White Sox in 5 in World Series

Yeah, except for Konerko, the Astros should be able to handle everybody else......

See how silly that sounds? You've seen what maybe 7 games with these two teams? Maybe the "ineptness" has to do with the great pitching on both sides.

And to think I used to pull for the White Sox, cause I liked Chicago.

Funny things happen !!!!

That's why they play the games!

"Funny things" sure did happen tonight with two outs, nobody on, the Astros up by two, and one strike away from the World Series...how about David Eckstein and Pujols??!! WOW!

That's why you play the games...to the 27th out...

That's exactly why! On to the Gateway!

Go Astros!

Since my team is long gone I don't have a dog in this fight, but it's going to be interesting to see how Ozzie manages when they go to the NL and lose the DH. If the games are close he's not going to be able to leave his starters in like he did in the ALCS. Might have to do some double switches, etc...

I'm not saying he can't do it, just that it is going to be interesting to watch.

Here's hoping for a close series all the way.

A real quick look at the 05 schedule shows the Sox's were 12-6 against NL teams during the season.

It was more of a quick glance than quick look so there is no guarantee of the how accurate that record is.

But can you count the games against the Cubs, rz ?

I'm not sure which way you're swingin here Orlando but I think the Sox had a losing record against the Cubbies. Maybe if the Sox win it all the Cub fans can save a little face by saying they won the Windy City Series against the World Champs.

rz1:

I'm pretty sure the Cubs and Sox split their games this past season ...3W's and 3L's each.

At the start of the playoffs, I was pulling for the White Sox and Padres to be in the Series. The sox are there and now I am pulling for the Astros. The reason is to see someone win who has not been in the Series in 46 years (Sox) and the Astros who have never been there in the 44 years they have been playing. As long as the Dodgers or Yankees are not in the series I am happy.

I had no second thoughts about pitching to Pujols--he was 0-4 and not swinging the bat well

The key to me was not getting Edmonds out

TRHit:

I agree with you about Edmonds...the same can be said about the small dynamo known as Eckstein. I thought after two batters that Lidge really had the 'lid' on it!

I didn't realize that Pujols was 0-4 at the time. If you're a Card fan that 1-5 night at the plate couldn't be sweeter...who cares what he did the first four times up!

The rest of the series should be alot of fun to watch.

GO WHITE SOX!!!

rz, the WS & Cubs did split (I'm a Cards fan, dismissing the Cubs as immaterial is what we do ). The WS were 8-4 against the NL Western Division, sub-.500 teams they played. Ergo, not a meaningful statistic.

I know this sounds crazy but,just heard something on the radio.
If the WS play the astros, because they expect it to be a pitching game, many will not watch.

If the Cards play the WS, there is expected to be much more watching.

People in Chicago don't care about the sox. why should the rest of the country?

http://www.suntimes.com/output/slezak/cst-spt-carol18.html

Chicago was, is and always will be a Cubs town. Look for a big celebration at Clark and Addison when the Astros win the WS.

Very Funny:

Arm-chair sociologists have weighed in all season long on the many reasons why Sox fans weren't supporting their team in large enough numbers. But Sox fans have come around. They've been on board for many weeks now!!

holden...You've been reading too many of Carol Slezak's articles.

I don't think she's ever been South of Chicago Avenue. She still thinks Chicago has an East side somewhere near Loyola U and the lakefront.

People in Chicago care. Plenty of people do.

Anyone who doesn't believe that people will be watching the Series because of the quality of the pitching (especially for the White Sox), then they shouldn't watch. Those are not "true" baseball fans.

Go White Sox!

White Sox in 4.

Show me a fellow unafraid of Puljos in the clutch and I'll be looking at a fool.

Sox fans came out to the tune of 2.4 million
Every game is televised and the fan base is predominantly blue collar.

Chicago had 5.5 million people attend MLB games this year.

Konerko will fill the Crawford boxes with Astro mistakes.

In general,the Stros (or Cards for that matter) are in an inferior league with inferior players.

By the way, the Sox split with the cubs due to mid year boredom.

12 of the last 13 VS the Indians (at their Zenith),the Red Sox (can you say World Champs?) and the Angels (better pitching than the Astros-look it up).

All NL hitters will look like Manny and Vladdy did when facing the best staff in baseball.

soxnole

what are you smoking?
The NL is an inferior league? and inferior players?

I have now lost all faith in anything thing you say--your judgement is impaired by something

Took the invitation to look up Astros and Angels pitching. For some reason my source didn't give hits.

Astros – IP 1443 – 1164 SO – 440 BB – 155 HR – OBA .308 - ERA 3.51
Angels – IP 1464.1 – 1126 SO – 443 BB - 158 HR - .OBA .312 – ERA 3.68

Interesting enough, here are the top pitching staffs in MLB this year, ranked by ERA.
1. Cardinals
2. Astros
3. White Sox
4. Indians
5. Angels

Top 5 Hitting teams, ranked by Batting Average
1. Red Sox
2. Yankees
3. Devil Rays
4. Tigers
5. Marlins
10. Cardinals
17. White Sox
28. Astros

Guess we’re back to where pitching is more important than hitting!

