A tough crowd, these White Sox fans. Now that they're finallycoming out to Comiskey, you might think they'd sit back and enjoywatching their first-place team. But that would be contrary to theircontrarian nature. So what have Sox fans been doing lately atComiskey?
Booing, of course.
During an 11-4 loss Monday to Tampa Bay, Sox fans let the hometeam have it. They booed starter Jim Parque. They booed relieverKevin Beirne. And they booed an assortment of Sox batters who failedto get hits against Devil Rays pitcher Tanyon Sturtze.
One Comiskey vendor told me he was stunned at the intensity of thebooing. He was selling beer in the lower deck on the first-base line.He couldn't believe his ears. It reminded him of old Comiskey Park inthe late '80s. Mean and vicious.
Back then, the fans' lousy mood matched the team's lousy record.But this Sox team is a whopping 23 games over .500. And with a seven-game lead on the second-place Indians, the Sox are closer to aplayoff lock than any Chicago baseball team in a long, long time.
So what gives, Sox fans? Is the booing your version of tough love?Or are you just the crankiest bunch of baseball fans ever assembled?
Parque struggled mightily Monday, walking five Devil Rays in 4 2/3 innings. He heard your boos. But he can take it.
"It was only my second bad start in 25 starts all year," he said."I've had strong performances, and I have (10) wins. So I'm not goingto worry about it."
Perhaps the team's .500 record since the All-Star break hasfrazzled fans' nerves. Perhaps the patchwork pitching staff, piecedtogether by Ron Schueler in the wake of Cal Eldred's elbow injury,has made fans angry. Perhaps fans actually were expressing theirdissatisfaction with Schueler's decision to rely on rookie arms forthe stretch run.
Or maybe Sox fans simply are unwilling to appreciate their first-place team. To think that Friday, when the Cubs return from yetanother disastrous road trip, they will be welcomed back to WrigleyField like conquering heroes. What is it with Sox fans, anyway?
"I take it as a compliment," Parque said. "It's not that I takepride in being booed, but every now and then it's a little reminderthat they're into the game. It shows they care. They're showing upand they know what's going on and what's at stake."
Ah, yes. They're showing up. That alone is a big deal for Soxfans. After all, these are the same folks who swore they'd never goback to Comiskey, not so long as Jerry Reinsdorf owned the Sox.
"Last year, there weren't many people there," the philosophicalParque said. "And there was nothing to boo. We (were terrible). Thisyear, the fans see that the team is winning and they want it to keepwinning. The fans get frustrated. It's human nature to get bitter.They're communicating the only way they know how."
Actually, they know another way. Back in June, when the Soxreturned to Comiskey after sweeping the Indians and Yankees on theroad, they were greeted with a standing ovation. And loud cheers.There wasn't a boo-bird in the crowd. Once they got over theirinitial shock-imagine, enthusiastic cheers from the home crowd!-Soxplayers were touched.
Ah, but the love affair is on hiatus. Since Eldred went on thedisabled list in July, Sox fans have become grumpier and grumpier.The rookies summoned to fill Eldred's spot have pitched, as expectedby everyone but Schueler, like rookies. Soon a veteran castoff, KenHill, will get a chance. Meanwhile, the remaining starters-JamesBaldwin, Mike Sirotka and Parque-have taken turns pitching poorly.Monday was Parque's turn.
"I was flipping quarters into the walk merry-go-round," he said."I would have booed myself. But do people really think I'm trying to(stink) out there? Like I want to walk everybody, embarrass myselfand let my team down?"
And is the bullpen blowing saves on purpose? Of course not. Andso I must ask Sox fans: Where's the love?
Booing has its place. But Comiskey Park is not that place. Haven'tthe young Sox earned your cheers? And really, how difficult can itbe to cheer for a first-place team? You might just help keep itthere. The players feed off your emotion, good and bad.
Take Parque, for instance. He heard your boos. But he heardsomething else, too.
"When I walked off the field, there was a nice round of(applause)," he said.
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