Hey, We Can Work Together!

Just when you thought that Cubs fans and White Sox fans couldn't unite together to achieve one common goal, one man (obviously sent from the heavens above) finally figured out how to restore my faith in humanity.

So what if he did it by getting his ass kicked.

The video comes from FanIQ, and according to the guy who shot the video, here is what happened.

The Sox fan near the pole was talking trash from the beginning, so in the 4th inning he started talking about the guy in the Thome Jersey's "family"...then an old guy stepped up and off they went... A good minute goes by with no security, the guy gets owned by a bunch of cubs and sox fans. he still fights the security...continues struggling, as his eye is black and swelling shut, they handcuff him throw his shirt over his head and get him out of there.

Seriously, the security guard pulling the guys shirt over his head is the piece de resistance of this video, though the beating is pretty nice as well.

Not seen in the video? Cubs fans and Sox fans holding hands and singing "Kumbaya."

I'm Glad That's Finally Over

So the White Sox got their revenge this weekend and swept the Cubs at U.S. Cellular Field. My first thoughts as Alexei Ramirez threw Daryle Ward out at first base to end the game were "White Sox Winner!" followed very quickly by "Thank God it's over." Not because it means I won't have to see things like my cousin's father-in-law wearing that helmet, but for other, actual baseball reasons.

I realized this season that I'm no longer a very big fan of interleague play, or even these Sox and Cubs series. Of course, this all could just be some kind of reaction to the fact that the Sox have to play the only good team in the National League six times, while rivals like the Twins and Tigers (who are now over .500 if you aren't paying attention, thanks NL!) get to feast on the Nationals and Padres.

While the White Sox went 12-6 against the NL this year, other teams in their division did even better. Minnesota went 14-4, while Detroit and Kansas City (yes, even the Royals made the NL their personal bitch) went 13-5. So the Sox won 67% of their games, which over the course of a season would lead to a record of 109-53, and still lost ground in the division.

Still, there are other reasons, and mostly it's just the interaction between fans during these last two weeks. Fans from both sides annoy the crap out of me during these games. Last week I had to deal with Cubs fans talking smack for seven days and polishing their future World Series trophy, and then this week I had to deal with some of my fellow Sox fans texting "SWEEP" and "Cubs suck!" to me last night, as if they'd completely forgotten that last week that sucky team did the same thing to us. You all look like a bunch of idiots.

Finally, the thing that bugs me the most about all of this is how suddenly, everybody you see is a baseball fan. People that haven't watched a game all season are all of a sudden the world's greatest fan. For instance, at work the last two weeks we were allowed to wear White Sox and Cubs gear to show our allegiance and cause friction between co-workers. Well, there's a woman I work with who has never mentioned the word baseball around me unless she's asking me about this site.

All of a sudden on Friday this week she's wearing a Kosuke Fukudome shirt and telling me how the Cubs are going to sweep the Sox again this weekend. I kind of just looked at her for a second before I asked her a question.

"Hey [name redacted], that shirt your wearing? Do you know how to say the name on the back?"

"Fuk-u-dome"

"Close enough, but can you tell me the guy's first name?"

"Oh, I don't know it."

This is the kind of thing you have to deal with in Chicago during these two weeks, and it's almost enough to make me hate baseball. For a few days anyway.

It's all over now, though, and finally fans of both teams can go back to doing what they're supposed to do right now. Worry about their own teams, and their small leads in their divisions. It seems we forget that it's not even July yet, and the Sox have a 1.5 game lead while the Cubs have a healthy 2.5 game lead.

We should probably stop making those World Series plans and just start worrying about leading the division at the end of July.

We did learn some things about our teams during these games, though, and that's that both teams in this city are good. Both are far from perfect, but both have a legitimate shot at this thing. The Sox could use a little more balance offensively, while the Cubs could use a back end of the starting rotation, and maybe even a little bullpen help (Marmol has hit the wall, just like last season, and I don't know if he'll recover).

For now, though, let's just all agree to go our seperate ways. Sox fans worry about the White Sox, and Cubs fans worry about the Cubs. We can check in on each other from time to time, just to see how things are going, but that's it. If we see each other again in October (we won't), we'll talk about it then, but until then, I don't want to hear a damn word about it. I'm serious, I will punch you in the face if you start talking about it in front of me.

Worry about your own teams, and if it's meant to be, it'll be.

Morning Wood

Chicago Cubs 7 Chicago White Sox 1

Well that sucked. I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm not bothered by the fact the Cubs swept the Sox this weekend, but at the same time, the weekend didn't go much worse than I expected it to. As I told Silvio before the series started on Friday, all I wanted was for the Sox to take one of three this weekend.

Considering the way the Cubs play at Wrigley, where they've now won 14 straight and are 32-8 on the season (32-8!), I don't see how any one could have expected anything different. I mean, we saw nothing new from either of these teams the last three days. Going into the series we all knew that the Cubs were really good at home, and the Sox are streaky.

