Chicago Sports

MINNEAPOLIS — Lucas Giolito spoke for himself, but he could have been speaking for many of his White Sox teammates.

“I could never have predicted I would have struggled this bad,” Giolito said of his disappointing 2022 season. “Considering how much confidence I had and how good I felt coming into the season, it was a wakeup call that it can be a cruel game.”

Cruel? The Sox looked at a soft American League Central during the spring and assumed they would win it, simply because they won it last season. Fans bought up tickets and Sox gear believing they would, too. Oddsmakers made the Sox prohibitive favorites to win it and listed them among the top World Series contenders.

After 4-3 victory against the host Twins Thursday afternoon that halted an eight-game losing streak at, the Sox own a 77-79 record with six games left. They are playing out the string and making plans to return to their respective homes next week.

Giolito will have one more start against the Twins at home next week following his five innings of two-run ball Thursday. He struck out six and walked three, lowering his ERA to a blocky 5.00, a number he never saw coming as the team’s Opening Day starter with ERAs of 3.48 and 3.53 the previous two seasons.

“So a lot to learn from this year,” Giolito said. “A lot of us can say that.”

Giolito said it’s on him and teammates to “make the necessary adjustments, put in the work and come back strong.” He has had conversations with 10-year players who have been consistently good, “and it reminds me you can never be complacent.”

“You can never feel like you have it figured out. There is always something.”

Without going into details, Giolito said he will take time to rest and clear his head after the season ends Wednesday and then will embark on a smarter plan for 2023. He added weight last offseason and came in touching the mid-90s in velocity, but tweaked an abdominal muscle in his first start of the regular season. It’s possible he comes in lighter next season.

“I’m a big [6-6, 270 pounds] guy,” Giolito said. “I’m one of the least athletic guys in here and it’s important for me to be as athletic as I can, be able to repeat, repeat, repeat.”

It’s most important the Sox don’t repeat 2022 next season.

This and that

Elvis Andrus went 0-for-5 and is 0-for-22 in his last four games.

*Yoan Moncada was out with a sore foot from being struck by a foul ball Tuesday but will play again this season, acting manager Miguel Cairo said.

*St. Rita graduate Mark Payton played left field and collected his first two hits as a White Sox, both singles, had an RBI and scored two runs.

*Jose Abreu doubled and singled, raising his average to .306.

*Liam Hendriks earned his 34th save with his 40th scoreless outing of the season.

*Cairo said rookie Carlos Perez will catch starting pitcher Davis Martin Friday in the first of a three-game series in San Diego.

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The big news on the Lonzo Ball front on Thursday?

There was no real news.

Coach Billy Donovan told reporters that the Wednesday left knee surgery went well, that Ball was optimistic in conversations afterward, and the feeling from the organization was that they would have the point guard back at some point this season.

Basically, the same view the Bulls had when the surgery was announced.

“I’m always a positive guy, so we’re going to see him on the floor when? It’s just going to depend on how he feels during recovery,” executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said of Ball on Tuesday.

What also didn’t change was the initial window for Ball. Depending on how the knee reacts in rehab, Ball will be re-evaluated in four-to-six weeks, and then a more definitive timetable will come out of that.

The wildcard in all of this?

It remains Ball.

He has now had three surgeries on the knee – two since last January – and made it very clear that he was all about taking his time to completely heal up before returning to the floor.

“I’m at a point now where I know I can’t get back out there until I’m comfortable playing and can actually play,” Ball said the day before his surgery. “So whenever that day comes, that’s when I’ll have the jersey back on.”

Forcing pace

Besides developing into a corner three-point specialist and being the best two-way starter the Bulls had, the sneaky part of Ball’s game was his ability to put pressure on the opposing defense with how quickly he advanced the ball up the floor.

Not only has Donovan been using these first three days of practice to get his guards to think that way, but identify who exactly was good at it. With Ball sidelined until at least November, someone has to step up.

