Anaheim, Calif. – White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski is not even close to being the best player in the American League Championship Series.
He’s not even the best catcher in the ALCS. That distinction goes to the Angels’ Bengie Molina.
What Pierzynski is, is a not very cuddly 6-foot-3, 240-pound pest. He’s the Bill Laimbeer of baseball. He distracts opponents with his incessant chatter behind the plate. He’s a lightning rod for controversy, criticism and spite.
For that, his White Sox teammates are grateful, because he takes the heat and media attention off them.
It’s fitting, then, that it was Pierzynski who sprinted to first base on the controversial dropped third strike in Wednesday’s Game 2. During Friday night’s Game 3, two people were booed by Angels fans: umpire Doug Eddings, who missed the call, and Pierzynski, who did nothing more than hustle and make a heads-up play.
“Everybody boos A.J. wherever he goes,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “He loves that. I think he loves that because it pumps him up.”
Pierzynski even offends his teammates.
Last year, some of his former San Francisco Giants teammates called him a “cancer.” They were especially miffed he didn’t communicate or watch game tapes with them. During 2005 spring training, as a new member of the White Sox, he put a bounty on the head of Giants pitcher Brett Tomko. Pierzynski offered his new White Sox teammates $100 if they could hit a homer off Tomko, who reportedly was one of those who had ripped Pierzynski.
In a June 6, 2004, Giants-Rockies game at Coors Field, Pierzynski stuck his pad-protected elbow over the plate and let a 2-0 pitch hit him, earning him a free pass. Rockies pitcher Steve Reed became incensed and was ejected – for the first time in his 12-year career.
But whether you hate Pierzynski, or simply dislike him, he has been an asset for the White Sox. Team chemistry is a nebulous thing in sports; one never knows when a player is going to blow up in your face or help you win a World Series.
“There have been some players on teams in the past that I have played on, we’ve had some players on this team that in the past are not exactly the kind of players that everybody goes to the church picnic with, but you still win,” Astros manager Phil Garner said. “I go back to the old Oakland A’s (who won three straight titles from 1972-74). I want to say we had 14 fights within three or four years, among ourselves, not with the opposing team, in our own clubhouse, but we still won three World Series.”
Retro motion
Angels pitcher Paul Byrd, schedule to start Game 5 today, has a windup and delivery reminiscent of a pitcher out of the 1950s or 1960s. It’s not something he planned, but he said prayer changed the course of his motion and his career.
After undergoing shoulder surgery, Byrd’s career was in jeopardy. It was during the 2002 spring training with the Kansas City Royals that he experienced his revelation.
“Honestly, I hopped over the fence and onto the field and prayed about it,” he said Saturday. “I didn’t know if my career was going to be over.”
So he prayed, and then started working on a new delivery.
“I didn’t see any Warren Spahn video, that’s just the way it came about,” he said Saturday.
Byrd went on to win 17 games in 2002, including a league-best seven complete-game victories.
“I actually prefer a little bit of motion, a little bit of mechanics in my delivery,” he said. “Not only does it allow me to put a little bit more on the ball with less effort, but the hitters don’t like it.”
Good Sox omen
The White Sox haven’t won a World Series since 1917 and haven’t been to the big show since 1959, but their victory in Friday’s Game 3 bodes well for the SouthSiders. Since the ALCS moved to a best-of-seven format in 1985, the team holding a 2-1 lead has advanced to the World Series 12-of-16 times, including five of the past six years.
