There’s an episode of “The Simpsons” where Homer, as an adolescent, is an accomplished gymnast. His father, Abe, is simply waiting for him to screw up. Homer performs a floor exercise flawlessly, until he steals a glance at his father, who instantly shouts, “You’re gonna blow it!” Sure enough, Homer trips over his own feet and flops miserably. Later, Abe tells Homer, “That’s what I get for having faith in you.”
Homer is the White Sox, I’m Grandpa Simpson. I picked the White Sox to win in five, but despite being a Chicago resident for ten awesome years, I’m only kind of rooting for them. It’s not a Cubs/Sox thing – yes, I’m a Cubs fan, but I wish the Sox no ill will – and it’s not that I love the Angels that much more than the White Sox. If anything, it’s the simple fact that Chicago baseball teams will break your heart, and there is no point in getting emotionally involved. I picked the Sox to go to the World Series not because I believe in them, but because in analyzing the stats and the circumstances, the Sox have a considerable advantage. The only problem is that they’re still the White Sox, and they’ll surely find a way to melt down like Chernobyl on the sun. Why? Because that’s what Chicago baseball teams do. For 97 years on the North Side and 88 years on the South Side. That’s the Chicago way.
In the end, I look at it this way: if they’re going to choke, I would prefer that they choke now, because losing to St. Louis in the World Series would be much, much worse than not getting to the Series at all.
