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LOUISVILLE, KY. — The wall was bare, stripped of the familiar signs celebrating past triumphs.There was no crowd outside, waiting to glimpse the next Kentucky Derby champion or to catch a word with the white-haired master of ceremonies. Barn 33 was home only to empty stalls and a few overturned red buckets, no longer the center of gravity for the most hyped event in American thoroughbred racing.AdvertisementAs Thursday morning dawned two days before the running of the 148th Derby, this was the vacuum left by trainer Bob Baffert, barred from Churchill Downs because of medication violations, one of which cost him victory in last year’s race.These are unusual times for the Derby, coming off controversial results in two of the past three runnings and now marked by the absence of the sport’s biggest star, suspended trainer Bob Baffert.https://t.co/5HqVVxvYKk— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) May 3, 2022

But Baffert, the most successful trainer in the history of the Triple Crown series, will be more than a ghostly presence around this year’s Derby. Two horses that he worked with until late March, Taiba and Messier, will be in the race with serious chances to win. They have prepared for the biggest run of their lives under Baffert’s former assistant, Tim Yakteen, and within the training structure Baffert created. They’re in Barn 37 rather than Barn 33, but other than that, the only component missing is Baffert himself.Advertisement“I don’t think the horse is going to realize there’s much difference at all,” said NBC analyst and former Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey. “They’ve got the same groom, the same exercise rider, the same assistant trainer, the same veterinarian, the same farrier, practically everything is the same. Same food, same routine. … Tim Yakteen, the new trainer, will know exactly what they’ve done and is probably mimicking that, so I don’t think the horses are going to notice anything.”Yakteen, 56, is a respected horseman with more than 250 wins and $12.2 million in earnings over the past 18 years, since he went on his own after apprenticeships under Baffert and fellow Hall of Fame trainer Charlie Whittingham. But he has never guided the types of talents that flow into Baffert’s barn every year. When Taiba and Messier finished one-two in the April 9 Santa Anita Derby, they pushed Yakteen to his first $1 million year as a trainer, and it’s only May.Tim Yakteen smiles in his horse barn at Santa Anita Park on April 25, 2022, in Arcadia, Calif. With Bob Baffert suspended for medication violations, the Kentucky Derby does not have its usual center of gravity. But two horses that came up in Baffert’s barn, Messier and Taiba, are in the race, guided by a self-described “regular Joe” in Yakteen. (Ashley Landis/AP)“The reality in thoroughbred racing is there are a lot of trainers out there, a lot of them that, given an opportunity with a really good horse, can do a great job,” NBC analyst Randy Moss said. “Tim Yakteen has had some good horses, not Derby horses, but he’s had some good horses in his career and has done a good job with them.”Baffert, who is not allowed to communicate with Yakteen about Taiba and Messier, has emphasized his trust in his former assistant.“I know they are in good hands,” he said in a statement when the horses transferred to Yakteen’s barn in late March.For his part, Yakteen said he has enjoyed his first week in the glaring Derby spotlight. He had attended the race as an assistant to Whittingham but never as a lead actor. Though not given to expansive, Baffert-style answers, he seemed delighted Thursday to talk about the horses and grateful for the opportunity, no matter how it came about.“I’m not a celebrity,” he said. “I’m just a regular trainer, a regular Joe. There hasn’t been any change in routine. The only change in routine is that I’m here at Churchill.”When asked on a conference call last week whether Taiba and Messier’s triumphs will be considered his or Baffert’s, Yakteen said: “I don’t know how to answer that question. All I know is that the horses are in my barn, and I’m moving forward with them.”AdvertisementTrainer Bob Baffert stands outside his barn at Churchill Downs on May 2, 2016, in Louisville, Ky. Baffert was barred from Churchill Downs earlier this year because of medication violations, one of which cost him victory in last year’s race. (Charlie Riedel/AP)Mike Smith, who will ride Taiba and who rode 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify for Baffert, said the forced switch in trainers has not changed much from his standpoint.