Will Ferrell as Harry Carey (NBC/SNL, Creative Commons: Marinate Me Baby)
I’ve rooted for both the White Sox and Cubs for better than 60 years. Some fans say you can’t root for both Chicago teams. My response is, “Who made you fan god? Who are you to tell me who I can and can’t root for?”
When I was a kid, I wanted a team to root for in both the American and National League. And since I lived in the Chicago suburbs the Cubs and White Sox were natural choices. Plus, WGN carried a ton of both Cubs and White Sox games, so I became familiar with both teams and their lack of winning.
Hall of famer, Jack Brickhouse, called both Sox and Cubs games, so if Jack could root for both teams, I figure I can too. But the Sox have been insufferable for some time now. It’s not just the losses, it’s the attitude towards fans. I’m considering pulling my fan interest to another AL team. Maybe I need to put a personal ad out on the internet to know my AL fan status is up for grabs. It could go something like this:
AL Fan looking for a new rooting interest: Abused AL baseball fan looking for a new team. New team must at least act like they actually care about winning. Team need not spend money wildly but must show at least a modicum of intelligence in player selection and development. Related to this, condition of upper management employment shouldn’t be kissing the owner’s hiney.
When putting together one of the worst teams in the history of baseball, owner shouldn’t blame fans for the team’s plight. Also, team owner should not banish one of the best announcers in sports in favor or a cheerleader with only a superficial knowledge of the game.
When pining for a ballplayer, the owner will aim his sights higher than David Eckstein. When selecting a manager, the owner should defer to non-hiney kissing GM, or if overruling said GM should at least select someone more relevant than Connie Mack.
Before begging for tax money to build a new stadium owner should at least have the self-awareness to field a team that loses less than 100 games,
Who are possible candidates?
The Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers or even the Houston Astros would be obvious choices since I live in Oklahoma, but because I live in Oklahoma, MLB blacks out telecasts of their games in my area. Thus, they are out of the mix. In addition, the West Coast teams are in the wrong time zone for me. So, with the field thinned, here are the leading candidates.
Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles are a young team that is loaded with talent. They are entertaining and should be that way for a long time.
Boston Red Sox: I like Fenway Park. That alone gives them a leg up on other teams. However, I really am not as interested in their players as I am in other teams’ players.
Tampa Bay Rays: This should have been a natural pick. I lived in Florida for nine years and went to some Rays games. I’ve also appreciated the way they competed on a small budget. Until this year.
Cleveland Guardians: The Guardians are a competitive team with budget constraints. They generally are a fundamentally strong team with some excellent players that are sometimes overlooked. Plus, I like their announcing team. These guys are probably the favorites to be my AL rooting interests.
Detroit Tigers: This is an interesting mix of players. I’m fascinated by the progression of Javy Baez’s career. It’s like watching a train wreck. The Tigers also have a great play by play guy, though I wasn’t impressed by their color man.
Minnesota Twins: The Twins seem to be one of the most generic teams in MLB. While they still could make a run for the AL Central, they just don’t generate that much interest. But maybe if applied myself…
And a PS to my personal ad
I also prefer a team that doesn’t threaten to leave for another location. So, Jerry Reinsdorf, feel free to take the hot mess you call a team to Memphis. The one thing you can do to help your legacy in Chicago is sell the team. Now.
Enjoy sports trivia? Check this out: Yesterday’s Heroes Sports Quizzes: Sports Trivia for Baby Boomers eBook : Lambert, Larry: Amazon.com.au: Kindle Store
