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Well, the season is over. And even though the Good Guys were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, it was farther than anyone expected, so I consider the season a great success. While there were a few low points (injuries, extended slumps, etc.), the good definitely out weighted the bad. We even have reasonable belief that 2009 should be another fruitful season.

This season I attended nine home games (a total of 91 innings) at The Cell and watched countless others on the Tube and the radio. Below are a few observations about the 2008 season:

1. My favorite attended games in order:

1) April 28, Sox vs. Orioles – Despite a long rain delay and freezing weather, this ranks at the top because it was a birthday gift from my wife. That, and because it was an exciting game that went 13 innings before being suspended due to rain. In the 11th, the Orioles scored a run, making me believe that the game was lost. And then, Juan Uribe came into the game hitting a solo home run to tie it up. Unfortunately, the Sox wound up losing the game when the game was resumed 4 months later in Baltimore.

2) May 4, Sox vs. Royals – Because the Orioles game couldn’t be completed in Chicago, we were able to exchange our tickets for free upper deck seats during the upcoming series against the Kansas City Royals. Since Apryl was busy with school, I used the tickets for two different games against the Royals. The one that ranks the highest is the game on the 4th which lasted 15 innings until Paul Konerko hit a two-run home run to win the game. I had an early day at work the next morning, so I had debated sticking around for this one. Even though I was tired the next day, I can’t even recall the shoot I worked on. But I sure remember that Konerko blast!

3) October 5, Sox vs. Rays – The playoff win! And my first sold out game at the Cell. Of course, the only reason I was able to attend was because I was working for TBS. Thankfully, I was able to watch the first six innings before getting back to work. When the Sox won, we were the first on the field. It was quite a feeling being surrounded by 40,000+ screaming fans.

2. My favorite games that I didn’t attend:

The best games had to be those towards the end of the season, including our must wins against the Detroit Tigers where Alexei Ramirez hit a grand slam and the 1 -0 tie breaking win against the Minnesota Twins to take the Central Divison. My favorite game heard on the radio was the Sox win over the Yankees when Joe Crede won the game with a single in the 9th inning.

3. The Players:

This was a fun bunch. The boys were often seen joking around with one another in the dugout. From the 40 man roster, my favorites are still Joe Crede and Brian Anderson. But, let’s not forget Carlos Quentin, Jim Thome, Alexei Ramirez, Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko, and A.J. Pierzynski. Ah, heck, all of them are great!

4. Ozzie Guillen

There is no one quite like the Sox tell-it-like-it-is manager Ozzie Guillen. He might not always make the right coaching decision (really, Bobby Jenks again), but he never fails to entertain. Here are some of my favorite Ozzie quotes from the 2008 season:

– “I guess I’m lucky. Every time I get a little upset, the team reacts. But I don’t want to get a heart attack just to win a game.”

– “Anybody who pitched in this big-league game should be embarrassed. This isn’t big-league baseball. We have people who paid a lot of money to watch this circus. People making a lot of money out there to have a game like that. Both sides, not just my side. It’s embarrassing.”

– “Who am I going to blame if my team is not hitting? My wife?”

– “He just had a cramp. I thought he pulled a muscle, but he doesn’t have any muscle. Maybe it was a cramp in his bone.” (on the very skinny Alexei Ramirez)

– “Our guys are taking batting practice with the rats. The rats are bigger than pigs. The rats are llifting weights.” (on conditions at Wrigley Field)

– “Lou Piniella does two things better than me. Managing and eating. It took them three weeks to find a body double for Piniella. For mine, you just go to a model agency.”

– “I could care less about the Cubs.”

4. U.S. Cellular Field

Okay, while I detest naming rights which allow for stadiums to be named after companies, the Cell is a nice ball park. It’s aesthetically pleasing, clean (including the bathrooms) with great views and tasty food. And it’ a mere block away from the train stop.

However, the best part about The Cell is Nancy Faust, the Sox organist for the past 38 years! Nancy’s renditions of popular songs throughout the game help keep a classic baseball tradition alive on the South Side. She apparently started the phenomenon of playing Steam’s “Na Na Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)” during sporting events. My favorite songs from Nancy are her renditions of “Just Because” and “Kodachrome”. Unfortunately, these days Nancy limits her time at the ballpark for only the day games.

