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* For Sox fans: What the heck just happened to us?
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 1:14 pm
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You guys were “Mushed” - Bronx Tale style
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 1:20 pm
The season ending situation is too raw and I’m way too verklempt to assess it or opine on it just now.
For most of the summer it was an electrifying, fun, and very proud time to be a Sox fan, though.
Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 1:25 pm
We got upstairs and found out the other person had to go to work early the next day…
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 1:29 pm
They ran out of gas. You could tell they were all bone tired. Dead arms, dead legs, dead bats.
Not an excuse, but an explanation.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 1:30 pm
The cruel north wind blew all those Cubs germs over the Cell.
Comment by What planet is he from? Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 1:36 pm
===They ran out of gas.===
They looked that way to me during the STL series. I don’t think the newbie manager rested the players enough. The Sox seemed so intent on staying in first place the whole season that the players just didn’t have it in them near the end.
At least, that’s one theory.
The other theory is that we just weren’t good enough and were playing over our heads all year.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 1:38 pm
Can you say, “69 Cubs”? I feel for ya, Rich.
Comment by commonsense in illinois Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 1:43 pm
===The other theory is that we just weren’t good enough and were playing over our heads all year.===
Almost everyone picked them dead last in the AL Central before the season started. They had a heck of a run, though.
Comment by Stu Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 1:43 pm
I don’t really blame Robin. Sox were prone to power outages all year. They lived on home runs alone. For a brief period of time they would hit in the clutch and that’s how they built their lead but they picked a real bad time to go into one of thier hitting slumps. That, and Miguel Cabrerra happened.
Comment by L.S. Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 1:48 pm
Youkilis reverted to his pre-trade form.
Paulie hasn’t been the same since the wrist injury.
in games where they didn’t hit home runs, they couldn’t manufacture runs. some real dumb baserunning errors along the way.
this hurts, because Detroit is really not all that. especially defensively.
Comment by Ravenswood Right Winger Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 1:54 pm
I actually think they had the talent to make it happen. Down the final stretch, it just seemed they caved under pressure. The pitchers lost their control, the hitters were overswinging - everyone was trying to do too much. When I saw the Sox hitters repeatedly popping up against Royals light tossing Bruce Chen, I knew they were in trouble.
Comment by Anon - amiss Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 1:58 pm
Well, they didn’t lose 100 games this season. (Just trying to stay positive.)
Comment by MKA1985 Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 1:59 pm
What happened? First, the horrible hitting the last two weeks. Except for a couple games, the pitching kept us close but we could not score more than 3-4 runs and we lost too many close games. Most games were really tense, one or two run affairs. Good teams must win those close games…see Baltimore Orioles! Their record was 53-22 in games decided by one run or less. Sox record? 40-44
Comment by rc Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 2:03 pm
if you can thit the ball, throw strikes or play defense its tough to win in September and even harder to play into October…In April nobody would have thought we get this far…sucks
Comment by mark Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 2:04 pm
sorry, Im referring to games decided by TWO runs or less in those numbers I just posted
Comment by rc Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 2:04 pm
Draft Kraft!
Comment by Dirty Red Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 2:06 pm
The goat walked south!
Comment by Anon Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 2:08 pm
The young arms ran out of gas; the veteran bats choked (Konerko was invisible the last two months,) and Robin got out managed in the head-to-head games with the Tigers.
Comment by Roger Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 2:09 pm
This is mostly on the hitters, who disappeared in September. You’ve got to score runs and the Sox couldn’t get it done when it mattered the most. Adam Dunn bounced back from a disatrous year, but let’s face it, he strikes out too much. Konerko tailed off at the end of the year and AJ was MIA the last month.
All in all, the Sox lived up to preseason expectations and in fact, did quite a bit better by being in 1st for much of the year. But even die hard fans knew all along that this wasn’t a team of destiny.
Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 2:10 pm
Karma for repeatedly poking the Cub fans. Hey, you know what they say about karma!
Comment by BigDoggie Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 2:11 pm
===The goat walked south! ===
Cub fans can take their stupid myths and loser-loving attitude and go away now. Thanks.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 2:12 pm
Although I root for both Chicago teams, I offer some schadenfreude for Sox-only fans:
Stub Hub’s lowest prices have tripled to $3 for tonight’s historic game between the Cubs and Astros at Wrigley.
It will mark only the fourth time in MLB history that two 100-loss teams have played.
I didn’t think that was mathematically possible. They’re in the same division and play each other 19 times a year.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 2:15 pm
The second half of the season saw terrible running errors and tired pitchers. I don’t think Paulie has fully recovered from his injury and I think age played a factor with Paulie, Dunn, Youk and AJ.
