Well, the White Sox made a nice run this year, but are going to fall pretty far from the division title they seemed poised to get just over a month ago. They were last in first place on August 11th and are now 9 games behind those pesky Twins after being swept at home by those same rivals. The series this week was UGLY for the Sox too as they didn't just lose; they were destroyed and on their home turf. I read yesterday that one local writer is calling The Cell Target Field East as the Twins are now 12-2 in their last 14 games here. That is NOT good!
Let's face it...the only reason the Sox even made their unlikely run in the first place had more to do with their schedule than anything else as they simply feasted on the weak NL teams they were blessed to play this summer going 15-3 in inter-league play which was the best record for any team this season. The Twins on the other hand were 8-10 so that works out to a substantial 7-game advantage in the standings for the White Sox. Luckily for the Twins, they get to play the White Sox just as many times as interleague where they more than made up that 7-game deficit going 13-5 against the Sox. The AL Central is the biggest overall difference between the two teams with the Sox going 30-36 while the Twins dominated their division with a 43-20 record with winning records against all four of the other teams. That folks is what a division winner should look like...you shouldn't be able to feast on other teams while losing to your closest rivals and still win the division against those rivals.
So while the Sox entered this series in a "must sweep" mode as they were 6 games back to start ended up with an apocalyptic scenario instead...they got swept. With 16 games left, the Twins "magic number" is 8 which is the smallest for any of the divisions. That means any combination of 8 Sox losses and Twins wins finishes off the Sox officially, but everyone knows they're done already including the Sox themselves. This was as demoralizing a sweep as we've seen in Chicago since the 97-win 2008 Cubs (how long ago does that seem right now?) were swept by a steroid-aided, Manny-led Dodgers team in the NLDS. Too bad for Kenny Williams and the Sox they didn't get the steroid taking Manny from 2008 because they certainly paid for that guy with the nearly $4 million contract they picked up from the Dodgers. Instead, they got another Juan Pierre type singles hitter without the wheels. Manny is hitting .293 for the Sox since the trade, but in his first 14 games and 54 plate appearances in those games, he has ZERO home runs, ZERO extra base hits, and worst of all ZERO RBIs! WOW!
Kenny Williams chose to ignore the bullpen issues facing his team and put all his waiver-deadline eggs and nearly $4 million of his boss' money in the basket of an aging slugger. Was that his final move as Sox GM? Most "experts" feel like the Ozzie/Kenny show is just about done with the two clashing several times in the last 12 months...most notably over the signing/not signing of Jim Thome...and one of them is probably out the door. Will it be Ozzie or Kenny or maybe both? The Sox chose to not sign Thome to be their everyday DH and instead go with a committee approach which failed so miserably that they were almost forced to sign Manny at the waiver deadline. Thome made about $1.8 million for a full-season in Minnesota while the Sox paid Manny nearly $4 million for about 30 games...hmmm...sounds like someone screwed up BIG TIME to me. Of course, had Manny been Manny at the plate rather than just with his hair (pretty hypocritical of the Sox to allow him to keep the dreds) and helped push the Sox over the top to take the division from the Twins, most people wouldn't have worried about the money. Instead Thome continues to be a major force for the Twins while Manny again has ZERO RBIs in 14 games here. So it was Ozzie this past off-season that very emphatically stated he didn't want Thome but it was Kenny who put up Reinsdorf's $4 million for Manny...so who goes and who stays?
You can add in that Kenny brought in Edwin Jackson who has been amazing with the exception of his last start (3-1 with a 2.94 ERA in 7 starts), but he also brought in Jake Peavy who is 10-6 with a 4.11 ERA and only 20 starts pitching 127 innings in well over one year and about $18 million; he's also guaranteed another $37 million over the next 3 years. Of course, he gave up Daniel Hudson for Jackson who has really shined for the D-backs going 6-1 with a 1.67 ERA in 9 starts and he gave up Clayton Richard for Peavy and all he's done is go 17-10 with a 3.80 ERA in 42 starts pitching 246 innings for the Padres. On the face so far, those trades were HORRIBLE for the Sox as they gave up a 23-year old for a 27-year old and a 27-year old for a VERY expensive and injury-prone 29-year old. Forget Manny, these two deals do it for me...fire Kenny!
Has Jerry had enough of Ozzie's antics? Maybe even more importantly, have his players had enough? Is it not working any more? Have they tuned him out? I feel like you have to blame the manager at least a little bit for the losing. They have only been to the playoffs in two of the last ten years...that's kind of pathetic as even the lowly Cubs have been there 3 times in the same timespan. Granted they did win the World Series only 5 years ago...isn't that the grace period though...5 years? They haven't won a playoff game since winning the World Series in 2005 either. It may be time to start over from scratch here Jerry. The Twins are back and seem to be here to stay especially now that they have their own baseball park which should bring in a LOT more revenue and allow them to spend more money on the team's payroll. That was the one advantage the Sox enjoyed over the Twins and that seems to be gone now too.
Showing posts with label manny ramirez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label manny ramirez. Show all posts
Friday, September 17, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
MLB Ball Park Review - U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago)
This was our fourth ball park review of the year. We did take several days "off" between our third and fourth games as our annual baseball trip took us to the west coast this year - specifically, San Francisco, Oakland and Seattle. This fourth game was "local" for our family as we live in the Chicago area. My dad's company had an outing at "The Cell" this past Friday night against the NY Yankees, a.k.a. The Evil Empire and we decided to take advantage and use this game as our 17th ball park visit.
We knew the trek to get to "The Cell" would be rough on a Friday evening as rush hour definitely peaks right when we had to be on our way AND on a Friday during summer, you can add in all the people heading all over town for the weekend. The fact the Sox were taking on the Yankees which is #1 in road team for attendance made things a little touchy even as we arrived near the ball park. For those that don't know, the south-side White Sox ball park is not in the best neighborhood in the city so you try to park close. Unlike the north-side Cubs, the Sox do have several parking lots and even allow and encourage tail-gating. We were hoping to get to the park early enough to partake in some tail-gating, but that was out the window shortly after we hit the road. We were down there about an hour before the scheduled first pitch and were feeling pretty decent about that...that is until we tried to get to the parking lot. Apparently all the cash lots near the ball park were full already and with very little assistance and really weak signage, we did finally make our way to a lot on the other side of the expressway (NOT desired!) and paid the same price they charge for the lots near the park - $23! You couldn't even see the park from where we were so now, we're off to a bit of a bad start. We were still in our seats well before the first pitch and even got to see the big trophy presentation...for the first time ever, the Lombardi Trophy (Bears '85), NBA Championship Trophy (Bulls '98), World Series Trophy (Sox '05), and the Stanley Cup (Blackhawks '10) were all together...that was pretty cool!
This was our 17th ball park visit in the last 4 years and I've been to 4-5 other parks over the years on top of that...well, I felt like I've never been to a baseball game they way the entrances are setup at The Cell. Instead of walking directly into the park from street level, you go up an escalator and then walk across a bridge to enter the ballpark...weird and awkward. As we didn't arrive very early for the game and due to the size of the crowd (reportedly 38,596 - 8th largest crowd of the year), I didn't get a chance to walk around much. There was the one big thing I've seen in these newer parks...the wider concourses allow you to move around fairly easily. I had the jumbo grilled hot dog with grilled onions and that was quite tasty...most comparable to the Wrigley Field hot dog prepared the same way. I know The Cell is infamous for some of their more unique cuisine, but I didn't partake in any of that so I cannot comment.
Following the initial run the Yanks scored in the top of the 1st, the Sox led the whole game yet I got the feeling that the Sox fans were just sitting around waiting for their team to implode. Sox starter Freddy Garcia had not been pitching too well lately after starting 8-1 as he took his 6.97 ERA in August into Friday night's game. The best description I can say about the crowd was "cautiously optimistic" as they were pretty quiet most of the night until the Sox put a 4-spot up in the 4th to make it a 9-2 game.
As you know, I am a Cubs fan so we were going to be winners either way on this one...if the White Sox won, that would be good because we would extend our baseball trip winning streak to 4 games and if the White Sox lost, well, the White Sox lost and that would be good too. Well, the White Sox put a hurting on Yankees starter AJ Burnett and won the game 9-4 making us 4-0 on this year's trip and 13-5 overall...just a reminder, we started our first season at 1-4, so we are 12-1 since! It was actually a Cubs win at Wrigley at the end of our first trip that started off that run too.
I''m sure it had a lot to do with where we were sitting (LF bleachers), but we couldn't see much of anything beside the field in front of us. It looked like The Cell was equipped with a pretty nice and info-filled scoreboard, but it's location was quite curious...mounted much too low just above and behind the RF bleachers. Don't think because we had lousy seats that we didn't pay a "pretty penny" for the tickets...when the Yankees come to town, the game is understandably considered a "premium game" which allows the Sox to charge much more for the tickets to this game. We paid $48 per ticket for these seats which was face value which is what I pay for my Cubs seats which are upper deck box seats at Wrigley Field at the ballpark with the MLB's highest average ticket prices. Did you know the White Sox have FIVE different prices for these seats - Mon = $17, Regular = $34, Prime = $38, Premier = $48, and Cubs = $59. We also sat 3 rows behind home plate in Oakland for $48 per ticket and we could see everything from there.
