Monday, October 17, 2005

AT LAST!!!



CHICAGO WHITE SOX
2005 AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS




Forgive me, I have literally waited my entire life for this moment!

[This post will remain atop this blog for the rest of the day, please scroll down for any new material.]


(AP Photo/Chris Carlson)


(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)


(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

No post-season home-field victories since 1959... 46 years.

No post-season series won since 1917... 88 years.

No home-field victories in ALCS history... 2 prior appearances, 1983 & 1993.

No American League Championship/World Series Appearance since 1959... 46 years (second longest active streak, second longest streak in Major League Baseball history).

No World Championship since 1917... 88 years (second longest active streak, second longest streak in Major League Baseball history).

Please guys, can we strike that last one now while we're at it?

The Magic Number is FOUR!

GO GO WHITE SOX!!!

RELATED POSTS:
A Brief History of Baseball
The Frustration Factor
The Pantheon of Pain

Technorati Tags...
; ; ; ; ; ;

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Thanks for the link!

Pat Curley at Brainster's Blog

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words



The Chicago White Sox are in the World Series! First time since 1959!

This one is for my frustrated partner, Mr. Right, and all the other good folks in the Windy City. I suspect that he is too busy celebrating to do much blogging now. Hey, if the Red Sox can win the World Series, anything can happen. Except, perhaps, a World Series with the White Sox facing the Cubs! ;-)

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Hoofing It

This article got my mind off the depressing political news of the past several weeks:

POINT REYES, Calif. - A husband-and-wife team reached the Pacific Ocean on Saturday after a 4,900-mile cross-country hike, becoming the first to backpack the transcontinental American Discovery Trail in one continuous trek.

Marcia and Ken Powers started Feb. 27 at Cape Henlopen in Delaware. Nearly eight months later, they looked out over the Pacific Ocean at Point Reyes.

"We feel great. We're done," Marcia Powers said after reaching the ocean late Saturday afternoon, a day ahead of schedule. "We are a little bit sad that a great adventure is over. It was a fantastic adventure."

The couple from Pleasanton, Calif., traversed cities, desert, mountains and farmland as they crossed 13 states.


Congrats to the Powers for their accomplishment. The next stop for our intrepid couple - the drugstore, for a couple of packs of Dr. Scholl's!

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Weekend Linkfest: October 14, 2005

Carnival Rides

Please remain seated and keep your arms and legs inside the blog at all times for the duration of the ride. Thank you for coming and we hope you enjoy your day with us here at the Right Place!

Carnival of the Clueless #17 at Right Wing Nut House

Carnival of Comedy #24 at for bloggin' outloud has an Oz theme this week. "I'll get you my pretty, and your little BLOG, too!"

Carnival of Satire #4 at the skwib

Carnival of the Vanities #160 at The Uncredible Hallq

Bonfire of the Vanities #118 at This Blog Is Full of Crap

UPDATE 9/16:

Illini Carnival - Carnival of the Vicious, Invading Paleface Bastards #2 at The Conservative Cat

Carnival of the Insanities at Dr. Sanity

OTB Caption Jam at Outside the Beltway

Blogger News

Bob & Norm from "This Old Blog" (aka Phin and Sadie of "Apothegm Designs") did some makeover magic to two of the funniest damned blogs on the Internet, and they are looking just fabulous, darling! Go see for yourself...

The Nose on Your Face, where Buckley has some ideas for upcoming Ann Coulter books.

Hog on Ice, home of Chiu Mai Dung, the Cambodian-American realtor of choice for famous cartoon neighbors and Togolese spammers.

Next, be sure to wish Ian a Happy 1st "Blogiversary" at The Political Teen!

A great blog just got even better! Will Franklin has added some full-time help over at WILLisms. Ken McCracken, formerly of the soon to be defunct Am I a Pundit Now? has climbed aboard the classiest rocket ship in the blogiverse after calling "shotgun!" Congratulations to both of them!

Flopping Aces has moved to new headquarters with a brand new look. (h/t Pat Curley.)

Patrick Ruffini is abandoning his blog, at least temporarily, to work for the RNC, but he has hinted he may pop up now and then on their blog. Best of luck, Pat! We'll miss you!

Further updates if time permits...

If you have some news or a link to share, leave a comment!

Friday, October 14, 2005

Captions Outrageous! [Heavy Medal Edition]




The above photo comes to us from AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli via Yahoo!

This contest will last approximately one week.

Good luck!


PREVIOUS PHOTO CAPTION CONTEST WINNERS:

Oh, Thank Heaven for 7/11 Edition
Fickle Finger of Fate Edition
Things Are Looking Up Edition
Rage in the Cage Edition
Not So Mellow Fellow in Yellow Edition
The Beards and the Beads Edition
Weapons of Mash Destruction Edition
You're Al I Ever Wanted Edition
His Cup Runneth Over Edition
The Eyes Have It Edition
Jeepers Veepers Edition
Huggermugger Edition
Ear's to You Edition

******************************

I not only like to host photo caption contests, I like to play them, too! Be certain to check out the latest contests at these great blogs...

WILLisms
Random Numbers, where Mr. Right took 3rd place last week.
Cafe Oregano, where Mr. Right WON last week!
Argghhh! The Home of Two of Jonah's Military Guys +1

Weekend quickies...
Outside the Beltway
GOP and the City, where Mr. Right took 5th place last week.
Wizbang!

Time's Up!...
Cafe Oregano YEA! I WON!!!
Argghhh! The Home of Two of Jonah's Military Guys +1
Sortapundit

Hey, you can't win if you don't play!

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This post is proudly featured in...

OTB Caption Jam

Thanks for the links!

THIRDWAVEDAVE
Pat Curley at Brainster's Blog
Chris at Lucky Dawg News

******************************

UPDATE 10/21:

This contest is now closed...

WINNERS ARE POSTED HERE!

New contest is HERE!

Thank you all for playing!

Captions Outrageous! Winners [Ear's to You Edition]

Announcing the winners of the lucky thirteenth ever Right Place Photo Caption Contest!

Thank you to one and all who participated!

Presenting the top five captions for this picture [AFP/File/Paul J. Richards via Yahoo!]...





#5: Hormonal shifts had lowered the register of Helen Thomas' voice so far that only dogs could hear her.

Giacomo


#4: "Asphinctersayswhat?" -- (Dubya upon finally meeting with Cindy Sheehan for a second time.)

Rodney Dill


#3: "Sir, I think the President is telling me to steal third."

Windhamite


#2: "What's that you said, Dad? No, I CAN'T read your lips!"

Songbird


And the winning entry for this Caption Contest...


#1: "What country should I invade next, God?"

Brainster


BONUS: As usual, we have a photoshop award to present this week to Chris...


[Click here for larger version.]


Bravo! Bravo!

Encore! Encore!

Presenting:

Captions Outrageous! [Heavy Medal Edition]

Enjoy!


PREVIOUS PHOTO CAPTION CONTEST WINNERS:

Oh, Thank Heaven for 7/11 Edition
Fickle Finger of Fate Edition
Things Are Looking Up Edition
Rage in the Cage Edition
Not So Mellow Fellow in Yellow Edition
The Beards and the Beads Edition
Weapons of Mash Destruction Edition
You're Al I Ever Wanted Edition
His Cup Runneth Over Edition
The Eyes Have It Edition
Jeepers Veepers Edition
Huggermugger Edition

******************************

Thanks for the links!

THIRDWAVEDAVE
Pat Curley at Brainster's Blog
Chris at Lucky Dawg News

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

U.S. Declares War on Smurfs, Hundreds Dead in "Shock and Awe" Style Carpet-Bombing Campaign



In a bold and stunning move, U.S. President George W. Bush declared war on the Smurfs earlier today, claiming it was yet another facet of the Global War on Terror. When footage of the bombing raid on the Smurf Village was televised in Belgium, images of dead and dying Smurfs, including a badly burned Baby Smurf, caused an immediate condemnation of America, the 543rd such condemnation from a European country this week, but only the 18th from anywhere other than France. The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, UNICEF, soon began using the footage in a new anti-war fund-raising campaign.

