Monday, April 30, 2007

are Sox & Mets soul mates?

Are the Chicago White Sox and the New York Mets soul mates?

Seems to me they have quite a bit in common. Chicago and New York are the only cities with two MLB teams playing within city limits. Both are dominated by cross town rivals. The Cub mystique, Wrigley Field, and the power of the North Side tend to overpower the White Sox. Yankee success, tradition, $$$$, and dominance keep the Mets solidly as second best in NYC.

The way I see it, the Sox may have the toughest of all hauls in two team markets:

YANKEES/METS: As I said, lots of Cub/Sox parralels here. And some things different: if the Mets had the record the Sox have today, New York would be tuning in big time compared to Chicago's pathetic show of support for the Sox. In Chicago, it would take a WS appearance by the Sox to spike interest and attendance for the 2006 season.

DODGERS/ANGELS: Dodgers squandered what should have been a Yankee or Cub type of dominance in LA. With Angel success, they are having no problem packing them in in Anaheim, while the Dodgers have been on the road to nowhere for years, their glory years long before them.

GIANTS/ATHLETICS: Bay Area wise, the Giants dominant the A's as much or more so than the Chicago counterpart of Cubs over Sox. The difference? Much of the dominance comes from San Francisco's built in advantages over Oakland. Add to that the glory of the Giants name (from years in NY) and an outstanding new ball park, the Giants are the area's top draw by far. When it comes to talk of leaving town, only the A's are discussed. Big difference in Bay Area vs. Chicago: it is far more acceptable to like the Giants and the A's than it is to like the Cubs and Sox

ORIOLES/NATIONALS: Too soon to tell how this one is going to go. DC was dying for a franchise and is supporting it well. The O's have the tradition of success on the field since the Browns moved to Baltimore and Camden Yards is a plus. WIll be interesting to see how new DC will change dynamics. Meanwhile, with two cities that are their own entity far more than SF and Oak, this may not play out on the two team market issue the same way the others do.

If I were to summarize, I'd say the White Sox may have the most difficult time with a two team market: geographically, they share one city and have yet been able to prove that they can capture its attention and its support. I think the franchise is more than viable, due to the huge Chicago market; but when it comes to comparison in its own community, nobody suffers to the degree the Sox do.>

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