Chicago Sports

GUARDIANS 11, SOX 2

Top lineup silent

Manager Tony La Russa started most of his regulars, who produced two singles in two passes through the batting order, Leury Garcia’s line single to right and Tim Anderson’s infield single. The Guardians plated nine runs in the fourth against A-ball right-hander McKinley Moore and Double-A lefty Zach Muckenhirn. Center fielder Luis Robert tried helping with diving and sliding attempts that were unsuccessful.

Anderson made the play of the game, throwing out Luke Maile from the hole, getting an assist on Jose Abreu’s scoop.

Another homer for Cespedes

Playing in his first major league camp, Cuban outfield prospect Yoelqui Cespedes homered in the eighth inning, his second long ball in two games.

“I am so happy because I never thought I could play this year in spring training,” an elated Cespedes said. “And then I’m playing with the big leagues. Right now, I feel so good.”

Yoelqui Cespedes, 2 homers in 2 games. He is thrilled. pic.twitter.com/MX7IiXQ0aB

— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) March 19, 2022

Finnegan gets a look

Non-roster invitee Brandon Finnegan, 28, hoping to provide left-handed pitching depth to the 40-man roster, started and pitched two perfect innings with four groundouts. Finnegan, who pitched in the 2014 World Series four months after the Royals drafted him in the first round, owns a 4.11 career ERA but hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2018. He made 31 starts for the Reds in 2016, posting a 3.98 ERA.

First appearance for Velasquez

Vince Velasquez, searching for the success he enjoyed his first two seasons with the Astros and Phillies, is slated for his first start Sunday. Velasquez signed a $3 million, one-year deal this week.

“He’s going to be a big part of what we do,” pitching coach Ethan Katz said.

“The stuff, the ability has always been there from Day 1,” Katz said.

On deck

Sox at Rockies, Scottsdale, 3:05 p.m., Sunday, Vince Velasquez vs. Ryan Feltner

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — Not eight minutes after Seth Jones and Erik Gustafsson teamed up for a long-awaited goal Saturday, a miscommunication involving Jones and Gustafsson rendered the goal moot.

The two defensemen as well as Jonathan Toews all pursued a Wild dump-in with just over three minutes to play, but not one got there first. Two quick passes later, a wide-open Ryan Hartman buried a backdoor shot to restore Minnesota’s lead in an eventual 3-1 win over the Blackhawks.

“Miscommunication in the D-zone — seems like it has happened a lot this year in the last few minutes of a game,” Jones said.

“We just had a little brain lapse,” interim coach Derek King added. “We doubled up and we didn’t cover the front. Against good hockey teams like that, they’re going to put it in the back of your net.”

Jones had earlier ripped a perfectly placed snipe over Wild goalie Cam Talbot’s glove hand to tie the game with 11:03 left, completing a beautiful play that involved Gustafsson and Dylan Strome but was primarily orchestrated by Patrick Kane. It was Jones’ first goal since Dec. 2 — 35 games ago — and he admitted postgame it was a “relief.”

The Hawks’ resilience in tough circumstances, with the trade deadline approaching, to keep the game competitive down to the wire deserves credit. Without that breakdown, they could’ve easily gotten a point or two out of the afternoon, not that standings points really matter at this point.

But there was little doubt the Wild, who swept the four-game season series, were the better team: they dominated shot attempts 68-38, shots on goal 34-22 and scoring chances 34-17.

This story will be updated.

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MESA, Ariz. – Cubs bullpen coach Chris Young welcomed Drew Smyly with a smile and a dose of sarcasm.

“They’ll let anyone in here, huh?” Young shouted as he joined Smyly in the bullpen Saturday afternoon, his first day back with the Cubs.

Smyly, who in 2018 rehabbed from Tommy John surgery with the Cubs, on Saturday signed a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2023. The deal is reportedly worth $5.25 million plus incentives.

Smyly’s signing was one of a flurry of moves the Cubs announced Saturday. The club also made official the signings of infielder Jonathan Villar (one year with a mutual option), left-hander Daniel Norris (one year) and Robert Gsellman (non-roster invite).

To make room on the 40-man roster, the club placed infielder David Bote (left shoulder surgery) on the 60-day injured list and right-hander Tommy Nance on the COVID-19 related injured list.

