I Should Probably Address the Ozzie Thing

The Ozzie Guillen era on the South Side of Chicago is over, so since one of the first posts I ever wrote for the old Is It Sports? site was called Ozzieball 2005, I figured I should probably address the Ozzie Guillen situation...

Needless to say, it was a very interesting 8 years. The huge moment that stands out for me that will always give Ozzie a place in my heart is the 2005 World Series title, where he was the first manager to guide the Sox to the title since a guy who was named Pants Rowland. Another part that made Ozzie fun to have as a manager were his crazy tirades, which were usually 1) Fun, 2) directed toward the Cubs, which Sox fans love to hear, and 3) gave the Sox some national media attention, actually even diverting ESPN from covering only the Yankees and Red Sox for a few minutes every month. The crazy tirades didn't bother me that much. I think when a professional athlete/coach says something stupid, it doesn't really reflect that poorly on the team or the fan base, unlike a college player or coach, where you could say, "these are the kind of students and coaches that this educational institution want to be associated with?". (Yes, I'm talking about Danny Hope here)

On the downside of things, after winning the World Series in 2005, the Sox were very up and down. After an impressive season where they came up just short of the playoffs in 2006, they sucked in 2007, won the Central with a bad record in 2008, sucked in 2009, finished with a winning record after sucking for the first half of 2010, and sucked in 2011. What does this mean? I'm not really sure actually. I haven't really decided after 29 years of watching baseball and 23 years of being old enough to understand it how much difference a manager makes. For example, the White Sox had a ton of injuries in 2007 and the Indians were actually good. In 2008, the entire Central was terrible and the Sox managed to float to the top. In 2011, the Sox roster was filled with underachieving, overpaid losers that Kenny Williams randomly signed or traded for. Were the injuries in 2007 or the horrible roster moves of 2011 Ozzie's fault? Nope. Should Ozzie get credit for winning the 2008 Central title when everyone else sucked? probably not. Are the White Sox totally screwed or much better off now that they lost their World Series manager? I doubt it.

If anything, Kenny Williams should probably be fired for taking a middle of the pack in salary World Series winning team and changing it into a sub-.500 team with a bloated payroll being wasted on injury prone or completely ineffectual players (see: Alex Rios, Jake Peavy, Adam Dunn, and even though he is gone, the horrible Edwin Jackson trade). I feel like the championship made him feel like he could do no wrong over the past few years.

One possible positive outcome from this is that .260 career hitter and current hitting coach Greg Walker decided to resign today, which could actually have a positive impact considering how little help Dunn and Rios seem to be getting. That could have an even bigger impact to the Sox than the loss of a manager.

Ozzie leaving for the money is kind of crazy, especially considering that he said he can't do this forever like a doctor or a lawyer. As a manager, he could have just as long of a career as long as he wins, but I probably shouldn't be trying to rationalize anything Ozzie says. For the Marlins, it will get them some media attention that they need in the year that they are moving into a new stadium. For Ozzie, it's a shorter flight to Venezuela and there is little to no pressure to win like there is in Chicago, so it's probably a good move for him. Hell, even the Sox got 2 prospects from the Marlins out of this.

So we'll see what happens. The White Sox will still be the White Sox, a team that is usually right around .500, finishes in 2nd place, and occasionally will have a 90 win or 70 win season, and life will go on. I'm just hoping I don't need to wait too long before the next World Series manager comes along.

Sort of Sports Related Breaking News: Fire at D-Backs Parking Garage

So tonight I went to the Diamondbacks game, because my White Sox are in town to play them in the regular season for the first time in 8 years. As you may have seen, my White Sox lost the game, but hey, at least I'd be treated to a firework show after the game! The firework show lasted about 30 seconds, until the lights abruptly turned on and they said that the rest of the show would be cancelled due to "safety concerns" in downtown Phoenix. When we reached the parking garage where we parked across the street from the center field side of Chase Field, everyone was just standing around and the fire alarm was going off. Yep, apparently the firework show caused a fire on top of the garage. In the end, the fire was put our quickly and we were allowed to enter the garage and come home. I'm not even sure if it will be newsworthy, but it's a little ironic considering the wildfires that are devastating the eastern part of Arizona.
[UPDATE: Apparently Steve was the first on the scene, however AZ Central has a little bit more on the story.)

BREAKING: White Sox Unveil New Alternate Uniforms for 2011

CHICAGO - In a surprising move, the Chicago White Sox unveiled a new alternate uniform for the 2011 season, which they plan to wear for 18 games, all of them against the Minnesota Twins. The uniform has pinstripes similar to the home uniform that the White Sox have worn for the past 20 years, but instead of the familiar intersecting S-O-X logo on the chest, it will have an intersecting N-Y logo. "This special alternate uniform that we plan to wear for all 18 games against the Twins next year will not only draw interest among the fans, but will also provide us with a significant advantage in the AL Central race," said White Sox GM Kenny Williams. "Recent history has shown that the Twins are completely unable to even win a single important game against a team with an intersecting N-Y on the chest, or for that matter, a slightly arched NEW YORK on a plain gray uniform. We plan to use this to our advantage in the upcoming season." The New York Yankees, who wear a similar uniform to this proposed alternate, declined comment. They may, however, be forced to provide a comment next week, when the Tigers, Indians, and Royals also plan to unveil a special 18-game only alternate uniform. A joint statement released by those 3 teams and White Sox said it all: "In 2011, we are taking drastic measures with our uniform designs in an effort to make the American League playoffs interesting again."

What Should We Take Away from the White Sox Interleague Dominance?

The White Sox finally had their 11 game winning streak broken today at the hands of the hated cross-town rival Cubs, but they also finished up their interleague schedule for 2010. They finished the season an impressive 15-3, only 1 game shy of the all-time interleague record. Also, their interleague dominance this year helped move them from a disappointing season and definite trade deadline seller to right in the heart of the AL Central title race.

So what should we take away from this? I think this season can finish 1 of 2 ways for the White Sox, and there is an interesting precedent that was set for one of the scenarios just a few years ago...

First, let's look at the negative side of this. Before Interleague play started on May 21, the White Sox were in sorry shape, stuck in 4th place with a 16-24 record, 7.5 games back, and seen as a dysfunctional team that had a collection of random disappointing players and a manger and GM that didn't get along. Winning helps solve a lot of these problems, and as mentioned above, they got a lot of wins thanks to interleague play over the past month. The big question is can the winning continue? Thanks to the NL being absolutely awful, the White Sox benefited from a very easy schedule over the past month. They took 2/3 from Florida at home (35-40), 4/6 vs the Cubs (33-42), and swept Pittsburgh (25-49), Washington (33-43), and Atlanta (44-32). They also only went 8-8 against AL teams between the Florida and first Cubs series. You can make the argument that Atlanta was the only really good NL team they faced this year, and they were actually pretty hot themselves when they ran into the Sox buzzsaw. The Sox are now 39-35 and only 1.5 games out of first, but we have to keep in mind that they are 24-32 against the AL, who they will now have to face for their remaining 88 games this year. If they continue their vs.-AL pace for the rest of the season, they'll only finish 77-85 this year.

