By Ricky O’Donnell
Even days later, a lot Cubs fans are still devastated after watching their team get swept in the playoffs against the Dodgers. Really, they should be. This may have been the best Cubs team ever, and to see it all come crashing down in the course of three games is a lot to handle. Even though the team had a great year, it feels unfulfilled. I said last week that all a fan should really hope for out of their favorite baseball team is a division title. Baseball teams are, after all, built to win over the course of 162 games, not five. But it was a little different for the Cubs this year. From the onset it felt like their year. Any fan that is irrationally upset probably deserves to be.
When my White Sox got eliminated last night, I was bummed but not devastated. It’s always disappointing anytime your team’s season ends without a championship, but the Sox were never supposed to be in this situation anyway. While the Cubs’ hopes were sky high from the beginning, the Sox just sort of rolled along. No Sox fan should take this elimination too hard. They still had a really good season.
I picked the Indians to win the World Series at the beginning of the year. Tons more thought the Tigers would go all the way with an offense that could score 1,000 runs. To see the Sox win 15 games more than Detroit and eight more than Cleveland is pretty satisfying. Even more satisfying: winning one more game than the Twins. The play-in game victory over Minnesota was the highlight of the season. Because of it, 2008 was a success for the Sox.
Though they’re not the Portland Trail Blazers, the Sox still have a bright future. Even as Jim Thome, Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye start to decline, there is still enough young talent to keep the Sox competitive for a long time.
John Danks is really good. He is also 23-years-old. Gavin Floyd and Carlos Quentin were both born after the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Mark Buehrle and Bobby Jenks are still squarely in their prime, and Alexei Ramirez is about to enter his.
So that’s why I’m not taking this loss too hard. The team was cool, and the season was interesting the entire way. You can’t ask for much more than that.
It could be much worse. We could be the Cubs.
*
Week in Review: It would have been great to see a Game 5, but Gavin Floyd just wasn’t up to the task on Monday. Kudos to the Rays; they were the better team all along. Now go on and beat the Red Sox. Having no fans is cooler than having arrogant ones.
Fields on the Farm: Josh Fields will have surgery in the off-season and then will likely prepare to battle Juan Uribe to be the starting third baseman. I say likely because Uribe could always a) explode or b) find himself incarcerated. Either way, I like Fields’ chances.
The Missile Tracker: As Orlando Cabrera departs through free agency (go ahead and try it Minnesota!), Alexei is ticketed to become the Sox starting shortstop. Hopefully that won’t mean fewer grand slams, because when Alexei Ramirez hits a grand slam, the world is a better place.
Over/Under: 3: the number of balls-out crazy things general manager Kenny Williams will try this off-season.
Beachwood Sabermetics: A complex algorithm performed by The White Sox Report staff using all historical data made available by Major League Baseball has determined that Derrick Rose plays his first pre-season game on Thursday. Take solace in that, baseball fans.
The White Sox Report: Read ’em all.
–
Comments welcome. Please include a real name if want to be considered for publication.
–
Ricky O’Donnell is the proprietor of Tremendous Upside Potential , a contributor to the Sun-Times’s Full Court Press and a lot of other things.
Posted on October 7, 2008