Comment by Anna Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 2:26 pm
geez Anna, Gramps Dunn is only 32 years old! Great Uncle Youk is just 33.
Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 2:46 pm
I blame Rahm.
– MrJM
Comment by MrJM Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 2:51 pm
They Cubbed it! It was a Cubtastrophe! We experienced Cubabbedon. An end-of-season Cublete Cublapse! A Cub-acoplyse!
Comment by Pot calling kettle Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 2:52 pm
Thank God the Bears have given us a distraction with a great win last night. I was actually stupid enough to keep checking the Detroit score after the Sox won last night.
Comment by Been There Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 3:02 pm
Because of the out-of-nowhere A’s and Orioles, a couple of other good AL teams are going home, namely the Rays and Angels.
That kid Trout on the Angels is the goods. I thought Bryce Harper was the bee’s knees until Trout came up.
Cabrera is going to win the Triple Crown, but Trout is going to give him a run for MVP. He’s Mickey Mantle before he blew out his knee.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 3:12 pm
You CHOKED
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 3:32 pm
Rich worse part is Williams will get “boost” up (VP of operations) and his failure at the farm team level left him zero options mid-late, sure he did some good things (3rd base) but the famr system is in shambles, yet he just secured a 6000 sq ft lake shore dr. apt with a white sox low interest loan so….god bless him!!
Comment by railrat Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 3:36 pm
Ooozie’s gone; but ya still got Kenny.
Comment by sal-says Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 3:54 pm
it was 1967 all over again.
many in Chicago do not recall that season and the oh so close to the pennant time for the Sox since 1969 happened to the Cubs so quickly after. and, the four teams involved in the pennant fight….pre divisions…. and tied for first were all in the Central Time zone so no East Coast love (Minny, Detroit, Sox) save for the Red Sox and the Yaz Triple Crown tear. but I distinctly recall it all. “Black Wednesday,” Sept. 27, 1967, when all the Sox had to do was win one game of a twi night doubleheader in Kansas City and they would go into first and everyone said they would be in the drivers seat with the Senators down the stretch.
and they lost both games. and never won again that season. a team that included Joe Horlen, he of the no hitter.
I was a young crushed fan. just like I am today, but much older.
Comment by amalia Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 4:08 pm
Konerko’s wrist led to a huge downward spiral in production for him, having surgery no later than Thursday. They also had some neck cramps from looking up at the 05 banner too much.
Comment by OurMagician Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 4:17 pm
I agree with Rich, the Sox definitely were looking tired. Bats went to sleep, pitchers were going deep into the count on too many batters (like that game where they walked 12), and it sure seemed like they made some questionable rally-killing baserunning mistakes during the last week. And hand it to the Tigers–Cabrera has been huge (not to mention their pitching) and may come away with the first Triple Crown since Yaz in ‘67.
Comment by Kwark Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 4:20 pm
Still sick over it.
They did give us many weeks of excitement and pride.
Comment by walkinfool Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 4:38 pm
I agree that they ran out of gas the last couple weeks. Farmer and Jackson mentioned it almost every game on the radio. But the Tigers also picked the perfect time to finally play up to expectations, though I think they won’t go far in the playoffs. And, don’t forget, when the Sox’ backs were against the wall last week, they had to play four against the Rays, whose pitching in recent weeks has been the best in baseball. Those pitchers can make a lot of hitters look “tired.”
As for the comment about Kenny being promoted and that somehow being a bad thing… no way. One, he’s done a great job this year. Nobody picked this team to win, but they did it well enough to hold first for most weeks after the All-Star break. Second, there are many, many teams that would be thrilled to have Rick Hahn as GM. He will be a good one.
Comment by OldSmoky2 Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 4:51 pm
They fell apart. Perhaps it’s a mercy this happened before they made the playoffs, not after.
I still think Ventura gets a lot of credit for the great year they had up ’til a few weeks ago.
I hope the Cubs turn it around next year.
Comment by Wensicia Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 4:53 pm
You’ve been Cubbed. Bear down.
Comment by Excessively Rabid Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 4:57 pm
–I hope the Cubs turn it around next year.–
That’s not Theo’s game plan. The Cubs are a teardown, not a rehab.
In three years, there will not be anyone from this year’s roster on the team, including Castro.
It kills me that people are down on Kenny. His team was in first place all year and couldn’t draw 2 million. They averaged 60% of capacity.
The Cubs had one of their worst years ever and pushed 2.9 million. They averaged 87% capacity.
The big problem for the Sox, remains, the upper deck. No one wants to sit up there. The concourse seats are not cheap in a sluggish economy.
For next year, I’d suggest the Sox let the word out that, once again, you can buy upper deck seats and sit down in the concourse. Just don’t attack KC first-base coaches.