“Not really,” he said Thursday morning as he posed for pictures with fans on the backside. “I’ve worked a lot with Tim, ridden a lot for him throughout the years. If anyone’s going to take over, Tim knows the routine, and he’s a great horseman in his own right. It’s fun for him.”As contenders, Taiba and Messier come into the Derby with a greater air of mystery than horses such as Zandon, Epicenter and Smile Happy, who faced off in prep races in Louisiana and Kentucky.“I haven’t been overly impressed,” Smile Happy’s trainer, Kenny McPeek, said after watching the former Baffert horses at Churchill Downs this week.If Messier, an 8-1 third choice in the morning line, had won the Santa Anita Derby, he might have vied to be the favorite at Churchill Downs. Instead, he could not hold off his stablemate, Taiba, who thrust himself into the Derby conversation with a brilliant performance.Kentucky Derby entrant Taiba works out at Churchill Downs on Wednesday in Louisville, Ky. The 148th running of the Kentucky Derby is scheduled for Saturday. (Charlie Riedel/AP)Taiba, a 12-1 sixth choice in the morning line, had never run before March, though he sold for an eye-popping $1.7 million as a 2-year-old. If he were to win, he would upset traditional notions of how much experience matters in building a Derby horse.AdvertisementJustify had run just three times going into the 2018 Derby and also used a brilliant victory in the Santa Anita Derby as his springboard. Smith sees similarities between the two horses.“We all know it’s asking a lot,” the 56-year-old jockey said. “You would hope his talent can overcome it. He’s quick, so he’ll be forwardly placed, and maybe you can turn it into only one or two in front of you. So then it kind of takes the inexperience part out of it. He’s just got to have the foundation, which is what I’m more worried about. … He’s extremely talented, and sometimes, that talent will take you that extra eighth of a mile. It can certainly be done.”“We want to see if there’s greatness there,” Yakteen said.He added that Messier’s second-place finish at Santa Anita was no discredit to him. “He ran huge in defeat,” he said. “He did all the heavy lifting early in that race. … I’m looking for Messier to take that next step. Fingers crossed, he’s trained great.”Both horses have made Yakteen’s job easy since he stepped in for Baffert.“Just straightforward,” he said.Advertisement148th Kentucky DerbySaturdayPost time: 6:57 p.m.TV: Chs. 11, 4 (coverage begins at 2:30 p.m.)

The Chicago White Sox placed outfielder Andrew Vaughn on the injured list with a bruised right hand, the team announced Thursday.The move is retroactive to Monday.AdvertisementWhite Sox batter Andrew Vaughn is hit during the ninth inning of a game against the Angels at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 29, 2022. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)Vaughn last played April 29. He was hit in the right hand by a Mike Mayers pitch in the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Guaranteed Rate Field.“Did the X-rays, did the MRI and everything was good, just tons of inflammation,” Vaughn said Wednesday. “I’m not much of a doctor, but it’s painful.”AdvertisementVaughn has a .283/.367/.566 slash line with three doubles, four home runs, 12 RBIs and five runs in 16 games. He is tied for the team lead in homers and leads the Sox in RBIs.“Definitely been (doing) a little more each day, because right after I couldn’t even hold anything because it was so banged up,” Vaughn said. “But I can hold a bat, I can take some decent dry swings.”In Thursday’s corresponding move, the Sox recalled infielder Danny Mendick from Triple-A Charlotte. Mendick is 5 for 20 (.250) with two doubles, one home run, three RBIs and four runs in 10 games with the Sox this season.The White Sox begin a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox Friday at Fenway Park.

