Tuesday, June 28
George Knue at 1:18 p.m.
For what it’s worth: Three teachers at the University of Iowa have put together a program designed to give student-athletes “the information they need to pick the collegiate sports program that gives them both the best opportunity for athletic success and the best chance to earn a quality college degree.”
The top scorers in their men’s basketball rankings are Duke and Illinois.
Using a system called the Student Athlete Performance rating, which includes things like the team’s number of wins in the last five years, home attendance and whether athletes maintain their academic eligibility, two Iowa sociology professors, Jeffrey Lucas and Michael Lovaglia, and a graduate student, Christopher Kelley, put together the rankings.
Syracuse, North Carolina and Arizona round out the top five in men’s basketball. Big 10 schools Wisconsin and Michigan State are ninth and tenth. Notre Dame checks in at No. 18, Northwestern at No. 38. Only 69 teams are listed.
In football, Michigan is No. 1, followed by Miami, Florida State, Auburn and Oklahoma. Iowa, at No. 12, is the second-best Big 10 team, with Illinois checking in at No. 38 and Northwestern at No. 42. Notre Dame is No. 19.
Rahula Strohl at 11:03 p.m.
White flag for the other guys: Torii Hunter took a break from his hot streak—which has involved both hitting and robbing homers—to concede the division to the White Sox last Friday. The story said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire flipped from the Cubs-Sox game Saturday to the movie “Forces of Nature.” When Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock are less painful than watching your division leaders, that’s saying something.
Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski, however, told the Daily Southtown’s Phil Arvia not to believe a word of it, and I concur. The minute the White Sox accept Hunter’s surrender, he’ll stick a knife in their back by plowing over Pierzynski or Chris Widger unnecessarily.
Friday, June 24
Rahula Strohl at 7:42 p.m.
Up on the Farm: I listened to John Rooney and Ed Farmer call the Crosstown Classic today (with the TV turned down) and it confirmed my opinion that this is one of the best broadcast teams I’ve ever heard. For some odd reason, I hear a lot of people say “Rooney is okay, but I can’t stand Farmer.” These people evidently have no appreciation for learning the game of baseball or for dry humor.
Sure, some of his jokes are bad (he made a “I have a dentist appointment at tooth hurty” joke today) but it’s not like he doesn’t know they’re bad jokes. But his knowledge of the game is remarkable. Two moments that jumped out at me from today’s game:
• In the first inning, with a 1-1 count on Tadahito Iguchi and Scott Podsednik on first, Cubs starter Sergio Mitre stepped off the mound. Farmer said it was because Barrett saw Podsednik leaning and signaled to Mitre to step off, and that Podsednik would not be going after the step-off. The Cubs pitched out, and Podsednik didn’t go. Then Farmer said Podsednik would be going on the 2-1 count. He was going on Mitre’s first motion, and Mitre picked Podsednik off.
• In the third, with Aaron Rowand at bat with a 2-1 count and the bases loaded, Mitre stepped off again. Farmer said that in bases-loaded situations, a step-off usually indicated the pitcher didn’t like the location for which the catcher was calling, and that usually happens with fastballs. Michael Barrett then moved from the inside part of the plate to the outside, and framed a perfect outside fastball from Mitre to make the count 2-2.
Cubs fans may miss Steve Stone, White Sox fans have what I believe is an even better color commentator on the radio side.
Thursday, June 23
Rahula Strohl at 5:32 p.m.
I’m just sayin’: The Trib ran a story in yesterday’s paper about who the White Sox might chase at the trading deadline. The Sun-Times’ Jay Mariotti thinks the Sox need another bat, another starter and another reliever.
Where they would plug another starter or another bat (since they’re struggling to get both Frank Thomas and Carl Everett playing time) is problematic, though bullpen help is always welcome for any team. But I hazard this suggestion: Don’t do anything.