Left-wing bloggers were quickly flooding the Internet with their take on the reasons for the attack. Many of those theories centered on the United States' aversion to the Smurfs' well-documented Marxist lifestyle; widespread rumors about Smurf Satan-Worshiping tendencies that had first spread throughout Latin America in the early 1980's; President Bush's personal objection to homosexuality, which was believed to be rampant among the nearly-all male Smurf population; or moral objections to cloning, which many believed to be their only effective method of reproduction. The most popular theory by far, however, had to do with Haliburton and the Smurfs' rich deposits of mushroom oil.

Rev. Jesse Jackson was among those who were quick to condemn the White House, "This is clearly nothing more than another attack on people of color, in this case blue," said Rev. Jackson, who badly bruised his left knee while tripping over himself in a rush to find the nearest television camera.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld attempted to clear up the situation in a press conference at the Pentagon a short time ago.

Let me dispel all of these ridiculous rumors being thrown around out there right now with such reckless abandon. The truth of the matter is, we had evidence, much of which the President will make plain tonight when he addresses the nation, of a clear and immediate threat against the United States. The plot was uncovered after the capture of a Smurf cell in the Los Angeles area late last week, which included such diabolical individuals as Brainy Smurf, Handy Smurf, Grouchy Smurf and Jihadi Smurf. These individuals were laying the ground work for a horrific attack using Weapons of Mass Desmurftion, which had the very real possibility of killing millions of innocent Americans.

Most Americans still view the Smurfs as the same cute, harmless little creatures from the television show that ended more than 15 years ago. Nothing could be further from the truth. In the years that have followed, their society suffered terribly from the lost television and merchandising revenue and they became increasingly radicalized, particularly after embracing Wahhabism several years back. How many of you know that Smurfette had recently been publicly whipped for having her burka slip and show a tiny portion of her ankle? Or that Vanity Smurf and Dreamy Smurf had been hung last year for committing acts of homosexuality? Let me assure you this attack was both necessary and justified.


A seriously wounded Papa Sheik al-Smurf condemned the "unprovoked" attack in a strongly worded communique released earlier today...

The war criminal Gargamel W. Bushitler must pay for his smurfrageous and smurflegal attack on our smurful little village! Smurf you, Chimpy! We will see you smurf in Hell! The United States of America must smurf - and Allah willing, smurf it will! We will smurfvail! Allah Smurfbar!


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More Blogosmurfic Coverage of the Smurf War

IMAO (Scott)
IMAO (Harvey)
Garfield Ridge
Knowledge Is Power
The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
Point Five
Six Meat Buffet
the skwib
The Jawa Report
Ace of Spades HQ (Ace)
Ace of Spades HQ (Harry)
Wizbang!

UPDATE 9/13, More Coverage:
Tel-Chai Nation
The Steel Deal

And don't miss this great piece of satire at...
A Healthy Alternative to Work

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If you've enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy...

More Political Satire:
• Angry Protesters Demand "U.S. Out of U.S. Now!"
• New Orleans Rhapsody
• Cindy Sheehan Files Suit Against God; President Bush, Israel Named as "Co-Conspirators"
• The U.S. Constitution - A Liberal Interpretation
• George W. Bush and the Holy Grail
• The 9/11 Commission, Part 2 - Electric Boogaloo
• Democrats Give up on Winning, Push for More "Spectacular" Losses
• We Now Join the "Save Air America Radio" Telethon, Already in Progress...
• Top Secret Democrat Party Strategy Meeting - Exposed!
• The Far-Left's Favorite Soap Opera: Get Bush!
• You Just Might Be a Moonbat...
• Selections from the "Donktionary"
• The Moonbat Song

The Hill-Orgy of Errors:
• Hillary Clinton's Secret Love Affair Exposed!
• Bigfoot Takes His Own Life!
• The Right Place Stands By Its Story!

And a Filthy Lie:
• Glenn Reynolds Copyrights the Word "Indeed," Threatens to Bill Much of Blogosphere Right out of Existence!

Or feel free to check out our Main Page or our latest Photo Caption Contest. Thank you for visiting The Right Place!

******************************

Thanks for the links!

SondraK at Knowledge Is Power
Gateway Pundit
The Windhamite
Oregano at Cafe Oregano
Eric Wilner at Silicon Valley Redneck
Kitty at Lifelike Pundits
It Should Be Noted
Bruce the Human Pet at The Conservative Cat
Daniel in Brookline
Mattazuma's Revenge
Phatic Communion

This post is featured in...

Carnival of Comedy #24 [Oz Edition] at for blogging out loud
Carnival of Satire #4 at the skwib
Carnival of the Clueless #17 at Right Wing Nut House
Carnival of Crazy VIII at File It Under...

Go forth and check out some more of the great posts linked within these fine events.

This post has been submitted to the following open trackback parties...

Open Trackbacks: Friday at The Political Teen (10/14)
Friday Open Trackback Party at Cao's Blog (10/14)
Weekend Link Whorage OTPCFCD 3 at MVRWC (10/14)
Open Post at Mudville Gazette (10/14)
Beltway Traffic Jam at Outside the Beltway (10/14)
Morning Quarters/Open Post at The Indepundit (10/15)
Plug Your Site Open Trackbacks at Stop the ACLU (10/15)

And you can submit something of your own as well!

Saturday, October 08, 2005

Weekend Carnival Round-Up: October 8, 2005

Just because I was too lazy to get any worthy carnival material ready this past week, doesn't mean these events are any less terrific. What follows are links to the latest installments of my favorite carnivals. Go, be entertained...

Carnival of the Clueless #16 at Right Wing Nut House

Carnival of Comedy #23 at Don Surber

OTB Caption Jam at Outside the Beltway

Carnival of Crazy VII at File It Under...

Carnival of Satire #3 at the skwib

Carnival of the Vanities #159 at Techno Gypsy

Bonfire of the Vanities #118 at The Conservative Cat

UPDATE 10/9/05:
Carnival of the Insanities at Dr. Sanity

Stupid me! I keep forgetting to congratulate our good buddies Hoodlumman and Rob B. of File It Under... for the great job they have been doing filling in for the vacationing Will Franklin at WILLisms all week, along with some other fine guest hosts, Mike from WunderKraut and Ken from Am I a Pundit Now? Be sure to check 'em all out!

The Pantheon of Pain

In my two previous baseball-related posts, I focused first on the World Series Era history of the game and its franchises...

A Brief History of Baseball

Next, I examined the teams that have gone the longest without realizing a Championship or even a trip to the World Series, with a focus on ongoing or very recently ended streaks and an emphasis on Chicago's two hapless teams...

The Frustration Factor

A comment from John Ruberry of Marathon Pundit about the historic plights of some other teams led me back to my lists for some further research. I now present an all-time comprehensive list of the most frustrating teams in Major League Baseball's Modern Era.

I drew a line at 30 years and took a look back at all who dared to cross it. Lo and behold, absolutely no surprise at all, look at which two teams are still kings of the wasted seasons. My White Sox even manage to make the second list twice among the top seven. Disgusting, but true. To all of you who have lived through at least 30 years worth of the following streaks, only you can claim to know real pain...