Chicago White Sox reliever Matt Foster entered Wednesday’s City Series game in a tight spot.The Sox led by a run in the eighth inning, but the Cubs had runners on first and third with one out and right fielder Seiya Suzuki at the plate.Advertisement“My first game plan coming in for Suzuki was just try to get something to keep it on the infield or obviously a strikeout would have been great,” Foster said.Suzuki popped out to first baseman Gavin Sheets in foul territory.AdvertisementIan Happ was the next test.“Preparing to face Happ and try to minimize the damage to none,” Foster said.Nick Madrigal stole second, giving the Cubs two runners in scoring position. But Foster struck out Happ looking to end the threat.The right-hander provided a big boost out of the Sox bullpen in the 4-3 win in front of 36,755 at Wrigley Field. Foster’s appearance of two-thirds of an inning was followed by Liam Hendriks, who retired the side in order in the ninth for his seventh save.“I definitely love it,” Foster said of being in the high-leverage situation. “Get that big adrenaline rush, kind of the same when opening, you get the start. Those are two completely different things and I’m just thankful for any opportunity I can get up there, and get on the mound.”Foster has made the most of those chances. He has a 0.77 ERA in 11 relief outings this season, allowing one run on seven hits with 10 strikeouts in 11⅔ innings.“He’s making great pitches,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said.Foster pitched in both games of the City Series. He struck out one in a 1-2-3 inning in Tuesday’s 3-1 victory and came back Wednesday and retired both batters he faced.Advertisement“The adjustments he’s made from last year, it’s unbelievable,” said Sox starter Lucas Giolito, Wednesday’s winning pitcher. “It’s such a good feeling to see that. He took the bull by the horns and now he’s back doing what he can do.”Foster went 6-1 with a 2.20 ERA in 23 outings (two starts) during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He was 2-1 with a 6.00 ERA in 37 relief appearances last season.“I think I’ve made big strides since last year,” Foster said. “I had a very tough year last year, up and down. Good days, bad days, probably more bad than good. It was really more of getting my head to the right place and not worrying about other things than what I need to be doing. I think I came a long way from that.”His 2021 spring training was slowed by a groin injury.“I’ve definitely gotten the lower half a lot stronger,” Foster said. “During the offseason I did a lot of things to strengthen the groin and prevent those kinds of injuries from happening. I think it’s showing right now.”And he has continued to sharpen some of his pitches.Advertisement“I spent a lot of time playing around with a slider that I was messing around with last year, made some improvements to that,” Foster said. “I added a curveball that I actually threw when I was in junior college. I played with it some now, I don’t really throw it a whole lot. It’s just another weapon that I have in the pocket.”All of the work has been paying off, as Wednesday’s outing proved.“It’s a major confidence boost,” Foster said. “I try to take every opportunity to get out on the field that I can and not take it for granted. Just go out there and do the best that I can without letting outside things kind of interfere.“We have a wide range of people down there (in the bullpen). It’s awesome to see everybody blend together. We have a good time down there, but when it’s time to come in, we’re down for business.”

Things we saw and heard Wednesday at Game 2 of the City Series, which the Chicago White Sox won 4-3 to sweep the mini-series.Ozzie Guillén arrives at Wrigley Field in good time, beaming after a talk with Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker about Baker’s 2000th career win. Frank Thomas is stuck in traffic. Guillen says he’s thankful the brutal conditions Tuesday prevented them from having to come to Wrigley Field for the White Sox pregame show. “I know for sure now there is a God,” Guillén says.AdvertisementAn ivy update from a Cubs ground crew member: Not yet … “but hopefully soon.”Yoán Moncada may be back next homestand, Sox manager Tony La Russa tells reporters in the dugout before the game. “I was hoping there would be some miracle and he would be there for the weekend (in Boston),” La Russa says. He should know by now Moncada doesn’t do miracles.AdvertisementDoes La Russa like these two-game mini-series? “I like being in the majors and whatever that schedule says,” he replies. “I like the day off (Thursday) tomorrow, too.”Sox general manager Rick Hahn and La Russa convene on the field for a pregame conversation, topic unknown. Both are seen laughing, so it wasn’t about pitching to Byron Buxton with the game on the line and first base open.A flyover during the national anthem? A weak attempt at trying to make an early May, midweek crosstown series look more important than it is.Sox broadcaster Jason Benetti reflects on Tuesday night’s game: “It was like playing in a car wash.”The Sox telecast on NBC Sports Chicago shows Dylan Cease mic’d up on