managing expectations as shrewdly as the bullpen. They can't wait to get started because of where it all realistically could end -- in October, celebrating a championship well within their grasp. They didn't fire manager Rick Renteria after a postseason berth to field a mere contender. Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa, 76, didn't return after decade out of the dugout to finish second in the division or the American League. La Russa agreed to manage the White Sox after chairman Jerry Reinsdorf hijacked the hiring process for a singular purpose: to win a World Series ring.
Nothing about the way La Russa adapted in Arizona to filling out his first lineup card since 2011 created any doubts that he still was capable of doing the job. The most amusing part about La Russa's return was hearing the novelty in his voice as he consistently marveled at the talent he inherited, one player at a time, as if he were a museumgoer commenting on how exquisite each painting was as he passed.
Managing this Sox team will be a combination of science and art for La Russa, of experience and the "observational analytics" that he favors.
The batting order includes enough potent hitters, even without the injured Eloy Jimenez, to make who bats where a lesser concern. The starting rotation, thanks to the solid springs of No. 4 and No. 5 starters Dylan Cease and Carlos Rodon, offers promise at the back end to support the front, where Lucas Giolito, Dallas Keuchel and Lance Lynn figure to take turns resembling the staff ace. As for the bullpen, the Sox upgraded at closer by signing free agent Liam Hendriks and returned a group of relievers many considered baseball's best. Future stars Michael Kopech and Garrett Crochet, the triple-digit twins, give La Russa enough quality options that Sox fans will look forward to the sixth innings when bullpens start getting loose. Wondering if La Russa can push the right buttons in the bullpen would be like worrying about an architect finding a closet in a house he designed. No manager ever did more to specify bullpen roles more than La Russa.
While the extended loss of an MVP candidate such as Jimenez means the Sox will hit fewer home runs and maybe win more games 4-2 than 7-4, their strength always was pitching. That hasn't changed, so 94 victories still seem within reach.
Good luck predicting the course of the Cubs' season. Even more than usual, their direction could be dictated in the first month – the reality of a team with so many key players entering the final years of their contracts. Anthony Rizzo declared Monday he was done negotiating after failing to reach a long-term deal, and we already know how far apart the Cubs remain with Javier Baez and Kris Bryant. Hearing Rizzo contemplate a potential legacy with a second big league team – as his mentor Jon Lester established in Chicago – had to stop Cubs fans and officials in their tracks. Rizzo's reality check also begged the question: How many of the Big Three will be ex-Cubs on Opening Day 2022? The uncertainty surrounding the futures of core players Rizzo, Baez and Bryant hardly screams organizational stability, making some of us wonder if the Cubs are closer to "threading the needle," as president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer described, or becoming altogether unspooled. After trading ace Yu Darvish in December for salary reasons, it's a fair question to ask of a team that hasn't behaved like a big-market club lately.
A slow start by the Cubs only will intensify the questions from fans and media and could increase the number of teams interested in seeing if Hoyer seeks a return on Rizzo, Baez or Bryant before they walk away as free agents. If the Cubs, for whatever reason, reach Memorial Day languishing in the middle of a mediocre division, then Hoyer will face the dilemma every general manager hopes to avoid: tear down or make do? Reload or unload? Selling would become a higher priority than buying.
That's the glass half-empty view as the Cubs begin the 2021 schedule. Looking at the glass half-full, the Cubs' patchwork starting rotation performed better than expected in Arizona with Zach Davies and Trevor Williams emerging as reliable options. Jake Arrieta returned motivated with excellent mechanics. Adbert Alzolay might have the filthiest stuff among starters, if he can control it consistently. And Kyle Hendricks, the "Professor," has been good enough long enough to become tenured as one of the National League's steadiest pitchers. The bullpen poses the biggest questions, with Craig Kimbrel needing to finally provide the consistency the Cubs thought they were getting in 2019. The other relievers, honestly, can best be categorized as nondescript until Rowan Wick returns from a mysterious intercostal injury.
Offensively, history tempers any enthusiasm over a lineup known more for being chronically broken than fixed, but the addition of left fielder Joc Pederson created a buzz. Pederson banged eight home runs in spring training, which mean as much as his golf scores once Thursday arrives, but they do suggest he arrived ready to prove he's more than a platoon player. He has 40-home run power. And if Rizzo delivers his typical 30-homer, 100-RBI season ... and if Baez rebounds with fans in the stands and video at his disposal between at-bats ... and if Bryant recovers, finally ... and if Willson Contreras and Jason Heyward and Ian Happ – dangerous hitters, all of them – stay hot for long stretches, the Cubs can surprise their skeptics. They play outstanding defense, even with exiled Gold Glove-caliber second baseman Nico Hoerner stuck at the alternate site. They still know how to win.
They still look like an 82-win team, just over .500.
Is it overly optimistic to think the Cubs can go 82-80 – missing the playoffs – and the Sox can finish 94-68 and play the Yankees in the AL Championship Series? Isn't it fun to predict baseball seasons, to pore over statistics from MLB instead of the CDC this spring and to anticipate the soundtracks of our summer becoming the melodious tones of baseball again? Is there any better background noise this time of year than the crack of a bat or the call of a home run?
Talk about your antidotes. Play ball, indeed.
David Haugh is the co-host of the Mully & Haugh Show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on 670 The Score. Click here to listen. Follow him on Twitter @DavidHaugh.
