Amazing comebacks, plenty of runs and the daily Pete Crow-Armstrong Show<\/a>. Wrigley Field was packed, and for the first time since the Theo Epstein rebuild, there was reason to believe in the team\u2019s future.<\/p>\n Whether the second half<\/a> can match the start depends largely on whether Epstein\u2019s replacement as president of baseball operations, Jed Hoyer, can fill some rotation holes and shore up the bench. Hoyer fixed a shaky bullpen early in the season with low-key, underrated moves and now faces another obstacle.<\/p>\n When Marquee Sports Network analyst Cliff Floyd pulled out a tiny red flag recently to signal the Cubs had starting pitching concerns, it signaled two things:<\/p>\n The Cubs do have starting pitching concerns, and Floyd has a guaranteed contract.<\/p>\n Through the fog of a team-owned network that often serves as a marketing tool for all things Cubs, Floyd\u2019s flag stood out. It\u2019s obvious to everyone that Hoyer needs to do something. But when Marquee joins in, you know it\u2019s serious.<\/p>\n The return of Shota Imanaga<\/a> on Thursday in St. Louis after seven weeks rehabbing a hamstring injury was a shot in the arm for the Cubs, who were 12-12 in June entering Saturday\u2019s game against the Houston Astros, slowing to a light jog after sprinting for the first two months.<\/p>\n But it doesn\u2019t bail out the rest of the rotation, which is in a state of flux with Ben Brown back at Triple-A Iowa. Only Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon are assured of keeping their spots behind Imanaga, and Taillon has allowed an MLB-worst 2.08 home runs per nine innings. Rookie Cade Horton was roughed up Friday night in Houston, bluntly saying, \u201cI got my ass kicked.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Saturday night\u2019s starter, Colin Rea, allowed seven runs on 11 hits against the Seattle Mariners last week, serving up four home runs. True, the wind was blowing out at Wrigley, but it has blown in plenty of times for Rea, whom left-handed hitters are salivating over with a .952 OPS against the right-hander.<\/p>\n If someone told you in March the White Sox would have a better rotation than the Cubs at the midway point, you would\u2019ve laughed or cried, depending on your anxiety level.<\/p>\n Justin Steele\u2019s season-ending elbow surgery and Imanaga\u2019s hamstring injury obviously have factored into the Cubs\u2019 rotation problems, but they were supposed to have starting depth. Instead, their starters ranked 23rd entering Saturday with a 4.31 ERA. Sox starters, meanwhile, were 18th at 4.20.<\/p>\n Thanks in no small part to the offense, Cubs starters were a combined 30-21, while Sox starters, with no run support to speak of, were a combined 13-30. Would you swap rotations if you were a Cubs fan?<\/p>\n The Sox likely will deal starter Adrian Houser before the trade deadline, in case Hoyer hasn\u2019t heard lately from his Winnetka Starbucks buddy, Sox general manager Chris Getz.<\/p>\n Houser has a 1.90 ERA in seven starts for the Sox after throwing seven shutout innings<\/a> in Saturday\u2019s 1-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants. He\u2019s affordable and shouldn\u2019t cost the Cubs more than a prospect.<\/p>\n Lonzo Ball is out,<\/strong> and this time it\u2019s for good.<\/p>\n The Cleveland Cavaliers accepted the challenge of trying to get Ball healthy enough to play in the NBA, acquiring him from the Chicago Bulls<\/a> for Isaac Okoro, a disappointing top-five pick in the 2020 draft.<\/p>\n When healthy, Ball can be a premier player. He was that player for only 35 games in the 2021-22 season before the knee injury that would sideline him for 2\u00bd seasons. He came back with a new knee in 2024-25, only to be limited to 35 games by a wrist injury and other ailments.<\/p>\n What if Ball had remained healthy? Would the Bulls have been competitive enough to be an annual playoff team the last four years?<\/p>\n Probably not, but it doesn\u2019t matter anyway. Executive vice president of basketball operations Art\u016bras Karni\u0161ovas, who reportedly is getting a contract extension for reasons that never will be publicly explained, wouldn\u2019t have made the necessary trade-deadline decisions even if Ball had been healthy on a winning team.<\/p>\n Hopefully Ball can overcome his injuries and become the player many thought he\u2019d be and not the Bulls version of former Cubs pitcher Mark Prior.<\/p>\n Luis Robert Jr. has a 0.0 WAR,<\/strong> which seems almost impossible for a player with his talent. Getz said Monday it\u2019s still possible Robert could remain with the Sox<\/a> after the trade deadline, which would be a shocking twist for a player who has been on trade-rumor watch for more than a year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve never been out there making phone calls about Luis Robert,\u201d Getz said. \u201cIt\u2019s teams calling us and we have conversations. And (we\u2019ve stuck) to the plan that we\u2019ve been working (on) so far in which, if we feel like we can help the long-term health of the organization, so be it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe like having Luis Robert and I enjoy having him in the lineup on a nightly basis.\u201d<\/p>\n Three days later, Robert was out with hamstring tightness. The wait goes on \u2026 and on.<\/p>\n Anton Frondell, the No. 3 pick in the NHL draft<\/strong> by the Chicago Blackhawks, could provide the organization with a much-needed personality boost, along with what he can do on the ice. His draft-day story of starting out as a 5-year-old wearing pink figure skates<\/a> showed his sense of humor.<\/p>\n Frondell compared himself to Florida Panthers star Aleksander Barkov, another 6-foot-3, 215-pound forward who can score goals and doesn\u2019t get pushed around. When the Hawks asked him whether he\u2019d prefer to be a center or winger, Frondell replied, \u201cWhatever Connor (Bedard) doesn\u2019t play, I\u2019ll play.\u201d<\/p>\n Look for the Hawks marketing machine to put these two on billboards soon. It\u2019s what they do best.<\/p>\n Our pick to click in next week\u2019s Chicago Street Race<\/strong> is Katherine Legge, the eighth woman in modern history to compete in NASCAR and the first since Danica Patrick in 2018 to race in the Cup Series. In its third year, Chicago\u2019s NASCAR race could use a nice storyline like a woman outdueling a field of men \u2014 and less rain.<\/p>\n![\"White](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/CTC-L-SOX-GIANTS-062825-04_230867948.jpg\")
White Sox starting pitcher Adrian Houser gestures a greeting to the plate umpire at the start of a game against the Giants on Saturday, June 28, 2025, at Rate Field. (John J. Kim\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"White](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1751195289_752_CTC-L-sox-diamondbacks039_230738828.jpg\")
White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at Rate Field. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n