Results tagged ‘ Chicago White Sox ’
Heirloom Memories: My Favorite Season
All photos by Randy Stern
What was my favorite season of baseball?
That’s a tough answer. It may take some thinking to get around to an answer…
I could go back to 1975, though I do not recall every moment of it. One instance did put up an argument for the entire year – Carlton Fisk’s home run in Game Six of the World Series. Other than that…that was it.
Perhaps 1979 would be a better answer. The “We Are Family” Pittsburgh Pirates was a team that caught my attention all season long. Add the “Yes We Can” California Angels and it was certainly a year to remember in terms of how baseball could be shaken up from all angles.
There’s probably a few more years to throw out there: 1987 for the first of the division title “Humm-Babe” San Francisco Giants. Maybe 1989 when it was great to live in the Bay Area to have both teams in the World Series – until Loma Prieta decided to change things forever. I could throw in 1991 with both League Champions coming from worst to first – with the Minnesota Twins winning in the end.
Since I’m recalling time era of The Heirloom – 2009 was a natural choice.
It was the year where I stretched my baseball legs more by visiting more ballparks than I usually do in a single season. I returned to Miller Park in Milwaukee after a six-year absence. Then, I made my way to new places, such as U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Yankee Stadium in The Bronx and Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
It wasn’t about where I went, as it was the experiences I had at these places. Though I was put off by some of the insecurity on the South Side, the ballgame was fine. Being in Milwaukee with an exciting ball club was something I never had to experience earlier in the decade when living in the same state. Even the down home feeling of ballplayers from afar making their home in Central Minnesota was an experience I’ve finally got to witness.
Trumping all of these road experiences would be enjoying an amazing day inside the New Cathedral. Having never been there and heard the horror stories of fans getting hassled inside and out of the old building. Once inside, I noticed a paradigm shift in the way the Yankees fused the old with the new. The new being the attention to customer service by the Yankees staff. Not to mention being around fans that would talk to you instead of threatening you. This new Yankee world was indeed strange, but welcoming at the same time.
But that was not the biggest highlight of 2009.
For the Twins’ fan, that year was a special one. On August 20, I told my fellow local fans to count the Twins out. I was wrong. They came back as they have done a few times over the past ten years.
As soon as everyone thought the Metrodome would become football-only by the end of the regular season, fate gave it an extension. I was there for Game 163 – perhaps the greatest game I ever witnessed in person. There was so much going on since the final day of the regular season that it was beyond amazing. The crescendo of Game 163 was more than any sporting ever experienced in person.
To recall the entire five-plus hours of extra innings baseball would be a waste of bandwidth. However, the only way to describe the resonance of this particular game was “life changing.”
There is another highlight from 2009 I want to add to all of this. However, I’ll save that for another posting…
To Honor The Fallen, The Leaders and The Inappropriate
For the first time in a long time, I take this opportunity today to proudly salute those who have served to defend our great nation. I salute those who have lost their lives in the name of freedom and world peace. But, most of all, I salute those who served in silence knowing full well their lives were against the Uniform Code of Military Justice and of civilian laws of the past. Yet, they all fought for a nation and a cause they lived and died for.
There is some business to tend to, however…
OH, OZZIE (AGAIN): On Saturday, the Chicago White Sox endured a 14-inning loss courtesy of the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. At the end, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen blistered a five-minute rant including expletives and frustrated critiques of his team. The next day, Oz tried to spin his rant by stating he was frustrated. We get the fact that Oz is passionate about his team and his job, but as this blog have covered – there are limits in doing so.
Or, should there be?
Of course, Oz finds solace in his Twitter. He tweeted against the press and their reaction to his rant – not in his best English, mind you. Then again, I understand what Oz says. Oz doesn’t care what he says and will back his own frustration. What you get from Oz is the real deal – like him or not.
As a coda to this weekend, I leave you with Oz’s last Tweet: “What a hell I going to say bad thing about white sox fan they are behind me all my carrer a less most of then.”
