Chicago Sports Talk

i was oh so glad to see the sweepiliciousness of this weekend.  i was kinda bummed after last week, i mean, who wants to see their team lose?  and who wants to see them get swept?  and really, who wants to see any of that happen from the cubs?  either way, great matchups both weekends, and in the end 33-33 is fine by me. 

so, like i have said i love interleague play especially the classic.  i love the trash talking, high-5ing, funny shirt wearing, screaming myself dizzy, singing “Let’s go go go White Sox”… and all around electricity that goes on during Sox-Cubs games!  speaking of the shirts though – 2 really stick out in my mind – there was this one guy that had a picture on one side of his shirt with a pic of the trophy with the words “Sox Parade”, and then on the other side there was a pic of 2 guys under a rainbow with the words ” Cubs Parade.”  the other funny shirt I saw had a caption “Animal Cruelty” and had a beefy White Sox player beating a cub (but a bear, not a person) with a bat. 

OH, and by far one of the funniest parts of the weekend was when I walked past the boys bathroom.  ha! gotta love a paragraph that starts out that way. =P  but there were a bunch of dudes standing around and i found out why – there was this lone voice in the boys bathroom singing, “Go Sox Go” over and over again.  oh, if it wasn’t super gross and he wasn’t peeing, and in the boys bathroom i would have given that guy a hi-5!

but getting to the baseball of the weekend because it was about that after all.  i was so super proud of my boyfriend Matt Thornton! and while Boone Logan, Scott Linebrink, and Bobby Jenks aren’t my boyfriends, they all turned in outstanding performances.  although i would have liked to see big Adam Russell.  ALSO – i was happy to see that after Aramis Ramirez decided to go yard i don’t know how many times last week that he was 0-13 this weekend!  wooooo!  and while the cubs had several times to score our bullpen stayed strong and in the end we served those cubbies a piece of humble pie.  you can’t ever count out the WHITE SOX! 

as of late i’ve been harrassed by a few of my cub fan friends – yes i have some of those.  and they have the right to harrass – they swept us fare and square.  i can take it.  however, i always found it  baffling how in all of my conversations with cub fans they tell me how at least their team sells out every game and  that according to them have more fans than the sox do.  but i still don’t understand what kind of effect that is supposed to have on me.  am i supposed to care about what cub fans think?  am i supposed to switch who i root for?  i don’t get it.  i mean really, what kind of response am i to give?  should i say that i prefer the WS ring to the crowd?  i for one don’t like when it sells out because then we get long lines for my root beer floats, hot dogs, bathroom, and everything else.   and i’m not a follower, and i made the decision on my own a long time ago to love me sox and anyone who knows me knows i’m fanatical. yep, i’m a sox fan and really i don’t care what you have to say about it. 

BTW – LETS GO GO GO WHITE SOX, WE’RE WITH YOU ALL THE WAY, YOU’RE ALWAYS IN THERE FIGHTING AND YOU DO YOUR BEST, WE’RE GLAD TO HAVE YOU OUT THERE IN THE MIDDLE WEST, WE’RE GONNA ROOT, ROOT, ROOT, ROOT WHITE SOX, and cheer you on to victory, WHEN WE’RE IN THOSE STANDS WE’LL MAKE THOSE RAFTERS RING, ALL THROUGH THE SEASON YOU WILL HEAR US SING: LET’S GO GO GO WHITE SOX, CHICAGO’S PROUD OF YOU!

YES!

after yesterday’s win to complete the sweep of the pirates i’m ready for the classic!  let’s re-cap yesterday a bit, huh?  so i’m sitting in my seat baking in the sun grumpy about the man next to me touching my arm and the fact that of all people Pablo Ozuna is out there playing third instead of my Joe Crede!  now anyone who knows me knows how i don’t really like when Pablo Ozuna gets in the game unless he’s stealing a base.  he doesn’t play third all that well, and of course i don’t like the regulars to have many breaks because i like my guys.  anyway, he hot dogs a throw that would have been an easy out #3 and creates HELL for Gavin Floyd.  floyd can’t calm down until 6 runs score!  all after 2 outs! 

anyway, the Sox came back at the bottom of that second inning and scored 6 as well!  the park was electric.  it actually gave me goosebumps!  i was so proud of the Sox for not giving up.  i was also proud of the fans for not booing ozuna.  everyone knows that on the other side of town they would have been booing their player in a second!