But....remember how I mentioned above that they were 1 game short of the best interleague record ever? Well, one team that holds that record is none other than the 2006 Twins. In 2006, before interleague play started, the Twins were a very similar 17-24, sitting in 4th place and 10.5 games behind the Tigers, who, along with the White Sox, had an incredible start to the season. The Twins went 16-2 in interleague play and (with some AL games mixed in between as well) were 45-35 by the time interleague play ended on July 2nd. Unlike the White Sox this year, the Twins incredible turn around didn't put them in division contention. They only picked up a half game on Detroit during that stretch. The rules were a little different though. On July 2nd, 2006, Detroit and Chicago had the 2 best records in the majors and both teams had a much better winning percentage than anyone currently in the majors has in 2010. The Twins didn't cool off when AL play resumed though. The momentum that they gained in interleague play carried them through July, August, and September, and they were eventually able to steal away the AL Central title from a fading Detroit on the last day of the season.

So, will the White Sox come back to reality when they face the AL or will they keep their momentum going like the 2006 Twins? One thing in the White Sox favor is that the 2010 Twins and Tigers aren't nearly as good as the 2006 Tigers and White Sox, so they don't need to have the kind of final 3 months that the Twins had to win the division. One piece of relief for Twins fans if the 2nd analogy holds up is that the 2006 Twins were swept in the ALDS while the Tigers, who blew the division, went all the way to the World Series as the Wild Card. But, it's also highly unlikely that the wild card will come from the AL Central this year. And the 2010 Tigers? If they take on the 2006 White Sox role, they should prepare to be disappointed....and they don't even have the fact that they are the defending World Series champs to fall back on...

There is a reason the White Sox make moves

By Minnesota standard, Bill Smith has an itchy trigger finger. He pulled off two hefty trades early in his Twins tenure, the infamous Johan Santana and Delmon Young trades. He also added Mike Lamb and Adam Everett that same offseason. There was a lull for a while, with a few pieces being pushed around that were really not terribly important. Since the end of the last season, however, Smith stove has started to warm once again. He traded for Jon Rauch, Ron Mahay, Orlando Cabrera and Carl Pavano as the season expired, and then sent Carlos Gomez to Milwaukee for JJ Hardy at the end of the year.
Even so, Kenny Williams makes Smith look like he is napping with all the moves he makes. Bloggin' buddy Landon Evanson makes that point to in his latest post. But the thing is, the Twins do it our way for a reason, and the White Sox frantically make acquisitions for a reason too.
Kenny Williams went and nabbed Juan Pierre to lead off and play the outfield, while also grabbing the streaky and sometimes moody Andruw Jones. Why haven't the Twins done anything like this? Because they already have Denard Span to lead off and play the outfield and the streaky and sometimes moody Delmon Young.
They have also signed JJ Putz to set up Bobby Jenks. The Twins worked on patching their bullpen at the end of last season and will keep Jon Rauch through next season. The Sox bolstered their infield by adding Mark Teahen and Omar Vizquel. The Twins picked up Hardy, who could very well be better than Teahen, and already have Nick Punto, who is also overrated in the field and can't hit.
If anything, the White Sox are building the same team the Twins already have, but since their farm system is depleted, thanks to trades like the one that brought Jake Peavey to town, they have to go out and acquire overpaid veterans. the Twins still have flexibility. If gunslinger Bill Smith wants to make a splash, there shouldn't be anything holding him back.
Even if Kenny Williams is out making moves and Bill Smith has done nothing

I Now Realize the Fun of All-Star Games

So, each year, I usually check out the baseball all-star game. It can usually be pretty entertaining, seeing the best players in baseball play each other, but to me, and I think a lot of people, its not that big of a deal. Even now that "this game counts" and the home league in the World Series is determined from it, it's still not that big of a deal to the average fan, whose team it may or may not matter to (who really knows in July?). It's actually kind of funny, because all it really is is a passing thought after the game. As a White Sox fan, I benefited from the AL's win in the 2005 all-star game, and I remember thinking after the game, "hey, the AL won, and the Sox are doing pretty good this year. If they make it to the World Series, they'll get home field." That was pretty much it, and it worked out well that game 1 was in Chicago on a Saturday night so I got to go.

But I think it was tonight where I realized the true value of an all-star game, beyond any lame gimmick to let the AL have home field every single year in the World Series: They are absolutely awesome to record and then rebroadcast on the MLB Network about 20 years later. Yes, that's right. They serve as a perfect time capsule of the players of the day to show the stars of the era and to remind grown-ups who were kids at the time of the players they grew up with.

My theory has always been that the most impressionable 5 year window for a kid becoming a sports fan is between 6 and 11 years old. As a 6 year old, they are just starting to understand a little more about the teams and individual players, and they usually create their oldest sports memories. By 11, any good future sports fan should be really knowledgeable about the teams and players and have a little bit of history and trends to fall back on after 5 years of solid fandom, supplemented by baseball cards, board games, or video games, depending on the era they grew up (and not having a job or caring about having a girlfriend allows more free time to be dedicated to sports).

Based on this, my impressionable sports window was from 1989-1994. Leaving the conversation on baseball, some of my baseball memories from that period include the 1989 World Series earthquake, the baseball strike, learning to love guys like Carlton Fisk, Frank Thomas, Robin Ventura, and Jack McDowell, learning to hate guys like Jose Canseco, Tony LaRussa, Ryne Sandberg, and Mark Grace, learning to respect guys like Ken Griffey Jr. and Cal Ripken, the destruction of the old Comiskey Park and the opening of the new Comiskey Park, loving every minute of watching the A's get swept in the 1990 World Series (I really hated them back then), seeing the White Sox win a division title and Frank Thomas winning 2 MVPs, and the list goes on and on. Just about every baseball card I own is from this time period and I got even more familiar with players by playing the All-Star Baseball spinner game and playing the primitive Nintendo and Super Nintendo games that actually had MLB teams and players.

So tonight the MLB Network decided to show the 1990 and 1991 All-Star games back to back, which I caught flipping through the channels, and I just couldn't stop watching. Originally, I thought it was funny to see so many members of the Danny Tartabull game playing in these games, which I just posted in the archives, including Danny Tartabull himself, but watching these games really took me back to my days as a 7 and 8 year old watching players that seemed larger than life at the time playing each other, and it was a lot of fun. It really took me back, remembering my baseball cards and silly kid arguments about who is better with my friends. It's also funny to watch games from this era for the awkward moments baseball would probably want us to forget. For example, in the 1990 game, Jose Canseco flew out to Darryl Strawberry, and Strawberry threw out the tagging up runner at home. Heading back into the dugout, he was congratulated by Barry Bonds.....ugh...

So I officially discovered the best part about an all-star game. They are awesome to record and show several years later. I bet there are a lot of 6-11 years out there right now that will sit down and have a ton of fun watching the 2009 all-star game some time in 2028.