That is verbatim.
THE TRIBE – ON THE CLOCK: Jerry Remy said it best! Who would’ve thought that the Cleveland Indians would have a better record than the Boston Red Sox on May 30?
The Tribe has the best record in the American League – second best in the Majors. This is perhaps the best team Manny Acta has ever managed. The superlatives go on, but it resembles a familiar formula to Cleveland fans – a youth movement from a deep farm system developing into a nucleus of talent. For starters, you have the vortex of infielders Asdrubal Cabrera, Matt LaPorta, catcher Carlos Santana, outfielder Michael Brantley and pitcher Justin Masterson. Neither of them are setting the world on fire, but do they have to? Unlike previous Indians teams, this one is a true collective. One game, it will be LaPorta being the hero – the next, Asdrubal, and so forth.
Still, you have some veterans in the mix: Fausto Carmona, Grady Sizemore, Shin-Soo Choo, Orlando Cabrera and Travis Hafner. Tribe fans always expect their veterans o come through when the young fellas can’t. Adding journeyman Orlando to the mix will help this young team in the long run.
But, is it too early to heap all the praise of the world to Acta’s Indians? Maybe. But, remember Memorial Day is a barometer of how the pennant races will shape up in the bigs. The Tribe could cruise to the AL Central title, or get caught up on the back end of the pennant race. Ask the Detroit Tigers about the latter…
Speaking of which, the Red Sox are in first place in the AL East. Just sayin’…
THE HOT SAINTS: Coming into Amarillo tonight, the St. Paul Saints are on a five-game win streak. They capped the streak by sweeping the Kansas City T-Bones at CommunityAmerica Park (on the Kansas side) this weekend. The road trip continues in Amarillo for four, then three in Grand Prairie and three more in Shreveport before heading home to Midway Stadium on June 10.
Is There More Than Enough Baseball Where You Live?
There’s enough seats in these ballparks for 71 of us in the Twin Cities…
Photos by Randy Stern
Let me ask y’all a question: How much baseball can you have in one market?
When I was going through the schedules of the Independent Leagues, I noticed that the Chicagoland area hosts two Major League Baseball franchises (the Cubs and White Sox), a farm club (Kane County Cougars), a member of the independent American Association (Gary-South Shore), a member of the North American Baseball League (Lake County in Zion) and two members of the Frontier League (Joliet and Windy City in Crestwood). Until last season, there was a team in Schaumburg and they would have played in the newly merged NABL if they didn’t get their act together.
It just seems that in every nook and cranny of the Chicago region, you have a baseball team vying for your entertainment dollar!
Until last season, this was the case in the Los Angeles Basin – stretching well into the Inland Empire. To break that down, you still had two Major League teams (Dodgers, Angels), four minor league clubs (Rancho Cucamonga, Inland Empire in San Bernardino, Lake Elsinore and Lancaster) and two Golden Baseball League clubs (Long Beach and Orange County in Fullerton). This season, only the two Major League and the four minor league clubs are in operation.
I use these two regions as examples as to my familiarity with them. I also understand the challenges of the independent leagues in competing against the established circuits in these markets. Even in smaller, more concentrated markets (Minneapolis-St. Paul, for example), the independent leagues would be a compliment to the established and dominant franchise in the region. There is an offset where there is a value proposition as an alternative to the dominant market holder where fans can enjoy the game at a lower ticket price even if the accommodations are less comfortable than the dominant venue. The offset in some cases would the entertainment value as minor and independent leagues offer more fun for the dollar with in-between innings diversions – as well diversions in the stands and in the concourses.
This is not to say that a Major League experience is a stuffy one versus a fun-laden minor league one. The argument is not what you get in the value proposition when comparing ticket and concession prices. The question I have is whether certain markets are indeed saturated with baseball options for the fan to choose from.