The Cubs also optioned Alexander Vizcaino to Double-A and placed him on the restricted list. To round out Saturday’s camp moves, the Cubs optioned Nelson Velazquez to Triple-A Iowa, Christopher Morel to Double-A Tennessee, Alexander Canario to Single-A South Bend.

Smyly wasted no time jumping into camp. The lefty was playing catch on the agility field at the Sloan Park spring training complex Saturday afternoon before the team announced his deal.

“I got a taste of the organization [in 2018],” Smyly said, “and I knew how many tools and resources they had, the technology to put people in the best position to succeed.”

Smyly is the third free agent pitcher from the 2021 World Series-winning Braves that the Cubs have signed this spring. He joins Chris Martin and Jesse Chavez (non-roster invite). Smyly posted a 4.48 ERA with Atlanta last year.

Smyly said he’d been in talks with the Cubs before the lockout. And his familiarity with the organization was a draw. Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy was on staff when Smyly came to the Cubs the first time around, and Young was his pitching coach the next year in Philadelphia.

Smyly gives the Cubs another left-hander who can compete for a starting rotation spot, joining Justin Steele, who threw two scoreless innings in the Cubs’ Cactus League game against the Padres on Saturday.

“They know I want to start, and I think I’ll get that opportunity to start,” Smyly said. “But I know I have a lot of value in other areas, too. So, just depending on what the team needs, I’m open for it.”

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PHOENIX – DeMar DeRozan referred to the dismal three-game road trip as a “bumpy road.”

It looked more like a massive pothole, however, as the Bulls veteran, along with his teammates, lost all three games, and continued looking like a team ready to start the playoffs on the road rather than playing host.

“You hit bumpy roads and you gotta make adjustments,” DeRozan said after the Friday night loss to the Suns. “That’s just where we’re at. It’s on us to get ourselves out of it and figure it out.”

With 12 regular-season games left they will. It might not change their seeding come playoff time, but there are games to win, momentum to gain, and here’s how:

Mar. 21 – vs. Toronto – The Bulls were 2-1 against the upstart Raptors this season, but all three games resembled a street fight. That’s what Toronto’s young frontcourt turns it into. Where the Raptors fall short in matching up with the Bulls, however, is in star power. That will carry weight once again in the final meeting of the season. Plus, it feels like a possible Patrick Williams return. VERDICT: Bulls win (Record 42-29)

Mar. 22 – at Milwaukee – The Bulls have played the Bucks tough, but it won’t happen in “The Freak’s” backyard. One elite Giannis is better than a DeRozan and a Zach LaVine. VERDICT: Bulls lose (Record 42-30).

Mar. 24 – at New Orleans – If there’s one aspect of this year’s schedule the Bulls have been good at it’s taking care of bum teams. Sure, there’s been the occasional Sacramento and Orlando, but for the most part they win the games they’re supposed to win. VERDICT: Bulls win (Record 43-30).

Mar. 26 – at Cleveland – The Cavaliers are going to be a problem for the next decade, but not yet. They’re still without Jarrett Allen, and that’s a big issue for their frontcourt of 7-footers. Bulls experience wins out and Cleveland loses the season series. VERDICT: Bulls win (Record 44-30).

Mar. 28 – at New York – This will have all the makings of a classic Tom Thibodeau trap game. This is Thibs’ playoffs. VERDICT: Bulls lose (Record 44-31).

Mar. 29 – at Washington – Much like they took care of the swooning Pelicans, the Bulls will pull the same number on the Wizards, even off the back-to-back with the Knicks. VERDICT: Bulls win (Record 45-31).

Mar. 31 – vs. Los Angeles Clippers – This starts a sprint to the end of the season, with the Bulls playing five-straight home games and looking for a strong finish.

It will start with the undermanned Clippers, with again too much Bulls start power. VERDICT: Bulls win (Record 46-31).

April 2 – vs. Miami – Unless the Heat have somehow locked up a significant playoff seeding and are starting to rest players, this is again a nightmare matchup for the Bulls. Too physical, too nasty, the Heat will once again grind the home team into submission. Styles make the fight and this is not a fight the Bulls want. VERDICT: Bulls lose (Record 46-32).