“That’s where [Ball] was elite, like he could snap the ball across the floor and create advantages,” Donovan said. “It’s something we’re working on with Ayo, Coby [White] and those guys, where we’ve got to be able to get down the floor.”

Three-point blues

Nikola Vucevic was searching for his long-range shot throughout most of last season, shooting a dismal 31.4% from three-point range. A number that was worse since he started making the three a regular part of his arsenal back in 2019.

So looking back now, what went wrong? According to Vucevic, what didn’t go wrong?

“Early on in the season, I think I was a little too passive and trying to play in a way that was within the team, trying to help everyone get involved,” Vucevic said. “I felt like I was too much out on the perimeter and settling a little bit. And I think the shots didn’t start falling for me and I didn’t get in a rhythm, and then it took me awhile to get out of it. Then I wanted to make it happen overnight, and I started forcing things a little bit.”

The good news was Vucevic wasn’t dwelling on it, and considered it more a blip on the map than a downward trend.

“I know I’m a good shooter,” Vucevic said.

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Drivers trying to reach the outbound Stevenson Expressway from downtown are in for a headache.

A feeder ramp connecting the outbound Dan Ryan Expressway to the outbound Stevenson Expressway closed early Thursday morning due to a fire and will remained closed until inspectors determine whether it’s safe.

“When will it reopen and what repairs will be necessary, I don’t know,” Illinois Department of Transportation spokeswoman Maria Castaneda said Thursday afternoon. “We won’t know until inspectors get back to us, which could be later today.”

In the meantime, motorists are being rerouted east toward Lake Shore Drive where they will exit at King Drive in order to get on the outbound Stevenson Expressway, Castaneda said.

“Motorists can expect delays and should allow extra time for trips through this area. Drivers areurged to pay close attention to flaggers and signs in the work zones, obey the posted speed limitsand be on the alert for workers and equipment,” according to IDOT.

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The Blackhawks will make plenty of mistakes this season. Players will be in the wrong place, cover the wrong man, choose the wrong option with the puck or even mess up while trying to do the right thing. That’s inevitable.

But new coach Luke Richardson has focused in training camp on teaching his systems — and breaking down the individual assignments in his systems –in such a way that at least every Hawks player knows, in theory, what he should do in any given situation.

Indeed, players have frequently mentioned how straightforward and easy-to-understand Richardson’s coaching has been.

“It really is awesome,” Riley Stillman said. “When you know, coming to the rink, exactly what your role is and what your job is, it takes the pressure off trying to find out what to do or how to be noticed. When your job is laid out for you and all you have to do is do your job, it helps everybody. Luke has done a great job with that.”

Added MacKenzie Entwistle: “As a player, that’s all you can ask: knowing what your job is. Then, if there’s a breakdown, it’s on you. It’s nice knowing the structure of each zone, seeing it on video and then actually executing it out there.”

In the defensive zone, Richardson is implementing a “box-plus-one” system similar to a zone. On the penalty kill, he has dialed up the Hawks’ aggressiveness, particularly on the forecheck. And in the neutral zone, he wants the Hawks going quickly and moving the puck north-south without overcomplicating things.

When players don’t immediately grasp concepts, they’ve been empowered to speak up and create dialogue, which has also helped it all sink in faster.

“We made them feel comfortable to ask questions,” Richardson said. “‘It’s not just you. There are probably six other people that want to ask the same question, so ask it.’ We have the technology now where we can show the video and laser pointers and draw on screen where it’s very clear.”

On Wednesday morning, for example, Richardson began the Hawks’ video session reviewing three plays from Tuesday’s preseason game against the Blues.

The first two videos came from a sloppy start to the second period. During the first shift, Patrick Kane failed to corral a pass from Alex Vlasic, causing the puck to get tied up in a defensive-zone board battle. Max Domi won the battle, but promptly turned the puck over to Blues forward Jordan Kyrou, forcing Petr Mrazek to have to sweep away a scoring chance.

