I would be lying through my teeth if I said this one didn't hurt. Lying through gritted, gnashing, grinding teeth.
The Cubs were down on Friday. They had lost their last three to the tough Rays, with the final game slipping away on a dramatic grand slam off the bat of Carl Crawford. The Sox, meanwhile, took care of the visiting Pirates, sending them packing with a sweep of their own. And in Friday's game, the ChiSox had their crosstown rivals on the ropes with a 3-1 lead.
Then, back-to-back home runs erased the leadand any momentum the Sox had coming into the series.
Grit. Gnash. Grind.
The team will most likely be looking to put this one behind and focus on winning games and keeping the rest of the AL Central off their backs, especially after a subpar 3-3 week. But for the die-hard and average Sox fan, this one hurts. And the question we're all asking is: now what?
The lost weekend
Everyone pointed to this series as big. Big for both teams, in fact, as both teams came into the opening act of the City Series on top of their respective divisions. The Sun-Times' Carol Slezak correctly predicted that the White Sox had more to gain from a series win, however. The Cubs had the home advantage (a 29-8 record before Friday) and the media hype all said that the Cubs were the team to beat.
The Sox were basically seen as a first-half wonder; a team that had defied the prognosticators but were a misstep away from dropping out of sight. The Sox could use this series as a statement to the Cubs and the rest of the league.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Instead, they got swept. Were there any bright spots at all? As bad as it was, there were some things were Sox fans to be happy about:
John Danks
The youngblood called Wrigley Field a "shithole," then backed his words up and held the Cubs to one run through six innings. Let the armchair quarterbacks say he should have started the seventh. Danks is pitching very well for a number-5 starter, and he looks able to last through the summer.
Jermaine Dye
Kosuke Fukudome has wowed crowds around Wrigleyville, spawned a racist catchphrase (anyone else see a problem with "Horry Kow!"?), and jumped to the top of the local list of outfielders. But guess what? He's a slap hitter who doesn't have Ichiro hits or Iguchi's power. Yet and still, he was named to the "All-City" team in both papers.
So Jermaine Dye went out and hit three homers against the Cubs. Along with a double and a single in tonight's loss, he batted .385 over the weekend and has caught fire since the beginning of the week. JD will take some pressure of the rest of the offense.
DeWayne Wise
I hope he's not just a flash in the pan. He had two hits in the game he started against the Pirates and three hits against the Cubs this weekend. Maybe the Sox started him because he has some experience against National League pitching, but I like his speed and he looks like he can hit around .280. If anything, Wise can be a dependable bat off the bench or every few days.
So now what?
Other than that, there wasn't much to hang your hat on this weekend. The Sox sweep of the Pirates does look very big now, as the Twins handled their National League competition and shrank the Sox division lead to one and a half games.
The Sox need to go on a run of consistent winning. It doesn't have to be a long winning streak, but something along the lines of three wins in a row, one loss, two wins, a loss, four or five wins. A run like that would really get things going in the right direction.
This sweep was almost a microcosm of the season. Friday and Saturday, the Sox were good, but not quite good enough. Sound familiar? It should; I said it in a column awhile back. Either way, the Sox need to pick up the pieces.
If the Sox are in the lead by the All-Star break, they'll have three days to figure things out. However, they will need a run akin to 1983 to even resemble a playoff contender.
Until then, keep waving the Pennant.
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6 months ago
Other than not fully understanding the impact that Kosuke has had on the Cubs (showing them patience in hitting--they moved from 26th in walks in 2007 to 2nd this year), a good article.
6 months ago
I wouldn't worry about getting swept at Wrigley, Chris. I know it's hard to swallow since you are a Sox fan but the Cubs have a great team at home. Not so much on the road but at home, dude, let's face it, you lost to a team that hits over .300 at home and has won 14 in a row there. I'm not saying this will continue, but if they remain on the pace they're on they will have the best winning percentage at home of any NL team in history. So other than bcause it's a rivalry, I wouldn't be too down on my team for losing to the Cubs at Wrigley. Now if they get swept at the Cell, I would be concerned.
6 months ago
Meh, don't get too down about the series-- there were a lot of silver linings, final results notwithstanding. As Bob said, it's definitely a bad sign should the Sox also get swept at the Cell, but besides that we just have to focus on our division. It's never pretty when a team gets swept, much less the way we did (nevermind who we're playing), but to me it just reaffirms not just how hot the Cubs are right now but also how crappy the Sox are on the road (even just traveling 10 minutes north). There were a number of managerial decisions even going beyond taking Danks out that I just flat out didn't agree with, but you know-- it's three games out of the year.
6 months ago
I don't understand Ozzie's confusion (or Kenny's for that matter)
The Cubs have been civil to the Sox ever since Barrett left, the only other blunder being a rookie Rich Hill speaking out of turn.
Oz and Williams constantly whine about how the Sox are second class citizens or how they'll never match up to the Cubs.... and then, what do they do this weekend?
--Guillen bad-mouthed the batting cages; Danks complained that Wrigley smelled; and Pierzynski spoke of Elia's tirade being accurate, a sad 25 yrs later.
If you're desperate for the affection of Chicago, try to play nice.
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