Three cheers for the White Sox.

Haven’t seen Eight Men Out. let us watch it on a day when Cubs lose to A(u)stros!

Yes, the season is on, and though hope always springs eternal, my expectations for an Astros return trip to the fall classic are… well, lukewarm.

ChiSox, on the other hand, are a beast of a team…then again, high expectations mean an insatiable (even unreasonable) appetite for success (just ask the perenially disappointed Yanks). Paulie & Co. will sparkle, no doubt. But the question is whether stouter bats (cf. Jim Thome) can make up for weakened defense (cf. the now-departed, now-Philly Aaron Rowand, who patrolled the gaps and alleys of nee Comiskey with gusto that would have made even Shoeless Joe proud…remember the midseason series with the Yankees last year?)

Anyway, that’s the glorious thing about opening day. Who knows what will happen, who will rise above expectations, who will disappoint? What team has brilliant bats and live arms just waiting in Triple A ball, waiting to make one of our current heroes into a modern-day Wally Pipp? What players will be traded, and spark a middling team to playoff glory? Will scandal mar the entire season, bringing back the days of Blackened integrity and forever tarnished reputation?

And who, ultimately, will husband the resources, the savvy, the skill, the determination, and yes, the luck (the residue of design, according to legendary Dodgers manager Branch Rickey), to fly the final flag of champion come October?

Hope lives, in every town, for every fan, that this might be the year. I can’t wait.

rk

p.s. Another great one for the Black Sox filmography is John Sayles’s terrific “Eight Men Out”.