The Definition of Playing Out the String.

I think like many White Sox fans that once the Twins swept in and out of Chicago a couple of weeks ago, the season was unofficially over. I’ll admit I’ve peeked in on the games since then, but I’ve got other things to do. It’s nice and all that they won their last road trip of the season, especially a couple of wins in Oakland, but since the Twins left, no meaningful baseball has been played by the White Sox and won’t be until April 2011. The Red Sox have a winning record, but much like the White Sox, they have been out of it for weeks now. I kind of feel good that I figured the White Sox to be a .500 team and with a little luck/little push they could get to 86-88 wins, which has been right around what it has taken in years past (see 2008) to win the AL Central. Of course the Twins have blown that number away and are which I find completely incredible considering the loss of Nathan and Morneau this season, competing for home field advantage throughout the AL playoffs. That is just some crazy shit. Seriously, take Rivera and Jeter? Teixeira? Cano? Who is the equivalent to Morneau for the Yanks? Anyway, take those two key pieces away from the Yankees and what would the expectation be? Boston has been lamenting all year about injuries, yet the Twins keep rolling along. Not to repeat myself, but Christ when they get swept out of the playoffs again I’m going to add another level to my bitterness and animosity toward them.

Of course, this being the White Sox, drama is never too far away. Ozzie bitching and moaning about his contract was kind of annoying, but really the guy has done a good to really good job in his years as manager, so an extension would not be the worst decision made by the Sox. The worst decision made by the Sox is the Teahen extension and I won’t change my mind until proven otherwise. I hope to be at two games this weekend, one with AJD and one with the boy. My guess is it will be sparsely populated, but I’ll enjoy it just the same. Even if it’s meaningless, it’s still baseball right?

White Sox Recap: The Beatings will Continue

I will admit I just couldn’t bring myself to write about the Kansas City series, mostly because I really didn’t care and the big ticket item was looming in the distance. That item came via Minnesota and all of the joy left Mudville, so writing about Detroit seemed pointless too. All I can say is this home stand pretty much sucked, the Twins series of course being the biggest kick in the gut. The lads just didn’t show up against Minnesota and as everyone seems to be saying, the Twins are just a better team. That fact was on display during all three games. I’m pretty sure the Twins pitching will not get them very far in the playoffs, but I’ll be cheering for Jim Thome just the same. I may even buy a retro Twins cap for the first round of the playoffs just for fun.

What were amazing to hear during this home stand were the comments from my fellow fans. The long knives are definitely out in full force for Ozzie, though many national observers, Keith Law among them, seriously discuss him as manager of the year. I agree that Ozzie has done a decent job this year but I also think that many of the challenges he faced throughout the year were of his own making. It was pretty clear that he didn’t want Jim Thome back and that he wanted a more versatile line up. That versatility came in the form of Mark Teahen, Omar Vizquel, Andruw Jones and Mark Kotsay, murder’s row it is not. The only person from that list who should be back is Vizquel and only in the role that he was supposed to fill this year that of infield sub. Unfortunately he out performed everyone that should have been at third base, and for most of the season he out performed Gordon Beckham as well. Sadly, Teahen is the one under contract and I doubt with three years remaining that he will be going anywhere soon. Even so, the injuries to the bullpen and Peavy were set backs that Ozzie did not make and the fact that the team was in contention for so long is further proof, at least to me that he is a decent, if not good manager.

The other comments I’ve been reading and hearing are about Manny Ramirez and his lack of production. I even heard a smattering of boos at the Thursday night game. If I really cared, I could have booed too, but seriously, we all knew what could happen and the worst pretty much did. Unfortunately for Manny this audition for a future DH spot is not going well. It would be foolish for a NL team to take him on at this point and if this month is any indication it would be foolish for an AL team as well. I must admit, I want a Manny t-shirt just…because.