Counterpoint: When 5 Division Titles in 8 Years isn't Impressive

It's been a while since I've written about baseball on the Times, but as you might know, not everyone on this site is a Twins fan. I'm from Chicago and have liked the White Sox since probably before I was born, if that's possible. The source of a lot of our posts on the original Is It Sports? site was banter back and forth about the Twins and White Sox, and a big reason why Ryan wanted me to join him writing for this site is to occasionally trash the Twins, and be the "heel" for his Minnesota readers. I'm not going to put a lot of emotion into this, just present some facts, because I'm definitely not bitter about last night's game or this season (I hate the Tigers too and I got my World Series this decade).

I heard a lot of people on TV and on the radio tonight throw out the stat that the Twins have won 5 division titles in the last 8 years, and it could have been 6 had they only won the 1-game playoff against Chicago last year. It sounds pretty impressive, but I think in reality the impressive part about the Twins over the past 8 years is their consistency....they are consistently above average. In fact, since they started their run of "above-averageness" in 2001, they have averaged a very respectable 88 wins a year, and have had only 1 losing season.

When you think about it, in some divisions, an 88 or 90 win season could never get you to the playoffs, but the AL Central has been a pretty weak division ever since it was formed. The Central has only had 1 World Series champion and 1 wild card berth since its first full season in 1995, and for the first half of the decade typically had at least 1 team with 100 losses. If you consider a 90-win season as a truly "good" team and not just an above average team, the AL Central has had 10 of them since 2001, while the AL East has had 16, and the 4-team AL West has had 14. The AL East isn't that different from the AL Central in the fact that they typically have had 2 terrible teams each year for the top teams of the division to feast on. However, the AL East is also capable of winning games out of the division, and every champion of that division has had at least 95 wins since 2001, while only 3 AL Central winners have reached that mark in 9 years. Also, 6 out of the last 9 AL Central winners have had a record worse than the AL wild card, and in 3 of those years (this year included) the winner was worse than the team that finished 2nd in the wild card race.

So basically my theory is this: for the last 9 years, the Twins have consistently put up an above average to relatively good season, and if there isn't anyone else in the division that is at least relatively good, they win the division, only to get trounced in the playoffs because they weren't all that good to begin with. Let's briefly run through each season:

2001: The Twins put up their first winning season (85 wins) since 1992 despite talks of the team being contracted, but fall short to the Indians, who win the division with only 91 wins, only to lose to 116-win Seattle in the ALDS.

2002: This was by far the most exciting Twins team of their run this decade. They bucked the contraction talks and surprisingly won the AL Central, and then upset another 00's perennial playoff loser, the A's, in the first ALDS, before being stopped 4-1 by the Angels in the ALCS. The Twins won 94 games that season, their 2nd best of the decade....but had an extremely weak division with 2 100-loss teams and an 81-81 2nd place team behind them.

2003: The Twins win the AL Central again with just 90 wins (15 of them over 119-loss Detroit), 3 games worse than the 2nd place wild card team, Seattle. They take game 1 from the 101-win Yankees in the ALDS, but then score only 3 runs the rest of the series to get bounced 3 games to 1.

2004: The Twins win the AL Central again, this time with 92 wins (same as the Angels, who win the West). No one else in the division is close to them, much like 2002. The Twins put up a better fight against the Yankees, but lose 3 games to 1 in the ALDS again.

2005: The White Sox and Indians rise from mediocrity, which causes the Twins to fall back to 83 wins in 3rd place. The White Sox get the highest win total for the AL Central of the decade with 99 wins, get home field in the playoffs, and only lose once in the playoffs, winning the division's only world series title.

2006: It's another strong year for the AL Central, and the strongest for the Twins. 3 teams win 90 games and the Tigers appear to be the team of destiny for most of the season. The Twins got hot at the end while the Tigers choked, giving the Twins the division title with 96 wins and Tigers the only AL Central wild card spot ever. The Twins carried their momentum right into a 3 game sweep against Oakland, the A's only playoff series win of the decade, while the "downtrodden" Tigers pulled an amazing upset of the Yankees, sweep the mediocre A's in the ALCS, but then lose the World Series to St. Louis.

2007: The Indians put up a 96 win season and win the Central, while the Twins have a losing record. The Indians polish off the Yankees in the ALDS, and take a 3-1 lead in the ALCS before choking it away to Boston. The Indians nearly made it 3 AL Central pennant winners in a row, and none of those were the Twins...

2008: The AL Central is flat out bad, and both the White Sox and Twins win only 88 games before the White Sox take the 1 game playoff to win the division. The White Sox record after 162 games is 1 game worse than the AL wild card 2nd place Yankees. The White Sox lose 3 games to 1 to the surprising Rays...hmm, seems like this would have been a perfect spot for the Twins.

2009: The AL Central is even worse than 2008, with no one seemingly wanting to hang onto first. The Tigers completely blow the division in September, while the Twins catch them to force another 1 game playoff between 2 86-76 teams, 9 games worse than the AL wild card, 1 game worse than the 2nd place AL wild card Rangers, and only 2 games better than the 4th place AL wild card Rays. The Twins win the game, and will face a Yankees team that they finished 17 games behind in the regular season. Good Luck.

So basically, of the 8 teams that made the playoffs from the AL Central since the Twins won the 1st of 5 divisions in 2002:
1 team won it all (White Sox 05)
1 team lost in the world series (Tigers 06)
1 team was a win away from a pennant (Indians 07)
1 team lost an ALCS 4-1 (Twins 02)
3 teams lost an ALDS 3-1 (Twins 03, Twins 04, White Sox 08)
1 team got swept in an ALDS (Twins 06)

So with the exception of last year, which easily could have been the Twins if the 1 game playoff had gone differently, if an AL Central team makes the playoffs other than the Twins, they mean business and will make a legitimate run at the pennant. If no one else in the AL Central is a serious contender, the Twins above average consistency carries them to the playoffs, only to lose without making waves. I was thinking about this heading into the 1-game playoff last year and this is why I was really surprised the White Sox actually won. I have a lot of confidence the Twins will continue this trend starting tonight in New York. So congrats on the 5 division titles in 8 years, Twins, but I bet the White Sox, Indians, or Tigers will be ready the take your playoff spot as soon as they put together a true World Series contender, and hopefully bring some respect back to the division.

You have to spend money to make money

Every year, without fail, it seems that the Yankees give a lot of money to a very good player and a lot of money to other good players (and without fail, every year it seems one doesn’t pan out—either is injured or doesn’t play as well as expected).

The thing is, the Yankees can’t really help it. They’re caught in a Catch-22. They might not want to spend the money, but the fans expect it. The fans expect a quality team, and pay to watch a quality team (which is why it amuses all other fans the years that the Yankees spend a lot of money for a third-place team—and then promptly fire their manager).

The most baffling trade of late that involves money would be the Toronto Blue Jays giving the Chicago White Sox outfielder Alex Rios. Rios was an all-star player for a couple of years, and is still young. The thing is, he hasn’t been hitting like the superstar he was, and he was getting paid superstar money ($60 million over the next 4 years, from my understanding; I am unclear whether the $60 million is for the next four years, or if it includes this year and I’m too tired to find out).

