Another "No" for the South Side

Yesterday, even without a deal being complete, Roy Oswalt of the Houston Astros was reported to not be interested in coming to the White Sox at all. Ken Williams commented and stated that he has not been in contact with Houston about their ace. That makes two aces in two weeks, and two negatives.

Now, at the same time, a lot of speculation has occurred, with people wondering if these players don't want to play for Ozzie Guillen, if they don't want to play in U.S. Cellular Field, or don't want to play in the American League. It doesn't really matter what the reasoning behind the declinations is, as the Sox should be disappointed. Should they be embarrassed? No.

Since both situations are similar, with the exception that the Oswalt scenario never actually reached fruition, let's take them both together, and look at the speculation.

Not wanting to play for Ozzie: I will never understand this. Sure, Ozzie is whacky. Everyone knows that. He gets in trouble for running his mouth. But who wouldn't want to play for him? He sticks up for his guys all the time, he has led the team two division titles, and oh yeah, the Sox won the World Series under his guidance four years ago. You know who else has won ring? Lou Piella, Bobby Cox, Mike Scioscia to name a few, and plenty of guys want to play for them. I don't buy this as a reason, and if it is a reason, then Peavy and Oswalt are just either really misunderstanding Ozzie or just really foolish.

Not wanting to play in the Cell: This one is a little more tangible, since the Sox's home park is a home run haven in the summertime. But, to me, this fact is overrated. Again pointing to the '05 Series, the Sox had 5 quality starters the majority of the season, and their pitching was their strength. Currently, the rotation is on a roll, and they have one of the best bullpens in the majors. Good pitchers can pitch in home run parks. Both Peavy and Oswalt are good pitchers. Will their ERAs climb a little? Probably. But to insinuate that pitchers are afraid of the park is ridiculous.

Not wanting to pitch in the American League: Again, overrated. Yes, starters usually see a spike in the earned run average in the AL, because every lineup is stacked. But if a guy is pitching in the 3's in the NL and his ERA goes up into the 4's, that's not that major of an issue, because he will have a good offense behind him. And even then, by the same token as pitching in the Cell, good pitchers are good pitchers and will do well regardless. Word has it that Peavy does not want to go the AL. That certainly is his right, since he has a no-trade clause, but to think a Cy Young pitcher doesn't want to pitch in the American League? I don't know what other reasons there could be except he doesn't want to see his stats inflated. And that's a pretty lame reason.

Peavy and Oswalt have made their decisions and that's fine. But at the end of the day, they should realize that one team will make a serious run at a consecutive division crown, while the other(s) will be looking up at their division winner in either fourth or fifth place. So enjoy the long season, gentlemen, hope you don't mind going home in late September.