This team is rolling and the Twins are floundering (3-7 in their last 10). As I’ve watched the Sox’s lead grow to 9½ games, I’m reminded of the 2001 Seattle Mariners. The Mariners were 40 games over .500 by July 4 (the Sox can’t do that), and were in a position to play mediocre baseball the rest of the way and win the division (the Sox can do that).
The Mariners did nothing at the trading deadline. The Oakland A’s promptly became the second hottest team in the majors after the All-Star break, and would have caught the Mariners if only the Mariners hadn’t been the hottest team in the majors after the All-Star break.
Sure, the Mariners lost the ALCS in five games to the Yankees. But it wasn’t pitching, it was their bats. Bats are a crapshoot no matter who you have (see the White Sox in the 2000 ALDS or the Cardinals in the 2004 World Series). Pitching is the crux of playoff hopes.
With Freddy Garcia, the star of the 2001 Mariners staff but the third best pitcher on the Sox’s staff, Mark Buehrle and Jon Garland, no teams in the AL have as deep a pool of starters. So sit tight Kenny Williams, this team is doing just fine without mid-season help. Just look at Roberto Alomar or, if you stretch all the way to the North side, Fred McGriff.
Wednesday, June 22
Rahula Strohl at 4:51 p.m.
Pine tar, meet cabbage: While Frank Robinson and Mike Scioscia argue about Brendan Donnelly’s pine tar, they can take comfort that at least it wasn’t a cabbage leaf. Have fun with that story, folks.
Rahula Strohl at 4:29 p.m.
More Cellout ideas: Alert reader Todd Feurer of Chicago takes the idea of cutting cheap seat pricing a step further:
I have an even better idea for how to sell tickets to the upper deck at the Cell, though technically it’s not mine. I believe another Tribune columnist suggested it a while back. Offer all upper deck seats for free with the stipulation that the ticketholder must buy a hotdog and a beer or soda. Most people will buy one anyway, just have them prepay for the hot dog and drink and give them a voucher with their ticket. That guarantees about 13,000 hot dogs and beers or sodas sold every game if you sell out the upper deck. And fans are bound to buy more than that, especially at night games. The team’s not selling those seats anyway, why not try to fill those seats with free tickets and rely on concessions?
Chris King at 1:51 p.m.
The century mark: I heard on the news last night that the White Sox are on pace to win 110 games this season. But what if they just won 100–would it increase their chances of winning the World Series or even the ALCS? Here are the numbers: Out of 42 teams that won 100 games or more since division play began in 1969 (21 in both leagues), only nine have gone on to win it all and 12 have lost in the World Series. Since 1979, only three teams with 100 wins or more won the Series (11 made it), and the 17 others either lost before the Series or didn’t even make the playoffs.
Let’s break it down by league. Out of the 21 teams in the American League, 12 made the Series with six winning. Over the past 10 years, the team that won 100 games and made the Fall Classic is 1-6.
It’s worse in the National League (thanks to the Braves, who won 100 games six times without winning the Series). Of the 21 teams winning 100 games, only four won the Series and five lost. Of the last 12, only two teams made it and both lost.
In both leagues, since the extra round of the playoffs was added in 1995, the 100-game winner has lost in the wild-card round eight out of 17. Four lost in the League Championship Series, four lost in the World Series and only one won the Series.