During the next shift, Andreas Athanasiou received a breakout pass from Connor Murphy. But instead of turning up-ice,he curled east-west at the defensive blue line and attempted an ill-advised drop pass to Murphy that Blues forward Klim Kostin intercepted, leading to another scoring chance.

Richardson followed those negative videos with a positive clip from later in the period, though.

In it, Kevin Korchinski made a clever backhand breakout pass to Domi. The play was briefly broken up but Domi grabbed the puck back, Kane led a transition attack down the wing, Korchinski followed the play and crashed the net and Kane fed Korchinski for a scoring chance.

“We just don’t have to be risky to create,” Richardson explained. “Especially a line like that, they’re good enough and fast enough. They’re going to create without being risky.

“It’s just [about] treating everybody the same. The young guys see it [as], ‘Oh, I can show a clip of our No. 1 line last night making a mistake or a poor decision.’ … That’s just honest. It’s not centering anybody out. It’s just what happened in the game. And then going from there, everybody can take constructive criticism evenly. I think that makes us a team.”

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MINNEAPOLIS — He was one face of what fans objected to about manager Tony La Russa, the White Sox’ longest tenured player who found himself in the lineup on a regular basis despite struggling through his worst offensive season ever.

Leury Garcia knew it, often hearing [“crap”] from fans in the stands, as he put it, and as La Russa said, the harder he tried, the worse things got.

“Not good at all,” Garcia told the Sun-Times, summing up his season. “Since Day 1, I’ve been up and down. It was not the best season. It was the worst season.”

Garcia heard boos, directed at him and La Russa, and it’s probably a good thing he’s not on social media where fans’ displeasure got brutal at times. La Russa’s unwavering support didn’t help his cause.

But he gets it.

“We are supposed to be in a better place at this time of year,” he said.

The switch-hitting Garcia even batted third twice and cracked his generous smile with an “alrighty then” smile before one of those starts. It looked like a puzzling vote of confidence from La Russa, who always preferred his veterans.

“He told me, ‘Hey, put your head down, we believe in you,’ ” Garcia said.

But Garcia, a career .254/.293/.350 hitter with a .644 OPS in 701 games, never got untracked aside from a few moments, including a walkoff single to beat the Twins in 10 innings on July 6 at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Getting picked off third base on ball four to Yoan Moncada to end an inning during a 6-5 loss at Colorado on July 27 was was a signature baserunning blunder by a Sox team that had too many of them in 2022.

Garcia’s pose, face down in the Coors Field dirt, was a snapshot of the Sox’ season.

Since bench coach Miguel Cairo took over for the ailing La Russa, Garcia has started in just four games, and not since Sept. 11. He hasn’t appeared in the last seven.

“Yes, it’s kind of like, you want to go with the guys that are going to be healthy and the guys that are doing the job,” Cairo said Wednesday “It is baseball, man. Sometimes you’re going to be fine and sometimes you’re going to … You want to be consistent in everything you do.”

Garcia is batting .210/.233/.267 with a paltry .500 OPS in 90 games, his worst season since his first full year on the South Side in 2014. This comes after Garcia, who plays three positions in both the outfield and infield, was awarded for his versatility with a three-year, $16.5 million contract that was surprising at the time and seems even more perplexing now.

Garcia, 31, said that first multiyear contract of his career did not affect his performance.

“Not really,” he said. “When you have a good contract, you feel good. But at the same time you have to take care of it, you know? Because they pay you and they believe in you. That’s why I don’t feel good at all. It is what it is, but next year come back and do better.”

“He was just trying to swing through everything instead of being more selective,” Cairo said. “He needs to work a little bit more on a approach. When you have a guy like that that can hit line drives, sometimes he hits a homer, it would be good.”

Cairo again on Thursday drove home the importance of players coming to spring training in shape and ready to roll next year. There will be no lockout or shortened camp in February and March, so no excuses.

