Cubs manager Craig Counsell doesn\u2019t have a set plan for the closer role while Palencia is on the 15-day injured list, so we\u2019ll have to wait to see what he does on a daily basis. There\u2019s no obvious replacement on the roster, but rookie left-hander Riley Martin, who averaged 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings over six minor-league seasons, appears to be in the mix.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Counsell turned to 39-year-old lefty Caleb Thielbar, who posted a perfect ninth inning for his sixth career save in a 4-2 win over the New York Mets<\/a> at Wrigley Field.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to really have to go about it in-game and think about it during the games,\u201d Counsell said Friday. \u201cIt\u2019s challenging. It\u2019s going to be different for sure because guys will be in different spots than they\u2019re accustomed to, but in the end we have to use this as a positive for some of these guys. We\u2019re giving them exposure to good things. Riley is taking advantage of that opportunity and doing something with it.\u201d<\/p>\n On the South Side, a potential closer of the future has been used as an opener four times, a role no one envisioned for Grant Taylor.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a puzzling decision by manager Will Venable, assuming it\u2019s his call and not a directive from senior pitching adviser Brian Bannister or general manager Chris Getz.<\/p>\n Dom\u00ednguez\u2019s blown saves make it even more apparent Taylor should be used to protect late leads, but Getz said he wants Taylor to pitch around 100 innings.<\/p>\n \u201cBig-picture-wise, when you look at the amount of innings that we want Grant to have, there\u2019s different ways of accomplishing that,\u201d Getz said, \u201cand if it makes sense to have him throw one or two innings at the front of the game or middle of the game or late in the game, we\u2019re open to that.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the openers with Grant have gone pretty well. He\u2019s looked very comfortable himself, and it\u2019s led to a positive team outcome as well.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sox on Saturday blew their fifth lead<\/a> in the seventh inning or later, after an MLB-worst 50 blown-lead losses in 2025. If Taylor isn\u2019t going to be used as a starter, he should be a high-leverage reliever and not an opener \u2014 unless getting him more innings is more important than winning games, big-picture-wise.<\/p>\n Waiting on Teel<\/p>\n The question of how the Sox should distribute playing time between their two talented, young catchers, Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero, was an offseason narrative. Would they be better off trading one and focusing on the other?<\/p>\n Teel has been rehabbing for a month since suffering a hamstring injury<\/a> in the World Baseball Classic, giving Quero a chance to be the everyday starter. The switch hitter entered Saturday\u2019s game against the Athletics in West Sacramento, Calif., batting 0-for-14 against left-handed pitching.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a small sample size, but unless it improves, Teel probably should be the primary catcher when he returns with Quero as the backup.<\/p>\n Hype springs eternal It was nice of Chicago Sports Network to have a Noah Schultz Cam to follow the rookie around during his major-league debut<\/a> last week. But hopefully it\u2019s a one-off and not something CHSN plans to replicate for the debuts of Tanner McDougal, Hagen Smith and Braden Montgomery.<\/p>\n There\u2019s already enough pressure on these kids to live up to the Sox hype. A camera recording their every move just adds to it.<\/p>\n Pick to click<\/p>\n Watching \u201cUntold: Jail Blazers,\u201d the excellent Netflix documentary on the troubled Portland Trail Blazers teams of the late 1990s and early 2000s, I wondered how Rasheed Wallace was made out to be a national villain because of his penchant for committing technical fouls, while the media mostly portray the Golden State Warriors\u2019 Draymond Green as an emotional guy who just likes to compete. The only difference I can see is the Warriors won four rings with superior talent surrounding Green, while Wallace and the Blazers always folded in the postseason.<\/p>\n At least we won\u2019t have to see Green screaming at officials and opponents in the playoffs this year after the Phoenix Suns ousted the Warriors in Friday\u2019s play-in game. Fittingly, Green was ejected again.<\/a><\/p>\n Not ready for prime time<\/p>\n Amazon\u2019s Prime Video losing its feed in overtime<\/a> of the Charlotte Hornets-Miami Heat play-in game was unacceptable for a streaming network that deems itself big time. LeBron James posted about the snafu on X<\/a>: \u201cTell me the game didn\u2019t just cut off?!!? Am I trippin?? WTH.\u201d<\/p>\n The money grab by the NBA, which signed an 11-year deal with Prime Video, isn\u2019t worth it if the network can\u2019t telecast a game without technical difficulties.<\/p>\n Let Azzi be Azzi It\u2019s hard to comprehend why Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 pick by Dallas in the WNBA draft, wasn\u2019t allowed to answer a question<\/a> about her relationship with Paige Bueckers, her former UConn teammate with whom she\u2019s now reunited on the Wings.<\/p>\n A team PR person interrupted and said they would not be discussing players\u2019 \u201cpersonal lives,\u201d even though Bueckers already had revealed their relationship. Fudd is a 23-year-old woman, and if she didn\u2019t want to discuss it, she could\u2019ve said so herself. The WNBA needs to let its players think for themselves.<\/p>\n Curse of the \u2018L\u2019 flag?<\/p>\n
\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776597863_998_CTC-L-sox-rays042.jpg\")
An image of White Sox starting pitcher Noah Schultz is shown on the video board before his major-league debut against the Rays on April 14, 2026, at Rate Field. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
\n![\"UConn's](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CTC-L-BULLS_a5b70f.jpg\")
UConn’s Azzi Fudd, left, and Paige Bueckers celebrate during an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game against USC on March 31, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (Steph Chambers\/Getty)<\/p>\n