This one will be ALL about the chemistry come Staurday.

and managers !!!!

And there you go, PG, thinking facts are more important than posters' little pronouncements.

BeenthereIL:

"People in Chicago care. Plenty of people do."

You're absolutely right. Maybe that tortured season of '94 is finally behind us! And '00 in Seattle this ain't!

Nole, does your doctor know that you quit taking your medication? Did you stop volantarily or did you run out?

2.4 is that it, actually it was 2,342,833, so should you actually round down? 2005 Astros attendance was 2,804,760. Cardinals attendance was 3,538,988, they have us both beat.

The Astros don't care if you even have a collar, you are welcome anywhere in Houston.

Get over yourself and your league, at this point I really don't care who wins the NLCS, I just want that team to kick the cr*p out of your Sox. And I used to actually kind of pull for the Sox. I felt sorry for them because they never have gotten much run, it's like the angry little brother who only got the hand-me downs.

3 games in NL park....errrrr uhmmmmmm what's a double switch?

Actually I didn't get to finish the rest of what I heard today. Remember this was talk show radio, his opinion not mine.
What he was refering to was that if it is a pitching game, lots of tv's will be turned off, because the pitching game becomes too slow and not so much appreciated as the fans who want to see more hitting for excitement. He obviously feels the Cards would provide that.

He also noted that the Cardinals have a much wider fan base than the two teams put together.

Well, I certainly know (as a Cardinals supporter)that my own "fan base" is wider than I would like...

TPM,

I find the radio show talk show host a bit off the mark as it relates to the TVs being turned off due to a "pitching game". What was he thinking? While the Astros may have more of a regionalized fan base, I can tell you with certainty that Chicago takes its baseball very seriously and whether it is black & white or good 'ole Cubby blue - the baseball fans of Chicago (north & south) will be watching this series. I also believe that if the Astros are able to recover from last night and blow past the cards -- then, there may just be more folks tuned in because this will be a showcase of two teams who haven't seen the WS since before Hector's grandpa was a pup!

I'm happy for my Sox fan friends - the Sox have played great ball all year. No way can I root for the Cards - although, I'd love to see Eckstein in Cubby blue.

Sox in 7 - gonna be a great WS.

quote:

Originally posted by TXCubFan:
TPM,

I find the radio show talk show host a bit off the mark as it relates to the TVs being turned off due to a "pitching game". What was he thinking? While the Astros may have more of a regionalized fan base, I can tell you with certainty that Chicago takes its baseball very seriously and whether it is black & white or good 'ole Cubby blue - the baseball fans of Chicago (north & south) will be watching this series. I also believe that if the Astros are able to recover from last night and blow past the cards -- then, there may just be more folks tuned in because this will be a showcase of two teams who haven't seen the WS since before Hector's grandpa was a pup!

I'm happy for my Sox fan friends - the Sox have played great ball all year. No way can I root for the Cards - although, I'd love to see Eckstein in Cubby blue.

Sox in 7 - gonna be a great WS.

I only think what he was trying to say is that when it comes down to a pitching game, some people just won't follow due to the slow pace of the game. And I think the station is hoping more than Chicago will be watching.
Unfortunetly, I think the people who are invloved in making money from the whole deal would prefer teams who have a larger fan base, it's business and that is just the way it is. Also a 4 game series means lost revenue, so I know everyone in radio and TV will be wishing for 7.

I am gonna go for the Cards (if they win tomorrow) in honor of my friend Orlando.

PG

Thanks for the numbers.

Any NL team, when compared to an AL team must add at least 7-9% to the ERA.

This makes the White Sox the top staff in the game.

To compare pitchers to DH's is like comparing Harold Baines or Edgar Martinez to Tom Seaver or Jim Kaat.

Even when the odd pitcher can hit a little bit there is still NO comparison.

Pitchers in the AL must pitch 1 more time around the lineup on average.

Tr...feelings mutual. The Sox would have dominated the NL.

GloveMan...When your Astros get beat the next 2 games in St. Louis you can join Andy Pettite with an "Oh my gosh"!

If they do somehow manage to overcome last night's debacle, I predict they will have the lowest team batting average in WS history!

Lets see the NL win A GAME VS the AL before you cry about my comparison.

The AL has defeated the NL 6 games in a row. Two meaningful All Star games and a Cardinal whipping by the Red Sox,
a team that was no match for the BEST STAFF IN BASEBALL.

White Sox staff is good but certainly not necessarily the best in baseball

The Astros staff does not take a back seat to anyone

I never cry nole--I still say you are way off base in calling the NL inferior.

A few stats for you Nole:

Team hitting in the playoffs to date
Astros .270
White Sox .248
Cards .223
Angels .175

Team Pitching for the season: (Top 4)

Cards 3.49 ERA
Asrtros 3.51 ERA
Indians 3.61 ERA
White Sox 3.61 ERA

For an inferior league the NL seems to be faring very well--I rest my case

I think at least most of us here would agree that anything can happen in a baseball game or even in a 7 game series. The very fact that the last few WS were won by teams not good enough over the course of a 162 game season to win their own division would well attest to that.

