THANK YOU PK14

This is more of an open letter/thank you note to the one and only Paul Konerko, the captain of my White Sox then a regular blog post. If you know anything about me, I'm a diehard White Sox fan, have been all of my life, and will die a White Sox fan. Paul Konerko came to my White Sox in a trade for Mike Cameron from the Cincinnati Reds in late 1998, and since then, in the 16 years, he has been a symbol of continuity on the South Side. He has made so many memories that are etched into my mind forever here on the South Side, so many that will live on forever in the hearts of White Sox fans everywhere. He is the last remaining player from the 2005 World Series team, and he has been nothing short of a leader for this team, especially when Frank Thomas was let go by the White Sox after 2005, in the intervening 9 years, Konerko has been the face of the franchise. I wish I could go back and remember the first couple of years, but time has passed, and so has the first couple of years, but there are the unknown things that he did for this city that will stay forever. In 2002, when Milwaukee hosted the All Star Game, he was in the Home Run Derby, yes it wasn't technically an event that mattered, but we didn't have one in our own ballpark the next year. Then in 2003, when he was in a down year, he was the consumate professional, never causing a fuss, never making a stink about his lack of production. Then in 2005, the first number one memory of mine of him in a White Sox uniform, I take you back to Game 2 of the World Series, in the 7th inning, with the bases loaded and the White Sox losing, he hits a grand slam to take the lead. This doesn't even need explanation, the grand slam to take the lead and make it 6-4 in the 7th, in the White Sox first World Series appearance since 1959, and eventually first World Series title since 1917.

At the time, I was seriously ill, and this helped to lift my spirits, like no other experience could have without question. Thank You Paulie, thank you for all that you did to help this team win the World Series, and lead this team as a consumate professional. Another great memory for me, that is quite underrated because it wasn't in an actual game, but at the Championship parade days later, he presented the final out ball to Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the White Sox and Bulls. For those of you who don't know Jerry Reinsdorf in his 30+ years of owning the teams has brought 6 NBA Championships, and one World Series Title to Chicago, he's a legend. Before 2005, Jerry Reinsdorf always said that he'd trade all of the NBA Championships for just one World Series, which Chicago hadn't seen in 88 years prior to 2005. As the first baseman for the White Sox, Paulie caught the final out, on a throw from Juan Uribe, and the question was, where is the final out ball? Well at the Championship parade days later, that question was finally answered.

Some may say that Paulie should've kept the ball, but thats not the point, the point is that he presented the ball to someone who loves this sport almost as much as he did. In just an example of how much Paulie meant to this team, this city, Paulie's number was retired last night, and despite Reinsdorf announcing that there would be a statue in the future, it was unveiled last night.

I could go on and on about Paulie, someone should, because ESPN is basically ignoring him, due to Jetuh retiring, but his contributions to the game, and to the White Sox could not be done justice by my own words alone. This year, when the White Sox brought Paulie back for one final year, they signed Cuban First Baseman Jose Abreu, and as soon as the two signings were announced I knew what Paulie's real role would be, mentor.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/buster-olney/post/_/id/7825/my-first-season-in-the-major-leagues

Jose Abreu wrote this as a guest blogger for Buster Olney, and he explains how Paulie has helped him adjust to life in MLB, who better to show him the way then a consumate professional? Paulie, since 2006, you were the captain, but in our hearts as White Sox fans, you will be one of the greats, even though you'll likely not make Cooperstown. Your numbers were never flashy, your highlights never endlessly replayed on sportscenter, but you, you were the man, you were our captain, thank you for all that you have done in a White Sox uniform. Thank you for being the example of hard work and never giving up, for leading our team through the rough years that have followed the 3 playoff appearances for our White Sox in your 16 years here. And for you, I say simply unto you....

Thank you Paulie, thank you for all that you have done, and I wish you the best of luck in the future, OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN.

MY 2014 NFL MOCK DRAFT

Here it is, my second annual mock draft, I was pretty far off on my picks last year but what can you do? My picks, unbiasedly of course, are the correct ones that teams should make or the ones that everyone knows that they really need to make.

1. Houston Texans- DE Jadaveon Clowney, South Carolina. This team is in desperate need of a quarterback, but this guy's too good to pass up, especially with the lack of first round talent at the quarterback position.

2. St Louis Rams (From Washington)- OT Greg Robinson, Auburn, even though they desperately need wide receivers and a real quarterback, they will go with Robinson

3. Jacksonville Jaguars- OLB/DE Khalil Mack, Buffalo. Three top teams that desperately need quarterbacks, but will not take them, Mack is too good of a fit in Bradley's system that he wants to run

4. Cleveland Browns- QB Johnny Manziel, Texas A & M. more of a marriage of need then skill, he doesn't have the size or the skill

5. Oakland Raiders- Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson. One of the Raiders favorite type of players, big strong and fast. Could see Mack here if Jacksonville takes Watkins, who's going to throw him the ball in either place is a mystery to me.