All-Time Longest Waits for World Series Titles (Min. 30 Yrs.):

97* - Chicago Cubs (1908 - Present)
88* - Chicago White Sox (1917 - Present)
86 - Boston Red Sox (1918 - 2004)
77 - Philadelphia Phillies (1903^ - 1980)
57* - Cleveland Indians (1948 - Present)
52 - Brooklyn Dodgers (1903^ - 1955)
50** - St. Louis Browns (1903^ - 1953^^)
47* - San Francisco Giants (1958^ - Present)
47** - Washington Senators*** (1924 - 1971^^)
43* - Houston Astros (1962^ - Present)
41 - Anaheim Angels (1961^ - 2002)
38** - Boston Braves (1914 - 1952^^)
36* - San Diego Padres (1969^ - Present)
35* - Milwaukee Brewers (1970^ - Present)
35** - Montreal Expos (1969^ - 2004^^)
35 - Cincinnati Reds (1940 -1975)
35 - Pittsburgh Pirates (1925 - 1960)
33* - Texas Rangers (1972^ - Present)
32 - Detroit Tigers (1903^ - 1935)

All-Time Longest Waits for League Championships/World Series Appearances (Min. 30 Yrs.):

60* - Chicago Cubs (1945 - Present)
46* - Chicago White Sox (1959 - Present)
43* - Houston Astros (1962^ - Present)
41 - Anaheim Angels (1961^ - 2002)
41 - Cleveland Indians (1954 - 1995)
41 - St. Louis Browns (1903^ - 1944)
40 - Chicago White Sox (1919 - 1959)
38** - Washington Senators*** (1933 - 1971^^)
35** - Montreal Expos (1969^ - 2004^^)
35 - Philadelphia Phillies (1915 - 1950)
34 - Boston Braves (1914 - 1948)
33* - Texas Rangers (1972^ - Present)
33 - Pittsburgh Pirates (1927 - 1960)
30 - Philadelphia Phillies (1950 - 1980)

*Ongoing streak. The Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers, and Texas Rangers did not qualify for the 2005 post-season and will all add at least one year to their streaks. The Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros and San Diego Padres have made the 2005 playoffs and only time will tell if they win or even make it to the World Series this year.

**Streak ended only by the moving of a franchise to a new market with a different fan base. The St. Louis Browns became the Baltimore Orioles in 1954; the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee in 1953; the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2005; See note below about the Washington Senators.

***Combined streak. The original Washington Senators became the Minnesota Twins in 1961, but were simultaneously replaced by an identically named franchise which shared the same essential fan base. The second incarnation of the Senators became the Texas Rangers in 1972.

^First year of streak is not a Championship. In these instances, the first year listed is the beginning of Major League Baseball's Modern Era of Post-Season Play in 1903, the year of the creation of the franchise in question, or the year it began playing for that particular fan base after moving from a different market.

^^Last year of streak is not a Championship. In these instances, the streak was stopped only due to the team moving to a new market with a different fan base.

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For the best White Sox coverage in the blogosphere, be sure to check in frequently with die-hard Sox fan Rick Moran at Right Wing Nut House.

For a regularly updated list of which teams numerous bloggers are backing in this year's post-season struggles, check out Laurence Simon's This Blog Is Full of Crap.

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Thanks for the link!

Pat Curley at Brainster's Blog who gives us a similar look into the history of various football franchises' success/failure in the NFL's Super Bowl Era.

Friday, October 07, 2005

Captions Outrageous! [Ear's to You Edition]




The above photo comes to us from AFP/File/Paul J. Richards via Yahoo!

This contest will last approximately one week.

Good luck!


PREVIOUS PHOTO CAPTION CONTEST WINNERS:

Oh, Thank Heaven for 7/11 Edition
Fickle Finger of Fate Edition
Things Are Looking Up Edition
Rage in the Cage Edition
Not So Mellow Fellow in Yellow Edition
The Beards and the Beads Edition
Weapons of Mash Destruction Edition
You're Al I Ever Wanted Edition
His Cup Runneth Over Edition
The Eyes Have It Edition
Jeepers Veepers Edition
Huggermugger Edition

******************************

I not only like to host photo caption contests, I like to play them, too! Be certain to check out the latest contests at these great blogs...

Outside the Beltway
Random Numbers, where Yours Truly won last week's contest!
GOP and the City
Cafe Oregano 10/9/05: New Contest, New Link!
WILLisms

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This photo caption contest is proudly featured in:

OTB Caption Jam at Outside the Beltway.

Thanks for the links!

Sortapundit links with a SortaCaption Contest of its own.

Argghhh! The Home of Two of Jonah's Military Guys +1 is having a double-header Caption Contest as well.

Chris at Lucky Dawg News.

Pat Curley at Brainster's Blog.

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UPDATE 10/14:

This contest is now closed...

WINNERS ARE POSTED HERE!

New contest is HERE!

Thank you all for playing!

Captions Outrageous! Winners [Huggermugger Edition]

Announcing the winners of the twelfth ever Right Place Photo Caption Contest!

Thank you to one and all who participated!

Presenting the top ten captions for this picture [REUTERS/Jim Bourg via Yahoo!]...





#10 tie: Jesse: "Why is 'Shaggy' from 'Scooby Doo' hugging me?"

Marathon Pundit


#10 tie: "For the LAST TIME, stop calling me your WIDDLE JESSE BEAR!!!"

Steve O


#9: Concerned surgeons say there is nothing they can do to remove the growth from Jesse Jackson's back.

Steve O


#8: "Hump? What hump?"

Rodney Dill


#7: "If this bitch cuts into my air time, she's toast. TOAST!"

Mr. Snitch!


#6: Jesse Jackson, African-American male: "Ok, where's my forty acres to go with it?"

D. Carter


#5: Jesse Jackson leads Cindy Sheehan from her trial against ACME Chemical, where she was dropped into a vat of chemicals by a vigilante caped crusader.

Hoodlumman


#4: And, thinking about how fun it would be to be the "worst president ever," Curious Cindy fell happily asleep. (If you look, you can see the Man in the Yellow Hat behind her.)

peter


#3: Ebony and insanity...

The Man


#2: Siamese moonbats.

D. Carter


And the winning entry for this Caption Contest...


#1: Stuck on Stupid.

Rodney Dill

(And it works either way 'round...)


UPDATE: It may be a little late, but it's still worth a photoshop award for Chris...





Bravo! Bravo!

Encore! Encore!

Presenting:

Captions Outrageous! [Ear's to You Edition]

Enjoy!


PREVIOUS PHOTO CAPTION CONTEST WINNERS:

Oh, Thank Heaven for 7/11 Edition
Fickle Finger of Fate Edition
Things Are Looking Up Edition
Rage in the Cage Edition
Not So Mellow Fellow in Yellow Edition
The Beards and the Beads Edition
Weapons of Mash Destruction Edition
You're Al I Ever Wanted Edition
His Cup Runneth Over Edition
The Eyes Have It Edition
Jeepers Veepers Edition

******************************

Thanks for the links!

Chris at Lucky Dawg News

Pat Curley at Brainster's Blog

The Frustration Factor

How does one quantify or measure suffering?

When it comes to baseball, no one can come close to the fans of Chicago's two hapless franchises in terms of the length and depth of the pain and anguish known here in the town that the baseball gods forgot.

Sure, Boston used to be able to claim a storied history of failure close to, but not quite equaling, our own, but they finally ended their run of futility last season with their first World Series Title since 1918. Even before that happened, Chicago had them beat. Neither of our two teams had won a World Series since Boston's last triumph, and one of them had, in fact, managed to throw one since then! Besides that, Boston had made 4 previous trips to the World Series - even before last year - since the Cubs had last appeared and 3 of them since the White Sox last participated. Sorry, Boston. You don't know suffering as much as we do, despite the higher level of publicity you got for it.

Cleveland knows pain, too, but their last World Championship in 1948, still beats Chicago's last one by 31 years, and 2 Fall Classic appearances as recently as the mid-to-late 1990's pale in comparison to the wait here for even so much as a League Pennant. True, fans in San Francisco, Houston, San Diego, Milwaukee, Texas, and Seattle can claim to know the pain of franchises without a single World Championship, but all of these fan bases were created decades after the last time Chicago held a baseball-related parade, and while Houston, Texas and Seattle have never even been to a World Series, all of these teams began their very existences since the last time either Chicago team was there! (Note to all of the relative newcomers without titles in Colorado, Tampa Bay and Washington, don't even get me started!)

