Hi. Just call me Mr. Pale Hose. I was scratching my head and trying to remember the last catcher who came up thru the White Sox minor league system and went on to have a sustained major league career. The first name I thought of was Josh Paul. But I'm talking about a career. With Josh it is more like a job. It is nothing personal, but I am of the opinion that the only reason he is in the major leagues is because some teams like to carry three catchers. I followed Josh closely from the time he was drafted out of Bufallo Grove High School until he first stepped on to the hallowed ground that at that time was known as Comiskey Park II. When I first saw him play I thought I was watching the next Carlton Fisk. He had all of the tools, and appeared to be a future star. Then suddenly the rocket ship that was Josh Paul's career stopped going up and started to fall back to Earth. After a while he started to look less like a future star and more like an actor portraying one on TV. Baseball is a funny game. It is a scenario that has been played out over and over ever since Abner Doubleday dropped a flour sack 90 feet from a cow pie. Going back to the mid '80's I remembered Ron Karkovice. He was a guy the Sox drafted out of high school and after a few years in the minors he was ready to come up to the big club. The only problem was the Sox had an everyday catcher named Carlton Fisk. So Karko carried Fisk's glove for a couple of years patiently waiting for his big chance. Then the Sox made a bold move that almost seemed to make sense. Not wanting to impede Karko's progress any longer, they moved Fisk to left field and made Ron Karkovice the starting catcher. This not only humiliated Carlton Fisk, but it also made him angry which just added to the preasure on Karko. After a couple of months the Sox got tired of watching Karkovice hit .190 and Fisk turn routine flyballs into extra base hits, so they put Fisk back behind the plate and Ron went back to being number two. Fisk stubornly hung around a couple years past his expiration date, but the Sox finally convinced him to retire. They annointed Karko the regular catcher and rewarded him with a multiyear, multimillion dollar contract. Unfortunately by now most of the air had leaked out of Karko's balloon, and he didn't quite live up to his billing. It wasn't that he was that bad, but he wasn't that good either. In the end the Sox ate the last year of his contract and asked him not to come around any more. But back in the late '60's it was a different story. Edward Herrmann came up to the Sox for a cup of coffee in 1967 before returning to the minors. In late '68 he was back to stay. Ed Herrmann was the last of the slow footed hard nosed old school cachers. He blocked the plate with the efficiency of a brick wall. He had a rocket for an arm and he wasn't afraid to snap a throw to any base to catch an opponent napping. In those days most catchers were slow runners and Ed was slower than most. There was a story back then that seemed to explain Ed's lack of speed. At one time he had a broken bone in his foot and the doctors replaced it with one from a monkey. Today that seems a little far fetched but if you saw Ed run the bases you were a believer. He was a left handed hitter who hit for average and power and had a knack for coming up with the big play just at the right time. When he hit a grand slam, he didn't hit it when the Sox were up by ten or down by ten. He hit it when the Sox were down by three late in the game and the curtain was starting to come down. Ask Bert Campaneras about trying to score from second when Mr. Herrmann was guarding the dish. There is a great picture somewhere of Campaneras coming in spikes high while Ed blocks the plate and awaits the throw. The next frame shows Hermie bloodied but not bowed holding the ball as the umpire calls Campy out. Ed's service with Sox ended in 1975 over a salary dispute. He had earned $40,000 in '74 and he was asking for a $5000 raise. The Sox felt forty grand fit Herrmann just fine. Neither side would budge and Ed was traded to the Montreal Expos at the end of spring training. When I read about the trade a voice in my head sreamed" NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" I knew then that it would be a long time before another home grown player would strap on the tools of ignorance on the south side of Chicago. It has been over thirty years and we are still waiting for the second coming. I'm quite certain that there isn't anyone in the Sox system who is ready to fill those shoes. Our only hope is that when Kenny Williams starts dismanteling the team next month he can come up with the next Johnny Bench Carlton Fisk or Ed Herrmann. Until then you can call me Mr. Pale Hose.