Preseason Gives Bears/NFL Reason to Exploit Fans

One of the great philosophical questions of the day: Is a Chicago Bears victory in their exhibition opener of greater significance than a White Sox or Cubs regular-season loss? Or are they all equally significant/insignificant? I’ll hang up and not listen for my answer.

NFL cheerleaders are back. Well, not in Chicago where they are but a distant memory.

* NFL exhibition games are the worst in pro sports. Unless, of course, your team happens to win (which the Bears did Friday at Soldier Field 34-28 against the Philadelphia Eagles). To charge regular-season ticket prices and make season ticket-holders have to buy exhibition games as part of their ticket plans would be considered unconscionable in some businesses. But this is the NFL, which can make its own rules and knows it can get away with just about anything.

* For those who stayed home to watch the Bears on television, there seems to have been some sort of malfunction with the Fox video for the start of the game. Oh, the humanity. Understandable frustration. But what did viewers miss that was of much — if any — consequence?

* For all those who think the designated hitter eventually expanding to include the National League, here is Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon’s assessment after beating the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in 10 innings at Wrigley Field: “Oh, my God, what a different baseball game. For the group that doesn’t sometimes get it when you talk about the game being boring, I think maybe sometimes American League fans need to watch a National League game. Seriously, because there’s so much more going on. When you manage a game like that, you actually feel as though you’ve played when it’s over. I’m really becoming more of a fan of it. There are so many moving parts.” To whomever succeeds Bud Selig as commissioner, please do not have the DH in the NL — even if the players association likes the opportunities for batters that the DH provides.

* Speaking of the DH, neither DH had a hit in the White Sox’ 4-1 loss at Seattle. It was the fourth loss in a row for the Sox. If it’s any consolation to the AL Central fourth-place Sox, third-place Cleveland has lost four in a row and last-place Minnesota three in a row. Leaving the Sox equidistant (2.5 games) from each. OK, not much consolation. But it’s the best we could do on short notice.

* Speaking of the Cubs (trust me, we were a couple of paragraphs ago), second baseman Javier Baez made his Wrigley debut. He was 1-for-5. No extra-base hit. Run scored. Four strikeouts. Batting .263 (5-for-19 in four games with three home runs and seven strikeouts). Meaning he is striking out 37 percent of the time. And homering every 6.3 at-bats. Meaning if he has 400 at-bats, he would have about 63 homers and 148 strikeouts. Guessing the Cubs would settle for that. And, yes, this small sample size is not particularly meaningful. But fun for some of us to contemplate.

* Speaking of statistics, Baez’s numbers do compare to one other batter on the Cubs: pitcher Travis Wood (.256 in 43 at-bats), although Wood does have two doubles to go with his three homers.

* Speaking of stats, running back Jordan Lynch (the former Northern Illinois QB) was the Bears’ leading rusher with 24 yards on seven carries (3.4 average with a long run of 12 yards). Meaning he isn’t quite ready for a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and he’s not a bust as a player. Rather than Canton, Lynch may be headed to the practice squad — if he’s fortunate enough.

* Speaking of Bears hopefuls, former Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen impressed (7-of-13 for 150 yards and two touchdowns) in his battle to be Jay Cutler’s backup. Then again, so did Jordan Palmer (8-of-11, 104 yards, one interception, one TD).

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