April 5 – vs. Milwaukee – They’re due to beat the Bucks, and it comes in the series finale against them at the United Center. VERDICT: Bulls win (Record 47-32).

April 6 – vs. Boston – A preview to the first round of the playoffs? Maybe. And no team in the East has been playing better than the Celtics. VERDICT: Bulls lose (Record 47-33).

April 8 – vs. Charlotte – The Bulls have been a horrible matchup for the Hornets all season long and very little changes. VERDICT: Bulls win (Record 48-33).

April 10 – at Minnesota – It could mean everything for one or both of these teams, or it could be meaningless for one or both. Expect the Bulls to be locked into a seed, however, and rest the core. Still, as Jimmy Butler showed, backup players can beat KAT & Co. VERDICT: Bulls win (Record 49-33).

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One day in 1982, Craig Lynch walked into the old Sun-Times building on Wabash Avenue and asked Taylor Bell for a job.

“He said that some of his friends had heard we were looking for [freelance writers] to cover high school sports,” said Bell, the now-retired Sun-Times prep sports editor.

Bell’s philosophy was to give pretty much any would-be writer a chance. The ones who couldn’t file accurate copy on tight deadlines tended to weed themselves out pretty quickly.

That wasn’t a problem for Lynch, even though he was different from most journalists: He was blind since birth.

But that didn’t stop him. Lynch spent more than 25 years covering prep sports for the Sun-Times, part of a career that saw him become one of the more well-known and well-loved members of the Chicago sports media scene.

Lynch died on Tuesday not long after suffering a stroke. He was 72.

Tributes to Lynch popped up all week on social media from fellow media members and even the Cubs, who said on Twitter: “The Cubs mourn the passing of longtime radio reporter Craig Lynch, who covered the team for over 20 years. Craig was a pleasure to work with and the Wrigley Field press box will not be the same without him.”

Lynch’s work spanned multiple decades and media. In the 1980s and ’90s, besides his freelance work for the Sun-Times, he was a full-time employee of Triton College. As the sports director of the college’s radio station, he covered a Triton baseball team that featured future MLB players Kirby Puckett and Lance Johnson.

Lynch also covered college sports at Northwestern and DePaul (he went to school with longtime Blue Demons women’s basketball coach Doug Bruno) and filed radio reports on the Cubs for downstate stations.

But his coverage of high school sports may be his most enduring legacy. After leaving the Sun-Times, Lynch continued to work for various suburban outlets.

“He did the job as well as anybody with sight,” Bell said. “He always got the interviews, always got the statistics.”

Bell recalls occasional pushback in the early years. “When he started out, some coaches [said], ‘What’s a blind guy doing covering my game?'” Bell said. “We had to get through it. We got through it.”

“He didn’t want anyone to do him any favors,” Bell added. “[Coaches] soon realized he knew what he was doing.”

So did his colleagues in Chicago’s competitive media environment.

Chuck Garfien, the veteran reporter and anchor for NBC Sports Chicago, first crossed paths with Lynch at a DePaul men’s basketball game in 2005.

“It blew me away,” Garfien said of watching Lynch do his job. “I had to know him. He became a dear friend and someone who affected me deeply. … I wanted to live my life like him.”

Garfien and other friends recalled Lynch’s unfailingly good nature and quick wit.

He tells a story about Lynch going to a Cubs/Dodgers series in Los Angeles in 1979. A Dodgers fan heckled the Chicagoans, saying, “You’d have to be deaf, dumb and blind to be a Cubs fan,” to which Lynch responded, “Don’t knock the blind.”

Tim McKinney is another colleague who became good friends with Lynch after they kept crossing paths on the prep sports beat. “He was one of the most unique individuals you would know,” said McKinney, who was struck by Lynch’s “sincerity and kindness.”

McKinney helped Lynch around Wrigley Field in recent years and the pair also went to college games and on MLB road trips, where Lynch seemed to know everyone.

One night at Northwestern, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo invited Lynch into the Spartans’ locker room for a chat. In Cincinnati, there was a shoutout from longtime Reds broadcaster Marty Brenneman.

“He was quick-witted,” McKinney said of Lynch. “We would always have a lot of fun and a good laugh.”

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GLENDALE, Ariz. — Second baseman Josh Harrison was eager to get his first game reps alongside shortstop Tim Anderson in Saturday. Backfield work has been good for getting to know Anderson but game action has the most value, Harrison, 34, said.

