Numbers rackets
Ladies and Gentlemen, White Sox Outsider 2010 will be about five pages longer than its predecessor!
It’s checking in at 226 pages, not counting the extraneous pages before (title, contents, etc.) and after (index). Rough math suggests that the new book will be 2-3 percent better.
Later tonight, I’ll be taking it to Kinko’s and printing it out, putting it a binder and reading the entire thing, making sure the pages flip right and nothing ends abruptly.
In the meantime, Carl Skanberg has posted one of the section fronts at Smells Like Mascot.
FURTHER BULLETINS AS EVENTS WARRANT!
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Omar Vizquel didn’t want to risk letting No. 17 injure him, so instead he called a Hall of Fame shortstop for a favor. The result?
The White Sox announced Monday that Aparicio has given his consent for Omar Vizquel to wear No. 11 in his first year with the White Sox, as the number will be un-retired by the organization for Vizquel to wear in tribute. Vizquel termed such largesse coming from his countryman as a “tremendous honor.”
I wasn’t thrilled by this development initially, being a noted White Sox historian (*COUGHWHEEZESPUTTER*) and all. Then I read the story, and stopped caring for two reasons.
No. 1: It’s a Venezuelan thing. Ozzie Guillen wears No. 13 in tribute of Dave Concepcion. That’s the same number Vizquel wore before joining the Sox. Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland’s Venezuelan shortstop, also wears No. 13, and for the same reason.
If Vizquel isn’t able to honor any of the most recent Venezuelan shortstops, I don’t see the problem in letting him ask the most legendary living fellow countryman. It’s one tradition butting heads with another, and Aparicio is probably a better arbiter than Guy Whitey Corngood over here.
No. 2: White Sox numbers ain’t sacred. Some franchises treat retiring numbers more seriously than the Vatican considers canonization. Jerry Reinsdorf, on the other hand, panicked on one July 1989 day and retired Harold Baines’ number as something to remember him by. That’s a precedent preventing me from being aghast right there. The Sox have played fast and loose with the unwritten rules before, and that they are possibly bastardizing an institution they previously cheapened doesn’t strike me as being worthy of horror.
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Christian Marrero Reading Room:
*At South Side Sox, Rob stepped in and drew some offseason connections to 2005.
*Andrew provides a public service and lets you know how the public transit cuts affect getting to the Cell.
*Mark Zuckerman, a Washington Nationals journalist-turned-blogger, is asking readers to raise $5,000 to go to spring training — and he’s more than halfway there. Remember this when a certain book goes on sale soon.
Author
I’ll leave it to you Jim to get the inside scoop on the numbers deal. Trust me, I really couldn’t care less what they guys do — aside from win. It just seems silly, and all for a guy who is a one-year rental bench acquisition. Sox had a no-news day and grabbed a headline. At any rate, Baines better not piss in the shower or something or they’ll unretire his number too. What do you think of Big Frank’s chances are? I mean, if Baines deserves this august (though temporary) honor, so does Frank — who may actually get into the HOF.
Thomas “may” get into the hall, uh he is a LOCK
I was being facetious, but I’m not sure I’d call Thomas a “lock”. In his prime, he was the most dangerous hitter in the game with amazing plate discipline. I think he’ll get in — but it may not be first ballot.
he may get screwed on the first ballot by the dumbest idiots alive that are on the election committee however he is a LOCK for the hall, LOCK!
Since Jermaine is gone, the Sox should have retired #23 for MJ, but instead it went to Teahen (apparently). Thus, Teahen should be forced to change his number, or get permission from MJ, or average over 30 points per game for an entire season.
Then, they should make Gavin change his number and subsequently retire #34 for Payton, unless Gavin can get permission from Sweetness himself, or else he has to run up a steep hill in Arlington Heights, IL everyday in the off-season.
Also, Juan Pierre should be forced to get permission from Willie Harris to wear #1, or Willie gets to play CF for the White Sox once a week in part of a player-exchange agreement.
Jordan was 45 with the Sox. If anything, 23 should be retired for Ventura.
Point is: #23 is transcendent and should clearly be retired across all sports….and also possibly within the realm of mathematics (and/or economics).
23 should be the highest number. Look, you got 10, then you got 10 more, then it’s like, what’s this? Three more! 23, fuhgeddaboutit!
Let’s do this.
Get ready.
Jim,
Do you sell the book through Lulu or Kinkos?
Lulu. I’m just going to Kinkos to run one off for myself.
You mean we aren’t paying for a packet of papers stapled together at Kinkos? Anyways…. how many of these books have you done again?
This is No. 2.
oh good so I’ll have both.
Let’s have Pierre wear #9, let Linebrink wear #19, and have Ramon Castro wear #72. Then Brooks Boyer can have a new ad campaign: “Your favorite numbers are BACK!!”
I like it.
Vizquel should have to wear yellowed throwback jerseys even while the rest of the team wears modern jerseys, just to emphasize how ancient he is. Then, he can huddle the kids around the campfire (and also extend an invitation to Carl Everett) and tell stories about how dinosaurs used to roam the Earth in his day.
I think I remember seeeing Vizquel in a 60’s Ray Haryhausen movie fighting off a dinosaur with a long pole (the Harryhausen method of fighting large beasts).