NEW YORK -- People in Cleveland will tune in for Game 1 of the World Series, Brian Anderson said, as a sort of masochistic ritual.
Sort of like attending a Browns game.
"Cleveland fans," Anderson told FanHouse on Tuesday, "as much as it kills them to watch things, be part of things, get emotionally involved, they do it anyway. I bet a lot of people watch it for the ironic, do-you-believe-who's-facing-each-other kind of deal."
Who's facing each other is CC Sabathia of the Yankees and Cliff Lee of the Phillies. They were Cleveland Indians teammates just 16 months ago, each winning a Cy Young Award for the Tribe and getting traded the following July.
Kotsay was designated for assignment by the Red Sox on Friday after only playing in 27 games this season -- hitting .257 with a homer and five RBI. Anderson recently lost his spot on the White Sox when Carlos Quentin returned from the disabled list, and after Dewayne Wise's memorable catch in Mark Buehrle's perfect game last Thursday, it's hard to think he'd have gotten back to Chicago anytime soon.
When the White Sox made the decision to activate Carlos Quentin on Monday, they had a pretty tough decision to make when deciding who Quentin would replace on the roster. Essentially the decision boiled down to which player's presence on the roster would hurt the team less -- Dewayne Wise or Brian Anderson?
One is a journeyman minor-leaguer who found a role on the team last season, and the other is a former first-round draft pick that has just never lived up to the expectations. Well, the decision was made somewhat easier due to the fact that Anderson had some minor-league options left, while Wise did not. Of course, that makes too much sense, so instead some people have just started to make the claim that Ozzie Guillenis a racist instead.
The trading deadline is only a week and a half away and while some teams are working behind the scenes to swing deals to get themselves better, there are ways a team can feel like it's made a trade without actually doing so. Like, say, bringing back a big part of their lineup that has been sidelined for most of the season with an injury so far.
It has the same sort of impact on a team, and they don't have to give up any prospects to boot. So there's little doubt that the White Sox are hoping Carlos Quentin can help provide a boost as they continue to hunt down and try to stave off the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins. Quentin was activated off of the disabled list on Monday and will be back in the lineup when the Sox face the Rays in Chicago on Monday night.
The White Sox have brought back the player who manned left field for their 2005 world champion squad, according to a published report. Scott Podsednik, the 33-year-old speedster was with the White Sox from 2005 to 2007, and played for the Colorado Rockies last season. He went unsigned in the offseason, but now he has a job.
After losing Dewayne Wise, their current center fielder, to a separated shoulder, the White Sox have brought "Pods" back to the Windy City in the form of a minor-league contract. The other options for the White Sox in center at this point are Brian Anderson and Jerry Owens.
The battle for the White Sox starting center field job this spring wasn't exactly epic, but when the dust had finally settled, it was minor-league journeyman Dewayne Wise who had emerged victorious against Brian Anderson and Jerry Owens. And when I say victorious, I mean least harmful.
Wise also won the leadoff job in Ozzie Guillen's lineup, but that role only lasted for two games before Guillen replaced Wise with rookie Chris Getz, which seemed to be working well for Wise. Which is why it's too bad that he's going to miss the next four to six weeks after suffering a Grade 3 seperation of his shoulder while making a diving catch during the fifth inning on Monday.
It took three stolen bases and a total of 18 hits, including four doubles, three triples and two home runs this spring for Dewayne Wise to prove to the White Sox that he was the man to bat leadoff and play center field in 2009 for the Chicago White Sox.
The White Sox on Monday reportedly placed Jerry Owens on waivers, clearing the way for the 31-year-old Wise to take over as their starting center fielder and hit out of the leadoff spot. "(Manager) Ozzie (Guillen) came to me, told me congratulations," Wise told whitesox.com. "He told me he was going to put me in that leadoff spot, see what happens. He told me he was proud of the way I played this spring and best of luck to me.
Although he only hit .248 last season, Wise did steal nine bases in 129 at-bats. With that kind of speed and if his springs numbers foretell of a hitting resurgence, Wise could be a very nice free agent acquisition or late-round AL-only flier if your league hasn't drafted yet.
The biggest competition in White Sox camp this spring was the same one it's been the last few seasons: the battle for center field and the leadoff spot. The three candidates were Brian Anderson, Jerry Owens, and Dewayne Wise, with Owens starting camp as the favorite. Well, now Owens will be leaving camp without being able to say he's even a member of the White Sox organization.
On Monday the White Sox placed Owens on waivers, which means that Dewayne Wise will be the team's starting center fielder and leadoff hitter.
Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.
The White Sox enter this offseason at once pleased with the way 2008 ended and also wondering what might have been. And sure, you can say that for any team that makes the playoffs and falls short of the ulimate prize, but it's particularly so for the Pale Hose, who lost their best hitter by a country mile, Carlos Quentin, for the season in early September.
Would things have gone differently had Quentin been in Chicago's lineup for the ALDS? We'll never know. What we do know is that the South Siders aren't about to rest on their laurels after winning the AL Central.
No one will ever accuse general manager Kenny Williams of being timid or cautious as he attempts to reshape his roster -- that's why many consider him one of the better executives in the game -- and he's already begun to do just that this winter.
Every four years, Major League Baseball's postseason intersects with a presidential election. This is one of those years. In the spirit of the season, we here at MLB FanHouse have divided the playoff teams up for a series of debates. Tom Fornelli and Eamonn Brennan discuss the ALDS between the Rays and White Sox.
Eamonn and I took a look at this series and broke it down into six key areas: Starting rotation, Bullpen, Defense, Lineup, Bench, and Manager. Then for good measure we throw in our five-star lock of the week predictions, because we're psychic mediums in our spare time.
NEW YORK -- People in Cleveland will tune in for Game 1 of the World Series, Brian Anderson said, as a sort of masochistic ritual.
Well this isn't the blockbuster trade we're all still waiting for, but 
When the White Sox made the decision to 
The trading deadline is only a week and a half away and while some teams are working behind the scenes to swing deals to get themselves better, there are ways a team can feel like it's made a trade without actually doing so. Like, say, bringing back a big part of their lineup that has been sidelined for most of the season with an injury so far.
The 
The battle for the White Sox starting center field job this spring wasn't exactly epic, but when the dust had finally settled, it was minor-league journeyman 
It took three stolen bases and a total of 18 hits, including four doubles, three triples and two home runs this spring for 
The biggest competition in White Sox camp this spring was the same one it's been the last few seasons: the battle for center field and the leadoff spot. The three candidates were 
Footprints in the Snow
