By Soxman
Coming from a lower-middle working class family, I’m no stranger to having to wait in order to get something you really want. One October during my childhood, I remember feeling excitement as my mom took me to K-Mart and picked out a brand new bicycle. Man it was loaded. Mag rims, free wheel and made of alloy instead of metal, so it was very light. I got it off the rack and was even able to take it for a spin- about fifty feet past the blue light special icon. Then I was reminded how I wasn’t actually getting the bike now, we were putting it on layaway for next spring. Dreams of cruising past my jealous friends and being the coolest kid on the block would have to wait until after winter came and thawed.
This is what Jake Peavy’s long awaited White Sox debut against the Kansas City Royals is like for me, and probably for most Sox fans.
As Peavy himself admits that he’s not 100%, and still pitching in a game that has about as much meaning as that 50-foot spin down the aisle in Kmart, I’m excited. But like all Sox fans, is anyone really thrilled? It would have much more meaning if we were in the thick of a pennant race, or at the very least if we were seeing the true Jake Peavy.
As the winds of fall have the Sox playoff candle trickling out, I question what Peavy’s debut really means at this point. He could be awesome, he could get shelled. Worse, he could get hurt…AGAIN. If it does not get us anywhere, does it really matter?
I’m not the only one raising this question either. If you read behind Ozzie Guillen’s interview on Friday, he might feel the same way.
“We’ve been waiting for him for seven months,” said Guillen. “Hopefully, when I take this guy out or he takes himself out of the game, he’s healthy. That’s what I want.”
So what should Sox fans take from his start? Aside from getting a look at one of the anchors of the 2010 rotation, don’t expect much. Barring a horrific injury or another Williams blockbuster trade, we already know our starting rotation for next year:
Mark Buehrle
Jake Peavy
John Danks
Gavin Floyd
Freddy Garcia
So as the former Cy-Young award winning pitcher, with a career ERA of 3.29, and all the tools to be called ace takes the mound for the first time, enjoy the test drive. He’ll soon be put on layaway until the spring. Only then will we truly get to enjoy the ride.