Q. Why has Minnesota given the White Sox so much trouble over the last several years?
A. In a word, pitching. The Twins have had the Sox’s number, especially at the Metrodome. With Wednesday night’s victory, the Twins evened the season series 9-9. The Sox were hitting .249 with a 3.99 ERA against the Twins before Wednesday, yet Minnesota had outscored them 75-71. The Sox trail in the all-time series 335-302, and are 241-255 since 1969, going 134-117 at home and 107-138 in Minnesota, 65-81 at the Metrodome.
Q. The first-place Twins drew a bit more than 32,000 for Tuesday night’s game against the White Sox. Wouldn’t you think they would attract more fans for the biggest series of the regular season?
A. The Twins’ marketing department revisited 1987 and handed out “Homer Hankies” to try to encourage more fans to come out to the noisy Metrodome. Minnesota drew 1,675,890 fans for its first 73 home dates. Meanwhile, Friday night’s White Sox game against the Kansas City Royals to open the final homestand of the season at U.S. Cellular Field has been sold out. The Sox’s 2003 attendance has exceeded 1.9 million and should be eighth highest in franchise history.
Q. Kerry Wood, Mark Prior and Carlos Zambrano have been terrific for the Cubs this season. Is there any danger that these young pitchers are being overworked?
A. I don’t think so. Each one will wind up with just more than 200 innings pitched this season. As a point of reference, Cubs Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins pitched 300 innings or more five times during his career.
Q. Why are Bears fans so surprised at the team’s 0-2 start? Their 13-3 record in 2001 was a mirage.
A. Speaking of the Mirage, the MGM Mirage in Las Vegas set its official odds for the 2003 NFL conference championships and Super Bowl XXXVIII with unfavorable impressions of the Bears. The Bears were listed as 20-to-1 to win the NFC North and 50-to-1 long shots to win the Super Bowl.
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E-mail: AskFred@tribune.com
