CHW - HOU World Series Thread

and poly, you are the jinxbait.

Well, I picked the Cardinals, so...

DAMN YOU POLY! ;)

THIRD and FOURTH biggest US cities?

if they're pissed about *that* then yeah, guess I'd hate to see their reaction if it was .. I dunno, Baltimore and Florida or something. Seems like they made out ok.

I think.

What are the stats as far as metropolitan areas are concerned? Also, do any stats exist that compare how many people WORK in a given city / metro area as opposed to living there?

1. New York
2. L.A.
3. Chicago
4. Philadelphia
5. Dallas
6. Miami
7. Washington, DC
8. Houston
9. Detroit
10. Boston

Don't take this the wrong way, but: Get your head out of your ass.

I believe it has even been as high as third at some point in the last decade or two.

Seriously, if any of you guys ever make it down to Houston, give me a shout. I'll show you around. I'm a good host, just ask gygax!.

Oh man, you've completely opened a new world for me. To think that I thought Houston was more like the 7th or 8th most populous American city. I am truly naive, and have learned my lesson.

See this makes much more sense.

I think these teams are pretty evenly matched and similarly constructed.

Any lineup without Albert Pujols will feel like a breath of fresh air for the Astros pitchers.

I'm gonna pull a Morbius and say that this is such a circumstantial & coincidental fact that it's not even worth bringing up unless you're auditioning for Chris Myers' job.

One TRUE thing in the Astros' favor: they have the better Top 3 in their rotation.

Or if yr Sam Ryan standing in the CHicago dugout...

OTM. The ChiSox might have a slightly deeper bullpen, but Wheeler and Lidge are probably better than anyone in Chicago's pen.

Chicago has a slightly better offense, but Houston's hitters have faced much better pitching thus far in the postseason. Chicago can hit the long ball, but Houston pitching gave up only 155 homers this season -- 78 at home, 77 on the road -- amazing numbers considering where they play.

I have a feeling that this series won't be as close as many people think. Astros in 6, if not 5. (I pick 6 for the purposes of the playoff prediction pool)

PALE HOSE IN SIX. "THIS ONE'S FOR IVAN!"

I think both teams are really even.

"CANCEL IT
-- Jams Murphy (SCOTT_BORA...), October 17th, 2005."

I don't know if this post was inspired by this article in The Onion, but I thought it was pretty funny.

Fox Cancels ALCS After Just Two Episodes
October 13, 2005 | Onion Sports

LOS ANGELES—Fox Entertainment president Peter Liguori announced Thursday that the network is pulling the plug on ALCS, the new three-hour drama/comedy about two rival clubs competing for the coveted "pennant," just two shows into its run. "This uninspired series featured a cast of uninteresting characters, a hackneyed plot, and more boring narration than actual meaningful dialogue," Liguori said. "We tried to find an audience on Tuesdays, then on Wednesdays, and we were prepared to move its time slot to Friday nights or Saturday afternoons before ultimately realizing that the series had zero potential." Television experts cited several other possible reasons for the early cancellation, such as the overly expensive sets and costumes, the show's subject matter, and the fact that the series' projected breakout character—a brash, outspoken black man named Carl Everett—tested very poorly with audiences. Fox remains optimistic about its other fledgling program, NLCS, but critics say the series has "very little chance" of making it past seven episodes

I assumed 'gax was doing a pokerfaced SportsCenter thing with that.

>the chisox just played two teams that have won the ws this decade and knocked them both the fuck out.<

otoh, blount doubtlessly believes this means something. Kinda theway the Pujols HR 'swung the momentum' to St. Louis.

Chisox in 7.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/team_audit.php?team=cha

Astros pitchers by VORP:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/team_audit.php?team=hou

(Stros in 6, btw)

The Sox will see Backe (THEE highest HR/9 rate on the staff) in the Juice Box, won't they? Unless Pettite starts on 3 day's rest? Or the World Series is scheduled like an NBA playoff series.

