Defining moments! Do you believe in them? You know those ephemeral points in time when you sense everything is going to go a certain way. I don't know if I believe in any of that but I tell you there were two defining moments when I knew everything was going to go the White Sox way.

The first defining moment was during Game 2 of the ALCS when the White Sox were playing the Angels and we all thought this was going to be an exciting series for the American League pennant. It was a bad call; All the replays made that clear. But there it was: Three strikes, two outs, bottom of the ninth. Game over! Angels are up 2-0 as they head for three away games in Chicago. Not so fast! A.J. Pierzynski takes a step to the dugout, changes his mind and runs off to first base. A pinch runner comes in, steals second base and wins the game on a double. What just happened? A defining moment! Everything would be different after that! Your gut tells you something has gone terribly wrong --or terrifically right if you are a White Sox fan! The White Sox won the next three games and the AL Championship. There was nothing to do except to talk about the need for video replays for controversial Baseball calls (A controversial subject itself) dig in a little more into what makes the White Sox such a great team, watch the NLCS games pretending detached interest to see whether the Cardinals or the Astros would play in the 2005 October Classic and of course, wonder about that defining moment.

The second defining moment happened during Game 2 of the World Series. Chicago was trailing 4-2 in the seventh and the Astros had a real chance to even the series and give us baseball fans a chance to see two underdog teams battle it out for the World Series Trophy. Wait it a minute! Jermaine Dye just got hit and is getting a free pass to first base? I have that gut feeling again! The bases are loaded, Paul Konerko hits a grand slam, the White Sox end up winning the game 7-6 and winning the next two games, sweeping the Astros into baseball history!

Maybe there were defining moments when the "momentum" obviously changed. Or maybe, there were defining facts! The fact that the White Sox's starting pitchers Mark Buerhle, Jon Garland, Freddy Garcia and Jose Contreras pitched complete games during the last four games against the Angels. The fact that Paul Konerko hit home runs when they were most needed, not just that grand slam against the Astros but also several against the Angels; a feat that made him the ALCS MVP. The fact that a reserve infielder, George Blum, came off the bench to hit a home run that won an epic Game 3 against the Astros. The fact that a young pitcher claimed on waivers, "the big guy" Bobby Jenks, moved up from the Minors to the MLB Playoffs to amaze us with his 100mph fastball and to wrap things up neatly with the final win against the Astros. The fact that Ozzie Guillen is a great manager because his priority is to have a team, not of the best baseball players but of the best team players. And the undeniable fact that Pierzynski and Dye had the desire and the presence of mind to turn dubious incidents into controversial calls that became defining moments.

Labels: baseball, sport