However, inventing "facts" doesn't qualify you as a baseball expert (although it might get you a job with Fox Sports).

Over the full season:

If 7-9% must be added to the ERA of an NL pitcher, how is it that the ERAs of the three teams standing are within .12 points of each other, with the Sox staff ERA slightly higher than the Cards? And the TEAM BA are within .014 of each other with the Sox dead in the middle?

AL pitchers have to pitch one time more around the lineup on average? (Pure fabrication.) Then why did the Cards' batters have 11 more ABs on the season than the Sox? Now the Astros did have 67 fewer ABs than the Sox which just about works out to one less batter every two games. Throughout the whole of MLB, there's a spread of 300 ABs from top to bottom.....2 batters a game, with the two leagues liberally mixed and the difference based more on available talent rather than league affiliation. And here's me thinking "around the lineup" (on average) would mean an additional 9 batters....per game.....times 162 games.

Runs scored are within 100 of each other as well, with the Sox in the middle (Cards scored 64 more, Astros 48 fewer).

What do you have to support your position, soxnole, other than being a Sox fan?

Methinks the three teams, on paper, are rather evenly matched. Will the Sox additional rest mean better performances or rust in a game meant to be played every day? Will the rush of coming off a hard-fought League Championship mean fatigue (like the zombies my Cards were last year) or euphoria as the Red Sox exhibited? Will a team who hasn't seen a WS thrive or choke? How will the Sox respond to a LF wall up against the third baseman's back if it's the Astros or the Sea of Red in STL?

There ain't no 'givens' in baseball, as the Yankees said about the Devil Rays this past season.

There are two different styles of baseball, NL to AL, not different levels of quality. You prefer AL; I know I prefer NL. Those are called "opinions" (you can look it up).

TPM, welcome to the fold! You do know this requires the wearing of red on game days, assorted Cubbie jokes, strong feelings about LaRussa (positive or negative...it's immaterial), respect for well-played ball no matter who's playing it, and whatever personal superstitions that work for you?

Go Cards!

Ok for arguments sake, I'll add the "extra" 9% to the top three on the Astros staff, and go one more.

Oswalt 2.94 x 1.09 = 3.20 (adjusted) ERA
Garcia = 3.87 ERA

Pettite 2.39 x 1.09 = 2.61 (adjusted) ERA
Garland = 3.50 ERA

Clemons 1.87 x 1.09 = 2.04 (adjusted) ERA
Burhle = 3.12 ERA

Backe 4.76 x x1.09 = 5.19 (adjusted) ERA
Contraras = 3.61 ERA

Best staff in baseball? Maybe in the AL

If the Astros go on to lose the series, I will not be crying, saying "OMG" I'll be yelling emphatically "Go Cards!"

That is all I'm going to say. As a ballplayer, I was taught never to talk trash, let your play do the talking for you. Have a good one!

Hey if St. Louis makes it, who do us Cub fans root for? I pick the Sox!

Hmmmmmmmmm...

As I've said before, having no vested interest in the Series outcome other than hopes for exciting, entertaining games, I usually give a nod to the underdog...a team that hasn't been there in eons.

soxnole, you're making it REALLY DIFFICULT for me to root for the Sox!!

You NL stalwarts just don't get it.

Nor do you speak to the issue at hand...virtually 80% of the time....an NL team runs a pitcher (read: weak sister) to the plate..once, each time around the lineup.

To favorably or equally compare stats is ridiculous when the AL sends up a DH who gets paid to
do one thing...hit!

Even when they (NL) pinch hit, a lesser talent is at the plate (read: bench jockey)

TRhit....your case is brutally flawed. Here are some stats for you....the Sox are 12 of 13 in the most important games of the year..7 of 8 in the playoff's, against the best offense (Boston) in baseball and the 3rd best staff (Angels)....and yeah, I'm calling the Angels staff better than any in the NL because they have to face 9 offensive players every time around the lineup. It's all about winning and the best overall (including the toughest part of the year) winning percentage in baseball belongs to...the SOX!

Orlando...EXACTLY...your adjustment makes my point! Btw, you may want to reconsider using at bats as at bats have NOTHING to do with how many innings or times around the lineup a pitcher lasts. Innings pitched would not be exact but a much better measuring stick. (Clemmons and Pettite=433...Carpenter and Mulder=445...Garland and Beuhrle=457).

If you pitch 457 innings in the AL you are facing REAL MLB hitters about 43 more innings than even the top NL pitchers (Carpenter,Mulder)(445 X .93 = 414)(457-414=43). Eliminating a handful of somewhat competent hitting pitchers there is still NO comparison.

You have a good one also, glove man...seems to me I was responding to trash talking...depends on your definition...("medication"?..."get over yourself") have a good day because your chances tonight are slim!