After some number crunching, I got some answers. If you take the Metropolitan Statistical Area of the Chicago region based on the 2010 Census – this is an area stretching from Gary all the way up to Kenosha and out past the Fox River into LaSalle County – you have well over 9.5 Million people. You also have 117,832 seats at seven ballparks to fill. That would mean that there’s 81 people for every a seat at a given ballpark in the greater Chicago area.
Compared to the Los Angeles Basin, where the population rises to 18.8 Million stretching from Ventura County into the Inland Empire, your seat average comes to 147 people per every seat available in the region. In contrast, the Twin Cities seat average comes to 71 people per each seat between the Twins and the Saints.
Where’s the saturation point? Or, is it OK to have choices in major metropolitan markets? In the case of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, the ratio to seats in terms of population and regional footprint is much denser than in the Chicago and Los Angeles areas. It also creates some interesting scenarios especially when the distance between Target Field and Midway Stadium is about five miles. The distance between Wrigley Field and U.S. Cellular Field is twice the distance.
Going back to the notion that choice is indeed good, as long as there is variety in the baseball offerings, there’s plenty to go around. Maybe the independent leagues were smart enough to look at suburban or secondary markets inside established metropolitan areas as a way to add some baseball entertainment value for consumers.
Funny thing, I’m going to a Saints game later this month…
Liriano Pitches a No-No
Francisco Liriano did what?!?
I did not watch the game – obviously. However, the news was delivered via Facebook as I was working on a piece for Victory & Reseda (the automotive blog), talking a friend on the phone and answering a writing question from a budding scribe. I’m stunned, really.
So…let me get this straight. This Venezuelan lefty – someone who walked in the shadow of Johan Santana and failed – threw the greatest game in his career tonight at U.S. Cellular Field against the White Sox. The numbers are not as dominating as they should be: 123 pitches, 66 for strikes, six walks and only two strikeouts.
How did this happen? It began last year after Liriano began to heal from his 2009 injuries. He gained strength and confidence throughout 2010 to emerge as the ace on a young staff. However, Liriano can be fallible. His line tonight showed that vulnerability where one would say that this was the luckiest no-hitter in anyone’s career.
What was even luckier was the fact that the Twins scored the only run in the game. Edwin Jackson gave up all six hits to the Twins – one of them was Jason Kubel’s homer as then sole run of the game.
If you’re a numbers person, you’d support the “luck” hypothesis on this Liriano no-hitter. Then again, you accept the feat regardless of how he got there and congratulate him.
But, first, I better check Ozzie Guillen’s Twitter…
Photo courtesy of Major League Baseball
That Was April…
Without further ado…here’s what went down last month….
THE SURPRISES: First off, look at the top of the American League Central. Then, look at the bottom. The Cleveland Indians share the best record in April with the Philadelphia Phillies – which comes as a surprise. I argue otherwise as the Tribe had been building a young core to replace its regulars from last decade, yet keeping Fausto Carmona and Shin-Soo Choo at its core. They also added journeyman Orlando Cabrera for that extra spark to this young team. It doesn’t surprise me that a Manny Acta team can be on top of a table this early in the going.
While the Tribe sit on top of the AL Central, the Kansas City Royals are right behind them, followed by the Detroit Tigers. However, at the bottom half sits the Chicago White Sox (along with Ozzie Guillen’s bilingual Twitter feeds) and the Minnesota Twins (with more problems than you see on the surface – even without Nishioka and Mauer in the lineup). Is something strange happening in this division? If so, please let me know…
The Colorado Rockies may not seem like a surprise, but having a commanding record in April is a sign that things may have stabilized in Denver. By building a core that began with the 2007 National League Championship team, a once young team has matured into a feared unit using their high-altitude ballpark as a major advantage. Well, not exactly…the Rox have a better record on the road than at home. In fact, it’s the best road record of any ballclub in the Majors – and, that’s a surprise!
