How Did the Sox Do It?
When they made all their moves last postseason, I laughed.
They'd lost their best player in Maggs and replaced him with a decent player in Jermaine Dye.
They traded an RBI machine in Carlos Lee and in return acquired a leadoff man who hit .244 and had an OBP of .313 in 2004.
They signed a washed up El Duque to 'strengthen' their rotation.
They signed a cancerous AJ Pierzynski because no one else wanted him.
Frank Thomas was redefining his nickname as The Big Hurt.
They signed a reliever better known for his facial hair than his pitching skills in Dustin Hermanson.
They acquired a second basemen who had never set foot on a major league infield.
And this is how you build the best team in baseball?
Apparently.
Of course, the White Sox won because of their pitching. As important as defense and timely hitting are, they were carried by the arms of Buehrle, Garland, Contreras, Garcia, and El Duque. None are what you would call household names...though that will probably change now that the baseball world is bowing to the White Sox.
With a few minor exceptions, they stayed healthy all year. As a Cubs fan, I know how crucial that is.
Jose Contreras turned into Bob Gibson for the second half of the season. Did anyone see that one coming?
Podesdnik rediscovered how to leadoff and stole bases left and right...though his OBP was nothing to write home about.
Iguchi played better than anyone expected.
Dye led ALL major league right fielders in HR. What??
After the ALDS, A-Rod put on his Joe Crede body suit and played third base for the last two series.
AJ Pierzynski stopped being a horse's ass.
Basically, everything went right.
I wonder what that's like...
They'd lost their best player in Maggs and replaced him with a decent player in Jermaine Dye.
They traded an RBI machine in Carlos Lee and in return acquired a leadoff man who hit .244 and had an OBP of .313 in 2004.
They signed a washed up El Duque to 'strengthen' their rotation.
They signed a cancerous AJ Pierzynski because no one else wanted him.
Frank Thomas was redefining his nickname as The Big Hurt.
They signed a reliever better known for his facial hair than his pitching skills in Dustin Hermanson.
They acquired a second basemen who had never set foot on a major league infield.
And this is how you build the best team in baseball?
Apparently.
Of course, the White Sox won because of their pitching. As important as defense and timely hitting are, they were carried by the arms of Buehrle, Garland, Contreras, Garcia, and El Duque. None are what you would call household names...though that will probably change now that the baseball world is bowing to the White Sox.
With a few minor exceptions, they stayed healthy all year. As a Cubs fan, I know how crucial that is.
Jose Contreras turned into Bob Gibson for the second half of the season. Did anyone see that one coming?
Podesdnik rediscovered how to leadoff and stole bases left and right...though his OBP was nothing to write home about.
Iguchi played better than anyone expected.
Dye led ALL major league right fielders in HR. What??
After the ALDS, A-Rod put on his Joe Crede body suit and played third base for the last two series.
AJ Pierzynski stopped being a horse's ass.
Basically, everything went right.
I wonder what that's like...
posted by dbrown @ 1:51 PM
1 Comments:
At 10/30/2005 5:33 PM,
Anonymous said…
What's it like? Pretty f'in unreal. Feels strange, almost like a dream, but like the sweetest (non-sexual, non-million dollars-finding) dream you've ever had. Feels like luck too, to be honest. Not luck from the umps, but luck that the team came together despite a low payroll. And although I've almost had too much of a good thing watching it all transpire, the best part is thinking about next season, when the joy of pulling for the defending champs will likely become most satisfying. I would be lying if I said I wasn't anticipating buying tickets for the crosstown series at Wrigley. You would do the same, I am sure, were the shoe on the other foot.
It feels downright peachy. That's how it feels.
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