Tuesday, calling Tim Anderson’s opposite-field home run and even predicting it would land over the Sloan sign in right. “I can die a legend now,” Cease says. “That’s all I can say.”The Cubs telecast on Marquee shows Ian Happ mic’d up on Wednesday. “Hey,” “Hey,” and “Yeah” were among the utterances.Happ removes the ball from the vines on Luis Robert’s fourth-inning double, which leads to a lively discussion between Benetti and Steve Stone on the ivy rule. If there was ivy, Stone points out, Happ would be better off leaving the ball there for a ground rule double rather than risk dropping the ball and watching it turn into a triple.Sox first baseman Gavin Sheets singles through a big hole between third and second, driving in the tying run in the fourth and providing evidence against banning the shift.AdvertisementBenetti discusses the “Angry Lucas” Giolito that sometimes shows up in the course of a start. “Usually it’s bad for the townspeople,” he says.Cubs analyst Jim Deshaies points out the top four Cubs hitters are a combined 0-for-8 with seven strikeouts.In a taped postgame interview from Tuesday, Sox closer Liam Hendriks is shown looking at a printout in the bullpen before entering the game. Hendriks explains it’s a heat map of Cubs hitters showing their strengths and weaknesses in the strike zone. “What are you looking for?” Benetti asks Hendriks. “Where they suck,” Hendriks replies.Guillen and Thomas are shown back in the NBC Sports Chicago studios wearing blankets and pretending they’re shivering. Or maybe they really are. Hard to tell with these guys.Deshaies points out an umpire’s call in the outfield on a diving attempt by Robert was not called until Nick Madrigal was called out trying to extend the hit to a double.Sox left fielder AJ Pollock bloops one into right field that Madrigal can’t reach after shifting to the left side, proving more evidence against banning the shift.AdvertisementCubs broadcaster Jon “Boog” Sciambi cites a stat on the disappearing pitch counts of modern starters: only 14.2% of starters were allowed to eclipse 100 pitches last season. But Sciambi adds the Sox were second in the category. “He rode his guys,” he says of La Russa and his starters.Every other ballpark in baseball has padding in the outfield, Stone points when Robert runs into the brick wall in center to rob Willson Contreras of a hit to end the sixth. Stone says Robert made the catch despite being “hit by the bricks.” During the replay, Deshaies says: “All in all, just another brick in the wall.” For Pink Floyd fans only.After Madrigal steals second with two outs in the eighth, Happ is called out looking at a four-seam, 94 mph fastball from Matt Foster after two straight changeups. “Exactly the way Lucas pitched him in his first at-bat,” Deshaies says. Giolito caught Happ looking in the first on a four-seamer after a 1-1 changeup.Hendriks comes in to close out a White Sox win for the third straight night. A fan near a field mic can be heard on the Cubs telecast telling the ump to call strikes. “It’s cold out here,” he says. Benetti says it was a game that “reminds you why you love baseball.” After the win, it’s back to the studio, and Guillén pretending he’s Stone crying.The series resumes May 28-29 on the South Side. Hopefully it’ll warm up by then.

Athletics directors from Football Bowl Subdivision institutions are concerned with using name, image and likeness as an inducement for recruiting, according to a new survey.Of those ADs polled by the LEAD1 association, a group representing the 130-member schools, 90% were concerned that collectives were using NIL deals as improper recruiting tools. Approximately 80 FBS athletic directors were surveyed on NIL, transfer portal and Division I structure.AdvertisementSeventy-eight percent of ADs surveyed also believe that NIL collectives will impact athletic department fundraising, limiting a department’s financial resources and 77% of those surveyed believe an unregulated NIL market will eventually lead to scandals.Athletics directors would like the NCAA to establish parameters for the transfer portal, such as instituting dead periods. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images North America/TNS)Some of the other findings include:Advertisement92% disagree that NIL payments should be allowed as “pay for performance.”87% disagree that NIL payments should be permitted as “pay for play” tied to a specific athletics team.72% agree NIL payments should be tied to market value.The ADs also were surveyed about the transfer portal, with 87% agreeing that there should be designated “dead periods” to curtail unlimited transferring to other schools.[ Former UCF and current Nebraska coach Scott Frost punished by NCAA  ]Those polled were asked about reducing the number of members in the Division I structure, with 67% agreeing that a reduction is needed from the current 350 members and 58% were against individual conferences holding full autonomy over issues such as NIL and athlete compensation and scholarship regulations.This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Matt Murschel at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @osmattmurschel.