Chicago is, indeed, unique: Decades of frustration and futility multiplied by two beloved ne'er-do-well teams, who just can't seem to win. The rivalry between the fans of the two teams here is extraordinary. If you are not from Chicago, odds are you don't understand how much fans of each team tend to hate, yes I said hate, the other ballclub. Could all this mutual ill-will contribute to the karma that keeps both teams from breaking a nearly Century-long drought? No one can say, but neither team wants to be the one left behind by the other team's finally achieving that ever-so elusive success. Maybe that explains it. To watch your rivals break their curse while being forced to continue wallowing in your own pain only makes it that much worse. What they say is quite true, especially when it comes to Chicago baseball fans... misery loves company.

Over the years, Chicago baseball futility has become the stuff of legend. The Chicago Cubs are said to suffer the "Curse of the Billygoat," where a legendary Chicago tavern owner, denied admission to the park for a 1945 World Series game with his pet goat, placed a curse on the team, telling them that another World Series game would never again be played in Wrigley Field - none has. Several efforts to break the curse over the years have been unsuccessful.

The Cubs famous collapse in 1969 can be traced, in part, to a black cat circling Third Baseman Ron Santo as he waited in the on-deck circle at New York's Shea Stadium, an event captured on television for all to see. The Cubs lost that game and the next one, putting the 1969 "Miracle" Mets in first place to stay.

1984 saw the Cubs get within one game of the World Series, only to lose three straight to the San Diego Padres, including a crushing Game 5 defeat contributed to by a key error by First Baseman Leon Durham. In 2003, the Cubs most recent venture into post-season play resulted in the City of Chicago's first post-season series victory since 1917 when they beat the Braves in the National League Divisional Series, but just as they sat within less than 2 innings of a trip to the World Series, along came the "Bartman Ball," where a fan inadvertently interfered with an outfielder attempting to make a catch in foul territory. After that moment, the tide of the game and the League Championship Series turned in favor of the eventual World Champion Marlins.

My beloved White Sox have fared no better, and in some ways even worse, with 6 fewer post-season outings over the course of their mostly unremarkable history than the Cubs. They play second-fiddle to the Cubs in almost every way in Chicago, all but ignored by the Cub-loving media here. If the Cubs are the stuff of legend, the lovable losers, the cause celeb, the White Sox are the bastard child living in the basement that no one likes to talk about.

In some ways, the White Sox suffering is self-induced - the "Curse of the Black Sox" is still going strong. Baseball was almost ruined, long ago, when several players from the heavily favored Chicago White Sox, many of them angry with being cheated out of money they felt they were rightfully owed by notoriously tight owner Charles Comiskey, decided to get even by conspiring with gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds for money. Much has been written about the "Black Sox" scandal over the years, and while we may never know if all of those who paid the price were truly involved, newly appointed iron-fisted Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned eight players for life, despite their being acquitted of charges in a court of law. This act may possibly have saved baseball, but it ruined the White Sox organization for at least a generation, and they and their fans, of which I am one, still bear the pain of one of the last great sports "curses" even today, as they have not won a World Series since 1917, and have appeared in only one since 1919, a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1959.

I can blame my suffering on my Father, a lifelong White Sox fan, who passed the genetic disease on to me. My Dad has suffered far more than I have, as his suffering is decades longer than my own. But at least he got to see the Sox play in a World Series once, which is much more than I can say.

When a team can go through multiple generations, as both Chicago teams have, with nothing to show for it, it is more than sad, it is a disgrace. Many a Chicago baseball fan has been born, lived a full life and died without ever seeing a championship from a team they wasted their entire lives rooting for. Precious few people still walk this earth who were even alive the last time a World Series Title was claimed here. Those that are still alive were likely too young at the time to remember it or are too old now to remember anything at all.

As the White Sox take the field today in Boston, they have a chance to claim their first post-season series in either mine or my father's lifetimes. The first, in fact, since my long-departed grandparents' childhoods. Think about that for a moment, then help us root them on. Lord knows, it's about time!

UPDATE: The Chicago White Sox have finally broken down one of the gigantic walls of woe surrounding them, as they have won a post-season series for the first time in 88 years, defeating the Boston Red Sox in the 2005 ALDS 3 games to none! Come on team, let's keep going, shall we? Pretty please with sugar on top???

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UPDATED 10/9/05 to reflect results of 2005 ALDS & NLDS

I thought about coming up with some sort of misery index, but that sort of math cannot do this sort of futility true justice. Instead, I offer the following charts, showing just how bad fans here in Chicago, and elsewhere, have had it over the years. How does your team rate?...

Post-Season Appearances by Team as Percentage of Years in Present Market (Adjusted for Lack of Post-Season Play in 1904 and 1994) 1903-Present:

0.0% - Tampa Bay Devil Rays (0 Appearances in 8 Seasons)
0.0% - Washington Nationals (0 Appearances in 1 Season)
5.7% - Milwaukee Brewers (2 Appearances in 35 Seasons)
7.9% - Chicago White Sox (8 Appearances in 101 Seasons)
8.3% - Colorado Rockies (1 Appearance in 12 Seasons)
8.9% - Cleveland Indians (9 Appearances in 101 Seasons)
8.9% - Philadelphia Phillies (9 Appearances in 101 Seasons)
9.1% - Texas Rangers (3 Appearances in 33 Seasons)
10.9% - Detroit Tigers (11 Appearances in 101 Seasons)
11.1% - San Diego Padres (4 Appearances in 36 Seasons)
11.9% - Cincinnati Reds (12 Appearances in 101 Seasons)
13.6% - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (6 Appearances in 44 Seasons)
13.9% - Chicago Cubs (14 Appearances in 101 Seasons)
13.9% - Pittsburgh Pirates (14 Appearances in 101 Seasons)
14.0% - New York Mets (6 Appearances in 43 Seasons)
14.3% - Seattle Mariners (4 Appearances in 28 Seasons)
16.7% - Florida Marlins (2 Appearances in 12 Seasons)
16.8% - Boston Red Sox (17 Appearances in 101 Seasons)
17.0% - San Francisco Giants (8 Appearances in 47 Seasons)
17.9% - Toronto Blue Jays (5 Appearances in 28 Seasons)
18.2% - Minnesota Twins (8 Appearances in 44 Seasons)
19.4% - Kansas City Royals (7 Appearances in 36 Seasons)
19.6% - Baltimore Orioles (10 Appearances in 51 Seasons)
20.8% - St. Louis Cardinals (21 Appearances in 101 Seasons)
20.9% - Houston Astros (9 Appearances in 43 Seasons)
29.8% - Los Angeles Dodgers (14 Appearances in 47 Seasons)
37.5% - Arizona Diamondbacks (3 Appearances in 8 Seasons)
37.8% - Oakland Athletics (14 Appearances in 37 Seasons)
41.0% - Atlanta Braves (16 Appearances in 39 Seasons)
44.6% - New York Yankees (45 Appearances in 101 Seasons)

Longest Wait for World Series Title by Team:

1908 - Chicago Cubs
1917 - Chicago White Sox
1948 - Cleveland Indians
NONE - San Francisco Giants (1958)
NONE - Houston Astros (1962)
NONE - San Diego Padres (1969)
NONE - Milwaukee Brewers (1970)
NONE - Texas Rangers (1972)
NONE - Seattle Mariners (1977)
1979 - Pittsburgh Pirates
1980 - Philadelphia Phillies
1982 - St. Louis Cardinals
1983 - Baltimore Orioles
1984 - Detroit Tigers
1985 - Kansas City Royals
1986 - New York Mets
1988 - Los Angeles Dodgers
1989 - Oakland Athletics
1990 - Cincinnati Reds
1991 - Minnesota Twins
NONE - Colorado Rockies (1993)
1993 - Toronto Blue Jays
1995 - Atlanta Braves
NONE - Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998)
2000 - New York Yankees
2001 - Arizona Diamondbacks
2002 - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2003 - Florida Marlins
2004 - Boston Red Sox
NONE - Washington Nationals (2005)

Longest Wait for World Series Appearance by Team:

