CHISOX CATCHER A.J. PIERZYNSKI TOSSES HIS BAT ASIDE AFTER HITTING THE GAME WINNING HOME RUN IN THE 9TH INNING, PROPELLING THE SOUTH SIDER’S TO AN 8-6 WIN OVER THE CUBS
If I didn’t hate them so much, I might be able to feel a smidgen of pity for those hapless Cubs.
After playing well enough to win with some timely hitting, good defense, and clutch pitching, their efforts fell victim to the World Champion South Sider’s penchant for pulling a rabbit out of their hat at the last possible moment to gain victory where defeat seemed a foregone conclusion.
Ten times this year the White Sox have come back to win a game in their last at bat which not only makes for exciting baseball but also necessitates my frequent use of a paper bag to purge the excess oxygen in my lungs due to hyperventilation. It worries me that at this rate, watching my beloved Pale Hose could become hazardous to my health – a prospect too horrible to contemplate. What with 24 on hiatus and my beloved Bears not set to start their run to the Super Bowl until September, I would be forced to do something useful with my life this summer like finding a cure for cancer or ordering up world peace.
Or I could write about politics which is becoming less and less enjoyable the more my Republican party insists on doing everything possible to lose the upcoming elections in November.
Regardless, the most recent feat of Chisox legerdemain was accomplished yesterday at Wrigley Field. Trailing 6-5 going into the top half of the ninth inning, Cubs closer Ryan Dempster (1-5) seemed to have regained his early season form as he retired the first two Sox hitters with ease. Dempster was a terror in April and early May, going 6 for 6 in closing opportunities with a minuscule 1.38 ERA only to lose his edge during the North Sider’s long losing streaks since. This is death for any closer who depends on frequent and regular work to stay sharp both physically and mentally. No opportunities to close out a victory meant a steady erosion in Dempster’s confidence and skills. It showed yesterday.
With light hitting Ross Gload at the plate, Dempster threw a pretty good slider that was hit straight back at him, right between his legs. The ball glanced off his glove as Dempster tried to field it and it caromed out to shortstop Ronny Cedeno who drifted behind second base in order to field it. Too late, Gload was able to beat the toss to first.
This seemed to cause Dempster to lose concentration as he then walked Sox clean-up hitter Jermaine Dye on 5 pitches. With runners at first and second, up to the plate stepped the man Cubs fans love to hate. A.J. Piersynski, who took a punch to the face delivered by Cubs catcher Michael Barrett during round one of the season series at US Cellular Park last month, paid the Cubbies back in spades when he got a hold of a hanging slider and sent the ball into orbit. Replays showed the pitch hovering like a ripe plum right in A.J.’s comfort zone – belt high and over the middle of the plate.
Piersynski’s blast made the score 8-6. All that was left in the bottom of the ninth was for Sox closer Bobby Jenks to come in and wipe the blood off the floor, which he did with his usual alacrity, setting the Cubs down with nary a peep. It was Jenk’s league leading 25th save and barring injury, the fireballer’s 100 MPH heater will make him as much of a sure thing when it comes to closing as anyone in baseball today. Simply awesome.
While both of the game’s starters Javier Vasquez and Greg Maddux had to deal with a 19 MPH gale blowing out at Wrigley, the game was not as much an offensive explosion as others have been in the history of wind-blown Wrigley. While there were 6 home runs hit by both sides, I can recall games where hitting a pop-fly behind second base ended up a souvenir for one of the bleacher bums in the right field stands. Suffice it to say that both pitchers fared better than others in that situation due to their both throwing an effective sinker. Vasquez especially was able to wriggle out of jams by sawing off Cubs hitters thanks to his moving, dipping fastball. In fact, if he had been able to contain Cubs slugger Aramis Ramirez, the score wouldn’t have been close. The third baseman had a double, triple, and home run, accounting for 5 of the six Cub runs (the other coming on a homer by Sox killer Jacque Jones).
Besieged manager Dusty Baker could only shake his head at his team’s creativity in finding one more way to lose a ballgame. It probably won’t matter to him too much longer as attendance starts to plummet on the North Side thanks to the Cubbies being out of the race earlier than usual. This will lead to the inevitable dismissal of a manager who has proven himself a winner everywhere he has been. And it will hide the incompetence and myopia of one of the richest corporations in the world, the Tribune Company, who fielded a team this year unworthy of a great city and a storied franchise.
The Cub’s troubles aren’t only on the field; they are also in the front office and on the top floors of the Tribune building. Until those issues are addressed, the North Siders’s famous adage of “Wait until next year” will be chanted earlier and earlier in the season until the saying itself becomes an anachronism, a quaint hope for the fans of a franchise that just doesn’t care enough about winning.