SEATTLE — Raúl Ruidíaz scored on a deflected shot late in the first half, added a second goal off a perfect counter attack in the 80th minute and the Seattle Sounders beat Pumas 3-0 on Wednesday night to win the CONCACAF Champions League title.The Sounders became the first team from Major League Soccer to claim the championship of club teams in North and Central America and the Caribbean since the current format was adopted in 2008. Seattle was the fifth MLS team to reach the final and the first to finish the task.AdvertisementNicolas Lodeiro added a final punctuation in the 88th minute with his third goal of the final after he scored both Seattle goals on penalty kicks in the first leg last week in Mexico City when the sides played to a 2-2 draw. The title earned Seattle a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup and added to an already filled trophy case that includes U.S. Open Cup titles, a MLS Supporters’ Shield and two MLS Cup titles.Officially, Seattle won the two-leg final 5-2. But with away goals not a tiebreaker in the final, whoever won the second leg in Seattle outright would be the champion.AdvertisementRuidíaz provided Seattle the lead in the 45th minute. His shot inside the penalty area deflected off Pumas’ forward Diogo and caught goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera moving the wrong direction. It set off a celebration with most of the record crowd of 68,761 cheering wildly enough to give Lumen Field a shake.The second goal was even better. Precise passes from Jordan Morris to Lodeiro and then Ruidíaz left the striker in perfect position to beat Talavera.Lodeiro’s goal just added to the party and the 3-0 win was the largest margin of victory in any CCL final match.The sides were even at 2-2 after a wild first leg. Pumas took a 2-0 lead thanks to a pair of goals from Juan Dinenno, the top scorer in the tournament. Seattle rallied behind two penalty kick goals from Lodeiro to draw level and simplify the second leg. The second of Lodeiro’s two goals in Mexico City came in the ninth minute of stoppage time.But Dinenno was mostly quiet in the second leg. His best chance was a free kick midway through the second half that missed the net. Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei made a terrific save on Diogo’s free header in the 65th minute.Frei was named the overall player of the tournament.Seattle managed to finish where Real Salt Lake (2011), Montreal (2015), Toronto (2018) and LAFC (2020) fell short in the past as MLS teams that reached the final. Real Salt Lake and Montreal both returned home after pulling off draws on the road against LigaMX opponents, only to be defeated on their home turf.Seattle finished the tournament unbeaten in all eight matches of the knockout stage and went 2-0-2 against LigaMX clubs after beating out Leon in the quarterfinals.

A flared blooper falling just beyond the outstretched glove of diving Chicago Cubs second baseman Nick Madrigal was the break White Sox outfielder AJ Pollock needed.Pollock entered Wednesday’s series finale at Wrigley Field hitting .184, but a well-placed ball and a little luck put the Sox ahead in the sixth inning. The Sox bullpen locked it down, holding the Cubs to three hits over the final seven innings in a 4-3 victory at Wrigley Field to win both City Series games on the North Side.AdvertisementRight-hander Kyle Hendricks needed one more out with runners on the corners in the sixth to keep the game tied. Pollock managed to inside-out enough of a sinker to get it over a shifted Madrigal, who sprinted from the left side of second base in an attempt to catch the ball.Solo home runs by José Abreu in the first inning and Leury García in the third got the Sox on the board against Hendricks.AdvertisementHome runs provided the Cubs offense, which again didn’t produce much against Sox pitchers. Nico Hoerner’s two-run home run and Patrick Wisdom’s solo homer — both in the third inning — erased the Sox’s two-run lead.Gavin Sheets singled to left field in the fourth to tie the game.The Cubs managed just one hit between Wisdom’s two-out home run in the third and his lead-off single in the eighth. Madrigal’s soft single to right field represented the Cubs’ lone hit in that span, but he was thrown out at second trying to stretch the play for an extra-base hit.Sox starter Lucas Giolito struck out 10 in 5⅔ innings, allowing three runs on three hits and walked two.Hendricks had pitched well at Wrigley in three starts this year. Although he was generally efficient against the Sox, he couldn’t get out of the sixth before surrendering the go-ahead run.The Cubs’ greatest threat to tie or take the lead fizzled in the eighth. They wasted back-to-back singles against reliever Aaron Bummer to put runners on the corners. Bummer forced pinch hitter Yan Gomes to line out before Matt Foster entered to retire Seiya Suzuki on a foul out and struck out Ian Happ looking to strand the runners.

