In a show of grace neither Mr. Warmoski nor myself could muster, Ozzie Guillien embarrasses us both by stepping forward to say that in the off-season, we are one Chicago. Ozzie says of the North Side, “I have friends over there and I know how the people in this city are. The expectations were so high. I don’t know how they handled it.”
Actually Ozzie, getting swept means you didn’t handle it, but I appreciate the thought. MLB’s Scott Merkin reports it here:
“Yes, I was very surprised,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen of the Red Line World Series possibility disappearing with the Dodgers’ third straight victory over the Cubs. “Am I happy or sad? No. I have a couple of friends there and I know how bad they wanted to win it, but they couldn’t.”
“But I think Cubs fans shouldn’t forget how great this summer was for them,” Guillen said. “I always say you play 162, but when the season is over, it’s a new season. They [did not] play well during the new season.
“Meanwhile, I think they went out and played their heart out. They just got beat. The expectations were so high. It’s not easy as a player to come every day with ‘This is the year. This is the year.’ Well, what if this isn’t the year? What if ‘the year’ is next year?”
When the rain eventually stopped on Sunday, Guillen and his charges had their shot to avoid a combined 0-6 showing for Chicago in the Division Series. Guillen hoped his White Sox ultimately didn’t feel the same sense of loss as their crosstown rivals.
“You look at those guys’ faces and the way they talk, I feel for them,” Guillen said. “I have friends over there and I know how the people in this city are. The expectations were so high. I don’t know how they handled it.”