Yoan Moncada is back with the White Sox; ESPN to televise Sunday's game

The White Sox became a better baseball team the minute Yoan Moncada walked into the stadium Thursday.

Just as I started to wonder whether Moncada would be back anytime soon after a positive COVID-19 test, the third baseman was at Guaranteed Rate Field after testing negative twice and being cleared to return.

Thank goodness, Moncada did not have severe symptoms. He described losing his sense of taste and smell while he was quarantined, but he was otherwise fine. And both he and manager Rick Renteria seem to believe he can be ready in time to face the Minnesota Twins in the season opener July 24.

Fingers crossed.

Pitcher Jose Ruiz, the other positive COVID test for the Sox, also has been cleared to return to baseball. He reported to Schaumburg to join the taxi squad.

Upcoming 'preseason' games

I'm watching the Sox's intrasquad game as I type on Thursday night. It's fun to see baseball of any sort -- and Dylan Cease looked really, really good against his teammates, eight strikeouts in 4.2 innings. And Edwin Encarnacion homered twice off Carlos Rodon.

But, it will be more exciting to see the Sox test themselves against other clubs before the season starts. That will happen Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. The Sox will play the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sunday night. Then they will host the Cubs on Monday before the Milwaukee Brewers come to the South Side on Wednesday.

And here's a twist: The Sox will be on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball when they play the Cubs. Can you remember the last time the Sox were on Sunday night? Me neither.

Nevertheless, I'll be watching the home team call on NBC Sports Chicago with Jason Benetti and Steve Stone. Unlike the ESPN broadcast team, Benetti and Stone are knowledgeable about the Sox, and we won't have to listen to a Cubs lovefest from Rick Sutcliffe.

Regardless of what channel you watch, doesn't it help the soul to have baseball back?

Rookies of the Year; Cubs radio booth; and Joe Mauer

The announcement of the Rookies of the Year on Monday proved to be anticlimatic. The two favorites won easily: Tampa Bay outfielder Wil Myers and Miami pitcher Jose Fernandez.

Myers, 22, hit .293 with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs in just 88 games after being called up from the minors June 18. His middle-of-the-order presence was key to Tampa Bay's surge to the playoffs. His selection as Rookie of the Year was a no-brainer, since the rest of the AL crop was weak.

Myers got 23 of the 30 first-place votes, easily outdistancing Detroit infielder Jose Iglesias, who got five first-place votes. Tampa Bay pitcher Chris Archer and Oakland pitcher Dan Straily each earned one first-place vote.

I thought the NL voting would be a little tighter, just because of the hype surrounding Yasiel Puig. The outfielder plays in a major media market and was widely credited with turning around the Los Angeles Dodgers' season, but in the end, substance won out over style.

The year Fernandez put together was too good to ignore. He earned 26 of the 30 first-place votes, while Puig got the other four. Fernandez is also a finalist for the NL Cy Young award, as well he should be. The 20-year-old went 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA and recorded 187 strikeouts. Those are gaudy numbers for anybody, but it's especially impressive when you consider Fernandez pitched for the 62-100 Marlins.

I was wondering if Fernandez would be forgotten by some writers because he toils in relative obscurity on a bad team. He was not forgotten. Unlike Puig, he was in the majors the whole season and excelled the entire year. Accordingly, he is more deserving of the award.

Former players vie for opening in Cubs radio booth

I saw an entry on Robert Feder's blog on Monday that the Cubs have pared their list for the analyst job in their radio booth. The position is open after Keith Moreland resigned to spend more time with his family.

As you might expect, many of the candidates are former Cubs players: Rick Sutcliffe, Kerry Wood, Todd Hollandsworth, Mark DeRosa, Ryan Theriot, Eric Karros, Doug Glanville and Dave Otto.

Feder reports former WGN broadcaster Andy Masur is also on the list, but I would think he would be more of a candidate if they were looking for a play-by-play guy. My guess is one of the former players gets the gig.

If they pick Sutcliffe, I will probably vow to never tune into a Cubs radio broadcast again. I can't stand Sutcliffe on ESPN. He never shuts up. Baseball is a sport where you have to let the game breathe a little bit, you know?

If it were my call, Hollandsworth, Karros and Glanville would be the finalists. 

Joe Mauer permanently moves to first base

I read an article the other day that said Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer is making a permanent move to first base.

Thank goodness.

Whoever the Twins put behind the plate next year will probably make about 75 percent fewer trips to the mound than Mauer, whose propensity for conferencing with the crappy Minnesota pitching staff is enough to make a sane man brain himself.