October 26, 2005

For the second time in 87 years, the two Sox franchises won back-to-back championships in the same number of games:
In 1917, the Chicago White Sox defeated the NY Giants 4 games to 2; in 1918 the Red Sox defeated the Chicago Cubs 4 games to 2. Both teams then endured nearly 9 decades of futility... until tonight, when the Chicago White Sox rode great pitching to a Series Sweep of the Houston Astros, one year after the Red Sox did the same to the St. Louis Cardinals.

posted by hincandenza to baseball at 11:13 PM - 52 comments

Houston could've used Steve Bartman on that ninth inning play in the stands.

posted by rcade at 11:15 PM on October 26, 2005

Congratulations White Sox. No doubt the better team won.

posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 11:15 PM on October 26, 2005

Jermaine Dye is the Series MVP. Good on the Sox for their accomplishment. I sure wish I was back in Chicago right now.

posted by NoMich at 11:16 PM on October 26, 2005

Already GoogleAds are offering me Sox World Series Champs merchandise.

posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:21 PM on October 26, 2005

(Thanks for saving my thread, rcade.) No kidding- watching that 2nd out, I was once again struck by how stupid the fans are. Simple move here: the second his face crosses the invisible plane made by the wall, throw a beer in his face! Failing that, grab the ball from his glove. It's completely legal and legit, even. A player enters the stands on a play at his own peril and risk- the fans are not obliged to make it easy for him, or get out of his way. But that's really the whole series for the Astros in a nutshell: the breaks never went their way, and time after time they'd be a step short getting to first or second, including that last at-bat which I thought was a hit at first. Can't say I agree with Dye- not a horrible choice, but I'd have gone with one of the pitchers, or if a hitter go with Konerko (4 RBI) over Dye (2 RBI) given that their stats were about equal.

posted by hincandenza at 11:24 PM on October 26, 2005

Already GoogleAds are offering me Sox World Series Champs merchandise. It's also offering me Cubs jerseys. HA!

posted by NoMich at 11:27 PM on October 26, 2005

Fans in New York or Boston would have jumped for that foul ball to keep Uribe from having first stab at it. I guess it goes with the territory of being new to the Series, but it's a shame. I was rooting for the Sox, but the Astros had too good a year to be swept.

posted by rcade at 11:29 PM on October 26, 2005

Has there ever been a more competitive sweep? So many close games. I'm a little disappointed that it's over. So will Ozzie's kids head over to Japan now to take on the Valentine club? Can't say I agree with Dye Dye is a deserving MVP. He set the tone in a lot of ways with his patience at the plate. It seemed like everyone of his at-bats lasted at least 6 or 7 pitches. I didn't actually think he would get it (Konerko, as you pointed out, had more RBIs and similar stats everywhere else plus he's the star) so I was surprised to see him standing up there with Bud.

posted by panoptican at 11:34 PM on October 26, 2005

Bobby Valentines challenge.

posted by panoptican at 11:44 PM on October 26, 2005

He was safe at first base! Okay, now that I've got that out of the way... Going 0-for-30 with men in scoring position is a sure sign you don't deserve to win the World Series. I have no real sympathy for the Astros because of this, even though I picked them to win. If they even bat .200 with RISP, they probably have a tied series at 2-2. Now that Boston and Chicago have won the World Series, I expect the 7th seal to be broken sometime in June: Toronto wins the Stanley Cup. I couldn't hear the announcers during the game (sound off), but I'm guessing the number of times Jeter's name was mentioned after the Uribe catch was...hmmm...three? Four if it was the McCarver broadcast. Bobby Valentines challenge. There is no way that MLB would approve of this. They can only lose if they play: White Sox win, everyone expects it and no one cares. White Sox lose, MLB loses the sheen of being the premier baseball league.

posted by grum@work at 12:03 AM on October 27, 2005

No doubt the better team won. Agreed. That's really about all you can say. I doubted the white sox from the beginning. Just didn't seem that impressive. But you can't argue with what they've done. Goes beyond getting the calls or luck. They earned it and deserve it. Congrats to the white sox.

posted by justgary at 12:05 AM on October 27, 2005

Now that the national league has lost 8 world series games in a row, should major league baseball ban national league central teams from participating in the playoffs?