So, after coming back to tie it up with 6 runs and then going on to win and sweep the Pirates i am super ready for this weekend and next!   

OH, and on a side note i feel like i must say that i was disappointed last Sunday when we played the Rockies at one of our fans.  the rockies hit a homer, and the fan threw back the ball.  first of all i really don’t like when people do that, especially at Comiskullar.  we are not cub fans (and they do it and that’s fine – to each his own), but even when they do throw it back no one gets to take back the runs.  i’m just sayin-it’s kinda pointless to me.

16 runs last night.  wowzers.  that’s how it should be.  last year when the White Sox were slumping, or really began their slump – i was in Philly and PIttsburgh to watch the Phildelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates romp on my Sox.  UGH!  it was so horrible.  that is why i am super excited that we beat the crap out of the Pirates yesterday.  i mean at some point it becomes overkill, but i think that all of those 16 runs yesterday were the Sox just blowing off some steam.  and really the Pirates are a team that you just have to beat.  they aren’t very good, and if we beat those kinds of teams then we should be in good shape for the rest of the season. 

what we really need to STOP is the sulking after a bad inning.  our pitchers really need to learn to shake off a bad inning.  even if it ends up that we lose because of the bad inning we need to limit the badness to that one inning and rely on the offense to make up for it.  1/2 of the rest of the team’s job is scoring runs anyway.  you can’t win if you don’t score runs.  word!  GO SOX!

i’m super pumped for the interleague play, i think it’s the most fun part of the season.  i think it’s a little more friendly, but more competitive all at the same time.  i love seeing ex-SOX players come back to our park under friendly terms.  for example i was so excited to Scott Podsednik (scottie too hottie) come back to play us.  obviously i was not happy to see his base stealing abilities are still there, but i remember how fun it was to see him steal.  also, i was way proud of the sox fans for not booing him…at least on sunday – i didn’t go to the friday or saturday game so i don’t know what happened on those days.

on a side note i wanted to give major props to Willy Taveras who stole i don’t even know how many bases against us.  although it’s not that surprising because we aren’t that good at keeping people from stealing.  whatev. something to work on…

this will be a short post.  i just wanted to say i don’t hate Mark Buehrle, and i don’t think he is a bad pitcher in the least. his record speaks for him.  however, i don’t know if it’s the fact that he doesn’t have the speed, or if they just figured him out.  Mark Buehrle never had velocity, but he is a lefty and he has good placement. 

all i have to say is that i felt bad for him last night.  i did not get to see the game because i was outside being stupid riding the motorcycle in 40 degree weather, but that’s beside the point. although when i got home i did hear all about the suckiness from al because he was at my parents’ house.  but from what i hear i didn’t want to see the game.  a salami in the first inning??  yikes.  actually the only part i watched was Buehrle walking to the dugout after being taken out of the game. i really think that some people really have buehrle figured out.  and it is no surprise that his worst luck is against the Cleveland Indians.  they are in our division so of course we are going to face them the most. 

ah, well, that’s OK Mark, i still heart you.  but i don’t heart you like Jon Garland.  i just think you are a great person to have in the clubhouse and to catch ceremonial first pitches.  =P

After a victorious Super Bowl, World Series, Stanley Cup, etc, we ask our sports stars questions about what it takes to get to the pinnacle of their profession. Then we listen as they talk about being “gladiators” or “warriors” or say that a “field general” took charge. Maybe they say it was a “fight to the death” but we won in the “trenches” or it’s a real “war” out there. And of course every winning team has a “hero”. We even hear it after regular season games. A pitcher will say he “battled” through a tough spot, a running back describing his touchdown as running through a “mine field” and on and on.

