Booing is a reaction to bad play, not a cause of it.

 

I'll second this.

Not the booing, but playing sports in Chicago comes with a lot of pressure that can easily affect a team's play. I voted "yes" out of that principle.

If the booing bothers the player so much he can't perform, he isn't worth major league minimum anyway and should be looking for another line of work. People don't boo until either you just don't try or have sucked for more than a little while.

Somewhere, Darryl Strawberry is crying right now.

As a unit, I can see the team pressing for the home crowd. But I don't buy for a second that the booing of individual players is to blame. Maybe it's a culmination or some kind of mindf***, but these guys are professionals. They're used to getting booed and razzed.

The White Sox are 15-5 in their last 20 road games.

 

But 8 games under 500 at home.

 

Maybe one should start by looking at who we lost from that 2008 team (Crede/Uribe/Cabrera, etc.)....because they were the last Sox team to hold "serve" on their home field. Back then, you felt it they could play 500 on the road, they could dominate at home and that would be enough (maybe) to win the division.

 

For 3 years, we've been so-so or worse at home. You could also blame apathetic/skeptical home crowds, inflated prices and attendance. Less pressure on the road...less media attention, especially the West Coast games. Players are TOO relaxed when they're around their wives and family...whereas other White Sox teams had more younger players and fewer married guys. Who knows?

 

But there are counter-examples like Rios having an OPS under 500 on the road.

 

I haven't looked at the splits this year, but weren't Beckham and/or Quentin horrible at USCF the last couple of years?

 

With Dunn, you really think that "short" RF bleachers home run porch is playing with his head a bit....just like Target Field is starting to get to Mauer with his 1 homer in a season's worth of games.

Edited August 9, 201114 yr by caulfield12

I'd imagine most of it is just coincidence. Likely the home record and home performance feed off each other. The bigger deal that's made of it, the bigger deal it will ultimately be.

No they are tired of SOS...............ie Walker and clownfest.