Want a big surprise? The Boston Red Sox. All the hype over the deals they made in the off-season ran them into a string of bad luck in April. Now, they sit at the bottom of the AL East. It’s truly puzzling, but there is optimism at Fenway for a summer comeback. I hope so…
THE BENCHMARKS: Aren’t benchmarks fun? They make this game interesting as it is. And, we’re glad for that!
This past week, Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves tied with Mickey Mantle for second on the all-time RBI list – for switch hitters. Really? I never knew that made that distinction somehow. But, in this game, any benchmark will do? Who does Chipper need to beat to become the greatest of his kind? Not Hank Aaron! In case you’re wondering, Chipper needs 788 more to tie the RBI record owned by The Hammer. Chipper’s next mark will be Eddie Murray, the switch-hit RBI king. He needs bring in 408 more runners to match that mark. Could Chipper do it?
Also, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Andre Ethier attained the longest hitting streak – in the month of April. The mark was set for just 26 straight games. Sure, it matters to have a hit streak of some sort, but the talk shouldn’t be above mature conversation level unless he is closer to the ultimate hit streak of Joe DiMaggio’s. Sure, Ethier could safely hit in 33 more games – piece of cake! But, that’s not even easy. Many have tried and failed to match DiMaggio’s lofty benchmark. Perhaps owning a monthly record would be fine for Ethier.
MORE INDIVIDUAL AWESOMENESS: The Chicago Cubs’ Matt Garza has the most strikeouts in the Majors. You can say what you want about his attitude and the past with the Minnesota Twins organization and a few bouts with the Tampa Bay Rays, but Garza is for real at Wrigley. However, Garza’s 51 K’s is just two better than Jered Weaver’s 49 for the Los Angeles Angels. Not only that, Weaver had a perfect April: 6-0. That’s good news for Mike Scioscia’s ballclub.
The Cubs’ also own a monthly home run king along with their NL Central rival, the Milwaukee Brewers. Both Alfonso Soriano and Ryan Braun slammed 10 dingers last month. Braun also brought 23 runs in April as well. Ryan Howard had the most in the RBI column with 27, sandwiching Braun with Prince Fielder and Ben Zobrist. Zobrist got 10 of his 25 RBIs on Thursday during the day-night doubleheader at Target Field against the Twins. Is that a record somewhere?
Speaking of the Cubs, how about Matt Holliday’s batting average in April? The Cards’ outfielder has a .408 average coming into today – which may not stick if the reality of the season carries on. But, hey, we love .400 batters, do we? And, how about that NL Central?
Putting the PowerPoint Down…
Where the journey will end on Saturday… Photo by Randy Stern
I’m taking a break from preparing for my Capstone presentation on Saturday, since there seems to be a flood of insanity in and around the game of baseball. Geez, how much can a fan take? Let alone a blogger…
But, what’s more interesting: The Barry Bonds mistrials on the three most important counts in his latest trip to court or a discussion on audiences being challenged due to their perceptions and points-of-views on the representation of culture, ethnicity and community identity in the performing arts?
While I let the let the latter rest until tomorrow, let’s go through everything else…
BARRY: The point being that he was found guilty on the lesser of four charges brought against him in his trial. He won’t go to jail. He may get some nods from some of the Hall of Fame voters. Bob Costas said he’d vote for him – but not on the first ballot. Sometimes, I wonder if the truth will come out about Mr. Bonds on whether he juiced himself up to catapult himself with an asterisk on the record books.
OZZIE: Our favorite manager in baseball decided to visit his son Ozney in Miami to watch him play baseball. Actually, that’s not the case. Ozzie Guillen has a bullpen problem he wants to fix – but can’t right now. Not that Kenny Williams won’t pull some deals, but he could. I understand Ozzie’s frustration – but telling the press he’d rather have Bobby Thigpen back in a baseball uniform at age 47 and away from coaching pitchers in Winston-Salem is borderline absurd, if you ask me.
