He_Gawn Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 This might not be news on the South Side of Chicago or on the banks of the Mississippi in St. Louis. After this weekend -- a few days for bold statements, delivered loud and clear -- it probably shouldn't be news much of anywhere. Just in case you missed the missive, though, here it is again: The White Sox and Cardinals are the best teams in baseball, and it's not even close. They have pitching other teams openly covet. They can hit and they can score. They do the little things. They do the big things. And they have leads so embarrassingly hefty right now that they could play like the Dodgers for a month-and-a-half and still coast into October. Everybody else can scrap around in their divisions and fight over the wild-card leftovers. The White Sox and Cardinals, after their triumphant post-break weekends, have their respective Central division titles wrapped up and home-field advantage in the postseason pretty much guaranteed. The only question remaining is how many regular-season games they're going to win. A quick rundown on a shout-it-out weekend for the best teams in the American and National leagues: ADVERTISEMENT [0] • The White Sox swept the Indians in a four-game series in Cleveland's Jacobs Field, shutting them out twice and dropping them a full 15 games -- now that hurts -- out of the running. The White Sox rotation was simply more than the Indians could handle. Starters picked up the wins in all four games, beginning with Jose Contreras on Thursday and rolling through Freddy Garcia, Mark Buehrle and Jon Garland (who won his 14th game on Sunday). Together, the four pitched 27 innings, gave up 19 hits, struck out 19 and had a 1.00 ERA. With runners in scoring position, Cleveland had just three hits in 25 at-bats in the series (.125). With that pitching, the Sox didn't need a whole lot of hitting, so they went about things the way the Sox have gone about it all year. They hit only two home runs in the series, both of them Sunday, and hit a mediocre .258. But they stole 10 bases, constantly keeping pressure on a Cleveland team that, evidently, isn't ready for it. Since a nine-game win streak in June against the NL West, the Indians are 10-15. "You can't put your head down and cry," Indians manager Eric Wedge said after the series. At this point, that might be the only thing the Indians can do. • The Cardinals' sweep of the Astros wasn't nearly as easy as Chicago's win over the Indians. But it was every bit as important, as far as sending a message. St. Louis beat the absolute best the Astros could throw at them in three tight but decisive ballgames at Busch Stadium. The Cards topped Andy Pettitte on Friday, 4-3, and Roy Oswalt on Saturday, 4-2. On Sunday, 14-game winner Chris Carpenter outpitched Roger Clemens as the Cards completed their sweep with a 3-0 win. Houston's Big Three was pretty impressive in the series. Pettitte, Oswalt and Clemens combined for 20 innings, allowed 17 hits and game up just six earned runs, a 2.70 ERA. Houston pitchers held the Cardinals to a .215 batting average. But the St. Louis starting trio of Mark Mulder, Jason Marquis and Carpenter was better. They combined for 25 innings, allowed just 17 hits and gave up three earned runs for a 1.08 ERA. The Astros hit just .203 in the series. The lost weekend dropped the once-surging Astros under .500 again. They now trail the Cardinals by 14 1/2 games -- now that hurts -- in the NL Central. How good are the Cardinals and White Sox? How good can they be? They rank one-two in ERA (the Cards are have a 3.34, the Sox 3.52), one-two in wins (61 for the Sox, 59 for the Cards) and one-two in run differential to the good side (the Cardinals have scored 103 more runs than their opponents, the Sox 87). And, if you're counting, the White Sox now are on pace for a 110-win season. The Cardinals aren't quite that hot, but they're moving along better than they were last year, when they won 105 games, best in baseball. Yes, things can change. Injuries can derail the best of seasons. But the Cardinals and White Sox are too good, too deep and too far ahead for that to happen to them. They are, without question, the two best teams in baseball. Just ask the Astros or the Indians. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBlackSox8 Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 (edited) NICE... Edited July 18, 2005 by TheBlackSox8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wedge Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Somebody might want to show that to Kasey Blake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Now that, my friends, is what you call respect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan1 Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 That brought a tear to my eyes.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Critic Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Since the Sox and Cards are my two favorite teams in MLB, this article was VERY nice to read! This season has been fantastic thus far, and IF......well, you know.....IF...... .....it would be difficult having to root against the Redbirds. Well, now that I think about it, it wouldn't be THAT difficult...