Win-shares shows less of a gap:

HOU:
Clemens 25
Pettite 22
Oswalt 22

CWS:
Buehrle 23
Garland 21
Contreras 18
Garcia 18

I expect at least one paradigm-breaking semi-slugfest, perhaps at Ex-Enron.

I was thinking the same thing and I think it could happen most with a Petitte and Garcia matchup.

They will be getting six starts from three of the ten best pitchers in the league

followed by this:

(Stros in 6, btw)

is great. So what, they will be skipping the great Brandon Backe entirely? Anyway, thank you so much for picking the Stros Yancey; that virtually ensures a White Sox winner. You are an automatic fade.

and yes, backe will get a start. i predict clemens loses a start -- no run support. and thank you for taking my prediction so personally!

and what about that hated stat-head rob neyer, who wrote before this season began:

"Why did I pick the White Sox? Sometimes you just have to go with your gut, and my gut tells me the Twins aren't going to win this season. That leaves the Indians or the White Sox (or, some would argue, the Tigers). And I've chosen the White Sox, in part because I honestly believe this is the year that Jose Contreras finally puts everything together and wins 16 or 18 games. But this is the prediction for which I have the least confidence."

Storm Davis hates "VORP guys" cuz his career ERA+ was 99. MR. AVERAGE!

http://www.baseball-reference.com/d/davisst02.shtml

OOOOOHHHH, another Lucky White Sox team that could pitch but couldn't score runs. FEEL TEH OMEN.

Yeah, a 4.36 ERA with the '89 A's got Stormy those 19 know-how-ta-wins.

so who to root for?

While I'll be rooting for the NL team, my official Predictotronic call = Sox in 6. Ausmus and his heroics are due for a rude awakening.

"More than any series this year, the World Series is going to turn on the smallest of events, those tiny differences that are smoothed out over a season but are impossible to predict in a short series. The umpires have come under fire in both Championship Series (and rightfully so), and in a series as low scoring as this one is likely to be, their decisions will be cast in even starker relief. Don’t forget that they’re also the best in the world at their jobs and significantly better than the group that was purged a few seasons ago. Discussing the many miscues up until this point is a waste of time. Instead, let’s just hope we’ve seen them make their last headline for nine days.

This year’s World Series games are going to be tight and more than a few will likely be decided by a single run. While the Sox were an MLB-best 35-19 in those contests this year, it’s also true that one-run games are subject to high variation from overall winning percentage, so placing faith in Chicago’s ability to win the close ones is foolish. This isn’t to say that the best team will lose or that the outcome is purely luck, but with an extreme premium on runs, neither squad is going to find it easy to compensate for small mistakes on the field. These teams are incredibly similar--mediocre offenses, top-notch run prevention, and a heavy reliance on right-handed players--and picking between them is nearly impossible. But let it be said that at Baseball Prospectus we never shrink away from a challenge: Astros in seven."

by the way, interesting article on baseball analysts.com about the 1947 giants who hit tons of dingers in the polo grounds...down both lines it was less than 300 feet there, straightaway center was like 480 or 500

anyway i'm not sure what you're getting at in yr previous paragraph, i just feel like the longball is going to decide this series (in all likelihood despite the managers' best efforts) and i don't think that's right, i'd rather the games pivot on late inning steals and suicide squeezes and whatnot.

And yeah, it turned out that the Polo Grounds was a neutral park overall...but not in 1947, when a bunch of no-names (and Johnny Mize) DESTROYED the previous HR record for a season.

Too bad Carl Everett doesn't play CF anymore, I'd like to see him break an ankle on The Berm.

I think that El Paso is the largest city in the United States that doesn't have either an NBA, NFL, MLB, or NHL team.

Sox in 5.