9:15 am
CROSSTOWN SHOWDOWN: TAKE TWO
Right Wing Nut HouseCHISOX CATCHER A.J. PIERZYNSKI TOSSES HIS BAT ASIDE AFTER HITTING THE GAME WINNING HOME RUN IN THE 9TH INNING, PROPELLING THE SOUTH SIDER’S TO AN 8-6 WIN OVER THE CUBS
If I didn’t hate them so much, I might be able to …
9:26 am
I grew up in SW Mi worshipping Nellie Fox, Little Loo, Jungle Jim, et al, so it somewhat pains me to say that I’ve caught Tiger Fever. I was caught up in the Sox run last year, but would love to see the Tigers do it this year. By my count, there are still 13 games remaining between the Sox and Tigers. Should be lots of opportunity for you to wax eloquent on those upcoming series. On one thing we can agree, the Cubs can’t suck enough.
9:27 am
Really enjoy your work, bud.
This article almost compares itself to the plight that us hapless Rangers fans have had. We have (on numerous occasions, including this year) a succession of ownership groups that have given their all to get a winning product on the field. The frustration is almost unbearable.
As a baseball player in the early eighties, and a fan since birth, the lack of pitching shown by my franchise has always, ALWAYS, been a problem here in Texas. For God’s sakes, even Seattle has been to the playoffs more often than we have. Minnesota, of all places has won a few.
Cubs fans are, of course, older and more storied in the (far) distant past, but it is not a lack of money here. It is simply a lack of desire for top talent to play here in the dog days (110 in the shade). I think ChiCubs problem is more along the lines of why should I play for a franchise that won’t (or can’t) pay than for a top-notch Boston or New York that will.
It sucks, for fans. Until MLB takes on the player’s union in the mode that the NFL has, baseball itself will continue to suffer.
It’s not just the Cubs, my friend. Ask anyone in the lower-tier cities these days (Pittsburg, anyone?), and they will tell you the same. A salary cap must be instituted if the league is ever to achieve (again) the success of the NFL.
12:42 pm
The Cubs are actually shelling out decent money for their payroll. Last season they were dishing out about $15 million more than the White Sox. Their current payroll is hovering around $90 million. The biggest problem the Cubs have is their manager refuses to discipline players for making mistakes. It is painful to see all the confused looks on the Cubs player when try to field a ball. The Cubs also hasn’t developed any position players in their minor league system. That is where many teams develop their stars. I mean Pujols didn’t come from NY or Boston. It is sad when Jim Hendry references prospects that the Cubs lost(such as Eric Hinske) to how well the Cubs minor system is doing. Even with Hinske, the Cubs system is putrid. Despite what McPhail or Hendry say about year 12 in the 15 year plan, the Cubs need to be demolished and rebuilt.
7:13 am
“If I didn’t hate them so much, I might be able to feel a smidgen of pity for those hapless Cubs.”
Lifelong Sox fan and rightwing nut from northern Indiana here.
I don’t hate the Cub ownership or players but I cannot stand their fans who are as obnoxious as any I have ever met (Packer fans excluded). I worked in Chicago for many years and endured constant harassment from Cub fans in the office because I had an original souvenir team photo pennant from the 59 AL champs on my wall. It belonged to my grandfather. I was definitely a minority and they reminded me of it always. You could say they hated me first.
One Cub fan co-worker explained to me once that if the White Sox won the World Series before the Cubs it would be absolutely devastating to Cub fans. Now the Sox are World Champs and getting stronger while the Cubs are as bad as ever and driving their fans to total humiliation. AJ’s homer was a real spike in their heart, believe me.
And what is with this habit of throwing back home run balls hit by opposing players? I once saw a father taking away a ball from his son in the left field bleachers and throwing it back on the field because the crowd was chanting ‘throw it back’. Poor kid was in tears afterward. This innocent child was a Cub fan in training.
Sweet baby Jesus do I hate those fans. I smugly savor this championship team for that reason more than any.
The Bosox won it. The Chisox won it. And hopefully the Cubs will NEVER, EVER win it.
Thank you for writing this outstanding blog and Go Sox
!!
4:36 pm
Howzabout that 3rd game? GO CUBS!
Diehard Cubs Fan Club motto: In defeat we are indomitable, in victory we are insufferable.
Can’t go against the rules, there, can we? (Okay, we can in our lucid moments, but how often do those moments come around, nowadays?)
8:00 pm
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