Earlier today, Major League Baseball announced Rangers starter Yu Darvish earned the remaining American League All-Star Game roster spot determined via the Final Vote promotion, finishing ahead of White Sox P Jake Peavy, Orioles P Jason Hammel, Royals reliever Jonathan Broxton and Angels reliever Ernest Fieri. Chicago Sports Media Watch’s Paul M. Banks, perhaps having misplaced his supply of calm-the-fuck-down-pills, takes a dim view of the White Sox’s attempts to promote Peavy’s candidacy, in particular a tweet from teammate Addison Reed (“No matter what youre doing right now..get to a computer and lets get peavy in the all star game..NO EXCUSES!! #TakeJake”).
Yes, NO EXCUSES, forget work, having to pay your bills, or even donating money to the relief efforts in Japan, the country ravaged by an earthquake. Just like in 1942, the land of the rising sun will be vilified by Americans, at least when it comes to MLB All-Star voting, because the belief is that the entire nation will be rigging the online ballot box to get their favorite sons in. Reed is just reflecting the Twitter and Facebook sentiment of all Sox fans right now.
Many of them are going batshit right now trying to get Peavy in, whipped into a frenzy from the propaganda that starts at the very top with the White Sox own official Twitter and Facebook accounts. I’ve never really been one for mindless jingoism, whether it relates to your team or your country.
The Sox have already accomplished this, at least three times before with “grant me a Paulstar” (kind of creative, great season by a great player) Scott Podsednik (one of the worst All-Stars in Major League history) and “Punch A.J.” (very creative slogan, and it’s something pretty much every Major Leaguer wants to do).