posted by INOALOSER at 12:09 AM on October 27, 2005

Yep, and if im not wrong, sox swept everybody but the angels (4-1 series). He was..out by the way grumwork. Replays, buddy. I am surprised though, at how well the sox played. Don't know about you guys, but A.J. is one of the most annoying baseball players ever. He even looks the part. (Sigh, yes, I stole that from the sportsguy, but I agree with simmons anyway).

posted by sangu at 12:12 AM on October 27, 2005

should major league baseball ban national league central teams from participating in the playoffs? Yes. The Padres would've made a series of it.

posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:17 AM on October 27, 2005

Uribe had a hard-on to win the World Series in the ninth. He ran--what?--50 yards to catch the foul ball in the stands, then made a really good play to get the final out. And he was out at first base, by half a step. Crede was my MVP pick. Tons of great, run-saving plays at third, plus clutch hitting. The White Sox were 11-1 in the postseason, tying the 1999 Yankees.

posted by kirkaracha at 12:21 AM on October 27, 2005

By the way, I'll tally up the final pick 'em rankings (for both the LCS and the WS) in the morning. Now, sleep.

posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:24 AM on October 27, 2005

And he was out at first base, by half a step. I never got a chance to watch a slow-mo replay of the final out, but my initial feeling (and watching the first replay of it from one angle) was that the foot came down first. I will defer to those that had a chance to watch more/slower replays of it. I guess I'm a little twitchy from the previous umpire "irregularities" of the playoffs...

posted by grum@work at 12:27 AM on October 27, 2005

Congratulations to the White Sox and their fans! Toronto wins the Stanley Cup. Grum, you could update your profile. It still says: "It could be worse...I could be a Boston or Chicago baseball fan".

posted by qbert72 at 12:33 AM on October 27, 2005

I am so happy that White Sox fans get to experience what we Red Sox fans did last year! Congratulations!

posted by Joey Michaels at 01:05 AM on October 27, 2005

i am dumbfounded. how long does it usually take for this to sink in?

posted by 15yroldkid at 01:18 AM on October 27, 2005

As a die-hard white sox fan I am very,very happy the Sox won. I started to get worried when they were blowing the lead in the central but they regrouped and put together one of the most dominating postseason runs in history and showed that their record was not a fluke. GO WHITE SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

posted by aztlan78 at 01:57 AM on October 27, 2005

grum: I will defer to those that had a chance to watch more/slower replays of it. I guess I'm a little twitchy from the previous umpire "irregularities" of the playoffs...
No, he was definitely out, but it was a bang-bang play; I also was saying "He was safe, what the heck?!" at first. There were several unbelievably close plays in the game that the Astros were involved in. In another play, they turned a double play and I could have sworn the runner beat the throw to second. It was only on the 5th or so replay, at the right angle, I saw that the umpire was correct, that the Astro runner had slid with his left leg tucked under itself, so while his right leg was passing the bag ahead of the throw, he didn't actually touch the base until his left knee hit it- after the throw was there. The ump had the best view, made the right call, but from almost every angle it looked like the runner had beaten the throw. Like I said earlier, this seemed to be a pattern with the Astros: get runners on, and then be a lesson in abject futility as not one fucking hitter could do more than ground out weakly. They couldn't even buy a break; every close play showed, on replay, that the Astros were just a half-step slow, a hair behind... whatever it took to kill the rally or turn something promising into something wasted. This really was a replay of last year's Cardinals performance: a good team that picked the worst possible time to suddenly become unimaginably shitty for a week. And I do mean that- the Astros are a far better team than they looked, and no team even reaches the playoffs if an 0-fer with runners in scoring position is indicative of their actual ability. If you could magically play this series 100 teams over, I suspect these two teams split the series half and half, with most cases going 6 or 7 games.
15yroldkid i am dumbfounded. how long does it usually take for this to sink in?
Speaking as a Red Sox fan, it'll take a couple of days at least. I'm not sure if the White Sox carried the same cross the Cubs and Red Sox fans did (their drought was as long) but man- when you've waited that long, it's all you can think for days on end. Random moments, you'll just say to yourself, "We won! Fuck yeah!!!" over and over again. Although- no offense intended- if you're only 15, I don't think you've necessarily had the life length to appreciate how rare and special it is for your team to win it all. The last time the Red Sox were in the Series before 2004, I was 11; while sad they lost in such heartbreaking fashion, I didn't really appreciate at the time how sad it would be over the years.

