The Wizard of Oz

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Say what you will about Ozzie (and you better believe I'm about to), but the first thing that every Sox fan remembers about this guy should be the masterful way he managed the 2005 team to the title. Sure, that year, like all baseball managers, Ozzie had his share of mistakes, frustrating tendencies, and a really healthy dose of luck that papered over such.

But at the end of the day, Ozzie took a team that no one (except me - even have the emails to prove it) considered much of a playoff contender, let alone a title team, and gave us one of the most dominating post-season performances in baseball history.

And Ozzie deserves a ton of credit for that. First off, he pushed hard to get rid of the lackadaisical slugging style that the Mags-Frank-CLee group had brought to this team for the past half decade (one we inexplicably slipped back into the following season). Instead, he gave an everyday job to the scrappy Rowand and motivated Kenny to bring in guys like Pods, Iguchi, AJ, and even Everett - guys w/ a bit of dirt on their jerseys and fire in their bellies.

Second, he used his bench in a way most AL managers - inexcusably - fail to. He got regular at-bats for Timo, Ozuna, Willie Harris, and eventually Blum. Just enough to rest the starters so they had something left in the tank down the stretch. Just enough to keep the part-timers from being exposed. And just enough to capitalize on the energy and different skill set each could contribute in spot starts.

Finally - and holy lord can we appreciate this after what we've gone through the last four seasons - Ozzie had this team believing in themselves and ready to go from Day 1 and didn't let up until they raised that trophy down in Houston. After the Aprils and Mays we've been having since 2007, can you even remember just how good it felt when the Sox rattled off a start of a season that saw them hold the lead in something like the first 30+ games?

From there, Ozzie didn't let them suffer the inevitable mid-season lull until they had built themselves enough of a lead to survive it. Sure, it got wicked scary in that home series against the Indians late in the year. But the Sox showed they had enough to not wilt, even as all the momentum was against them, all the pressure on them. And I'll argue forever that the incredible post-season run was partly made possible by suffering and then overcoming that near meltdown and the pressures it brought with it.

No question Ozzie absolutely had to go after what we've seen in 2009, 2010, and now this season. If just for opening the door to dumping Walker (and to some extent Cora, Cox, and Baines). Especially in light of whatever these prospects are we're getting from the generally talent-rich Marlins system. And given what the Sox limited prospects for improvement are this off-season (more on that in days to come).

But before I move on to the post-Ozzie era and all the unknowns we're staring at right now, it's only right that we stop and appreciate what he did for all of us in 2005. For most Sox fans, our fandom is more than just about rooting for a team to win some baseball games. It's about an institution in our lives that has meant a lot to our families coming together, friendships with fellow Southside fans, precious memories from childhood, and so much else.

And after so many years of believing that a World Series appearance (let alone a victory) was somehow something we as Sox fans just wouldn't ever experience, to actually go through the process and have it be even more incredible than we ever imagined... I mean that is something really special that will always have a neat place in my life.

I even like to joke that I can keep track of all the important events in my life because they happened every other year... first it was the Sox title in 2005, then my wedding in 2007, then Lily was born in 2009, and finally Penny came in 2011. Do I feel funny including the Sox title on that list? Only sort of. OK, not even sort of.

Yeah that title was kind of a big deal. And yeah, Ozzie deserves a big heaping spoonful of the credit for it. For that, I'll be forever appreciate and respectful of his place in White Sox history. In fact, I'm already excited about when they retire his #13 in the next few years.

For his crucial role in turning the 70-win teams of 1988 and 89 into 90-win teams from 1990 to 1992. For helping the team to the postseason in 1993 and what could have been our title year in 1994. For rescuing the Sox from the Manuel-era disappointments with his hiring in 2004 and that magical 2005. For rekindling our post-title hopes with that amazing Game 163 in 2008.


Hopefully tomorrow, maybe early next week, I'll get more into exactly why Ozzie had to go (thumbnail - half because of a laundry list of repeated failures, half because it was the only significant and realistic move that really was available to provide even an ounce of hope for this team in 2012). I'll get into what all Ozzie has been doing wrong of late to make this a move to be cheered, without any reservation. And I'll touch on what the next moves could/should/will be.

But for now - let's just relish what Ozzie has meant to this team. How stacked those 1990-1994 teams that he essentially captained were (side note: if the Wild Card existed and the Strike took place after the conclusion of 1994 instead of in the middle of it - really, what idiots and selfish jerks allowed that deal to be made and then executed so that happened?!? - that probably would have been the greatest era in White Sox history). How nice it was to get some energy and hope after Manuel. How frustrating and yet excitingly rewarding the 2008 team was. And of course, how great the entire 2005 run was.

Ah 2005. I just have to dig more into that, thereby doubling the size of this post. But really, you're reading an uber smalltime Sox blog - I can only imagine this is the kind of trip down memory lane you're not gonna mind taking.

Scotty Pods and Iguchi achieving instant cult status by sparking an incredible start to the year. Rowand joining them with his absurd plays in front of the New York media. Paulie finally elevating to the level of a lineup cornerstone. Everett quietly being his #2 - converting just about every RBI opportunity he had - in the first half. Big Frank coming back to spark us mid-season with 12 HRs and 26 RBI in 28 starts.

And then the stretch run, which began with Uribe somehow gunning the speedy Coco Crisp at first on a play deep in the hole w/ the go-ahead run about to score in the top of the 9th to hold off another crushing defeat to the Indians in late September. How the very next batter, Joe "Clutch" Crede, belted a walk-off jack that gave the Sox the victory they needed to spark a red hot close-out to the regular season.

