3 was the magic number for the White Sox on Friday night.

The Sox had 3 new players to the starting lineup. Jim Thome and Chris Getz returned after sitting out a few games with injuries, and Scott Podsednik was recalled and started in the outfield.

First Mark Burhrle gave up only 3 runs in 6 innings of work.

Thome drove in 3 runs after the Sox put 3 runners on base ahead of his double off the wall in the 7th inning.

Getz had a 3 base hit of his own to give the Sox the lead in the 8th.

Bobby Jenks got the last 3 outs to secure the victory.

Thome has reached base in 29 straight games at Texas, dating to 1998

Continue reading "3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = Victory"

Well, the last 2 games in Texas were pretty ugly to the Sox. First there was the thumping that Jose Contreras took on Saturday night, and then the listless performance on Sunday night in front of a national audience.

The Saturday debacle fueled questions about the reliability of Contreras in his rotation spot. His return fron injury and weight loss, had many encouraged that he would do a quality job for the Sox in 2009. Maybe he just needs more time to find his groove, but should the big club suffer while he's doing that?

A few minor league starts might turn the trick, but who takes his spot in the rotation if they send him down? Clayton Richard is used to being a bullpen guy by htis time, and might not easily slide back into a starters role.

The game on Sunday, had the Sox hitters being fooled by an inexperienced pitcher, who also got some Tom Glavine like help from the plate umpire, on that outside corner.  Josh Fields can attest to that as he struck out badly, with the bases loaded, after an outside strike was called and he was forced to swing at anything thrown up there on the next pitch.

Continue reading "Bring on the Royals"

 

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5-0 2.61 24 11Mark Buehrle was flirting with perfection Thursday night, going into the 7th inning with a perfect game, until a double spoiled his spot in baseball history.  The more important thing, was the 6-0 victory, which got the White Sox back on the winning track.  They had lost 4 in a row before Buehrle's dominate performance.The win also moved Buehrle to 5-0, and with the rest of the staff's ups and downs, his steady play is of the upmost importance.

Continue reading "Almost Perfect is Close Enough for Buerhle"

   The Sox got back in the win column Tuesday, powered by Jim Thome's 2 home runs.

The 2 home runs pulled Thome within 1 of Mike Schmidt on the all time home run list with 547.  Thome also did it in a ballpark he is very comfortable in, since he played in Cleveland for many years and hit the bulk of his dingers there.

If he stays relatively healthy this year and plays next season, he has a good shot at reaching 600 career home runs, and that could sway a lot of voters when he comes up for Hall of Fame balloting in about 2016.

Continue reading "Thome puts Sox back on the Winning track"

    When the weather warms up, and the Sox play at home, the ball tends to leave the yard.   And that my friends, is enough to cure the offensive woe's of these Chicago White Sox.

We all know that this team is full of power sluggers, like Thome, Dye, Quintin, and Konerko. It only makes sense, that when the ball starts flying in a home run friendly park like US Cellular, that crooked numbers will start appearing on the scoreboard, and the wins will come with it.

This is not to say that our pitching doesn't need to get better, because it's still a far cry from what was hoped for. But since Mark Buehrle looks to be having one of his better seasons, and everyone seems to be sold on John Danks as a solid rotyation slot, the Sox just need Floyd, and Colon to be average to be in the thick of the AL Central race. That is if the Tigers decide to slow down a little.................

Continue reading "Oh For The Long One................"