posted by hincandenza at 03:05 AM on October 27, 2005

I have waited 87 years for this. Now I can finally sit down. Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

posted by chicobangs at 03:06 AM on October 27, 2005

And I do mean that- the Astros are a far better team than they looked, and no team even reaches the playoffs if an 0-fer with runners in scoring position is indicative of their actual ability. If you could magically play this series 100 teams over, I suspect these two teams split the series half and half, with most cases going 6 or 7 games. Oh, I doubt that. While they did get most of the breaks (not all...the hr that shouldn't have been ex. # 1), the better team imho clearly won and would win the majority of times. The astros were shut out a major league-high 17 times and lost (also a major league-high) five 1-0 games. The were 24th out of 30 teams in runs scored. Lack of offense in the ws wasn't just a spell of bad luck. I have waited 87 years for this. Now I can finally sit down. You have aged amazingly well.

posted by justgary at 03:19 AM on October 27, 2005

Blimey. And they say "soccer" is boring yet this finished 1-0. ;-) I stayed up and watched in the hope that it'd all be settled tonight. Now I just have to cope with a day's work on two hours sleep.

posted by squealy at 03:29 AM on October 27, 2005

Hal and 15: It is a year later, we lost the playoffs, and I still sometimes sit around thinking "we won." It lasts more than a year.

posted by Joey Michaels at 03:32 AM on October 27, 2005

My point is, so savor it for as long as you can. White Sox fans absolutely deserve this.

posted by Joey Michaels at 04:21 AM on October 27, 2005

If you could magically play this series 100 teams over, I suspect these two teams split the series half and half, with most cases going 6 or 7 games. If this were accurate (and I don't think it is though this was a more competitive series than the final tally suggests), the odds of any one occurence resulting in a 4-0 sweep would be very low. Chicago's pitching staff is at least as good as Houston's. Chicago just happened to have hitter too. Full admission: I shut it off when Garner pulled Backe for Jeff Bagwell. Also: the Red Sox won.

posted by yerfatma at 06:20 AM on October 27, 2005

Hitters, damnit.

posted by yerfatma at 06:20 AM on October 27, 2005

A replay shown after the game proved definitively that Palmeiro was out. Uribe has a cannon, and Palmeiro was around 6-8 inches off the bag when the ball reached the glove.

posted by rcade at 06:59 AM on October 27, 2005

(duplicate post from earlier thread...) I stand corrected. I checked Game 4 and it was Brennaman and Lyons doing a Fox feed picked up by Sportsnet in Canada, and Buck and McCarver were on the Buffalo Fox channel. I spent a bit of time flipping between the feeds. It soon became obvious that not only are Brennaman and Lyons more interesting, there voices aren't as irritating. I am tired of Buck's voice, and I am sick of McCarver's commentary, so having another option available was sweet. Also, the feed going to Sportsnet always went to commercials later and came back to the game earlier, there was more of the game on Sportsnet than Fox. Then at end of game, for post-game trophy presentation, Brennaman and Lyons turned it over to the main feed with Buck, McCarver, and the equally annoying Jeannie Zelasko.

posted by the red terror at 07:34 AM on October 27, 2005

Re: the last out. In real time when the play happened, it was very close, but Palmeiro looked out, he didn't dispute the call to the umpire. White Sox win!! Congrats to the Chisox, the city, their fans, and all Southside's former greats and legends -- especially George Bell and Dave Stieb. (And if ya think the fan wearing the Barbara Bush Hallowe'en mask for Game 3 was scary, after the final out the camera did a slo-mo close-up, and although scarcely believeable, it was even more disgusting for Game 4. What are Fox and the Astros trying to do...induce fear, loathing, diahorrea and projectile vomiting in their viewers??)

posted by the red terror at 07:44 AM on October 27, 2005

I am so happy that White Sox fans get to experience what we Red Sox fans did last year! Congratulations! I missed it- did the Chicago cops shoot somebody? No- seriously, congrats to the White Sox. They were the better team throughout all the playoffs.

posted by Bury Bonds at 08:35 AM on October 27, 2005

Congratulations White Sox. No doubt the better team won. MY WORDS EXACTLY!!

