Chicago White Sox Blogs

A note on Tony LaRussa, deciding to leave the Cards.  He went out on top.  His team did some many great things to even get to the playoffs.  They played great ball at crunch time, coming from out of nowhere to be in the thick of the WC race.

Continue reading "Tony LaRussa Retires as Cards Mgr."

Word is coming down that Ozzie Guillen will be out of White Sox uniform as early as tonight.  Reports allegedly claim that Guillen will head to Florida for a player to be named in a rare "trade."  Guillen has one year left on his contract.  The Sox need a new leader and infusion of energy and Ozzie, although a colorful figure, ran out of gas. 

Continue reading "Apparently Ozzie is Out As ChiSox Manager"

The Chicago White Sox are in one of their funks, on a losing streak and appear to be headed for a loss in Kansas City tonight.  Unless they can score 2 runs to tie the game.  This team is playing out the schedule.  The starting pitchers are getting roughed up and the guys aren't hitting the ball  The power quotient on this squad is pretty tepid.  Paul Konerko has one homer in like 85 at bats.  Of course that blast was a GS to ice a win.  If there was an award for not scoring runs with two outs, the Sox would win it. 

Continue reading "White Sox Woes"

The Chicago White Sox came up with a big seven run 7th inning at home against Cleveland on Thursday night.  Brent Morel broke a 1-1 tie with a 3 run homer and Paul Konerko, broke out of HR drought by hitting a Grand Slam to break open the game.  The Sox took a 8-1 lead into the 8th inning.  Perhaps the Sox can't win it this year, too far behind and too few games, but they can certainly finish in 2nd place a few games over .500.  The Sox are a decent team that looks good when it plays well and looks bad when it doesn't play well. 

Continue reading "Konerko and Morel Connect for ChiSox"

Chicago White Sox pitcher Zach Stewart threw a 1-hitter in blanking the Minnesota Twins, 4-0 in the second game of a day-night doubleheader.  Stewart retired the first 21 batters he faced, a perfect game for 7 innings, until Danny Valencia hit a double to lead off the 8th inning for the Twins.  Stewart kept his composure and retired the next six hitters he faced for a 1 hitter in a terrific outing tonight.  Stewart was almost unhittable.  Where was that pitching in the Detroit series?

Continue reading "Almost Perfect Game for Stewart"

There is good news an bad news if you are a long-time Chicago White Sox fan.  The good news, the White Sox moved into 2nd place ahead of the Cleveland Indians by a half game when the Sox won and the Indians lost on Sunday.  Now, the bad news, the Sox face Minnesota Twins, who have the Sox's number in recent years.  The last time they played, the Sox swept the Twins in Minnesota.  The Twins will be seeking to return the favor.

Continue reading "Sox Still Alive After Seattle Sweep"

The Chicago White Sox had three hits in the bottom of the first inning vs. Clevleand Wednesday night, and came up empty.  No runs.  And, they wasted a precious hit from Adam Dunn, who singled with Paul Konerko on base.  Alexei Ramirez came to the plate with two runners on and went down on an infield out. 

Continue reading "Sox Are Frustrating To Follow"

The Chicago White Sox gained respectability today when they defeated The Kansas City Royals 6-2, behind a hot John Danks, and a three-run blast by Brent Lillibridge.  Danks is now 5-9 for the year, after starting 0-8.  He's on his game at the right time.  As for the Sox, it has 42 games to get in the thick of the AL Central pennant race.  The Sox trail Detroit by 4 games and Cleveland by 2 1/2.  The Sox will have to up their game to catch the Tigers, who look pretty good in this weak Division. 

Continue reading "White Sox Finally at .500"

The Chicago White Sox are a decent to good team and that's the deal.  They just left the bases loaded in the 7th inning and could have broken the game wide open.  The team scored two runs to take a slim 5-4 lead, and it is up to the bullpen to close out the game.  And, that is not a given.  A good team should have had a bigger inning.  The Sox had 1 out with the bag loaded.  Morel struck out and Brent Lillibridge made the third out.  The Sox stranded 3 runners.  That is their MO for the year, leaving runners on base.  The Sox are making it tough against the pesky Royals who play Chicago tough.

