Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s OK, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network, as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end, or at least until after you subscribe to the newsletter.
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Monday was a rough day to be a White Sox fan. For one, the Cubs get so much national attention for being lovable* losers, and that wasn’t exactly abundant for the south side’s team back in 2005 when they were ending their own lengthy championship drought. Oh, also, no one remembers that the White Sox ended their own lengthy championship drought back in 2005, or even that they also play baseball in Chicago.
*citation needed
This isn’t an exaggeration, either. On Monday, three different outlets ignored the existence of both the White Sox and their 2005 World Series victory over the Astros. They weren’t tiny little outlets, either: we’re talking CBS, The Washington Post, and ESPN. CBS claimed this was the first World Series in Chicago in 71 years — since the last time the Cubs were in the Fall Classic. Then, in their correction, they were still wrong, as the White Sox were also in the 1959 World Series — they just happened to lose. The Washington Post claimed only Red Sox fans could understand what was going on in the minds of Cubs and Indians fans before this World Series, which also conveniently erases the plight of White Sox fans, who actually had to wait two years more than those from Boston to see their drought end, since their futility began in 1917 and ended one year after that of the Red Sox.
ESPN might have the most egregious White Sox erasure, though, given that their entire thing is sports. In a graphic comparing the championships of Chicago to those of Cleveland since 1965, they included three Blackhawks titles, the Bears’ Super Bowl victory, and six Bulls championships. Curiously missing from this graphic? The 2005 White Sox World Series. It happened, everyone! Truly, it did. Just because it won A.J. Pierzynski a ring doesn’t mean you can pretend otherwise. Scott Podsednik hitting important homers does not mean 2005 was a dream. Maybe White Sox fans will get lucky over the next week, and FOX, the network broadcasting the World Series, will remember they and their success exist within Chicago.
- The Cubs will indeed get Kyle Schwarber on their World Series roster, as he flew from the AFL to Cleveland on Monday.
- Grant Brisbee detailed the three possible outcomes of Schwarber’s surprise return. They aren’t all happy outcomes, but the one that is would be something else for Cubs fans.
- Having trouble deciding between the Cubs or the Indians in the World Series? We’ve got a little guide to temporary fandom to help you sort things out.
- A Cubs-Indians World Series is a big deal! Big enough for a college football coach to weigh in with a detailed explanation of his rooting interests.
- The Indians are the underdog, and remain in many ways the better story than the Cubs this October. Also, they really are the only baseball team in their city.
- Here’s the schedule for the World Series, which will not interfere with your trick or treating this year.
- Jon Lester is supposedly easy to run on since he can’t throw to first base, but no one is running on him. What gives?
- The Cubs and Indians can relate to each other for more than just the length of their misery: the Marlins are the cause of the worst heartbreak either has experienced in the past couple of decades, if not even longer.
- Just because ESPN forgot the White Sox exist doesn’t mean they’re incapable of quality work. Take this feature on Theo Epstein, for instance.
