Playoff Push Pressure Part II: Players

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank White Sox fans, if you think watching the battle back and forth for first place in the AL Central requires a stress relieving object, try being one of the Sox players or coaches. After the Sox lost three games (and their first place standing) in Minnesota, they came home and got beat by the Cleveland Indians in a very sloppy game where their pitching collapsed. It was extremely frustrating to watch the bullpen forget where the strike zone is located. 

“You can get mad, I got mad, breaking stuff up in the clubhouse…I think it’s the worst first five, six innings we’ve been through in a long time. Hitting guys. Walks. Base hit with two outs. Wild pitch. Terrible. And we got 40,000 people looking at this stupid baseball game the way we played today,” Ozzie said in his post game press conference.

By the way, if you haven’t seen the Mad TV parody of Ozzie Guillen, click here. If you thought Ozzie was a difficult person to lampoon, then you really need to check it out.

“I’m not going to lose my health for a baseball game, I got three kids and a wife waiting for me. I’m not going to kill myself in this ballpark over losing and winning, it’s not worth it,” Guillen said. For baseball fans that hate the White Sox, the second most polarizing figure, arguably, is catcher A.J. Pierzynski. A.J. was asked if Ozzie’s trashing of his own office surprised him. “No, it’s an emotional time and he’s pissed off, I’m sure he’s frustrated like the rest of us and it’s good. Sometimes you need to get that out. And I’m the last person to get on anybody for showing emotion. So good for him and hopefully, it will carry over to tomorrow,” Pierzynski said. When asked about the same thing, first baseman Paul Konerko responded: “He could have been ripping up offices for the last three weeks; we’ve had a lot of these.”

So the next time you feel like cursing at the television and throwing objects in frustration, “don’t look back in anger,” as Oasis used to say. Remember these quotations. They will remind you that the White Sox themselves are feeling the same emotions you are. For more Chicago Sports analysis and discussion click here.