Chris examined last week why the Sox can’t sell out, and came up with the thought that more families are Sox fans and more single folk are Cubs fans. So the question is, how can the Sox dip into the single folks’ wallets? Make the cheap seats really cheap. The White Sox sell out the lower deck no matter what. The bleachers are empty on occasion (and probably will be for the 1:05 p.m. start today) but the rest of the 100 level is always full. The upper deck is the difference between 22,000 and 35,000 attendance. As Chris pointed out, the stadium is packed on half-price Monday. The Sox drew 34,345 two nights ago and 28,206 last night. So the White Sox marketing folk need to listen to me now. Make every day Pepsi Two-for-One in the 500 level. Promote the heck out of having vastly cheaper options than Wrigley, then just saturate the stands with beer vendors and the revenues will soar. Set aside a couple of sections as “family” sections where the beer vendors don’t tread. Twice as many people would come to make up for the 50 percent or so loss in revenue, though the beer sales would take care of that, too. Everyone buys a hot dog at a ball game, and the folks buying beer will not be scared off by a $5.50 price tag unless they’ve already spent $25 or $30 on a ticket. They can even reason out a couple extra beers when they’ve only shelled out $10 to watch the game. Music lessons: I also noticed last night that the White Sox have a phenomenally better music selection than the Cubs. “Jump” is okay and all, but the White Sox highlight montage set to what I believe is music from “Pirates of the Caribbean,” which then fades into “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC. By the time the Sox take the field, the fan is more than ready for some baseball. Then, when the Sox win, we are serenaded by Jake and Elwood and “Sweet Home Chicago.” I can’t think of anything more appropriate. The folks at Wrigley seem to think K.C. and the Sunshine Band getting down tonight is more appropriate. They are wrong. One beef with the White Sox intro, however. AC/DC is undercut when you have the Sox run out one at a time rather than just surging onto the field as a team. Bias watch: NBA Finals Game 6 and Yankees’ 13-run inning lead SportsCenter’s newscast. Fine. Makes sense. But then we see highlights of the Dodgers-Padres at the top again. I’m baffled because the Padres have the worst record of any division leader. And the White Sox aren’t the only team getting bounced in favor of more mediocre teams. First-place Baltimore is getting bounced in favor of the two teams below them. Washington gets patted on the head and sent on home in favor of not just the two teams behind them, but also the two teams scraping up the bottom of their division. Even the Cardinals, loathe them though I do, get shuttled to the back unless Albert Pujols hits a homer. Someone with a lot more money than I have needs to commission a news organization headquartered somewhere in flyover land and build it to compete. George Knue at 10:42 a.m.
Rahula Strohl at 11:46 a.m.
Target practice: Spent Tuesday evening in the cheap seats at The Cell, surrounded by a remarkable number of people in the always-coveted 18-35 demographic. Why? It was Pepsi Two-for-One Tuesday. If you show up with a Pepsi product each, you get two tickets for the price of one, only available in the 500 level.
More Illinois hoops: It’s been a good week for Illinois basketball. Dee Brown decided Monday that he’d be back for his senior year, Proviso East big man Brian Carlwell gave an oral commitment for the 2006-2007 season, and Dayton guard Trent Meacham, who has gotten a lot of positive reviews, decides to transfer and walk on for the Illini.
Could more good news be on the way? Brandon Rush, a Kansas City native who played last year for Mt. Zion Academy in Durham, N.C., withdrew from the NBA draft. The 6-foot-6-inch, 190-pound swingman reportedly has narrowed his college commitments to Oklahoma and Illinois.
The Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy profiled him at the NBA predraft camp here.
Various reports have had him leaning alternately to Oklahoma and Illinois — with most of the recent ones saying it’s Oklahoma. Stay tuned.
Here’s a little insider talk on the Illini: blogs from the Decatur Herald-Review’s Mark Tupper and the Champaign News-Gazette’s Brett Dawson.
Plus, here’s the Peoria Journal-Star’s look at the Carlwell signing. Carlwell’s coach David Chatman noted in that story that “Brian’s best basketball is ahead of him.”
Tuesday, June 21
George Knue at 11:25 a.m.
Say yes to Illinois: Proviso East’s Brian Carlwell, who last week expressed his “comfort” with the Illinois basketball program, has apparently decided that it’s the right place for him to play college basketball. The 6-foot-10-inch center, considered by experts on the subject as one of the top recruits in the nation, made an oral commitment to Illinois <a href="” target=”_blank”>according to the Chicago Sun-Times
Earlier the Illini had received a commitment from Ohio big man Richard Semrau. The earliest they officially can sign a national letter of intent is next November.
Both Semrau and Carlwell are considered top 100 recruits. Their addition could silence some of the recruiting criticism Illini coach Bruce Weber has received since another top prospect, Glenbrook North’s Jon Scheyer, spurned the Illini for Duke.
Still on the Illini wish list: A point-guard type like Deron Williams/Luther Head/Dee Brown. One name on most fans’ lips is Crane’s Sherron Collins.
Also, the Blog, through a source at the University of Dayton, has confirmed a CBS Sportsline report that says guard Trent Meacham will transfer to Illinois. The source, however, did not know if the Champaign Centennial High School graduate would be on scholarship.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Meacham played in 29 games for the Flyers last season, averaging 6.4 points and was second on the team with 78 assists. He also hit 28-of-61 three-pointers, the best percentage on the team.
One last Illini item: The forgotten man for the Illini, Brian Randle, will be one of the team’s three captains this season, joining Dee Brown and James Augustine. Randle hurt his shoulder as a freshman and didn’t finish the season and last season was just as tough on the 6-foot-7 forward. He broke his hand punching a padded wall in practice before the season started and didn’t play a minute as a medical redshirt.
“I’ve just tried to roll with the punches and keep working hard,” he told the Peoria Journal-Star. Bad choice of words.
Rahula Strohl at 10:40 a.m.
Bias watch: White Sox radio broadcasters John Rooney and Ed Farmer were abusing the national media for their coverage of the “hot” Yankees (36-33) and “good” Cardinals (45-24) while paying only lip service to the “lucky” White Sox (47-22). So I decided to check out one of the worst offenders, ESPN.
At the top of SportsCenter, we are teased with Cleveland (37-31) vs. Boston (39-30) and the Angels (40-29) vs. Texas (37-31). The top story of the show featured San Diego (39-31) beating the freshly-swept Dodgers (33-36). The crux? An eight-inning, 13-strikeout performance by Padres starter Jake Peavy in a 1-0 win. Follow it with a slugfest between the Indians and Red Sox and the Yankees losing to the Devil Rays (24-46).
They at least teased the White Sox after the first segment, talked NBA Finals in the second segment, then addressed the Sox-Royals game in the third segment after Pedro Gomez yapping about Barry Bonds. Immediately after the White Sox highlights, the always hyper and rarely enjoyable Linda Cohn said, with the Cardinals logo over her shoulder: “You can put them in the category of teams that should be getting attention, but aren’t.” I see, the Cardinals are the team not getting the attention they deserve.
The Worldwide Leader did do the Sox the favor of putting them on the list of “What 2 Watch 4” tonight, saying Jon Garland was worth checking out. Of course, this was third on the list after Game 6 of the NBA Finals (reasonable) and the Yankees vs. Devil Rays (not so much).
One more look: SportsCenter also had Tim Kurkjian speaking out against instant replay in baseball. I wear my feelings about instant replay on my sleeve. So when discussion starts about sullying my favorite sport with this abomination of the TV generation, I get a little Larry Bowa in my blood.
Umpires may miss calls, but they have about a 98 percent success rate, probably better. The number of times announcers disagree with a call and then change their mind upon viewing the replay vastly outnumbers the times the announcers are right. Meanwhile, the NFL refs have grown lazy. They err on the side of being able to be challenged rather than actually making the call they see. And inside the last two minutes, it seems like the refs don’t even bother to try. They make some random call that may or may not have anything to do with the play on the field and then watch it in slow motion for two minutes while Juvenile plays over the PA system.
Umpires are constantly running up the lines, crouching to the ground and shifting themselves to get in perfect position to make a good call. Introduce instant replay, and they’ll stop doing that, and baseball will become as interminably long and boring as football.
Monday, June 20
George Knue at 3:56 p.m.
We get mail: Chicago’s John Botti, clearly a tortured soul, delivered these words to our in-box Monday afternoon. We’d try to talk him down, but we know that living on that ledge is a habit Cubs fans learn when they first discover Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Leon Durham, Steve Bartman and so many more. And now, on to John:
“The Cubs were pathetic this weekend. Just one game, one victory at Yankee Stadium is all I wanted. But no, swept like the last time they played there, like every time they have played there. I needed some assurance that things are changing for the Cubs, that curses die and trends reverse. I needed one freaking victory at Yankee Stadium. I needed to know that 1932 and 1938 will come around again, but this time the Cubbies will walk (or run) away from the Bronx with victories. Instead I get a Yankee highlight fest, Joe Borowski’s meatballs and Jeter’s first grand slam. It’s as if the baseball gods, who no doubt are Yankee fans, were waiting all this time to give their golden child his first grand slam against the team they loathe. The team they tease, the team they continuously disrespect. Why did it have to come against the Cubs? Why at Yankee Stadium? Perhaps it could have occurred two years ago at Wrigley? No, stick that knife a little deeper. Now turn it.
I needed one victory at Yankee Stadium. I needed the baseball world to know that the Cubs can leave their pretty ivy brick walls and show up in the Bronx and win within those no-frills blue walls. Instead I get the reassurance of Cubbie impotence. The Cubs, after their miserable three games in the Bronx, boarded their charter and headed for Milwaukee. If you can’t handle the heat, head for Milwaukee.”
George Knue at 1:03 p.m.
Mostly baseball: Dusty Baker has been getting some heat from Cubs fans, but major league players like him.
In a Sports Illustrated poll based on a spring training survey of 450 MLB players, Baker ends up third (12 percent of the respondents picked him) in the answer to this question: “Who is the best manager in baseball?” Dusty is behind Bobby Cox (37 percent) and Joe Torre (17 percent) and right in front of Tony LaRussa (7 percent).
Ozzie Guillen wasn’t listed, but the Sox did get some love. Aaron Rowand was the athlete with the answers in The Questions feature. The most interesting answer came to this question: “If I were commissioner for a day, I’d …”, Rowand said he’d “get rid of the designated hitter.”
If you get past the cover photo of Lance Armstrong, SI also weighed in on the Ron Kittle-Barry Bonds lovefest (Says Kittle: “I just want the public to know he’s a jerk to other players just as he is to fans.”), had a Q&A with 34-year-old Downers Grove native Cammi Granato, the women’s hockey standout, and had a story on the women’s pro softball league in which Chicago Bandit pitcher Jennie Finch gave Chicago a thumb’s-up. Says Jen: “Chicago is a great sports town ? ”
Wait, there’s more. There’s a big profile of Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee, Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall is listed as a top player who may not see much PT this fall, and Kevin Tomasiewicz of Sleepy Hollow was one of the Faces in the Crowd.
Here’s the lowdown on Tomasiewicz, a 6-foot-2-inch, 225-pound senior lefty from Dundee-Crown High School: He was the MVP for Wisconsin-Whitewater’s NCAA Division III champs, winning two games and saving a third in Whitewater’s four straight World Series victories. The second-team Division III All-American also set school records for wins in a season (15 in 2005) and career (35) while going 15-1 in 2005 with a 2.83 ERA and 35-5 in his career. He was a 26th-round pick in the baseball amateur draft by the Mets.
Another local product, junior outfielder Eddie Adamson of Wheaton-Warrenville South, also was a second-team All-American for Whitewater.
Thursday, June 16
Chris King at 12:03 p.m.
Cell outs: Despite having the best record in baseball, the question still remains: Why can’t the White Sox draw fans to U.S. Cellular Field? The Wall Street Journal tackles this question in Wednesday’s edition.
One fan in the story says, “Ninety-nine percent of White Sox fans are blue-collar.” I think he’s a tad off base. I know plenty of Sox fans that are white-collar. But they have families. Almost every Sox fan I know has a family and taking a family of four (or more) to a ballgame can lighten your wallet in a hurry, regardless of income. Even if you leave the kids at home, you have to pay for a sitter. What game this week did the Sox have the best attendance? Half-price night.
