Exile in Wrigleyville

It's the last dance

I don't want to belabor the obvious, so here goes: After a three-year run, I've decided to end Exile in Wrigleyville. Of course, I wouldn't complain if someone cracks that my blog ended about the same time that the playoff hopes for the 2006 White Sox died. That's basically true, but now I'm making it official....(read more)

It's down to clichés

West Ham played their first game since the Feb. 10 match that I attended on Saturday. They visited Charlton Athletic, another London-area club mired near the bottom of the table, and it was an even bigger disaster than the loss I attended against last-place Watford....(read more)

Easy to overreact

A Spring Training opener like the one the White Sox had on Wednesday could make even the most level-headed fan uneasy. The Rockies beat the Sox 12-4 in the first game for both teams, but that wasn't what was so worrisome....(read more)

Come on, you Irons!

You only get to go to your first baseball game once, but recently, I had the chance to replicate the experience, sort of. Let me back up a bit....(read more)

A modest trade

The acquisition of David Aardsma and Carlos Vásquez from the Cubs for lefty reliever Neal Cotts is a small plus for the White Sox....(read more)

Rumor patrol

I'm always wary to start chasing down every Hot Stove rumor because, well, I'm kinda lazy. It seems like a lot of wasted effort to me, because most of the rumors don't turn out to be true....(read more)

These better not be true

I was glad to read Saturday that Sox GM Ken Williams was denying a report in Friday's Boston Globe (which I can't seem to find online) that the Sox were close to signing free-agent shortstop Alex González to a three-year, $15 million contract....(read more)

Time flies

It didn't occur to me that Thursday was the first anniversary of the White Sox clinching the 2005 World Series in Houston till the afternoon, when one of my co-workers said, "Happy anniversary," to me. It took me a second, but then I got it.

I guess I haven't allowed myself to look back in the last few weeks, because I've been planning to watch the six games available on the commemorative edition DVD set after the baseball season is complete. (Those games are: the clinchers of the series against the Red Sox and Angels and the four World Series games.) I did think about last season for a few moments Wednesday night, because I walked through the intersection of LaSalle and Wacker on the way to meet some friends for a beer. I'll always think of the rally when I walk through that intersection.

All the emotions about that day a year ago come back in a flood when I read the post that I wrote after Game 4. It's occurred to me, looking back at that post, and a short one that I wrote after Game 3, that I never really wrote about the actual games. I plan to do that, with quotes from the game notes that I took the first time, when I watch the DVDs over the next few weeks. I've been waiting till the end of the season to tear off the plastic on that DVD set. No matter who prevails in the World Series, it won't be long now. Pretty soon, FOX will stop showing A.J. Pierzynski jumping into the arms of Bobby Jenks, replacing them with a similar scene involving Tigers or Cardinals. That's OK. I'll be able to watch Pierzynski and Jenks as often as I want to.

(Music to write by, "And This Is Our Music," Brian Jonestown Massacre.)

Old and new

First off, my apologies for taking three weeks between posts after launching this new home for EIW. I've been extraordinarily busy the last month. I appreciate your indulgence. Second, this is just a quick post to get back into the swing of things. I'm hoping I'll be like a shooter in basketball who has missed a few shots to start the game and this post is like getting to the line for a couple of free throws -- make 'em, and the shooter sometimes gets on a roll....(read more)

Why I'm here

When I titled this entry, I didn't think it would be such a tough question to answer. I mean, ultimately, I'm here because as a six-year-old living in the near north suburbs, I somehow latched on to the Chicago White Sox. I'm sure the great season the 1977 South Side Hitmen were having had something to do with it, but no one in my family really remembers....(read more)

Who I'm rooting for

The Oakland A's are easily my favorite team among the eight teams that qualified for the playoffs this season. The biggest reason is that Frank Thomas bats clean-up for the A's....(read more)