The thing that’s needed to be understood is that Rios is not a bad player. He’s merrily average, and at age 28, he still has a little time to rebound from his average year. It was a risk that the White Sox were willing to take, and the Blue Jays weren’t willing to wait for. The White Sox didn’t give up a player in the negotiations, and simply took on the extra salary. For a team with a little money to spend, it’s probably a good risk. If Rios rebounds, they got something for nothing—they’d end up paying that money to someone for a superstar player. If Rios doesn’t rebound, the Blue Jays win in that they got out of his contract, which is what they seemingly wanted.

The point is, you have to spend money to get money. Showing up with an average team is likely to gain a team any sort of following. There will always be baseball fans, sure, but bandwagon jumpers bring in a lot of the money. The better the team is, the more fans that want to attend. The more fans in the stands, the more merchandise being sold, the more money a team is going to make. And not all risks are easy to make.

The risk that the White Sox took on will pale if Rios becomes the .290/.345/.825 hitter he was in 2006-2008. Ages 25-27 seem a little young to reach the apex and start declining at age 28. Age 227-29 is often considered the prime years of baseball, and we’ve seen players like Barry Bonds and Greg Maddux playing into their 40s (Maddux is probably a better example, because as far as I know there’s no steroid allegations with him). Naturally, there are often some flash-in-the-pan rookies who come out of the gates like a super-star, but fizzle off into nothing. (Recall Lew Ford was part of the final vote for the All-Star Game early in his career, and three years later was almost completely forgotten by baseball. If he hadn’t be an absent-minded geek, he probably would’ve been completely forgotten).

The short of all the babbling is that this is a good risk by the White Sox. They’re going to end up spending money, but the odds favor them getting a good return on their money. His minor league numbers are very consistent with what he’s done so far in the majors. It’s possible that he won’t make it, but I would be willing to take the risk, too—if I had the money.

Perfection

I still recall the game I went to, almost two years ago. Minnesota Twins pitcher Scott Baker took a perfect game against the Kansas City Royals into the ninth inning, before he walked John Buck and then the moment earned Mike Sweeney a new nickname* when he singled to center field. But for the first 8 innings, it was magical.

*"Stupid Mike Sweeney!". We like Mike Sweeney, but crushed our hopes of seeing a no-hitter. It's an endearing nickname.

As most people are aware, the Twins and Chicago White Sox are pretty bitter rivals. Thus, Victoria Times writer Steve hates the Twins, and I hate the White Sox. Fact of life.

Nevertheless on Tuesday night at the Metrodome, I watched Buehrle attempt to make history by being the first pitcher to pitch back-to-back perfect games. Alas, little Alexi Casilla thwarted those plans by walking. Since Buehrle had not had to pitch from the stretch for 45 consecutive batters, it seems to frazzle him a bit, and the Twins took advantage and went on to score 5 runs in the next 2/3 of an inning before Buehrle was removed from the game. To be fair, one of the hits in the seventh inning should’ve been a double play. As fans of baseball, we were stunned when the second baseman broke for the bag, rather than fielding the slow ground ball hit between first and second. In the sixth inning, Joe Mauer’s ground-rule double probably should’ve been caught. Incidentally, that’s the only misplay that the White Sox are allowed to blame on the Metrodome’s weirdness.

As an aside, I think the White Sox have a mental block in regards to the Metrodome (I understand. The Twins have one in Yankee Stadium, and kinda against the Yankees in general). Many of the problems the White Sox (mostly Ozzie Guillen) blame on the Metrodome happen anywhere. Buehrle complained about the bloop hits. Bloop hits happen anywhere. Balls fall in between fielders no matter what stadium you’re playing in. The Metrodome might have a slight advantage on ground balls moving faster through the infield, but that can work against them too (the Twins are pros at hitting into double-plays. Inning-ending, rally-killing double plays are a specialty). (Another aside: My friend and I wondered why the Twins didn’t try bunting earlier in the game. Sure, Buehrle is a good fielder, but they weren’t getting on base anyway.) The poor fielding Monday night were on throws and catches. There’s not much artificial turf can do about that, as far as I’m concerned. (In fact, I could argue that it would make it easier, because there are much fewer weird bounces on uniform surfaces.)

Back on topic, I was ecstatic when the perfect game was broken up, and even happier when the no-hitter was removed from the equation. There was relief when the shut-out was eliminated, too.

And when Buehrle was removed in the seventh inning, I stood to applaud him. I know there were plenty of people applauding in sarcasm—a “Thanks for the runs!” tribute—but mine was sincere. I never cheer when an opponent leaves, even if he’s given us ten runs. In fact, I’m disappointed, ‘cause I’d rather he stay in the game and give up more runs. Buehrle deserved praise; he put himself in the recordbooks. He retired 45 consecutive batters. He was masterful. As a fan of the sport, I have to honor that, sworn enemy or not. Players don’t often get standing ovations in their opponents stadiums, but sometimes, life calls for it.

I tip my cap to Mark Buehrle. It wasn’t easy what he did. It was magical.
He may play for an evil team, but that was impressive.



(I take great joy in the fact that Scott Baker, a long-time favorite of mine, had a better box score line than Buehrle—not to take anything away from Buehrle, though. )

Holy Crap! Is Buehrle Headed for the Hall?

My plan for my weekly post coming into Thursday was to do our next Position in the Spotlight city, St. Louis (look for it on Sunday). As a White Sox fan, the events of Thursday definitely changed my mind. In case you haven't heard, Mark Buehrle became only the 18th player in major league history to pitch a perfect game, as the Sox beat the Rays 5-0. Something that makes it even better is that the Sox are now in a virtual tie for first with the Tigers in the AL Central (silly percentage points).

Today's feat got me thinking though....is Mark Buehrle quietly building an extremely strong case to be a hall of famer some day? He's only 30 right now, so he is probably a little more than half way through his career barring injury or early retirement (which he has hinted at). But let's take a look at the resume he has put together so far in his first 9 years in the majors.

Buehrle has never been dominant in any statistical category, other than time elapsed between pitches, which doesn't mean a whole lot, but he has already accomplished a lot of things that even the most dominant statistical pitchers long for. He has now thrown 2 no-hitters, including the perfect game, he was the ace of a World Series winning team, and he has made the All-Star game 4 times so far in his 9 years, and started the game for the AL in 2005. Another amazing thing about his 2 no-hitters is that when he pitched his first one 2 years ago, he only walked 1 batter on the Rangers (Sammy Sosa) and then immediately picked him off of 1st base, which means he only faced 27 batters in that game as well. This is probably the closest anyone has ever gotten to pitching 2 perfect games in a career. He also faced the minimum 27 batters in a game in 2004, where he gave up 2 hits but another batter later grounded into a double play that inning, which makes him the only pitcher ever to face the minimum 27 batters in a game 3 times.

Statistically, he has a respectable career ERA of 3.78, which isn't bad for the steroid era, and 133 career wins, averaging 15 a season (he already has 11 in 2009). That's a pretty good amount of wins for a 30 year-old, and if he can keep up that pace for 8 more years, he'll have 250 wins. Ten more years puts him at 280 at 40 years old. Of course anything can happen, but has been a workhorse over the years, pitching over 200 innings every year so far in his career.

