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The Trib: Sox re-sign Konerko

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This is a win for baseball, not just the Chicago White Sox and their fans.

There was something special about the 2005 South Siders. Something personal, something we hadn’t seen in a long time. Unlike their counterparts, that other set of hosiery a year prior, their storybook/Hollywood rise to glory was kept on the backburner, as if anyone could care about the second team in the Second City. Go back to 2003 and look at the press the Cubs got for just reaching the NLCS; contrast that with the apathy sent the Sox’ way after they won the town’s first pennant since 1959. Boston and Chicago (N) were treated as conquering heroes long before titles were won (or in the case the latter, lost with five wins left to go.) The White Sox: ho hum.

I don’t think anybody even really believed they would win the World Series until they went up three-to-zip in Houston. And even then…who knows.

They did win, though, and for all the talk we heard about the chemistry of the 2003 and 2004 World Champions – well, the Pale Hose put that to shame. The Marlins did it with young stars: your Becketts and Willises, etc., and a dash of veteran skill. But there were true stars, just like when they did it in ‘97. The Red Sox: puh-lease. David Ortiz and Johnny Damon may not have been as highly regarded before 2004 as they were on the championship parade floats after the campaign, but they were still big time sluggers. As was much of the lineup. The rotation: Pedro. Schilling. Oh my. This team was stacked, not a bunch of loveable also-rans that banded together as if Tom Berenger was just waiting to call his shot and put down a squeeze bunt, no matter what the media would have you think.

The White Sox…not so much.

Ozzie Guillen poured heart into this team, and without a legitimate superstar in the lineup they won the whole damn thing. Yes, the rotation won the day for them, but no one gave your Buehrles or your Garcias much respect heading into 2005, now did they?

No one gave Paul Konerko any respect.

I saw this kid on opening day 1998 at old Busch Stadium II, where the big story was Ramon Martinez vs. Mark McGwire (#1 of 70.) A highly touted prospect, he didn’t meet expectations and eventually found his way to obscurity on the South Side.

Until now. Five years, sixty millions dollars.

Hey, it’s a weak free agency market this year to be sure. This isn’t chump change. But considering the exchange rate of USD to MLBD, it’s the right price, and the right place. Chicago (A) just won the 2006 title, their second straight, and congrats to them, and moreso to Konerko: not only will he be rich, but he will be happy, and a hero to a fast-growing fanbase of millions. Not to mention, a role model: if you find a special place, stay there, even if you already have the ring. Stay for your teammates, stay for the fans. The money’s a bonus.

This is good for baseball.

Eddie Guerrero died today.

I got interested in pro wrestling in late 1998, and it wasn’t the pagentry or the ludicrous storylines that did it. It was the art. People like Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho and Ric Flair that caught my fancy, part of the reason that I watched WCW for months before entertaining the idea of sampling the WWF.

Eddie Guerrero was one of those, like the aforementioned, that was hardly your pathetic, untalented Hulk Hogan types. You might think of rasslin’ as a roided freak throwing poorly choreographed punches that stop five inches from his opponent’s face. Not always true: those with the mad skills of Mr. Guerrero told a story in the ring, using an amazing set of moves to make you believe you were watching a struggle between two passionate warriors. It wasn’t always Shakespeare, but it could be.

I came in just after the glory days of technical wrestling, but I still got to witness some awesome moments. For every tacky angle – like the “Latino World Order” – there was a memory to treasure, like one of the best days of my pro wrestling history: when he, Benoit, Saturn and Malenko jumped to Raw and I was literally on the edge of my seat (well, bed) for ten minutes.

I might get that tape out tonight.

He was a glorious entertainer – in and out of the ring. Hot on the mic, great off the ropes, and he could tell a story on the mat like few others. When he won the world title in February 2004, I laughed and celebrated like a child, and a month later when he retained at WrestleMania XX on the same night that my very favorite, Benoit, won the Raw brand heavyweight title, and the two hugged in the ring at MSG and cried, I almost joined them.

I got that DVD out and watched it already.

Rest in peace, Eddie, and thank you for all you’ve done to entertain me.