Miracles do happen. My South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, swept the Oakland (Sacramento?) Athletics yesterday afternoon at Rate Field to finish the first half of the season tied with the Cleveland Guardians (Indians?) for first place in the American League Central Division. Last year, the Sox ended the regular season with a 60-102 record, finishing last in that division, and so it has been an amazing turnaround. Yesterday they won 9-1 against the Athletics, and most of the damage was done in the first inning, when the Sox scored 6 runs for a 6-1 lead. The Athletics, of course, have suffered some major injuries, and are struggling, but I think that the big difference is that Munetaka Murakami, the "Japanese Babe Ruth," is back in the lineup after 6 weeks on the injured list. The Sox were 17-18 with Murakami gone, but are once again playing great baseball now that he has returned. The crowds are back at Rate Field, too, as seen in the photograph above. Meanwhile, their North Side rivals, the Chicago Cubs, are playing great baseball, too, 5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers, who have the second-best record in baseball. If the Cubs don't finish in 1st, a wild-card berth looks like a sure bet. Could this be the first Subway Series between the Sox and Cubs since 1906? The White Sox, known as the "Hitless Wonders" that year, won that series 4 games to 2. Just remember, baseball fans, as you put your bets down on the Series, that the Pope is a White Sox fan. Which very well might be the biggest factor in the White Sox's resurgence this year.
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