Old Style Sports

After the Cubs’ completed their second sweep of the Pirates this season last night, your two baseball teams are at the top of their divisions. The White Sox have won six of their last nine, and with the Yankees and Mets coming to town, both of these teams are fortunate to have their mojo right now. So how are they doing it? At opposite ends of the mound.

The Cubs currently rank 3rd in the majors, hitting with a .282 batting average. and 2nd in RBI with 101. Derek Lee is back to ‘05 form with 7 home runs and 17 RBI already here in the early-going, and there are eight guys with batting averages over .300. And just in case you haven’t been following, that’s with Soriano on the disabled list, too. Granted it’s early, but October could be interesting if this lineup keeps producing like it has.

The White Sox, however, are getting it done on the other side of the ball, currently ranked 5th in the majors with a 3.45 ERA. Despite only having two guys (Pierzynski and Dye) batting over .300, the White Sox have managed to win by silencing the bats of their opponents.

And it isn’t because of perennial all-star Mark Buehrle, either (1-2, 5.96). Outside of Buehrle, the White Sox pitchers are 8-3. So once Buehrle shakes off the rust, and the lineup starts producing, it appears that Chicago’s South Side Bombers might be playoff bound.

Alright, I can admit it. Despite hating all of the crap that comes along with the Red Sox vs. Yankees rivalry, I do own a Yankees suck shirt. After games let out, all of the vendors along Brookline Ave. into Kenmore sell t-shirts that say everything from “Jeter drinks wine coolers” to “A-Rod wears lipstick”. I’ve seen some of the same thing around here with the intracity rivalry between the Cubs and White Sox (White Sox fans wearing “Wrigley Field: World’s largest gay bar” shirts).

But this is pretty damn awful. And not funny in the least.

The immersion of Japanese baseball players into Major League Baseball has been one of the best things that could have happened for baseball. International TV contracts, marketing and advertising, and games being played in Japan have been very lucrative initiatives made by MLB to expand what was once a largely American game.

Ignorance breeds hate, people. What we really need is to get back to our appreciation for touchin’ ‘em all, 6-4-3 double plays and rally caps.

Baseball used to be about sitting in your shirtsleeves on a warm summer day with a cold beer and a bag of peanuts. We need to get back to it.