White Sox, Cubs Battle in Cold Rain at Wrigley Field

Why Kopech actually liked playing in awful weather originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

The first thing Tony La Russa did when coming into the visiting manager’s office at Wrigley Field following the White Sox’ 3-1 win over the Cubs was put his hands to his mouth and blow some warm air into them. It wasn’t quite a Top-Five Worst Game Ever Experienced for La Russa, since, well, he’s been a part of a whole lot of games, but it was in the Top 10 for sure.

“It was unrelenting, man,” La Russa said. “It never stopped.”

Temperatures hovered in the mid-40s all night, with a persistent drizzle, creating nasty playing conditions. Tim Anderson has played a bunch of baseball, but still has a ways to go before he catches La Russa, so to him the weather was especially gross.

“It was probably up there as one of the toughest weather games that I’ve played in,” Anderson said.

“We can’t catch a break with this weather right now,” said Gavin Sheets before the game. “But that’s a part of baseball in Chicago. You just have to embrace and play hard in it. That’s all you can do.”

But Michael Kopech didn’t mind the weather, knowing it was probably more miserable for Cubs hitters than it was for him.

“Personally, I like it, because I know the hitters don’t want to get jammed and what have you. But it’s also tough to get warm every inning when you’re in conditions like that. So it’s definitely tough on both sides. I’d like to think I have the advantage, but if you ask most hitters, I’m sure they think they have the advantage, too.”

La Russa didn’t expect Tuesday’s game to be postponed, nor did he want the game to be postponed. The prospect of another doubleheader this early in the season was enough for him to want the teams to get the game in, despite the awful conditions. So the Cubs and Sox soldiered on in the cold and the rain.

“I don’t think I can give enough credit to the two teams,” La Russa said. “I know I was watching our guys, and there wasn’t one guy who was backing off from competing. It was really amazing to see, and it was hard out there for hitters, defenders, pitchers. I just can’t give the two teams enough credit for the way they competed.”

Click here to follow the White Sox Talk Podcast.

Download
Download MyTeams Today!
Copyright RSN
Contact Us