<dl class="byline"> </dl> <dl class="byline"> </dl> <dl class="byline"> </dl> <dl class="byline"> </dl> <dl class="byline"> </dl> <dl class="byline"> Mike Downey | In the wake of the news <dd> May 13, 2008 <noscript> </noscript> </dd> </dl>
Is everybody excited about how the Sox have come up with one of the hottest young sluggers in the American League?
No.
As of Monday morning, Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd had flirted with a no-hitter twice. He has given up a mere 29 hits in seven starts—a fantastic stat.
Do you see "Floyd" jerseys everywhere you go? Do any sell like Kosuke Fukudome's?
No.
As of Monday morning, Javier Vazquez led the American League in strikeouts. He has become the undisputed ace of this White Sox pitching staff.
Has this been enough to make people stop bringing up the fact that the Sox sent a good young outfielder, Chris Young, to the Arizona Diamondbacks to get Vazquez?
No.
Jose Contreras was said to be over the hill. Is he?
No, he is 3-3. He has as many victories as Ted Lilly does for the Cubs.
John Danks was said to be a bust after a 6-13 record last season. He wouldn't be a star left-hander of the future like the Cubs' Rich Hill, who went 11-8. True?
No, he is 3-3. Hill, meanwhile, has gone back to the minor leagues.
Joe Crede should have been traded, some people said. It was stupid of the Sox not to trade Crede and let Josh Fields play third base. Wasn't it?
No. So far Crede has seven homers (more than A-Rod) and 23 RBIs (more than Jim Thome or Paul Konerko), and it is Fields who is hitting only .240 in the minors and recently got hurt.
An objective person would say that most of the White Sox's moves this season have paid off.
They have a legitimate shot at the postseason now, same as the Cubs do.
Their division isn't as strong as a lot of experts thought. The entire American League is up for grabs, as evidenced by the Tampa Bay Rays, who as of Monday had won more games than the Yankees, Tigers, Indians, Twins, Blue Jays, Orioles, Rangers, Royals, Mariners and White Sox have.
So excitement must be growing that the White Sox could win a World Series twice in a four-year span, just like the Red Sox did, yes?
No.
For a team that has been in first or second place for most of this season, the Sox have not been the talk of the league. They aren't even the talk of their own town.
Cubs, Cubs and More Cubs—that's what you hear here.
A day doesn't go by without somebody gushing about how great the Cubs look. (Whereas the last time I looked in the standings, the Cubs were only 11/2 games ahead of the so-so Houston Astros and 41/2 up on the p.u. Pittsburgh Pirates.)
No wonder a cuckoo came out of Ozzie Guillen's clock a few days ago.
Highlight of the Sox manager's rant was this: "We won it a couple of years ago, and we're horse [bleep]! The Cubs haven't won it in 100 years, and they're the [bleeping] best!"
Thirty-six games into this season, the Sox have been doing fine.
Doing fine even though Nick Swisher is barely hitting his weight. Doing so even with Thome, Konerko, Orlando Cabrera and Juan Uribe slow to get into a groove. Doing so even while Mark Buehrle labors to win a game and beats up innocent space heaters.
You might think Guillen would get a bit of credit for keeping the Sox near the top of the standings with some of his top stars off to a slow start.
Is that what you hear?
No.
People want him fired.
On ESPN's "First Take" talk show last Friday, co-host Rob Parker, a columnist for the Detroit News, was asked about Guillen's recent outburst about the Cubs.
"This is what I would hope would happen," Parker said. "GM Kenny Williams steps to the plate and fires Ozzie Guillen. Fires him.
"He's become such a distraction and such a negative thing for this organization. I know he won a World Series. That was 2005. He got his slap on the back. He got his parade. Thank you very much.
"This team might be able to steal the Central Division. The Indians and Tigers haven't played up to their potential. Kenny Williams, save your team, save your organization and fire Ozzie Guillen as soon as possible."
Repeat: As of Monday morning the White Sox were a game out of first place.
They should get a standing ovation. Instead, what they get is ignored or insulted.
Well, as Bruce Hornsby said, that's just the way it is. In 2005 we lead from day to the World Series, and the city as a whole didn't really jump on board until the playoffs. I have three Sox jerseys, and weekend season tickets, only cuz it's hard for me to make weekday games due to work. A lot of people on this board also have tickets and jerseys, so I don't really think that article applies to us.
