Rongey: Crosstown Cup is different this year

It's been a long time since the Crosstown series really "mattered" in Chicago. You have to go back to 2008 to find a season in which both clubs had simultaneous playoff hopes.

With all the promise of a Sox busy winter and the emergence of young Cubs talent, it appeared these games would once again bring the tension we had grown used to in the 2000s.

Early on, though, the teams began down diverging paths as the Sox grossly underperformed in the first two months while the Cubs started even better than expected. And if you were to look ahead to this weekend's games, you might've figured that they would be just like any other.

Though the series at Wrigley Field doesn't seem to have that live-and-die-with-every-single-pitch feel to it, there's been more energy in this series than I can recall over the last few years. It certainly no longer feels like the days when you wouldn't have to look very hard to find empty rows of seats.

The interest in this set is palpable this time around, and it's greatly welcomed. There just isn't much like a Crosstown Series when people care.

Sure, it doesn't hurt that Sox pitching has dominated and a winning series is guaranteed, but there's undeniably a different vibe.

With the trade deadline approaching, naturally the central debate has been the Sox' next move (or moves). Do they ride out the rest of the season with what they have since their play has improved, or do they sell what they can and get what they can and look to the future?

I don't believe that the outcome of the string with the Cubs will be the determining factor and I still think the Sox will listen to offers for anyone, regardless of how the next couple of weeks go.

If you took your positive feelings from the last few days (well, couple of weeks, really) and desired the Sox to stay the course, I would understand. As a fan, it's easy to feel good about the results lately.

But if the Sox end up standing pat at the end of the month, I imagine it will have more to do with the lack of return for their assets than it would be about anything else. GM Rick Hahn isn't stupid. He knows fully where the Sox are and what sort of arduous trek it'll be if they're to have any real chance of climbing back into the race.

And while the knee-jerk reaction may be to dump the whole lot of disappointing players, it just isn't realistic, and the Sox shouldn't make trades for the sake of making trades.

Another possibility is that the team might decide the April/May of several underperforming individuals were a fluke and that next year won't start like this one did. They might decide that hanging onto those players will allow them to address other roster needs on the infield during the offseason. And, yes, they still do need some upgrades.

In the meantime, enjoy this series for what it is. It's supposed to be fun, and this is the first time it has been in a while.

• Chris Rongey is the host of the White Sox pregame and postgame shows on WSCR 670-AM The Score. Follow him on Twitter@ChrisRongey and at chrisrongey.com.