Stink of the Sox: How Getting Clubbed by Cubs Shouldn't Be A Surprise (and Why I Expect Further Stink)

Entering the 2013 season, I had lower fan expectations than most when it came to the Chicago White Sox, who I believed overachieved greatly last season in holding first place in the AL Central for most of the second half of the season before being edged out by the eventual pennant winners Detroit Tigers.

My prediction of 76-86 was based on my questions with guys who had tough shoes to fill (Flowers replacing Pierzynski), who strike out too much for how little they get on base (Viciedo, Alexi), guys who would have a difficult time duplicating previous seasons (Sale, Peavy), and guys who would likely tail off at some point (Konerko).

I have been wrong so far about my pre-season assessment of Sale and Peavy, but otherwise most of my suspicions for a tail-off this season have been proved true, especially in their latest series versus their National League counterparts about 10 miles north.

The White Sox hitters have been beyond putrid this season. Check out some of these team stats entering Thursday's game (their third loss to the Cubs), accompanied by their AL rank (out of 15 teams). And remember that the Astros (one of the worst teams in the majors) are now in this league:

• .240 batting average (13th)
• .293 on-base percentage (15th)
• .379 slugging (13th)
• .672 OBP (15th)
• 126 extra base hits (15th)
• 121 walks (15th)

Trying to find a good stat from White Sox hitters is like trying to find Where's Waldo as a kid when the pages weren't pre-circled. If it wasn't for the stellar pitching of Sale & Peavy, this team would be much much worse than their 24-27 record indicates. It's actually quite surprising that they've even gotten this many wins.

On the other side of town...the Cubs have actually showed some promise, more than most people were expecting.

Here are the Cubs stats in the same categories entering play on Thursday:

• .248 batting average (8th - a higher average even though pitchers have to hit in NL)
• .302 on-base percentage (12th - one of the things really holding this offense back from being even better)
• .411 slugging (3rd)
• .713 OBP (8th)
• 172 extra base hits (1st in NL, 4th in the majors). 
• 118 walks (15th)

Most of these stats are not too shabby, especially for a team that sports a 22-30 record. Strange thing about their record is their runs for vs. runs allowed (Cubs have plated 214 runs to their opponents 208, including Thursday). These are stats that I like to use to see what teams might have deceiving records at a certain point in the year (I like to start taking stats/trends seriously around the 35-40 game mark). This contrasts the Sox luck of scoring only 183 runs while allowing 212.

Yes, at the end of the year, the record is what tells the story, especially of who is playing in the postseason and who is joining Terrell Owens and just eating popcorn in October. And by the time this season ends, I believe it will be the Cubs who will have bragging rights (at least with win totals) over their South Side brethren. 

With one game left in their season series with the South Siders on a yet-to-be-determined date, the Cubs clinched the Crosstown Cup with their win Thursday. Whenever their next game might be, I believe we will be looking at a North Side team that will have overtaken the White Sox in wins.

An Open Letter to Cubs/White Sox Baseball Fans

Dear Baseball Fan,

I figure this is about as good of a time as any to write this, with our baseball squads nearing the start of their seasons in the Windy City. Over the years, I have developed a strong dislike to the ignorant comments from both White Sox and Cubs fans that has resulted in arguments that bring mankind back to the Stone Age. It has come time for me to express my distaste of everything that is stupid with our "rivalry".

Unhappy with me putting the word "rivalry" in quotes? I don't look at the two teams as true rivals--the Sox and Cubs are rivals 6 times a year in my eyes. Otherwise, as a White Sox fan, I couldn't care less what the Cubs do. In fact, in their other interleague games, I am rooting for the Cubs. This applies more now with the extra Wild Card in play - the more losses our divisional opponents and other AL squads lose, the better for the Sox. Most prognosticators have the Sox nowhere near the playoffs, so rooting for the Cubs in those situations may seem pointless, but I'll take my chances with the North Siders whooping up on our AL brethren.

There's a few bullet points that strike me at the heart of my annoyance with Cubs & Sox fans - on both sides - that I will address below.