I am glad that the Sox are near first place, although any smart baseball fan knows that luck has a lot to do with that. They are one game under .500, and are really struggling at the plate. I don't think most of us would be panicking right now, except for the fact that this is the 2nd year in a row that we are not hitting. This is why you see a lot of negative stuff on this board, because we went through a hell season last year, and you know that .500 is not going to get the team into the playoffs.
I support the team bigtime, win or lose. Most people on this board do too...and I have accepted the fact that a lot of the city does not. Actually, I kind of like it' ; it makes Sox fans more hardcore instead of run of the mill.
Huh.. That does make you step back and think.. I am a die-hard sox fan since a little tyke and grew up in North Jersey, hell might as wall call it east NYC.. The Yankee's were ALWAYS in the papers, news, etc no matter who good or bad they were and we all know they are usually good.. But yea, even in 2005, we weren't getting the headlines that other big market teams get.. I mean, 11-1in the playoff's, with 4 complete games back to back to back to back....? That does suck, but like morbs said, I like being under the radar.. Let all the Hank "The Tank" Steinbrenner types get all the air time with their bitching and moaning. I would rather have a fired up Ozzie get a 3 minute speel with 2 mins and 45 sec's of it being beeped out.. They didn't see the Sox train coming in 05 and they won't see it coming again!
Been a fan since 1983, when I went to my first game at 3 years old. But I gotta agree, no team below .500 can be hot. Especially with 3 and 4 game losing streaks over the past couple of weeks. Our pitching is great...now. Can Floyd, Danks, and Contreras hold up for the whole season? We got 4 guys in the line-up batting near the Mendoza line and are hitting a collective .242. Not exactly exciting baseball. Besides, watching us lose those 1-0, and 2-1 games breaks spirits. 16 hits during the Toronto 4 game series? It was painful to watch.
Classic lines from the movie "Major League." I would assume that the Sox are considered "hot" is that the team is playing better than the low expectations that were bestowed upon them prior to the start of the season. Any Sox fan would know that a .500 team is not hot. And as far as the Cub complex is concerned, Sox players shouldn't care outside the six games the two teams play. Sox players should only be concerned about winning games.
Im not offended that the Sox arent getting attention because they are only one game out. As all of us Sox fans have seen this team doesnt seem to have everything it needs. This team is what it is a .500 team if thats good enough to win the division then great but it will probably be a quick exit. The White Sox offense is horrible to watch, its a station to station team waiting for a home run that has rarely come this year. The only things that has been exciting to watch is the great pitching (except Buehrle) and Carlos Quentin so far. If they can turn the offense on and maintain the pitching they will get the credit they deserve but right now this team doesnt look like a world series contender and the Cubs actually do. Even if the Sox were leading their division right now would any of us really think that they could win the series? I hope the Cubs dont but I would say they are a lot closer to winning a series than we are at the moment so they deserve the attention right now. If the Sox can get all of their players hitting above .230 then maybe the papers will start paying attention but when you have 5 starters hitting under .225 you arent going to get a lot of looks.
I disagree about the coverage in 2005, they were back page of the Times and front page of the Trib Sports section all through the playoffs and World Series. (Well, the Bears may have bumped them on a Monday, while the Sox were in the DS and CS.) And the radio was non-stop Sox talk.
But, if the Cubs were to pull off the miracle and win the WS, their coverage would dwarf what the Sox had, because they simply have a bigger fan base. Which doesn't bother me one bit, just means a lot more fans chose the wrong team.
Im not offended that the Sox arent getting attention because they are only one game out. As all of us Sox fans have seen this team doesnt seem to have everything it needs. This team is what it is a .500 team if thats good enough to win the division then great but it will probably be a quick exit. The White Sox offense is horrible to watch, its a station to station team waiting for a home run that has rarely come this year. The only things that has been exciting to watch is the great pitching (except Buehrle) and Carlos Quentin so far. If they can turn the offense on and maintain the pitching they will get the credit they deserve but right now this team doesnt look like a world series contender and the Cubs actually do. Even if the Sox were leading their division right now would any of us really think that they could win the series? I hope the Cubs dont but I would say they are a lot closer to winning a series than we are at the moment so they deserve the attention right now. If the Sox can get all of their players hitting above .230 then maybe the papers will start paying attention but when you have 5 starters hitting under .225 you arent going to get a lot of looks.