5. Stats

Since baseball is a statistical game, I thought I would share a few stats that I’ve collected from the games I’ve attended in 2008. Here we go:

Totals:
Innings – 91 (made possible by extra innings)
Doubles – 12 (most provided by Jermaine Dye)
Home Runs – 9 (fittingly, most of them by Jim Thome)
Double Plays – 10
Strike Outs – 71 (of the 15 pitchers I saw the most strike outs from Javier Vazquez)
Errors – 8 (fair enough, I guess)

Sox record when I attended:
Won – 4
Lost – 4
Tied – 1
(I’m counting the April 28th game against the Orioles a tie.)

My record when I attended wearing my Sox T-shirt:
Won 4

My record when I attended without wearing my Sox T-shirt:
Won 0

So there you go. Perhaps the final word on the Sox until next year. Thanks for the great season, Good Guys!

For all my photos from the Sox 2008 season, click here.

And for the funnest breakdown of the the season, check out the Sox comic “An Illustrated History of the Sagacious Don Guillote”.

However, at Miller Park in Milwaukee, which is where I was working, hope was kept alive for the Brewers as they defeated the Phillies 4 – 1. It was a great game for a Brewers fan. Made even sweeter, I’m sure, when the Cubs got swept later in the evening. You see, there is a lot of bad blood between the Brewers and Cubs fans. When the Cubs’ take on the Brewers in Milwaukee, the Cubs fans take over the park, renaming it from Miller Park to Wrigley North.

Miller Park is a bit odd. I have been to one other game here when I was working on the Costas Now program. At that game, the retractable roof was open, allowing in the summer heat. Last night, the roof was closed because of the lower temperatures, which makes it more comfortable but a little more sterile. The stadium is very open with plenty of things to do other than watch the game. For example:

You can play baseball video games instead of watching your home team in a do or die playoff game. Huh? Another confusing distraction is tables set up near 19inch television sets where ticketholders can give up their stadium seat to watch the game the same way they could at home. Strange.

Still, there were also genius distractions, like this one:

However, I am not going to bash the fans. They were great. Passionate and very, very loud. See below:

For several innings, this was my vantage point:

And a blurry photo of me working:

Finally, another short video of batting practice:

…because they sure looked like it last night. Oh well, I got some photos from Game 2.

Above, for much of the beating, this was my view from the standing only section. While very passionate fans at the start of the game, the folks quickly quieted, swearing under their breathe. At one point, a highly vocal Dodger fan near me came very close to getting knocked out by a large and liquored up Cubs fan. The Cubs fan told his friends that if he took a shot at the Dodger fan, he would probably just get kicked out of the stadium. His friends disagreed, and said he would more likely spend the night in jail. Either way, the Dodger fan’s cheers were far less enthusiastic.

If you’ve got to use the restroom, you better get in line!

At the end of the game, I was able to get back in those seats in the 10th row! The struggling Fukudome is booed. Ouch.

Another photo-op.

And finally, here is another very short video of batting practice before the game:

WE DID IT!

The Sox have clinched first place in the Central Division! Next up, the playoffs! After a bizarre ending of the season with the Sox and the Twins fighting for first place, the finality of the season came down to a one game tie breaker. Fortunately, we were lucky enough to come out with a 1-0 win. The hero of the game was veteran Jim Thome who homered in the 7th. I say “lucky” because it was a well pitched contest on both sides. Along with Thome, a big thank you goes out to Sox catcher A.J. Pierzunski who tagged out Michael Cuddyer at the plate with an amazing throw from another veteran, Ken Griffey Jr. Bobby Jenks, the closing pitcher who has given Sox fans one too many nail biting finishes this season, gets the job done and protects a well deserved win for starting pitcher John Danks. Even my favorite playing Sox, Brian Anderson (who gets little actual playing time) made the final out with a diving catch in the outfield. And just like that, the Sox clinch!

At the beginning of the season, the White Sox were predicted to finish in fourth place in the division (with most thinking the last place Detroit Tigers would take first place). Instead, the Sox stayed in first place throughout much of the season. And then, out of nowhere, the Twins (or the Twinkies, as they’re known around here) crept up in the standings and threatened to take first place. With seven games left in the season, the Sox only had to win five games to clinch the division. The problem was that the Sox had to play the Twins at the Metrodome in Minnesota, a stadium that the Sox had only won one game in all season long. After the three game series, the Sox still had only one win at the Dome in 2008. And then, the Sox lost the next two home games against the Cleveland Indians. The Twins were now in first place. I thought the season was over. Last Thursday, I literally couldn’t get to sleep because I was depressed that the Sox’s season came to such a tragic end. But it wasn’t over!

