Cubs, Sox Fool With Our Emotions

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Apr 1, 2008 12:46PM

It's only one day into the season, and already we've ridden a rollercoaster of emotions -- no matter which of Chicago's baseball teams we pledge our allegiance to. The Cubs and White Sox both opened up their 2008 seasons on Monday, and both teams rallied late before coming up short.

The White Sox opened up against the Cleveland Indians on the road, with Mark Buehrle facing off against C.C. Sabathia -- who has owned the Sox. When Buehrle allowed seven runs and didn't even finish the second inning, the Sox looked like they were done for. A pair of home runs by Jim Thome helped the Sox overcome a five-run deficit and tie the game at seven in the seventh. However, a base clearing double in the eighth inning off the bat of Casey Blake was more then the Sox could overcome -- not that they didn't try. A ninth inning homer by Jermaine Dye and a walk to A.J. Pierzynski brought the tying run to the plate before Cleveland closed out the 10-8 win over the Sox.

Back here in Chicago, the Cubs unveiled the new Ernie Banks statue before taking the field against the Milwaukee Brewers at the soggy confines. Kosuke Fukudome made Cubs GM Jim Hendry look like a genius on Monday, as the Japanese league star he signed as a free agent hit a double on the first major league pitch he saw, and then slugged a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game after the Brewers opened up a 3-0 lead in the top of the frame. But the Cubs ultimately failed in the tenth inning, losing 4-3.

So what can we learn from these first games? Are we all in for long seasons of heart break, or are we optimistic about the fight in our clubs? Chicagoist likes what we see so far... but ask us again on Wednesday.

Photo by tenioman