Farewell “Mr. White Sox”

--> When Minnie Minoso, “The Cuban Comet”, passed away this past weekend, Chicago lost another baseball legend.  Minnie was the first black Latin player in Major League Baseball and first black player in the American League when he signed with Cleveland in 1949.  Two years later he was traded to the White Sox, where he became a fan favorite for his relentless style of play and outgoing personality.

Minnie played 12 of his 17 years with the White Sox and is one of only two players to have played at least 1 game in 5 different decades.  Minnie was a 7-time All Star and 3-time Gold Glove winner in left field.  He led the AL in triples and stolen bases 3 times each.  His accomplishments both on the field and off led to his number 9 being retired and he is immortalized with a statue on the outfield concourse at U.S. Cellular Field.

Minnie’s popularity in Chicago only grew after his retirement.  As a community relations ambassador, he represented the White Sox with class and a never ending smile.  He took the time to talk with fans wherever he went, freely signing autographs for anyone who wanted one.  It is said that he signed enough autographs for every resident of Chicago to have at least one.

I was fortunate enough to have met Minnie at Sox Fest years ago.  My buddy Jamie and I were standing in the hallway between autograph sessions when Minnie walked up to us.  He introduced himself and asked us where we were from.  With hundreds of fans walking around, Minnie spent about 5 minutes with us talking baseball and of course signed an autograph for each of us.  Minnie was one of the nicest, most personable sports figures I have ever encountered.

Despite his wonderful career and historical significance paving the way for Latin players, Minnie has been denied entry to the Hall of Fame.  Was it coming to the Majors later in his career after spending so much time playing in Cuba and the Negro Leagues or the “stunt” game in 1980 to have played in 5 decades that have kept him out?  It’s a shame that only Chicago has recognized a great man.

Career Stats

Games	Hits	HR	SO	BB	RBI	Runs	SB	Avg.	Fld. %
1,835	1,963	186	584	814	1,023	1,136	205	.298	.971

Jake Peavy on the South Side

Over the past week, I have been wrestling with my feelings over the Jake Peavy deal that White Sox GM Kenny Williams made, 4 for 1. Four young, up and coming pitchers, two of whom are power lefties (Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Adam Russell and Dexter Carter) given up for one injured, former Cy Young Award winner. Too much was given up in my humble opinion and I’ll tell you why...

Jake Peavy is not going to be available to the Sox until late August at the soonest, meaning Chicago is facing four weeks without a starting pitcher. That leaves a consistent 3 man rotation of Buehrle, Floyd and Danks. Fourth in the rotation is Contreras who right now couldn’t find the strike zone if it was bright pink in the middle of an open field. As far as a fifth starter, it will be by committee. Clayton Richard should not have been part of this deal. The White Sox need a solid 4th man during this wait for Peavy and that was Richard. Kenny once again acted like it was a seller’s market, when in reality it was a buyer's market (e.g.: Cliff Lee and Jared Washburn).

If Peavy can stay healthy over the next couple of years and pitch up to his history, it will be a great move overall. I am thrilled to have a pitcher of his caliber, but I say this with some trepidation, as we have been burned in the past by the likes of David Wells and Bartolo Colon (twice now).

I think I would prefer to have taken my chances with Clayton Richard, the young left hander who throws mid-90’s and is learning his control and secondary pitches.

Trade Deadline Ramifications 2009

Okay, the ’09 MLB trade deadline has come and gone...who won and who lost?

Nah, that’s too simple - with the economics of baseball being in worse shape than the American stock market, we should filter what we’ve seen over the last few weeks into categories. Welcome to “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”, ‘Sports Frenzy’ style!!!

Moving Players Like Freakin’ Chess Pieces: Must be nice to be a Red Sox fan. Um, we need a first baseman...let’s trade for Adam LaRoche! A few days pass. Ummm, can’t we do better than LaRoche? Let’s trade LaRoche for Casey Kotchman PLUS get Victor Martinez to boot!!! There’s the ticket...

Fire Sale!!!: See ‘Pirates, Pittsburgh’ & ‘Indians, Cleveland’. Also see ‘Disgraceful’ and ‘Pathetic’...

Waiting In The Weeds Like A Viper: The Cardinals didn’t do much last year to improve themselves, and St. Louis fans wondered aloud if they were being hosed like the Pirates faithful...their team opens a new ballpark and then abruptly stops trying to excel on the field as the cash registers overflow. Not so in 2009. Mark DeRosa, Julio Lugo, and Matt Holliday have joined Ryan Ludwick as Albert Pujols’ posse, and the Phillies have started sweating a bit...

How Do You Spell Relief???: The Cubs and Dodgers decided to bolster their bullpens and stick with the lumber they already had. John Grabow comes to The Windy City from Pittsburgh, and George Sherrill goes from the East Coast (Baltimore) to the West Coast (L.A.). Now if Lou Piniella can just get Kevin Gregg straightened out again...

Aces High: The Phillies already had Hamels, the White Sox already had Buehrle. Both pitchers helped lead their teams to World Series championships within the last five years. Now, Cole has Cliff Lee to watch his back & ‘Mr. Perfect Game’ will have Jake Peavy (by late August) to ride shotgun for him...

What does it all mean? In the end, we’re still looking at the haves vs. the have-nots. We’ll probably see the Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers, and Cubs (wild card) in the NL & the Red Sox, White Sox, Angels, and Yankees (wild card) in the AL. Sure, the postseason will be entertaining, but people will still drift en masse to pro football come September. Why? Because hope springs eternal everywhere in Roger Goodell’s world...the NFL makes it much more realistic for a team to stage a turnaround or comeback than the flawed financial structure of Major League Baseball does...

Just ask fans of the Pirates, Indians, Nationals, A’s, Royals, Orioles, and Blue Jays...

Perfect!!!

Perfect history on a perfect afternoon. One of the rarest feats in all of sports was accomplished yesterday afternoon on the South Side of Chicago when White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle retired the Tampa Bay Rays in order, 27 up and 27 down. Only the 18th perfect game pitched in Major League Baseball history (the first since 2004), Buehrle backed up his no hitter last year against the Texas Rangers. In that game, Buehrle walked only 1 batter, Sammy Sosa, and promptly picked him off first base.

What Mark did yesterday was a thing of beauty. It was not only his pitching ability, but the overall defensive performance by the team. What also makes this a special game was that not all of the White Sox regulars were playing on what was called a getaway day as the club prepared to leave for Detroit after the game. Josh Fields (hit a grand slam) played first in place of Paul Konerko and Ramon Castro catching in place of A.J. Pierzynski.

Dewayne Wise made THE CATCH of the season and probably his career by leaping the fence and taking a home run away from Gabe Kapler leading off the 9th inning. This was the first inning that Wise played, coming in as a defensive replacement. As a huge Sox fan, I have been very critical of the organization's decision to keep Wise around this season. I was more impressed with Brian Anderson’s defense, and Anderson was hitting a moderately better .238 to Wise’s .196 before Anderson was sent to the minors. After yesterday, I will cut Dewayne some slack for a few days. The determination he showed in going after that ball and the concentration he displayed in holding on to it have earned him that...

Congratulations to Mark Buehrle and thank you Dewayne Wise! You have made all of us White Sox fans proud!!!