A rivalry that never gets old Cubs vs. Sox fun for everyone ... well, almost everyone

MESA, Ariz. - The Cubs and White Sox have seen plenty of each other this spring, both in Arizona and Las Vegas.

And they'll renew acquaintances six times during the regular season.

Too much of a good thing?

No way, say the two managers.

"I don't think so," White Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen said Friday before the Cubs beat the Sox 9-4. The game was played before an announced crowd of 13,327 at HoHoKam Park, setting a Cactus League record. The two teams set the record of 13,311 last Saturday at Camelback Ranch.

"You play today and then Friday and Saturday, they will take it seriously," Guillen said. "That's never going to die. To me, whoever come up with the idea for us to play in Las Vegas, it was great. It was great for both ballclubs and great for the city. It was a great idea because those teams will bring people to the ballpark no matter what."

In general, Guillen says he likes the rivalry.

"I think it's great," he said. "I think we are the ones that we (managers) take the biggest punch because we have to deal with this thing. I think for the players, the media, the fans, the city, it's great. To me, it's fun. As long as you see a lot of people in the stands, with enthusiasm, and it's the talk of the day, it's always good for baseball."

Guillen and Cubs manager Lou Piniella met on the field before the game and exchanged complimentary words, even though Guillen claimed Piniella was 80 years old. In the same breath, though, he called Piniella his mentor.

"I tell you what, I'm closer to 80 than he is," Piniella said. "It's a nice rivalry, obviously. It's a fun rivalry. Two good teams. People get excited about it in Chicago and rightfully so. We'll see. I enjoy getting a chance to see Ozzie a couple times during the summer."

Neither manager got to do much managing Friday as the Cubs scored 7 runs in the first inning to chase Sox lefty Clayton Richard. As much as the managers seem to like each other, they see managing against each other a little differently. Guillen admits to getting "up" for managing against Piniella.

"You have to," Guillen said. "Lou is a well-prepared man. He's been in the game so long. This man can come up with different things. Some people are afraid to do things because they are going to fail, but Lou, he (doesn't) care.

"If he puts a play on and it (doesn't) work, he could care less. That's a manager who has to be feared. Besides that, I learn a lot competing against him. He's one of the few guys I watch during a game because I learn something from him. I learn something from him after a game. I admire him and I like the way he goes about his business."

Piniella, who is 65 and not 80, says he doesn't look across the diamond and into the other dugout during the game.

"I don't manage against the other manager anymore," he said. "When I was younger, I used to. I enjoyed beating certain guys a little more than others, but not anymore. I just manage our baseball team now and try to utilize our players as well as possible. And that's it."

And Friday was it until the White Sox visit the Cubs for a midweek June series at Wrigley Field, including a night game. In recent years, most of the Cubs-Sox affairs have been weekend day games.

"They realize no matter what time of day or what day, they will sell out," Guillen. "It's not a big deal about doing it. I'm worried about playing night games in Chicago because people go crazy. I think it's great for the city. No matter how many games we play, people will have the same enthusiasm."