Editor’s Note: On the occasion of this summer’s final Crosstown Classic series, The Cub Factor’s Marty Gangler and The White Sox Report’s Andrew Reilly switched places.
By Marty Gangler
I would put myself on the side of “whatever” when it comes to the Crosstown “Classic,” as most times it never proves anything. And people who put stock in it need to re-evaluate their priorities. And it proves out in the overall record, which is like 36-35 or something like that. So no team has truly been better than the other. So this week as I watched really fun bad baseball being played I thought to myself, Why did I ever get wrapped up in the crosstown series? When did it ever matter? And then it dawned on me. My level of “caring” was directly proportional with the number of Sox fans I worked with.
And it’s not all about the number, per se. All it takes is one guy. The last time I cared about a Sox/Cubs tilt was at a job I had three years ago. There was that one frothy rabid Sox fan who made my skin crawl. I mean, he used to tuck in his Sox jerseys and had numerous made with his own name on the back. Yeah, this guy was the table saw in a room full of tools.
For the record, those have to be two of the top five jersey fouls ever – tucking it in and getting your own name on the back. Rounding out the top five would be: Getting number 69, wearing a jersey at a sporting event when that team isn’t playing, and getting a name on a jersey when the players didn’t put names on their jerseys when they played.
So because of this guy, I wanted the Cubs to win more against the Sox than, say, the Expos. But I haven’t worked with many rabid Sox fans at all since leaving that job. So it hasn’t really bothered me win or lose. I’m sure this theory applies for the Sox fan too. You guys have probably always worked with a ton of floppy hat-wearing Cub fan goofs – and there are a ton of them. So it’s just because of math that you guys care a bit more. The more I’ve thought about it the more I’m convinced that I’m just a Sox fan moving into the cube next to me away from getting all jacked up about the series again. I guess I have the economy to thank for not brining anyone new to the workforce of my employer. But is that a good thing? I’m not sure. I may really embrace the next time I care about the series.
Week in Review: The Sox won two of three this week from both the best team in baseball, the Dodgers, and supposedly the best team in the Chicago, the Cubs.
Week in Preview: The Sox jump on the road and head east to face the Mark DeRosa-less Cleveland Indians. Then they head to KC to face the also Mark DeRosa-less Royals. He is missed.
The Q Factor: Carlos Quentin was seen doing agility drills before the games this weekend at the Cell. They were super atomic agility drills from hell.
That’s Ozzie!: Gotta love Ozzie coming right out and saying “it” about Carlos Zambrano. Guillen said after the contest on Sunday something to the effect of – Get in his head and you’ll beat him. Yup, that about nails it.
The Guillen Meter: After winning the past two big series’, the Guillen meter reads a complacent 8 for “It’s about the best we can do.”
Underclassmen Update: That Gordon Beckham kid, you know, he’s the one who looks like he should be in a movie about the big man on campus quarterback at an Ivy League college who figures out there’s more to life than good looks and winning football games, yeah he had a big hit this week.
Alumni News You Can Use: Former White Sox outfielder Sammy Sosa apparently cheated.
Hawkeroo’s Can-O-Corn Watch: During the TV broadcast of the Sox/Cubs game on Sunday the Hawkeroo made a comment to Steve Stone about how Hawk admires the fire-e-ness (or something like that) of Big Z. To which Stoney said something like, “You’re an idiot.” Actually Steve Stone said something close to “Well, if you want to average just 14 wins a season with the best stuff in the league, then by all means you can like his attitude.” I miss Steve Stone and his “you have no idea what you are talking about” tone of voice. Put it on the board . . . no.
Endorsement No-Brainer: Scott Podsednik for the new Friday the 13th movie because I thought he was dead like a long time ago.
Cubs Snub: They pay Milton Bradley 10 mil a year to do that.
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The White Sox Report: Read ’em all.
The Cub Factor: Know your enemy.
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Posted on June 29, 2009