Garcia is one of many who have underperformed for the Sox (76-79), who were trying to snap an eight-game losing streak Thursday.

“I just want to work in the offseason to be healthy, and I have to work on my hitting,” Garcia said. “Those are the things I’ll focus on in the offseason.”

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The baptism was scheduled for Tuesday.

It became a baptism by fire quickly for Dalen Terry.

The rookie was matched up on fellow Bulls teammate – and two-time All-Star – Zach LaVine, and while Terry had watched plenty of film, felt like he was prepared for whatever was coming his way, he quickly found out there’s a big difference between Summer League competition and max contract competition.

“Zach LaVine is very fast,” Terry explained afterward, when asked about what surprised him so far in this first week of training camp. “That was the first time I ever actually played on the court with him. His first step is impeccable. Hats off to him. [Moving forward] I’m going to try and get in front of it.”

Translation: LaVine taught Terry all about the art of the NBA blow-by.

Not the only lesson Terry will be learning the next few weeks.

What remains to be seen, however, is what the Bulls do with the 18th overall pick out of Arizona?

He was drafted in June as a wing defender that thrived on defense and causing chaos on that end of the ball, while playing with an in-your-face attitude.

That was on display quickly when Summer League practices began in July, with Terry going back and forth verbally with Patrick Williams, who was getting in some workouts with the younger guys.

It never reached a boiling point with the two, but it reiterated to the organization what Terry was about.

That attitude he carries with him wasn’t about to change, either, even with the veterans now all in camp and on the floor with Terry.

“I’m me regardless,” Terry said, when asked if he would continue playing – and talking – with that Terry swagger. “I’m going to do that regardless.”

As far as his basketball ability and how coach Billy Donovan plans to use that, the four scheduled exhibition games will be very interesting for Terry.

Even with Lonzo Ball out for an indefinite amount of time, Terry obviously won’t be getting those point guard minutes. There’s Goran Dragic, Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White dividing up that playing time. That means Terry will likely be getting his run as a wing defender, competing against the likes of Javonte Green and Derrick Jones Jr. for time on the floor.

“Honestly, I’m just trying to get in where I fit in,” Terry said, when asked if he knew how he would be used. “I’m young, I’m a rookie. There are a lot of vets on this team. I’m just trying to learn, honestly. When my time comes, my time comes. Every day is just another day in a different direction.”

And the immediate direction the organization wants him taking is getting bigger.

Terry was listed at 6-foot-7, 195 pounds, and since arriving in camp has been put on the peanut butter diet to add some weight.

“I’m a skinny dude,” Terry said, when asked what he’s hoping the peanut butter would do for him. “You see Pat? Try and be like Pat. Nah, I’m playing. Just trying to get strong in all ways. Want my body weight able to take a good hit and give it back.

“So yeah, a lot of peanut butter. You all know what peanut butter does. I actually didn’t like peanut butter until I got here, but I’ve got to use it now.”

Adding some mass was a good plan to start off with, but Terry has a lot to work on in this camp.

After all, slowing down “impeccable” first steps doesn’t happen overnight.

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Drivers trying to reach the outbound Stevenson Expressway from downtown are in for a headache.

A feeder ramp connecting the outbound Dan Ryan Expressway to the outbound Stevenson Expressway closed early Thursday morning due to a fire and will remained closed until inspectors determine whether it’s safe.

“When will it reopen and what repairs will be necessary, I don’t know,” Illinois Department of Transportation spokeswoman Maria Castaneda said Thursday afternoon. “We won’t know until inspectors get back to us, which could be later today.”

In the meantime, motorists are being rerouted east toward Lake Shore Drive where they will exit at King Drive in order to get on the outbound Stevenson Expressway, Castaneda said.

“Motorists can expect delays and should allow extra time for trips through this area. Drivers areurged to pay close attention to flaggers and signs in the work zones, obey the posted speed limitsand be on the alert for workers and equipment,” according to IDOT.