• World Series - This is always the topic that gets brought up in Windy City baseball arguments stemming from the past seven offseasons. Yes - the White Sox took home the city's first baseball title in almost 90 years as they rode through October 2005 with relative ease. But to keep bringing it up in arguments with Cubs fans makes it sound like we won several titles in a 4-5 year period when we have only won a single playoff game since then. The titleless drought since then leaves Chicago with one title in the past 95 years. Almost 200 seasons worth of baseball (combining the two teams) and only one title to show for it. When it comes to the title argument, I say to Sox fans: Let It Go.
  
  The devil on the shoulders says, "Well, we did win a World Series in our lifetimes, so you can't hold it against us for being proud of that." True - that is something we have that Cubs fans cannot say at this point. For the North Side fans who say that our title was seven years ago - you are correct, and I applaud you for your math skills. But it did happen.
  
  I saw a Facebook post from one Cubs fan to another that seemed awfully touchy to an ad made by Comcast SportsNet that mocked a video game commercial about a Cubs fan who was happy he led his team to a World Series title. For those who haven't seen the parody video, you can check it out here. Sox fan or not, I find it to be an efficient parody of the commercial, which itself was well-designed. I don't understand why you can't enjoy both ads without being sensitive about either end of it (no matter your fandom).
  
  We need to find a way to balance all of this - where White Sox fans can be proud of their title from the recent past without (a) being annoying about it, (b) tossing it into an argument to prove that the White Sox are somehow better and (c) Cubs fans being pissy about the mere mention of it when it comes up.
• Gay vs. White Trash Bashing - If you go to a Cubs/Sox game, you're bound to see your share of a-hole wearing "Wrigley Field: The World's Biggest Gay Bar" or "Ozzie Mows My Lawn". Odds are high that the people wearing these shirts are the ones who eventually get kicked out of the park for excessive drunkeness that leads to fights where Cubs fans' sexuality & White Sox White Trash status become the main arguing points.
  
  Yes - I'm sure there's plenty of White Trash fans in the South Side fan base, just as I'm sure there's gays and lesbians who consider themselves Cubs fans. Perhaps I am over-analyzing this and giving the general public not enough credit, but why do we need to resort to attacking fan base's perceived social standing or sexuality preference, as if they have anything to do with baseball? If we're going to argue Cubs versus Sox, let's argue stats and head-to-head matchups instead.
• Parks: Half Empty/Half Falling Apart - I love when I hear Cubs fans comment on the attendance of both teams, as if that really plays a role in making your team better. I admit that it can be disappointing to see the stadium half empty in the thick of summer, especially when the team is still in a pennant race. However, for fans like myself, what a half-empty stadium really means is a much better chance to attend games in person for face-value or close to it. I don't think the Cubs drew as many fans last year as they have in past years, but in the past 20 years, a bad Cubs season will easily outdraw a bad (sometimes even a good or really good) Sox season. Good for them, but that's not a point to argue to make your team sound better.
  
  On the other hand, even though the stadium is in dire need of a remodeling, Wrigley Field stands as the beacon of Chicago Baseball parks. The White Sox blew a great chance when designing the new stadium, which opened in 1991. It was the last of stadiums built that was by most standards, a fairly average-looking stadium. Every stadium since the designing of our park, starting with Camden Yards in Baltimore, has been an outstanding park worthy of sellouts and bringing your family to (at least the ones I've visited). We have nothing to brag about with US Cellular Field - anyone who has visited at least one of the new stadiums (new being newer than the Cell) knows what I am talking about. Wrigley has the better atmosphere outside the stadium and the better stadium when it comes to historical significance.

There's some arguing points that I'm probably missing, but these are the main ones that annoy me when pointless arguments spring up among Chicago baseball fans. What I can't stress enough is that I, Brian Peter Vincent Bolek, have no hate towards Cubs, Cubs fans or anything relating to the Cubs."

I do not have any envy relating to them either. I don't care that they sell out their games, that people like to go to their games more than the Cell. In my eyes, they have nothing I really envy - with the exception of Theo Epstein, who I believe will turn the team around, starting with the building of their minor league system. I do think the Cubs will win a World Series in our lifetimes, and the parade for it will probably dwarf the crowd that the White Sox championship brought to the streets.

