ALL THE RIGHT MOVES

[JUGGERNAUT]

ALL THE RIGHT MOVES

Jilted ego's master aggessive style of play to win a World Series

 

NANANANA NANANANA HEY HEY HEY GOODBYE! The 2005 Chicago White Sox are World Champions!

 

Welcome to the Wonderful Land of Oz! It's not small ball, or smart ball. It's aggressive ball. From the first pitch to the last pitch the team remains aggressive on the mound, in the field, on the base pads, & at the plate.

 

The 2005 Chicago White Sox are not the most surest handed fielders in the game today. In fact they are more prone to muff a lazy routine play than say even the North Siders. But they are without a doubt the most aggressive fielders in the game today. When it comes to hard charging or quick reaction plays this team has no equal. IF: Crede-Uribe-Iguchi-Konerko OF: SPods-ARowand-JDye. If you need the tough play to be made they might just be the best.

 

On the mound aggressive pitching starts with the backstop. AJ must be the most

aggressive catcher in the game today. He is fearless & yet he can smell fear. He never stops thinking of ways to win or ways to battle. This guy will make a

terrific manager some day. I hope when that day comes it's for the White Sox.

 

It's impossible to be on the mound & not pitch aggressively with AJ catching. As the

lead catcher he sets the tone & that simply carries over with Widger. I have no doubt

AJ & Widger were close this season & would spend time together sharing notes. There are a lot of ego's in major league baseball & I imagine some are not conducive to an aggressive catcher calling the shots. But the entire staff from Buehrle to BMac

seems to have been at the right time in their careers where they were receptive to it.

As success was borne early & often that reception grew into unabashed loyalty &

confidence.

 

On the base pads there is no one more aggressive than Scott Podsednik. Had he remained healthy all season long the White Sox would have better weathered the August storm. It's a storm we knew was brewing all season long. That murderous cloudy schedule on the horizon as we were enjoying the sunshine of June. But had we not been humbled by that storm we might not have been as hungry in late Sept. Hunger, humility & aggressiveness go hand in hand. Scott's inspiring play in the first half carried over to the whole team. Everybody started believing they could steal bases. Even AJ & Kong.

 

Ozzie called Iguchi his MVP this year & I can see why. A perennial all-star slugger in Japan who knows what it's like to play for it all is asked to give up some of his aggressiveness at the plate so that Podsednik can be more aggressive on the base pads. How many players in this game today are willing to do that? You would think it would weaken his prowress at the plate but it didn't. Maybe it took some homeruns & doubles away from him but it clearly made him even hungrier in the field. Ultimately it's his play in the field that made the biggest difference.

 

Last but not least we have aggressive play at the plate. Outside of Iguchi & Pods

the rest of this White Sox lineup consists mostly of free-swingers. But unlike previous

years the White Sox had free-swingers from both sides of the plate. You can not

overstate the importance of Carl Everett being a true switch hitter & AJ being a solid

LH bat. When Carl slumped in Jun Frank Thomas was just what the doctor ordered. Not only did he inspire Carl to hit out of his slump but Frank was more aggressive than ever. His average suffered for it but his homeruns were the difference between winning & losing. Again how can any guy on this team not become aggressive watching these guys play in the field? It's contagious. Which makes Iguchi's loyalty only that much more heroic.

 

Can the 2006 White Sox repeat? Who Knows. I do believe Ozzie & Kenny have changed the face of baseball in the years to come. Powerball & moneyball are going to give way to aggessiveball. Winning & losing will be more about pressuring the opposition into mistakes than trying to outslug them or outpitch them. I don't think this will be a one & done. I think other teams will try to copy this formula. They should be cautioned that it takes a special group of players to master aggressiveball.

 

Hope will spring eternal again in 2006. With or without Kong. I hope he stays. I hope corporate Chicago is calling the White Sox now & adopting US Cellular Field as the new best place to entertain clients & develop a winning business culture for the city. I know they have the power. Having 20,000 season ticket holders by end of November is not out of reason. I would say if we meet that goal then we can afford

a 90+ million payroll. But even if we don't aggressiveball is here to stay. We have

the personnel now that has mastered it. As players come & go with free agency we

have the scouts, the general manager, & the manager to cultivate it.

 

Assuming Ozzie doesn't walk away don't make any plans for Oct 2006. Save your money to be there next year. White Sox Go Wild II is sure to be a winner as well!

[YASNY]

I do believe Ozzie & Kenny have changed the face of baseball in the years to come. Powerball & moneyball are going to give way to aggessiveball.

 

That's a thought that's been in the back of mind for quite awhile. Instead of reacting to another teams success, they anticipated that the steroid era, for all practical intents and purposes, was over. They went out and got baseball players as opposed to sluggers. The Sammy Sosa(s) of baseball are a thing of the past. Kenny and Ozzie were proactive instead of being reactive.

[JUGGERNAUT]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball...9p-306483c.html

Chronicles all of the moves starting with Uribe.