Then came the beatdown of the BoSox in Game 1... a statement game that told all those national pundits (and a good amount of those well-founded pessimistic Sox fans) that this team was for real. Then Iguchi's jack to complete a comeback from down 4-0 early in Game 2. And Game 3, when freakin El Duque comes out with the bases loaded and mows down three straight, including Johnny Damon on a 3-2 curve ball! Talk about having ice in your veins! For the first time in any of our lives, we got to see our ChiSox celebrate winning a playoff series.

Then it was on to Game 2 against the Halos, when Buehrle quietly goes all 9, keeping the team in it just long enough for AJ to get on in the 9th on a confusing dropped third strike call that only AJ could have capitalized on. Ozuna takes his place at first, steals second, and then scores when Clutch Crede hits a walk-off double... again, letting all those national pundits know that this Sox team was not gonna shrink on the big stage.

Games 3 and 4 in LA, when Paulie hits a big bomb to give us an early lead which Garland and Freddy make stand up with complete games of their own. And then Game 5, when Contreras gives the Sox an unthinkable (and I'm willing to bet never-again-to-be-repeated) fourth straight post-season complete game victory that sends our freakin Chicago White Sox to the freakin World Series!!!

Game 1 - man the energy in this town, in that park, for a World Series Game... I doubt I'll ever experience anything like it again. A tight game that you can feel going either way. 8th inning, 4-3, Cotts facing a 1st and 3rd with no outs. K. K. Then gives the ball to Jenks, who immediately sees the runner steal 2nd. A hit will now give the Stros the lead and fulfill the impossible-to-avoid horrible expectations of every Sox fan watching. Instead - K. Threat over, Sox up 1-0.

Game 2 - terrible rainy, cold weather, but no one cares. We're up 1-0 and you kinda are finally starting to shed the dire expectations and really believe that this team is just superior and that will be what matters. But the Stros get up early and the Sox can't seem to do much... so your pessimism creeps back in.

Until a phantom HBP of Dye loads the bases for Paulie. In comes the reliever and his first pitch goes straight into the left field bleachers for the biggest Grand Slam in White Sox history.

Do you remember the elation you felt when that ball went yard?!? My sister Britt and I were sitting about 20 seats away from where the ball landed and hugged and jumped and yelled with every single person by us. The 300-pound bearded guy sitting next to me who hadn't said a word, hadn't changed expressions all game? Oh yeah, we hugged it out, jumping up and down like little school girls.

But it wasn't even the best feeling of the night. With the lead blown and the very real threat of the greatest sport fan feeling I'd ever had becoming just a footnote in one of the worst losses I'd ever watched, who else but Scotty Pods, he of 0 home runs in the entire regular season, would take closer Brad Lidge deep in the most unexpected walk-off in Sox history. I remember watching that ball sail out to deep right center, just hoping it'd get down and carom enough so that Pods could reach third.

Instead it just kept sailing into the seats and for the second time that night it was absolute jumping, hugging, yelling bedlam in the stands. But this time there would be no stop to the celebration - the fireworks just kept going off, the stadium just kept playing the hits (Thunderstruck, Go Go White Sox), and the fans just stayed in their seats cheering well after the Sox had retreated back into the clubhouse following their on-field walk-off celebration.

Down in Houston, you really, truly finally believed. You still knew it could be a tight series, even one we blew, but the reality was that the Sox just needed to win this Game 3 and it would be over. Another tight game, but this one just kept going. The Sox emptied their pen. The Stros matched them. And then, who but late-season addition and little used in the post-season Geoff Blum would break the tie with a 2-out bomb?

Just for good measure, Chris Widger - yes, he was our back-up catcher that year - draws a bases loaded walk to give us a 2-run lead. A lead that none other than Mark Buehrle would make hold up, by coming in to face one batter, getting him out with runners on 1st and 3rd in the 14th!

Why wouldn't Game 4 be just as dramatic? Big Game Freddy lives up to his nickname, going 7 scoreless. Willie Harris leads off the 8th with a pinch hit single, Pods moves him over with a bunt, and then w/ two outs, Dye drives him in. 1-0.

Politte and Cotts come in for the 8th, and as they did all year (and really, about the only year in either of their unremarkable careers that this would be the case), lay the Stros down. To the 9th and it's in Jenks' hands. A leadoff single and a sac bunt puts the tying run on 2nd with one out.

That's when my boy Juan Uribe takes over. He chases a foul ball down the left field line all the way into the stands, somehow reaching a row back and fending off fans to make the play, yet still has the mental presence to immediately come out of the crowd firing so the tying run can't move up to third.

If Jeter or Pedroia make that play, it'd be on constant loop in every MLB promotional video ever. Instead, it'll just have to serve as the final motivation for buying what might be my last Sox jersey ever - a Juan Uribe #5 w/ the World Series patch on the sleeve.

The next batter hits a slow roller just past Jenks and I swear, no other shortstop in baseball can make that play - only one with as quick of a release and hard of a throw as Uribe can get the decently fast Orlando Palmeiro by an eye last at first - Sox Win!

Man, what a ride that was. I really doubt anything in my professional/college sports fandom will ever match it. I just can't see a more perfect storm of an epic title drought, a family institution, and such season-long drama all coming together.

And for that, I'll forever appreciate and be grateful to Ozzie Guillen. No amount of subsequent complaints, frustrations, and bitterness could ever do anything to make me feel even an ounce otherwise. Ozzie absolutely had to go and I'm very elated he did. But you better believe I'd cross a busy street in the pouring rain at any time just to shake his hand and offer him a real heartfelt, genuine thank you for what he's done for our White Sox.

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