Cubs, Sox Wednesday spring training report

Who doesn’t like a good conspiracy theory? And when it comes to the White Sox, there’s never a short supply of those.

The latest goes a little something like this: What if all that talk of a Cubs-style teardown and rebuild was all just a lot of hot air? What if it was a smoke screen to disguise the Sox dumping their best pitcher — and one-time fan-favorite — Chris Sale?

For all of the arguments in favor of a fire sale, Sale still had a club-friendly contract and — at just 27 — he has plenty of promising seasons ahead of him. Seemed a head-scratcher at the time.

Meanwhile, the expected trades of Jose Quintana, Todd Frazier and Jose Abreu never materialized. So far, the Sox have dumped Sale and Adam Eaton, two vocal critics of the Sox’ front office. This is more of a fired-up sale. If this is a teardown-rebuild, this isn’t how you do it. Are the Sox lying or lying in the weeds?

Our Daryl Van Schouwen takes a deeper look at the subject.

RICK’S FLAIR

Speaking of the Sox and rebuilding, general manager Rick Hahn says Rick Renteria — yeah, that Rick Renteria — is the right man for the job. Remember, the Cubs thought the opposite when they dumped Renteria after one season to have Joe Maddon preside over the finishing touches of their rebuild.

ON THE NORTH SIDE …

As Major League Baseball continues its quest to shorten the length of games, the idea of throwing four consecutive outside pitches to make an intentional walk official has become the latest victim. The players union has officially agreed today to OK the change of pitchless intentional walks.

This morning, Cubs star Kris Bryant — surely stirring the MLB pot — voiced his disapproval. The National League MVP says this is a slippery slope for MLB.

A CUBS MAKEUP DATE

Veteran catcher Miguel Montero has been one of Cubs manager Joe Maddon’s most visible critics, and Maddon has stressed this camp that the two have no reason to clear the air.

But there they were this week, spotted out on the town together in the Phoenix area having dinner and a little wine.

“It was the right thing to do,” general manager Jed Hoyer said. “We have all our individual meetings. We felt that one warranted a little bit more time.”

SLAMMING SLAMMIN’ SAMMY

Sammy Sosa resurfaced this week, thanks to a revealing blog post from former Cubs front-office official Chuck Wasserstrom. There were plenty of nuggets in Chuck’s lengthy post that went viral. Among them was Sosa’s desire to return to Wrigley Field someday. But, pride being pride, Sammy is waiting for an invite from the Cubs. And what do the Cubs think? Well, after a lengthy time mulling the subject, they decided that they would prefer not to comment.

Another nugget found in the interview stood out to our Rick Morrissey. This one centered on Sammy comparing himself to, ahem, Jesus. Never a good idea.

CUBS ARE STAR-GAZING

It’s no secret the Cubs have 2020 vision. They have made it clear they want to play host to the All-Star Game in 2020, when renovations are expected to be done at Wrigley Field. And what better way to show off the home improvements than throwing a midsummer party by the lake?

Major League Baseball, however, is saying the Cubs might have to get in line.

ARCH RIVALS

If you can’t get to a Cubs-Cardinals rivalry game at either Busch Stadium or Wrigley Field, you can still satisfy your appetite at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield starting next month. The museum will feature this exhibit: “Cubs vs. Cardinals: The Rivalry.” It was developed with the help of both teams and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and opens March 24.

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