The White Sox Organization...

[RKMeibalane]

...needs to get a clue. As it stands right now, the Cubs have an excellent chance to reach the World Series. If the Teddy Bears from the North Side succeed in doing so, the Sox will be pushed even further into the background of the drama that is Chicago sports. The Cubs have a chance to do something special, even if their fans don't understand exactly what that is.

White Sox fans, on the other hand, are treated to comments like these:

:jerry

"I can't imagine any situation short of an emergency that would involve Frank Thomas playing first base."

:jerry

"If Sox fans don't agree me, then they just understand baseball."

:reinsy

"Chicago has always been a Cubs town. Why should we even bother trying to compete with them?"

:reinsy

"If you come to the park, we will spend money. Otherwise, we won't do anything, and it's all your fault!"

I hope that Williams and Reinsdorf are paying attention to the events of the post-season. I hope they take note of how the teams that made the playoffs were put together, and more importantly, who they had in the dug-out calling the shots. While Jack McKeon and Grady Little aren't exactly the next coming of Whitey Herzog, both are capable managers, who understand the game well enough that at least some of their decisions work out for the best. Furthermore, both have the respect of their players. Williams needs to realize this and find someone similar to take control of the Sox ship. The team strayed too far off course with Jerry Manuel at the helm, and I don't want to see a repeat of that disaster.

I also hope that the Chairman understands just how crucial it is that his team rebounds next season. The White Sox have, in most people's minds, become an afterthought. Most people don't think about when discussing key teams in the American League, and an even smaller number take them into account when talking about baseball history. Why is this? Because they haven't done enough to warrant the recognition that teams such as New York and Boston get by default. This needs to change, and soon. As one of the charter franchises of the American League, it is important that the White Sox serve as the standard by which other teams are judged. They are supposed to be one of the leaders when it comes to race for the AL Pennant, not an also-ran.

JR needs to understand this, and he needs to understand it soon. More than two decades ago, he purchased the Sox with the promise that he would construct a first-class organization. People are still waiting for him to make good on that promise. The time is now.

[wassagstdu]

The last time the Cubs made it to the World Series was 1949 -- or so I heard on TV last night, I wouldn't know or care. I am not sure of the exact timing, but right about that time the Sox hired Frank Lane and Paul Richards and started building what became the 1959 Sox and might have become a dynasty if not for Bill Veeck. That came after 3 decades of what must have seemed like permanent futility after 1919. Was there a connection between the success of the Cubs in 1949 and the determination to make a winner out of the sad sox? Could this Cubs' success have the same effect?

[soxtalker]

Originally posted by wassagstdu
The last time the Cubs made it to the World Series was 1949 -- or so I heard on TV last night, I wouldn't know or care. I am not sure of the exact timing, but right about that time the Sox hired Frank Lane and Paul Richards and started building what became the 1959 Sox and might have become a dynasty if not for Bill Veeck. That came after 3 decades of what must have seemed like permanent futility after 1919. Was there a connection between the success of the Cubs in 1949 and the determination to make a winner out of the sad sox? Could this Cubs' success have the same effect?

I doubt that there is much of a parallel. It was '45, the ranks of the majors were depleted of top players, and that 14 years was an awfully long time. Having said that, I think that the Sox have always been motivated by the cross-town rivalry. I do think that this Cubs success will motivate the organization. The real questions whether it will motivate them enough to make changes and whether they haven't squandered too much over the past few years to make improvement difficult. For all of his statements that he really wants to win in baseball, JR still appears to want to do it largely the way he has in the past. We'll see.

[TornLabrum]

Originally posted by soxtalker
I doubt that there is much of a parallel. It was '45, the ranks of the majors were depleted of top players, and that 14 years was an awfully long time. Having said that, I think that the Sox have always been motivated by the cross-town rivalry. I do think that this Cubs success will motivate the organization. The real questions whether it will motivate them enough to make changes and whether they haven't squandered too much over the past few years to make improvement difficult. For all of his statements that he really wants to win in baseball, JR still appears to want to do it largely the way he has in the past. We'll see.

:reinsy

"Hey! This is me you're talking about. You make the call!"

[dooda]

Consistant success is a by product of leadership. Any organization can have a successful year but to have consistant repeatable success is a result of excellent leadership with a defined purpose and organizational goals. There are hundreds of examples in business and sports.

Until JR makes a decision that excellence throughout the organization is the standard, all talk of throwing money at the problem is moot. Money is a factor, but it is secondary to a commitmant to excellence. I define excellence as competing for division championships on a yearly basis.

From a purely baseball standpoint, the organization doesn't seem to know which way it wants to play. Power? Speed? Defense? Pitching?

This season alone we make late season acquisitions that are somewhat contradictory. We get Alomar to play second which I thought was a great move to improve defense with the by product being better pitching. Alomar makes plays we didn't make before. Then we also go get Everett to hit, but we give up defense in center field which weakens pitching. We already led the league in DH types.

I don't want JR to spend a ton of money trying to buy a bunch of pieces until he makes a commitment to organizational excellence. I want a GM with a plan and a Manager who knows how to execute the plan. Then let's spend money on players who will fit the plan.

There is a reason all those teams give Bill Parcels the combination to the vault
Winning seems to follow him around. The White Sox could be like those teams, but it starts with a determination by the head man that nothing short of excellence is an acceptible result.

Oh, is that what George Steinbrenner is like? Go figure.