The Chicago Cubs expected outfielder Seiya Suzuki to endure an adjustment period at some point as he gets used to his new league.A sizzling first two weeks earned Suzuki player of the week recognition and helped carry him to National League Rookie of the Month honors for April. AdvertisementBut Suzuki’s offensive production the last two weeks entering Wednesday’s series finale against the White Sox highlight the challenges the Cubs anticipated he would face. Since April 19, Suzuki is hitting .167 with a .245 on-base percentage, .495 OPS, four doubles, five walks and 17 strikeouts in 13 games. Suzuki doesn’t see teams pitching him differently, and manager David Ross agreed with the right fielder’s assessment. Ross believes Suzuki is working through a timing issue at the plate.Advertisement“Playing every single day and starting off so comfortable, they’re being a little more aggressive,” Ross said. “He’s fouled off a couple pitches I think he thought he should have should have hit, but for the most part I think it’s just a timing issue.“He started off and was surprising to everyone, like, wow, this guy’s taking the league by storm right? And now you see the league kind of adjust, and he’s also in that same boat of adjusting back to pitchers. … He’s got to go through the ebbs and flows like everybody else in the season.”From Day 1, Suzuki has displayed a good understanding of the strike zone and limits chasing pitches out of it. However, he is also taking a lot of called strikes. Suzuki’s 99 called strikes rank third-most in Major League Baseball entering Wednesday, trailing Kyle Schwarber and Jake Cronenworth. In the process, Suzuki’s strikeouts have increased while his walk rate has diminished during the two-week slump.Some of Suzuki’s struggles can be attributed to pitch types, such as a cutter, he hasn’t hit well. Hitting coach Greg Brown doesn’t point to one specific issue for Suzuki’s recent results.“It’s easy to get caught in the minutiae of it,” Brown said Wednesday. “At the end of the year, I think that his numbers are going to be where they’re supposed to be. For him, it’s more about staying steady in his process of how he prepares because there’s going to be great stretches and there’s not going to be.Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.“Every night he gives you that glimpse, even when he’s maybe not going as good as he was, that he’s in a good spot.”The increase in Suzuki taking more called strikes doesn’t appear to concern Brown. Sometimes slumping players will swing more, said Brown, who doesn’t necessarily see that as the answer.“I admire the way he goes about it because he uses every pitch as a learning process,” Brown said. “So sometimes a guy comes out there and takes three pitches, and it doesn’t work out very well. But he is very much a student of what he’s doing in his craft with hitting.Advertisement“We see signs of that every single day and how he’s going about it.”Suzuki’s plate approach lends to working out of his funk. There are no guarantees when that will happen, but despite some struggles Ross still feels comfortable putting Suzuki in the No. 2 spot of the order. Clearly Suzuki is committed to his strategy of trying to limit swings and misses, especially out of the zone.The Cubs expect Suzuki’s patience and growing familiarity with major-league pitchers to pay off.“If you start expanding, then you start really expanding,” Brown said. “Staying within the confines of his approach leads to long-term success. That would be my goal.”

Chicago White Sox outfielder Andrew Vaughn is “most probably” headed to the injured list as he continues to recover from getting hit in the right hand by a pitch, manager Tony La Russa said before Wednesday’s City Series game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.Vaughn got hit in the ninth inning Friday against the Los Angeles Angels at Guaranteed Rate Field. He remained in to run but has missed every game since.Advertisement“It’s doing OK,” Vaughn said Wednesday. “It has kind of progressed, but it’s still aching when I swing, real bad. It’s kind of blocking me from swinging because of the pain.”Said La Russa: “If you think about how long ago it was, it shows you that the bruise is deep and it’s a tough spot to handle it.”AdvertisementVaughn is slashing .283/.367/.566 in 16 games with four home runs and 12 RBIs.“I feel it all the time,” Vaughn said. “It’s not a good place to get hit. A lot of people get hit there and it breaks. I got pretty lucky that it didn’t break, but there’s still a lot of inflammation in there.“I want to be out there playing. I want to be helping my team. It stinks I can’t be out there.”La Russa said it’s possible third baseman Yoán Moncada (right oblique strain) and reliever Joe Kelly (right biceps nerve injury) could join the Sox during the next homestand. The team returns to Guaranteed Rate Field on Monday to play Cleveland. Both players are rehabbing with Triple-A Charlotte.

