October 6, 2008 - Chicago, IllinoisRays 6 - White Sox 2
The mighty Griffey has struck out.
I could say that this negates the entire season for the White Sox. It doesn't. They still had that amazing run at the end of the season to make it to the playoffs. They won more postseason games than their city National League counterparts. The glaring holes were exposed and should be on track to be fixed next year. Carlos Quentin will not have a stupid injury that prevents him from the last month of the season.
The Sox still battled, but the offense was lacking in many areas the entire series. If they hit, they couldn't score. If they scored, it was off of limited hits. That leads to very low scoring games on the Sox end. To the pitchers' credit, they left the Sox in each game, and many of those games could have gone either way, right up until the last out.
In the end, the Sox couldn't muster up the right amount of timely hitting and capitalization from the offense. The Rays didn't hit that much, but what they did hit, was clutch. The Red Sox have their hands full in the ALCS.
The best part of the evening was not the game. It was my iPod. It has ranged from the downright depressing to the cautiously optimistic. Here is a sampling.
Cracklin' Rosie - Neil Diamond
Cracklin' Rosie, get on board
We're gonna ride till there ain't no more to go
Bye, Bye Baby - Janis Joplin
Bye-bye, baby, bye-bye
Don't Stop - Fleetwood Mac
Don't stop, it'll soon be here
It'll be, better than before
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone.
Y'all Want A Single - Korn
Y'all want a single?
Say f*** that
F*** that, f*** that
Long As I Can See The Light - Creedence Clearwater Revival
When I'm gone, gone, you don't have to worry long
Long as I can see the light
The Grand Illusion - Styx
So if you think your life is complete confusion
Because you never win the game
It keeps going like this. I swear my iPod has a mind of its own. At least I can laugh about it. Bow to a team that played better and borrow a phrase from the North Side of Chicago. Wait 'till next year. Yeah, that phrase makes me feel dirty too.
9 comments:
A sad farewell to the team I wanted to see make the World Series from the AL.
Argh. That stinks. I wanted to see Griffey in the Series. I guess I'm pulling for the NL team this year now.
Yes the White Sox did have a nice run. Agreed the Quentin injury hurt - I am glad to see Gavin Floyd have some success with them. He's a nice young pitching addition if he can keep pitching well.
Yeah, I know. My iPod starts talking to me too, but only after I smoke a doob.
About the Sox. It was a good year but we have unfinished business. Thome may still be there but Griffey is gone (no way Sox'll pay 16m) and sadly, Paulie may go also (but plug Swish in). Alexei at short and possibly a fit and trim Juan at third (maybe). Q back in left and Dye in right. We need contact turn and burn guys at second and center with 30+ SB potential. For pitching we need to fill the Contreras hole first. As far as Javy goes, well...he's an okay fifth starter (too bad he gets paid more than he's worth). It'll be fun to see how the team shapes up. We were, I feel, the worst team in the postseason. That's gonna change! Go SOX!
Sorry, my friend.
I am so disappointed in both teams this post-season.
Let's call it the curse of dayf. LOL.
I can see Griffey sticking around in a platoon. This has been an eye-opening experience for him and he may stick with a team where he has fun for a good chance at a ring. But I can see him going to another team as DH or taking a little time off too. No one will pay $16MM for him though.
I can see more tweaking in the bullpen. If KW wants a bold move, I can see Javy being turned into a reliever. He seems more effective in short bursts.
I see the Sox making a play for Chone Figgins and one or two quality starters, but I think Paulie will say put. He had nagging injuries most of the year. When they went away, so did his slump. He would be a good cansisate for Comeback Player of the Year in 2009.
I see Swish in a utility role as an outfielder and first baseman. He really needs to work on what he does in his time at the plate. A battling average that low should be alarming, unless your name is Jim Thome. Swish needs to stop pouting and keep the energy up in the dugout. He wasn't doing that and I think the team suffered because of it.
I'm sure the Sox already have some grand plan in the wings. We'll just have to see how it pans out. I think the two question marks in the starting rotation proved to the the biggest contributors this year. Maybe that bodes well for 2009.
If Cliff Floyd retires, I'd love to see Griffey come home to Florida as the Rays DH.
I think that the Sox need to acquire a couple speedier guys who get on base a lot. Someone who can play the role that Podsednik had in 2005. If they do that, their lineup would be one of the best in the A.L.
I also have to say that I was impressed by Konerko in the ALDS. His at bats were better than anyone else in Chicago's lineup.
There's always next year for teams from Chicago. It was a great ALDS, but I'm very happy that the Rays came out on top!
Well, Jerry Owens was supposed to lead off until he got injured, with Orlando Cabrera in the second spot. When Owens got injured, Quentin was given a chance and that turned out to be the best move.
Griffey would be an interesting fit for the Rays. I don't know if he would go to to a club that plays on artificial turf. He has expressed a desire to stay with the White Sox, so who knows.
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