It is really hard to watch the Indians in South Carolina, and when they are on WGN it is painful to watch because of the White Sox announcers.

I generally like the rest of the teams in the Central.  The Tigers went to the World Series very humbly last year, the Twins are entertaining, and you can't help but root for the Royals to have a winning year.

I'm oddly fond of most of the rest of the AL Central. I mean, I want them all to lose, but in the nicest way possible! But maybe it's just that I'm far enough to northwest Ohio that I just know too many Tigers fans, and I hang out with Twins fans too much on the internet, and hating the Royals is kind of like kicking a puppy.

Not to mention that 4 out of 6 years stretch in the late 90s. I was more happy when Arizona beat them than I can describe. It ALWAYS feels good to see them lose. It doesn't matter to whom.

I, unlike almost everyone else I know, don't find the Yankees nearly as detestable. I feel their honest about what they're doing-trying to buy championships. They don't drape it anything else and, if that's how the system is, I don't fault them for playing that game.

I don't hate the Marlins for 2007, just Jose Mesa and Edgar Renteria. Although I'm not too fond of Alex Fernandez either, who was both a White Sox and a Marlin.

I despise Joey Cora.

RE: the Yankees and Red Sox, almost all the hatred I used to feel for the Yankees has been transferred to the Red Sox, since they're every bit as mercenary and evil as the Yankees yet their fans and front office refuse to be honest about it. I hate Red Sox fans. Yankees fans in my experience tend to be a lot more knowledgeable about the game in general and fun to talk to.

1.) Chicago White Sox
2.) New York Yankees (and their fans)
3.) Detroit Red Wings

Chicago pretty much vaulted to the top of the heap once they added Ozzie, a ring, and Thome; those three together are more than I can stomach.  I'm gonna go chug some haterade now.

White Sox - combination of Pierzynski, Ozzie, and DJ & Hawk - that triple-play combination really takes the cake, in a bad way, for me.  Not to mention they're also Central Division rivals.

Yankees - like others have mentioned, most of their fans acting like they're entitled or it's their birth-right to win the World Series every year.  Please - they act like 6 seasons is a drought - try nearly 60 years without a WS, or any of the ones longer than ours.  Heck, even the Giants' 52+ years without one qualifies as a drought.  6 years, when it comes to not winning a WS, is not a drought in my opinion.

And of course, Steinbrenner spending his billions to buy any ballplayer he wants, taking virtually every good to great player from teams like the Indians, the Twins, the A's, etc. - and there's virtually nothing we can do about it.  He may be entitled under the current baseball system (which still sucks in my opinion, as the rich can still purchase whoever they want and the smaller and middle-market teams will still lose their best players, despite their best efforts to keep them,) but that doesn't mean I have to like it, and I don't.  Steinbrenner is really not good for the game of baseball in my opinion, regardless of whether he's entitled to do what he's doing or not.

Red Sox - I agree also that their fans act like their players can only be Red Sox players.  Also, I think too that the Damon is a traitor thinking is a bit ridiculous as well - the Red Sox do virtually the same thing the Yankees do - spend a lot, and until recently, not have much of a farm system, but because they can't quite compete on the same level as the Yankees, spending-wise, they gripe and complain about the Yankees' spending, even though the Red Sox are no better when it comes to fiscal spending either.

And, what will really annoy me regarding the Red Sox, is when they likely take away our consecutive home sellout streak - that 455 should have lasted for at least 50 years, but because they have the smallest ballpark in baseball and the Red Sox won the WS back in 2004, they'll likely take the record from us.  Of course, it will be another couple of years before they can match us attendance-wise, since Jacobs Field can hold well over 40K; Fenway used to only hold about 33K or so, and probably no more than 35K even with the new seating.  Heck, 2.5 Fenway Parks would have fit inside the old Municipal Stadium attendance-wise.

In my opinion, MLB should add an asterisk to the Red Sox's attendance record, stating that they had the smallest ballpark.  Our record should have stood for at least 50 years - that's not something that happens everyday, but hopefully, people will remember that Indians' fans were genuinely interested in what was going on with the Indians, a team that couldn't spend like the BoSox can, which is a major reason why there's interest in the Red Sox - they can buy virtually any player they like, much like the Yankees, which, combined with the fact they have the smallest ballpark, sort of cheapens their sellout accomplishment when compared to ours, though I'll admit, I'm biased!  :-)

Just my 2 cents.

Pierzynski is arguably more annoying than anyone on the Yankees; White Sox fans might not see it, but Pierzynski's antics really annoy everyone else (heck, I think even some of his Twins' teammates complained about him privately when he was in Minnesota.  Not to mention the Giants' players, especially veterans, that complained about him during his partial season there.)

The 2005 ALCS disputed call of whether that ball hit the dirt or now and he acting like it was an undisputed call that it hit the dirt I think just added to it.  Some might say it was heady-baserunning, but I think many outside of Chicago think that Pierzynski fooled the umpire, who might have called it the other way otherwise, so it was far from an undisputed call that the ball definitely hit the dirt.

Add in Ozzie's antics and the fact that Buerhle hit Hafner in the face, ironically, after Garland, the following day's starter, said that Hafner was the guy he most feared in that lineup, and you can sort of see why Indians' fans especially are not fond of the White Sox.

Just my 2 cents.  :-)

First, as far as I know, Thomas never declared his intention of resigning with the White Sox (maybe he did, but my impression is that Thomas and GM Ken Williams never really seen eye-to-eye, so Thomas wasn't really eager to resign with the White Sox after his current contract was up.)

Thome, on the other hand, was saying constantly about looking forward to signing with Cleveland, blah, blah, blah.  Then, when the Indians were willing to give him the richest contract ever given to an Indian, he turns our back on us.  If that had happened to you, it's likely you'd boo too.  

Thome said something about "he wants to go to a team that has a better chance of reaching the playoffs."  Well, the grass isn't always greener on the other side.  Philadelphia never reached the postseason with Thome, and actually, the Phillies were last to the postseason in 1993 (if I recall correctly.)  The Indians?  2001.

As for Pierzynski, the umpire still made a bad call - many of the replays show that the call was far from conclusive, and the umpire didn't demonstratively make the call either way.  You can blame Paul if you like - sure, he should have made sure, but Pierzynski has done enough of his own antics over the years, and that move (you call it "heads-up play," I'm thinking more "antic," just to see what happens if he ran down the line,) paid off for him (and the White Sox) in my opinion.

Just my 2 cents.  :-)