RMJ 195 August 29

FRIDAY, AUGUST 29 ● Chicago, vs White Sox

I went to Niketown today. This is one of the perks of being back in uniform.

Each year, I have noticed that players leaving Chicago have big bags of Nike goodies. I’m not sure how they allot the giveaways, but my deal was for $1,000 in two installments. Judy and Ryan went last time we were in town, so this was my first trip. It is quite a production.

You go to the fifth floor and introduce yourself. They check their roster, and tell you to “just do it” on the other four floors. The gear covers a wide range of activities, including running, tennis, basketball, golf, skiing, climbing, biking, and leisure.

The $500 goes pretty fast at full price; I got a ski jacket and a sweatshirt for myself, a pair of shoes for Judy, and some sweats for Julia. The total came to $501. I took out a dollar, and they told me not to worry about it.

I don’t know how they can be so loose and fast with their money. I think they made Tiger Woods a pretty good deal, too.

 

New Comiskey Park isn’t nearly as nice as the other new baseball-only ballparks. It is monochromatic (blue) and it is symmetrical and sterile.

Even so, it is a major improvement on the multisport bowls of my era.

The White Sox made a big mistake when they erected the New Comiskey in the demolition dust of Old Comiskey.

If you go to a game at Wrigley Field, you can spend time before and after in the cafés, shops, and taverns in the quaint North Side neighborhood. The same neighborhood charm beckons fans to Fenway, and it lures them to the new ballparks in Cleveland, Baltimore, and Denver. Our new ballpark in Houston will be the same way.

At Comiskey, the game’s the thing. If you went for a stroll in this neighborhood, you might get mugged. Fact is, they found bullet holes in several seats in the upper deck.

I don’t know how the White Sox could have ignored the reason for the demise of the old ballparks in St Louis, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia. When a ballpark is surrounded by urban decay, folks don’t get that romantic impulse to go to a game.

Luckily, the Sox benefit from superstation WGN. Without this advantage, they would be in bad shape.

The Braves didn’t really get it right, either. There is no neighborhood to speak of around Turner Field, and you cannot get there on MARTA.

It is discouraging to know that the baseball owners, who are making decisions that will usher the game into the next century, have so little knowledge of the history of the game and the nature of its fans.

 

Another example of this myopic vision is the futile attempt to win the hearts of the young. Great sums of money were spent on demographic studies that prove the 16-25 age group is not interested in the sport; I could have told them that for free.  

From the time a teenager gets his wheels, until the time he or she settles down to raise a family, it is party time — fast and furious. This type of activity is antithetical to baseball.

When we bastardize the game to attract the young, we alienate our older fans. With too much loud music, too many mascots, and too much hype, we portray our sport as a three-ring circus — and we lose the pastoral pleasures that made baseball the American Pastime.

I’m not for a return to the old days; I don’t mind music and mascots, and I love the DiamondVision features between innings. I just think a little more discretion is in order.

We all know the 1994 strike is the reason for the decline in attendance and TV ratings, but we make ourselves look as foolish and transparent as a chastised child when we go garish trying to recover attention.

 

A little more than 20,000 fans came out to see us play the White Sox on a Friday night. Again, we made many mistakes, and this time it didn’t take a great team like the Braves to capitalize and beat us.

Three times in one inning, our infielders couldn’t get the handle on the ball after catching it — and the Sox scored twice, when they should not have scored at all.

But these mistakes were physical; our mental mistakes were made by one man: Derek Bell.

Midway through the game, he swung at an ankle-high 1-0 curveball when Bogey had second base stolen. If he had taken the pitch, it would have been a 2-0 count with a man on second. Instead, it was a dribbler back to the mound for out number three.

The next time he came up, there were runners on first and third and nobody out. Biggio was on first, and the White Sox pitcher was slow to the plate. Biggio would have stolen second for sure if Derek had been patient.

I would have had no problem with him swinging at the first pitch if it had been up in the strike zone, where he could drive it into the outfield. But he swung at an ankle-high breaking ball again, and he tapped the ball to third. Bidge was out at second, and the run did not score.

Luckily, we got that run home on an errant pickoff throw. But we could have had a big inning if Derek had been more patient.

He did make a great catch in right-center early in the game. But in the eighth inning, he didn’t even try to catch a ball that Frank Thomas hit to right-center. There were two strikes in the count, and our scouting report said that we should shade him to right with two strikes.

For some reason, centerfielder James Mouton was playing straight away. This was partly our fault for not moving him. Mouton ran halfway across the outfield chasing the ball; Derek jogged over to watch. It was a high, slicing fly ball, and it didn’t even make it to the warning track. Mouton’s route to the ball was somewhat circular, and he still got a glove on it as he dove. Derek could have been standing under it, if he had hustled.  

Thomas ended up on second, representing the tying run. Russ Johnson made a great diving play to rob Albert Belle, then Robin Ventura hit a sinking liner to right. Derek had no chance to catch it, but I guess he felt he had to make up for the other play, so he came racing in and dove in vain. He didn’t even come close; the ball skipped by him for a triple. Mike Cameron singled that run home, and we lost 5-4. If we had a heads-up right-fielder, we would have taken a 4-3 lead into the ninth inning.

 

I suppose Chicagoland fans are aware of our two great players. Those who have not been to Wrigley got a firsthand view of it. Bagwell hit a homer and drove in two runs; Biggio hit a single a double and a home run, drove in a run and scored twice. If he keeps it up, he might score 150 runs this year.

He may have to score that many, if we keep playing sloppy baseball. But I don’t think we will. I believe we have another hot streak in us. And I think the guys do too. But the murmurs in the clubhouse tonight were unsubtle. To summarize, I would say, “If we can’t win it with him, let’s win it in spite of him.”

Anything that can rally the troops is all right with me. But I would surely have it another way if I had my choice.

 

Before the game, I asked Paul Weaver, our American League scout, to sit in on our meeting as we discussed the White Sox. It gave him a chance to see how we use his information. After the game, I had a few beers with him and commiserated about the game.

“Your report was right on the money,” I said. “Too bad we didn’t implement it on Thomas in the eighth.”

“I know,” he said. That ball has to be caught.”

“It’s the human element, Paul,” I said. “If the players don’t use the information, it’s of no use. Luckily, most of the guys get it right most of the time.”