Like Bill Veeck said, “seats you have many. They need to be filled with fannies.”
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 5:26 pm
As a Whitey Herzog disciple, I think Ventura was guided by Earl Weaver - too dependant on the long ball and the 3 run homer. They couldn’t manufacture runs. And, Peavy and Sale had to carry too much of the load. If they had still had Mark Buerle, they would would have clinched last week.
Comment by levivotedforjudy Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 5:32 pm
==For next year, I’d suggest the Sox let the word out that, once again, you can buy upper deck seats and sit down in the concourse.==
If the park can’t sell itself, like Wrigley, you need to adjust your prices accordingly. Even with the recession, I’m surprised the Sox didn’t attract more fans.
Comment by Wensicia Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 5:35 pm
A rotation held together with bailing wire couldn’t make it through 162 games. Quintana got tired. Sale looked human at the end after being the anchor all year. It’s admirable that they stayed in first so long given that Danks was never right and went out for good in May.
Third base was a problem for all but 3-4 weeks, making Gordon Beckham’s offensive incompetence harder to manage. The team overperformed relative to Ozzie Guillen’s malpractice job in 2011, just not enough to get to the postseason. It will be interesting to see how much of the roster Rick Hahn will turn over this winter.
Comment by Boone Logan Square Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 5:58 pm
Here’s a tough question:
Who’s the AL MVP?
At first blush, it has to be Cabrera. He’s going to win the Triple Crown. But he’s an average, at best, third baseman and he has a piano on his back on the bases.
But check out the kid Trout. .325, 30 taters, 83 RBI, 48 stolen bases (4 CS!), in 137 game. Plus he might be the best defensive outfielder in baseball and can flat-out fly. That’s some tall cotton. Best five-tool player in baseball, hands down.
Don’t forget the old shortstop from Kalamazoo, either. The captain of the Evil Empire put up 213 hit and held a banged up lineup together all year.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 6:01 pm
===If the park can’t sell itself, like Wrigley===
Tix are going for a buck
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 6:01 pm
They got Nolan Ryan’d in the schnoz.
Comment by Larry the Jumpy Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 6:15 pm
ws, love Trout. Rook of the year no doubt. Can go get it on D. MVP…prolly not but should finish a whisker behind Cabby. Tigers just had the fire power at the end while Sox were fireless. Hats off to Ventura, AL manager of the year IMO.
Comment by Larry the Jumpy Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 6:23 pm
What happened is that we had a great baseball summer, but the young pitchers couldn’t keep it going all season. We got to watch real baseball guys like Konerko, AJ, Rios and Ramirez play, and a new manager actually look pretty good. And they did better than any of us thought. Paulie now get that surgery, Danks, heal that arm, AJ keep the attitude, and Rios, welcome back. And glad we kept Kenny too.
.
Comment by park Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 6:24 pm
Amalia, for me it was the 1972 Sox, when Dick Allen, Bill Melton, Carlos May and Wilbur Wood rolled through most of the American League like Sherman through Georgia.
Just couldn’t beat those A’s.
But they and Harry and Jimmy were enormously entertaining on Channel 44, when the antenna out on the farmhouse would bring them in.
Dick Allen was a cool cat, and the scariest Sox hitter until Frank Thomas rolled around.
It was great to see the Sox give him his due this year.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 6:27 pm
–Hats off to Ventura, AL manager of the year IMO.–
Buck’s already spending his bonus money.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 6:29 pm
Well yes there are the O’s after all. Crazy good fun.
Comment by Larry the Jumpy Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 6:35 pm
…trying to apply some salve to the wound on the Sox fan…..
Comment by Larry the Jumpy Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 6:44 pm
Here’s a simple fact. The Sox are 3 games behind Detroit with 2 games left. If the Sox had played .500 against Kansas City (i.e., 9-9 instead of 6-12) they would be tied with Detroit, despite going 6-12 against the Tigers.
All the other stuff is true- Paulie’s wrist, Danks’ injurty, Quintana and Sale especially running out of gas, and here-today-gone-tomorrow hitting, but those 3 losses turned into wins would have made all the difference.
I went to 4 games this year and the Sox won all of them. I saw two walk-off hits this year, including one of the 4th of July, and was fortunate to see Dunn’s two-homer game that gave them a come-from-behind victory a week ago Monday.
So like ‘67, ‘72 and ‘77 the Sox come up short. This has been a joyful summer- watching or listening to nearly every game, keeping up with the scores online, talking it all over with my Sox pals. I don’t think anyone had high hopes for this team, but it was great fun. What more do you want?
Comment by DuPage Dave Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 7:19 pm
Lots of different reasons….
