Paul Sullivan: April is here, and Cubs and White Sox fans are already in midseason form

CHICAGO — Months from now we might not remember the great tarp incident at The Rate or the Chicago Cubs bullpen implosions at Chase Field in Phoenix.

Everything seems magnified at the start of a baseball season, especially for Cubs and White Sox fans who hope to exorcise the nightmares of the last few years.

Fortunately they’re already in midseason form, finding things to worry about only a week (or two) into the regular season.

Here’s what we’ve learned from the first breath of a typical Chicago baseball spring.

1. White Sox rookie Shane Smith, a Rule 5 pick who had a terrific spring and a good start Tuesday in his major league debut, told us in Arizona he was “banging my head against the wall for a couple of years trying to throw a change-up and made a small tweak and started to see the promise.”

So where did he find the tweak? “Baseball Twitter,” he said, referring to X accounts such as @PitchingNinja. “They have a lot of good stuff on there. … It’s something I did a little project on.”

Pitching Ninja is the preferred account for those who enjoy watching videos of pitching mechanics. Many players and personnel visit the site frequently, including Sox pitching adviser Brian Bannister.

“If you are a baseball guy and you have Twitter, you are taking pointers from anybody,” Smith said.

When Chicago Sports Network’s Brooke Fletcher relayed Smith’s anecdote to viewers during Tuesday’s game, Sox play-by-play man John Schriffen said: “Pitching Ninja is a real thing, and it’s become very popular. But if that’s how you want to find some info, go for it. It won’t be my source, but … .” Rob Friedman, who runs the popular account, then retweeted the clip of Schriffen’s comment and added: “Appreciate it. LOL.”

Instead of the story ending there, Bannister chimed in, tweeting at Friedman: ”Keep up the great work Rob. Our sport needs more people that celebrate the awesomeness of what these guys can do. You’re one of the best things to ever happen to baseball.” Bannister added three flexing emojis.

Another Schriffen controversy? Maybe not. Friedman tweeted Wednesday that Schriffen apologized and was a “big fan” of his site. His comment was meant to say he was no longer on X.

It took Schriffen five games to get into trouble this year, so maybe that’s progress.

White Sox baseball: Never a dull moment.

2. It’s understandable that CHSN wants its pre- and postgame duo of Chuck Garfien and Ozzie Guillen to do their shows from the ballpark, even with an empty stadium in the background. It’s incomprehensible, however, that they make the two sit outside in the cold and rain instead of finding one of the many unoccupied suites to do the show.

Someone needs to fix this before Guillen catches pneumonia.

3. Who will be the first major league player to go on the 10-day injured list with “Torpedo-bat elbow soreness?” This is one betting line I’d like to see.

4. The Cubs bullpen had a 6.52 ERA going into Wednesday’s game against the Athletics, allowing 38 hits and 20 walks in 29 innings. This time you can’t blame Héctor Neris or the other usual suspects.

The salary-dump deal that sent Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees for reliever Cody Poteet, who was designated for assignment and then dealt to the Baltimore Orioles for cash, could be one of Jed Hoyer’s worst moves as Cubs president.

5. Marquee Sports Network’s crawl at the bottom of the screen during Cubs games repeats the same message repeatedly: Watch Marquee programming and follow @WatchMarquee on X.

Since we’re already watching Marquee during the games, the nonstop advertisements for Marquee seem a little gratuitous. Maybe a story on the Cubs bullpen would be nice.

6. It’s amazing the Sox were able to play Sunday after the tarp incident that led to a soaked infield with 3 inches of water on the dirt. Groundskeeper Roger “The Sodfather” Bossard called it the second-toughest day in his 59-year career tending to the fields at old Comiskey and the new park.

“Disco Demolition (in 1979) is No. 1 on my hit list, of course,” he said. “This is probably No. 2.”

Disco Demolition was the night when Sox fans and Steve Dahl followers invaded the field during a promotion blowing up disco records. They promptly tore the field to shreds, causing a forfeiture of the second game of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers.

As one of those knuckleheads, I’m glad to see it’s still No. 1 on the Sodfather’s hit list nearly 46 years later.

7. Boston Red Sox starter Garrett Crochet became the latest former White Sox pitcher to get a big, multiyear contract with his new team, signing a six-year, $170 million deal.

Ex-Sox pitchers include the Atlanta Braves’ Chris Sale, who signed a five-year, $145 million deal in 2019 with the Red Sox; the Toronto Blue Jays’ Chris Bassitt (three years, $63 million); and the Yankees’ Carlos Rodon (six years, $162 million). The San Diego Padres’ Dylan Cease is next up for a megadeal.

“There’s always risk associated with these types of contracts,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told reporters in a videoconference call. “I think we recognize that. At the same time we’re talking about an elite starting pitcher who’s 25 years old and someone we believe will continue to develop and whose best days are ahead of him.”

I asked Crochet in June if he knew the Sox’s history of not re-signing their own pitchers. “I feel like I remember Cease saying something along those lines, that he wanted to stay here,” Crochet replied. “(Lucas Giolito) might have said the same. I never talked to him specifically, though.”

Sad to see the Sox continuing to ignore the fact top starters deserve to be paid. The last Sox starter to receive a relatively lucrative deal was Dallas Keuchel, who signed a three-year, $55.5 million free-agent deal in December 2019. The Sox released Keuchel in May 2022.

Some things never change.