The Black Sox Faction

To the suprise of no one

There was a feeling among Sox fans that they blew several games in Wrigley Field last weekend. The typical over reaction of the press - that's it for the Sox season - was, as usual, expected. But amongst the connected few, it was disappointing that the Sox didn't take five out of six this Crosstown Classic (last Sunday's loss the only one where they didn't seem in it). As tough as last weeks sweep was, it was good to see the team respond by winning five out of six and keep ahead of the division as Minnesota won 10 in a row and Detroit's on a 14-3 run. This division, seemingly taking the shape of last years NL Central, now has three legit playoff teams as well as Cleveland in the weeds.

But they are playing well. The hitting is, of course, the worrying spot. The road hitting has been terrible, and something needs to be done. And this season is especially the year of the Superior Home Squad. The Sox, who have played less @ home than any other team, get an extended run @ Comiskey Park ten game home stand. Here's hoping that this extended run will get them into the hitting mood which will carry over into the ir next road trip. Although pitching rules the post season, thye have to get there -as well as score runs to win then.

There is a lot of season to go. However, the pace that the Sox are on - 92 wins - seems incredible - for a team that hasn't even started playing well yet. Although we love our team and totally note that they are in first place - there is a massive bit of frustration about this team. Simply put- they are better than they have been playing this season- a lot better - and they need to kick it into gear.

Or else no post season.

Never Ending Season

Manchester Uited of England ended the Europan soccer season last month, rite? That PK ending to the Champions League Final -v- Chelsea? But wait, didn't they win the English Premier League over Chelsea a month and a half ago? So what the fuck was the soccer final from Europe on ABC Sunday afternoon? Yes, yet another game in the never ending season.

More than any othe team sort, soccer just doesn't end. Most baseball players chill from October till early Feb., when they report for spring training. Similarily, football, basketball, and hockey players - unless they go deep into the playoffs - get a nice amount of time off. Not European soccer players. Generally speaking, they get a off a little more than a month off before the next season starts. And this year it's even less - with the European championships going on, the sixteen teams 22 players had to train and play in the tournement all summer. They also have to do this in World Cup summers. It's no wonder Beckham moved to America - the MLS season is nowhere as long as his European season.

And - benefiting it's world wide stature - as the European season FINALLY CONCLUDES w/out a doubt - that MLS is just starting up. But first things first- Europe - and it was a great conclusion. Spain beat Germany on a goal by Liverpool's Torres in the 33d minute, finally winning a major tournament after 44 years of losing.

And - they deserved it. They were not beaten, and looked the whole tournament the best team (although, yes, I had a bit of a Netherlands kick for a bit.) I was kool with them winning it - with Ireland and Northern Ireland, and England out, I did not have a natural team to root for. However, like the World Cup, just watching the games naturally draws you in. This tournament featured a lot of things: tight games, late goals, the emeggence of announcer Andy Grey - but what struck me most was business -every game was on ESPN or ABC. The first time I ever watched this tournement live -1988 - every game was on free tv. I can't remember what station - I'm sure it was one of the Spanish ones - but as a student it was great to have so many games to watch. However, as ti e went on, less and less games got on tv. I remember watching '92 on free, but the great '96 tournement in England went to cable. I remember having to get a guy on the block tape on ESPN one of my favourite soccer games of ALL time - the german England semifinal that went to PK's. 2000 and 2004 were all on pay tv. I was able to watch some of the games, but it was kinda shitty having to pay for them. It was catch as catch can - the England-France game was watched @ English Matts, and another @ Good kixx's.

Ah - but now. All games on ESPN, except for two games even better - free TV!! I'm always deeply interested in the business side of soccer, and it's an obvious good thing that this tournement was open to many fans for free. ESPN is smart - although this is a major world tournement and costs lots to air in othr countries, they must have gotten a cheaper rate because most of the games were played in the American afternoon - not primetime in Europe. And to those who don't know, these games draw rabid attention from soccer lovers - I know lots. And this was one of the best tournements yet, it was a fun time.

Now - with the final final final finally over in Europe, we can rest - or can we? Well, if yr in Madrid, yes you can. But if yr in Chicago, no you cant. I went to the Fire game on Saturday nite, and the season in America is at the midway point. I was able to take my nephew.3 to his first soccer game. I'd wanted to take him to a game for a long time - this is the one of my three sissters who lives way out in the suburbs, not in the 'hood with us - and it finaly got done. I was hoping that neice.1 and nephew.2 - nephew.3's favourite- was going as well, but one was in Germany and the other was in chicago doing the great graduation-time-of-the-year-party-circut and so unavailable. So, it was just he and me.

I love taking the kids out always, and always try to take them out for pizza or the like, The push here is to get my Mom walking more out of the house, so I originally was gong to take the kid, his mom, and Mom out for some pizzza. Mom wasn't feeling i, so I just brough the pizza here. Good fixings.

Nephew.3 and I parked in the "south" area. Since parking is $15, I park in two places and walk the mile to the stadium. The best spot is on 65th and 'old' Harlem Avenue (the 'old' Harlem tag is to differentiate it from the huge road bridge called Harlem that snakes over rail yards next to my spot), but since we were going for some ice cream after, I decided to park @ the older and longer distance 80th and Harlem spot - rite near the Castles.

Great first half. After I heard there was dissention between Blanco and Wilman Conde, but the team was tite in the first half. They couldn't put it in, but it looked good for the second half. We had been standing in Section 8 so that he could get a tas of it, but we sat in the good seats for the second half - also so he could see a soccer game being played from its optimal angle. ANd boy the Fire sucked it up. More by more they let the game slip away, and I swear -although they have the better team abd were @ home, I kept waiting and waiting for the game to end. Those last 10m took forever and I really wanted them to end.

