Sox, Cubs makeup game is a battle for worst

Posted September 02, 2009 11:00 pm

By Tim Sassone

Ozzie Guillen says a lot of things, but little did the White Sox manager know how much he nailed it back on June 16 when talking before the first of the two series with the Cubs.

"I think it might be the battle of who is worst in town," Guillen said.

Maybe it wasn't as true then, but it certainly looks to be that way now as the Cubs and White Sox meet today at Wrigley Field in a makeup of their June 16 rainout.

While both teams were struggling in mid-June with many of the same problems that plague them today, at least hope was alive for better things to come with so much time still left on the schedule.

There is little hope now that either club will return to the playoffs in what has turned into a bitterly disappointing season on both sides of town.

The White Sox are done, having dropped five of their last six on what has been a 2-8 road trip. The Cubs are on life support, hopelessly behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central and with too many teams to pass to be considered a serious wild-card contender.

Who would have thought back on June 16 when this makeup game rolled around that Jim Thome would no longer be with the White Sox?

That Geovany Soto would have lost his starting catcher job with the Cubs to Koyie Hill?

That rookie Gordon Beckham would be the White Sox's best player?

Or that supposed Cubs aces Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster would have just 15 wins between them?

The circumstances both teams find themselves in likely will kill the intensity the game would have featured in June.

"It seems kind of strange to be playing them in September," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.

No blue heaven

The Cubs were 30-30 on June 16 and just as mediocre as they are today. They were in fourth place in the division, 31/2 games behind the Cardinals after having dropped four of five.

Gerald Perry had been fired two days earlier as hitting coach and replaced by Von Joshua, who made working with Milton Bradley one of his first priorities.

"Hopefully he'll get these guys going in the right direction," Piniella said.

That still hasn't happened. The Cubs went into Wednesday's game with Houston 12th in the NL in hitting and 10th in runs scored.

Bradley was hitting .227 back then and has done little since, other than to create a hostile environment for himself on and off the field with his public comments about his problems with the fans at Wrigley Field being race related.

With all due respect to Soto, Zambrano and Alfonso Soriano, Bradley has been the Cubs' biggest disappointment with just 12 home runs and 37 RBI in 112 games.

Jake Fox and Mike Fontenot have knocked in more runs than Bradley.

Even back in June, Bradley was talking better than he was hitting.

"I just want to do better," Bradley told reporters. "What I've been doing just ain't cutting it. I want to live up to all the expectations of the fans and do what they want me to do. I'm working hard every day. Come October, hopefully they'll love me."

There probably won't be an October for the Cubs, and there might not be a next season for Bradley on the North Side.

Dead men walking

Even after winning three of four, the White Sox were 30-34 on June 16 and third in the AL Central - 41/2 games behind the Detroit Tigers.

The Sox weren't hitting either with their .251 average the second lowest in the American League. Their hitting coach, Greg Walker, was under fire as well, but he survived, though the offense has not come around (11th in average and 11th in runs scored).

Left fielder Carlos Quentin was on the disabled list with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Quentin has been perhaps the biggest disappointment on the South Side with 15 home runs and 35 RBI in 75 games.

"If Carlos gets hot this is going to be a dangerous ballclub," Guillen said a few weeks ago.

Never happened.

Jose Contreras had just been named AL player of the week the day before the Cubs and Sox were to play for the first time after going 2-0 with an ERA of 0.00 in 16 innings.

Contreras had the Sox encouraged by his progress, but the right-hander wound up winning only three more games and was 5-13 when he was traded to the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.

As for Beckham, he was hitting only .144 on June 16, but he soon would take off and put himself square in the rookie of the year race. Beckham has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal Sox season while becoming the new face of the team.

Not everything Guillen said back on June 16 with both teams scuffling rang true.

"At the end of the season both teams should be in the pennant race," Guillen said.

Consider that one a swing and a miss by Ozzie.

Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen Joe Ranze

Scouting report Cubs vs. White Sox at Wrigley Field TV: Channel 9, Comcast SportsNet Radio: WGN 720-AM, WSCR 670-AM Pitching matchup: The Cubs' Ryan Dempster (8-7) vs. Carlos Torres (0-0), today at 1:20 p.m. About the Cubs: They've won two series in a row as they plod along and try to keep their faint wild-card hopes alive. Dempster is 1-3 with a 6.35 ERA against the White Sox in 11 games (4 starts). The Cubs' bullpen has a scoreless-innings streak of 201/3 Innings, dating to Aug. 27. Left fielder Alfonso Soriano and third baseman Aramis Ramirez should be back in the starting lineup after each got a rest Wednesday. The Cubs lowered their team ERA to 3.90 Wednesday with a shutout of the Astros. About the White Sox: Can they build off the momentum of Wednesday's stunning win over the Twins? That remains to be seen, but as captain Paul Konerko said, getting back to the .500 mark is the only goal that matters at the moment. Torres gets the start today and he's going to have to be a lot better than he was in his last outing with the Sox, when he lasted just 31/3 innings vs. Cleveland on Aug. 8 and allowed 4 runs on 3 hits and 6 walks. Gordon Beckham is batting .467 (7-for-15) against the Cubs this season. Next for the Cubs: New York Mets at Citi Field, Friday-Sunday Next for the White Sox: Boston Red Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, Friday-Monday

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