World Champs!

So the White Sox won the World Series tonight. After an 88 year drought they won the big one. Why is it that although their drought was two years longer than the one the Redsox ended last season, no one seems to care so much? I think the t.v. ratings for this World Series were some of the lowest in recent memory. It's really too bad because although the Astros didn't win a game, each game was very close and a nail biter to the very end. All that aside though ... here is what I really want some feedback on. The polls are open. Which Astro player choked the most in the post season? Where the freak was Morgan Ensberg this post season? That guy was great all year and then he just forgets to show up when the playoffs come around. Phil Garner's comment before tonight's game was "maybe Ensberg will run into one." Was it Ausmus who seemed to be either striking out every time I looked up or popping up to shallow center when he should have been taking the pitch so the runner on first could easily steal second and put himself in scoring position. Willie Taveras who stole 34 bases this season and yet didn't have the balls to take one the entire post season? You know the green light was on numerous times in the past two games if the opportunity was there. Was it a compilation of every Astros player who picked up a bat? That's a possibility. When it was crunch time they all sucked at the plate. Ezekiel Astacio for coming out of the pen and getting blown up lastnight in game 3? By the way, what the crap is on that guy's face? Is it Phil Garner for making the decision to bring in Astacio who is obviously not as accomplished of a pitcher as the rest of the bullpen? I realize that was a tough one because there was only two guys left in the pen and neither were that reliable. But if that's the case do you take your chances on letting Qualls go another inning. Who knows? Personally I think it would be hard to choke in a noticeable enough way to pull away from the pack with some much competition here but I've got to hand it to Brad Lidge. He really did a number out there this post season. He couldn't just concentrate on hitting his spots and making the pitches during game 5 of the NLCS. He had to get too excited and just fire it up there. I hate to tell you Brad, but if you do that with Albert Pujols at the plate he's going to launch one off the glass my friend. Man, it's a good thing the roof was closed. That ball would have killed someone in Katy. I think it was a bad decision to not let Lidge close out game 6 just to get his confidence back. It was a perfect situation that was almost fool proof, but Garner kept him on the bench. I guess he would let him get his confidence back in a much tighter situation with no room for error. Say like bottom of the ninth, tied game pitching to a guy who didn't hit a home run the entire regular season. Too bad that one got deposited about 5 rows up and sent the Astros back to Houston down 2-0. Lidge only gave up 5 homers the entire regular season. And now he had given up 2 in the postseason already. And then tonight they bring him into a game tied 0-0. What does he do? Nothing big ... he just allowed an rbi single. Too bad that was all the White Sox needed to win the game. The Astros rallied to tie game 3 in the eighth inning and then didn't score a single run the next 15 innings. How is that possible? The White Sox pitchers are good, but they aren't that good. So my choke award goes to Lidge but he can feel free to share it with anyone in the clubhouse he likes. Everyone deserves to hoist that trophy over their head for at least a few minutes.

So congratulations to the White Sox. I think it's great to see a team like that win it after being away for so long. Whether people watched or not I think it's great for baseball to have a team with this much history finally win the series. Now that the attention is finally back on the White Sox I think they should make a campaign to have "Shoeless" Joe Jackson reinstated into baseball and inducted into the Hall of Fame. I'll save that arguement for another day though.