The difference here is the unmarried fans. I’m not saying that all Cubs fans are single, but I haven’t met one yet who gets pumped to go to a Sox game. Wrigley is packed with a large number of single folks with gobs of spending money. If this wasn’t the case, do you think the bars and restaurants would be filled before, during and after every game? Many of the Sox fans I know live in the west or south suburbs and drive in for the games. You don’t see too many singles renting, owning or hanging out near The Cell, do you?
I’m sure the stadium will be sold out if the Sox make the playoffs. But until then, the Sox will have to accept the lower attendance as a fact of life.
George Knue at 12:41 p.m.
Illini basketball update: Dee Brown’s the big headline for Illinois basketball these days — will he stay or will he go? And you’ve got to give points to the Tribune’s Neil Milbert for actually talking to Dee about what’s going on. Which at this writing is nothing.
But there are lots of little things going on. The three incoming freshman for next year’s Illini — guards Chester Frazier and Jamar Smith and big man Charles Jackson — are on campus and playing pickup games with the rest of the Illini. And you’ve got to like Frazier’s attitude. “I hope Dee stays,” he told Milbert. “He could teach me a lot. Last year was a magical season here. Hopefully we can do a little better.”
Also on campus were two high-profile recruits — 6-foot-10-inch Brian Carlwell of Proviso East and guard Willie Kemp from Tennessee. Carlwell, from Dee Brown’s alma mater, told Mark Tupper of the Decatur Herald-Review that he might decide soon. Here’s what he told Tupper about the Illini: “I’m comfortable here. My mother knows Dee’s mother a little bit and she has said she loves being able to come back and see games and stuff. That might be easy for my mom to do that, too.”
Doesn’t sound like he hates Champaign.
Tupper also notes that Bruce Weber will be at the Chicago Board of Trade Friday to ring the opening bell.
Wednesday, June 15
Rahula Strohl at 11:30 a.m.
Blogosphere: Vice president of communications for the White Sox Scott Reifert is in the ‘blog world. Reifert’s ‘blog is similar in set-up to Len Kasper and Bob Brenly’s Cubs ‘blog. Both have comments on each game and game notes. But Brenly and Kasper appear to spend more time on minutiae and simply regurgitating the pre-game press packets onto a Web page.
Reifert gives some behind-the-scenes looks at team travelling and what players and execs do with down time on the road (he seemed to enjoy Cinderella Man). I especially like his bits on what pitching coach Don Cooper has to say about the different approaches Sox starters take to warming up and exactly how the team gets away on getaway day. Useful information that a fan can’t get by just opening a media guide.
Firing back: Ron Kittle came back at Barry Bonds yesterday in the Gary Post-Tribune. Sadly, the link off of Google News sends the reader to a blank page. But according to the teaser, Kittle thinks Barry is a jerk.
Tuesday, June 14
George Knue at 4:51 p.m.
Lies? Reader Dave Goldsmith wrote Monday to ask if there were any updates on the Jay Mariotti item from last week, especially since Mariotti hadn’t written since the column last week that started all the furor, which included Jerry Reinsdorf describing the column as “totally full of lies, which is consistent with what Jay Mariotti likes to do” and a Sun-Times correction on the column.
Mariotti did write in the Tuesday Sun-Times, discussing the Cubs and the Sox and what they need to do this season. And, for what it’s worth, he did have this paragraph in there twice: “But that would be a lie. And I sure don’t want to lie to anybody.” And Jay said he took three days of vacation.
Rahula Strohl at 4:22 p.m.
The wind dies: Alert reader Jason from Vail, Colo., tracked down the Gary Sheffield trade article from the New York Post. But it is a column by Joel Sherman who, in the process of suggesting the Yankees start unloading salary if their funk continues, says: “Should the Yankees wait for age or contract issues to bite them on Gary Sheffield? What would the Cubs surrender for him, for example?”
This is the only mention of the Cubs or Sheffield in the entire article.
Rahula Strohl at 3:20 p.m.