The Sodfather confirmed Wednesday what most of us in Chicago already assumed.This has been our worst spring ever. Period.AdvertisementRoger Bossard, the head groundskeeper of the Chicago White Sox, didn’t need numbers to back up his claim. He has millions of eyewitnesses.Bossard said Sox manager Tony La Russa recently asked him if he’s ever remembered worse conditions during a Chicago spring.AdvertisementThe answer was a resolute “no.”“There have been times where I had to push some snow off the field or had to melt an inch here or there, but I’ve never seen a constant like this,” Bossard said.“This is my 56th year (as Sox groundskeeper). Never seen it like this. It’s horrible and it’s not just the Sox and Cubs. It’s the golf courses and everybody is just suffering. The plant isn’t growing the way it’s supposed to. The weather pattern is brutal. It’s as bad as I’ve ever seen.”And it’s not just the rain, the cold and the 23 mph wind, all of which made the Sox’s 3-1 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field a matter of survival of the fittest. Bossard said it’s also the absence of sun that’s hurting his grass and plants.Cubs first base coach Mike Napoli looks on as rain falls during a game against the White Sox at Wrigley Field on May 3, 2022. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)“The turf people, we’ve been suffering,” he said. “There is just no sunshine. There are 17 positive ultraviolet rays that come from sunshine that affect plant growth and we haven’t been getting any of them. Well, obviously some, or it wouldn’t grow at all.”La Russa said Tuesday night was among the five or 10 “toughest” playing conditions of his managerial career, which includes 5,282 regular-season games. He didn’t specify whether he also was counting playoffs or his minor-league career or starting out in the Dominican Republic winter league, where Sox owner Bill Veeck dispatched scout Jerry Krause to find out whether La Russa was a keeper.Suffice it to say that’s a lot of games. In his 61st season, La Russa can probably lay claim to the title of bad baseball weather expert.So the question is: Why in the world did last night’s game have to be played?AdvertisementMLB made the ultimate decision, according to sources, after consultation with both teams. The playing surface at Wrigley Field was deemed fine at the start of the game, and the mist was light enough to play through without fear of player injury. Once the game started, it was in the umpires’ hands.Neither team wanted a doubleheader Wednesday, which makes for a very long day and eats up the bullpen. It would’ve been a split doubleheader, making it even longer. Both teams have a scheduled day off Thursday. But after Wednesday’s game, the Sox will have played 15 games in 15 days, dating back to April 20 with a doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians after back-to-back postponements. They needed a break before a road trip to Boston.Fans brave cold and wet weather from the bleachers at Wrigley Field during a game between the Cubs and the White Sox on May 3, 2022. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)The Cubs can be a bit sensitive when it comes to decisions around canceling games after some memorable wrong calls over the years, including the “no-rain rainout” against the San Francisco Giants in 1999 and a Milwaukee Brewers game in 2017 that was prematurely canceled on what turned out to be a fine day. Brewers manager Craig Counsell said it was the first time “we’ve had players treated for sunburn after a rainout.” Then there was an Atlanta Braves game in 2018 that was so miserable players worried about getting pneumonia. The Braves also blew an eight-run lead, which may have factored into the complaints.The Sox have had their share of bad weather calls over the decades as well.After a night game was postponed early on April 26, 1996, California Angels reliever Lee Smith suggested the postponement was made because Chicagoans wanted to watch Michael Jordan and the Bulls in a playoff game against the Miami Heat.Advertisement“I think they figured out that if they played, you and I would’ve been the only ones to show up,” Smith said.The most infamous wrong call was perhaps the 7 ½ hour rain delay before a 9 p.m. cancellation on Aug. 12, 1990, at old Comiskey Park. But at least Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf showed sympathy for fans who waited out the long delay. The Tribune game account reported: “At 8:15 p.m., the Sox offered free food and soft drinks to the remaining fans. At that point, the press box emptied quickly.”White Sox fans have a laugh in the stands at Wrigley Field on May 3, 2022. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)Bossard recalled that the National Weather Service kept insisting “a window was coming.” The window, however, was closed.“And we fell for it,” he said of the 1990 incident. “The Weather Service, they have eight scopes. I have two. And it’s their business and all clubs rely on them.”Relying on accurate weather predictions, while also trying to accommodate players who treasure their off days and fans who already bought tickets and made the trip to the ballpark, is often a no-win situation for team executives and MLB honchos. Because someone will wind up unhappy.But after it’s over, fans can say they survived a brutal night at the ballpark.AdvertisementSox fans in the Wrigley stands waved a giant ”L” flag after Tuesday’s win, reminiscent of the “Mike Caruso Game” in 1999, a classic City Series win for the Sox on another rainy day.“It’s funny,” Bossard said. “When you get the ‘W,’ everything is all right.”