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Paul Konerko

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Sox Savvy

Sox Swan Songs for Paulie, A.J. and Bobby?

The White Sox closed the book on a 2010 season that essentially ended many weeks ago. Next comes an offseason that's rife with crucial questions.

In saying goodbye to the 2010 White Sox on Sunday, did Sox fans say goodbye for good to Paul Konerko, A.J. Pierzynski and Bobby Jenks? My guess — and my hope — is no, no and yes, respectively. Before the Sox beat Cleveland 6-5 to finish the season 88-74 and give Ozzie Guillen his 600th victory as manager, Kenny Williams praised Konerko for being "the classiest player that has put on a uniform." The Sox made a classy move of their own by sending Konerko out to the field alone  before the first pitch, allowing the crowd to give him one of several ovations he would receive on this melancholy day. There will, of course, be eager bidders for the services of Konerko, who hit .319 with 39 home runs and 111 this season. And there's no doubt the …

Friday, September 17, 2010

Sox Savvy

Why the Sox Aren't the Twins

As Minnesota swept away any remaining hopes for a playoff spot, Sox fans are left to ponder how it all went wrong.

Now that the Twins' open-air production of "Who's the Boss?" has ended its three-night run at the Cell, the Sox can begin sifting through the debris. Check that. The Sox still have some baseball games to play, as mandated by the MLB rulebook. So for now, it's up to the fandom to play the game of "Where did it all go wrong?" (No fair blaming everything on Joe West. Leave that for Hawk to do.) The better question is: Why are the Twins so much better than the Sox? It's a question that's been asked frequently in recent years. It's a question Ozzie Guillen desperately tried to answer before this season began. Didn't Ozzie try to shape the 2010 White Sox into something more Twins-like? There was the emphasis on speed and fundamentals, on …

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