Sox Monster
Much like my dryer, something has been eating at some of the socks/Sox. Crede is hurt, but not hurt enough for surgury. Of course there is that pesky contract negotiation with that pesky Scott Boras (Crede's agent). Sox GM Ken Williams is on record recently as October 2nd morning saying that while he and Boras have a respectful relationship, he will let some other GM make deals Williams called "stupid". Sounds respectful to me. That resigning should be no problem. Eek...
Speaking of what Williams thinks; he also said Vasquez has figured out how to pitch at Comiskey (nobody gave me millions to call it anything else, so hush or pay me millions), so maybe he stays now. Sweaty Freddy might have pitched well enough to stay but what to do with Brandon McCarthy? Fifty-three year-old Contreras still seems to be able to get the job done, Garland is having less "one bad inning" outings, and Buerle is left-handed (buys a lot of latitude, remember Floyd Bannister). Something has to give, and no, it won't be a six-man rotation.
If the White Sox had made the post-season at all far more serious consideration would have been mentioned about Jermaine Dye for MVP. It's too bad the Sox weren't worse, or Dye didn't play for the Cubs; maybe he could have pulled an Andre Dawson. While we are in the outfield; what does it say about your defensive skills when you are Scott Podsednik's understudy? Conversely, what does it say when your supplanted in left field for Pablo Ozuna's offense? It says that Podsednik will not return next year. Brian Anderson? Please see Rob (the pride of Oak Lawn) Mackowiak. Trade all your notes with the previous paragraph's inhabitants. Curious; is Anderson really that good on defense? Could it be that he just looks so much better in comparison to his surrounding cast?
Back to infield we go. Konerko is fine if healthy and not complaining/explaining how tired everyone is from winning the World Series in one more game than the minimum. (Cue the tiny violins.) Thome is fine if he stays healthy (sound familiar?). Gload is a reliable back-up. (special request for Joey Cora: if you see Gload rounding second, you will not get a bonus for getting him thrown out at home. So STOP doing that!) Second is safe in Iguchi's hands. Shortstop? I hope nobody will fall over if Uribe is not still standing there on opening day, or doesn't finish the season there if he is. Management isn't in love with his inconsistency, and sees somebody like Cintron, steady, if not explosive raw talent and wonders. And if Crede becomes a question mark, contract or back, Josh Fields is waiting in the wings. Not that the Sox are itching to dump Crede. The team went through extended growing pains to groom him up to this point.
Expect no major coaching changes (including the little windmill that will, at third). Something will be done to shake-up the team a bit, but look for tweaks, not mass moves.
The biggest misnomers are always over-/under-achieving. Potential is one thing, but what is achieved is just that, without caveat. Barring extraordinary external circumstances (dropped third strike anyone?), a skill or talent will be the ultimate determining factor in any level of success. A lack of a few breaks and a lack of few hits and a lack of a few more key outs all culminated in ninety wins and no playoffs. Sox fans got out of the second half exactly what the team put into it. Starting at the All-Star break everyone saw the swoon (slide), but nobody could catch the body (team) as it flailed seemingly helplessly to the ground (out of the playoffs). More a product of many little reasons (those mercurial "breaks") or a few big ones (inconsistent pitching, [say hello, bullpen])?
Sadly, the White Sox did not reach the playoffs this year. White Sox fans are not jumping out of the windows quite yet. They are a realistic bunch, mostly. A World Series every other year is realistic, right?
Until next time, be good.
Speaking of what Williams thinks; he also said Vasquez has figured out how to pitch at Comiskey (nobody gave me millions to call it anything else, so hush or pay me millions), so maybe he stays now. Sweaty Freddy might have pitched well enough to stay but what to do with Brandon McCarthy? Fifty-three year-old Contreras still seems to be able to get the job done, Garland is having less "one bad inning" outings, and Buerle is left-handed (buys a lot of latitude, remember Floyd Bannister). Something has to give, and no, it won't be a six-man rotation.
If the White Sox had made the post-season at all far more serious consideration would have been mentioned about Jermaine Dye for MVP. It's too bad the Sox weren't worse, or Dye didn't play for the Cubs; maybe he could have pulled an Andre Dawson. While we are in the outfield; what does it say about your defensive skills when you are Scott Podsednik's understudy? Conversely, what does it say when your supplanted in left field for Pablo Ozuna's offense? It says that Podsednik will not return next year. Brian Anderson? Please see Rob (the pride of Oak Lawn) Mackowiak. Trade all your notes with the previous paragraph's inhabitants. Curious; is Anderson really that good on defense? Could it be that he just looks so much better in comparison to his surrounding cast?
Back to infield we go. Konerko is fine if healthy and not complaining/explaining how tired everyone is from winning the World Series in one more game than the minimum. (Cue the tiny violins.) Thome is fine if he stays healthy (sound familiar?). Gload is a reliable back-up. (special request for Joey Cora: if you see Gload rounding second, you will not get a bonus for getting him thrown out at home. So STOP doing that!) Second is safe in Iguchi's hands. Shortstop? I hope nobody will fall over if Uribe is not still standing there on opening day, or doesn't finish the season there if he is. Management isn't in love with his inconsistency, and sees somebody like Cintron, steady, if not explosive raw talent and wonders. And if Crede becomes a question mark, contract or back, Josh Fields is waiting in the wings. Not that the Sox are itching to dump Crede. The team went through extended growing pains to groom him up to this point.
Expect no major coaching changes (including the little windmill that will, at third). Something will be done to shake-up the team a bit, but look for tweaks, not mass moves.
The biggest misnomers are always over-/under-achieving. Potential is one thing, but what is achieved is just that, without caveat. Barring extraordinary external circumstances (dropped third strike anyone?), a skill or talent will be the ultimate determining factor in any level of success. A lack of a few breaks and a lack of few hits and a lack of a few more key outs all culminated in ninety wins and no playoffs. Sox fans got out of the second half exactly what the team put into it. Starting at the All-Star break everyone saw the swoon (slide), but nobody could catch the body (team) as it flailed seemingly helplessly to the ground (out of the playoffs). More a product of many little reasons (those mercurial "breaks") or a few big ones (inconsistent pitching, [say hello, bullpen])?
Sadly, the White Sox did not reach the playoffs this year. White Sox fans are not jumping out of the windows quite yet. They are a realistic bunch, mostly. A World Series every other year is realistic, right?
Until next time, be good.
posted by Soxually Repressed at 12:16 PM
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