“Today is the first crack at that,” he said before the game. “It’s go time. Before we know it the season will be upon us. It’s exciting to go out and compete today. It’s just a start.”

The abbreviated spring training puts an emphasis on learning quickly. Middle infielders have different arm angles, and their preferences where they like the ball delivered on double plays, and will try to put the ball in a specific spot, “but we’re human,” Harrison said.

“It’s more getting a feel for each other, how we feed and move around the bag,” Harrison said.

Harrison, signed as a free agent during the first week of camp, also has to get to know third baseman Yoan Moncada’s and Jose Abreu’s mannerisms in the field.

“We have four guys that are aggressive,” he said. “It’s a good problem because guys want the ball and want to make the play.”

Manager Tony La Russa played most of his regulars Saturday against Cleveland.

The lineup: Anderson SS, Robert CF, Abreu 1B, Moncada 3B, Jimenez LF, Grandal DH, Garcia RF, Harrison 2B, Zavala C, Finnegan P.

Limits on starters

Pitching coach Ethan Katz doesn’t see his starters going more than five innings in their first starts, because of the 3 1/2 week spring training and shortened ramp up time. Not all cases are the same, though. Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn and Dallas Keuchel are slightly ahead of Michael Kopech and Dylan Cease because Kopech had COVID in late February and Cease didn’t find a place to throw live batting practice during the lockout.

“You don’t want to rush them into games, but you also have a small window of games to kind of make sure they’re ready for the season,” Katz said. “It’s kind of a fine balance, bullpens [side sessions] are more important than ever because I might get the chance to work with a guy one time before he’s in a game. It’s challenging, but we’ll get it done.”

Vince Velasquez, who will start against the Rockies Sunday and throw two innings, and Reynaldo Lopez are also building up to starters workloads.

“They are very important pieces to the puzzle,” Katz said. “Especially when you’re looking at Michael right now, who off the year that he had we really have to be smart with his innings and he had a little bit of time down before he got here and now we have to make sure that we don’t push him too hard to kind of get him ready. He might be a couple of innings behind others.”

Velasquez ‘big part’ of Sox plans

Velasquez, looking to return to the path of success he enjoyed his first couple of seasons with the Astros and Phillies, “is going to be a big part of what we do,” Katz said.

“The stuff, the ability has always been there from Day 1,” Katz said. “Now it’s just trying to utilize his weapons properly and getting him to understand what we envision, how we can be successful over and over again.”

‘It’s a new year’ for Kimbrel

Craig Kimbrel is a White Sox until he’s not, and Katz believes the right-hander with 372 career saves will get back on the right track after a rough second half with the Sox in 2021.

“It’s a new year and we’re looking forward to having him on the team,” Katz said.

“Craig’s career speaks for itself. I’m thrilled to have Craig in camp. Being here, he’s going to provide a lot for us this year. We talked a little bit about some of the stuff we had seen in the past and where we’re at now.”

Kimbrel has known since the fall that he would be a trade chip, but he’s still here.

“He’s in a really good spot right now and he’s going to throw here soon to hitters and kind of get the ball rolling,” Katz said.

Kimbrel’s first live batting practice is Sunday.

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The Packers’ offensive line already was in full makeshift mode against the Bears in Week 6 at Soldier Field last season — with rookies Josh Myers and Royce Newman starting at center and right guard, second-year left guard Jon Runyan making his fifth NFL start and converted guard Billy Turner playing for injured All-Pro right tackle David Bakhtiari.

Four plays into the game, Myers injured his knee and would not return. His replacement was Lucas Patrick, a former undrafted free agent whose limited NFL experience at center included zero starts. It looked like a break for the Bears.

As it turned out, Patrick not only held his own in the impromptu assignment, but was the Packers’ highest graded lineman as they rushed for 154 yards and 5.0 yards per carry in a 24-14 victory in the infamous “I own you” game.

How much of that performance is a testament to the excellence of the Packers’ coaching staff, the magic of Aaron Rodgers or the ability of Patrick as an underrated, developing player is hard to discern. Every lineman the Packers plug in through injuries and defections seems to excel. And Rodgers as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time seems to magnify their effectiveness.