I wish the Cubs well in 2012 and beyond and want to express this so that maybe, just maybe, some of these pointless, inane arguments about an opponent who really only affects your team's season 6 times out of 162 can die down somewhat.

If we are going to have arguments, let's make them fact-based and not attacking stupid things like one's sexuality, social class or stadium. Also, White Sox fans - no Cubs Suck chants when walking down the ramp WHEN WE AREN'T PLAYING THE CUBS!

I won't be holding my breath for peaceful relations between White Sox and Cubs fans, but all I can do is hope. And share these words. I hope you got this far and see what I'm getting at.

Enjoy the 2012 season everyone.

Sincerely,

A White Sox Fan

B-Bo's Bucket List: The Sports Version

Watching the Saints get the cover in the last 4-5 minutes of the game left me with a taste of football in my mouth. Immediately after the game ended, Jen and I had just left her apartment Saturday night to head to the Loop for a birthday get-together.

It was as I walked out of the apartment that I decided that watching football on TV this month wasn't enough. I had to go to a playoff game!

New Orleans' victory ensured them of a Saturday afternoon matchup at Candlestick Park against San Francisco - my favorite squad. A month earlier, me and Jen discussed going to a game together but didn't know what weekend it would be since they hadn't clinched a week off at that point. Jen's job of working at a salon forces her to have set appointments a month ahead of time, so this plan of us going was put on the scrap heap.

Between realizing that we couldn't go together and that moment Saturday night, I hadn't thought much about going to San Fran. I figured that if me and Jen weren't going, I wouldn't go, especially since none of my friends that I hang out with consistently are Niners fans.

With a simple Facebook status posted, I found out that lacking a Niner fan background did not matter to some of my friends. My friend (we'll call him Kudes) instantly texted me and was on board with the idea. Tickets for the game and flights were bought and a nice hotel was reserved for a three-night stay. Another friend (we'll call him Tom) showed interest but after the purchases were made.


(Check out our seats - Section 28 (Upper Reserved), Row 1)

Another friend (ok, Wolf is his name and we'll call him that) said that he would have loved to go as well, whether it was his team or not. All of this interest got me thinking...what would I put on my sports bucket list of sports events or experiences that I would like to see at some point in my life?

In the spirit of the new year, I'll name '12 different sports events/experiences (in no particular order) that I'd love to do (some I've done, some I haven't)