JOE: The Twins placed Joe Mauer on the disabled list today. That hurts…seriously…
JERRY: I’m still surprised that Jerry Remy is following my Twitter…and vice versa! What did I say to have the Red Sox’ television commentator (on NESN, BTW) to want to follow me? Maybe beacuse I’m using the #WeWontRest hashtag too much on my Twitter feed out of frustration with the slow start the Nation is having. Don’t get me wrong – Jerry is awesome! Put a stuffed Wally on an Adriondack Chair at Fenway for all of NESN’s subscribers to see, and you got our attention! Well, better than the so-called “hastag fail” NDP leader Jack Layton threw down on Prime Minister-in-limbo Stephen Harper at the English Language debate of this Canadian election….
BRYAN: The latest I heard is that Bryan Stow is improving at L.A. County-USC Media Center. This is good news. Better news was the fundraiser at Dodger Stadium went well as did Monday’s Giants-Dodger opener at AT&T Park. Sadly. the kumbaya will soon come to a close and the pleasantries will continue acrimoniously. I haven’t heard whether they arrested the two idiots who attacked Stow. There’s a lot of money riding on their capture.
JOSH: Seriously, you can be sober and evangelical…but, c’mon Josh Hamilton! Injuring yourself and blamining your third base coach for said injury is a bit out of line. Dave Anderson saw an opening and thought you had the wheels to beat the throw to Victor Martinez. I guess being sober and evangelical is still hard for you, mate…
KOBE: Yeah, it’s not a baseball story. Yeah, he said what he did out of frustration. Yeah, his apology was shallow. Yeah, David Stern slapped him on his wrist to the tune of $100,000. Still, the bloody prima donna said what he said – no matter what his intended target identifies as – and we saw it on TNT. I hope I don’t see this in this game…
Well…back to looking at way to discuss audience development strategies for Saturday…
Majors and Minors and More Craziness
Plenty of ground to cover…I better get to it…
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE RED SOX? I have no clue, really. I wished I had an answer as to why the Sox are coming home to Fenway with an 0-6 start. They open at home against the New York Yankees, who are 4-2, including taking two from the visiting Minnesota Twins. How long do you think this will go on? Um, well…
…AND THE RAYS? Same thing – a mystery! They’re on the South Side facing Ozzie Guillen’s team and there’s no let up. It’s puzzling when you have two contending AL East clubs winless after the first six games…
DID I FORGET ABOUT THE TUCSON PADRES? I did, I’m afraid. The former Portland Beavers opened their 2011 campaign on the road in Colorado Springs with intentions on making their temporary home a good spot to make a run in the Pacific Coast League’s Pacific South division. They’ll have some tough company with the Fresno Grizzlies and Sacramento River Cats. However, day 1 of the Tucson Padres ended on a high note: An 18-14 victory over the host Sky Sox.
HOW DID BRYCE DO? The Hagerstown Suns’ Bryce Harper – the first pick of last year’s Amateur Draft for the Washington Nationals – went 2-for-4 against the host Rome Braves. He brought in a run, but struck out once. From all reports, he certainly impressed everyone with an array of fielding skills and poise at bat (if you take out the strike out, that is). How soon do you think he’ll make the next level at Woodbridge, VA and the Potomac Nationals? No clue there…
THE INFIRMARY: The White Sox’ Adam Dunn went in for appendectomy. He appears to be recovering nicely as Dunn trotted out for the South Siders’ home opener on Thursday. Then, Tsuyoshi Nishioka of the Minnesota Twins broke his leg on a slide defensive slide by Nick Swisher at Yankee Stadium on Thursday. While Nishi sits on the Disabled List, the Bloke from Perth, Luke Hughes, will fill in for the time being. As sad as I am to see Nishi hurt, I’m happy to see Hughes up for the time being.
