So Chicago in general was right all along. The fans who never bought into this team enough to regularly buy tickets are now saying, “Told you so.”
In the time it takes to shrug, these 95-win White Sox are unmemorable history. As summers pass it will become increasingly harder to remember which year the un-nicknamed Sox ran away with their division.
By getting swept they proved only that they were a timely aberration. Cleveland had too many pitching injuries early and got started too late. The Sox came out swinging in May and June and landed roundhouse rights on the struggling and unsuspecting Indians, Yankees and Red Sox. The division race was basically over by July 1.
Through the second half the Sox frantically fought turning into their true selves–a team without proven big-stage stars, Frank Thomas included.
Contagious hitting and underdog spirit covered holes in the pitching and defense, but once more baseball’s October axiom proved true. You can hit your way to the playoffs, but not through them.
In the end I let myself get caught up in this team’s “will to win.” I couldn’t help pulling for Jerry Manuel and several genuinely good guys in the Sox’s clubhouse. But intangibles sure work better when they’re reinforced by talent.
At the trade deadline Ron Schueler operated with the arrogance of a general manager who believes his team will become a playoff fixture. He refused to trade young arms for an experienced one. But has anyone been convinced Kip Wells and Jon Garland are future All-Stars?
The organization is loaded with arms, but minor-league phenoms often have a way of never panning out. When Schueler envisions an Atlanta-style dynasty, where is his Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Millwood or even Rocker?
Schueler is kidding himself–and owner Jerry Reinsdorf–if he believes this team will keep knocking at the World Series door until its experience finally catches up with its overwhelming talent. That sounds a lot more like Oakland.
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Manuel was simply being honest all season when he said, “We’re just not as talented as some teams.”
This team easily could find itself fighting for second next season. That’s why Schueler needed to maximize this meant-to-be opportunity. Yet when it mattered most, an improbable season ended improbably.
That proven pitcher Schueler didn’t acquire didn’t matter. The starting pitching–especially James Baldwin Friday–set the stage for three potential wins. But the team that scored more runs than any in baseball couldn’t score.
Several Sox hitters said they simply tried too hard. But Thomas, reverting to the Big Squirt, blamed the shadows across home plate and having to play all three games during the day “when everyone knows I’ve been [lousy].” Thomas hit .298 in 56 day games this season.
No, what haunted the Sox in the playoffs also dogged them at the gate this season. No transcendent stars. When it’s time, real stars shine.
All you need to know about this series is that Thomas, Magglio Ordonez, Paul Konerko and Carlos Lee went 3-for-40. And no, Randy Johnson doesn’t live here anymore.
In the end these wide-eyed Sox were just proud and happy to be in the playoffs. There were no tears in the postgame clubhouse, only hugs. Relief quietly resounded. This team knew it maxed out during the regular season.
Reinsdorf, who gloated for the cameras when the Sox clinched, was conspicuously absent in the losers’ clubhouse.
When his team’s hitting finally hit bottom, it found itself in three playoff games instead of the expected scorefests. Each time the more experienced team with the bigger stars and shrewder manager did what had to be done. As closely contested as Friday’s game was, you never really got the feeling the Sox would survive.
Once more Seattle capitalized on defensive blunders. Durham, who struggles on balls hit to his right, botched a sharply hit grounder that let in the first run. He should have been given an error. He made the All-Star team. He’s almost 29. Like a lot of these “kids,” he’s older than you think.
A better first baseman than the reluctant Thomas would have gotten a glove on Kelly Wunsch’s errant throw in the ninth. A more playoff-experienced manager than Manuel might have walked the bases full to get out of the jam.
But the autopsy details will fade quickly. The 2000 White Sox have come and gone.