Whether you want it or not, most likely not, the White Sox and Cubs still have around 80 games to play. And if you're like me, you'll need a reason to watch. Here's three reasons to watch each:
White Sox
1. The High-End Comedy Of Adam Dunn's At-Bats: I didn't say they were reasons for hope. There are some out there who will tell you that Dunn's at-bats are as boring as can be, because they almost always only involve the pitcher, the cather, and most of the time not even Adam Dunn, and once a month maybe the right fielder. But these days, it's like watching a Mel Brooks movie. You know where it's going but you laugh every time. He'll swing and miss at the first two pitches, and then the only variable is if he swings and misses the third pitch by a foot or if he gets caught looking at a pitch that is equidistant from each point of the strike zone. Eventually, Dunn will heat up, and we'll miss out on this. Enjoy it.
2. How Many Starts Will Jake Peavy Make?: For someone who talks as tough of a game as Peavy does, who sounds like he's playing offensive line before failing out of class at the University of Alabama, he doesn't make it to the post very often. And with John Danks's off year, Gavin Floyd's existence on a different plane of existence, and Edwin Jackson just not being very good, the Sox are going to need dominant starts from someone other than Phil Humber (there's a sentence I never thought I'd write).
3. Ozzie's Last Stand: This could be Ozzie's Waterloo. It's been clear for a while that he and GM Kenny Williams aren't on the same page, or even the same book. And if this season isn't any thing to remember, after Kenny splashed out the cash again, he's probably going to wield the axe. Especially when the Marlins job will be open and that's where Guillen would rather be anyway.
Cubs
1. The Kids, Maybe: Yesterday, the Cubs promoted Brett Jackson and Ryan Flaherty to Triple A, and Matt Szczur to high Single A. This probably means you have to wait until September for hope, but Jackson and Flaherty just might get a look in September when things have completely been run over by the turnip truck. If they impress, they'll go to spring training in 2012 with a chance to win a job.
Local
2. How Much Worse Can Mike Quade Get?: Well, the veterans don't respect him, they don't listen to him, the Cubs are horrible at fundamentals, his handling of the pitching staff is subpar, and his other baseball decisions are off. I don't know what else he can screw up, but the mystery is the fun!
3. Matt Garza and Starlin Castro: It's still fun to watch Castro hit, and to see how he's growing into hitting for more power and more selective. Some of Garza's numbers are off, the strikeouts-per-nine are still good, but it's always fun to watch a guy who can throw a 95 MPH fastball and follow that with an anvil of a curve.
