MLB --- Thursday, October 27^th, 20005

White Sox Win 2005 World Series

Fans doubted them. The media doubted them. Heck, I seriously doubted them. Another words, just about everyone outside the southside of Chicago thought that the White Sox would end up short if nothing else of winning their first World Championship in 88 years. Okay, we admit it now, we were wrong. I was VERY wrong.

Before this season, the one person symbolic with this team was Frank Thomas. Nicknamed, ‘the Big Hurt,’ Thomas seemed only a little hurt as Chicago celebrated on the Houston Astros’ field at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday night, following their second sweep in three playoff series. Their postseason record: 11-1. Their record in the final 17 games: 16-1.

When people thought this was it, now is the time the White Sox collapse, it didn’t happen. Yes, they got some helpful breaks along the way, but ultimately they went out there and won this title and did so without the face of the franchise for many years in the 90’s and early 2000’s - Thomas. They deserved it like all the Champions before them.

Two men that really deserve this in addition to Jerry Reinsdorf are General Manager Kenny Williams and Manager Ozzie Guillen. Williams helped assemble this team in the off-season, bringing in Scott Podsednik and reliever Luis Vizcaino from the Brewers in exchange for power hitting outfielder Carlos Lee, who was among the major league leaders this year in runs batted in. Guillen refused to accept that his team played ‘small ball’ and instead called it ‘smart ball’. His hold nothing back managerial style appealed to the players as they were able to go out there and play the game freely. So in essence, Guillen’s work as a second-year Manager and Williams’ shrewd player moves put this team in position to not only shock people in the American League Central, but also in the league’s playoffs.

Tremendous starting pitching (led by five guys who all exceeded expectations), fearless throwing by relievers that some questioned, hard-nosed fielding and base running, and timely hitting with power mixed in were the characteristics of this team. They were the characteristics Guillen and Williams envisioned when they started the season, slipped away for a brief period in August and September, but really came forth when it mattered in October.

So the White Sox win their first World Series in 88 years. Last year the Red Sox snapped an 86-year title drought. Is it… the Cubs turn? Quite possibly.

Recap of the series:

Game 1 - Chicago won it thanks to the play of their 7-8-9 hitters. Joe Crede, A.J. Pierzynski and Juan Uribe delivered the first win of the series. Houston pitcher Roger Clemens, a seven time recipient of the Cy Young award, was unable to go deep into the ball game at all as an injury slowed him down. The White Sox bullpen got the job done in the late innings to prevent an Astros rally.

Game 2 - In what maybe was the defining game of this series, the White Sox went up 2-0 in this series when outfielder Scott Podsednik (who had over 500 at-bats during the regular season and drilled 0 out of the park) hit his second home run of the postseason and first of the Fall Classic to end the game. Podsednik went deep off lights out Astros closer Brad Lidge, who acquired a new bad taste by giving up the game-winning home run for the second time this postseason. The game went back and forth early just like in Gm. 1 before Houston took a 4-2 lead heading into the seventh inning. With Dan Wheeler no the mound with two and two on vs. Jermaine Dye, we had controversy for the second time this postseason, both involving the White Sox. Did the ball hit the bat or his hand on a 3-2 pitch? Looked like the bat, but it was not quite as clear as Gm. 2 of the ALCS. Nonetheless, Chicago got a man on and when Chad Qualls came into the game, Paul Konerko drilled the first pitch for a Grand Slam. Houston pinch hitter Jose Vizcaino, a former postseason hero of the New York Yankees in the 2000 Subway Series, came into the game 0-for-7 in the postseason and with two out and down by two runs Vizcaino connected for a two-run RBI single to shallow left field on the first pitch from Bobby Jenks. That tied it before Podsednik’s heroics.

Game 3 - It what was the longest game in Majoor League Baseball World Series history, the Chicago White Sox took a commanding 3-0 series lead over the host Houston Astros. Houston raced out to an early lead before Ozzie Guillen’s team struck back with a five-run inning. The game went to extra innings where in the 14^th, pinch hitting utility infielder (mainly a third baseman) Geoff Blum came up to the plate. Blum, who was acquired before the trade deadline from the San Diego Padres, hit the game’s winning homer in the top of the 14^th. Houston played the longest game in baseball postseason history when they defeated the Atlanta Braves in Gm. 4 of the NLDS. This epic one into the AM hours of Wednesday morning was not one they’d like to remember vividly.

Game 4 - Chicago won the American League Centtral division crown on starting pitching. It’s how they got to the playoffs and how they won the World Series as they shutout the Houston Astros, 1-0, for the franchise’s first World Series Championship since 1917. Outfielder Jermaine Dye drove in the only run of the night and turned in a three-hit performance to earn series MVP honors. Dye’s story is pretty interesting. He began the first six years of his big league career with the Atlanta Braves (one season) and Kansas City Royals (five years). He spent the previous four seasons leading up to 2005 with the Oakland Athletics. There he struggled quite a bit, hitting .172 during 65 games in 2003. Dye bounced back somewhat in ’04, nailing 23 home runs but striking out a career high 128 times. This season he had 31 hits out of the park and played as well as anyone in the playoffs. Credit must also be given to the starting pitchers as mentioned earlier. The staff of Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Freddy Garcia, Orlando Hernandez and Jose Contreras turned out to be better than initially thought. Chicago threw four straight complete game shutouts in the ALCS vs. the Angels and it was only fitting a White Sox shutout was how the 2005 baseball season ended.