From the Cheap Seats: We Have A Winner

May 22nd

I normally like picking things out for myself, whether it is a choice to eat out somewhere or when to leave to cover an event or something, however there was one thing that I struggled with in recent weeks. With my favorite baseball team, the Cubs, providing drama all over the place, I decided that I need to follow a new team.
What Major League Baseball team to pick to follow became my new thing to pick in a way, but it was a struggle. I sat down and thought about how many teams that I could actually get behind and it got to a list of five.
This process started out two weeks ago when I threw out the five teams that I could follow to the readers of our paper to choose from as I could not make this decision for the life of me. Last week, we had a tie in reader votes, with the equal number of votes coming in for the Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals. So, one more week, one more vote. This time, there is no tie.
With the help of the Wilton baseball team providing a lot of the votes, the final total went like this. Chicago White Sox 16, St. Louis Cardinals 13. The Beavers are not short on their love of baseball and I would like to thank them for helping me out in my quest.
The two teams that were able to be voted on each have a local following here in Tipton and Cedar County for that matter.
So we begin. My Cubs loyalties are on the back burner for now and new loyalties for the White Sox come to the forefront.
So, just like a little kid, I wonder who is even on the White Sox now. I have watched a few games of theirs here or there, mainly against the Cubs, so I have an idea. Of the active 25-man roster, I know of 14 of them. As I look at the roster, one of my all-time favorite players is on the team, Jim Thome so that is a big plus. As is players left over from the Sox’s World Series Title in 2005 in Mark Buehrle, Bobby Jenks, A.J. Pierzynski, Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye and Scott Podsednik.
Am I going to get to see the White Sox on tv? The answer to that is yes. Thanks to Comcast Sports out of Chicago, the White Sox are on a lot. Even better, former Chicago Cub analyst Steve Stone is in their booth.
One thing that is exciting about this is that the American League Central is just as exciting as the National League Central. There are young teams like the Indians, Twins and Royals looking to keep the vetren White Sox from competing for a divison title. The White Sox have a favorable interleague schedule too with home games with the Pirates, Dodgers and Cubs and away games with Milwaukee, Chicago and Cincinati.
So it begins. I will watch this week with interest as the Minnesota Twins come to town to play a three-game series. I also will be very interested in the June 16-18 and June 26-28 games against the Cubs.

From The Cheap Seats: Cubs, and Ties, We’ll Try Again

May 13th 2009
Uh Oh. Cubs fans held their breath Friday after Aramis Rameriz went down with an injury only to find our that he is going to miss a month possibly with a dislocated shouldar. As I was reading the story Saturday morning on ESPN.com, the last paragraph stated that the Cubs had made a trade. For who I thought? A backup third basemen? Someone other than a utility guy to plug in like they have been doing?
Then I find out. Ryan Freel for Joey Gathwright. Ryan Freel for Joey Gathwright as I re-read the paragraph as if I don’t know these two guys. Probably because I don’t. So, I click over to the Chicago Tribune website and ready the story. There, I find that Freel, a former Red and Oriole, is supposed to provide endless versatility as any outfield spot is safe with him as well as second and third. Plus, he is supposed to step in as soon as possible to replace Rameriez. Great I think. He must have some pop in his bat or speed or hit for average. So I go back to ESPN.com to find out. I scroll through the Rameriez story and click on Freel’s name and low and behold, the Cubs replacement for Aramis is a .133 batter with 1 RBI in nine games. The Season is approaching 35 games and he has played in nine of them on a team that is 12-18 as of Saturday morning.

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A week ago, I threw out there for our readers to help me in making a decision about which baseball team to follow along with the Cubs this season. Teams available for selection were: St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers and the Minnesota Twins.
One criteria for this list was that they are all Midwest teams. The team has to have had a powder blue uniform in the 1980’s or a ‘retro jersey’ and they have to have been a team that I have seen play in person over my lifetime. The final criteria is that they must have played or won a World Series in my lifetime.
So, as you are waiting anxiously, here are the results. There were two votes for both the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox. One vote each for the Brewers, Twins and Royals.
Here are two responses that I received with the picks, one for the Twins, and another for the White Sox.

