Just past the blatant snubs and misguided love, beyond the manufactured media hype and miles away from distorted positions in divisional standings, something much more symbolic is happening around town. If you want to see the real state of Chicago baseball at the All-Star break, look no further than each club’s newest import.
On the North Side, Kosuke Fukudome arrived to something resembling a bidding war, much fanfare and eventually, depending on your perspective, gross racism by the same people he won over. After an outstanding start, Fukudome’s batting average has since fallen 32 points since May 30 to a respectable but admittedly non-spectacular .279, and an on-base percentage take almost an identical plunge to a good-but-not-great .383.
Meanwhile across town, little-known Cuban refugee Alexei Ramirez came into spring training as plan B behind Danny Richar, Juan Uribe, Pablo Ozuna and Orlando Cabrera for either middle infield slot and plan C for center field. Once three of those options had the good sense not to pan out, the Sox handed Ramirez the starting second base job and he, in exchange for their faith, rewarded them with a .312 average – good enough for third among AL second basemen.
That the former would be the starting All-Star center fielder while the second is mostly unknown outside of Soxland should not surprise anyone – an okay Cubs player will almost always outsell an outstanding Sox player – but comparative fame is not the point anyway. But in the context of how things have gone for their respective employers it would only be totally insane if the two hadn’t ended up where they are: one is good even though common sense would suggest otherwise while the other is technically where they should be despite faltering in serious fashion lately.
And yet, that will all go ignored in favor of all this All-Star business, where the American League’s best catcher and second baseman are at home and the National League’s new lamest outfielder and newly-least reliable reliever are, somehow, deemed the best in the land. The White Sox are in first with plenty to prove and nothing to lose; the Cubs are somehow just barely fending off the advances of one team that should be killing them and another that most certainly shouldn’t. Their last resorts to play second base are their best bets in the outfield at the break, the wrong people are doing all the heavy lifting, the wrong pitchers have become aces and their sure things have almost all fallen through.
Nothing is right, everything is wrong, and our fair city’s two teams are on top despite themselves. As much as we hate to admit it and probably shouldn’t indulge such foolish thoughts, we as enemies in a city divided may have to come together and concede it’s time to start thinking big.
Really big.