It has been brought up to me a few times since I've started the Pain blog that a certain professional baseball team in Chicago has been left out of my posts. This professional baseball team wears black and white, resides from Guaranteed Rate Field in the south side of Chicago, has a young lineup with a ton of power and swagger, stakes claim to the reigning American League MVP (and the 2005 World Series Championship!), and has the YERMINATOR...this team is none other than the Chicago White Sox. (How's that for an introduction, Sox fans?)
Now, there is a decent reason I don't cover the White Sox. It's because I'm a Cubs fan. No, that doesn't mean I absolutely hate the White Sox or have anything personal against them, it's just that I don't follow them as heavily as I do with the teams that I'm a fan of. Personally, I believe that if you grow up a Chicago baseball fan, you're forced to make a choice, pretty much at birth. Cubs or Sox. There's no "Oh I like both" or "I'm just a Chicago fan who hopes both teams do good!" It just doesn't work that way. I grew up a Cubs fan, so that's who I stay loyal to. (You can read about my Cubs origin story in one of my previous blog posts if you really want to know why.) That being said, this is technically a Chicago sports blog, not a Jack's favorite teams blog. So it's about time I show the Sox some love. That's why this week, I'll be dedicating this entire post to the Southsiders. My coverage may not be spot on, but I'll do my best.
The White Sox got off to a bit of a slow start this season, but they've managed to pick up the pace and snag some impressive series wins since. They're currently 12-10, which is good for second place in the AL Central. They're only two games out of first place behind the 14-8 Kansas City Royals, who's hot start wasn't seen coming by anyone, I don't think. At the start of the season, I assumed the AL Central would be a two team race between the White Sox and the Minnesota Twins, with Cleveland close behind them. However, that hasn't been the case so far. The Twins are off to a terrible 8-15 start, much to the pleasure of Sox fans. Cleveland is right there behind the Sox, sitting only 1.5 games back of them. The Sox are 3-2 against Cleveland so far this season, and have another big 3 game series with them this weekend. If the Sox want to gain a steady division lead, Cleveland is one of the teams they're going to have to consistently beat. After the Cleveland series this weekend and then a quick 2-game stint with the Reds, the Sox will have 13 games in a row that are against either the Royals or Twins. That two week stretch right there will be a huge look at who may be early frontrunner for kings of the AL Central. For the White Sox and their fans, I hope that it's them.
While the White Sox are sitting decently in the first month of the season, this blog is called the Pain blog for a reason. So, let's take a look at what's causing Sox fans pain this season. I know a big one that I've seen on Twitter is Tony La Russa. TLR, as Sox Twitter is often seen referring to him as, became the new manager of the White Sox this previous offseason. I think that the move came as a surprise for many baseball fans, myself included. TLR had been retired for a hot minute, last managing for the St. Louis Cardinals (gross) in 2011. He was even inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014. He's also 76 years old, so his return to managing came as a shock to me, especially considering the White Sox new team culture. Last season, the White Sox had their breakout year and made the playoffs, finishing with one of the best records in the AL. They had developed a culture as one of the fun, young teams in the league, who liked to go there, play great baseball, and look good doing it too. They weren't afraid to bend the "unwritten rules" of baseball. This team wanted to show out and show off. (Google "Tim Anderson bat flips compilation" to see what I'm talking about.) So it was quite the confusing move, to me, to hire a 76 year old, retired, old school guy as the new manager of a team like the White Sox. I don't know specifically what kind of blunders he's made this season, but I've seen my White Sox fan friends get frustrated with him on Twitter a LOT. I often see remarks such as "TLR must be drunk" which is also a reference to his multiple DUIs. Yikers. To all my Sox fans out there, I hope La Russa doesn't cost the team any important games this year and that you find great success with your dinosaur manager.
One of the bright spots for the White Sox this season has been rookie sensation, Yermin Mercedes a.k.a. the YERMINATOR. This guy has been incredible so far and is my personal favorite player on the White Sox. He has a league leading batting average of .432, which is insane, and he's consistently provided big hit after big hit for the Sox this season. Also, the dude is already becoming a Chicago folk hero. He's got a burger named after him at a local restaurant, and legend has it that he ate not one, but TWO Yerminator burgers before a game. Incredible. Mercedes fits in great with this Sox team that is already full of characters and charisma. In clips I've seen of him, he just looks like a kid out there who's having the time of his life playing baseball. You love to see it.
Video of the Yerminator trying the Yerminator Burger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ7hVPFIARQ
While the Yerminator has been a bright spot for the team, the Sox also have many other players who are starting to find their stride this season. Tim Anderson, who was injured for a while, is back and up to his usual batting champion tricks, with a solid .333 BA and 18 hits in 13 games played. Yoan Moncada is batting .400 in his last 7 games, so maybe he's finally finding his stride as well after having a bit of a down year last season. There's also Nick Madrigal, a.k.a. "Nicky 2-Strikes" who's been providing the Sox with some nice contact hits in key situations. Overall, I think the Sox have a great lineup and pitching (which I wasn't able to cover this time around, maybe next time) that they can make a run with. I think it all comes down to managing, since that's what I see the most complaints about. If the players stay solid, and TLR uses them correctly, this team can definitely win the AL Central, in my opinion.
That's it for this week's blog. I hope that my White Sox coverage was at least semi-accurate, and that I did the team justice. If the Cubs can find a way to pick it up, maybe we can finally see an all-Chicago World Series in the near future! (That's wishful thinking on my end here, let's be real.) To end this post, I'll leave you guys with an absolute banger of a song... a Chicago CLASSIC... maybe one of the greatest songs ever composed, "Let's Go Go Go White Sox" by Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers. Enjoy, White Sox fans.
Link to the White Sox EPIC victory song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CPz7pkYcgg
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