Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf coined what be considered the team's rallying cry this spring when his message to the fans heading into the 2012 season consisted of four words: "Don't write us off."
Sounds good to me. It beats the heck out of "Appreciate The Game."
Reinsdorf was being interviewed by Chuck Garfein of CSNChicago.com when the subject of Chicago's chances in the Central Division came up. Detroit appears to be the front-runner for the division title, but the White Sox self-described check writer had this to say:
“Don’t write us off. Nobody thought we’d win the World Series in 2005, but we did. There are years when we think we’re great and we’re bad. I mean the funny thing about this game is that you can’t figure it out.”
Reinsdorf is correct, as we found out last season. The "All In" White Sox failed to take hold of the division and wound up finishing third behind the Tigers and Indians in what was a disappointing 2011.
Sure, Detroit is the odds-on favorite in the Central. That doesn't mean the White Sox aren't going to have 162 games to say different.
“We would have won the division in my opinion last year if everybody just had normal average year," Reinsdorf went on to say. "That goes the same this year. If people have their normal average year, we should be able to contend.”
Again, there is logic in Reinsdorf's statement. There is also a good degree of optimism.
I remember looking over the White Sox opening day lineup in 2005 and not being overly impressed. The only Chicago baseball championship in most of our lifetimes wasn't something we could see coming.
Of course, we've all been sucked in before, with last season as the most glaring example. The dropoff of Adam Dunn and Alex Rios is fresh in our minds. It's hard to seriously consider the notion that this team could contend. That doesn't mean they won't.
A lot of things would have to come together for this White Sox squad to be a factor down the stretch. That's a whole other article, which I plan of unveiling later next month.
The point here is that rather than concede the division and convince fans that merely enjoying the games at U.S. Cellular is enough, Reinsdorf's mantra at least offers the promise of a team that is going to go out, play hard and let the chips fall where they may.
Calgary Flames Vancouver Whitecaps Edmonton Oilers New Jersey Rangers
No comments:
Post a Comment