My weekly offseason musings about the White Sox and more…

Character still a priority on the South Side

Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye are no longer in the White Sox clubhouse, but the organization continues to build championship-caliber clubs with talented players of character. The latest in the long line of Sox good guys is newly-acquired third baseman Mark Teahen (above, signing autographs for a group of kids).

Teahen was recently honored with the 45th Hutch Award presented annually to the major league player who “best exemplifies the dedication to team, family and community and exemplifies the honor, courage and perseverance of former major league player and manager Fred Hutchinson.”

Garland, Contreras Move on

Two White Sox postseason pitching heroes from 2005, Jon Garland and Jose Contreras, have recently found new homes. After time with both the Diamondbacks and Dodgers last season, Garland has signed a deal with yet another National League West club–the Padres. After splitting last year between the Sox and the Rockies, Contreras is now a member of the NL champion Phillies.

Just what I wanted to hear

The usually intense Carlos Quentin was all smiles at SoxFest, according to whitesox.com‘s Scott Merkin. The reason? He appears to be healthy and ready to regain his 2008 form.

“I felt a little restricted, and you put that in the back of your mind as a hitter,” CQ told Merkin, referring to his injured wrist. “Your hands are very important in the swing. But I’m more focused on how much better it feels now. It makes me excited. This offseason I’ve been hitting and been satisfied with my swing…My body feels well. The foot feels great. The knee feels good. The wrist feels 10 times better having the hardware out. The old injuries that were in the past feel great.”

I know it’s just fans being fans, but the White Sox faithful are overreacting to Ozzie Guillen‘s decision to move on without Jim Thome and the slugger’s subsequent signing with the rival Twins.

I know he was productive for the Sox and I know he’s a great guy, but there simply wasn’t a fit in the new Sox universe. I was upset when Joe Crede went to Minnesota because it just didn’t sit well with me, but Thome not so much. Like Crede, he very well could beat us in a game or two, but that’s baseball.

As a Sox fan friend of mine said yesterday, we’re not going to lose the division because of Thome’s departure–it’s all about the pitching. And if things work out the way we think they will, that will be our major strength in 2010.

I’ll leave you with this. Remember that some of the same Sox fans were scratching their heads and voicing their outrage over trading Carlos Lee and a minor leaguer for Scott Podsednik and Luis Vizcaino prior to 2005. So, how did that work out?

As has been well-chronicled, Kenny Williams allowed Ozzie Guillen to make the decision on whether or not to keep Jim Thome. After a SoxFest weekend where fans lobbied for the popular slugger and rumors of the Twins’ and Rays’ interest in Thome abounded, Ozzie still came to the conclusion that the Sox should move on without him.

Personally, I think it’s the right call. Granted, that means we go into 2010 without Thome AND Jermaine Dye. It’s also a fact that while Andruw Jones, Omar Vizquel and Mark Kotsay provide solid bench strength, there is no guarantee that they will be a championship caliber DH rotation. Despite those questions, I’m convinced it’s just time for Thome to go with the Sox changing their persona to more of a speed-oriented and versatile ballclub.

Thome leaves the Sox with a legacy of class and leadership. And we certainly will never forget his dramatic 500th home run, the monumental blast against the Twins in 2008 that propelled us in the playoffs and many other on-field heroics. But after last year’s disappointing season change is needed and while time will tell if it’s the right call, Thome is a victim of that change. 

I took a trip down memory lane last night as my wife Bonnie and I had the pleasure of having dinner with former White Sox star third baseman Pete Ward and his wife Margaret.

This is the same Pete Ward who was my favorite player when I was a less-than-mediocre backup third-sacker for the 1965 Calumet Conference champion Wirt High School Troopers in Northwest Indiana. How much of a backup? I played nine innings in two years and spent most of the time coaching first base. But I was proud of the No. 8 on the back of my uniform–the same number that Pete wore with the Sox when he was the 1963 Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year and for a time the club’s No. 1 offensive threat.

Through a serendipitous circumstance, my favorite player and I became friends when I was at Sports Illustrated. You see, Pete was on his way to becoming an SI cover boy in June of 1965 after he led the Sox into first place following a weekend series victory over the Yankees. The cover was even printed. But Muhammad Ali defeated Sonny Liston in their rematch around that time and Pete was bumped (see below).

I met him when he knocked on SI’s door in the 1990s to see if he could add to his collection of the almost covers. They were nowhere to be found in the SI offices, but that didn’t diminish the fact I had met my Pete Ward. I’ve had the opportunity to meet Ali, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Sandy Koufax and many others on the elite level. None gave me a bigger thrill than the day I met Pete. 

Since that time I have gotten to know Pete and Margaret as friends. They are the kind of people that are wonderful to be around. The fact that Pete was once my favorite player is always there, but our friendship has gone way beyond the fan/athlete stage.

What a great thing it is to meet your boyhood idol and then become his friend. It’s even better when he’s all you thought he would be.                                                                                                           

Jim Thome‘s White Sox future is firmly in the hands of Ozzie Guillen. Sox GM Kenny Williams made it clear during SoxFest that it’s up to Ozzie whether or not Thome has a role–likely a diminished one with a reduced salary–for the 2010 South Siders. 

 

SoxFest is designed to rally the troops, send out good vibes and convince the faithful that the Summer ahead will be a special one. As a glass half-full guy, I was already drinking the Kool-Aid before the annual event began yesterday.

My weekly offseason musings about the White Sox and more...

Will SoxFest be a Lovefest?

Thanks to Sox communications czar Scott Reifert, I’m reminded that today is Ozzie Guillen‘s 46th birthday.

Best wishes to one of our own who bleeds silver and black and is the most underrated manager in the big leagues.