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No. 4 Glenbard West at No. 6 York, 7:30 p.m. Friday

This was the matchup last year that showed York had arrived. TheDukes won 12-10 in Glen Ellyn, earning their first victory in the series since 2007 and clinching their first IHSA playoff berth since 2011. Dual-threat quarterback Matt Vezza, who had 245 total yards in that win, is back and is one of a number of offensive difference makers for York (5-0, 3-0). And don’t forget the Dukes’ defense, which has allowed 38 points all season. Junior back Julius Ellens of Glenbard West (5-0, 3-0) has been one of theseason’s breakout stars, running behind a big, experiencedoffensive line. The Hilltoppers are the third straight unbeaten opponent for York, which beat Downers North in overtime and then knockedoff Lyons last week.

No. 2 Loyola at No. 11 Marist, 7:30 p.m. Friday

It’s round two for the CCL/ESCC Blue and the spotlight here could be on a pair of senior quarterbacks. Colgate recruitJake Stearney of Loyola (5-0, 1-0) has a 135.6 QB rating with 1,035 yards and 18 TDs to go along with a 73% completion rate. Declan Forde leads a deep receiving corps with 16 catches for 349 yards and seven TDs. Dermot Smyth of Marist (3-2, 0-1), a starting receiver last season, has completed 67% of his passes for 881 yards and eight TDs with a 118.8 rating. Mike Donegan has caught five of those touchdowns.

No. 1 Mount Carmel at Brother Rice, 7 p.m. Friday

The top-ranked Caravan (5-0, 1-0 CCL/ESCC Blue) have allowed only 27 points all season, including 17 vs. St. Ignatius last week. Two Division I recruits — lineman Asher Tomaszewski (Kansas State) and edge rusher Danny Novickas (Ohio) — set the tone on defense. Quarterback Blainey Dowling leads the Mount Carmel offense, which averages 40 points a game. Brother Rice (3-2, 0-1), whose losses are to St. Rita and Loyola, is mostly young but has senior Roderick Pierce, a Wisconsin recruit, anchoring the defensive line.

No. 20 Homewood-Flossmoor at No. 10 Bolingbrook, 6 p.m. Friday

This is part of a pivotal two-game stretch for Homewood-Flossmoor (4-1, 1-0), which has won four straight since a season-opening loss to Naperville North. The Vikings are looking to get back into the Southwest Suburban Blue conversation after having a string of 10 straight IHSA playoff berths snapped last season. Good showings here and next week vs. Lincoln-Way East could help the cause for H-F, whose defense is led by Miami (Ohio)-bound linebacker Christian McKinney. Bolingbrook (3-2, 1-1) has three lopsided wins along with competitive losses to unbeatens Simeon and Lincoln-Way East. Freshman quarterback Jonas Williams has been putting up big numbers all season.

No. 14 Maine South at No. 21 Glenbrook South, 7 p.m. Friday

Maine South is 3-2 (1-0 in the CSL South) with a 19-17 loss to Warren and a 42-41 defeat to Prospect. Hawks quarterback Jack DeFillippis is coming off a three-touchdown game against Glenbrook North. Maine South has won 26 straight conference games dating back to 2016. Glenbrook South (5-0, 1-0) has been on the right side of its two close games, edging Sandburg 15-14 and Palatine 43-42.

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Shakespeare? O’Neill? Chekhov? Were you to make apie chart of all the playwrights the Goodman Theatre has produced over the past quarter-or-so century, the circle wouldn’t be dominated by any of the above. That honor goes instead to Alabama-born Rebecca Gilman.

“Swing State,” her politically-fueled drama opening Oct. 7, marks her 10th production at the Goodman since 1999, and the sixth helmed by artistic director Robert Falls.

