Seven Years Ago Today

On September 11, 2001, the White Sox had just gotten into New York the previous night from Cleveland.

Paul Konerko awoke in his hotel room and turned on the television. What he saw was indescribable. Then I imagine it hit him like a ton of bricks. Paul was in New York that morning. The White Sox were supposed to be playing the Yankees that night.

Paul turned off the television and went outside to get a better look. The Sox were in no immediate danger, but I'm positive that no one could be certain of that at the time.

The games were rescheduled for the first week in October. The White Sox went on to lose all three games. Not that it mattered much. The Sox were well out of the playoff hunt and the Yankees would go on to lose to Mark Grace and the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series.

Regarding that 2001 White Sox team, there are only three players still with the team. Paul Konerko, Mark Buehrle and Joe Crede. I'm sure that today, each one of them remembers what it was like in New York that day. Sometimes there are more important things in life than baseball, like life itself.

If anyone is curious, this is what I was doing on that day. I warn you, it's mundane.

Mailbox Joys: A Sweet Canseco

I always appreciate a card that I was never aware of before I purchase it. I guess that goes with being out of serious card collecting for over a decade. There are millions of individual cards that I have no idea about. I may never know about every one. I'd like to though.

Jose Canseco White Sox cards are some of my secret favorites. He was such a superstar in his early career that it's almost ingrained in my brain that Canseco means hitting power and surprising speed.

He was on the White Sox for such a short time. That's why it's always a thrill to run across a card of him in a Chicago uniform. Players that were superstars in the late 80's and early 90's are always sentimental favorites, especially if they were ever in a White Sox uniform.

The card just screams classic Canseco.The swing, the look... everything. It's a great photo on a nice looking card. That's always a plus. There's red foil, but unlike Topps products, the lettering part looks elegant. The only place it doesn't really work is on the Upper Deck logo. It looks like a little much there. All in all, I'm thrilled to have this card in my collection.