European season? Englands Everton is here on their preseason tour - 30 July. The season never ends.

Child's Play

In episode #1 of Put Up or Shut Up, the appears to be a clear cut winner. I guess this is what a south side beat down looks like. The Cubs vs. the Sox left one wondering why people don't know there are two MLB teams in town. The Sox only prayer is to squeeze out a single win next weekend. The Cubs now stand 7-1.

Here is my all city team;

1B- D. Lee - no contest vs. Swisher/Konerko/Thome combined

2B Derosa- very unheralded, versatile - though A.Ramirez is quite a talent

SS. Theriot- quiet .310 hitter who is very dependable with glove and bat.

3B. Rammy over Crede. How could Phil Rogers have picked Crede? Ramirez has almost 600rbi's in last 5 years.

C. Soto over slimfast Perzinski- the rook is just beginning to shine. He has better power numbers and clearly calls a better game.

Lf. Fonzie over Quinten - no contest, though Quinten is probably their best player right now. Though Fonzie's frustrating with all of his injuries and attitude, when he is on, he is offensively one of the best.

C. Both teams have platoons. i'll give this to the Sox out of pity, though reed is great with his effort and edmonds is finally coming around.

Rf. Draw- Dye has better power numbers and fukadome has better oba. Both are great in the field. But Fukadome is clearly on the rise while Dye can only go down from here.

P. Zambrano is better than any of their starters. In fact he has a higher batting average than their entire team.

Relief- Woody over Jenks. Wood with a league leading 17 saves may have found his niche.

Coach- Not even close- Lou does whatever he has to to win. Ozzie is biding his time until he gets the Florida gig.

GM. Hendry without question over the no show Williams. Williams is all talk while Hendry is all action.

Black Sox Faction

It'll be like his the rest of the season. Thousands of hits and runs @ home, then one run on four hits on the road. Luckily they have been able to keep their head above water on the road so far while running up the third best home record in baseball. That, and the fact they have played eight less home games than road games give the team hope. The current stretch of home games the team is in will allow them to build more of a cushion @ the top.

But the team is looking like it will rely on pitching. The batting will only be apparent @ home - but can this team make any sort of a serious run? Now, come the playoffs, the teams pitching -possibly the best in baseball, both starting and relieving - bode great for the team. But can they cactually make it to the playoffs. Their current standing in the division bespeaks more of the horrid starts of Detroit and Cleveland than the supremeacy of the Sox - but part of their standng is also that they are good.

It's early still -38% of the seaon done. However, they will have to hit away from Comiskey and not when it's over 85 degrees F. Or they learn to steal some bases. But for a wait for the three run HR team, here's hoping that that is not too much to ask.

Black Sox Faction

The plot against Thome and Konerko

I will amidt it. I was wanting to kill both of these players last week. I was gonna post to get rid of the both of them to-gether. But winning has a way of changing things. That and the fact that their long slumps may finally be ending.

Despite the batters best attempts to turn the clock back to last season, the Sox have survived ruff spots and the early part of the season - if building a five and a half game lead can be called 'surviving'. Built on strong pitching in both the starting rotation and relief corps, the Sox have taken advantage of horrible starts by both Cleveland and Detroit and look ready to compete the whole year.

Last years collapse - keyed, I think, by Kenny Williams "trades for the future" that took the emphesis off of a 90 win team rady to compete for the division to a team looking forward to 2008. Well -it worked - the 2007 team was a joke, and this team is in it for this year. Williams off season moves this winter (Swisher, Canbrera, relievers)were for THIS season, and it's has payed off. The two starters acquired in 2007 (Danks and Floyd) have been outstanding this year. So, on almost all fronts, the White Sox are playing well and treating 2007 as an abberation. They may not win 90 games like they have two of the last three seasons - but looks like it'll be close.

And what may keep them from this? Injuries and relief pitching had huge roles in last year disaster. But for me, it was the stinking batters that keyed last years collapse. What didn't hurt them in September of 2005 has killed them since then. Although they won 90 games in 2006, there was something missing. And last year - despite the emphesise on the relievers -it was the batters that clued the fans into the fact that the team was garbage.

This year -even with four starters batting around .210 (or less) for the first two months of the season - they manageged to keep winning. And it is now - with the Sox (road warriors so far) in the midst of a streak of 26 of 32 games in chicago - that the hitting is finally solving itself -for this week. Do not think that they will be scoring 10 runs and 15 hits every game - those days of one run on four hits will make their return.

The key is to make these games appear as little as possible. I still have trouble with the lineup of the team - it still a 'wait for the 3 run Hr' type lineup. But the additions of Swisher, Cabrera (now that both have finally started hitting) and Carlos Quientin- added to the return of Crede - have added hope to the lineup. The fact that the Sox have the largest lead of any team in baseball despite the horrible batting slump the team has endured so far give even more hope that '07 was abberation.

My Favourite basketball player ever

Ronnie Fields

Simply the Best!

Carlos Zambrano is easily the best pitcher in the major leagues. With his 2.33 ERA he can pitch with anyone. He has matured and no longer allows mistakes ruin his focus. He takes a 8-1 record into this summer.

But what clearly separates him from the rest of the league is his hitting. Following tonight's 3-4 night, he carries a .366 average. In the real league, where you don't have some fat-ass hitting for the pitcher, everyone has to know how to play ball!
Big Z is the best hitting pitcher of his generation. He hits home runs and even a stand up triple tonight.

The best is yet to come with Zambrano-he is only 26 years old. With the Cubs rejuvenated bats, he should be on his way to a 20 win season.