1. Baseball Road Trip (Achieved) - Fitting enough, this man we call "Kudes" was part of this original trip of sporting awesomeness in my life. Along with the Luzzman, we visited 12 different baseball stadiums in a 12-day span. This includes five stadiums that have since closed and a city that lost its baseball team (au revoir Expos). This once-in-a-lifetime trip is remembered more for the travels to and from places rather than the games themselves (life motto: process of traveling to destination oftentimes > destination itself).
2. Watch the Final Game of a Sport (Achieved) - Luzzman won the right to buy tickets to the 2010 Final Four in Indianapolis (Sounds silly I know). The hometown Butler Bulldogs came within a halfcourt heave away from winning the title against Duke. It was amazing seeing a close game to close the season of a sport. I did miss Easter with the family but we did enjoy a nice Easter dinner with my friend Phil and his wife who live in Indy.
3. Attending NFL Playoff Game (Will Be Achieved) - As noted, this will be achieved Saturday. Our seats are in the first row of the upper deck. We will be playing the role of tourists on Friday. The only thing in question now is the flight leaving on time. Normally I don't care about snow, especially working from home. However, any delay will annoy me slightly. Nevertheless, a little snow won't ruin my mindset as I get ready to watch one of the NFL's best defenses play against one of the NFL's best offenses.
4. Attend MLB Playoff Game (Achieved) - After seeing a dud of a game in the 2000 playoff season, which was the start of the White Sox getting swept by the Mariners, I had higher expectations going to the 2005 ALCS opener against the Angels, who were on little sleep after long flights from NY to Cali and back to Chicago and were starting John Lackey on short rest. Needless to say, the Sox lost. Luckily, I can tell the story of going to the White Sox's only postseason loss that year for the rest of my life.
5. Yankees/Red Sox
6. Duke/North Carolina (NCAAB)
7. Packers/Bears (not achieved) - I lumped all of these things together. All of these games are at or near the top of their respective sports' best rivalries and I have yet to see any of them. Obviously the latter is the most likely based on geography. I think I can get out to a game of the other two at some point. For all of these games, it doesn't even matter what venue I see them at - seeing as though I'm not a fan of any of these teams. I'd probably lean going to NY to see the new stadium but Duke/NC can be seen anywhere...someday....someday.
8. Big Ten football stadium outside of Illinois (likely Mich vs. OSU) (not achieved) - I'd like to see a good college football rivalry game, so odds are the Mich vs. OSU game would be the best one to go to geographically. If Wisconsin and Mighigan State continue to stay strong, I wouldn't mind to go to either of their stadiums to see a good matchup
9. SEC football (LSU, Bama or Florida) (not achieved) - The nation's best college football has been in the southeast for the first part of the 21st century, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I'm not sure if I'm ready to handle the craziness of this type of atmosphere, but I figure to blend in after about a beverage or ten and I can grow a wicked mullet.
10. The first weekend of March Madness...
11. and the Super Bowl....in Vegas (not achieved) - Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been to Vegas a half-dozen times. In fact, the first time I went was about four years ago around this time, in which I lost my first 4-5 bets placed (including some NFL playoff bets). However, there's something about the merging of certain times of year and Vegas that seem like a perfect marriage (see: peanut butter & jelly; rice a roni & applesauce; David Lee Roth and Van Halen). With March Madness, there are 32 games in the first 2 full days of the tournament and would go from 9am till about 10-11pm Pacific time in the four days.
    
    On the other Spectrum, the Super Bowl is one game, but it is THE GAME. It is by far the most bet-on game of the year (legally and illegally) and lately has featured some amazing matchups. Any sports fan who likes the reaction of fans as a game swings one way or another needs to go to a sports book when a point spread is on the line. It's a great site to see the agony of defeat on dozens of peoples faces at once (one of those faces is usually mine) contrasting the joy seen in the gentlemen who won thousands on games. I must go to Vegas for these events at some point. At the same time, I must be prepared to lose a ton of money
12. The Super Bowl (not achieved) - I put this near the bottom since I consider it the least likely of events to attend. This is all due to cost. I'd pretty much have to win tickets to the Super Bowl or get an awesome 30th birthday gift to go to the 2013 game (cough, hint). Actually, I wouldn't expect anyone to fork over money for that. This year's Super Bowl's cheapest seats on Stub Hub are going for $2200 apiece. These Super Bowl tickets are not going to get any cheaper.
    
    On the other hand, going to the Super Bowl site and just hanging out is always an option. I may consider going to the Indy area if the Niners somehow make it there. I know a couple of friends of mine that made the trip to Miami 5 years back just to watch the Bears against the Colts at a local bar and had a good time. I'd likely do this with the lady if she agreed to go - don't think I'd do this solo.

There's probably some games/events that I am missing. Feel free to share your ideas and maybe I'll add them to my own list.

I have many years to achieve these items on the Bucket List. Let's hope I can get this list whittled down sooner rather than later.

Another Heated Rivalry?

(Fan blog 3 of 6 - idea provided by Brad Zoeteman)



Pistons/Bulls: The Start of Rivalries in Chicago Basketball

Back in the late 1980s, the Detroit Pistons were the thorn in the side of the Chicago Bulls. The Bad Boys from Motown knocked the Bulls out of the playoffs 3 straight times (1988-1990). In all three of those seasons, the Pistons made it to the Finals, winning back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990. It was the type of rivalry that sparked interest in Chicago basketball to a new generation of fans all across the country. It had the perfect set-up of good guys vs. the Bad Boys, and right at the dawn of the merging of Jordan and Nike. It was a fan's dream and a marketing firm's wet dream rolled into one.