1945 - Chicago Cubs
1959 - Chicago White Sox
NONE - Houston Astros (1962)
NONE - Texas Rangers (1972)
NONE - Seattle Mariners (1977)
1979 - Pittsburgh Pirates
1982 - Milwaukee Brewers
1983 - Baltimore Orioles
1984 - Detroit Tigers
1985 - Kansas City Royals
1988 - Los Angeles Dodgers
1990 - Oakland Athletics
1990 - Cincinnati Reds
1991 - Minnesota Twins
NONE - Colorado Rockies (1993)
1993 - Philadelphia Phillies
1993 - Toronto Blue Jays
1997 - Cleveland Indians
NONE - Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998)
1998 - San Diego Padres
1999 - Atlanta Braves
2000 - New York Mets
2001 - Arizona Diamondbacks
2002 - San Francisco Giants
2002 - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2003 - New York Yankees
2003 - Florida Marlins
2004 - St. Louis Cardinals
2004 - Boston Red Sox
NONE - Washington Nationals (2005)

Longest Wait for League Championship Series Appearance by Team:

NONE - Texas Rangers (1972)
1982 - Milwaukee Brewers
1985 - Kansas City Royals
1987 - Detroit Tigers
1988 - Los Angeles Dodgers
1992 - Pittsburgh Pirates
1992 - Oakland Athletics
NONE - Colorado Rockies (1993)
1993 - Philadelphia Phillies
1993 - Toronto Blue Jays
1995 - Cincinnati Reds
1997 - Baltimore Orioles
NONE - Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998)
1998 - San Diego Padres
1998 - Cleveland Indians
2000 - New York Mets
2001 - Seattle Mariners
2001 - Atlanta Braves
2001 - Arizona Diamondbacks
2002 - Minnesota Twins
2002 - San Francisco Giants
2003 - Chicago Cubs
2003 - Florida Marlins
2004 - New York Yankees
2004 - Boston Red Sox
NONE - Washington Nationals (2005)
2005 - Chicago White Sox [1993]
2005 - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim [2002]
2005 - Houston Astros [2004]
2005 - St. Louis Cardinals [2004]

Longest Wait for Playoff Appearance by Team:

1982 - Milwaukee Brewers
1985 - Kansas City Royals
1987 - Detroit Tigers
1992 - Pittsburgh Pirates
1993 - Philadelphia Phillies
1993 - Toronto Blue Jays
1995 - Colorado Rockies
1995 - Cincinnati Reds
1997 - Baltimore Orioles
NONE - Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998)
1999 - Texas Rangers
2000 - New York Mets
2001 - Cleveland Indians
2001 - Seattle Mariners
2002 - Arizona Diamondbacks
2003 - Oakland Athletics
2003 - San Francisco Giants
2003 - Chicago Cubs
2003 - Florida Marlins
2004 - Los Angeles Dodgers
2004 - Minnesota Twins
NONE - Washington Nationals (2005)
2005 - San Diego Padres [1998 WS]
2005 - Chicago White Sox [2000 ALDS]
2005 - Atlanta Braves [2004 NLDS]
2005 - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim [2004 ALDS]
2005 - Houston Astros [2004 NLCS]
2005 - New York Yankees [2004 ALCS]
2005 - St. Louis Cardinals [2004 WS]
2005 - Boston Red Sox [2004 WS Champs]

******************************

Previous Post: A Brief History of Baseball

Follow-up Post: The Pantheon of Pain

******************************

Thanks for the links!

Pat Curley at Brainster's Blog
John Ruberry at Marathon Pundit
Geoff Young at Ducksnorts

This post has been submitted to:

Carnival of the Trackbacks XXXII at Wizbang!
Beltway Wedding Jam at Outside the Beltway

This post is featured in:

Carnival of the Vanities #160 at The Uncredible Hallq
Illini Carnival - Carnival of the Vicious, Invading Paleface Bastards #2 at The Conservative Cat

A Brief History of Baseball

In celebration of the Chicago White Sox rare participation in post-season play, I am taking a short break from politics to present the following in-depth study of America's favorite past-time, an obsession of mine since childhood.

While many consider 1901 to mark the beginning of baseball's Modern Era, I consider it to be 1903 instead. Why? Because 1903 marked the first modern World Series ever played, as well as the moving of the franchise that would later be known as the New York Yankees from Baltimore to New York. After 1903, all National League and American League franchises became quite stable, with none of them changing city or league affiliations for decades to come (although team nicknames would sometimes change).

Originally, each of the leagues consisted of eight teams...

The NL:

Boston Beaneaters (later known as the Braves)
Brooklyn Superbas (later known as the Dodgers)
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
New York Giants
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals

The AL:

Boston Pilgrims (later known as the Red Sox)
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Naps (later known as the Indians)
Detroit Tigers
New York Highlanders (later known as the Yankees)
Philadelphia Athletics
St. Louis Browns
Washington Senators

The first World Series, played in October of 1903, saw the upstart Boston Pilgrims upset the heavily favored and much longer-established Pittsburgh Pirates 5 games to 3. No World Series was played in 1904, but the rivalry between the NL and AL was renewed for good in 1905, a tradition carried on through two World Wars and the Great Depression and interrupted only once since, by a labor strife in 1994, the only year since 1904 with no post-season. (The outcome of the 1919 World Series was affected by players who agreed to throw it for money, but I will go into more detail on that in the next post.)

Baseball has changed and expanded many times over the years. One of the biggest changes came in 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, which marked the beginning of the end of Major League Baseball's self-imposed segregation and opened the doors to some of the greatest players of all time. In 1953, the Boston Braves, tired of competing with the rival Red Sox, became the first organization to move since before the 1903 season and headed off to Milwaukee. The following year, another two team city lost one of its franchises when the St. Louis Browns became the Baltimore Orioles, the same name used by the New York Yankees when they played there in 1901 and 1902 before moving to New York. One year later still, a third two team town, Philadelphia, said goodbye to its Athletics, who ran away to Kansas City.

After advances in travel and communications made such a thing possible, baseball followed population trends by packing up and heading west to California in 1958. The hearts of every National League fan in New York City broke when the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles and the New York Giants to San Francisco that same year.

With 1961 came the first expansion franchises. First, the Washington Senators were moved to Minnesota and became the Twins. The AL quickly replaced the old Washington franchise with a new one, which simply assumed the old team's nickname. Next, the AL added a Los Angeles area franchise of their very own, the Angels. Also that year, schedules were expanded to 162 games per year instead of the previously traditional 154 games.

The NL expanded the very next year, making amends to its displaced fan base in New York by creating the Mets and putting its mark on the growing State of Texas with the Houston Colt .45's, who later became known as the Astros. As of 1962, the leagues looked like this...

The NL:

Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Houston Colt .45's (later known as the Astros)
Los Angeles Dodgers
Milwaukee Braves
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
San Francisco Giants
St. Louis Cardinals

The AL:

Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Athletics
Los Angeles Angels
Minnesota Twins
New York Yankees
Washington Senators

The biggest changes in 1965 were cosmetic, the Colt .45's were now called the Astros and the Los Angeles Angels decided for the first (but by no means last) time to fiddle with their geographical moniker, opting to be called the California Angels instead. (They would become the Anaheim Angels in 1997 and then the awkwardly named Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2005.) A bigger change followed in 1966, as the Braves moved a second time, this time to Atlanta. Two years later, another team that had already moved once before, the Kansas City Athletics, shuffled off to Oakland.

Many of the biggest changes so far came in 1969. Both leagues rolled out two new teams: the AL unveiled the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots, while the NL brought forth the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos, baseball's first franchise to be located outside of the United States. Because both leagues now consisted of 12 teams, divisional play was introduced, and with it came an extra round of post-season play, the first such change in modern baseball history. Purists were horrified, but the game lived on, now looking like this...

The NL East:

Chicago Cubs
Montreal Expos
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals

The NL West:

Atlanta Braves
Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants

(Why Chicago and St. Louis are considered to be east of Cincinnati and Atlanta is just one of those great mysteries of life to those of us who know how to read a map, but there you have it.)