All of these little sidebars were about the Indians, with pictures of Hafner, Martinez and lines like "the Indians are so hot, who will be able to beat them come playoff time". The rest of the article centered around the Cardinals and other than some sidebar about Pettitte and Clemens being "big game" pitchers (no mention of Oswalt), not much on the Astros.

There was also some rankings of the teams by offense, defense, pitching, bullpen, manager and "MOJO", get this the White Sox were ranked dead last in both MOJO and the manager categories. This article had a dozen teams ranked, including the Marlins, Phils, Padres, A's and pretty much everyone left with a chance down the stretch.

I thought it was pretty funny.

El Paso is bigger than Vegas?

You're both wrong. It's Austin.

white sox in six.

VERY WELL BECAUSE SHE IS THE BESTEST

I guess Sheryl Crow's too busy shooting up Lance w/ B12?

plus nobody there likes liz anymore anyway.

Still better than Corgan though, no matter what.

Each Series game has a different start time! A must-read for Zelasko Avoidance:

Game 1 - 8:03 ET
2 - 8:09
3 - 8:38
4 - 8:33
5 - 8:28
6 - 7:58
7 - 8:13

Things I’d like to see/hear in the next couple of years; immediately after a successful sacrifice bunt, I’d like to hear Tim McCarver talk about “what a shortsighted strategic play that was. It increases the Acorns’ chances of scoring one run this inning, but at the cost of dramatically reducing their chances of having a big inning, and putting this game away. Even Deion Sanders wouldn’t be that dumb.”

Ok, maybe not McCarver, who’s probably responsible for more mute pressing that Gilbert Gottfried. McCarver’s really only good for raising great philosophical questions, like “What else is on?”

STierce (Beaumont): What do you think of the postseason coverage so far, in terms of the broadcasts?

Gary Huckabay: I’d say it’s painful, but it’s really worse than that. From the pregame show, where everyone looks and talks like a Xanaxed-out realtor, to the 2:30 breaks between every half inning, it’s been unwatchable, at least for me. I’ve missed a fair amount of the postseason simply because Fox has managed to take some truly great, dramatic, world-class sport, and turn it into some sort of horrific suburb fest. It’s kind of the TV equivalent of one of those vile exurb malls, with faux façade architecture, nine hundred different soulless, Bed Bath, and Beyondesque retailers, usually clustered with a SlavLaborMart or some sort. I’d feel worse about it, except that I’m amused by the convergence of the visages of Kevin Kennedy and the Plastic Burger King King we’re seeing all the time on commercials. Creepy.

And it's not like they pass it off to McCarver, who's down on the field or in the dugout, he's SITTING RIGHT THERE, EXCEPT NOT IN THE CAMERA SHOT.

1. New York, NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R)
2. Los Angeles, CA Mayor James Hahn (D)
3. Chicago, IL Mayor Richard Daley (D)
4. Houston, TX Mayor Lee Brown (D)
5. Philadelphia, PA Mayor John Street (D)
6. Phoenix, AZ Mayor Skip Rimsza (D)
7. San Diego, CA Mayor Dick Murphy (R)
8. Dallas, TX Mayor Laura Miller (D)
9. San Antonio, TX Mayor Ed Garza (D)
10. Detroit, MI Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (D)
11. San Jose, CA Mayor Ron Gonzalez (D)
12. Indianapolis, IN Mayor Bart Peterson (D)
13. San Francisco, CA Mayor Willie Brown (D)
14. Jacksonville, FL Mayor John Delaney (R)
15. Columbus, OH Mayor Michael Coleman (D)
16. Austin, TX Mayor Gus Garcia
17. Baltimore, MD Mayor Martin O'Malley (D)
18. Memphis, TN Mayor Willie Herenton (D)
19. Milwaukee, WI Mayor John Norquist (D)
20. Boston, MA Mayor Thomas Mennino (D)
21. Washington, DC Mayor Anthony Williams (D)
22. Nashville, TN Mayor Bill Purcell (D)
23. El Paso, TX Mayor Raymond Caballero (D)
24. Seattle, WA Mayor Greg Nickels (D)
25. Denver, CO Mayor Wellington Webb (D)

Austin is the correct answer. Wasn't always the case, though.

http://www.thefader.com/blog/files/theydontknow_astros.mp3

I'm guessing 42-44 runs in this series.

