Word: sox
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...sense it already has. Third baseman Joe Crede put his finger on the admixture of joy and disbelief swirling over this Series city: "It's weird that it is happening here in Chicago--and I'm part of the team!" The Sox ended on top of the American League after an amazing and strange season in which the team--a reconstruction project peopled by retreads and castoffs from four countries--earned every bit of its glory. The Sox notched a league-best 99 victories and held first place from opening day. In the play-offs, the Pale Hose swatted...
...strange part is Ozzie Guillen, the first manager to take a Chicago team to the World Series in nearly a half-century. The former Sox shortstop's big-league managerial experience is no broader than a pinstripe, and the Venezuelan native loathes Chicago's chilly weather. But his loose, informal style and perpetual-motion machine of a mouth have proved ideal for rallying a squad of talented but unfocused also-rans in search of an identity...
...else, fishing. Ozzie told a local newspaper during a late-season slump, "We stink!" A few days later, he added, "Good thing my players don't listen to what I was saying to the media." But his players compete hard for him. "Guys want to play for him," says Sox reliever Cliff Politte. "In his office or on the airplane, he's the same guy you see out here...
Despite the occasional verbal error, Ozzie displayed the skills of a seasoned tactician in rebuilding the Sox roster around pitching, speed and defense, rather than power hitting. He had to, given cheapskate owner Jerry Reinsdorf's player payroll of $75 million this year, 13th among the 30 teams in the league. Out went sluggers Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Lee. In came speedy outfielders Jermaine Dye and Scott Podsednik, a career minor leaguer, as well as catcher A.J. Pierzynski, whose abrasive personality produces sparks on the field. Pitchers Freddy Garcia and Jose Contreras were acquired last year, and with starters Mark...
...streets of the Windy City, where baseball, like politics, is a blood sport, the Sox-'Stros series has divided the city anew. The North Side Cubbies have always laid claim to the soul of Chicago in a way the South Siders could never match. They play, badly, in the ivy-clad splendor of Wrigley Field and boast alumni like Ernie Banks and Billy Williams. The anonymous Sox play in a soul-challenged modern bowl on a site that was once downwind of the city's now vanished stockyards. One poll found that 36% of Cubs fans will cheer...