Back on the intangibles side, he still has some opportunities on the horizon. With the White Sox, he plays for a well paid team in a pretty weak division, so he has the potential to add to his 3 playoff appearances. This perfect game might also boost his popularity more among the sports writers and around the league, which could lead to some more love from the Cy Young voters (here's hoping Halladay gets traded to the NL next week) and more All-Star selections by the managers. I guess now that he has done it twice, there's always a chance he might throw a 3rd no-hitter down the line....

This can all be discussed again 15 years from now. For now, we'll see if Buehrle can carry his team back to the playoffs again, and I'll definitely be watching to see what happens next in his unpredictable career.

How About This Stimulus?

The ceremonial first pitch at the all-star game got me thinking....since our buddy Barack likes to hand out a bunch of free money to people that don't necessarily deserve it, how about giving the White Sox a nice, mid-season bailout, maybe giving them enough money to trade for and then sign Roy Halladay to a long term deal? That's one stimulus package that could actually turn something around.

Photo Credit: Jeff Roberson, Associated Press / July 14, 2009

Steve's 2009 MLB Preview

I have one more chance to sneak in my MLB preview until the season officially opens tonight. Ryan and Beth already made their picks. In the past, I've always looked forward to opening day of the baseball season as a sign summer is near. Now that I live in Arizona (home of Ryan's 2009 World Series champions) and I've been wearing shorts every day for the past 6 months, I'm so screwed up as to what season it is I don't even try to think about it anymore....but I can't complain. A lot of people seem to think this will be some kind of revolutionary year in baseball, with a bunch of bad teams surprisingly becoming good like last year. I think the odds of that happening again are pretty slim. Here are my picks...

NATIONAL LEAGUE

EAST
Phillies
Marlins
Braves
Mets
Nationals

Can you absolutely choke away a division 2 years in a row and expect to win it the 3rd year? In the Mets case, I think not, and despite their talent, I'm predicting a collapse in 2009. Even though they have suspect pitching, I think the World Champion Phillies have what it takes to be playing in October again this year. I'm going with the Marlins for 2nd because their extremely young team will have another year of experience in a pretty weak division, and the Braves for 3rd, who have maybe one of the oddest pitching rotations I have ever seen (but it could work out pretty well for them). As an American League fan, the Nationals have officially joined the Giants as teams that are loaded with "I wonder whatever happened to ____ guys." The kind of guys you are pretty sure haven't played in the majors for a few years.

CENTRAL
Cubs
Astros
Brewers
Cardinals
Reds
Pirates

I obviously hate this pick, but it's hard to go with anyone but the Cubs this year, mostly because this division isn't very good. I do think though, there are some high hopes for a wild card to come from this division, because the 4 decent teams get to play the Reds and Pirates roughly 40 times. I'm going with the Astros for 2nd here because I think they can carry the momentum they had at the end of last season into this year. They are pretty solid offensively but have pretty horrible pitching. If you think about it though, you can make the playoffs by mashing bad teams all year, but you need to have the pitching to win it all. The Brew Crew won't have C.C. Sabathia to carry them down the stretch again, but they will definitely be competitive in this division. I think the Cardinals are due for a bad year, fighting with the Ohio River scum buddies for last.

WEST
Dodgers
Diamondbacks
Giants
Rockies
Padres

It's pretty amazing to see what Manny Ramirez did for the Dodgers when he joined them late last year, and I think having him for the entire season, and letting him win games in a truly horrible division, will keep him pretty happy and allow the Dodgers to coast to an easy division title. I went with the D-Backs for 2nd, only because they seem to have a moderately good pitching staff compared to everyone else (especially after the Padres trade Peavy), but I don't think they will be in the divisional hunt at all.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

EAST
Red Sox
Yankees
Rays
Orioles
Blue Jays

I just don't see the Rays repeating their run from last year. If you aren't going to have a big payroll in a big money division like the AL East, you pretty much have to catch lightning in a bottle with a bunch of young players and then try to make a run, which is exactly what the Rays did last year. No one is going to be taking them for granted this year, and the Red Sox and Yankees have had time to regroup, reload, and rest up. I haven't paid enough attention to the talking heads this spring if its popular to pick the Yankees to go all the way or bury them this year, but I think they've made some nice additions in the offseason. They're going to have their injuries, but if the AL Central is going to be as competitive as everyone thinks, I can see them easily picking up the wild card spot this year.

CENTRAL
White Sox
Indians
Twins
Royals
Tigers

I noticed the Minnesotans decided to bury the White Sox while picking the Twins to finish a close 2nd. Sure, it can happen, but I can also seeing things going in a completely opposite direction. Having big meanies on your team like A.J. Pierzynski doesn't mean you're going to finish in last...last time I checked this isn't a little kids movie. In case I don't get around to doing a White Sox preview, I'll make some comments here. They are coming off a division title, with an almost completely intact team from last year, in year where Paul Konerko was horrible, Jose Contreras was hurt most of the year, Javier Vazquez hurt more than helped, and they really had no good options at 3rd base. They were led to the playoffs in large part by (ages last year) 25 year-old Carlos Quentin, 26 year-old Alexei Ramirez, 23 year-old John Danks, and 25 year-old Gavin Floyd, while they let Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye provide the power. Those guys are getting older and they get hurt, but they still haven't shown signs of a complete breakdown. The prospects of having Bartolo Colon in your starting rotation are kind of scary, but if he's great, everyone else will look stupid for not getting him, if he sucks, you drop him off at Old Country Buffet with a pink slip and go with Clayton Richard or some other youngster. So there's my justification for this pick. I think the Indians will definitely be back and in the hunt again this year, finishing 2nd and challenging for the wild card. I have the Twins third, because that seems like a good spot for team boredom. The Tigers seem like they are turning into the late 90's Orioles, and I couldn't be less afraid of their huge payroll this year, so the Royals get 4th.

WEST
Angels
Rangers
Athletics
Mariners

Angels by default. The Rangers bring back their same horrible pitching again, the A's got some major league talent in their lineup, but most of their pitchers were still in high school when Ryan and I started our original site in 2005, so they'll probably be a little rough around the edges this season. The Mariners are pretty bad on all fronts, but hey, people will go say goodbye to Ken Griffey Jr. on his victory lap.

PLAYOFFS

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Phillies over Cubs
Dodgers over Astros
Dodgers over Phillies

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Red Sox over White Sox
Angels over Yankees
Red Sox over Angels

WORLD SERIES: Red Sox over Dodgers. I don't like the Red Sox at all, but I have to admit they still look like the most solid team heading into this season. As always, I hope I am horribly wrong with my World Series pick just like I was in 2005.

Awards:
AL MVP: Mark Teixeira, Yankees
NL MVP: Manny Ramirez, Dodgers
AL Cy Young: Joba Chamberlain, Yankees - He actually blows out his rotator cuff in July, but in an ugly hostage situation, ESPN forces the BWAA at gunpoint to vote for their beloved Joba, the single greatest thing to happen to baseball...ever.
NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum, Giants
AL ROY: Chris Getz, White Sox - I got close with Alexei last year...lets try it again
NL ROY: Cameron Maybin, Marlins
AL Manager of the Year (AKA Steve's AL Kiss of Death): Eric Wedge, Indians
NL Manager of the Year (AKA Steve's NL Kiss of Death): Cecil Cooper, Astros

If I Were GM: White Sox Edition

Hopefully I can give everyone a break from this heated Twins off-season talk. As the resident White Sox fan, I get to pretend to be Kenny Williams today. As you know, the White Sox are fresh off a division title and have a lot of their players locked up for several years. Their major weakness in 2008 was their strength in 2005: they couldn't manufacture runs in a traditional way. They relied way too much on the solo home run and not enough on baserunning and timely hitting. That will only get you so far. If they want to take that next step, they will need to balance their team more for 2009 and strengthen their pitching staff a little more. I'll break it down, position by position:

Catcher: Say what you want about him, but I'd take AJ Pierzynski over just about any catcher in the majors. He knows how to handle a pitching staff and call a game and his offensive skills and clutch hitting are a major help. Toby Hall's option has already been declined, so I'll just pick a backup off the free agent menu.....let's go with Brad Ausmus. I would also consider giving a young guy like Donny Lucy or Paul Phillips another chance in the majors.

1st Base: In Paul we Trust. I'd have no choice but to keep Konerko at first because his horrible season last year greatly hurt his trade value. I'll just have to hold out hope that his strong August and September could translate well to 2009.

2nd Base and Shortstop: This is where it gets more interesting, and these 2 positions are definitely tied together for the White Sox. Just like Kenny, I would let Orlando Cabrera take a hike, leaving the door open for Alexei Ramirez to take over at SS, his natural postion. Believe it or not, the Sox actually have 2 promising young prospects in their system, 2B Chris Getz, and SS Gordon Beckham. Getz is ready to play in the majors now, but Beckham was just drafted in 2008 but seems to be on the fast track. I would keep Juan Uribe as insurance in case Getz doesn't work out.

3rd Base: With Joe Crede's back completely shot, the Sox are going to have to go a different direction, and that direction could be back to the land of communism and fine cigars. This story just ran in the Chicago Sun-Times this morning. So yes, I would send Contreras and Ramirez on a recruiting trip and land Dayan Viciedo. If that doesn't work, I would take a run at Casey Blake, who has stayed healthy and put up Crede-like numbers for the past few seasons.

Outfield: Carlos Quentin was the steal of the trade season last year, and hopefully he'll keep climbing to superstar status. Jermaine Dye will also be back again in RF. That leaves the question of CF. The Sox can either hang on to Nick Swisher and give him another shot, they could go young, or they could try out the free agent and trade markets with Swisher. In their system, they have speedy Jerry Owens, so-so Brian Anderson, and surprising Dewayne Wise. They could be alright going with a combination of the 3 next season, or they could try to make another big move. I would love to see them go after a proven speedy guy that could bat leadoff consistently. There is a rumor going around that the Yankees are interested in trading Johnny Damon for Nick Swisher. I would take that deal in a heartbeat, and see if the pretty stupid Yankees management would throw in a pitching prospect as well.

DH: JI
JIM THOME
Also, if Frank Thomas decides it is time to retire, I would sign him for 1 day to let him retire as a member of the Sox. Thanks for the memories, Hurt.

Starting Pitching: For some reason, it seems like a good idea to stay the hell away from starting pitching free agents. They command a ton of money and are usually pretty horrible. Luckily for the Sox, they have a decent rotation with Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras (if he stays healthy), Gavin Floyd, and John Danks. I would try everything in my power to get rid of Javier Vazquez, who some teams are interested in for some reason, especially if I could help rebuild the shattered Sox farm system in return. That leads to a search for a 5th starter, which I wouldn't mind seeing the Sox take a chance on a youngster again, like Clayton Richard or top prospect, Aaron Poreda. I'd let them battle it out in spring training and maybe try to sign a veteran for cheap to make it a 3 way contest.

Relief Pitching: Bobby Jenks is still my closer. I don't know if the rest of the bullpen is even worth talking about. They were more or less terrible last year, and there isn't a whole lot you can do to fix it, like most teams in the majors realize. I would definitely hang on to Matt Thornton and put Clayton Richard out there if he loses the starting battle, and probably keep Linebrink and see what other youngsters impress in Arizona in March. Oh, and I would trade Octavio Dotel to the Twins. I don't care what I get in return, I would just really like to see him in a Twins uniform coming into an important close game.

So here's my starting lineup and rotation:
1. CF - Johnny Damon
2. SS - Alexei Ramirez
3. LF - Carlos Quentin
4. RF - Jermaine Dye
5. DH - Jim Thome
6. 1B - Paul Konerko
7. 3B - Dayan Viciedo/Casey Blake
8. C - A.J. Pierzynski
9. 2B - Chris Getz

SP1: Mark Buehrle
SP2: Jose Contreras
SP3: Gavin Floyd
SP4: John Danks
SP5: Aaron Poreda

Links of the Day 10/11/08

Since Ryan is at a wedding today for one of his friends and commissioner of fantasy sports leagues that I like to dominate, I'm taking care of the links. Now that I live in Arizona (and thanks to the magic of the timestamp), it's still the 11th here...

Holy Toledo! Does Purdue have a chance to beat Michigan this year? Probably not...

Thanks, Ambiorix, really appreciated. AJ Pierzynski can send you a lovely fruit basket.

This global warming thing is out of control...

Since I typed the Weis thing first, this post is actually the 900th in the site's history. Thanks for reading.

Intriguing Possible World Series Matchups

So, 2 days later than expected, the field is set for the 2008 MLB playoffs. With 4 teams in each league, there are 16 possible matchups we can see in this year's World Series. Not all matchups are created equal though, so I'm going to rank all 16 matchups by level of intrigue. My apologies in advance to Phillies and Brewers fans:

1. Red Sox vs. Dodgers - Two big markets with big followings taking each other on. Joe Torre leading the Dodgers to the World Series in the same year that the Yankees miss the playoffs for the first time since 1993 will give the Steinbrenner family fits. But the biggest subplot here will be Manny Ramirez returning to Boston, who he greatly disrespected this season. This would also be Torre's first crack at Boston in the playoffs since the Yankees choked away a 3-0 lead in 2004.

2. White Sox vs. Cubs - Sure, no one may care about this outside of Chicago, but the city would literally rip apart if these 2 teams ever faced each other in a World Series again (the Sox beat the Cubs in 1906). Fans of both teams actually don't want to see this matchup happen because they don't want their team to be the team that loses to their hated cross-town rival.

3. Red Sox vs. Cubs - the two historically "cursed" teams with large national followings going at it. The funny part here is the Cubs are looking to break 100 years of losing while the Red Sox are trying to establish a dynasty by winning 3 championships in 5 years.