Also, what's up with the little gay hop that Pedro does in the Boys Y Girls ad while running thru teh sprinklers?

Also, Liz Phair doing a serviceable GBA not hot shokah.

Is Hermanson even on the WS roster?

Indefensible: Zelasko called Guillen "the Wizard of Oz" during the postgame show.

Ozzie is in my good books for signaling for the tall fatty to come in to pitch.

A.J. Pierzynski: a dickish personality, strange habit of being involved in controversial plays, the annoying fistpumps ... yes, it's the new Derek Jeter.

Houston was lucky to keep the game so close, considering how many baserunners they gave up. When you can't put the ball in play with runners on first/third and nobody out, you deserve to lose (big credit to Cotts and Jenks all the same ... aside: does Ozzie no longer trust Politte?).

Although, Ensberg needs to cut down on the swing a bit in those situations. Willy T was on third both times. A pop-up to the pitcher might be enough to score him. (Well not quite, but you don't have to hit very deep for a sac fly there.)

Love the way Guillen signaled for Jenks: right arm, then holding his hands wide apart and over his head: BIG FAT GUY.

Gygax! are you sure? Cuz I would think that if did the ump would have been able to tell by the sound? I didn't think any of the replays were conclusive.

xpost - yeah, it's an absolutely pointless call -- why garner wasted time coming out of the dugout i have no idea, although mccarver and buck's ensuing obsession over the call was all too predictable, given the question's immense lack of impact on anything. it was especially galling for the two cackleheads in the FOX box to break their trademark post-big-play silence (their continuing reliance on this is clearly an excuse for a lack of anything meaningful to say), after soaking in the cheers, by flashing a zoomed-in, souped-up replay of the "hit bat scandal" in the middle of the screen. what's the point?

The point is to know what actually happened in a key situation in the most important game of the year. FOX's treatment was overkill, though.

Garner seemed to make all the wrong moves in the ninth but it still worked out for the Astros.

If the ump makes the correct call, Dye is still standing at the plate and Wheeler has one more chance at him. I'm not buying that the call was unimportant.

However, I'm not blaming the umps for the tasty meatball Qualls served up.

Jenks didn't have nearly the velocity tonight that he had last night.

It's too bad for Houston that their set-up and closer's VORPs are plummeting.

Lidge is definitely tired. I don't think he's gonna make it through the playoffs without continuing the trend of meltdowns.

-- gygax! (gygax0...), October 1st, 2005.

Who was looking for "injustice"? Garner? FOX?

Was there even an appeal to the 1B umpire?

Tune in the radio Tuesday to hear #8 explain how grand slams and walk-off solos are 'manufactured.'

*And despite what his two 2005 postseason wins may indicate otherwise, the "best pitcher in baseball" is having a really shitty postseason,
averaging 4.33 IP/start with a 5.63 ERA/1.38 WHIP.

"Back in my country, yes, I do."
--White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, on how he practices Santeria in Venezuela (Miami Herald)

"I pay people to do it."
--Guillen, when asked if he sacrifices animals himself

"You bleed, I'm there."
--Guillen

"You take somebody who is going to a good school and you put him in Caracas —you just drop him right in Caracas — and say, 'Here, survive.' He can't. But you drop me into the best college, I will survive. Because I know how to deal with people."
--Guillen

"I'm smarter than a lot of guys who go to Harvard. You know why? When your English is terrible, when you come to this country at 16 years old and survive, and have success like I did, I have to have something smart in my body."
--Guillen