Twins – ….. So, you are looking for a new bandwagon to jump on? This is easy.
Minnesota Twins fans are the best (or worst depending how you look at it) bandwagon jumping fans in baseball. You can jump on and off their bandwagon anytime without remorse. Their fans do it all the time.

White Sox - …. I vote for the White Sox, a 2005 World Series Title, a great manager, what more do you want?

So, it’s down to two teams, the White Sox and Cardinals. Both are natural rivals of the Cubs so it is fitting that these are the two teams left. With that, I ask for your help again to break this tie. Contact me at ConservativeSports@hotmail.com with your choice. Even if you are not a fan of either team, your vote still will count. Next week I will publish the results here along with a tribute to my ‘new’ team.

From The Cheap Seats: Cubs, and Ties, We’ll Try Again

From The Cheap Seats: Go Cubs?

May 6th 2009
Being a Cub fan has its ups and downs. This season is no different. After getting out to a 10-11 start, they have now won four straight as of Monday night. Despite this recent swing of wins, the Cubs have me looking for a new baseball team to follow.
No, I am not giving up following the Cubs. I think that I always will. However, this season, I want less drama and fewer headaches in a team. Therefore, I have come up with a list of four teams that I am considering following and I need you, the readers, and help. I would like for you to e-mail me reasons that I should put my Cubs allegiance on the back burner and take up the flag of a new team.
One criteria for this list is that they are all Midwest teams. I’m a Midwest fan of my sports teams and there are five other teams that could be chosen. There are two others. The team has to have had a powder blue uniform in the 1980’s or a ‘retro jersey’ and they have to have been a team that I have seen play in person over my lifetime. So, here are five teams that I am considering with their current record as of Tuesday May 5 at 7:00 a.m.

1. St. Louis Cardinals (17-9)
The Cardinals have the best record of the four teams that are up for consideration. I recently saw a classic Baseball Bunch program on You Tube with Ozzie Smith and was there a better time in baseball than the 1980’s? Granted, I am an 80’s nut anyway, but speed and defense ruled the Cardinals 1982, 1985 and 1987 World Series runs.
The Cardinals have had guys like Jack Clark, John Tudor, Todd Worrell and Vince Coleman and now are led by Albert Pujols.
The bad thing about the Cardinals are that as a Cubs fan, liking a rival would be like following the Cyclones after liking the Hawkeyes. Some things are just not natural.
I have been to Cardinals games in 1983 and 1998.

2. Chicago White Sox (12-13)
I know there are a lot of White Sox fans in our area so I would expect a lot of response for them. The White Sox have won the World Series in the past couple years and have one of my favorite current baseball players in Jim Thome. Thome is a basher with an attitude that I like to see in baseball players. Granted, he can’t field anymore, or for his career for that matter, but he is a home run hitting left handed batter.
The White Sox had some interesting jerseys in the 1980’s and 1990’s before settling on their black pinstripes now.
I haven’t been to Chicago to watch the White Sox, but I have seen them play twice in Kansas City. Once, Carlton Fisk stole second base and Bo Jackson was on the White Sox, and once last year where Thome and Paul Konerko hit back-to-back home runs.

3. Kansas City Royals (15-11)
By far, the biggest surprise this season and by far the most games that I have been to. I have been to Royals games each of the last four years as well as games in 1984, 1985, 1994 and 1995.
With going to a game each of the last four seasons, there are some here at the newspaper that thinks that I have already made the switch to the Royals.

4. Minnesota Twins (13-13)
I will not forget the 1987 World Series in which the Twins took the championship from the Cardinals. When I think of the Twins I think of good pitchers whether its Frank Viola or Jack Morris to Johan Santana. The fact that they are winning in a small market is something that I like to see. You don’t have to spend a lot to be competitive.
I saw a game in the dome against the Indians back in the mid-90’s. The Twins have two of the best young players in Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer.

5. Milwaukee Brewers (14-12)
The Brewers are not the frontrunner here, however they have something that I like. They are a young team that has some pop in their bat. I went to a Brewers game back when I was much younger and the Brewers played at County Stadium against the Minnesota Twins and their powder blue jerseys.

Are there others? All of these teams have something in common. They have all won the World Series in my lifetime. The Cubs, not so. So, I need your help, let me know pro or con for these teams and try to convince me of which team to follow. My e-mail address is ConservativeSports@hotmail.com. I will let you know next week the results.