4. Angels vs. Dodgers - Could tear the city apart just like Chicago, but only until the 7th inning when the war gets taken to the streets....as the fans fight to get home. This matchup could lead to some negative happenings as well. Last time 2 California teams from the same metro area played, there was a gigantic earthquake. Also, we could see increased bloods vs. crips violence.

5. Angels vs. Cubs - The 2 top seeds and probably most deserving World Series teams battle things out. Add in the whole Cubs curse story, and you got yourself the #5 most interesting series.

6. Rays vs. Brewers - The ultimate low budget World Series. Two very small market teams with not all that great fan bases (sorry Brewers fans, they call your place Wrigley North for a reason) prove that you don't need to spend $100 million to win a World Series. TV ratings will be lower than the Emmys

7. Rays vs. Cubs - The gigantic underdog of 2008 vs. the gigantic underdog of the past 100 years. This would be an appropriate way for the Cubs to finally win a World Series, especially with a sweep, since with the current alignment, this is as close as we can get to the fictional 2015 World Series in Back to the Future 2.

8. White Sox vs. Phillies - These guys both like to hit a lot of home runs and play in two very homer friendly parks. If you hate pitching, this is the World Series for you.

9. White Sox vs. Brewers - Mike Cameron can get revenge for being traded for both Paul Konerko and Ken Griffey Jr. during his career. But in all seriousness, it would be funny in an agonizing way for Cubs fans to have 2 teams 90 miles apart playing each other in a World Series where both team busses would pass by Wrigley Field on the way to the games.

10. Red Sox vs. Phillies - This could be another offensively charged series, with Philly's left handed power trying to twist balls around Pesky's pole.

11. Rays vs. Dodgers - Joe Torre looks at Tampa in confusion, "Hey didn't I beat you guys non-stop for 10 years?" then has a chance to become the first manager to lose a World Series to 3 different 1990's expansion teams.

12. White Sox vs. Dodgers - Older White Sox fans will like this matchup, since it is a rematch of the last World Series the White Sox lost, in 1959. Hopefully no games will need to be played in the LA Colliseum this time, though a spilled beer on Ken Griffey Jr. would be pretty funny.

13. Red Sox vs. Brewers - Interesting series for really old Braves fans, since these cities were the team's first 2 homes before moving to Atlanta. C.C. Sabathia gets another crack at knocking out the Red Sox after he lost 2 games to them during last year's ALCS.

14. Angels vs. Phillies - Don't adjust the color on your TV's, there will be red everywhere. Should be a fun series to watch, just not quite as interesting.

15. Rays vs. Phillies - 1 combined World Series title in over 140 combined years of baseball, most by the Phillies. I am a little excited to see a Cliff Floyd vs. Jamie Moyer matchup in the 2008 World Series.

16. Angels vs. Brewers - The top seed in the AL vs. the bottom seed in the NL. If anything, people in LA might learn what state Milwaukee is in, and where that state is located.

Negativity is No Fun

So my post the other day sucked. After reading it again, I worded it so poorly that I just decided to delete it. After thinking more about what I wrote (lesson learned: don't blog angry), my logic was just wrong. I'm less of a baseball fan today than I was a few years ago because I have a pretty full career and family schedule these days, not the other way around. Just think, if you sit and watch every single one of your team's games during the season, you are dedicating around 500 hours a year (over 20 solid days) to baseball fandom. I still love my White Sox win or lose, and in reality I watch them when I can, but now that I'm not a college kid anymore, family and career come first.

Outside of Ryan's fiery response to me, we talked about how it's funny that our angry rants always seem to get more hits than any other type of post we write, unless it's about Erin Andrews, of course. The post I wrote unfortunately was the post that pushed the Victoria Times over the 30,000 hit mark all time (thanks to everyone for checking us out). It made me realize that negativity and hatred are pretty strong on the internet, whether it be Boston fans claiming Jeter has AIDS, racist websites, blogs talking about how our president is an evil oil obsessed tyrant, and other blogs that talk about how our Democrats are tree hugging Commies that want to take your guns away. None of this is healthy discussion, but it sure gets attention.

One reason why Ryan wanted me to write here was to be the "bad guy" that rips on the Twins, but it's actually harder than it seems. So since I'm taking a grassroots approach to fighting internet negativity starting today, I'm going to reword my attacks on them as compliments. Let's see how it works: The Twins have a lot of home grown talent, and they handle their payroll in a very intelligent way. In fact, they will once again be very high on my bang for the buck ratings this year. They always have a great minor leaguer up their sleeves, and I think their lack of big names can cause arrogant teams like the White Sox to take them lightly. Their style of play is frustrating for the opposing fans to watch, but it's effective. As Ryan said, taking that page out of the Twins playbook is what helped the White Sox so much in 2005 (along with unbelievably good pitching). Another thing I admire about the Twins is that guys like Delmon Young can go there and behave, leading to good team chemistry and a happy clubhouse, while high paid teams sometimes have horrible chemistry and are very outspoken in a bad way. I really only dislike the Twins because they are usually standing in the way of my favorite team from making the playoffs. Other than that, their lack of power hitters and personalities for most of my life have made them pretty uninteresting to me. And if they have fun personalities, blame ESPN, FOX, and TBS for not telling me about them, because I don't live in Minnesota.

Let's try to give compliments to teams that I could never root for: Notre Dame had a nice win today over Purdue, and an impressive history. Once Michigan figures out the spread offense, they will be a force to be reckoned with. Here's the hardest one: If the Cubs win the World Series this year, they will definitely deserve it, because they look like they are the best team.

I want to take more of an objective approach towards sports, and just enjoy the games and of course, the stats, and not let sports get me so frustrated. I grew up loving the 49ers, still do, but I actually enjoy the NFL more since they started to suck about 9 years ago. It gave me a chance to appreciate the talent on other teams, and enjoy watching all the games, instead of worrying if they would be a threat to the Niners. I can honestly say I don't hate any NFL teams anymore, and that makes watching more fun because I'm not disappointed if a team I hate wins. A Niners win brightens my day, but even if they lose, I had a great day watching football.

I think the approach I have toward the NFL is the approach that more hardcore sports fans and angry blog readers should take, and I'm going to try to apply it over to baseball and college football (already do it for the NBA and NHL). Hopefully it will at least lead to some better posts.

One more note: Screw you, Cubs. I can have 1 team that I love to hate, right?

In response to Steve's Twin bashing

The other day, Steve whined for an entire post. Baseball's not fun because my team was too good a few years ago, wah wah wah. That sort of thing. He said he didn't know if he even wanted the Sox in the playoffs this year because they would just lose. But he didn't want the Twins there either, and he spent the rest of the post on an anti-Twins screed that really didn't follow his main point at all. However, in the spirit of generally apathy towards my home team (the Twins have been AWFUL when not playing the White Sox this month) and animosity towards the opposition, I have chosen to address the comments he made against the Twins.

They had no reason to be in first as long as they were, but what really frustrates me is losing the division to the Twins, who I like to call "Team Boredom."

Catchy.

I hate the Twins because they never make you feel like they were the better team when they beat your team. They've had a nice run this decade with a bunch of no-name bland slap hitters that get a bunch of weakly hit singles to produce their runs.

