The Cubs lifted the World Series trophy in 2016, and before the year was out, the White Sox rebuild had started in earnest.
The White Sox neighbors to the north were not the first, nor were they the most recent, to turn rebuilding lemons into championship lemonade. But given the proximity, as well as the success, it’s always been interesting, if nothing else, to compare where the White Sox are going to where the Cubs have been.
But as the two Crosstown rivals get together for the first time in 2020, the White Sox rebuild has finally reached the stage where a weekend set with the Cubs can serve as a different kind of measuring stick.
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These two teams now have similar short-term goals: to reach the postseason and compete for a World Series title. Now.
“It’s going to be fun to play against them because that’s the type of team that has played in the playoffs in the past,” outfielder Eloy Jiménez said before Friday’s game. “They have a really good record, we have a really good record, and I think we are going to enjoy this this year.
“We are going to play hard like always. We are just going to go and enjoy the game, like we always do. And I think we can show people we can compete in the playoffs, too.”
A combined six dates with each other account for 10 percent of each team’s regular-season schedule in this most unusual of campaigns. With the Cubs atop the NL Central and the White Sox riding a five-game winning streak and looking to establish themselves as playoff caliber, it’s no stretch to suggest these are the most important Crosstown games in an awful long time. Maybe ever, excluding the 1906 World Series, of course.
Certainly they should be more competitive than they’ve been in recent years. The Cubs won nine of the 14 Crosstown games in 2017, 2018 and 2019, even if the White Sox grabbed perhaps the biggest moment when Jiménez hit that broken-bat game-winner a year ago on the North Side.
But now these White Sox are in the process of climbing out of rebuilding mode and into contending mode. Throughout this season, we’ve seen what a high-octane offense and a couple dominant pitchers can do. They swept away the Detroit Tigers in a four-game set immediately preceding Crosstown Round 1, bringing their swagger and confidence into Wrigley Field on a high note.
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But those were the Tigers, it should be noted. And that’s why this Crosstown series strikes as so imminently important for the White Sox. They’ve played the class of their own division and haven’t fared so well. The Minnesota Twins crushed the ball, unsurprisingly, in taking an opening-weekend series on the South Side. The Cleveland Indians pitched incredibly, unsurprisingly, and have taken two out of three in both of their series against the White Sox.
Now it’s the class of the NL Central for the South Siders, and with no teams from the AL East or AL West on the schedule until October, this is as good an opponent the White Sox will face during the regular season to see how they fare against baseball’s best — and to see if they belong with them.
For years, this Crosstown series has served as a rebuilding measuring stick for the White Sox. Were they amassing the same kind of talent the Cubs did leading up to their ascent to the top of the baseball mountain? Were they doing the kinds of things that could avoid some of the pitfalls the Cubs have experienced since winning it all four years ago?
Now, though, the White Sox are trying to elevate themselves into the Cubs’ class. And so this weekend is less about how the White Sox can follow the Cubs’ path to greatness but how they can show they’re chasing them and the rest of baseball’s best down.
“I hope to have a little bit more fun,” manager Rick Renteria said Thursday, “for sure.”
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