"This game, you see a lot of computer bull (feathers), and they don't bring people who know the game. Everything's computer. Here's computer, here's paper. When you've got (an eighth-grade education), you can't even write, you think I want computers?"
--Guillen

"That's easy. Delete, delete, delete, delete, get the (expletive) out."
--Guillen, when asked if he hates computers, why does he constantly check his email

"We play Minnesota a hundred times. Why do I have to read a Minnesota scouting report every day? Why do I have to be at the ballpark at 10 o'clock in the morning when the game starts at seven? What would I do there, get fat? If I'm going to get there at 10 o'clock in the morning and stay until 12:30 at night, and lose a game, why not show up at three and leave at 10? You lose anyway."
--Guillen, on managing on his own schedule

"A lot of people try to control the game too much."
--Guillen

Jon Miller mentioned that in the pregame interview with Jose Vizcaino that Vizcaino had bugged Garner about getting a pinch-hit opportunity against Jenks because he could "hit that fastball".

Good for Vizcaino (this is his last season right?)

When Garner sent him up last night, I thought "What the?" But then I figured he'd probably be the best candidate to take that fastball the other way for a base hit. Lamb and Palmiero are more likely to try to pull the ball.

Well, at least Houston can claim they've hosted 2 World Series games after this.

FUGGLGY

Why is Blum's hair so tall?

If Clemens had been healthy then they probably should have sent Backe out for the 14th and pitched Clemens on three days rest in Game 4. Even without Clemens healthy, they might have pitched Backe in the 14th, started Astacio in Game 4, hope he pitches four or five innings without getting killed, and let the bullpen take over.

Ozzie handled his pitchers very well tonight. The only blemish, perhaps, was bringing in a rusty Hermanson (who wasn't at 100%) to pitch with runners on. Getting Buerhle to save brought back memories of the 1998 NLCS, where San Diego tried a similar thing up 3-0 in games with Kevin Brown (who was supposed to start the next day). Unlike Brown, Buerhle got the job done.

and get some sleep!

Sleep? I am going to do (some) work now!

I just noticed that both teams left the same number of runners on base -- 15. So Chicago missed just as many oppurtunities as Houston did, except I think they happened earlier in the game. A lot of runners reached against Oswalt even before the fifth.

fuck your cubbie cartoon blue and your Indiana University communication degree and fuck your racism and fuck your moronitude. get the fuck out of this great city, cubs morons, this is a White Sox town, as it ever was, before you communication degree trixies took over. racists. morons. You are not invited on this train. you don't get to party.

GO. SOX.

I agree with you though -- fuck the bandwagon-hopping Cubs fans.

I just got home from the bar downtown!

Took my nap in the middle of the Sox' 5th-inning rally (last I recall it was 4-2) til the 9th.

Gammons on SportsCenter essentially said "fuck the stupid quirky yellow HR line."

>I would have to pick the White Sox in 5 and be right to win and I just can't see that happening.<

Alex, I had a real sense of foreboding when you posted that.

Going back to a full month ago (September 27th), the White Sox have lost only once (2-3 vs. the Angels) in that four week period.

Haha godammit.

By JACK CURRY
HOUSTON, Oct. 25 - When Joe Crede was drilled in the chest by a Roy Oswalt pitch in the fifth inning, he slammed his bat to the dirt, cursed and stared at Oswalt. Crede had homered to lead off the fifth and was batting a second time in the inning, but Oswalt clearly did not want to hit him. Doing so loaded the bases.

As Crede trotted to first, Astros Manager Phil Garner shifted positions in the dugout so he could get closer to first base to scream at Crede. Garner was irked that Crede had barked at Oswalt, and he unleashed his own expletives.

The jousting took another twist as Carl Everett, who was in the White Sox' dugout, used a zippering gesture to tell Garner to keep quiet. Everett put his fingers on one side of his mouth and moved them across to the other side. This enraged Garner, who directed a stream of profanities at Everett.