They're either winning seven in a row, or losing three in a row. It's frustrating as hell, and it gets really annoying, but that's just how this White Sox team is this season and we might as well get used to it.

By the time these two teams meet again next weekend at U.S. Cellular, it could just as easily be the White Sox routing the Cubs in three games. At least it better go that way.

NL

• Mets 3 Rockies 1

MLB

• Yankees 4 Reds 1
• Braves 8 Mariners 3
• Red Sox 5 Cardinals 3
• Rangers 5 Nats 3
• Angels 3 Phillies 2
• Jays 8 Pirates 5
• Astros 3 Rays 2
• Brewers 7 Orioles 3
• Royals 11 Giants 10
• Twins 5 DBacks 3
• A's 7 Marlins 1
• Tigers 5 Padres 3
• Dodgers 4 Indians 3

On Deck: Chicago's Civil War

You know how when you're watching a game on television, whether it's football, baseball, or anything, and the game is being played by two rival teams that the announcer tells you to "throw their records out the window!" You know what I'm talking about? I hate that. That's one of the stupidest things that announcers can say.

Why should we throw the records out the window? I mean, if one of the teams is 12-1 and the other is 2-10 I don't care how long they've been rivals, I'm pretty sure that 12-1 team is going to steamroll the other one. So no, I will not throw that record out the window.

Now this afternoon, for the first time ever, the White Sox and Cubs will be meeting head-to-head in the regular season while both are currently holding down first place in their division. Still, the two teams are moving in opposite directions right now. The White Sox just scored 37 runs in a three-game sweep of the Pirates, and the Cubs are limping home after losing three in a row for the first time this season down in Tampa.

Of course, when these two teams meet, it doesn't matter who is playing well and who isn't. In fact, you can throw their records right out the window (son of a...)!

Continue reading at FanHouse

Kenny Williams Sends Warm Wishes North

Many Cubs fans have long felt that White Sox fans spend more time worrying about what's going on over on the north side than they do about their own team. It's a bunch of crap, really. Trust me when I say I've never cared more about anything the Cubs are doing than I have the White Sox.

I follow the Cubs. I watch them occasionally, but what I don't do is care. If the White Sox are in the middle of a losing streak, I actually forget that the Cubs even exist, and instead center all my attention on figuring out what's wrong.

Most other Sox fans I know are the same way. Hell, most of them probably couldn't even name ten players on the Cubs roster. Unfortunately for us, the White Sox have a manager and a general manager who have never been shy about their feelings towards the north siders, and they sure as hell aren't helping kill the stereotype.

Kenny Williams fired the latest salvo when he was asked about the difference between the two organizations.

''It is so different,'' Williams said. ''You might as well build a border, a Great Wall of China on Madison, because we are so different. We might as well be in two different cities.

''The unfortunate thing for me is it's a shame that a certain segment of Chicago refused to enjoy a baseball championship being brought to their city. The only thing I can say is, 'Happy anniversary.'''

Williams is of course referring to the fact that this season marks the 100th anniversary of the Cubs last World Series title. Still, what he's saying isn't completely true. A lot of my Cubs fans friends expressed congratulations to me when the White Sox won the World Series in 2005. Silvio was even there with me, the only Cubs fan amongst our group that night, as the Sox won the thing.

He wasn't peeing his pants in delight, doing cartwheels down the street, or drinking champagne straight from the bottle, but he wasn't kicking rocks or throwing things either.

This is the one thing about these "rivalry weeks" between the Cubs and Sox that absolutely drives me crazy. Believe it or not, Chicago media, but the fans of the two teams actually get along. I don't know any Sox fan that doesn't have Cub fan friends, and I don't know any Cub fan who isn't friends with more than a few Sox fans.

Yet the only thing that's covered by the Chicago media during these weeks are features that highlight the "difference" between the two sides, and it's as though they're trying to drive a wall between us.

Listen, I have friends who are Republicans and Democrats. They get along fine. I have friends that are Muslim, and friends who are Jewish. They get along. White Sox fans and Cubs fans get along all the time, as when it comes down to the most basic fact, they're one and the same.

They're just baseball fans who happen to root for teams in different colored uniforms. That's it. Stop trying to make it into anything different.

Ozzie Guillen Hasn't Changed Much

I don't know if you've heard anything about it, but the Cubs and White Sox are set to play a three-game set this weekend at Wrigley Field. I mean, I've been looking through the Sun-Times and the Trib, but I haven't seen a single mention of it.

We're going into the 11th season of games between these two actually counting, and while the initial glow of interleague play has started to fade for me, I still enjoy this series. It's especially important this season, as this is the first time both Chicago teams will be in first place when they meet.

While many things have changed over the years since it started, some things haven't changed at all. Take for instance Ozzie Guillen. He was a player on the White Sox when it started, and now he's the manager, yet his talks with the media haven't changed much at all.

Okay, maybe he didn't cuss as much.