You can just throw out the records whenever the White Sox and Cubs meet on the baseball field. No, really, throw out the records — please.
OK, so April didn’t really go as planned for either of the city’s big-league teams. The Sox sputtered, wheezed and leaked fumes, and that was when they weren’t booting balls all over the diamond and getting injured. The Cubs? Since a 6-4 start that involved a good bit of hitting and the breakout of Seiya Suzuki, they’ve played with all the promise and panache of a rebuilding team going nowhere fast.
It has been anything but pleasant, but the good news is the Sox and Cubs are getting ready to play each other again, as they have a handful of times a year since interleague play took hold in 1997. How does a pair of games at Wrigley Field sound right about now? It’s not possible both teams will somehow manage to go 0-2 on Tuesday and Wednesday, is it?
But we kid. If you ask us, these head-to-head meetings never fail to hit the spot. It’s South vs. North, Addison Street vs. 35th Street, blue vs. black, the “Crosstown” this or the “Crosstown” that, and here’s to a welcome couple of days of fun in the (maybe?) sun. We’ve earned it by enduring painful displays of baseball on both sides of town.
April is in the rearview, at least. May the rest of the season be much better. And here’s what’s happening:
MON 2
76ers at Heat, Game 1 (6:30 p.m., TNT)
Philly opens the second round without superstar Joel Embiid, who took an elbow to the face on Thursday and suffered a mild concussion and a fractured orbital bone to go with the torn ligament in his right thumb. Easy for us to say, but come back soon, big fella.
Mavericks at Suns, Game 1 (9 p.m., TNT)
Luka Doncic can’t wait to put his team on his back and get after the defending West champs. It’s pretty amazing to think that he’s still just 23, or exactly one-third Chris Paul’s age.
TUE 3
Bucks at Celtics, Game 2 (6 p.m., TNT)
Let some other suckers try to deal with Giannis Antetokounmpo for a while, right? But look out for these Celtics, who’ve been the NBA’s best team over the last three months.
White Sox at Cubs (6:40 p.m., Marquee, NBCSCH)
Both teams have disappointed, but the Sox — still the betting favorites to win their division — clearly have more on the line. Does that mean the Cubs are playing spoilers already?
Warriors at Grizzlies, Game 2 (8:30 p.m., TNT)
The NBA has become a guards’ game, and good luck finding any two who are more fun to watch than Stephen Curry and Ja Morant. Show us a good time, little dudes.
WED 4
White Sox at Cubs (6:40 p.m., Marquee, NBCSCH)
Sweet peppers? Hot giardiniera? It has been too long since these city rivals have had a major beef between them. At least pretend you don’t like each other, fellas.
Blues at Wild, Game 2 (8:30 p.m., ESPN)
How evenly matched are these Central rivals? Put it this way: They outpointed the Blackhawks by 41 and 45, respectively, during the regular season.
THU 5
Predators at Avalanche, Game 2 (8:30 p.m., TNT)
Everything about the ’Lanche screams Stanley Cup except, perhaps, for veteran goalie Darcy Kuemper’s modest track record? Time for him to become a legit star?
FRI 6
Dodgers at Cubs (1:20 p.m., Marquee)
One huge-market team is charging hard toward another World Series. The other huge-market team is hiding loose change under its mattress. We’ll leave it to you to figure out which is which.
Sparks at Sky (7 p.m., NBA)
It’s the season opener for the Sky, who won the whole WNBA shebang last season. If you haven’t gotten on board by now, consider this your cue.
Aces at Mercury (9 p.m., NBA)
Two title contenders go at it, but the story is who isn’t in the building — Phoenix center Brittney Griner, detained in Russia since February.
SAT 7
Kentucky Derby (1:30 p.m., Ch. 5)
Will it be Epicenter? Will it be Taiba, Zandon or Messier? And who in the heck thought it was a good idea to name a racehorse Slow Down Andy?
White Sox at Red Sox (3:10 p.m., NBCSCH)
A funny thing has happened along the way: Neither of these teams can hit. Hey, it’s still early. They’ll be bashing in no time.
SUN 8
White Sox at Red Sox (10:35 a.m., Ch. 5, Peacock)
Who knew baseball could be played at this hour? The good news: Tony La Russa should finally be able to grab the early-bird special for dinner.
Dodgers at Cubs (6:08 p.m., ESPN)
The Cubs make their “Sunday Night Baseball” season debut. What did baseball fans around the world do to deserve that?