As mentioned, I was at the final game of the Twins series, and because my pal AJD couldn’t make it, I decided to parlay my upper tank ticket into a lower bowl seat and was rewarded with an excellent seat among some classic Chicago sports meatballs. If I was playing Chicago meatball bingo I would have had a full card. Let’s see, I had a guy booing Manny, a rousing discussion of clogging the bases and that Jim Thome isn’t that good and he was that good for “us;” a fellow next to me with a mustache which I’m guessing he wished was thicker so he could look like DA COACH, alas he barely scrapped a caterpillar across his lip. He vocally pined for Scott Podsednik to come back because he was a better player than Juan Pierre. He and his buddy also said that the Yankees really aren’t that good, though at the time they had the best record in baseball. It was also amusing to hear them discuss the batting problems of various Sox players because they were both really good softball players, according to them anyway.

Luckily, I’ve got at least one more game to attend before the season is over, maybe two. At that point it will surely be officially over and the crowds will be sparse to say the least, kind of like games in April and May. The great year end sale should also be going on and I can get one or two hats I have my eye on, a 1987 with the Eddie Einhorn “E” on the front and either a 1926 with the crossed socks or the 1930 cap with the red SOX descending with a bat along side. Of course I bet I can find that Manny shirt pretty cheap too.

White Sox Recap: Shitty Good Trips and Why I Hate the Twins.

Sheesh, a 7-3 road trip should be considered a success. Instead, it is only more disappointment. Yes, I’m well aware how late in coming this is, as well but I’m losing steam and been a little busy with other stuff (of course so much that I want to post here!) Anyway, a sweep of the Indians was needed and expected. What I didn’t quite expect was the booing of Manny Ramirez. Like so many former Indians, Manny left for greener pastures after putting in a number of very productive years in Cleveland, including two awesome seasons as part of their drive to two World Series. Though it didn’t match the level of spite that Jim Thome received, nothing compares to Lebron and Art Modell, I still found it quite silly. The guy was awesome for you, was offered a huge raise, and surprise! he took the money. Why is it that fans, who would crawl naked through glass for a comparable raise, bring in bullshit like loyalty. I would leave my current job in a heartbeat. So the booing of Manny, yet the standing ovation for Omar Vizquel, is just baffling. Same goes for Boston as well and their treatment of Manny. His numbers were similar in 2007 as the 100 games that he played for Boston, yet in 2007 there was no talk of Manny quitting on the team. In 2008, he was a scapegoat, especially trumped up by the media and gobbled up by the fans. Yep, the guy is a weirdo, but a guy who had a .398 OBP and an OPS of .926 may do a lot of things, but quit isn’t one of them.

The Red Sox sweep was nice, but they are a shell of a team right now, so meh, especially because the Twins were continuing to roll. Then came the 4 games in Detroit, and the three losses of the trip. Of course the Twins pretty much sealed the deal at that point. They only had a three game series and the White Sox did pull up a half game, and then lost three in a row as the Twins swept their series and now the Sox are 6 back, enough to make the three game series against the White Sox meaningless.

And this is why I can’t stand the Twins. They play like gangbusters throughout the season, beat all comers, especially the White Sox. If the White Sox go 7-3, they go 9-1. Yes the schedule sometimes helps, but in the end it all balances out and ultimately they balance out. Truthfully, I love the way the Twins play, the way they don’t beat themselves, the good defense, everything. Of course until the playoffs, and this is where my frustration comes in. I’m going to go out on a limb here, they will get trashed by the Yankees. All that pluck, all of that fundamentally sound baseball will turn to shit. The Twins will show up to the playoffs and barely put up a fight, and it won’t be the first time. Since the Twins have been the dominate team of the AL Central Division they have only made it to the ALCS once and in the other four times since 2002 they have won two games, being swept twice. It’s one thing to lose to the eventual champion, or to a team that plays a memorable postseason, but the Twins bellyflop. Where is that team that couldn’t lose throughout August and September? Where is that team that went 20-10, or close to it when the White Sox went 25-5 in the same stretch, barely losing any ground? They go into hibernation and wait until next year to torment White Sox fans.