Maybe we haven't talked about this enough. How crazy is it that Scott Podsednik is back on the White Sox? Without overtly demeaning the man's accomplishments, it's both uplifting and sort of hilarious at the same time. It proves that you can be really bad at something for a long time, but that if you work hard enough, and enough people above you get injured, you can get a second chance at your dream. Inspiring stuff, really.
Podsednik's career is basically over. It has been for some time now. But you can't blame the guy for making the most of his return to the big leagues, can you? That's why we're sort of charmed by his and Josh Fields' polite interactions over what can occasionally be a contentious topic in major league clubhouses: who gets what number. Instead of bickering about it, it seems Podsednik and Fields are nearing a deal where Podsednik would get his old No. 22 back, and Fields would adopt No. 7, the number of fellow Oklahoma native Mickey Mantle.
From ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine:
"Scott has talked to me about taking another number," Fields said. "We haven't finished our negotiations yet, but I'm willing to do something for him." When I talked to Podsednik about the deal, he said that Fields was being very nice about it, and that he had to find some way of compensating him. Podsednik told me he would either take care of Fields or find something nice to get for Fields' wife.
See how easy that is? If only Scott Boras and the White Sox front office could get along so well ... the team wouldn't be shutting off access to a huge group of talent ballplayers every offseason? Right. That. Anyway, peace in the Sox clubhouse, and good will to all men for as long as Podsednik can hit above .260. Let's see how long that lasts.
Eamonn Brennan is a Chicago-based writer, editor and blogger. You can also read him at Yahoo! Sports, Mouthpiece Sports Blog, and Inside The Hall, or at his personal site, eamonnbrennan.com. Follow him on Twitter.