The AL East:

Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees
Washington Senators

The AL West:

California Angels
Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Pilots

The NL would remain unchanged for sometime to come, but the AL was still undergoing metamorphosis. In 1970, the brand new Seattle Pilots (whom you will be forgiven for never having heard of) headed east after just one season and landed in Milwaukee, where they became known as the Brewers, a franchise that would travel to new divisions many more times without ever physically moving again. The first such shift came in 1972, after the latest incarnation of the Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers - Texas was shifted to the AL West and the Brewers to the AL East. (The Brewers are the only team ever to belong to all three AL divisions, playing in the AL Central from its inception in 1994, until they shifted leagues and were moved to the NL Central in 1998. They are also the only team to ever play in as many as 4 separate divisions for you trivia buffs.)

In 1973, the AL introduced the Designated Hitter Rule, allowing teams to have someone else bat for the Pitcher, traditionally the weakest spot in any lineup. The NL has never adopted such a rule. This rule remains one the most controversial changes to baseball to this very day, with its merits hotly disputed among fans and players alike. To resolve the issue in interleague play, the DH is used by both teams when playing on an AL team's home field and by neither team when playing on an NL team's home field.

The next major changes came about in 1977, when two new AL franchises, the Toronto Blue Jays (the AL's first trip across the U.S. border) and Seattle Mariners were born. This would be the last major change for baseball for 16 years, with the leagues remaining unevenly balanced, 14 teams in the AL, 12 in the NL...

The NL East:

Chicago Cubs
Montreal Expos
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals

The NL West:

Atlanta Braves
Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants

The AL East:

Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Milwaukee Brewers
New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays

The AL West:

California Angels
Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers

In 1981, a mid-season players' strike, only the second of its kind (a very brief stoppage had occurred in 1972), caused a peculiarity with post-season play. Major League Baseball decided to split the season into two halves (pre-strike and post-strike) and awarded division titles to the winners of each half, creating an extra round of playoffs. It also meant that the two teams with the best overall records in the NL that year, the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals, missed the playoffs entirely, while one team that was sub-.500 overall, but had managed to capture the second-half AL West title, the Kansas City Royals, were in!

In 1993, the NL caught up to the AL in size by adding the Colorado Rockies (NL West) and Florida Marlins (NL East). The very next year, however, baseball changed its format again and divided each league into three divisions rather than two, while adding an additional round to the playoffs with a Wild Card system that would now allow the team in each league with the best record that did not win their own division to play in the post-season with each of the three division champions. This system would not see the light of day until the following year, however, due to another players' strike that prematurely ended the season and caused the cancellation of post-season play for the first time, almost destroying baseball in the process.

The newly divided leagues, which did have the added benefit of fixing the NL's mapping irregularities, were as follows...

The NL East:

Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Montreal Expos
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies

The NL Central:

Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals

The NL West:

Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants

The AL East:

Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays

The AL Central:

Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Kansas City Royals
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins

The AL West:

California Angels
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers

Play resumed in 1995, but fans were slow to return. To help lure the fans back, Major League Baseball introduced regular season interleague play, on a limited basis, in 1997. In 1998, baseball rolled the dice on another expansion by adding the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks. Accommodating these two new teams, however, would be tricky. For one thing, each league wanted one new franchise, which would mean 15 teams in each league. An uneven number of teams would mean constant interleague play or one team in each league remaining idle for days at a time. To fix the problem, baseball's own traveling circus, the Milwaukee Brewers, were shifted to the NL, which would now have 16 teams, including one six team division, while the AL would continue to make do with 14 teams, including one four team division. Tampa Bay was put into the AL East, while Detroit was shifted to the AL Central. Milwaukee became part of the NL Central and Arizona was added to the NL West.

The final change to the current make-up of Major League Baseball happened just this past year, when the much unloved Montreal Expos finally took a hint from their ridiculously miniscule attendance figures and transferred to Washington, D.C., where they are now known to the world as the Nationals. Thus continued the trend of baseball eventually returning to any city that formerly had hosted a franchise since 1903 (except, of course, for Montreal).

The current divisions are made up as follows...

The NL East:

Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals

The NL Central:

Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals

The NL West:

Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants

The AL East:

Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Toronto Blue Jays

The AL Central:

Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins

The AL West:

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers

In an upcoming post, I will examine the peculiar suffering of fans of teams that just can't seem to win, including a certain team from the South Side of Chicago (among others).

UPDATE: The follow-up post is ready...

The Frustration Factor

UPDATE #2: A second follow-up post...

The Pantheon of Pain


******************************

What follows is the 1903-Present post-season achievements (or lack thereof) of all current Major League Baseball franchises, listed in order of their evolution since 1903, with ties decided by geographical alphabetical order.

NOTES: The second parenthetical number on the first line of each listing is the number of seasons played in the team's current manifestation. No division titles are awarded for the lost season of 1994.

UPDATED 10/9/05 to reflect results of 2005 ALDS & NLDS
UPDATED 10/27/05 to reflect results of 2005 ALCS, NLCS & World Series


Boston Red Sox (1903) (103)
[aka Boston Pilgrims 1903-06]

World Series Championships (6)
2004, 1918, 1916, 1915, 1912, 1903

AL Pennants (11)
2004, 1986, 1975, 1967, 1946, 1918, 1916, 1915, 1912, 1904*, 1903

AL Championship Series Appearances (7) [1969-2005]
2004, 2003, 1999, 1990, 1988, 1986, 1975

AL East Titles (5) [1969-2005]
1995, 1990, 1988, 1986, 1975

AL Wild Cards (5) [1995-2005]
2005, 2004, 2003, 1999, 1998

*No World Series was played in 1904. Boston Pilgrims won AL Title, NY Giants won NL Title.


Chicago Cubs (1903) (103)

World Series Championships (2)
1908, 1907

NL Pennants (10)
1945, 1938, 1935, 1932, 1929, 1918, 1910, 1908, 1907, 1906

NL Championship Series Appearances (3) [1969-2005]
2003, 1989, 1984

NL East Titles (2) [1969-93]
1989, 1984

NL Central Titles (1) [1995-2005]
2003

NL Wild Cards (1) [1995-2005]
1998


Chicago White Sox (1903) (103)

World Series Championships (3)
2005, 1917, 1906

AL Pennants (5)
2005, 1959, 1919*, 1917, 1906

AL Championship Series Appearances (3) [1969-2005]
2005, 1993, 1983

AL West Titles (2) [1969-93]
1993, 1983

AL Central Titles (2) [1995-2005]
2005, 2000

AL Wild Cards (0) [1995-2005]

*Several Chicago White Sox players were later banned from baseball for life for conspiring with professional gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds.


Cincinnati Reds (1903) (103)
[aka Cincinnati Redlegs 1954-59]

World Series Championships (5)
1990, 1976, 1975, 1940, 1919*

NL Pennants (9)
1990, 1976, 1975, 1972, 1970, 1961, 1940, 1939, 1919

NL Championship Series Appearances (8) [1969-2005]
1995, 1990, 1979, 1976, 1975, 1973, 1972, 1970

NL West Titles (7) [1969-93]
1990, 1979, 1976, 1975, 1973, 1972, 1970

NL Central Titles (1) [1995-2005]
1995

NL Wild Cards (0) [1995-2005]

*Several Chicago White Sox players were later banned from baseball for life for conspiring with professional gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds.


