Last night, it was just another game for the Chicago White Sox.  Another game they had to win to crawl closer to .500 to try and stay in contention in the AL Central.  To their opponents, the Pittsburgh Pirates, last night was so much more.  It was the beginning of the Pedro Alvarez era.

I was forced to watch the game on Fox Sports Pittsburgh, so I got a whole different perspective than you who got to watch Hawk and Stone Pony.  A whole different perspective.  Hawk, on his worst day, couldn't rival what I got to watch and hear last night.

They opened their coverage with Pedro's press conference.  Now, not to be a cynic (okay, guilty) but why do you let your new kid, no matter how good he is hyped to be, have a press conference before he's even played an out in a major league game?  Why don't you let him ease into it and let him play a game, THEN answer questions.  The answer?  Marketing.  If the Pirates get his face on the 5pm news, maybe they improve their walk-up business for the historic occasion.

The kid's performance at the news conference was straight out of Bull Durham.  Kudos to Scott Boras for coaching the kid to say exactly the right thing.  "I'm here to help the ballclub.  The journey starts tonight.  I have a great responsibility." Somewhere, Crash Davis is smiling.

After the open, there is video of Pedro walking up the tunnel to the field and Pedro warming up.  The two announcers, Tim Neverette (who sounds like a hot mix of Gary Thorne and Skip Carey) and Bob Walk were drooling from the get go.  By the time Alvarez came to the plate in the first inning, you thought one of them would have to excuse himself to either change jockey shorts or relieve the pressure in his groin area.  Alvarez whiffed in his first at bat by the way.

And so it went on and on, just like I figured. "Pedro now walks to the plate.  Have you ever seen anyone walk to the plate like that?"  "Oh, Pedro struck out again, but he only missed it be a couple of inches and he'll be making contact any at bat now."  Zoikes.
Even when Alvarez made an error in the ninth on a ball he should have made a play on.  There were also the gratuitous shots of the Alvarez family, at one point all but dad getting psyched out on a medium depth flyout to left field. Meanwhile in the booth, Neverette again was near orgasm gushing how Pedro hit that one square and fans could soon expect those fly balls to leave the yard.

As for me, I put up with the fawning and drooling to watch the Sox win 7-2.  It was well worth it being occasionally annoyed.  The truth is, the Pirates have little to play for and to them, Pedro represents the hope of the future.  The Pirates have a nice, young team which could possibly blossom into the Devil Rays.  It will take time, patience and much better pitching, but it is possible.  But for now, I'm grateful the White Sox get to use them as a punching bag.

As for Pedro, I'm sure he'll be a really good player.  I hope he waits until Friday to get started.