When Ozzie Guillen, the manager of the White Sox, was asked about the back-and-forth sniping during a midgame interview with Fox, he said Garner was trying to protect his players.

"The Astros are the first World Series team in more than a half-century with a roster that doesn't include a single African-American player."

http://tinyurl.com/b3q63

Worse than that -- nobody else was warming up! He finally got some guys throwing toward the end of the inning, but when the Sox had bases loaded with two out (and could have broken the game open right there), no relievers were ready at the time.

Fuck the Stros. Can't wait for this game to be done with tonight.

That's almost as crazy as the Jim Crow Astros!@

I hope you're all happy with your "taut," low-scoring Series, whoever the hell it is I'm addressing here.

it seems like the way garner and the astros were acting this series was very reminiscient of the Cubs after the bartman ball and during their downward spiral last season, whereas Ozzie seems to know how to control his team and keep things loose. i know, intangibles are nothing etc, but still, it might have helped just a little bit.

yeah whatever Red Cubs boy.

I was actually thinking about how beautiful this Sox win was in so many ways: dispatched the useless payroll fucknuts from New England in 3 games. the REAL Sox won with what, half the payroll of the Red Cubs?

We just kind of came along, with a young, well-crafted-team, and just fuckin ERASED all of that Red Cubs Nation nonsense with one of the most dominant post-seasons EVER. the REAL actual good SOX showed how teamwork can be accomplished without BUYING a championship. so fucking beautiful. FUCK the Red Cubs. SO SO SO great to see you dorks and your bloody-sock replican exit in three quick ones. i think all baseball fans pretty much got behind that one.

a Cohiba never ever tasted sweeter. I'm toasting to Low-Payroll DOMINANCE and great great great pitching. With more and more to come.

It's truly a beautiful thing.

but hey Dave, how does Theo's cock taste anyway? i would never suck another man's cock, when he's got that payroll at his disposal. now, Kenny Williams?? I'm almost tempted to suck his cock, but I don't need to because the world series is over and WE WENT ELEVEN AND ONE.

ELEVEN AND ONE.

SOUTH SIIIIIIDE!!!

SLAPHEAD BOSTON made no mention of the Red Cubs from last year, Dave. It's too bad when you look back on your one championship, you'll have to always consider just how bought and artificial it all was. Moron.

can't fuckin WAIT for next year with this staff. all locked up.

all ready to rock.

I cried in joy for the Big Hurt.

HR reflecting on White Sox season: (paraphrased) "You catch the ball, you hit it, you pitch it -- you do those three things *holds up three fingers*, you win ballgames.

HAROLD!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2005-10/20177802.jpg

2005 World Champs -- woo!

HR also sez "CHARACTER"

Yeah, even Gammons knows how to play the bullshit hype game.

>that old saw about pitching and defense might have a grain of truth

AND HOME RUNS!

And you wonder why I called you a slaphead. Pull down yr pants before you take a shit, dude.

PS, Spanky:

I'm toasting to Low-Payroll DOMINANCE and great great great pitching.

White Sox payroll = $75 M. You got 17 teams behind you, and you're only $20 M behind the 4th place team. But, hey, dreams are cool, too.

This is just crazy bullshit.

I hope we get crazy banquet quotes from Ozzie all winter.

For fans of guys that are champeens of the baseball world, some of you sure are pissy.

http://www.epsilones.com/imagenes/retratos/pythagoras.jpg

BILLY BEANE 4EVAH

Anyway, I've got no beef with Raposa. I apologize for calling him a moron. I was feeling feisty. (just like Darren Jackson!) I don't take back the Red Payroll belittling comments though. I don't appreciate being called a slaphead when I've been a die-hard for 15 years and am the first to admit when the team is crappy, *whenever-they-are-in-fact-crappy*, which, this post-season they weren't in the slightest. So yes, I am a happy, beaming Sox fan.

