(Fisk, demonstrating his diplomatic skills on Lou Piniella)
The Sun-Times’ Chris De Luca reports today on Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk’s return to the White Sox organization as the Sox Ambassador, a job that sounds like Tommy Lasorda’s relationship with the Dodgers. ”They have defined me as an ambassador — whatever an ambassador’s duties are,” Fisk said Thursday. ”I just hope it’s not an ambassador to Iraq or someplace and they send me over there. I guess that means I’m a jack of all trades and a master of none. I was a master of one, but not anymore.” How about an ambassador to the North Side? Sox fans currently believe it populated by billionaires, Republican plutocrats in top hats, and “foreigner eggheads” from Northwestern who force their children to eat sushi and lattes for breakfast.
(Sox fans, lined up outside the Cell for tonight’s Angels Game)
As to baseball, in celebration of MLB’s Indiana Jones Day, at least I thought it was Indy Day from seeing Harrison Ford’s mug all over MLB’s May 22nd schedules, the White Sox managed to pull off their 8th straight win last night on the road, finishing a sweep of Cleveland, 3-1. And Ozzie Guillen offered The Daily Herald’s Scott Gregor the following backhanded praise of short stop Juan Uribe, which probably won’t let Uribe sleep any easier:
“Uribe is the best second baseman the White Sox have had in a long time,” said Guillen, adding that Uribe has a better glove than Joey Cora and Tadahito Iguchi.
“No matter how bad he gets or how he looks, he helps me. I believe in defense. Defense is going to make our pitching staff better, and Uribe does that.”
A converted shortstop, Uribe has made a near-flawless switch to second base, and his powerful throwing arm has been an asset turning double plays.
Uribe’s defensive skills rarely have been questioned since he arrived on the South Side from the Colorado Rockies following a 2003 trade.
His bat, on the other hand, continues to be a hot topic.
Even though he was hitting .278 with a home run and 6 RBI over 11 games before injuring his hamstring, Uribe’s average still stands at .198 and his on-base percentage is an equally grim .262.
Guillen said Uribe has been unfairly singled out for his poor hitting.
“Look, we’ve got a bunch of hitters playing like junk, and Uribe has done good for us,” Guillen said. “The second I see that he’s not playing good for me, he’s not going to be in the lineup.”
Alexei Ramirez has been starting for Uribe at second base, even though he’s more comfortable at shortstop and center field.
“The Cuban missile (Ramirez) has gotten a couple nice hits,” Guillen said. “He’s playing the position real well. In time we’ll see how it works, but when Uribe is ready to play he should be back. Obviously if Ramirez continues to hit, I might change my mind. But why take it away from Uribe?”
Sox fans currently believe it populated by billionaires, Republican plutocrats in top hats, and “foreigner eggheads†from Northwestern who force their children to eat sushi and lattes for breakfast.
Come on now. You might be spiteful but there’s no need to sell us short. We know about the hillbillies in Uptown and all that creepy guy with a limp outside the Thorndale Red Line stop, too.
If the Cubs played fewer day games during the business week, less Sox fans would bother to point out all the eastbound illegal immigrant-drawn yacht traffic during midday on 94.
The same I-94 our ancestors built, but did *not* reroute from its original plan to protect The Mayor (hallowed be his name) and His Neighbors (may the Lord keep them) from the encroaching wave of public housing to the east.
If Cubs fans weren’t at those day games, Sox fans would have never get those three hour lunches on city time at Weiner’s Circle, have time for OTBs, or blackjack on the office computer.
Coming from Ben, the acknowledgement that a Sox fan would actually be capable of operating a computer could be seen as a compliment in and of itself.