I'm assuming that the no name slap hitters that he is referring to are Joe Mauer, Delmon Young and Michael Cuddyer. Two former #1 draft picks, a former winner of the batting title (and probably the winner this year as well) and Cuddyer, who has been in the league for about 5-6 years now . Also ironic, when the White Sox won their title, that was the year they added a couple of slap hitters at the top of the order, getting rid of Carlos Lee in the process.

They always find a way to win bunting for singles on their terrible plastic turf

Don't worry, this irritates me to no end as well. Both the constant bunting and the plastic turf. But hopefully in two years, Nick Punto will be gone and we'll have that new stadium.

while some pitcher that they just called up from the minors holds your team to 7 scoreless innings with an 85 mph fastball

Like... Santana? Liriano? They didn't throw that slowly, so I guess I'm confused. And for the record, this year, the only starter that was in the minors for the bulk of last year was Nick Blackburn. Baker, Slowey, Liriano and Perkins had spent quite a bit of time in the bigs, actually. But I know Steve follows baseball and must be exaggerating, right?

I would have been much happier to see the Tigers or Indians stealing the division from the White Sox instead of the Twins this year for that reason

After watching the Twins the past couple of weeks, I find it hard to disagree. Actually, no I don't.

The White Sox losing the Central is also a loss for the fans of other non-playoff teams, who won't have a chance to pull for future hall of famers and all around good guys Jim Thome and Ken Griffey Jr. to get their first World Series ring

No no, the joy in this is that non-playoff teams get to watch Ozzie Guillen implode. I'm guessing that there are just as many fans out there that want to see Griffey win a ring as there are that want to ensure that arrogant pricks like A.J. Pierzynski never smell the postseason again. This is why people don't mind the Twins. Even Delmon Young, one of the more notorious bad boys in baseball as recently as last year has got his act together and is working dilligently and quietly to help the Twins out.

Here's hoping for a Twins-Cubs World Series.

Four reasons the White Sox will end up in the playoffs

The Twins and White Sox, the teams of choice for the writers here, are in the throes of a playoff chase. All through the beginning of this decade, there was a lot of talk between Steve and I, Sox and Twins fans. This year, for various reasons, the banter just hasn't been there. The primary reason is that in years past, we believed ours were the more worthy playoff team. This year we keep arguing over why our team will not be making the playoffs. With about 10 games left on the season, let's run down why it will be the White Sox winning the division.

- The Twins starters are pitching fewer innings than the bullpen. About a month ago, the bullpen up and imploded. They couldn't hold leads and teams like the Mariners were coming back and bringing about heartbreaking losses. Well, of late, the young Twins starters have found a way to prevent the bullpen from blowing late leads by just going ahead and falling behind early and getting pulled in the first 4 innings.

- The White Sox hit home runs. Homers are the most reliable way to have runs scored, so even when the team is slumping, they can still score a few runs every series. When the Twins slump, they try bunting. Bunting really doesn't work if the guy behind you can't get a hit, and especially if the guy ahead of you isn't on base and ESPECIALLY if you're Mike Redmond. The Sox, despite their pitching woes, are the more capable team when it comes to scoring runs, which may keep them afloat.

- The Sox have an ace in the hole. They have been playing without MVP candidate Carlos Quentin for the past couple of weeks, and there is still the chance he will return, which, of course, would provide the Sox a kick in the pants. The Twins had their ace in the hole, Michael Cuddyer, return a couple days ago. Turns out, he's a little rusty, as though he hasn't played at all this year.

- The Sox are up 2 1/2 games. The Twins have to lose three fewer games than the Sox for the rest of the year if they want any hope. Even if the Sox go 4-5 over the rest of their season, the Twins would need to finish 6-2 to even tie. Good luck.

If there is anything we can take from this season as Twins fans, it's that we know that our core is talented enough to make strong runs through the season, and now we know our weaknesses for next year.

See Justin? This is why you don't touch White Sox

Ever since that unholy union between Carlos Quentin and Justin Morneau behind the plate at Yankee Stadium, Justin Morneau has hit .188 with one home run. Meanwhile, Quentin has hit .357 with two homers in the same stretch. What have you done, Quentin? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!??!

Some Random Thoughts

Well, Ryan is off to Alabama, so I, Steve, am back babysitting the Times. After a strong weekend performance last time I kind of fizzled as the week went on, so here are just some random sports thoughts I've had since then. Just for fun, I'm going to use the flower bullet points that every sports site desperately needs to have....

• Beth did a great job breaking down the dollars per win yesterday in her post, and I'm glad she pointed out that even though they spent the most, my team, the White Sox, are the lone AL Central team to win a World Series since the AL Central was formed in 1994. I've actually been keeping track of something similar to the numbers she presented (with more math...have you seen my NFL Power Ranks?) but I've never actually done a post on it even though I've been meaning to for over 3 years. Maybe I'll finally get it done before this season starts...

• We're finally getting closer to getting out of the low point of the year for sports. After the Super Bowl, there isn't much going on unless you're infatuated with All-Star games, like NASCAR, or are obsessed with regular season basketball and hockey. Even this weekend, the conference tourneys have finally started, but its all the mid-majors. All that really does is give ESPN a reason to show even more Quinnipiac-Monmouth match-ups because a lot of their employees went to schools like that....

• Speaking of mid-majors, is it possible that some line has been crossed where they are now overrated? It seems like Gonzaga and George Mason ruined it for everyone. Everyone is looking for the next team to make a decent run in the NCAA, and now its showing up in the top 25 rankings. 2 weeks ago, #18 Drake beat #8 Butler in a bracket buster game here in Indy. My question, basically, is how did they get so high? Sure they don't have many losses, but those losses are to teams like Wright State, Bradley, and Missouri State. Looking at schedules alone, I would have said Butler is the better team because their 2 conference losses to Wright State and Cleveland State are to teams with pretty good records, and they beat Ohio State pretty bad at home, but OSU is only 4-8 on the road and a fringe tourney team. Drake was the first ranked team they played all season, and they lost at home. How exactly do people think they're the 12th best team in the country? Drake is ranked #21. Their most impressive match-up before Butler may have been St. Mary's, a WCC team with only 5 losses....but they lost to them. They beat Iowa, but everyone beats Iowa. I would have thought that the past few years when Gonzaga got a much higher seed than they deserved and got dumped early would teach the pollsters a lesson, but I guess not. We'll see how they do this year.

• Caught up in the mix of the Favre retirement, Warren Sapp quietly retired on the same day. Favre and Sapp were considered "rivals" in the old NFC Central, so it was fitting. What's my take on it? Well, I'm a 49ers fan, so I will never forgive Sapp for trying to tear Jerry Rice's head off in one of the most blatant face mask penalties of all time on opening day of the 1997 season, which caused Rice to plant his foot awkwardly and tear up his knee. That '97 team was good enough to be Super Bowl champs, but that was a huge setback they never could really recover from. So good riddance, Warren, and I hope that video surfaces when it's your turn to be voted on for the Hall of Fame. The guy whose career you tried to end has nothing to worry about when it's his.