Blowin’ in the wind: We got a heads up about a Gary Sheffield-for-many-Cubs trade floating on the rumor mill. It cited ESPN Radio, XM Satellite Radio and the New York Post as saying the deal was close, with Buck Martinez and Larry Bowa saying on their XM program “MLB Home Plate” that they expect the deal to be done within the week.
However, perusing of the New York Post turns up nothing. Furthermore, the ESPN Insider MLB Rumor Central, which suggested on May 27 that Greg Maddux would be on his way out of Chicago by the trade deadline, turned up no Sheffield trade rumors. We’ll keep you posted, but for now it seems like a lot of gum-flapping.
Thursday, June 9
George Knue at 3:14 p.m.
Heavyweight fight ? or is that lightweight? This whole hissing match between Jerry Reinsdorf and Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti brought this thought to mind: Maybe these two should be headlining for the next big boxing card in town. We’re thinking maybe the Tribune’s Sam Smith and Mariotti might make a good bout as well. Not to mention Sox broadcaster Hawk Harrelson and Mariotti,who almost went at it last year in the press box at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
What comes to mind is some sort of Celebrity Death Match claymation battle ala MTV. Just think about the possibilities. But back to the news …
Things got heated this week with the Scott Skiles story – Will he stay or will he go? Mariotti, who generally doesn’t have much nice to say about Reinsdorf, wrote a column in the Tuesday Sun-Times ripping Jerry for not giving Skiles what Scott wanted.
In that same column, he said this:
“To hear Skiles, the final blow of a contentious period came when he read a column in the Chicago Tribune. Basketball writer Sam Smith, generally known as a Reinsdorf supporter, wrote a column describing Skiles as ‘greedy’ for not accepting the offer. Normally, a tough piece wouldn’t be the breaking point in a negotiation, but in this case, Skiles assumed what Smith wrote was straight from the mouth of Reinsdorf.”
Couldn’t find the Smith column. A search of the Tribune database for 2005 shows that Smith hasn’t used the word greedy all year. But Sam has come after Skiles, most recently here and here.
On Wednesday, after Skiles had decided he would stick with the Bulls, Mariotti wrote again, this time saying that Skiles got the better of Reinsdorf in the negotiations for a contract extension, asking for and getting a “meeting downtown with Reinsdorf, face to face, without his agent.”
Then Mariotti said, “I know big-shot business executives who have quivered in the presence of a poker-playing Reinsdorf. But Skiles stared him down, stated his case, played his hand and won the game.”
The final line of the column said it all: “He actually made The Chairman cry uncle.”
Mariotti also appeared to take another shot at Smith, and the Tribune (like Reinsdorf, a favorite Mariotti target), with this: “When Skiles and agent Keith Glass spent the last few days portraying J.R. as a tyrant, even accusing him of sending an ink-stained ‘henchman’ after Skiles with a rip-job column in the sleepy newspaper?”
Then, Wednesday night, Reinsdorf went on Comcast SportsNet and slipped no punches, saying the Wednesday Mariotti column was “totally full of lies, which is consistent with what Jay Mariotti likes to do.”
The Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein related those remarks to Mariotti, who said he used information “provided by my newspaper” and that Reinsdorf will “be hearing from my lawyer.”
Mariotti didn’t write in Thursday’s Sun-Times, but there was a story that
mentioned Reinsdorf’s appearance on Comcast and some of what he said. Not the “full of lies” part though.
That wasn’t all. At the bottom of page 2 of the Sun-Times was a correction regarding the Wednesday Mariotti column. Couldn’t find the correction online (and the column we linked to above doesn’t have the corrections in it at this writing). Here’s what the correction said:
“A Jay Mariotti column and a news story that appeared in the June 8 edition of the Chicago Sun-Times should have said that the Bulls’ contract with coach Scott Skiles was agreed on at $16 million guaranteed over four years, including the option year. The Mariotti column should have said the deal was made in a telephone conversation with Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and Skiles. The Bulls’ offer did not change from the day before. After that phone deal, Bulls general manager John Paxson and Reinsdorf also agreed to give Skiles a $500,000 bonus for his recent success with the team. That Mariotti column also should have said that Ozzie Guillen’s two-year contract extension was for $2.5 million.”
You can decide who was bloodied in this one. Knowing Mariotti’s consistent disdain for all things Reinsdorf, he’ll be throwing a few more punches soon.
Wednesday, June 8
Rahula Strohl at 12:26 p.m.
History repeats itself: The NBA Finals start tomorrow. If you are watching, and you are having trouble figuring out who to support, the last time the Pistons repeated as NBA champs, the Bulls won six of the next eight. With Scott Skiles now back for a while, who knows? I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’.
Monday, June 6
George Knue at 1:20 p.m.
Taking a walk: Chances are you have never heard of Bill Holden – and we’re not talking about the actor. But he’s probably something worth knowing.
This Bill Holden is an Elgin native and a graduate of Southern Illinois University. He’s 56 years old, unemployed, divorced, carries a few extra pounds, has bad knees, and he’s a Cub fan. If the Cub fan part didn’t clue you in, here’s something else: He believes in miracles.
And the miracle he believes in right now is this: That he can walk on those balky knees from Prescott Valley, Ariz., to Wrigley Field, some 2,100 miles, to raise money for juvenile diabetes, a quest he chose to undertake after seeing the movie “This Old Cub” about Ron Santo.
ESPN.com has a story about Holden; staffer Wayne Drehs joined up with him recently in Southern Illinois around Granite City. And a whole bunch of people have talked to him and written about him along the way.
Since that meeting with Drehs, Holden, averaging about 12 miles a day, has gotten to Springfield and expects to arrive in Chicago by July 1 for the Cubs’ game against the Washington Nationals. His journey began Jan. 11 and Dreh’s story said he had reached $80,000 in donations by late May. His goal was $250,000, and while it may seem unattainable, getting there now can’t be any more unlikely than Holden’s trip has been so far.
Wednesday, June 1
Rahula Strohl at 12:08 p.m.
The mystery man: So the Cubs, with their supposed pitching-rich farm system, are going with lefty John Koronka. Koronka is a 25-year-old career minor leaguer who is 4-5 with a 4.73 ERA this season and attended his first-ever big-league game Monday. So why in the name of whoever’s name you want to invoke are the Cubs going with him?
Well, he’s dealt back-to-back shutouts this month. He’s a lefty starter, and you never know when those will strike gold, even if only for a day. Mediocre lefties generally strike gold against the Cubs at inopportune times (see Scott Downs last September or Doug Davis in 2003), so maybe Jim Hendry is thinking he can cash in on some karma.
Koronka has been described as a control pitcher and a strikeout pitcher and having “fair stuff.” Most intriguing is probably the pickoff move described as “barely legal.” In general, none of the material out in cyberspace is particularly flattering. He’s been grouped with the likes of Will Ohman and Michael Wuertz, hardly a qualification that instills glowing confidence.
This past December, Cubs fans asked Baseball America why the Cubs protected Koronka on the 40-man roster and left prospects Andy Sisco and Luke Hagerty open to be picked clean by other franchises, which they were. BA’s Jim Callis responded that Sisco and Hagerty had physical issues and Koronka had established himself in the Iowa Cubs’ rotation. Sounds right out of the Jerry Angelo school of drafting the floor, not the ceiling.
All in all, it seems that Koronka has been just good enough to hold on to a Triple-A contract. It’s probably safe to say that were he a righty, the previous five paragraphs would not be gracing our ‘blog.
George Knue at 1:23 p.m.
More Koronka: Koronka was born on July 30, 1980, and here’s a cool site that lists baseball players born on that date. Koronka shares his birthdate with, among others, former Cub lefty Steve Trout, former Astro third baseman Doug Rader, and Casey Stengel. And even if that’s more information than you need on Koronka, the site is a great way to waste time. Who was born on your birthday?
