Diary of a Chicago Sports Fan

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White Sox have a happy Holland day, while Cubs win, and the Bulls or Bears which is a bigger mess?

Derek Holland continues to be one of the best pitching free agent signings of the year. Holland went 6.2 innings, giving up only 1 run on 3 hits. He walked 1 and struck out 7. The Sox picked up the win, 8-3. The victory meant the Sox took 3 out of 4 in Kauffman Stadium, a place that's usually a chamber of horrors for the them.

Right handed bats continue to roll

Jose Abreu continues to be hot, going 2-5 with a homer, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Matt Davidson also homered and Avisal Garcia contributed 2 hits and 2 RBIs. The Sox have been tough on left handed starters, but could use another left handed bat or two. One who could play center field would be ideal.

Winners win in spite of themselves

The Cubs looked for a way to lose to the Phillies Thursday, but were unable to do so. The Cubs ultimately won in the 13^th inning on a throwing error by Phillies shortstop, Freddie Glavis. The game had a lot of the usual elements of Cubs games this season.

Bad news and good news

Cubs starter, John Lackey, went 5 innings and gave up 3 earned runs. Lackey's ERA stands at 5.14. While the Cubs starters continue to labor, the bullpen was once again outstanding. The pen went 8 innings, giving up only 1 run. Mike Montgomery went 3 scoreless innings and Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless 13^th to pick up the win.

A Miguel Montero homer tied the game in the bottom of the 8^th. The game remained tied at 4 until Albert Almora Jr. scored in the 13^th on the Glavis error. Almora had doubled to start the inning. Kris Bryant had 4 hits and the ever useful John Jay had 2 hits and a walk in a rare start. The Cubs seem to be staggering, but they're still at 16-12. Not bad for a team that hasn't hit it stride.

Does it really matter what they say?

The Bulls recently had their end of the season press conference. It seems that Rondo will likely return, as well as head coach, Fred Hoiberg. Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade are not as likely. The really bad news is that GarPax is still in place. I'm trying to figure out which Chicago front office is more confusing, the Bears or the Bulls?

The Bears puzzled just about everybody by trading up one spot to draft Mitch Trubisky, but the Bulls have been no less puzzling. Remember last year when the Bulls were going to get younger and more athletic and then signed Dwayne Wade and Rajon Rondo? Or how about trading Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Cameron Payne? I know other guys were involved, but Payne was supposed to have been the key. Apparently the Bulls wanted to stock their developmental team.

Could it happen twice?

The idea of the Bulls front office parlaying Jimmy Butler into something better seems like a real long shot. Like a blind hog finding two acorns. Keeping Hoiberg seems as unproductive as trading Jimmy Butler would be.

More next time.