White Sox Over the Royals 5-2

You may or may not have noticed I failed to post yesterday.  That was because I was off at the White Sox game yesterday, which ate up most of my productive writing time.  But hey, every ballgame is an opportunity, right?  So let's talk about what it's like to watch baseball in Chicago in early April.

It's cold, that's what its like.

Fortunately, this ain't my first rodeo, so I dressed appropriately.  And we were informed by an usher that, since our seats were in the shade along the third base line, that we were free to move to stay in the sunlight.  That was completely unexpected, as most ballparks I've ever attended were pretty up in arms about stopping "Seat Weasels" from buying the cheapest possible seats and then moving to unoccupied good seats.

But then again, when you've got attendance like this...

...I guess the only rational thing to do is see to the comfort of whomever bothered to show up.

Either the temperature, or the relative lack of a crowd, or both had an effect on the enthusiasm of the fans present.  There wasn't that much in the way of cheering, even when the White Sox pulled out to an early lead.  

Still, it was an enjoyable game.  Despite Dayan Viciedo's butchery in left field (he had two errors, one of which led to a Kansas City run), the Sox provided more than enough firepower to get the lead and keep it.  Jake Peavy was in good form on the mound, and it was interesting to see Sox manager Robin Ventura cycle pitchers in and out in the late innings nearly on a batter by batter basis.  Ventura used six pitchers yesterday, of whom only Peavy and closer Addison Reed retired more than two batters.

As far as the rest of the experience, it was nice.  The food was good, as always.  I love the polish sausage with the grilled onions.  The fries were good but chilled to inedibility too fast in the cold weather.  I should have gotten chips or popcorn instead.  Of course, you are paying movie theater prices for the privilege, but you have to expect that going in.

Indeed, I think we paid more for the food than we did for the tickets.  I filled out a survey on WhiteSox.com and they gave me a discount on the tickets.  So for $12 a ticket (which went up to $18/ticket after various fees were attached) two of us went to the game.  Not bad for an afternoon's relaxation.

All that said, I think I'll wait until its warmer to go back.  The wind was particularly biting, and my gloves were insufficient to the task of keeping my fingers warm.  I'm thinking June or July, perhaps.

Until then, I can watch it on TV.  As indeed I am right this moment as I finish this post.  Multi-tasking is fun. 

Write Everyday Project #15, Chicago Sports and Labor Problems

Is it just me or do the Chicago teams suffer disproportionately from labor problems in their respective sports?  Look at the history:

1986 NFL Strike - The '85 Bears had won  the Superbowl in a rout and everyone expected a dynasty to compare with the Steelers and Raiders of the '70s.  Instead, the Bears were one and done.  Why?  Part of it was certainly the departure of defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan and the subsequent weakening of the Bear's defense.  Another was the sudden rise of the New York Giants and the "Big Blue Machine" in 1986.  But perhaps the nail in the coffin was the 1987 NFL Strike, and the Bears' handling of it.  The Bears embraced the idea of replacement players with company man Mike Ditka saying "These are my players now!"  Many Bears players from the '87 team have said this "betrayal" hurt team morale, and the Bears haven't won a Superbowl since.

1994 NHL Lockout - The Blackhawks won their division in both 1991 and 1993.  Guess what happened next?  The Hawks wouldn't sniff the division crown, or go deep into the playoffs, until 2009 when they won it all.

1994 MLB Strike - On August 12, 1994, the White Sox were leading the American League Central with a record of 67-46.  That, however, was the last day of the season, because the '94 strike wiped out the rest of it, including the playoffs.  It wouldn't be until 2000 that the Sox would win the division again, and not until 2005 that they would win the World Series.

2011 NFL Lockout - This one is somewhat fuzzier, but given the Bears's record before the lockout was 11-5 and included a trip to the NFC Championship where they lost to the eventual Superbowl winners.  This season, they're 2-3 and sliding fast.  One of the things that's hurting the 2011 Bears is a barrage of injuries to crucial players.... injuries that might not of occurred had there been a full off season and training camp that got canceled because of the lockout!

2011 NBA Lockout - And so now the NBA is locked out. Bulls players are scattering to play across Europe, and the young core of the Bulls can't talk to coaches to learn the system or practice together.  Maybe they'll put it together in the end, but I can't help but feel pessimistic about the season...if there even IS a season.

In short, Chicago keeps getting screwed whenever there's labor troubles in sports, and this year seems no different.

Write Everyday Project #5, Farewell to Ozzie

While I had considered doing a piece on United States' first brush with becoming a superpower in the wake of the Civil War, I seem to have been overtaken by events.  And, unlike the late, lamented Ozzie Guillen, the Civil War isn't going anywhere.

Alas poor Ozzie, I knew him well.  Love him for winning the World Series or hate him for not having a filter between brain and mouth, Ozzie Guillen was never boring.  He finally talked his way out of town and is on his way to Miami to be the manager for the Marlins in exchange for a couple of prospects from the Marlins' system.

While I personally love the guy and wish he'd have stuck around, this was probably the best time to cut him loose.  How often can you fire your manager and get another team to pay the last year of his contract and give you players for him?  The Marlins need a face of the franchise with their new stadium opening up, and Ozzie is both famous and has a history with the Marlins since he was a coach on their '03 World Series winning team.

So it makes sense on both sides, but damn, baseball just got a lot less interesting here in Chicago all the same.  Here's hoping Guillen meets with success with Florida and the stars align to bring him back to the Sox in a few years.

Godspeed, you crazy bastard!