Gilman vividly recalls her first meeting with Falls in the late 1990s. He hadn’t seen her first produced play, a drama about a serial killer and the girl he used to help him target prey. But when “The Glory of Living” landed on Falls’ desk after a short 1996 run at Forest Park’s tiny (and now defunct) Circle Theatre, Falls wanted to hear more from its author.

“We had lunch at some really fancy restaurant, at the end he asked me what I was doing for the rest of the day. And I was like ‘I’m going back to register at the temp agency.’ I’d been working as an administrative assistant. That afternoon, I got my first commission from the Goodman,” Gilman recalled during a recent chat.

“Swing State” is set in summer, 2021, in a tiny Wisconsin town, not wholly unlike the one Gilman calls home in a rural area near New Glarus. The plot follows neighbors on opposite ends of the political spectrum, all trying to survive in a post-pandemic world where something as small as a bumper sticker can spark vicious, futile discord — or worse.

In mere synopsis, “Swing State” sounds — as do many of Gilman’s plays when abbreviated to plot points — heavy, potentially grim and more about provoking thought than providing entertainment. Gilman’s earlier works at have taken on racism (“Spinning into Butter”), stalking (“Boy Gets Girl”), natural disasters (“A True History of the Johnstown Flood”), meth addiction (“Luna Gale”) and police corruption (“Blue Surge”). But time and again, Gilman infuses humor and humanity into even the most corrupt characters.

“When I write, I try to work through things that are really bugging me, making me angry or sad. And then I try to make it as funny as I can,” Gilman said.

“I feel like we’re all experiencing some collective trauma from the pandemic,” she continued. “And from the threats to our democracy. And climate change. Obviously, these are huge topics. You can’t take them all on in a play. So I decided to look at one person’s attempt to reconcile her anxiety and grief at a specific, really difficult time,” she said.

In “Swing State,” that person is Peg, a high school counselor (Mary Beth Fisher, in her fourth Gilman production at the Goodman). Gilman won’t divulge plot details, save that an early twist puts Peg and her ex-con neighbor on a collision course with the local sheriff (Kirsten Fitzgerald).

“Swing State” was borne in part from Gilman’s own experiences trying to navigate rural Wisconsin after decades of living in Chicago.

“I live kind of in the middle of nowhere. There’s four houses on my road. It’s personal, but impersonal. We don’t talk about politics, but I think we can all guess where each other stands,” she said.

“But this thing happens when there’s so few of you and you need to help each other — somebody has to help get that tree out of the middle of the road. Or if the power goes out, if there’s a blizzard that closes the roads, you have to be able to rely on each other. You know you need each other, even if you’re violently opposed ideologically,” she said.

“Wisconsin is so evenly divided,” she continued. “It’s been like that for a while but over the past four years it’s become even more so. You find yourself wondering. Should I even make eye-contact with that person at the gas station? If I put this bumper sticker on my car, is someone going to say something, could it provoke something? I was talking about this to Bob (Falls) during the pandemic and he was like, ‘I think you need to write a play.’ “

Gilman’s passion for conservation also plays into “Swing State.” An avid bird watcher and a board member for the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, Gilman and once spent a sabbatical year living in North Dakota cabin built during the Civilian Conservation Corps as a volunteer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“One of the women I’ve been bird-watching with for years calls what we’re seeing — or not seeing — ‘a different kind of silent spring,’ ” Gilman said. “I think with the pandemic, the environment, the political divisiveness — people are trying to find ways to save what they love. That’s what I wanted to explore with the play. How do you save the things you love? How do you even begin?”

“Swing State” is one of two productions Falls directs this season, his final as artistic director at the Goodman. He’ll be succeeded by Susan V. Booth, who brought the “Glory of Living” script to Falls when she was working as the Goodman’s literary development office.

“I was taken, immediately,” Falls said of Gilman’s writing. “I think our voices merged in some ways. We didn’t plan for her to become the most produced playwright at the Goodman. But we formed a truly unique theatrical partnership.”

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