Two reports in The Times this week.

[DePloderer]

Here are two reports that appeared in The Times over here this week. I thought you might be interested in reading them.

 

The Times October 28, 2005

 

White Sox sweep away curse of 1919

From Keith Blackmore in Houston

 

 

 

WINNING the World Series for the first time in 88 years may not banish the ghosts of the greatest scandal in American sports history, but for the Chicago White Sox it’s a start. For 86 of those years the disgrace of the so-called Black Sox, who threw the World Series of 1919 in a gambling coup, has hovered like a long, dark cloud over everything Chicago’s second team have done since.

 

The scenes of jubilation on the field at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday night, after the Sox had beaten the Houston Astros 1-0 to complete a four-game sweep of this year’s series, should mark the start of a new era for the team from the Southside and it will be all the sweeter for the knowledge that their Northside rivals, the Cubs, are still stuck with a curse of their own: no championship since 1908.

 

Most important of all, though, will be the separation at last from the “curse of the Black Sox”. Eight men were banned for life from the sport in 1921 after the scandal was revealed, among them some of the greatest players of the time and one, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, who even now has the third-highest batting average in baseball history and whose name still resonates down the decades.

 

All eight had been cleared by a grand jury of involvement in the fixing of the best-of-nine series, which the Sox lost to the Cincinnati Reds, the underdogs, 5-3. Some money certainly changed hands between fixers and players, but it has never been clear who were the truly guilty men.

 

In a sport given to self- mythologising, the story of the Black Sox has always added an irresistible whiff of authentic corruption to the game’s annual tale of triumph and disaster and if baseball has always stood for the best of American life, the Black Sox have provided a reminder of how it could be debased.

 

None of this, it must be said, is likely to have been much in the minds of the modern White Sox players as they cavorted in the champagne fountains on Wednesday. For them, the result was simply confirmation that they really were the best team this year. Not only did they lead their division from start to finish during the regular season, they also romped through the play-offs, winning 11 games and losing only one.

 

The last of these wins came in the closest game of the series. Brandon Backe, the least famous of Houston’s starry line-up of starting pitchers, gave the performance of his career, striking out six while giving up only five hits and no runs in seven innings. But he was bettered by Freddy García, the forgotten man of the White Sox rotation, who kept the Astros’ feeble hitting line-up quiet, too.

 

The deadlock was broken in the eighth inning, when Jermaine Dye singled off the reliever, Brad Lidge, driving home Willie Harris for the winning run. Dye had struck the first real blow of the series, smashing a home run off the mighty Roger Clemens on Saturday night in the first inning of the first game, and he was named Most Valuable Player of the series for his consistent hitting through all four games.

 

There was one other moment of high drama, in the bottom of the ninth, when the Astros were trying desperately to claw their way back into the game. With a man on second and a man out, Chris Burke swung and sent the ball spiralling into the sky. It looked as if it would drop safely into the seats in foul territory, giving Burke another life, but Juan Uribe, the Chicago shortstop, dived head-first into the crowd and emerged triumphant seconds later, ball in hand.

 

The catch perfectly embodied the virtues that have made the White Sox champions: speed, skill, commitment and determination to make the most of every opportunity. In that, they also resembled their manager, Ozzie Guillen, a Venezuelan like García, whose fractured English and fiery temperament drove them to ever greater heights. The White Sox may not be a great team, but they are a very good one.

 

One by one, baseball’s great “curses” seem to be lifting. Last year it was the Boston Red Sox and the “Curse of the Bambino”, this year it is the Black Sox. Chicago Cubs fans will hope that next year it will be their turn.

 

CURSED TWO OUT OF THREE AIN’T BAD

 

THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO

 

Cause: The Boston Red Sox sell the young Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1920.

 

Effect: The Red Sox go 86 years without winning the World Series, while the Yankees win it 26 times.

 

Lifted: 2004, when the Red Sox finally win the series again, beating the Yankees on the way.