I’m not usually bothered by this. Let me repeat, I’m not usually bothered by this. But today I am. We celebrate Memorial Day to honor and remember those who gave their lives for us. They made the ultimate sacrifice for us all. When I think of heroes, it’s those who slogged through mud, and disease carrying mosquitos, or sand and searing heat, or bone-numbing cold and wind all the while not knowing what lay waiting for them. Some saved others at the expense of their safety, while some were victims of long range artillery as they ate their c-rations, or shot were down in a plane, or torpedoed on an  ocean thousands of miles from home. Many were gung-ho to enlist, while others drafted into the the service of the country. They came from farms, big cities, the rich, the poor and in between. Some were brash, some were quiet, but all did what was necessary at the time.

Let’s face it, our language was hijacked a long time ago in every big city neighborhood, and common usage becomes the meaning for most of us. But for a little while can we lay off comparing sporting events to life and death situations? Stop calling ball players warriors, gladiators and heroes? It is a disservice to those we honor on Memorial Day.

Sorry it has been a while since I have last blogged, but I was in California for a week, and I have been extremely busy catching up on work.

Going to Redondo Beach is a vacation that I look forward to EVERY year! Golfing, going to the beach and just relaxing makes the trip so worthwhile. Not to mention GREAT WEATHER!The trip was a random one this year to say the least. One day involved golfing for the Make A Wish Foundation and that same evening involved going to Hugh Heffner’s mansion for the Hurricane Katrina Relief efforts. I always say I am down to help charity, but that was a no brainer.

Later in the trip, my sister’s in-laws and I went golfing near Orange County. I was working on my swing on the driving range when a group of guys came up to my left. I took a long stare at one of them because of a possible resemblance I thought he had of someone. Sure enough, it was Landon Donovan of the LA Galaxy and US Men’s World Cup Soccer Team.

At any rate, I started reading some newspapers today, and see that Ozzie claims this could be his last year because he is fed up with everything…Ozzie, seriously!!!!

Grow up, and take criticism and just do your job.

Picture posted is my brother and I on the Red Carpet at the Mansion!

aside from an almost no-hitter and all around great performance by Gavin Floyd we neeed that win yesterday!  if we can sweep them we are right back in first where we belong.  not that losing 6 in a row means we belong in first but our record until then says so.  however i don’t think there is an excuse for not scoring a run at all in a game or being outscored 19-9 on this road trip.  yea, i am sure that Toronto’s pitching was good but you can’t win if you don’t score at least a run.

 i can’t really comment on specifics of the games of this last road trip because i have been out of town and therefore not able to catch a game.  i can comment on yesterday’s game though.  i thought Gavin Floyd did an outstanding job, obviously.  there were a couple of walks that were close and could have gone a different way.  but overall a 1-hitter is not to shabby.  there was not much we could have done to prevent that Joe Mauer hit from dropping.  it was hit hard to the gap and Nick Swisher made a nice attempt to run that ball down.  at least there was no scoring, and i am glad whenever the relievers go after the hitters. 

Jermaine Dye (and well the White Sox as a whole) was all kinds of aggressive in the batter’s box yesterday.  i just knew when JD walked up to the plate in the 6th that there were going to be some fireworks.  and what about Juan Uribe??  he seems to be standing a little more straight up in the box, and maybe the new batting stance is going to change the way he sees pitches.  i mean, i hope he starts to see pitches better because he tends to swing at all the crap and let the cookies fly right by. 

 i can’t end this story without some reference to Nick Swisher’s facial hair.  WTF is my only comment on that.  i guess it is what it is and i’ll take it if it means we win! 

 GO SOX!

Not that I dislike or love Barry Zito, but the guy is being demoted to the bullpen a year after signing the largest contract for a starting pitcher.

I feel bad for Zito in a way. As a pitcher, you are going to struggle and have your ups and downs. This happens regardless of the money you make. Just ask A-Rod who seems to disappear during the playoffs!

But for a pitcher, it’s even harder. You get older, you pitch every five days and most of the time, you don’t even have your best stuff.

I have little doubt that Zito will rebound from this horrible start and figure out a way to get out of the funk. Sometimes it takes a change of scenery (i.e. the dugout to the bullpen).

FYI…
Pat Misch, who will be replacing Zito, is a Chicago guy. The LHP from Northbrook went to Glenbrook North and Western Michigan. At only 26 years of age, which oddly enough is my age, makes me think what happened to my life.