Chisox73
02-17-2006, 05:32 PM
Celebration ends, new quest begins
Batterymates try to duplicate success of magical 2005
By Scott Merkin / MLB.com
http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060216&content_id=1313495&vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=cws
http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/images/2006/02/16/EM6wPPAn.jpg
Jon Garland will again be one of the leaders of an impressive starting rotation. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)
TUCSON -- A different feel hovers over the White Sox clubhouse at the Kino Sports Complex as pitchers and catchers report. It's a distinct atmosphere that really hasn't been present since the team moved its Spring Training headquarters to Arizona in 1998.
What once served as hopes and dreams for the ultimate baseball success now has been supplanted by high expectations for a repeat performance of the franchise's first World Series title since 1917. The organization had only one home crowd of more than 10,000 during Cactus League play last March, during a March 18 contest against the Cubs. It currently has sold as many tickets for games at Tucson Electric Park next month as its total attendance for all last spring.
Truth be told, it will be almost impossible to duplicate the magical season that encompassed 2005. The team stayed relatively injury-free, and the somewhat significant maladies were quickly compensated for by equally talented replacements.
The White Sox won 61 games by one or two runs, relying on one of the game's stingiest pitching staffs and airtight defense in the field. Many of those faces have changed, even after the 11-1 title run, just as a number of faces changed prior to the 2005 championship.
Rookie Brian Anderson will be patrolling center field, instead of Aaron Rowand. Frank Thomas, the face of the franchise for most of the past two decades, has been replaced by the left-handed power of Jim Thome. Javier Vazquez makes one of the best starting rotations in baseball even stronger.
But if the White Sox are to win a second straight title, the players arriving in Tucson on Friday ultimately will have the greatest say in the matter. The White Sox won behind their great arms last year, as evidenced by the rotation producing four straight complete games during the American League Championship Series against the Angels. The skill provided by Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Jose Contreras, Bobby Jenks and Neal Cotts, to name a few, will lead the way once again.
For manager Ozzie Guillen and general manager Ken Williams, neither the method of winning nor the target goal has changed. The biggest difference is found in some of the pictures leading to the White Sox clubhouse.
Instead of snapshots of great players from White Sox history, there are now electrifying moments of celebration up on the wall. Friday marks the last official day of the 2005 party, according to Guillen.
Saturday's first workout signals the start of the new championship quest.
Scott Merkin is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Batterymates try to duplicate success of magical 2005
By Scott Merkin / MLB.com
http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060216&content_id=1313495&vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=cws
http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/images/2006/02/16/EM6wPPAn.jpg
Jon Garland will again be one of the leaders of an impressive starting rotation. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)
TUCSON -- A different feel hovers over the White Sox clubhouse at the Kino Sports Complex as pitchers and catchers report. It's a distinct atmosphere that really hasn't been present since the team moved its Spring Training headquarters to Arizona in 1998.
What once served as hopes and dreams for the ultimate baseball success now has been supplanted by high expectations for a repeat performance of the franchise's first World Series title since 1917. The organization had only one home crowd of more than 10,000 during Cactus League play last March, during a March 18 contest against the Cubs. It currently has sold as many tickets for games at Tucson Electric Park next month as its total attendance for all last spring.
Truth be told, it will be almost impossible to duplicate the magical season that encompassed 2005. The team stayed relatively injury-free, and the somewhat significant maladies were quickly compensated for by equally talented replacements.
The White Sox won 61 games by one or two runs, relying on one of the game's stingiest pitching staffs and airtight defense in the field. Many of those faces have changed, even after the 11-1 title run, just as a number of faces changed prior to the 2005 championship.
Rookie Brian Anderson will be patrolling center field, instead of Aaron Rowand. Frank Thomas, the face of the franchise for most of the past two decades, has been replaced by the left-handed power of Jim Thome. Javier Vazquez makes one of the best starting rotations in baseball even stronger.
But if the White Sox are to win a second straight title, the players arriving in Tucson on Friday ultimately will have the greatest say in the matter. The White Sox won behind their great arms last year, as evidenced by the rotation producing four straight complete games during the American League Championship Series against the Angels. The skill provided by Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Jose Contreras, Bobby Jenks and Neal Cotts, to name a few, will lead the way once again.
For manager Ozzie Guillen and general manager Ken Williams, neither the method of winning nor the target goal has changed. The biggest difference is found in some of the pictures leading to the White Sox clubhouse.
Instead of snapshots of great players from White Sox history, there are now electrifying moments of celebration up on the wall. Friday marks the last official day of the 2005 party, according to Guillen.
Saturday's first workout signals the start of the new championship quest.
Scott Merkin is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.