6. Atlanta Falcons- Jake Matthews, Texas A & M, OT.

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- WR Mike Evans, Texas A & M

8. Minnesota Vikings- QB Blake Bortles, Central Florida- hope they're ready for another quarterback bust after 2 years of Ponder

9. Buffalo Bills- OT Taylor Lewan Michigan, this is a pick that I really wasn't sure about with where to go, so I went to the mock drafts and took the most often selected player.

10. Detroit Lions- TE Eric Ebron North Carolina, with Calvin Johnson on the outside they can use a reliable tight end, other places I could see them going is either corner or safety

11. Tennessee Titans- CB Justin Gilbert Oklahoma State, a good cover corner after the loss of Alterraun Verner

12. New York Giants- DT Aaron Donald Pittsburgh, would've loved to see him in a Bears uniform but I highly doubt he'll be there at 14.

13. St Louis Rams- WR Odell Beckham Jr LSU, not a fan of him, especially compared to the rest of their receivers, who are all small receivers instead of big receivers but he's serviceable

14. Chicago Bears- S Calvin Pryor, Louisville. The Bears need help at corner, safety, and defensive tackle, based on who's gone already I have to go with Pryor over the injury prone HaHa Clinton Dix

15. Pittsburgh Steelers- CB Kyle Fuller, Virginia Tech, another pick where I'm not sure where they might go, but makes sense based on available players

16. Dallas Cowboys- OT Zach Martin, Notre Dame, solid starter who can make plays on the line

17. Baltimore Ravens- I really haven't got a clue where they may go here, possibly WR or a prime contender to trade down

18. New York Jets- WR Brandon Cooks Oregon State, they need to put receivers out there for Geno Smith/Mike Vick

19. Miami Dolphins- ILB CJ Moseley Alabama

20. Arizona Cardinals- QB Derek Carr, Fresno State, its a good pick for a team with a 35 year old quarterback where he can learn behind him for a year, but I'm not sold on him overall

21. Green Bay Packers- OLB Ryan Shazier Ohio State, fits into their scheme

22. Philadelphia Eagles- Kelvin Benjamin Florida State, solid receiver to replace DeSean Jackson

23. Kansas City Chiefs- WR Marqise Lee USC

24. Cincinnati Bengals- CB Darqueze Denard Michigan State, if he drops this far, barring someone trading up this will be the quickest pick of the first round

25. San Diego Chargers- OLB Anthony Barr UCLA

26. Cleveland Browns- This pick I have no clue on, they could go a lot of ways, it all depends on what they do with #4 and the rest of the draft

Past these I have no clue but here are some guys who could go:

Ra'shede Hageman- DT from Minnesota
Teddy Bridgewater- QB from Louisville, could be this year's Geno Smith, drops out of first round but early 2nd
HaHa Clinton Dix- S from Alabama, I have major injury concerns over him

The start of a pair of blogs over the question of DH vs no DH

Hello Again,

So I know, I haven't been blogging in quite a while, I've been busy with personal and medical issues, but now its time to restart my blog. For the longest time, I have been a bigger fan of the American League, and their logical use of the Designated Hitter instead of the unnecessary use of pitchers as batters. My reasoning behind this is simple, too many pitchers when they go up to bat don't even take the bat off of their shoulders, so they're automatic outs, why keep this up? Even the ones that hit don't really go all out to try to get on base, see Jason Hammel of the Chicago Cubs earlier this season in a game that I was in attendance for against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was early in the game, I can't remember which inning, but it was quite early, he hits a weak grounder back to the pitcher and didn't even bother to leave the batters box. Yes I know, the ground-ball to the pitcher is a routine out, but with all of the bad defensive play across the board you can at least start down the baseline to put some pressure on the pitcher to make a good throw. This is just plain laziness, too lazy to even walk out of the batters box, I get it his job is to pitch not to hit and run, but that explains why pitchers shouldn't be batting. The average Designated Hitter in the American League is an older player, who is on his last legs, can't really play defense but can still make valuable contributions with his bat. Prime examples of this are David Ortiz and Adam Dunn, guys who are defensive liabilities to say the least, but can still contribute by driving in runs. With how powerful the MLBPA is and how much sense this would make, I wonder why they haven't attempted to force the National League to drop the pitchers batting rule and adopt the Designated Hitter. Many players' careers would be extended by having more teams able to use a designated hitter, and teams' younger players could be called up and play earlier in their places in the field. This makes too much sense for the MLBPA to not force the NL to adopt the DH, they want players to have longer careers, and they have the influence in order to make this happen, even through collective bargaining. At the very least the American League should not have to have pitchers bat who don't at any other time during the year other then during interleague games, just so they can risk injury doing things they're not used to doing.