Patrick himself will help provide a more definitive answer in 2022 after signing a two-year, $8 million contract ($4 million guaranteed) with the Bears in free agency. Though he has more experience at guard, he said he is slated to play center for the Bears. That figures to be an upgrade over Sam Mustipher, who started the Bears’ last 24 games and was tendered a one-year contract for 2022 as an exclusive rights free agent.

As a former Packer, the 28-year-old Patrick already was in full Bears mode when he was introduced at a press conference Friday. He was 11-1 against the Bears in his six seasons with the Packers. Patrick’s first NFL start, in fact, was against the Bears in 2017, when an even more makeshift Packers line (literally no NFL tackles with Bryan Bulaga, Bakhtiari and backups Jason Spriggs and Kyle Murphy out). The Packers won 35-14 in Mike Glennon’s final start.

“I’ve been on the winning side. I’m going to stay on the winning side. We’re going to start winning these games,” Patrick said. “I firmly believe to win a Bears-Packers game, you’ve got to be physical. You’ve got to be tough and that’s what we’re going to do here.

“I feel like whoever wins those games takes the North [division] and like Ryan [new GM Ryan Poles] said, that’s the goal here — take the North, get to the playoffs, get a shot at the Lombardi [trophy].”

With the Bears, Patrick gets a bigger contract, a starting position that’s his to lose (with Myers returning, the Packers have their three starting interior lineman from last season back for 2022). He also reunites with Luke Getsy, the Bears’ offensive coordinator who was the Packers’ quarterbacks coach/passing-game coordinator last season. Bears assistant tight ends coach Tim Zetts was a Packers offensive quality control coach last season.

“I’m very appreciative of the offer I got — it’s amazing financial backing,” said Patrick, who averaged $1.1 million in salary and bonuses in his five seasons on the 53-man roster in Green Bay. “But I love the game of football and these relationships. I want to play football. This opportunity is once-in-a-lifetime in my opinion. To go from one historic franchise to the history franchise in the NFL, it’s Chicago. It speaks for itself. That was too good to pass up.

“Then you add Getsy. And even coach Zetts — he was in my o-line room last year. Those relationships are awesome to keep. And to build new ones, too and grow as a person [and] hopefully make some more lifelong friends.”

Poles’ background an an offensive lineman is expected to give him a better read on evaluating those positions. But for now, the best endorsement of Patrick is that Rodgers loves him. The Packers’ quarterback has been effusive in his praise of Patrick from the start. He even singled him out after that 2017 game, when Patrick has been on the roster for just five weeks.

“Really proud of Lucas. I’ve kind of been in his corner for a long time,” Rodgers said following that Thursday night game. ” I just enjoy his approach , his attitude, the way he plays.”

Even when Patrick inadvertently snapped the ball to running back Aaron Jones twice as an in-game replacement for starter Corey Linsley in 2019 against the Cowboys, Rodgers still went out of his way to compliment Patrick.

“I’m proud of Lucas,” he said. “He had a couple wayward snaps but for him to step in like that and play well and be effective was great. I was just telling him how proud I am of him.”

And last season, after Patrick did a yeoman’s job in place of Myers at center against the Bears, Rodgers gave Patrick another ringing endorsement.

“(I) love the kid,” Rodgers said, via reporter Jason Wilde. “I tell him every single time he’s out there that I love going to battle with him because he’s the kind of guy you know is going to have your back and you know is going to be in the right position at all times and doing exactly what he’s supposed to be doing — and battle and scrap and claw and fight as hard as he can.”

Patrick is hoping to use that close relationship with Rodgers — and his insight into what makes Rodgers so good — as a benefit with the Bears’ offense.

“There [were] a lot of things he did that I want to bring here,” Patrick said. “One of the biggest things he did was his accountability, understanding game scenarios and bringing those up at any time. Whether it’s a walk-through, OTAs or practice, asking a question on, ‘Hey, what do you do in two-minute when you’ve got this much time, two time outs and you’re on the plus-45? Where’s your head at? Are you thinking out o bounds or are you thinking completion? Mix in a run?’ Just the game-behind-the-game stuff. Just trying to bring as much of that as I can and help with the information that I’ve learned.”