As everyone knows, the Bulls took "the next step" in 1991, overcoming the Pistons in impressive fashion- a 4 game sweep en route to their first franchise championship. Many people took note of the classless way the Pistons left the court without shaking hands with the Bulls - I say it doesn't really matter much and if anything, should be expected from the Bad Boys.



bullsheat

Fast forward 20 years later. The Bulls are in their first conference finals since the Jordan era ended (1997-98). By all accounts, this season came as a surprise to Bulls nation, who were expecting an improvement with the added free agents and another offseason of improvement for Rose, but nothing like this. Vegas thought the same, pegging the Bulls over/under for wins at 47, which was eclipsed with ease.

Their conference final opponent had much different expectations entering the season. Following "El Decision", the Heat were considered co-favorites (along with the Lakers) to win the title. ESPN couldn't get enough footage of these guys, and the cockiness of the newly-formed trio of Wade, James and Bosh leaked into the community. A bar owner promised to pay $25 credit to each customer who watched the whole Heat game every time the Heat lost a game- here's the damage that their season did to him, as of March 8th: (Heat bar owner).

Miami has righted the ship and are actually 2/1 favorites against Chicago despite the Bulls owning the home court advantage. This has to do with the Bulls looking human against fairly average teams in Indiana and Atlanta as much as it does with the Heat looking like the team many expected them to be in the first two rounds. Chicago enters as the underdog despite beating the Heat all three times in the regular season (by a total of 8 points).

And I agree - the Heat should be favorites in spite of those two factors (home court and regular season success). As the playoffs have shown- save game 6 with Boozer playing for his $15M in one game, where Derrick Rose goes, so go the Bulls. If the size/length of whoever they have covering Rose (Wade, James, etc.) affects Rose, more game 6-like performances from Boozer and others are going to need to appear in order for the Bulls to even have a chance in the series. Also, if Udonis Haslem is able to shake the rust of recovering from his injury that kept him out for the whole season up until the middle of last series, the Heat will get an inside presence that will make the lane that much more difficult for Rose to drive through.



Bulls/Heat: Can it deliver like Bulls/Pistons?

Now, the point of the blog, as addressed by Brad: Will the Bulls/Heat rivalry mirror that of the Bulls/Pistons? I believe the short answer, in terms of the intensity of it and the long-term success of both teams, is NO.

I believe the Heat are in much better position to win multiple titles over the next 7-8 years compared to the Bulls. Everyone critiques the Heat for lacking a bench, but when these guys are playing 43-44 minutes in the playoffs and playing better than all of their peers, who the hell needs a bench? Sure, there may be a game where foul trouble plagues James and/or Wade and their opponents capitalize. In the long run though, I'd rather have the Heat's core of players than the Bulls, who outside of Rose don't have anyone who you can say will be a consistent All-Star player for the next 6-8 years.

That's not to say that the Bulls won't get those pieces in the future. However, if the NBA institutes a hard salary cap, these big salaries to Noah, Boozer and Rose (only the latter deserves to be paid like an all-star) will make it difficult to get the elusive second scoring option for Rose to dish it off to. You can forget about the Bulls getting Howard if that happens (even if the hard cap doesn't happen, I see Howard going to Boston or LA before he goes to Chicago).

For the Bulls/Heat to even come close to Bulls/Pistons, some of these players need to make themselves true enemies to the opposing fans (taunting, technical fouls, etc.) as opposed to offseason shenanigans (like The Decison and what followed from that) and it should be a defensive-dominated series, where points are a struggle and you can see the players' frustrations with trying to break each team's defense (two of the top defenses in the league this year). But most importantly, they need to face each other at least a handful of times in the next 2-3 years and need to have competitive series. It can't be a rivalry if one team sweeps the other year in, year out (cough, Michigan/Illinois football).

To properly judge this, we will need to see how each of the teams do in the next 3-4 years. Unfortunately for the Bulls, I see their shelf life short-lived if they can't add players better than Boozer and Noah to compliment Rose.