SAN DIEGO — The Cubs and White Sox might not be ready to face off in a cross-town World Series next season, but they are at least allowing Chicago sports fans a chance to take their mind off the woeful Bears.
Both Chicago baseball teams are making significant moves during the offseason.
The Cubs hired highly regarded former Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon to be their skipper in October, and they acquired veteran catcher Miguel Montero from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday. They also hope to sign left-hander Jon Lester as a free agent, and they reached an agreement with another free agent pitcher, right-hander Jason Hammel.
The White Sox acquired former Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija in a trade with the Oakland Athletics, and they are on the verge of adding former New York Yankees closer David Robertson to a free agent haul that includes designated hitter/first baseman Adam LaRoche and left-handed reliever Zach Duke.
Maddon would seem to have the more daunting task as the Cubs haven’t a winning season in five years, haven’t been to the World Series since 1945 and haven’t won a World Series since 1908.
However, always the optimist, Maddon thinks more about the potential thrill of winning a championship than the history of losing. He got a taste for the loyalty of Cubs fans in of — all places — New York last month when the former Lafayette quarterback was in town to see his alma mater play Lehigh in football at Yankee Stadium.
“I was walking to a cocktail party and it was a restaurant with the big windows and all of a sudden a bunch of people start pounding on the window from the inside out, they’re all Cub fans, pointing at Cubs stuff,” Maddon said Tuesday during baseball’s Winter Meetings at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.
“So you really get a sense or feel of that very fast. And even walking around Tampa, I get a lot of people approaching about the Cubs, and how much they’re Cubs fans and whatever. So I’m really eager to make a connection with all the Cubs fans.”
The Cubs also have perhaps the best group of young position players in the game with first baseman Anthony Rizzo, second baseman Javier Baez, third baseman Kris Bryant, shortstops Starlin Castro and Addison Russell and outfielders Jorge Soler and Arismendy Alcantara.
“We’re young and athletic, and that’s always a good thing,” Maddon said. “It’s going to allow us to turn this thing into a winner.”
The White Sox are no longer a young team, and they believe they are ready to overtake the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians in the American League Central and reach the postseason for the first time since 2008.
Samardzija will slot between left-handers Chris Sale and Jose Quintana to give the White Sox a very good top of the rotation. LaRoche will help take some of the burden off AL Rookie of the Year Jose Abreu in the middle of the lineup, and Robertson and Duke will solidify a leaky bullpen.
Chicago figures to get another boost from the return of center fielder Adam Eaton and right fielder Avisail Garcia following injury-plagued seasons.
“When you see the teams in our division, you’re either going to try to improve or you’re not,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “I think we’re improving to the point where we can be in the discussion (about contending).”
General manager Rick Hahn isn’t ready to starting planning for the postseason just yet. However, he feels as if his team is much improved after a 73-89 season.
“I don’t think you make statements in December,” Hahn said. “I do feel, though, that opposing teams have to know that they aren’t going to have an easy time of things when they come to Chicago.”
–The Philadelphia Phillies want to retool their roster this winter, if not go into a complete rebuild.
General manager Ruben Amaro admits it is tough to step back, especially for a franchise that had a run of five consecutive National League East titles from 2007-11. The Phillies won two pennants and a World Series in that span.
However, Philadelphia manager Ryne Sandberg is all in favor of getting younger after watching his team go 73-89 last season in his first full year on the job.
“I see a need for change and to get some youth in there and some energy and athleticism,” Sandberg said. “So I’m kind of anxious to see what the roster does look like with those changes to get the guys together and to work on the style of play that we need to do. Sometimes with younger players, that can be an easier process having them adjust to a style of play and to playing the game a certain way.”
–The Atlanta Braves have their eye on 2017, when they will open their new stadium in suburban Cobb County.
Manager Fredi Gonzalez, though, cannot afford to look that far ahead. He fully understand he is on the hot seat after general manager Frank Wren was fired in September while the Braves were wrapping up a 79-83 season.
“If I start thinking about moving into the new stadium now, then I’m going to be asking somebody for tickets to the new stadium when it opens,” Gonzalez cracked before turning serious. “The understanding is we’ve got win now. That’s the bottom line.”
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The Detroit News’ Tom Gage, who has been on the Tigers beat for 36 years, was elected the winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He will be honored with the award that is presented annually to a sportswriter “for meritorious contributions to baseball writing” during the Hall of Fame induction weekend from July 24-27 at Cooperstown, N.Y.
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Senior writer John Perrotto is The Sports Xchange’s baseball insider. He has covered Major League Baseball for 27 seasons.