Kuzul

Last night the Chicago Bears clinched the NFC North division and secured themselves a return to the playoffs for the first timce since their Super Bowl run in 2006.

The players donned their NFC North title baseball caps. They smiled on the sidelines.  Lovie Smith wore his smug smile during the post game conference.

I clapped.  High-fived my brother and drove home in a snow storm, and didn’t really think twice about it.

In 2005 when the White Sox clinched their division, it felt like a thousand pound boulder was lifted from my back and I could finally breathe.  The same was true when they won game 163 against the Minnesota Twins in 2008.

And I’m a much bigger football fan than baseball.

So what’s going on here?

Is it the monstrous MLB season of 162 games, where you watch the team almost every day, and just develop a more emotional response to them.  

Was it the fact that playoff baseball in this town doesn’t come around too often? I’m fairly certain fans in Atlanta became accustomed to watching their baseball team make the playoffs, and quickly bow out. But the players react almost the same.  There’s at least a sense of celebration.  Even the Yankees celebrate making the playoffs even though we all know that’s not their end game. 

Is it the fact that only four teams make the playoffs from each league in baseball, while you have six teams from each division make it in Football?  That can’t be it since it’s only a matter of two teams.

To me, it’s the length of season and the amount of time you spend and get to know the players. There are only 16 football games, and they play once a week.  There are almost double that amount of games per month in a baseball season.  That’s a lot of time spent with your team and the players.  There are ten times as many games in baseball.  It really is a marathon of a season.

What do you guys think?

Do you get as excited about your favorite football team making the playoffs as your baseball team?

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Three years, $37.5 million.

A $500,000 per year raise.

Not too shabby for having one of the greatest years of your career in a contract season.

The table is set on the south side. With Adam Dunn now definitely playing DH, and A.J Pierzynski returning to his catching duties, the White Sox are “all-in” as Kenny Williams put it.

We shouldn’t be surprised that a poker metaphor is being used, as this is the same man who only a few months ago was letting it be known that the White Sox did not have the money to spend and that fans should prepare for a potential rebuilding process.

So what happened?  Where did the money come from?

The money was always there, but they looked at their starting rotation (with or without Jake Peavy) and realized it would be a damn shame to let it go to waste.

Now comes the final steps in solidifying a team which on paper has a very legitimate shot to win the American League Central and compete for the pennant: the bullpen.

Bobby Jenks is gone.

Chris Sale might be placed in the starting rotation.

J.J Putz is gone.

Sergio Santo is in unfamiliar ground and could face the sophomore slump.

Threets is gone.

Whatever money Kenny Williams and Jerry Reinsdorf have left, it needs to go to that bullpen.  Believe it or not, the White Sox offense wasn’t horrible last year.  At times it was, especially early on.  However, in August they had the best offensive in the American League—and that’s when their season fell apart because their bullpen couldn’t close out games.

If they can’t manage to sure up the bullpen, they’re going to lose a lot of games with scores like 10-8, 9-7, etc…

At least it’ll be entertaining.

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With the signing of Adam Dunn for four years and $56 million, Kenny Williams asserted his power over White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.

Williams stood tall and in one fell swoop declared: This is the American League. This is the AL Central. This is U.S. Cellular Field. We will hit the ball. We will hit the ball far, and we will win. Take your National League, small ball crap and shove it.

Now, don’t get me wrong here. I love Ozzie Guillen. There is no one I’d like to have managing my baseball team more than Ozzie Guillen. His crazed press conferences, his antics and his without-a-doubt ability to manage a major league ball club should keep him as a staple in the South Side dugout for years to come.

But, Ozzie had it wrong.

What seemed like small ball in 2005, or Ozzie ball, was a mirage. True, Scott Podsednik dazzled at the top of the lineup with his ability to reach base and wreak havoc on opposing pitchers while he perfected the art of the steal. But the 2005 White Sox won for two reasons:

They hit the hell out of the ball. And they pitched their arses off.

Last season, the decision to keep or dismiss Jim Thome fell in Ozzie’s lap. Ozzie let him go.

I agreed with the decision. Thome was too slow. Thome was getting up there in age. Thome’s strikeouts seemed to come more frequently than his bashing of said baseball.

Ozzie wanted more speed. So we got Mark Kotsay and Jayson Nix and Brent Lillibridge and Omar Vizquel and Juan Pierre. Was this the South Side hit men or the Florida Marlins?

Again, the White Sox win when the White Sox crush the baseball.

I know this, because Kenny Williams knows this.

Ozzie Guillen will soon know this, if he doesn’t already. You don’t need base stealers; you need table setters. If the White Sox manage to bring back Paul Konerko, their lineup will be a formidable murderers’ row. Both Konerko and Dunn are .900 OPS.

If you’re not a numbers guy, that’s good. That’s very good.

With the rotation the White Sox look to carry into the 2011 season, even without Jake Peavy, they should have the firepower at the plate and on the mound to be strong contenders for their third American League Central title in six years.

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