BACK TO THE TOP: The Texas Rangers remain the only undefeated ball club in the week of the season. That may not last long as they travel to Baltimore to meet the Orioles. The Orioles sit on top of the AL East with a single loss to their record. This could be an early series to watch. Maybe the Rangers will give Vlad his ring for his work with them from last year.
FRIDAY’S HOME OPENERS: Besides the Twins and Red Sox, there’s a slate of home openers happening on Friday. The Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks and Detroit Tigers open up their doors for the first time in 2011. The Giants will celebrate 2010 with the presentation of the World Series championship rings, awarding Buster Posey’s Rookie of the Year nod and the hoisting of the pennant – all wrapped in gold. That could be tarnished quickly – Sammy Hagar will be singing the National Anthem.
Opening Day 2011: The Heirloom’s Guide to Friday’s Festivities
Cincinnati, The Bronx, Washington, Kansas City, St. Louis and Los Angeles – they kicked off Opening Day in their stylish ways. It also meant victories for the Yankees, Braves, Reds, Angela, Padres and Dodgers.
Friday’s slate of openers is nothing to sneeze at, either. There are eleven of them. I can’t go over each one – maybe the ones that intrigue me the most. (Times are Eastern)
1:05PM – PHILADELPHIA: The Phillies start off Friday’s openers being the first to the bell. The NL Cy Young winner Roy Halladay takes the mound against Brett Myers and the Houston Astros. Seriously, who needs a National Anthem or a ceremonial first pitch? Trot out Doc from the bullpen and it’s game on! That’s more than enough to fire up the crowd at Citizens Bank Park!
2:20PM – WRIGLEYVILLE: The Cubs may have improved over the off-season (including ridding themselves of chronic underachiever Carlos Silva), but there is one thing on everyone’s mind: This will be the first Opening Day without Ron Santo. The Cubs will entertain the Pirates – perennial spoilers of North Side fans – with Ryan Dempster getting the ball against Kevin Correia. Would you believe that Robert Redford – Roy Hobbs, himself – is throwing out the ceremonial first ball at Wrigley? Ron Santo, Jr. will do the seventh inning stretch honors. It should be crazy as usual at Clark and Addison – and Halsted, too!
3:05PM – CLEVELAND: While the North Side celebrates baseball, Ozzie Guillen will take his Twitterverse and the Southsiders to Cleveland with a classic match-up between Mark Buehrle and Fausto Carmona. That’s worth more than the price of admission, really. And, truly, with the pre-game tribute to Bob Feller – it would be appropriate to have a serious marquee match-up on the mound. As with the festivities in Philly, just showing up in time for Fausto’s first pitch is good enough to start the season.
4:05PM – ARLINGTON: The Rangers get their AL Championship rings while the Red Sox focus on taking them away in October/November. On the mound, C.J. Wilson meets Jon Lester to start a repeat campaign back to the Series. That’s a nice match-up already. Better still, Jeff Burroughs and Charlie Hough will throw out the ceremonial first pitches celebrating the 40th season of MLB in the Metroplex. MercyMe will sing the National Anthem.
7:07PM – TORONTO: The Twins begin their 51st season in a foreign land. They will fire up another AL Central run in the midst of a Federal election and Rob Ford’s reign as Mayor of Toronto. I’m sure fans will not only be welcomed by the Jays, but by campaigners for the Liberals, the NDP, the Greens and the Tories. Carl Pavano will start for the Twins against Ricky Romero – sponsored by Honda Canada, BTW! And, sold out, too! If you’re the lucky ticket holder at Rogers Centre, you might walk away with a new Honda! The stars of the Toronto production of Billy Elliott will sing the USA and Canadian National Anthems. What? No ceremonial first pitch? Can’t get Don Cherry to insult the fans for a few minutes? Can’t decide which party leader to put on the mound? Is Rob Ford too large to trot out in front of 50,000-plus at Rogers Centre?