posted by HOE.O.K. at 08:44 AM on October 27, 2005

the equally annoying Jeannie Zelasko. There is NOTHING as annoying as Jeannie Zelasko. She will forever burn in broadcasting hell for being part of the broadcast team that cut off Ernie Harwell at the All-Star game. Grum, you could update your profile. It still says: "It could be worse...I could be a Boston or Chicago baseball fan". Ha! I guess I do. (temporary fix)

posted by grum@work at 09:00 AM on October 27, 2005

Ozzie Guillen postgame interview "The trophy is going to Venezuela, I told Jerry, I told the Commissioner.... I was thinking about my country.... I wish I'd be in Venezuela right now so see how they're celebrating right now. With all due respect to Chicago fans, I know my country they're going crazy....I was in the World Series as a player, as a coach and now as a manager. I think it is because I bring something to Chicago and my country -- my country never have it and Chicago, the waiting there was so long....Jerry Reinsdorf, one of the biggest reasons I wanted to win this thing was for him. I just needed people in Chicago to be so excited about the thing, I just wanted to do an accomplish in my life, is win this thing for Jerry. He deserved that. He worked so hard in baseball, it's unbelievable....Kenny Williams did a tremendous job....I do a lot of bad things with my players, they have to deal with all the questions and answers of Ozzie Guillen. It was a tough season for them, too. They trust me and I trust them. We're here together. We do this for one reason, that's to win or lose together. We want to win together or lose together. And Kenny give me the best."

posted by zippinglou at 09:02 AM on October 27, 2005

An incredible performance that I'll never forget - thank you White Sox!

posted by ChiSox1977 at 09:07 AM on October 27, 2005

Couldn't happen to a bunch of nicer guys... No stars on that team, the closest they had was Konerko. Everyone of those guys were like your friends or neighbors, the guys at work or at the local bar. I'm really happy for the Ego-less White Sox...

posted by StarFucker at 09:07 AM on October 27, 2005

Congrats to the White sox-it was a great season. once in a life time.. They dominated thier division on the strength of a whole bunch of one-run wins... They played a great brand of "team baseball" Hope they enjoy it, as seasons like this are hard to repeat......

posted by daddisamm at 09:32 AM on October 27, 2005

With winter-type weather starting to pop up around parts of the country, it's really helped World Series scheduling since the Series became a "Best-of-Four" format.

posted by dyams at 10:03 AM on October 27, 2005

Read the links, Gary (thanks for the legwork), and the Page 2 guys are fucking tools. Jesus Christ, when you think the timespan your network has existed actually merits the word "era", you've jumped the shark. I still don't understand Garner's thinking in pulling Backe for Bagwell in the seventh. The guy was absolutely dominating and still had the juice, but even if he had been a little tired, Bagwell looked awful through the whole Series. Why dump your starter with the bases empty and two outs for that? Oh, and congrats to the White Sox. Even though I live and die with the Cardinals, the past two seasons I've still been smiling at the last out.

posted by wfrazerjr at 10:18 AM on October 27, 2005

Congrats to the White Sox. Astros...BWWAAAAAHAAAAA I'm glad that it wasn't the Cardinals getting swept again. We don't need to ban the NL Central but we do need to get rid of wild card teams.

posted by budman13 at 10:24 AM on October 27, 2005

Final World Series Pick 'Em Results

posted by DrJohnEvans at 10:31 AM on October 27, 2005

Fun, fun, fun Series. Thanks, White Sox and Astros.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:00 AM on October 27, 2005

By the numbers:

  • Number of hits for the Astros in the final 19 innings of the World Series: 6
  • Hits in the Astros' last 17 at-bats with runners in scoring position: 0
  • Consecutive innings to end the Series in which the Astros did not score: 15
  • White Sox's team ERA during their 11-1 run through the playoffs: 2.55
  • Straight postseason wins for White Sox, tying record set by 2004 Red Sox: 8
The White Sox also won 16 of their last 17 games during the regular season, so they went 27-2 over their last 29 games.

posted by kirkaracha at 11:53 AM on October 27, 2005

Ozzie Guillen knows how to celebrate.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 02:55 PM on October 27, 2005

Is that legal in Texas?

posted by DrJohnEvans at 03:05 PM on October 27, 2005

I hope you guys know that's his kid. Funny picture though.

posted by willthrill72 at 03:20 PM on October 27, 2005

I thought it was the chick from "Boys Don't Cry."

posted by dyams at 03:31 PM on October 27, 2005

Is that legal in Texas? Only if it's his kid. Wait, I'm thinking of neverland ranch.

posted by justgary at 04:02 PM on October 27, 2005

The 2005 World Series Championship is the greatest ChiSox moment since Thursday, July 12, 1979 - Old Comiskey Park - Chicago, Illinois. Another great tribute here.

posted by the red terror at 05:25 PM on October 27, 2005

You're not logged in. Please log in or register.