A Congrats to the White Sox... Well, Sort Of...

Congratulations are due to the Chicago White Sox. Ugly step-sister in their own city, the South Siders brought the Windy City its first World Series title in 88 years. A remarkable season by manager Ozzie Guillen and his team of castoffs. They were the best team in baseball for the first half of the season, an OK team for three months and the best team again for the month that matters. They tore through the playoffs and deserve credit for a great postseason and some excellent pitching performances by Jose Contreas, Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, and Freddy Garcia, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. They were the best team this year, they are not amongst the all-time greats. It’s irrelevant, because it could never be tested, but I doubt the Sox take either of last years World Series teams (or last years Astros for that matter). They received some favorable calls (and deserve lots of credit for making those calls count, something the Astros were unable to do), received clutch hits from rare spots, and benefited from off performances by all three of Houston’s aces. Perhaps these are just sour grapes considering I picked against them in every round of the playoffs, but… Ok, ok you’re right, the White Sox deserve the utmost credit, from GM Kenny Williams who built a very good roster, to Ozzie Guillen who pushed all the right buttons, and (most importantly) to the players who put the bat on the ball when it counted, fielded their positions well, and made the right pitches at the right time. As a wise manager once said, “this is a simple game, you hit the ball, you catch the ball, and you throw the ball…” Well this year the White Sox hit the ball, caught the ball, and threw the ball better than anyone else.

Who Cares What Really Happened, as Long as We Maintain the “Human Element!”

What this World Series, or the entire playoffs for that matter, really showed, was the absolute need for instant replay in baseball, and not just on questionable homeruns. What I cannot for the life of me understand is the argument that the game is improved by keeping the “human element” involved. The human element? Huh? As ESPN columnist Rob Neyer pertinently pointed out, ‘The human element is the guys doing the pitching and hitting and fielding.’ Obviously replay should not be used to determine balls and strikes, that is just ridiculous, but there is no reason that every viewer in the world should know that the ball which “hit” Jermaine Dye was a foul ball while the umpire sends him running down to first. Perhaps worse is that the umpires seem unwilling to congregate and discuss plays. In the playoffs there are 7 guys in black on the field. Even if the plate umpire could not see that the ball hit Dye’s bat, the second base umpire should have had a clear sight line. Yet, instead of congregating to ensure the right call (ala football) they support errant calls in a ridiculous avoiding of culpability. Fans are intelligent enough to understand that calling a baseball game is incredibly difficult and 98% of the time these guys do a great job, but not admitting their mistakes does not make them look perfect, it makes them look like idiots. As in hockey, instant reply could be done by someone in a booth. It need only take a minute (despite what we seem to think, that’s more than enough time to accurately make the call with replay) and the correct call could be radioed down to the field. Simple, fast, and it would allow the true human element to determine the game’s outcome.

Crazed Fanatics and The Letters Which Amuse Me:

Wanna fix the Yankees? READ THIS. Cano for Hunter/Romero. Re-sign Matsui. Sign Ryan and Farnsworth. SIGN Furcal to leadoff and play second. BAM, World Series Champs - Jamie (NYC).

There are two things I love about this email, first is Jamie’s belief that Torri Hunter AND JC Romero can be had for Robinson Cano. It’s the same blind faith that makes Yankee fans so lovable and so annoying. Like earlier this season when some NYer wrote how easy it would be for the Yanks to improve themselves - they just needed to go out and acquire Johan Santana or Chris Carpenter. To which I thought heck yeah, why not both, and while they’re at it, surely the Sox would trade David Ortiz to their hated rivals, and the Yanks might as well also fly to Jurasic Park and get themselves a T-Rex to play centerfield. His range would be better than Hunter's and he could eat hitters who tried to run on him. Listen Yankee fans, I know it seems amazing, but you actually do not have the ONLY TEAM. The people you trade with are teams as well, and usually they want something useful back. Cano had a decent rookie year, but he is not a superstar in the making, and while the Twins may be looking to move the increasingly expensive (and slowly declining) Hunter they are not going to give up a gold glove fielder with 30 HR power AND a quality bull pen arm for a player with limited potential. The second thing I love, is the idea that those four moves automatically ensure a World Series title. Ahh the optimism, it’s wonderful. Considering their leadoff shortstop had a .389 OBP is another leadoff shortstop (converted to a different position at that) really what they need (especially one who had a .348 OBP)? What about their starting pitching? Wasn’t that a bigger problem this year than anything else? Isn’t another year of age only going to make things harder on old men Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina?

Do you see the Whitesox repeating next year? Their rotation will be better with Brandon McCarthy, El Duque might be the best long reliever in the game. Iguchi will be better in his second season, along with Jenks. With Crede's Beltran-esque post season, I couldn't imagine him not turning it up next season. We might see a healthy Frank Thomas. We just won the world series and we're going to be even better next year. - Vik (Chicago)

Do I see the White Sox repeating next year? No, but since I picked against them all year this year that’s probably good news for you. However, before you start engraving the placque you might want to rethink a few of your statements. First, were is the evidence that your pitching will be better next year? Each of your pitchers had career years this season. Was each of them an ace hiding in wait until now? Or, more likely, were the White Sox fortunate enough to have each of them peak (and stay healthy) in a single season? Only Buerhle had a season which approached his career topography and only he can be expected to maintain that level. Certianly your chances will be bolstered by the arrival of youngster Brandon McCarthy, but as good as he looked this year, what is the history of success among young pitchers? Not particularly good. You might have a better rotation, but more likely two or more guys will spend time on the DL, and their records wont look quite so spectacular. El Duque might be the best long reliever in the game? Doubtful, El Duque hasn’t made it through an entire season this century, and even while healthy he is beginning to show signs of just how old he is (35? 37? 39? 482?). Iguchi will be better in his second season? Yes, you are right there. Along with Jenks? Unless he chokes on a hoagie in the offseason. With Crede’s Beltran-esque post season, I couldn’t imagine him not turning it up next season? Really? You mean the same way Beltran himself turned it up this season? Or isn’t it possible that Crede had stretches like this all year long, but they were just engulfed by stretches of mediocrity? He got hot, at the best possible time. Be happy, ecstatic even, just don’t expect him to be Mike Schmidt next year. And we might see a healthy Frank Thomas next year? True, and you might see Jim McMahon return and lead the Bears to the Super Bowl this year, but I wouldn’t count on it. Not to mention that your best hitter’s a free agent who has the attention of two first base needy, financially wealthy teams… I don’t know why I cannot just say yes, yes you are the favorite to repeat, but I actually can’t see you winning your own division.