Hi. Just call me Mr. Pale Hose. I've been wondering when the White Sox would be able to assemble a full contingent of healthy ballplayers to take into battle. Now that Pablo Ozuna broke his leg rounding first base(????) the prospects of that happening this year appear slim. Every team needs one or two players like Pablo if they are going to successfull. There is no disputing the fact that if not for Pablo and Timo Perez the Sox would not have made the playoffs in 2005. Sometimes there is a tendency to think if a little bit of Ozuna is good then alot of Ozuna would be better. Wrong. Jorneyman utility players like Pablo Ozuna need to be kept on the bench until a situation calls for them. Overuse exposes the flaws that limit them to utilityman status. We saw a little too much of Pablo in '06 when Ozzie Guillen became convinced that he could be trusted to play left field in place of the injured Scott Podsednik. Fortunately, fans will usually forgive a player for the foul odor he emits today because we remember how sweet he smelled in the past. You will often hear about a player who hit .230 last year but hopes to regain the form that saw him hit .275 three years ago. Another example would be if an outfielder turns the wrong way on a fly ball and it falls in for a hit. He attempts to pick it up but kicks it. He finally retrieves the ball and heaves it towards the infield but it sails over the cut-off man's head. You turn to me and say"What the heck?" I reply "Yeah but remember that play he made against Cleveland in '05?" Pablo Ozuna's absence is going to be like an open wound that won't heal. Two things are working against Kenny Williams as he searches for a replacement. No team that has a player like that is going to want to trade him until after the All Star game if at all. The Sox have no one in their farm system that would be effective. The Sox have a reputation for developing pitchers and outfielders (curiously there are neither on the current team). They have an abbismal record for turning out infielders and catchers. I have a suggestion for Kenny if he is willing to think outside the box. Give Brian Anderson an infielders glove and start hitting him grounders. He already has some major league experience and in the event of a bench clearing brawl, we've seen what he can bring to the party. Whats that you say? He hasn't proved he can hit major league pitching, he seems to be somewhat of a head case, he's never played the infield before? Yeah but what about those two homers he hit against Seattle in '05? Until then, I am Mr. Pale Hose.

Hi. Just call me Mr. Pale Hose. I'm not a gambling man. I don't play cards. I don't participate in football pools. I am clueless as to what March Madness is all about. If I am ever seen in a casino or a race track it is merely a social visit. But when one of my Cub fan aquaintances starts trash talking my team, I am more than willing to take his money. Of course I always take the White Sox in the cross town series. And I also have a standard bet involving total wins; a dollar a game. In other words if the Sox win 95 games and the Cubbies win 65, that pays me 30 bucks times however many Cub fans I can snare in my net. You see, Cub fans feel Baseball owes them something for being patient for all these years. It is as if the people who run baseball would say," Gee, the Cubs haven't won anything in 100 years. Lets let them go to the World Series." This feeling of pre-ordained destination really started to gain momentum as soon as the Florida Marlins recorded the final out of the 2003 National League Championship Series. 2003 was the year the Cubs were "5 outs away from going to the World series." The logic of that statement escapes me. That is like me saying I would be a millionaire if the bank teller wasn't such a bitch. Be that as it may, Cub fans spent the off season telling anyone who would listen that 2004 "is going to be our year to go to the World Series." Then they would back up their statement by saying they had Prior, Wood and Dusty Baker. As it turned out, 2004 wasn't their year to go to the World Series. They did however manage to win one more game than they won in the magical season of 2003. Why is it that any time the Cubs finish higher than .500, that season goes on to called "magical"? Mention 1969 to any cub fan and he will stop what he is doing, turn to face Clark and Addison, and start mumbling something about "magical season" while dabbing tears from his eye. The 1969 Cubs blew a 10 game lead in August and finished with 92 wins. Thats not magical; thats "choking". I'm pretty sure just about every baseball fan has one of those clinkers in his coal shute. Its not sentimental,it is one of life viscisitudes. You deal with it and you move on. In the winter of '04, Cub fans were convinced that they would be watching the World Series in Chicago. For once they were right, assuming they could get a ticket to U.S. Cellular Field. After the Sox swept the Astros four straight, 4 million revellers crowded into down town Chicago to celebrate with the Victors. Meanwhile 4 million Cub fans stayed indoors with the shades pulled down and made plans for where they would go to watch the Cubs in the 2006 World Series. 2006 was a disaster for the Chicago Cubs. The only thing they didn't suck at was making excuses. This year I have made my regular dollar a game bet, but I have added a side bet as well. My advisary and I each pick three pitchers from our rotation, and the three with the most victories wins 5 bucks. I chose Buehrle Garland and Contreras. He went with Zambrano Lilly and Hill. I'm not a gambling man, but I know a sure thing when I see it! Until then just call me Mr. Pale Hose.

Hi. Just call me Mr. Pale Hose. Thats not my real name, but it will do for the purpose of this Blog. I grew up in the '60's in a suburb approximately 20 miles north of Chicago, Illinois. When I was a little boy my dad, my older brother and every kid I knew was a Cubs fan. One day a new kid moved in to a house a block away from ours. He told me that his family liked the Chicago White Sox. Until that moment I never knew there was a choice. Later I went home and my dad was watching a Cub game on TV. I announced to him that I was a White Sox fan. It is a well known fact that White Sox fans hate everything that has anything to do with the Cubs. On the other hand, especially back before interleague play, Cub fans are pretty much oblivious to the White Sox and their followers. So, after a minute or so of mock indignation, my dad just laughed and went back to watching his game. Being a Sox fan in the late '60's took some doing. For one thing, the team telecasted their games on a UHF station. Since the one TV we owned didn't receive UHF signals, that posed a problem. I soon found out that the games could be heard on WIND 560 AM. So that is how I fell in love with the Chicago White Sox; listening to Bob Elson and Red rush describe every fascet and play that was taking place 25 miles south of me and beyond. The Sox were pretty bad in 1968, 69 and 70. But 1971 ushered in the Roland Hemond/Chuck Tanner era and the Sox have been competitive if not good most of the years since. In 1972 Dick Allen, Bill Melton and Wilbur Wood gave us a taste of what a pennant chase was like. In 1977 the Southside Hittmen caused our pulses to quicken. In 1983 Tony LaRussa's team won the Western Division by 20 games. In 1991 Jeff Torbourg led a bunch of fuzzy cheeked kids like Frank Thomas, Jack McDowell and RobinVentura to 94 wins. In 1993 and 2000 the Sox won there divisions again. Then in 2005, under the watchful eye of one Ozzie Guillen, the Chicago White sox led from wire to wire and then charged through the post season at a 11-1 clip! I may live to be 100 or I could die tomorrow and it won't make a difference because I know I will Rest In Peace having seen the Sox win the World Series. It is an experience that is more intoxicating than drugs and more satisfying than sex. You could eat the most exquisite meal immaginable and it will out of your system in 24 hours. But no one can ever take away the fact that your team was proven to be the best in the world. I know that I was born to be a White Sox fan. That is how I am wired and I couldn't change it even if I wanted to. But I am happy to be a Sox fan and I would be proud of them even if they hadn't won the World Series. I feel that the Sox are headed for more successful seasons and it could even happen this year. Until then just call me Mr. Pale Hose.