7:10PM – SAINT PETERSBURG: After offing some key players from their postseason runs, the Rays come inside The Trop to meet the Baltimore Orioles and Buck Showalter’s big mouth to start 2011. The festivities begin with Florida Governor Rick Scott throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. After that, David Price will take the mound for the Rays against Jeremy Guthrie. It will be Price’s first Opening Day nod. I think that’s a good reason to show up at The Trop on Friday evening.
The Heirloom 2011 Preview: Randy’s Players to Watch
They could be cheering for one of the players listed below… Photo by Randy Stern
OK, three is the magic number, right? In the last post, three teams were discussed previously. It means I have to discuss which three players to watch?
Three, I say? Just three? Why not do this like last year and list five?
OK, fine…here’s my five players to watch – and hope I get something right out these players (consider some of last year’s picks for a moment: Denard Span, Russ Ohlendorf, Johnny Damon, Pablo Sandoval and Cliff Lee…I know I’m not out of my mind…)…
PRINCE FIELDER, MILWAUKEE BREWERS: Was there any doubt that the son of Cecil would play for the Brew Crew again? Actually, yes. However, Doug Melvin brought Fielder back to the table with Mark Attanasio’s checkbook open to the tune of $15.5 Million. That’s a lot of coin to toss at your marquee player – let alone to keep him for a year. The larger question is whether Fielder will deliver in his one-long contract to get the Brewers to a NL Central flag and/or a return to the Postseason. And, how will he accomplish this? Fielder’s game is power at bat. Spot him 30 homers (and keep him away from every Dunkin’ Donuts in Southeastern Wisconsin) and see what happens.
MATT KEMP, LOS ANGELES DODGERS: Why is he here instead of Andre Ethier? Enter Davey Lopes. For the past few years, the Dodgers’ base stealing specialist of the 1970s and early 1980s helped change the offensive nature of the Philadelphia Phillies. The reason was that Lopes added an aggressive base running element to Charlie Manuel’s aggressive approach to the plate. It worked. Ask Jimmy Rollins and others about it. Now, Lopes is back in Dodger Blue to help Don Mattingly amp up its plate presence with the same base running aggression. Enter Matt Kemp – the quickest legs on the Dodger lineup.
ADRIAN GONZALEZ, BOSTON RED SOX: The former San Diego Padres first baseman will arrive in Fort Myers with all eyes on him. His presence returned Kevin Youkilis back to third base and solidifies the justification for sending Victor Martinez elsewhere. What Gonzo provides to the Sox is a bat that connects everywhere, including over the fence. Has Gonzo scaled the Green Monster? If he does – the Nation goes wild. Two years of good-on-paper deals has Theo Epstein’s reputation on line since neither of his recent transactions panned out for immediate results. I believe his job is safe with this pick-up. Gonzo will be the difference for the Sox in 2011 – even with Carl Crawford in the lineup.
VERNON WELLS, LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM: The ex-Blue Jays star is an intersection of two scenarios. First, his absence in Toronto could leave a serious void in the outfield. Jose Bautista could fill this void, but one wonders whether 2010 was a fluke. If Bautista returns to his old pre-50-plus homer self, then wither the Jays. Then, there’s the situation in Anaheim between two veteran center fielders – the other being Torii Hunter. Mike Scioscia’s solution is to leave Hunter in center – moving Wells to left. Will that work? Possibly. It would also depend on Scioscia’s overall game plan for 2011 – which seems to be more of the same over the years. Perhaps with Wells (coupled with Hunter), it could work after all.
JUSTIN MORNEAU, MINNESOTA TWINS: The past two Postseasons saw the British Columbia native benched due to injury. Every pundit, blogger and fan I know always point to Morneau’s absence as one of the reasons the Twins could not advance out of the ALDS. Even when Morneau was healthy, the Twins still couldn’t get out of the first round. Therefore, the pressure is on for the first basemen to stay healthy throughout 2011 and beyond. No more concussions or anything he dealt with over the past years. We already know that Morneau is a threat at bat for the long ball from April through July. The biggest challenge is to have number 33 play in August, September and October for the first time in a while. Could he do it? Let’s hope so.