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9347 Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 QUOTE(The Critic @ Jul 18, 2005 -> 01:42 PM) Since the Sox and Cards are my two favorite teams in MLB, this article was VERY nice to read! This season has been fantastic thus far, and IF......well, you know.....IF...... .....it would be difficult having to root against the Redbirds. Well, now that I think about it, it wouldn't be THAT difficult...... Same here. I was raised as a Cardinals fan by my father, who grew up in St. Louis. However, in my impressionable years of being 8-10 years old, living in Loves Park, IL, I watched the White Sox on "Sportschannel" and fell in love with them. I have been a Sox fan for the last 14 years (am now 22.) However, the Cardinals are still up there. If it came down to Sox vs Cardinals, I hope the Cardinals get crushed in every single game. But, since my father is such a huge fan of the Cards still, I like to see them do well, and having both the White Sox and Cardinals with the best record in baseball has been a dream come true for us. I hope this continues, and this article was truly well-written. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukeNukeEm Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 (edited) I love the Cardinals. I worship the White Sox. Thats it. The Sox will always be #1 for me. I just cannot stop thinking about them, especially this year. I dont know. It's been an obsession. I just randomly blurt "White Sox are awesome" sometimes; people kind of look at me. But when I'm not really thinking about anything, they come straight to mind. Wierd.. yeah, but I dont care. I love this. The Cardinals are a great team filled with good players and good guys. LaRussa has White Sox connections; Pujols is a more talented version of Sean Casey who is just an allaround great human being. Rolen plays 3rd so well. They do things right. They are a great team. And I wish to like hell they wouldve beaten the 'Other' Sox last October. But this year, despite how much I like what the Cardinals are doing, I cant get over my White Sox. And I'll be forced to hate anything that stands between us and destiny. So Cardinals, please lose in the NLCS so I dont have to hate you. Edited July 18, 2005 by DukeNukeEm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 QUOTE(DukeNukeEm @ Jul 18, 2005 -> 02:12 PM) I love the Cardinals. I worship the White Sox. Thats it. The Sox will always be #1 for me. I just cannot stop thinking about them, especially this year. I dont know. It's been an obsession. I just randomly blurt "White Sox are awesome" sometimes; people kind of look at me. But when I'm not really thinking about anything, they come straight to mind. Wierd.. yeah, but I dont care. I love this. The Cardinals are a great team filled with good players and good guys. LaRussa has White Sox connections; Pujols is a more talented version of Sean Casey who is just an allaround great human being. Rolen plays 3rd so well. They do things right. They are a great team. And I wish to like hell they wouldve beaten the 'Other' Sox last October. But this year, despite how much I like what the Cardinals are doing, I cant get over my White Sox. And I'll be forced to hate anything that stands between us and destiny. So Cardinals, please lose in the ALCS so I dont have to hate you. Sorry, but that's not gonna happen. The NLCS maybe, but not the ALCS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukeNukeEm Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Whooops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Critic Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 QUOTE(DukeNukeEm @ Jul 18, 2005 -> 01:12 PM) I love the Cardinals. I worship the White Sox. Thats it. The Sox will always be #1 for me. I just cannot stop thinking about them, especially this year. I dont know. It's been an obsession. I just randomly blurt "White Sox are awesome" sometimes; people kind of look at me. But when I'm not really thinking about anything, they come straight to mind. Wierd.. yeah, but I dont care. I love this. The Cardinals are a great team filled with good players and good guys. LaRussa has White Sox connections; Pujols is a more talented version of Sean Casey who is just an allaround great human being. Rolen plays 3rd so well. They do things right. They are a great team. And I wish to like hell they wouldve beaten the 'Other' Sox last October. But this year, despite how much I like what the Cardinals are doing, I cant get over my White Sox. And I'll be forced to hate anything that stands between us and destiny. So Cardinals, please lose in the NLCS so I dont have to hate you. Hearing someone randomly mumble "White Sox are awesome" for no reason would be absolutely hilarious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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