By Steve Rhodes

One in an occasional series tracking the movements of ex-Cubs.
1. Jake Fox.
The Cubs drafted Jake Fox in the 3rd round of the 2003 draft. He was basically one in a series of 4-A sluggers without positions (Baseball Reference lists him as a pinch hitter, left fielder and catcher) the team thrived in during that era. Between 2007 and 2009 (those two years; he did not play for the big league club in 2008), he appeared in 89 games for the Cubs and the results weren’t good. He hung around Oakland and Baltimore for a few years and then called it a career.
Fox was in the news recently because he’s launching a fashion line called The Fox Code.
“The goal of the brand is to capture the mentality behind baseball, though . . . people who don’t play baseball also could be inspired by the brand,” the Sun-Times reports.
Um, okay.

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Posted on August 8, 2019

By Liz Szabo/Kaiser Health News

Washington Nationals’ ace Max Scherzer – whose back injury has prevented him from pitching since July 25th – is the latest in a long list of professional athletes to embrace unproven stem cell injections in an attempt to accelerate their recovery.
But many doctors and ethicists worry that pro athletes – who have played a key role in popularizing stem cells – are misleading the public into thinking that the costly, controversial shots are an accepted, approved treatment.
“It sends a signal to all the fans out there that stem cells have more value than they really do,” said Dr. James Rickert, president of the Society for Patient Centered Orthopedics, which advocates for high-quality care. “It’s extremely good PR for the people selling this kind of thing. But there’s no question that this is an unproven treatment.”

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Posted on August 6, 2019

By Jim Coffman

The sweep is the thing. Avoiding it, especially on the road and in the division, has saved the Cubs season. And after suffering one at quite an inopportune time this past weekend, it will take the Brewers awhile to recover, if they do at all this season.
In a given three-game stretch, of course, it doesn’t mean much if a team wins two of three or three of three. But over the course of time . . .

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Posted on August 5, 2019

By Roger Wallenstein

Watching the White Sox these days is somewhat similar to observing a would-be toddler preparing to walk. The little guy or gal first figures out that crawling is the lone available means to get from Point A to Point B. Once those stubby, little legs gain strength, standing, albeit holding onto something, becomes a bold endeavor, and the first wobbly, exploratory steps are soon taken to the delight of parents, grandparents and anyone who appreciates the marvels of how we humans develop.
However, it’s not that simple. That first step is celebrated, but crawling remains an option because that initial stride is followed by series of stumbles and plops. These kiddies are not foolish. They remember that motoring on all fours wasn’t so inconvenient after all. Literally, there is one step forward and a generous display of crawling until the steps become more secure and numerous, and off we go.
Eloy Jimenez is a case in point. Just two years ago he was hitting .345 at Double-A while last season he was slashing .355/.399/.996 at Charlotte – a sure sign that he was ready to walk into the major leagues. Sox loyalists clamored for the front office to promote the kid to the big time. Sort of like uber prospect Luis Robert today.

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Posted on August 5, 2019

By Thomas Chambers

The benchmark that is Saratoga Race Course makes it a byword for “form.”
All things being equal, unless a horse hates the Saratoga surface, and some do, races, and the horses in them, run formfully. There are so many good horses, you have to look at all of them.
Saturday, you could have called it very formful, on a high level, or chalky. And just like last night’s boxing matches, the featureds delivered, but the undercard may have stolen the show.

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Posted on August 4, 2019

By Thomas Chambers

There’s a great Twilight Zone episode where two-bit armed robber gambling punk Larry Blyden is shot dead by police. He wakes up in a fabulous suite with Sebastian Cabot apparently his butler.
He can have anything he wants, and the big guy – don’t deny yourself the Pritzker metaphor – means ANYTHING. The food is exquisite, the booze flowing, the dames at his feet and . . . and the dice are rolling, the cards flushing and the one-armed bandits cherries across. Every time. EVERY TIME.
This is no diss to Mr. French, but from now on, I will see our two-bit robbing city, county and state politicians as fat white-suited satans.

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Posted on August 3, 2019

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

This is his mess. Plus: Trade Shade; Cubs Narratives We Can Put To Bed; Kimbrel Is Killing Us; Missing Maldonado; Cubs Farm System Still Sucks; Here Come The Brewers; Evil Sports Programming Network; The Ex-Cub Factor; Rickey Ventura; Seeing (Soccer) Stars; and Trubisky Continues To Be . . .

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Posted on August 2, 2019

By Steve Rhodes

One in an occasional series tracking the movements of former Cubs.
With the trade deadline passed, Carl Edwards Jr., Martin Maldonado and prospects Paul Richan, Alex Lange and Thomas Hatch are now officially ex-Cubs.
I’m sure we’ll see their names again in this column. Meanwhile . . .

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Posted on August 1, 2019

By Jim Coffman

St. Louis may be so boring that even the Bowling Hall of Fame moved away a decade ago, but Busch Stadium will be a cauldron of baseball passion this week. I cannot imagine a better way to enjoy the game, either in person or on the telly (or streaming, or satellite radio, or . . . there must be some other technology I’m missing, sorry) than to watch this series.
The Cubs and Cardinals have been rivals for a long time, but a rivalry doesn’t really mean anything when one of the teams sucks and sucks and sucks. That would describe the Cubs of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s and really for most of the ’80s and ’90s and at least the first halves of the ’00s and teens.

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Posted on July 30, 2019

By Roger Wallenstein

The White Sox returned home last week to resume their post-All-Star Game swoon, losing five of seven contests to the Miami Marlins and Minnesota Twins. Apparently the fellows can’t beat anyone these days, seeing as the Marlins have baseball’s worst record while the Twins are clinging to the American League Central Division lead with the third-best record in the AL.
However, that was only a portion of the story on the South Side.

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Posted on July 29, 2019