This park had two things going for it though...the opening ceremony with the four different championship trophies was very cool as I mentioned before. In addition following the end of the game, the Sox saved the best for last...the post-game fireworks show. Since the Sox didn't hit any HRs during the game, we had to wait until after the game to see the fireworks. Well, they did NOT disappoint with the fireworks show...VERY COOL and pretty long too as they were able to play 5-6 80s songs (felt like I was back in high school again) during a show that rivaled a pretty good one from the 4th of July. It was really that fireworks show that pushed The Cell up as high as I have it on my list.
As you can see, I didn't really like The Cell as I rated it the lowest out of all the newer ball parks; maybe if we sat somewhere else and were able to see the scoreboards, I might have rated it a little higher. But considering how much we paid for these tickets, I had higher expectations. OK, so here is my updated ball park ranking to date:
1. Comerica Park (Detroit)
2. PNC Park (Pittsburgh)
3. Jacobs Field (Cleveland)
4. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia)
5. Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City, MO)
6. Safeco Field (Seattle)
7. Fenway Park (Boston)
8. Miller Park (Milwaukee)
9. AT&T Park (San Francisco)
10. Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati)
11. Busch Stadium (St. Louis)
12. Yankee Stadium (NY Yankees – pre-2009)
13. Wrigley Field (Chicago)
14. U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago)
15. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (Oakland)
16. Metrodome (Minneapolis)
17. Shea Stadium (NY Mets)
Next up is going to have to wait until 2011 as now we are done for 2010. So that will make 17 parks out of 30 leaving us with "only" 13 left...not sure what we're going to do next year either but we'll start talking about it after the start of 2011.
What were you thinking Kenny?
By the way, good thing they picked up Manny on waivers instead of addressing their bullpen issues because they very clearly have issues scoring runs...NOT. How did Kenny let the Twins pick up Fuentes? Even if you don't think you need the guy, don't you have to at least block your rival from getting stronger? Maybe Kenny was at that comedy club a little longer than Ozzie's son reported and he just missed this one. I mean the Twins lost their closer before the season started and in the last month have added two in Matt Capps and Brian Fuentes so that problem is seemingly solved. Of course, the worst news for the Sox is that Justin Morneau is on the comeback trail and could bring his .345 BA, 18 HRs, and 56 RBIs back to their lineup without having to add to their payroll as the Sox did with the addition of Manny.
We knew the trek to get to "The Cell" would be rough on a Friday evening as rush hour definitely peaks right when we had to be on our way AND on a Friday during summer, you can add in all the people heading all over town for the weekend. The fact the Sox were taking on the Yankees which is #1 in road team for attendance made things a little touchy even as we arrived near the ball park. For those that don't know, the south-side White Sox ball park is not in the best neighborhood in the city so you try to park close. Unlike the north-side Cubs, the Sox do have several parking lots and even allow and encourage tail-gating. We were hoping to get to the park early enough to partake in some tail-gating, but that was out the window shortly after we hit the road. We were down there about an hour before the scheduled first pitch and were feeling pretty decent about that...that is until we tried to get to the parking lot. Apparently all the cash lots near the ball park were full already and with very little assistance and really weak signage, we did finally make our way to a lot on the other side of the expressway (NOT desired!) and paid the same price they charge for the lots near the park - $23! You couldn't even see the park from where we were so now, we're off to a bit of a bad start. We were still in our seats well before the first pitch and even got to see the big trophy presentation...for the first time ever, the Lombardi Trophy (Bears '85), NBA Championship Trophy (Bulls '98), World Series Trophy (Sox '05), and the Stanley Cup (Blackhawks '10) were all together...that was pretty cool!
This was our 17th ball park visit in the last 4 years and I've been to 4-5 other parks over the years on top of that...well, I felt like I've never been to a baseball game they way the entrances are setup at The Cell. Instead of walking directly into the park from street level, you go up an escalator and then walk across a bridge to enter the ballpark...weird and awkward. As we didn't arrive very early for the game and due to the size of the crowd (reportedly 38,596 - 8th largest crowd of the year), I didn't get a chance to walk around much. There was the one big thing I've seen in these newer parks...the wider concourses allow you to move around fairly easily. I had the jumbo grilled hot dog with grilled onions and that was quite tasty...most comparable to the Wrigley Field hot dog prepared the same way. I know The Cell is infamous for some of their more unique cuisine, but I didn't partake in any of that so I cannot comment.