The Tigers lost 10 one-run games in a row in late August and early September. That changed and they’ve won like 4 or 5 in a row. They got a guy who is a triple crown winner. And possibly the Cy Young.
Sale is awesome. Awesome. But he wore down. Quintana was great through July but then he wore down too. Outside of Peavy, those were your two best starters and had never pitched more than 120 innings. Floyd was okay. Liriano trade didn’t really work (although he wasn’t expected to do great and the Sox gave up very little).
And then the hitters. Paulie hit around .265 after the all star break with the bad wrist. Dunn hit 16 homers after the break compared to 25. AJ hit .270 and 11 versus .285 and 16 before. 2-10 the last two weeks after going up 3 games.
Lots of questions going into next year, Rich. 80 million committed to 7 guys (Dunn, Paulie, Rios, Crane, Danks, Thorton, and Alexi). Floyd has a 9.5 million team option. Peavy will be bought out at 4 million. Rotation right now probably looks like Sale, Quintana, Danks, Santiago, and someone else. AJ is most likely to leave. Dunn and Rios each have 2 years at about 15 million per. Paulie is in the last year of his deal. Kenny will likely get kicked upstairs. The Sox have gone all in the last few years, with the attendance and the age of this team, I don’t think they’ll do that again.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 7:45 pm
Go Cardinals!
Comment by Soccertease Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 7:54 pm
Here’s my post-mortem, with a little history thrown in (I know at least Rich will appreciate the trip down memory lane!):
Similar to the South Side Hitmen of ‘77, this Sox team over-achieved and made about as good a run as their talent allowed. Still, if Danks was healthy, the Sox would be celebrating a division title right now, thanks to an under-achieving Detroit squad.
Yes, they relied on the HR, but the lack of clutch hitting down the stretch was the real culprit, and was reminiscent of the power outage by the dominating 1983 “Winning Ugly” division champs. They couldn’t buy a clutch hit at the end of the regular season and the playoffs (and even had a no-hitter thrown against them).
Yes, Peavy’s and Sale’s arms literally fell off at the end. But overall, their pitching was good enough to get them over the finish line, thanks to their lights-out relief corps.
1972 was a great year, my first full year as a Sox fan (their success completed my transformation from a “we want a hit” Cubs fan). They were the second best team in baseball that year. Unfortunately, the best team was their division rival (the dynastic Oakland A’s).
The A’s ruined another one of my favorite seasons: The 94-win 1990 club, who again may have been the second best team in baseball. While it was the last hurrah for late, great old Comiskey, it was obvious this was the beginning of what would be a sustained run of success. (Sidenote: How that Tony Larussa-led team got swept by the Reds is still beyond comprehension).
The 2000 playoff Sox came out of nowhere and provided some great excitement after brawling with the Tigers. However, my hopes for post-season success wer pretty dim since their most reliable starter, Mike Sirotka (remember him?), was done for the season. But the future was bright and I have mostly fond memories of that exciting, young ballclub.
2008 featured the best game, regardless of the sport, I ever attended: The Sox-Twins “blackout” game for the division title. I was physically sore after that game due to all the stress of that 1-0 win. The Sox also won four elimination games that year. How can you not have good memories of that team?
Will Sox fans look back fondly at this year’s team — like those in ‘72, ‘77, ‘83, and ‘90, ‘00 and ‘08? Or will it be a painful memory like 1967? It’s really up to AJ and Paulie being signed and remaining productive. Otherwise, this may be the “end of an era” like the ‘67 season.
Comment by Soxfan Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 9:25 pm
We neeed a few more horses,losing Mark Buerhle really hurt. 200 plus innings is nothing to sneeze
at.
Station to station baseball just don’t work. We need more hit and runs.And never ask Youklis to bunt.
Comment by mokenavince Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 10:24 pm
Rich!
I’m so depressed. I bought my playoff tickets & a nice new sweatshirt for October baseball. Then everything fell apart. 10 of the last 13 games were loses. And worst of all, Chris Sale could only manage 3 1/2 innings against the Rays.
Such a kick in the gut.
Comment by David W. Aubrey Tuesday, Oct 2, 12 @ 11:34 pm
It’s Baseball City Chicago 2012
Cubs- 100 losses
Sox- Choke of the decade
Comment by Scout Wednesday, Oct 3, 12 @ 8:36 am
@Wordslinger….word to 1972 as well! memories of leaving the clock radio on for west coast games and falling asleep, knowing that we would most often lose. sitting in the outfield for a June 30 (I think) extra innings game. hating the Oakland As. and then 1977 and the dreaded Kansas City, Amos Otis, otherwise known as A…H…. and Hal McRae. Na Na, Hey Hey.
Comment by amalia Thursday, Oct 4, 12 @ 6:41 pm