Surely, there’s more than five to watch? That’s why I’ll throw in Starlin Castro (Is the sophomore season at Wrigley an indicator of the Cubs’ fortunes?), Luke Hughes (One HR against the Tigers and the bloke from Perth is sent back down – will he stay with the Twins in 2011?), Adam Dunn (Ozzie’s latest experiment), Joe Blanton (…for purely hedonistic reasons), Nyjer Morgan (…with a bottle of sedatives ready), Vladimir Guerrero (now trying to get the O’s into the postseason – his biggest challenge ever!), Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez (Two ex-Red Sox ringbearers reunite in Tampa Bay as a stop-gap measure. Can they do it again?).
Offseason Musings: Being Switzerland
It’s tough being Swiss.
Not that I am of the Alpine persuasion – far from it! Heck, I’m goulash – mainly 25% French and the rest scattered from eastern end of the Alps to the Baltic and down to the Caspian.
What I am on about is the proverbial Switzerland: A concept rooted in neutrality. It is about never taking sides when two volatile camps are rising up around you. It is never upsetting the one because of the other. It is sitting on the sidelines while all heck breaks loose.
Living in a NFC North rival city and watching the followers of both the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears strut their stuff was a bit disheartening at first. I’ve already put away my purple paraphernalia for the year, so to see the swath of green-and-yellow and navy blue-and-orange clad ex-Wisconsinites and ex-Chicagoans troll around the Twin Cities prior to the NFC Championship was a bit much, I’ll admit.
In the other conference final, I have friends who are fans of the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers. Their loyalty was broadcasted on Facebook and Twitter in the days and hours prior to kickoff. I had no pulse regarding this matchup, sadly.
Then, I realize it’s best to be Switzerland for the weekend. It was best not to engage with fans of the four combatants – except for a brief jabbing at a couple of acquaintances who are huge Packers fans. They were at a local bar when I asked why they weren’t in Chicago. One quipped that he didn’t have the $600 the scalpers were asking for seats at Soldier Field that night. Again, I went back to what everyone else was doing.
Yet, it was hard seeing the reaction to the result of the Bears-Packers game. A car salesman was fired for wearing a Packers tie to work. Then, the tidalwave of vitriol against Jay Cutler throughout Chicagoland got so bad that even Ozzie Guillen responded to on his twitter account.
Yes, the Manager of the Chicago White Sox tweeted his version of a Chris Crocker video essentially telling his fans to leave Jay Cutler alone.
The problem with being Switzerland is watching my friends take sides in what I’d call a gang fight – as evidenced in the two Conference Championships last weekend.
Yet, I cannot claim Switzerland in a few of baseball’s biggest rivalries. My longtime support of the Boston Red Sox pits me against any friend who supports the New York Yankees. And, as I wrote earlier this month, I swapped sides between my hometown Los Angeles Dodgers and the current World Series Champion San Francisco Giants – now siding with my birth ballclub. Then, there’s the Minnesota Twins-Chicago White Sox/Detroit Tigers AL Central mess. I’ll admit, I love following Ozzie’s Twitter/MLBlog and I have dated some Tigers fans in my time. However, I live here in Twins Territory – and they have been my home team since 2004.
You see, even the Swiss takes sides sometimes.
SIDE NOTES: If you’re wondering how my progress has been on my final semester in grad school, I’m working on the body section of my final paper while balancing out my work in another class. The former is due February 3 – so help me God!
Secondly, I am working the Chicago Auto Show during their Press Days February 8-10. This is for my other blog (RandyStern.net/MotorGeek) and might do something on here to parse out the experience somehow. So, if you’re in Chicago and want to hang out and talk baseball – let me know!
Randy Stern
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