On Sunday, the Sox finally won at home (one that I attended) against the Indians in a 5 -1 victory. If they hadn’t won, the season would have been officially over. Now, it should be noted that the ONLY reason that the Sox were able to stay alive for so long was because the Twins kept losing after their sweep over the Sox. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Kansas City Royals! After the Sox’s win against Detroit on Monday (due to a make up game caused by a rain out), the Sox and the Twins were forced into a tie breaker. Because of the dramatic end of the season, tonight’s game felt like the World Series.

So, the Cubs and the White Sox are in the post season. This is the first time that both Chicago baseball teams have advanced past the regular season in 100 years! Which is also the last time the Cubs won a World Series. So, history was made tonight in Chicago. Speaking of the Cubs, the next two days I will be working audio for MLB online during the first two games of the Cubs vs. Dodgers at Wrigley Field. Hopefully, I will get the chance to also work the White Sox games! Even better, score some playoff tickets!

Expect a upcoming post summarizing the entire Sox season of 2008. Also, I am recording a baseball tribute show for WEVL this weekend. I don’t know when they will air it, but I will give you fair warning.

I was going to end this post with a short video of the last out during Sunday’s game but I’m going to leave that for the 2008 season summary. So, instead, I’m going to close this post with lyrics to the White Sox fight song by Captain Stubby and the Bucacaneers from 1959.

GO-GO WHITE SOX!

White Sox! White Sox!
Go-Go White Sox!
Let’s go, Go-Go White Sox
We’re with you all the way!
You’re always in there fighting,
And you do your best.
We’re glad to have you out here in the Middle West.

We’re gonna root-root-root-root White Sox.
And cheer you on to victory.
When we’re in the stands,
We’ll make those rafters ring;
All through the season,
You will hear us sing.
Let’s go, Go-Go White Sox,
Chicago’s proud of you!

White Sox! White Sox!
Go-Go White Sox!

Root-Root-Root for the White Sox.

We’ll cheer you on to victory.
When we’re in the stands,
We’ll make those rafters ring;
All through the season,
You will hear us sing.

Let’s go, Go-Go White Sox,
Chicago’s proud of you!

White Sox! White Sox!
Go-Go White Sox!
Let’s go, Go-Go White Sox!
Chicago is proud of you!

Are Joe Crede’s days over as a Sox? According to South Side Sox, they are. The rumor/proof seems to derive from the fact that Crede’s name tag is no longer above his locker and that his locker has been emptied out. No official word from the Sox management.

As readers of our blog know, Crede is/was my favorite player in the Sox organization. Last year, he had to have back surgery and missed the majority of the season. This year, he started off strong, went through a slump, continued to have back problems, made a bit of a comeback, and then returned to the disabled list. He has not been seen in a game for a least a month, perhaps longer. The last official word was that his condition was day-to-day.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that South Side Sox have gotten something wrong. Earlier in the season, they had stated that Juan Uribe, who had also spent time on the DL, was being traded. Instead, Uribe came back to take over Crede’s spot at third, and out of nowhere, started swinging the bat like a madman.

Still, an empty locker doesn’t look good. But I ‘m hoping that this rumor turns out to be untrue. Brian Anderson, my second favorite Sox, gets so little playing time.

A high school football team up here in Chicago are running an A-11 offense, a hotly debated strategy that allows all eleven men to be considered eligible receivers. The end result is fairly odd, as seen in this video. Check out as seven receivers dash down the field for a completion. As of now, the offense is still legal. But for how long?

Also, keep up with the nation’s interest in this new style of playing the gridiron with the official The A-11 Offense Website.

It’s official. Ken Griffey Jr. is now a White Sox.

How very strange.

Above, the infamous #1 Upper Deck rookie card of Griffey, which I somehow manage to get in a pack of baseball cards in my stocking on Christmas of ’89. At the time, the card’s worth was priced at $35 – $40 (if I remember correctly). And, according to the article linked above, the card was once selling for up to $1000. I guess I should have sold mine around that time. I still remember that day when I opened that package and caught glance of glorious #1 staring right back at me. I felt like the luckiest kid on the block. This must have been how Charlie felt when he discovered the Golden Ticket!

Now, WikiAnswers claims one is able to pick up their very own Griffey rookie card for a mere $15 – $40. Oh well.

P.S. – For those scratching your heads about the post’s tile, Kenny Williams is the General Manager for the Chicago White Sox.