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GLENDALE, Ariz. — Imagine being Andrew Vaughn, a first baseman in college drafted for his bat and not his defense, having a conversation with Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa about a position change in spring training last year.

“When [left fielder] Eloy [Jimenez] went down with that unfortunate injury, it was terrible blow to the squad,” Vaughn recalled Friday. “We needed a guy to fill that spot and Tony came up to me and was like, ‘Hey you’re playing outfield.’ “

It wasn’t a what do you think about doing this? It was a you’re doing this.

Vaughn’s reply: “I have very minimal experience.”

La Russa’s response: “You want at-bats?”

Vaughn: “Yeah.”

La Russa: “OK.”

And that was that.

Vaughn borrowed an outfielder’s glove and immediately began taking fly balls and, to the surprise of almost everyone except perhaps La Russa himself, made himself into decent outfielder. Not Gold Glove caliber by an means, but one who made most routine plays and every so often made a nice one at that.

“Crazy,” said Adam Engel, a former Gold Glove finalist in center field. “In college and the minor leagues, I saw a lot of infielders try to make that move to the outfield and it’s not a crazy hard transition, but most guys have a period of struggle, and that’s at a lower level. And Vaughny stepped in and he was never a liability out there. And he did it at the big league level. Which to me is extremely impressive. Played a lot of big innings for us.”

Considering he never played outfield, Engel called it “incredible.”

“That kind of blew me away,” he said.

With Jimenez healthy again, Vaughn is now a candidate to play a lot in right field, along left-handed hitting Gavin Sheets and Engel, who had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder after the season but says he’ll be ready to go Opening Day. Vaughn will also get at-bats as a designated hitter, and can play third base as well. He played second base once last year — another one of those La Russa “you’re doing this” moments — and now brings four gloves to the field each day.

Right field will have its own learning curve, with balls off right-handed hitters bats slicing to Vaughn’s left and left-handed hitters driving it to the gap.

La Russa, who scoffed when asked if he asked Vaughn about making the transition to the outfield– “Come on, man,” La Russa said — told Vaughn last spring he was playing the outfield, sticking to his belief that he’d be no worse than average if he worked hard. And Vaughn got after it right away last spring.

“From that get-go I started doing work,” Vaughn said. “I shagged as many balls as I could in BP, getting my feet wet, doing everything I could do and striving to have my pitcher know I could make the plays out there, that I want to make the plays out there, that I was working my butt off. Just being an athlete, going out there and playing baseball.”

Vaughn, who played only 55 games in the minor leagues, all in 2019 after he was drafted third overall that year, and no higher than High-A Winston-Salem, batted .235/.309/.396 with 15 homers in 127 games in his rookie season. It was an admirable performance considering his limited prep time for the majors.

His polished, professional approach, compact swing and experience gained bode well for better things in 2022.

“You want to keep progressing,” Vaughn said. “It was good to have a full offseason where I could work on my craft — the biggest thing was to simplify everything. Create less movement and be more direct to the baseball.”

Through his slumps in 2021, Vaughn said he learned about ups and downs.

“I had to battle myself sometimes,” he said.

All the while learning a new position on the job. It wasn’t something anyone saw coming a year ago at this time.

“That’s why they get paid to make decisions,” Engel said of decision makers like La Russa. “But Vaughn is a smart kid, and a really hard worker. You get that makeup and teaching a new position quickens the learning curve.”

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1. Three players in White Sox history have worn uniform number 0. Name the one who didn’t.

a. Billy Hamilton

b. Omar Vizquel

c. Oscar Gamble

d. Mark Ryal

2. Which current member of a Chicago team started his career going 0-for-0 in his first 14 games?

a. David Ross

b. Tony La Russa

c. Tim Anderson

d. Mike Napoli

3. ”Seinfeld,” arguably the greatest sitcom of all time, is self-described as ”a show about nothing.” You didn’t think I could leave it out of this quiz, did you? Who are the two actors who didn’t win Prime-Time Emmys for their acting in the show?