Cleveland Indians (1903) (103)
[aka Cleveland Naps 1903-14]

World Series Championships (2)
1948, 1920

AL Pennants (5)
1997, 1995, 1954, 1948, 1920

AL Championship Series Appearances (3) [1969-2005]
1998, 1997, 1995

AL East Titles (0) [1969-93]

AL Central Titles (6) [1995-2005]
2001, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995

AL Wild Cards (0) [1995-2005]


Detroit Tigers (1903) (103)

World Series Championships (4)
1984, 1968, 1945, 1935

AL Pennants (9)
1984, 1968, 1945, 1940, 1935, 1934, 1909, 1908, 1907

AL Championship Series Appearances (3) [1969-2005]
1987, 1984, 1972

AL East Titles (3) [1969-1997]
1987, 1984, 1972

AL Central Titles (0) [1998-2005]

AL Wild Cards (0) [1995-2005]


New York Yankees (1903) (103)
[aka New York Highlanders 1903-12]

World Series Championships (26)
2000, 1999, 1998, 1996, 1978, 1977, 1962, 1961, 1958, 1956, 1953, 1952, 1951, 1950, 1949, 1947, 1943, 1941, 1939, 1938, 1937, 1936, 1932, 1928, 1927, 1923

AL Pennants (39)
2003, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1996, 1981, 1978, 1977, 1976, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961, 1960, 1958, 1957, 1956, 1955, 1953, 1952, 1951, 1950, 1949, 1947, 1943, 1942, 1941, 1939, 1938, 1937, 1936, 1932, 1928, 1927, 1926, 1923, 1922, 1921

AL Championship Series Appearances (12) [1969-2005]
2004, 2003, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1996, 1981, 1980, 1978, 1977, 1976

AL East Titles (14) [1969-2005]
2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1996, 1981-a*, 1980, 1978, 1977, 1976

AL Wild Cards (2) [1995-2005]
1997, 1995

*Due to a players' strike in the middle of the 1981 season, Division Titles were awarded for both the first half (pre-strike) and second half (post-strike) of the season. The two teams from each division having won a half-season title then played a Divisional Series for the right to advance to the League Championship Series.


Philadelphia Phillies (1903) (103)
[aka Philadelphia Blue Jays 1943-44]

World Series Championships (1)
1980

NL Pennants (5)
1993, 1983, 1980, 1950, 1915

NL Championship Series Appearances (6) [1969-2005]
1993, 1983, 1980, 1978, 1977, 1976

NL East Titles (7) [1969-2005]
1993, 1983, 1981-a*, 1980, 1978, 1977, 1976

NL Wild Cards (0) [1995-2005]

*Due to a players' strike in the middle of the 1981 season, Division Titles were awarded for both the first half (pre-strike) and second half (post-strike) of the season. The two teams from each division having won a half-season title then played a Divisional Series for the right to advance to the League Championship Series.


Pittsburgh Pirates (1903) (103)

World Series Championships (5)
1979, 1971, 1960, 1925, 1909

NL Pennants (7)
1979, 1971, 1960, 1927, 1925, 1909, 1903

NL Championship Series Appearances (9) [1969-2005]
1992, 1991, 1990, 1979, 1975, 1974, 1972, 1971, 1970

NL East Titles (9) [1969-93]
1992, 1991, 1990, 1979, 1975, 1974, 1972, 1971, 1970

NL Central Titles (0) [1995-2005]

NL Wild Cards (0) [1995-2005]


St. Louis Cardinals (1903) (103)

World Series Championships (9)
1982, 1967, 1964, 1946, 1944, 1942, 1934, 1931, 1926

NL Pennants (16)
2004, 1987, 1985, 1982, 1968, 1967, 1964, 1946, 1944, 1943, 1942, 1934, 1931, 1930, 1928, 1926

NL Championship Series Appearances (8) [1969-2005]
2005, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1996, 1987, 1985, 1982

NL East Titles (3) [1969-93]
1987, 1985, 1982

NL Central Titles (5) [1995-2005]
2005, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1996

NL Wild Cards (1) [1995-2005]
2001


Baltimore Orioles (1954) (52)

World Series Championships (3)
1983, 1970, 1966

AL Pennants (6)
1983, 1979, 1971, 1970, 1969, 1966

AL Championship Series Appearances (9) [1969-2005]
1997, 1996, 1983, 1979, 1974, 1973, 1971, 1970, 1969

AL East Titles (8) [1969-2005]
1997, 1983, 1979, 1974, 1973, 1971, 1970, 1969

AL Wild Cards (1) [1995-2005]
1996

[St. Louis Browns (1903-53) (51): 0-WS, 1-AL]


Los Angeles Dodgers (1958) (48)

World Series Championships (5)
1988, 1981, 1965, 1963, 1959

NL Pennants (9)
1988, 1981, 1978, 1977, 1974, 1966, 1965, 1963, 1959

NL Championship Series Appearances (7) [1969-2005]
1988, 1985, 1983, 1981, 1978, 1977, 1974

NL West Titles (9) [1969-2005]
2004, 1995, 1988, 1985, 1983, 1981-a**, 1978, 1977, 1974

NL Wild Cards (1) [1995-2005]
1996

[Brooklyn Dodgers* (1903-57) (55): 1-WS, 9-NL]
[*aka Brooklyn Superbas 1903-10, 1913; Brooklyn Robins 1914-31]

**Due to a players' strike in the middle of the 1981 season, Division Titles were awarded for both the first half (pre-strike) and second half (post-strike) of the season. The two teams from each division having won a half-season title then played a Divisional Series for the right to advance to the League Championship Series.


San Francisco Giants (1958) (48)

World Series Championships (0)

NL Pennants (3)
2002, 1989, 1962

NL Championship Series Appearances (4) [1969-2005]
2002, 1989, 1987, 1971

NL West Titles (6) [1969-2005]
2003, 2000, 1997, 1989, 1987, 1971

NL Wild Cards (1) [1995-2005]
2002

[New York Giants (1903-57) (55): 5-WS, 15-NL*]

*No World Series was played in 1904. Boston Pilgrims won AL Title, NY Giants won NL Title.


Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (1961) (45)
[aka Los Angeles Angels 1961-64]
[aka California Angels 1965-96]
[aka Anaheim Angels 1997-2004]

World Series Championships (1)
2002

AL Pennants (1)
2002

AL Championship Series Appearances (5) [1969-2005]
2005, 2002, 1986, 1982, 1979

AL West Titles (5) [1969-2005]
2005, 2004, 1986, 1982, 1979

AL Wild Cards (1) [1995-2005]
2002


Minnesota Twins (1961) (45)

World Series Championships (2)
1991, 1987

AL Pennants (3)
1991, 1987, 1965

AL Championship Series Appearances (5) [1969-2005]
2002, 1991, 1987, 1970, 1969

AL West Titles (4) [1969-93]
1991, 1987, 1970, 1969

AL Central Titles (3) [1995-2005]
2004, 2003, 2002

AL Wild Cards (0) [1995-2005]

[Washington Senators* (1903-60): 1-WS, 3-AL]
[*aka Washington Nationals 1905-55]


Houston Astros (1962) (44)
[aka Houston Colt .45's 1962-64]

World Series Championships (0)

NL Pennants (1)
2005

NL Championship Series Appearances (4) [1969-2005]
2005, 2004, 1986, 1980

NL West Titles (3) [1969-93]
1986, 1981-b*, 1980

NL Central Titles (4) [1995-2005]
2001, 1999, 1998, 1997

NL Wild Cards (2) [1995-2005]
2005, 2004

*Due to a players' strike in the middle of the 1981 season, Division Titles were awarded for both the first half (pre-strike) and second half (post-strike) of the season. The two teams from each division having won a half-season title then played a Divisional Series for the right to advance to the League Championship Series.


