White Sox, Bengals, and College Football


I have to start off today’s entry talking about the Chicago White Sox. I’ll admit that over the course of the season I maybe saw one White Sox game, so other than highlight’s I had no idea what this team was made of. You have to be impressed with the way they are playing. Before the playoffs I had never heard of guys like Joe Crede and Bobby Jenks. Crede can flat out play. His defense is one of the best for a third baseman I have seen since Rolen, and on top of that he can hit. He just has a knack for spectacular plays. Bobby Jenks didn’t pitch as well last night as he did Saturday. Everyone was calling me Saturday night asking “who is Bobby Jenks?” My reply, “I don’t know”. How is it so many people went all season without ever hearing about Bobby Jenks. He threw about 3 or 4 pitches in a row that topped 100. He made Bagwell look like a single A player.

Last night’s game made me very angry. I almost got into a fight with my girlfriend over this game. She was getting on my case for being so negative about the Astros performance. When they gave up the Grand Slam, I lost it. Curse words were flying every which way. She kept telling me to stop being so negative and to have hope. My response, “You don’t know what it’s like. I’ve seen this all before. I know how it’s going to end.” Despite wanting to turn the tube off, I decided to finish the game. The Astros manage to get runners on 2nd and 3rd in the top of the 9th and guess who comes up to the plate, my favorite Astro Jose Vizcaino. At this point I thought we were doomed. Why Mike Lamb didn’t PH I don’t know. I closed my eyes and listed to Jose crack a 2 rbi double to left field. It was a miracle I thought. Maybe the Astros were destined to win. With Lidge coming in to pitch it was on to extra innings, or so I thought. I don’t know what is wrong with Lidge. The last two games he’s pitched in he has given up huge bombs to end the game. At the end of the game I didn’t say anything. I felt like saying “I told you so,” but I didn’t. There are times in games when a fan can just feel what’s going to happen. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.

I felt like writing two or three paragraphs about the officiating in the playoffs. I’m really starting to think baseball needs instant replay. There have been bad calls in every game of every series. So much more than last year or the year before that. Last night Jermaine Dye got away with a free base. Usually everyone calls am umpire blind, but in this case he was deaf. How the home plate ump did not HEAR the ball hit the bat, I don’t know. It makes a completely different sound when a ball hits a player and when it hits a bat. I could tell from my living room just by listening to it. Not to mention the way the ball came off the bat. At that angle there’s no way it hits his hand. Unbelievable.

If you look up the word “pretenders” in the dictionary, you will likely find a picture of Carson Palmer and the Bengals. I can’t believe how many people jumped on this bandwagon when they were 4-0. The five teams they have beaten all have losing records, and the two losses they have are both from teams with winning records. This is the definition of a pretender. When they face solid competition they fail. It’s hard to say if the Bengals will make the playoffs. They have a very soft schedule but still have to play Indy, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and KC. The Jags do have the tie breaker over the Bengals so should both teams end up 10-6, the Jags will be in and the Bengals will be at home.

First, I want to say I was waaayyyy off when I predicted Texas Tech to beat Texas. The longhorns just demolished the Red Raiders. It was looking pretty good in my favor after the first couple of series, but things quickly turned around. Looks like Texas vs USC in the championship game. No one can argue against the fact that these two teams are the best in the nation. After watching Texas, I would go as far as to say they can beat USC in a championship game. With no major upsets this weekend, the polls didn’t change much. I’ll get the AP Poll up later today. Georgia’s QB Shockley will likely miss next week’s game against Florida. This is a huge blow for Georgia in what is their biggest game of the season. Alabama beat Tennessee late in the 4th quarter due to a Tennessee fumble in the end zone. Croyle is really showing himself off this year. He’s getting a lot of hype and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s solidified himself as a top QB in the 2006 Draft.