In any case, what I had wanted to post last night was how happy I was for Big Frank Thomas (Andy K. OTM!!), Joey Cora, and Ozzie Guillen -- all members of the team I was first captivated by -- , John Rooney who will be missed, Dave Wills who IS missed (so crazy that he left this year), Nancy Faust, my friend Kenny who is a factory worker and 20-year season ticket owner and the guy who sits in the first row above the Sox bullpen and waves the "Let's Go White Sox" sign every game, my friends Tony and Doreen who are beer vendors at Comiskey and die-hard Sox fans, Gino the bartender at Jimbo's who is a real swell guy and loves to take his daughter to Sox games, that cute girl who works at Hackney's and is a big Sox fan, and last but certainly not least Alex Snelius, in loving memory of Ursula.

God bless all.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/oracle/

Is Studs Terkel finally losing it in his 90s? cuz aside from the well-worn 'Wrigley is for tourists' lament, I'm not sure what he's trying to say here exactly.

Nine Men In
By STUDS TERKEL

Chicago

EVEN with the Chicago White Sox's remarkable World Series sweep of the Houston Astros, ending the Black Sox curse of 1919, we cannot say that a chapter of infamy is over. This is because the players of that infamous team of 86 years ago remain on the outside. I'm only sorry that they (and Bill Veeck, the team's eccentric former owner) aren't alive to see it.

If there had been real justice after the scandal of 1919, Charlie Comiskey, the Sox owner, would have been the one kicked out of the game. That year, the star pitcher Eddie Ciccote had been promised a $10,000 bonus if he won 30 games; as he neared the mark Comiskey had him benched for the remainder of the season rather than open his wallet.

But there was nothing the players could do. Most weren't very worldly - Shoeless Joe Jackson couldn't sign his own name - and they couldn't change teams. They were serfs of the owners.

The sportscaster Red Barber once said that the three most important men in the history of the game were Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and Marvin Miller, the players' union boss who negotiated the Major League free-agency system. In that sense, Miller is the real difference between 1919 and now.

That's why I was also happy that the St. Louis Cardinals didn't make the Series this year. In 1971, Joe Torre of the Cards was the league's most valuable player. But he was also very involved with Miller and the players' association, which made him unpopular with the fans. So when he came to bat on opening day in 1972, he was booed by his hometown crowd - the reigning M.V.P.!

Of course, the big question is whether this championship will help the White Sox become more than afterthoughts in Chicago compared with the Cubs. Actually, I think all Chicago is thrilled about this. The Sox-Cubs rivalry is mostly press hype. There used to be a real difference when the South Side was stockyards and steel mills, but not any more.

Besides, many Cubs fans today are from the suburbs, brought in by buses. It's like going to an air show or "Cats" - something tourists do. After the game, you ask them: "Who did the Cubs play? What was the score?" They shake their heads. It's not about baseball, it's about having been to a place to be.

Still, while everybody loves a winner, the Cubs are a phenomenon, and eventually they'll be the only thing anybody here talks about again. And it's true that compared with the Cubs, with their hallowed Wrigley Field, the White Sox have always played in a dump. The old Comiskey Park was terrible, and the new one, U.S. Cellular Field, isn't much better. The only thing good about it is the toilets - the cleanest I've ever seen in a public place. Still, that's not quite enough; next year I'm going to stick with watching on TV.

Studs Terkel is the author, most recently, of "And They All Sang: Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey."

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

The Sox won the series, it's their achievement and it's unfortunate that their fans can't enjoy it without hearing references or comparisons to the Cubs and their fans.

Disclaimer: I'm a Cubs fan, not from Chicago, and have no ill will toward the Sox apart from Hawk & DJ. I visited Wrigley as a tourist and booed Lenny Harris as a fan.

http://towleroad.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/guillenkiss_1.jpg

http://towleroad.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/whitesox3.jpg

Should've had the fuckin thing on Monday and then I would've taken it off...