Tribune article that doesn't suck

[thomsonmi]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...cs-home-utility

 

by Rick Morrissey

 

With Guillen, Sox have a pulse

 

February 26, 2004

 

TUCSON, Ariz. -- There were no cattle skulls being bleached by the sun, no tombstones sitting all by their lonesome, no tumbleweeds blowing across the practice fields. Wait a second, weren't the White Sox supposed to be deceased?

 

Even more stunning, the Sox were carrying on Wednesday as if they actually have a chance this year. Perhaps they hadn't heard the news that, if not for the fact that they train in the desert, they would be dead in the water by now.

 

"It could be our year to shock the world," Frank Thomas said.

 

Speaking of shocking, there was Thomas leading his teammates in the first lap around the field on the first day of spring training. And there was new manager Ozzie Guillen sending general manager Ken Williams into hysterics with a few one-liners. (Say this about Ozzie: His command of English might not be perfect, but the man is fluent in cursing.)

 

This is the team that either isn't supposed to matter or the team that's going nowhere, take your pick. The Cubs are getting all the headlines. The Sox subtracted in the off-season, losing Bartolo Colon and Carl Everett through free agency, and their fans are trying to decide between anger and despair. Every day I get e-mails telling me why Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf should sell the team, as if it were up for vote.

 

From the outside it looks improbable: the team that collapsed down the stretch last year and lost talent in the off-season going on to win the American League Central Division. But it can happen. In fact, the Sox might have an easier time winning their mediocre division than the Cubs will have winning the National League Central.

 

This isn't merely the ramblings of a madman, though that certainly is a possibility. Let Paul Konerko explain why the Sox could fare better than last year's team.

 

"We won the division with a team in 2000 that was not as good as the team that's here now and we did it against a team in Cleveland that was stacked up better than any team in our division now," he said. "If we come together and work hard, it's there."

 

Maybe Guillen, by virtue of his enthusiasm, won't let this team lose to Detroit, the way last year's model too often did. Maybe reliever Billy Koch will become what he used to be and not what he was last season. Maybe Jon Garland will turn into the pitcher he's supposed to be.

 

Too many "maybes"? OK, here's a certainty: Thomas will get upset about something this season because he always does. He's still slightly torqued about the way the Sox handled his contract last year, but he said he won't let it bother him. He might not be the happiest camper, but he's a content camper.

 

"Something was missing and hopefully we found it," Thomas said.

 

That something is a somebody. Guillen.

 

"He's a joy to be around," Thomas said. "You better be prepared for what he might say at any second because anything might come out of his mouth at any time. I think the guys are going to have a lot more fun."

 

In sports, the new coach or manager often is the polar opposite of the previous coach or manager. Jerry Manuel sometimes was so lacking in fire he was North polar. You'll never have to check Guillen's pilot light. If he does lose his temper, he said, it will be because one teammate criticized another in public or because someone didn't hustle. You know, baseball things.

 

"Oh, he's going to snap," Thomas said. "I can see it coming. He's going to snap. He's fiery."

 

Guillen's job is to alter this team's brain chemistry. Despite having all that talent last season, the Sox never meshed. The team had sports psychologists on speed dial. The Sox hired Guillen to do what Tony Pena did in Kansas City last season. If it sounds like stereotyping—the emotional Latin manager brought in to stir things up—well, teams copy success, and Pena was successful.

 

Guillen was the Marlins' third-base coach when they won the World Series last season. He saw players "take care of each other, how they love each other."

 

Let's not get carried away with the concept of team as family. These are the Sox. Any club that includes Thomas is going to have domestic issues. We'll settle for Sox players liking each other.

 

Anything can happen with this team. Insofar as Thomas didn't implode upon arrival, Wednesday was a fine start. So far, so good.

[YASNY]

I like this way of thinking.

 

Let Paul Konerko explain why the Sox could fare better than last year's team.

 

"We won the division with a team in 2000 that was not as good as the team that's here now and we did it against a team in Cleveland that was stacked up better than any team in our division now," he said. "If we come together and work hard, it's there."

[DBAHO]

Good article there, at least the team is going to have a pulse this year with Ozzie in charge. There are a lot of maybe's with this team, can Garland step it up? Can Koch and Konerko rebound? But there's a lot of maybe's with the 4 contending teams in the division (Sorry I-Rod) and that still gives us hope.

[southsider2k5]

It almost seems for the first time in years there is some determination in the clubhouse. They are talking about winning, instead of just playing well. It will be really interesting to see how they get out of the gate.

[The Critic]

Best sentence of this entire article:

 

In fact, the Sox might have an easier time winning their mediocre division than the Cubs will have winning the National League Central.

 

This is very true - IF the Sox play up to their capabilities and get a couple breaks, they can win the weak AL Central. This is what the Cubs did last year - they were not a powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination, but the weak division they played in allowed them to hang in there and take advantage of a VERY soft September schedule.