Following the initial run the Yanks scored in the top of the 1st, the Sox led the whole game yet I got the feeling that the Sox fans were just sitting around waiting for their team to implode. Sox starter Freddy Garcia had not been pitching too well lately after starting 8-1 as he took his 6.97 ERA in August into Friday night's game. The best description I can say about the crowd was "cautiously optimistic" as they were pretty quiet most of the night until the Sox put a 4-spot up in the 4th to make it a 9-2 game.
As you know, I am a Cubs fan so we were going to be winners either way on this one...if the White Sox won, that would be good because we would extend our baseball trip winning streak to 4 games and if the White Sox lost, well, the White Sox lost and that would be good too. Well, the White Sox put a hurting on Yankees starter AJ Burnett and won the game 9-4 making us 4-0 on this year's trip and 13-5 overall...just a reminder, we started our first season at 1-4, so we are 12-1 since! It was actually a Cubs win at Wrigley at the end of our first trip that started off that run too.
I''m sure it had a lot to do with where we were sitting (LF bleachers), but we couldn't see much of anything beside the field in front of us. It looked like The Cell was equipped with a pretty nice and info-filled scoreboard, but it's location was quite curious...mounted much too low just above and behind the RF bleachers. Don't think because we had lousy seats that we didn't pay a "pretty penny" for the tickets...when the Yankees come to town, the game is understandably considered a "premium game" which allows the Sox to charge much more for the tickets to this game. We paid $48 per ticket for these seats which was face value which is what I pay for my Cubs seats which are upper deck box seats at Wrigley Field at the ballpark with the MLB's highest average ticket prices. Did you know the White Sox have FIVE different prices for these seats - Mon = $17, Regular = $34, Prime = $38, Premier = $48, and Cubs = $59. We also sat 3 rows behind home plate in Oakland for $48 per ticket and we could see everything from there.
This park had two things going for it though...the opening ceremony with the four different championship trophies was very cool as I mentioned before. In addition following the end of the game, the Sox saved the best for last...the post-game fireworks show. Since the Sox didn't hit any HRs during the game, we had to wait until after the game to see the fireworks. Well, they did NOT disappoint with the fireworks show...VERY COOL and pretty long too as they were able to play 5-6 80s songs (felt like I was back in high school again) during a show that rivaled a pretty good one from the 4th of July. It was really that fireworks show that pushed The Cell up as high as I have it on my list.
As you can see, I didn't really like The Cell as I rated it the lowest out of all the newer ball parks; maybe if we sat somewhere else and were able to see the scoreboards, I might have rated it a little higher. But considering how much we paid for these tickets, I had higher expectations. OK, so here is my updated ball park ranking to date:
1. Comerica Park (Detroit)
2. PNC Park (Pittsburgh)
3. Jacobs Field (Cleveland)
4. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia)
5. Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City, MO)
6. Safeco Field (Seattle)
7. Fenway Park (Boston)
8. Miller Park (Milwaukee)
9. AT&T Park (San Francisco)
10. Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati)
11. Busch Stadium (St. Louis)
12. Yankee Stadium (NY Yankees – pre-2009)
13. Wrigley Field (Chicago)
14. U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago)
15. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (Oakland)
16. Metrodome (Minneapolis)
17. Shea Stadium (NY Mets)
Next up is going to have to wait until 2011 as now we are done for 2010. So that will make 17 parks out of 30 leaving us with "only" 13 left...not sure what we're going to do next year either but we'll start talking about it after the start of 2011.
What were you thinking Kenny?
By the way, good thing they picked up Manny on waivers instead of addressing their bullpen issues because they very clearly have issues scoring runs...NOT. How did Kenny let the Twins pick up Fuentes? Even if you don't think you need the guy, don't you have to at least block your rival from getting stronger? Maybe Kenny was at that comedy club a little longer than Ozzie's son reported and he just missed this one. I mean the Twins lost their closer before the season started and in the last month have added two in Matt Capps and Brian Fuentes so that problem is seemingly solved. Of course, the worst news for the Sox is that Justin Morneau is on the comeback trail and could bring his .345 BA, 18 HRs, and 56 RBIs back to their lineup without having to add to their payroll as the Sox did with the addition of Manny.
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