The regular baseball season ended this past Sunday, and neither Chicago team is in the playoffs. In fact, my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, finished the season 41-121, the worst single season record in Major League Baseball history, losing one more game than the infamous 1962 New York Mets. As for their North Side rivals, the Chicago Cubs, they finished 2nd in the National League Central Division with an 83-79 win-loss record. But in baseball, that is 4 games over mediocre. The Cubs did have a chance at a wild card spot, but faded during the final weeks of the season, and Cubs fans have been whining about that ever since. But as far as I am concerned, no matter the win-loss record, the season is over, both teams are done for the year, and next spring each team starts fresh. I know that Chicago baseball fans have heard "wait until next year" for most of their lives, but it is true. In fact, I watched the final White Sox game of the year against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, and both Steve Stone (on the left in the photo) and John Schriffen seem very optimistic about next season.
The White Sox won 5 of their final 6 games, and they beat the Tigers 9-5 on Sunday. The Sox started the year losing 3 of their top offensive players to injuries, and were playing catch-up most of the season, but never quit, never gave up, despite their record. The team brought in a great many rookies, some bad, some so-so, and some who looked pretty damn good, and so there is definitely hope for this coming season on the South Side. Plus, Steve Stone has just signed a long-term extension of his contract, and he and John Schriffen will be back next year, which is a great thing. They make watching a White Sox game fun, no matter the score. As for the Cubs, who knows what they will do? But I always like to quote the late great Chicago newspaper columnist Mike Royko when it comes to that North Side team: "You win some, you lose some, but with the Cubs, you mostly lose some." Cheer up, Chicago baseball fans - spring training begins in only 4 1/2 months.
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