New York Mets (1962) (44)

World Series Championships (2)
1986, 1969

NL Pennants (4)
2000, 1986, 1973, 1969

NL Championship Series Appearances (6) [1969-2005]
2000, 1999, 1988, 1986, 1973, 1969

NL East Titles (4) [1969-2005]
1988, 1986, 1973, 1969

NL Wild Cards (2) [1995-2005]
2000, 1999


Atlanta Braves (1966) (40)

World Series Championships (1)
1995

NL Pennants (5)
1999, 1996, 1995, 1992, 1991

NL Championship Series Appearances (11) [1969-2005]
2001, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1982, 1969

NL West Titles (5) [1969-93]
1993, 1992, 1991, 1982, 1969

NL East Titles (11) [1995-2005]
2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995

NL Wild Cards (0) [1995-2005]

[Milwaukee Braves (1953-65) (13): 1-WS, 2-NL]
[Boston Braves* (1903-52) (50): 1-WS, 2-NL]
[*aka Boston Beaneaters 1903-06; Boston Doves 1907-10; Boston Rustlers 1911; Boston Bees 1936-40]

Oakland Athletics (1968) (38)

World Series Championships (4)
1989, 1974, 1973, 1972

AL Pennants (6)
1990, 1989, 1988, 1974, 1973, 1972

AL Championship Series Appearances (10) [1969-2005]
1992, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1981, 1975, 1974, 1973, 1972, 1971

AL West Titles (13) [1969-2005]
2003, 2002, 2000, 1992, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1981-a*, 1975, 1974, 1973, 1972, 1971

AL Wild Cards (1) [1995-2005]
2001

[Kansas City Athletics (1955-67) (13): 0-WS, 0-AL]
[Philadelphia Athletics (1903-54) (52): 5-WS, 8-AL]

*Due to a players' strike in the middle of the 1981 season, Division Titles were awarded for both the first half (pre-strike) and second half (post-strike) of the season. The two teams from each division having won a half-season title then played a Divisional Series for the right to advance to the League Championship Series.


Kansas City Royals (1969) (37)

World Series Championships (1)
1985

AL Pennants (2)
1985, 1980

AL Championship Series Appearances (6)
1985, 1984, 1980, 1978, 1977, 1976

AL West Titles (7) [1969-93]
1985, 1984, 1981-b*, 1980, 1978, 1977, 1976

AL Central Titles (0) [1995-2005]

AL Wild Cards (0) [1995-2005]

*Due to a players' strike in the middle of the 1981 season, Division Titles were awarded for both the first half (pre-strike) and second half (post-strike) of the season. The two teams from each division having won a half-season title then played a Divisional Series for the right to advance to the League Championship Series.


San Diego Padres (1969) (37)

World Series Championships (0)

NL Pennants (2)
1998, 1984

NL Championship Series Appearances (2)
1998, 1984

NL West Titles (4)
2005, 1998, 1996, 1984

NL Wild Cards (0) [1995-2005]


Milwaukee Brewers (1970) (36)

World Series Championships (0)

AL Pennants (1) [1970-97]
1982

NL Pennants (0) [1998-2005]

AL Championship Series Appearances (1) [1970-97]
1982

NL Championship Series Appearances (0) [1998-2005]

AL West Titles (0) [1970-71]

AL East Titles (2) [1972-93]
1982, 1981-b*

AL Central Titles (0) [1995-97]

NL Central Titles (0) [1998-2005]

AL Wild Cards (0) [1995-97]

NL Wild Cards (0) [1998-2005]

[Seattle Pilots (1969) (1): 0-WS, 0-AL, 0-ALW]

*Due to a players' strike in the middle of the 1981 season, Division Titles were awarded for both the first half (pre-strike) and second half (post-strike) of the season. The two teams from each division having won a half-season title then played a Divisional Series for the right to advance to the League Championship Series.


Texas Rangers (1972) (34)

World Series Championships (0)

AL Pennants (0)

AL Championship Series Appearances (0)

AL West Titles (3)
1999, 1998, 1996

AL Wild Cards (0) [1995-2005]

[Washington Senators (1961-71) (11): 0-WS, 0-AL, 0-ALE]


Seattle Mariners (1977) (29)

World Series Championships (0)

AL Pennants (0)

AL Championship Series Appearances (3)
2001, 2000, 1995

AL West Titles (3)
2001, 1997, 1995

AL Wild Cards (1) [1995-2005]
2000


Toronto Blue Jays (1977) (29)

World Series Championships (2)
1993, 1992

AL Pennants (2)
1993, 1992

AL Championship Series Appearances (5)
1993, 1992, 1991, 1989, 1985

AL East Titles (5)
1993, 1992, 1991, 1989, 1985

AL Wild Cards (0) [1995-2005]


Colorado Rockies (1993) (13)

World Series Championships (0)

NL Pennants (0)

NL Championship Series Appearances (0)

NL West Titles (0)

NL Wild Cards (1) [1995-2005]
1995


Florida Marlins (1993) (13)

World Series Championships (2)
2003, 1997

NL Pennants (2)
2003, 1997

NL Championship Series Appearances (2)
2003, 1997

NL East Titles (0)

NL Wild Cards (2) [1995-2005]
2003, 1997


Arizona Diamondbacks (1998) (8)

World Series Championships (1)
2001

NL Pennants (1)
2001

NL Championship Series Appearances (1)
2001

NL West Titles (3)
2002, 2001, 1999

NL Wild Cards (0)


Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998) (8)

World Series Championships (0)

AL Pennants (0)

AL Championship Series Appearances (0)

AL East Titles (0)

AL Wild Cards (0)


Washington Nationals (2005) (1)

World Series Championships (0)

NL Pennants (0)

NL Championship Series Appearances (0)

NL East Titles (0)

NL Wild Cards (0)

[Montreal Expos (1969-2004) (36): 0-WS, 0-NL, 1-NLCS, 1-NLE*, 0-NLWC]

*Due to a players' strike in the middle of the 1981 season, Division Titles were awarded for both the first half (pre-strike) and second half (post-strike) of the season. The two teams from each division having won a half-season title then played a Divisional Series for the right to advance to the League Championship Series.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Morale Boost

Just when President Bush's selection of Harriet Miers to the SCOTUS made me wonder why I voted for him in 2004, I get this reminder:

I came here today because I believe that American democracy is in grave danger. It is no longer possible to ignore the strangeness of our public discourse . I know that I am not the only one who feels that something has gone basically and badly wrong in the way America's fabled "marketplace of ideas" now functions.

How many of you, I wonder, have heard a friend or a family member in the last few years remark that it's almost as if America has entered "an alternate universe"?


The author of this gem is none other than the elected, not selected, winner of the 2000 Presidential election - Al Gore! And as I read more of Gore's speech, I realized that there *is* a difference between the two parties - even if I become disenchanted with the Republicans. Gore's rant, combined with the revelations of Louis Freeh about his relationship with Bill Clinton when Freeh was the FBI director, makes me realize that things could be worse.

But why can't they be better? Am I asking too much?

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

All Apologies...

From the home office in Crawford, Texas...

TOP TEN REASONS FOR RECENT LACK OF UPDATES AT THE RIGHT PLACE:

10) Mr. Right recently discovered the existence of free porn on the Internet, felt the need to conduct an in-depth study.

9) Stephen Johnson couldn't turn down an offer to play a round of golf... on the moon!

8) Mr. Right spent the last several days in the lotus position, focusing his chakra.

7) Stephen Johnson kept typing dozens of long, detailed posts consisting entirely of the words, "All work and no play makes Steve a dull boy..." and then deleting them.

6) Mr. Right was busy proving he could find his ass with both hands, took him awhile.

5) Stephen Johnson spending too much time preparing for his upcoming guest appearance as a sexy cabana boy on Desperate Housewives.

4) Mr. Right summoned to Karl Rove's volcano island lair in the Bahamas for semi-annual brainwash.

3) Stephen Johnson was too busy pursuing hobby of attacking street mimes with a weed-whacker.

2) Far too many fan e-mails to read, no time left to blog!

and the number one reason for the recent lack of updates at the Right Place...

1) We have lives away from our computers, damnit!

******************************

Thanks for the link!

Bruce the Human Pet at The Conservative Cat

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Lame Duck?

Harriet Miers is probably a fine person, but I'm really disappointed that President Bush chose her for the open Associate Justice position on the Supreme Court. From her lack of a paper trail, it is obvious that Miers was chosen to avoid a fight with the Senate Democrats. This can only be viewed by them as weakness on the part of Bush. Is the Bush administration officially a lame duck? One hopes not, but an administration that doesn't seem to want to fight it's opponents is not likely to get anything done.