 |
| Did the White Sox' future begin Wednesday? |
Yet
there also was a related move that could portend the reason why the White Sox
ultimately will not prevail in winning a World Series, or even an American
League championship in coming years.
IT
ACTUALLY IS an old phenomenon in baseball, familiar to every fan of an American
League ball club (although those of you Chicagoans who think you’re baseball
fans but actually pay attention only to the Cubs and the National League
wouldn’t know this).
It
is the New York Yankees.
One
of the realities of the Yankees having won 27 World Series and 40 American
League championships is that there have been many other ball clubs that had
solid teams and seasons that “might have won” in other years, but wound up
falling short to the ball club from the Bronx.
Even
the White Sox experienced this same phenomenon back in the 1950s and 1960s when
they had those 17 straight winning seasons and a ton of second place teams.
With the Yankees finishing ahead of them so many times.
 |
| Sox' Robertson returns to pinstripes ... |
YET
THE FACT that there is now a roster spot for Moncada on the White Sox is
because of the trade that the White Sox made with the Yankees to help rebuild
New York’s American League ball club into a contender this year.
Todd
Frazier, who played third base for the White Sox, is likely to become the
Yankees first baseman (a spot where they have been weak this season) and top
Sox relief pitcher David Robertson is likely to become a set-up pitcher who
becomes the guy who pitches right before top relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman – who
isn’t pitching as well this season as he did last year in his half-season with
the Chicago Cubs.
 |
| ... after Chapman fails to match Cubbie ways |
The
Yankees could easily turn Robertson into their top relief pitcher if Chapman
doesn’t get his act together soon. Which is what makes this trade so significant
– the Yankees were able to go out and get a replacement whereas many other
ballclubs would be stuck with the big-bucks Chapman contract and couldn’t even
think of finding a replacement.
 |
| Lopez managed many 2nd place teams |
The
Yankees, who haven’t won a World Series title since 2009 and haven’t been in
the playoffs for three years, are serious about wanting to contend now – and
likely will make moves to keep in contention for future years.
MEANING
ANY EFFORTS by the White Sox to ride a “Cuban revolution” of Moncada, Jose
Abreu and Luis Robert (still in the minor leagues, for now) and other top minor
league ballplayers acquired from other teams in trades this year could wind up
being thwarted by the resurgence of the New York Yankees.
Which
would be oh so predictable.
 |
| Ichiro's best ball club fell behind Yankees |
There
are too many American League ball clubs that have had their dreams of
championship play halted by the Yanks.
Not
only the White Sox of 1964 (98 wins, including a winning streak of the last 10
games of the season – which fell behind the 99 wins the Yankees had that year).
BOSTON,
CLEVELAND AND Detroit fans can also claim horror stories about wonderful ball
clubs that couldn’t get beyond second place, or the first round of the American
League playoffs.
And
let’s not forget the Seattle Mariners, who have never won a championship of any
kind during their 41 seasons of existence, largely because their glory years of
the late 1990s coincided with those Yankees teams of Derek Jeter that won four
of five World Series titles in the same time period.
 |
| Will White Sox improvements be enough to match Yankee upgrade? |
Is
that the same fate to befall the White Sox of the late 2010s and 2020s – to
finish behind New York? Once again turning the phrase “Damned Yankees” into an
epithet meaning more than just a long-ago Broadway show!
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment