CHICAGO – Before the White Sox completed their three games this weekend against the Cubs at Rate Field, Ozzie Guillen already knew White Sox fans’ reaction to the most extreme results.
“If the White Sox win three games against the Cubs, I guarantee all the faithful will be ‘Get a ticket for the playoff,’” said Guillen as he stood in front of the home dugout at Rate Field Friday night. “I guarantee you that.
“But if they get swept by the Cubs, they are going to say, ‘I told you it was a fluke.’ That’s why these games are so important. … You can see the difference between this game and other games. It’s a lot different. Players say it’s another game or the manager can say it’s another game. No, it’s not.”
Guillen was at the epicenter during the height of this Crosstown rivalry when he managed the White Sox from 2004-11. His always colorful and entertaining personality made for must-see television or interview sessions during these competitive years in Chicago. |
Dusty Baker and Lou Piniella were managing on the Cubs’ side, as Mike Quade was in 2011. Guillen finished with a 25-23 head-to-head record against the North Siders, but the wins paled to the memories he produced or watched.
The most iconic individual moment for Guillen came on June 20, 2011, at home. Guillen was ejected in the sixth inning by home-plate umpire James Hoye after arguing Alexei Ramirez being ruled out on a slow roller in front of the plate.
This in-game dismissal was nothing out of the ordinary, as Guillen is tied for 62nd all time with his 29 managerial ejections. But he kicked Geovany Soto’s mask after the ejection for a distance probably drawing approval from one-time Bears kicker Kevin Butler.
Soto’s reaction of pure amusement and pointing at Guillen with a broad smile after the kick only enhanced the moment. Guillen said he signed that mask for a Ryan Dempster charity auction, and the mask raised some good money for the cause, per a Dempster text to Guillen. |
“Meanwhile, it was a play I should go out. It was made more famous because it was the Cubs,” Guillen said. “People in Chicago, they are going to forget what you did vs. the New York Yankees.
“Ten years from now, they will know exactly what you did today against the Cubs. I think this series is huge for the city, put it that way.”
When Guillen played for the White Sox from 1985-97, there were exhibition contests played between the Cubs and White Sox and wins still were important. One of those games, on April 7, 1994, included a game-tying double from Michael Jordan that was extolled by Hall of Fame announcer Harry Caray. It’s the same Jordan who had a solid NBA career with the Bulls. |
Maybe Guillen will mention one of these moments during his No. 13 jersey retirement speech on Aug. 8 of this season. Both teams won World Series titles in the last 20 years to break a long drought. The White Sox won in 2005, under Guillen’s expert guidance, while the Cubs claimed the crown in 2016.
For the first time since 2020, both sides of town feature successful teams adding juice back to the competition. The Cubs entered Friday on a 13-3 run to take an overall 77-75 edge. Over 100,000 fans were expected for the weekend set, with Friday and Saturday being sellouts.
“This is a great series for the fans. That’s what this is to me,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “This is a fans series, because your mom and your dad might be rooting for different teams, right? Or your in-laws might be rooting for different teams.
“Your friends are rooting for different teams. This is a fans series – that’s what makes this fun. Now, the fans create the atmosphere in the stadium. And the atmosphere in the stadium is good every time these teams play.”
Chicago remains a Cubs town in Guillen’s mind. He told the humorous story of going on a double-decker bus tour in Chicago with his family, where they stopped at Wrigley Field and stopped at the Bears' home of Soldier Field.
At that point, the tour guide mentioned the White Sox were located about one mile away without making the journey. But Guillen loves the competition of this series and really likes what he has watched from the ’26 White Sox in his role as pregame and postgame analyst on CHSN broadcasts.
“Right now, this group of guys, they are having fun, that’s No. 1,” Guillen said. “They play the game right, that’s No. 2. And they believe in themselves.
“How did they do it? I don’t know, but they are doing it. Not only in Chicago but a lot of people around baseball are very surprised but a good surprise for baseball, those guys, the way they play every day.” |
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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- I echo Guillen’s sentiment in that it’s good to see this Cubs/White Sox rivalry back to full attention/excitement status. These games are always special. Ask Mike Caruso or Christopher Morel, among many others, if there’s any doubt.
- There’s still no specific timetable for catcher Kyle Teel’s return from an injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte. Teel was off on Friday after catching five innings Tuesday, serving as designated hitter Wednesday, playing seven behind the plate Thursday and being slated for seven more on Saturday. He has a few more games scheduled after that so maybe a return next weekend in San Francisco as a possibility?
- I’m scheduled to be on MLB Network tonight around 5:15 p.m. CT, so please take a look and listen. I’ll keep the University of Michigan men’s basketball title mentions to a minimum.
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"It's not the most fun, but it's fun getting on base. That one hurt a little bit more the other night. It was definitely cold.” – leadoff hitter Sam Antonacci on being hit by a pitch eight times with the White Sox after being hit 39 times last season in the Minors
“Every time we beat them.” – Guillen on his favorite memories of the Cubs/White Sox series
“Our crowd is our team in the dugout. If we got those guys cheering us on every single night, what we do right now, it’s kind of where we all look to. We feed off the noise in the crowd and everyone in the seats. We feed off each other.” – shortstop Colson Montgomery |
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