#17 - The Chicago White Sox

The last time I spoke to you, it was about the nice north side of Chicago, we now turn our attention to the South Side, where the real Chicago is. There was a lot of doom and gloom in that post. Surely Chicago can't have two teams that will struggle all summer. The ChiSox have to have a bit more going for them, right?

Well.... not really. I'm telling you right now... there are a lot of red flags that say it's going to be a long summer in the Windy City. The White Sox finished 2011 at 79-83, nine games worse than 2010, and I don't believe they added enough pieces in the offseason to be a contender in what will be a very weak AL Central in 2012. This is mostly because they actually didn't add any pieces. Even at the time I'm writing this, the White Sox are 2-7 in Cactus league play, and we described in an MLB.com article yesterday as "hapless". This franchise might be in trouble.


At least Ozzie is gone, maybe now the kittens will be spared.

The biggest move Chicago made this offseason was letting Ozzie Guillen go to the fish and letting Robin Ventura become their new manager. Guillen was fiery and fun and gave the media plenty to talk about, but was about as stable as this:

A's v. White Sox Recap

We all knew Trevor Cahill was human. We didn't want to believe he was human. We wanted to believe that he was an amazing Pterodactyl Android. He lost, but he is still our ace. And you know what, soon even Giants fans will know his name. The A's still can't hit so well, and they can't play defense so well, and it keeps losing them ballgames. Through 40 baseball games, that's right kids, 1/4 of the season has already passed us by, the A's are 20-20. To be a realist, I don't have too much to complain about or tear my hair out over. To be a person who wants to incite the fervor of 1,000 suns, the 2011 A's are one of the most infuriating teams I have ever watched. It's beyond torture. That's right Giants fans, you can't call it torture when you're the reigning major league champions. It's torture when your team can't seem to get a guy to first base.

A's Week In Review #3

Another week, and a greater than .500 record, against some pretty outstanding competition. I love these Athletics. I've loved them since I can remember. Since Dave Stewart signed that ball so my Dad could give it to me as the best 4th birthday present ever. Since Jason Giambi took the time, as a young lean rookie, to sign a piece of copy paper for the kid staring at him in the elevator before his appearance on Gameday for KPIX. Since pitching coach Bob Cluck asked me to correctly answer the amount of home runs Mark McGwire hit in 1996, and tossed me a ball for my efforts. And since Dallas Braden tossed a ball up into the stands at Phoenix Municipal this last spring. This team is always fun, always unpredictable, and always keeps you wanting more. And with this in mind, we take a look back at week three of the 2011 season, where the A's went 4-3, and improved their record to 8-8 overall.

Desert Report: 3/19

As some of you may be aware, I've been in Phoenix for the past few days catching some spring ball. I'll post final thoughts later in the week, but here's what I've seen so far.

First, if you are not aware, Phoenix in March is absolutely beautiful. If you have the means, I highly recommend it. Second, I am getting more and more excited for baseball.

MLB Preview: Chicago White Sox

Remember the 2005 World Series? Not many people do outside of Chicago. Not much drama. But it was the South Siders' first World Series title since 1917, and first appearance since 1959. After a controversial dropped third strike catapulted AJ Pierzynski in White Sox lore and the White Sox in to the series, they swept NL Wild Card winner Houston to bring the World Series trophy to the South Side. It was a big deal, it broke the Black Sox curse.

In 1919, players of the Chicago White Sox lost the World Series on purpose in a betting scheme. They were found out, and eight players, including slugger "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, were banned from baseball forever. Charlie Sheen starred in "Eight Men Out", an awesome movie on this subject. I wonder if he had Tiger Blood back then.