 

 

THE CURSE OF THE BLACK SOX

 

Cause: Eight Chicago White Sox players banned for life for throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds.

 

Effect. The White Sox go 88 years without winning the World Series.

 

Lifted. October 2005.

 

 

THE CURSE OF THE BILLY GOAT

 

Cause: In 1945, the Chicago Cubs refuse World Series admission to a tavern owner and his pet goat. The tavern owner curses the Cubs.

 

Effect: No World Series for the Cubs since, stretching their run without success from 1908.

 

 

 

 

The Times October 27, 2005

 

White Sox sweep Astros for World Series title

From Keith Blackmore in Houston

 

 

Winning the World Series for the first time in 88 years may not banish the ghosts of the greatest scandal in American sports history but for the Chicago White Sox, it's a start. For 86 of those years the disgrace of the so-called Black Sox, who threw the World Series of 1919 in a gambling coup, has hovered like a long dark cloud over everything Chicago's second team has done since.

 

The scenes of jubilation on the field at Minute Maid Park here on Wednesday night, after the Sox had beaten the Houston Astros 1-0 to complete a four-game sweep of this year's series, should mark the start of a new era for the team from the South Side and it will be all the sweeter for the knowledge that their rivals to the north, the Cubs, are still stuck with a curse of their own: no championship since 1908.

 

Most important of all though will be the separation at last from the curse of the Black Sox. Eight men were banned for life from the sport after the scandal was revealed, among them some of the greatest players of the time and one, Shoeless Joe Jackson, who even now has the third highest batting average in baseball history and whose name resonates down the decades.

 

All eight had been cleared by a grand jury of involvement in the fixing of the best-of-nine series which the Sox lost to the underdog Cincinnati Reds, 5-3. Some money certainly changed hands between fixers and players but it has never been clear who were the truly guilty men. The players were banned for life from baseball anyway.

 

In a sport given to self-mythologising, the story of the Black Sox has always added an irresistible whiff of authentic corruption to baseball's annual tale of triumph and disaster, and if baseball has always stood for the best of American life, then the Black Sox have provided a reminder of how it could be debased.

 

None of this, it must be said, is likely to have been much in the minds of the modern White Sox players as they cavorted in the champagne fountains on Wednesday.

 

For them the result was simply confirmation that they really were the best team in baseball this year. Not only did they lead their division from start to finish of the regular season but they romped through the play-offs winning 11 games and losing only one.

 

The last of these wins came in the closest game of the series. Brandon Backe, the least famous of Houston's starry line-up of starting pitchers, gave the performance of his career, striking out six while giving up five hits and no runs in seven innings. But he was bested by Freddy Garcia, the forgotten man of the White Sox rotation, who kept the Astros feeble hitting line-up quiet too.

 

The deadlock was broken in the eighth inning, when Jermaine Dye singled off Brad Lidge, the reliever, driving home Willie Harris for the winning run. It was Dye who had struck the first real blow of the series, smashing a home run off the mighty Roger Clemens on Saturday night in the first inning of the first game, and he was later named Most valuable Player of the series for his consistent hitting through all four games.

 

There was one other moment of high drama in the bottom of the ninth when the Astros were trying desperately to claw their way back into the game. With a man on second and one out, Chris Burke swung and sent the ball spiralling into the sky. It looked as if it would drop safely into the seats in foul territory giving Burke another life but Juan Uribe, the Chicago shortstop dived headfirst into the crowd and emerged triumphant seconds later, ball in hand.

 

The catch perfectly embodied the virtues that have made the White Sox champions: speed, skill, commitment, and determination to make the most of every opportunity. In that, they also resembled their manager, Ozzie Guillen, a Venezuelan like Garcia, whose fractured English and fiery temperament have driven them to ever-greater heights. The White Sox may not be a great team but they are a very good one.

 

One by one, baseball's great "curses" seem to be lifting. Last year it was the Red Sox and the curse of the Bambino, this year it is the Black Sox.

 

Chicago Cubs fans will hope that next year it will be their turn.