With one week to go before opening day, there’s exciting news from the North and South Sides.
The Chicago Cubs have more options to watch Marquee Sports Network, and the White Sox might be closer to getting a South Loop Stadium in the future.
Meanwhile, the World Baseball Classic finally ended with Venezuela’s thrilling win over the United States in Tuesday’s championship game, which means no more angst over Mark DeRosa.
With snow on the ground and a single-digit wind chill, it’s time to start thinking about opening day.
Pricing out streaming options
The Cubs announced new streaming options for Marquee telecasts, making the network available on Hulu + Live TV and through Amazon’s Prime Video. As a disgruntled Comcast cable TV subscriber who downgraded from the Ultimate tier after the end of last season, this was great news.
So I logged onto the Marquee website to get more information, and was directed to a live chat box. I asked for Bruce Levine, but instead got someone named “John” who replied: “I understand that you want to speak to a specific person. Unfortunately, we don’t have that option to transfer you. Just rest assured that I’ll do my best to help you with your concern.”
Since I didn’t trust John, I decided to call a reliable source at Cubs camp in Mesa, Ariz., and asked if you had to pay extra for getting the Cubs games on Hulu + Live TV or Prime Video.
It turned out that the Marquee Sports Network will be included for free on Hulu + Live TV, and fortunately I still had the Hulu password to my cousin’s former wife’s account. But that turned out to be the wrong Hulu, and to get the Hulu streaming service would mean spending another $90 a month for channels I don’t even watch on cable.
Marquee Sports Network reaches agreement with Hulu and Amazon Prime to stream Chicago Cubs games
So Amazon’s Prime Video seemed like a better option, even though I just cancelled my subscription a month or so ago after Amazon owner Jeff Bezos got rid of The Washington Post sports section and gutted the international coverage.
But it turned out that Amazon Prime does not offer the Cubs network for free, so I’d be spending $15 per month again for Amazon and another $20 for Marquee. Add in the $20 for the Chicago Sports Network direct-to-consumer app for White Sox games, and that’s $55 combined to watch both teams, which is more than the $40.25 for the two channels on the Ultimate tier that I cancelled after the 2025 season to avoid paying for reruns of Cubs and Sox games.
Of course, I could just watch both teams on DTC apps for $40, saving a quarter. Anyway, like Craig Counsell and Will Venable, I’ll have some hard decisions to make before opening day.
Life was so much easier — and cheaper — when the only two stations you had to know were WGN-Ch. 9 and WSNS-Ch. 44.
Train dreams
Thanks to new stadium whiplash from the Chicago Bears saga, I hesitate to mention the report from Crain’s Chicago Business that White Sox owner-in-waiting Justin Ishbia might have a piece of land available for a new ballpark on the other side of the river from the Chicago Fire’s new stadium in the South Loop.
Ishbia’s private equity firm, Shore Capital, is “in the early planning” for a mixed-use development at the train yard near the 78, according to Crain’s, after agreeing to buy a 47-acre chunk of land from Amtrak.
Naturally, that suggests a new ballpark at the site for Ishbia. A new Sox Park seems to be a done deal in his mind.
Asked about a new stadium last November, Ishbia told me, “I will say this: The lease (at Rate Field) is up in four years after 2029, and I’m 48. So I can tell you one thing for sure — we will build a new stadium. I’m not sure when it will be. But in the next 50 years, when I’m the steward, there will be a new stadium built.”
How it will be paid for is the big question, but Ishbia has already invited Pope Leo XIV to throw out the first pitch, so it’s got to happen.
Few Sox fans want to wait even five years for the Ishbia era to begin. But Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf will retain control through at least 2029, according to the agreement they signed last year, and can decide to keep it through 2033 if he wants. Ishbia has the option to buy the team for the 2034 season.
Based on conversations with baseball insiders, Reinsdorf is hoping to host the 100th anniversary of the inaugural All-Star Game at Comiskey Park, an idea that sprang from the mind of former In the Wake of the News columnist Arch Ward. That means Reinsdorf would likely still be the owner in 2033.
But hopefully Ishbia would have that new stadium built by then, with a right-field wall short enough for a left-handed slugger like Munetaka Murakami to pop one into the Chicago River, and an upper deck that doesn’t replicate the epic fail of new Comiskey Park.
It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)
The World Baseball Classic was a nice diversion from spring training games, and it was great to see Venezuela celebrate after its 3-2 upset win over the United States’ stars.
It’s not the end of the world for America, but just an exhibition baseball game, albeit with a lot more drama.
A true “classic” would involve a three-game series at the very least, but MLB doesn’t want the games to intrude on the players’ seasons, which is understandable considering the stakes.
In the end, the U.S. team didn’t hit when it mattered most, reminiscent of the Cubs in a three-game sweep by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2008 National League Division Series.
“Let me tell you this, you could play postseason between now and another 100 years, and if you score six runs in a three-game series, it’s going to be another 100 years before you win here,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said, referring to the franchise’s century-long drought.
DeRosa played on that ’08 Cubs team, so he might remember the feeling of utter frustration, watching so many talented hitters fail time after time.
Naturally, DeRosa said he’d like to return as manager in the next WBC for a third shot. But hopefully he returns to the job he’s more suited for — morning talk show host at MLB Network — and lets someone else try. An experienced manager is needed, and DeRosa had two chances to get it done.
Fox Sports analyst Alex Rodriguez also needs to take a hike next time. While Commissioner Rob Manfred handed out silver medals to the U.S. team, A-Rod confidently said, “This means the world to them … getting a hug from the commissioner.”
I’m guessing a hug from Manfred was not on anyone’s wish list.