Chicago Baseball off to a dismal first weekend.

      Both Chicago baseball teams started the 2026 opening weekend on a down note, going a combined 1-5 to start the campaign.  The White Sox pitching gave up 29 runs to the Brewers in 3 games and really lacked consistency throwing strikes early in the counts.  The Cubs didn't fair much better against a Nationals team that most experts have finishing last in the NL East.  My Father always said don't judge a team until they have played thirty games, but here is my way too early opinions on what I saw.

     The Cubs were in need of pitching this off season and the early indications are they may still need some help in the rotation.  That help should come when Justin Steele returns in hopefully May.  Until then, the Cubs will need to grind out games on the mound.  Cade Horton looked great on Saturday and Edward Cabrera should be solid tonight against the Angels.  It really is the other three pitchers that have to battle to win the two open rotation spots when Steele returns.  Shota Imanaga might be the arm left off if he can't figure out the home run tendency.  Last season he lead all of baseball in giving up home runs, and Sunday wasn't much better.  The Cubs also missed the bat of Seiya Suzuki over the weekend.  Matt Shaw and Michael Conforto combined to go 1 for 9 with five strikeouts in his absence.  It is way to early to tell if the Cubs will win or lose the Owen Caissie trade; however one could not help but notice he went 5 for 10 with two doubles and a walk off home run this weekend.  With Suzuki down the Cubs are getting little production from their corner outfield spots, but time will tell.  I still believe Miguel Amaya will return to form and win the catching job back, and that should give the Cubs enough offense when Suzuki returns.  Cub fans had to be hopeful when the schedule came out and had the Cubs opening with the Nationals and the Angels for the first six games.  Let's hope tonight gets the Cubs going in the right direction.

     The White Sox philosophy still baffles me.  They seem to be a team that is acceptable of losing as long as their young talented position players are learning and developing against major league talent.  Yet their three best pitching prospects are all sent to the minor leagues after spring training, even though the team's current staff is bad.  Noah Schultz threw four scoreless innings for Charlotte and Hagen Smith is scheduled to throw for Birmingham this weekend.  Grant Taylor and Jairo Iriarte are both hard throwers with better stuff than a few of the White Sox starters.  Wouldn't it be better if these guys worked with your best catchers, Teel and Quero, and your top coaches at the major league level.  Schultz has had four minor league seasons and Smith pitched three years in college before his minor league season last year.  Iriarte has had six minor league seasons.  The Sox got a big lift with three home runs from Murikami and Colson Montgomery looked solid at the plate going 3 for 10 with five RBI over the weekend.  Chase Meidroth is my kind of player, a real grinder type, so Sox fans should not look at this weekend as a total disaster.  The Marlins are beatable, so hopefully the Sox can right their own ship tonight.  

     I can hear my father right now.  "Relax, the cream rises to the top.  But remember so does dead fish."  Cru's Corner will take that philosophy to say, who knows.  It's too early to tell.