a. Jerry Seinfeld

b. Jason Alexander

c. Julia Louis-Dreyfus

d. Michael Richards

4. In the 10 seasons from 2012 to 2021, which team threw more shutouts?

a. Cubs b. White Sox c. The same

5. In the 10 seasons from 2012 to 2021, which team was shut out more frequently?

a. Cubs b. White Sox c. The same

6. Speaking of shutouts, which team went the longest without being blanked last season?

a. Cubs b. White Sox c. The same

7. Since 1950, which team has tossed more no-hitters?

a. Cubs b. White Sox c. The same

8. While we are speaking about no-nos, which movie featured the line, ”There’s no crying in baseball”?

a. ”Bull Durham”

b. ”Major League”

c. ”A League of Their Own”

d. ”The Rookie”

9. Which Chicago pitcher appeared in the most games in a season without a decision (no wins or losses) and without a save?

a. Jesus Pena

b. Kelly Wunsch

c. Michael Bowden

d. Dan Winkler

Thank you for playing. Thank you for reading and thank you for writing emails and tweets about the quiz.

ANSWERS

1. Billy Hamilton wore the number in 2021. Oscar Gamble wore it in 1985, as did Mark Ryal the same season. Omar Vizquel wore No. 11.

2. Tony La Russa’s first 14 games in the majors were as a pinch runner. He did score two runs.

3. Jerry (as Jerry) and Jason (as George Costanza) never earned Emmys.

4. The Cubs threw 114 shutouts; the Sox threw 78.

5. The Cubs were blanked 117 times; the Sox didn’t score in 100 games.

6. The Sox went 54 games between blankings (May 27 to July 28); the Cubs scored at least one run in 48 consecutive games starting April 29. The Cubs currently have a 46-game scoring streak that started Aug. 12.

7. Each team has 11 no-nos. The Sox had nine no-hit, no-run games; the Cubs had 11.

8. ”There’s no crying in baseball” was said by Tom Hanks in his role as manager Jimmy Dugan in the 1992 movie ”A League of Their Own.”

9. In 2003, Kelly Wunsch appeared in 43 Sox games, pitched 36 innings with a 2.75 ERA and didn’t have much more to show for it.

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Captain Rafael Czichos had a simple but poignant explanation for why the Fire have pitched three shutouts to begin the season for the first time in club history.

“It’s the mentality,” Czichos told the Sun-Times. “When we’re on the pitch, we want to defend. The first three games, we were defending like warriors.”

Much of that mentality is due to Czichos.

Signed over the offseason from German Bundesliga side FC Koln to replace erratic defender Francisco Calvo, Czichos has made an immediate impact on the Fire. A left-footed center back, Czichos’ steadiness and veteran leadership has been hard to miss, providing ingredients the team has lacked for years in the middle of their back line.

“He’s a very motivating guy. He’s very quiet, like away from the pitch, but once you get him on there, he has got this fight in him, and I really, really like that,” defender Jonathan Bornstein said. “I feed off of that, and you know, we’ve had conversations, him and I, about what this team really needs to succeed, and we’re always on the same page about most of that stuff.”

Through three games, the Fire and coach Ezra Hendrickson have been difficult to play against. They’re the only team in the league not to concede, and have a noticeably different posture than last year when they gave up 54 goals in 34 matches. Games that felt like inevitable losses in 2021 haven’t resulted in defeats in 2022, bringing points that could be valuable when the playoff race takes shape this fall.

They’ve done that despite not having Carlos Teran, projected to be Czichos’ partner in central defense, due to injury. Federico Navarro was expected to be a stout defensive midfielder, but hasn’t started yet.

So far, that hasn’t hurt the Fire, who have given their fans reason for legitimate optimism after the first three matches. And much of that is due to Czichos, who has formed a successful pairing with Wyatt Omsberg but is still learning the quirks and challenges that are unique to the league.

Named to the most recent MLS team of the week, Omsberg said Czichos’ arrival immediately shifted the mentality of the defense.

“I feel really comfortable next to him,” Omsberg said. “I feel like we communicate really well together. We kind of understand each other and work well with one another. That’s been great for both of us and yeah, three clean sheets is an awesome start but again it’s just a start so we’ll have to keep going.”

Named the captain because of his experience and presence, Czichos said it’s not hard to lead this team because of the help he gets from his teammates and how easy they are to handle. He said he doesn’t even have to lead goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, 17, because of his maturity and how he already knows everything.

“At the end, I enjoy being with the team,” Czichos said. “Hopefully, the team enjoys being with me as the captain.”

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