Continue reading "ChiSox Don't Make It Look Easy."

The Chicago White Sox finshed a successful road trip (6-1) thtt put them in discussion for the AL Central race.  Just when you think the Sox are dead, they come back to life.  The Sox won tonight as Mark Buerhle, Mr. Reliable, tossed eight innings and gave up 3 runs.  He has averaged three runs per game for almost the whole season.  Now, the season heads to the dog days, when people take their vacations, the weather is warm, and you just want to sip some lemonade and take a nap. 

Continue reading "Pale Hose Still Breathin'"

The Chicago White Sox looked bad last week after losing four straight to the NY Yankees at home.  They went to six games under .500 and were 6 1/2 games behind Division leader Detroit.  But a funny thing happened next.  The Sox went on the road and just won a season high five straight games to make things interesting again. 

Continue reading "Sox Have A Pulse"

Unless the Chicago White Sox start hitting soon, this season will be history.  The ChiSox lost to the Ynakees 3-2 on Monday night.  Alexei Rodriguez accounted for all the offense when he hit a 2-run homer off C.C. Sabathia to make it a one run game.  But scoring one run for these ChiSox is like closing the debit ceiling.  Kind of hard.

Continue reading "Sox Season On The Brink"

The Chicago White Sox lost to Boston 5-3 on a hot day at Cellular Field in Chicago. Lefty Mark Buerhle went six innings and left the game leading 3-2, but Boston scored 2 runs off Jesse Crain in the 7th, and Adrian Gonzalex powered a double in the 9th as the Bullpen failed to hold off the Red Sox.

Continue reading "Sox Just Don't Have Enough This Season"

Ozzie Guillen's White Sox play a critical 3 game series with Detroit starting tonight that could shakeup the makeup of the AL Central.  The ChiSox are a few wins from really being in the pennant race.  They need to win two out of 3, or ideally, sweep Detroit, to get right in the mix as the schedule heads to August.

Continue reading "Gut Check Time for ChiSox"

The White Sox are 49-51 with 62 games left to play.  The've gone nine games over since early May.  Only in the weak AL Central, could the Sox have a shot to take the Divison and they do.  They beat Cleveland 4-2 on Sunday to move 2 1/2 games behind the Indians in 2nd place.  The White Sox host the first place Tigers in an important 3 game series starting this Monday. 

Continue reading "Sox Have Shot If They Play Well"

The Chicago White Sox are hanging around the AL Central, a few games under .500 and 3 or 4 games out of 1st place.

The only reason the Sox are in it is because the rest of the team in the Dvision are not that good.  This is a must year for the Sox to make a push, because if they can't win it this year, well, there's no excuse.  The Sox are an ineffficient team.

Continue reading "Sox Need To Score Runs"

Talk about unfair. Paul Konerko, captain of the White Sox, and having a terrific season got ignored and wasn't selected on the All-Star team.  What a wierd one.  The guy has been almost carrying the club in power hitting aand slugging percentage, and has 21 home runs, and 62 Rbi's at the half-way point.  He's in the top five in Hr's and Rbi's. 

Continue reading "Konerko gets All-Star snub"

The Chicago White Sox are 40-41 and 3 1/2 games out of first place in the AL Central.  That is pretty good for a team

that has walked the mediocre line all season.  If not for the outstanding play of slugger Paul Konerko, hitting over .316

Continue reading "White Sox Hanging Around"

Following Andy Pettitte’s retirement announcement last week, the New York Yankees are left with a big hole in their starting rotation.  CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and A.J. Burnett are the team’s top three starters, while the last two spots are up for grabs.  Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre are options for Joe Girardi, but their limited experience in The Show may hurt their chances, as the Bronx Bombers tend to go with more established pitchers.  That leaves Freddy García (35) and Bartolo Colón (37), both of whom will try to prove they are not washed-up.

Continue reading "Yankees look to fill Pettitte’s ..."

The Minnesota Twins are on the verge on taking their second straight game against the Chicago White Sox and their win will put them in a commanding lead in the AL Central.  The Twins are winning 8-2 late in the game, and with the victory, the Twins will take an 8 game lead.  The Twins are red hot and the Sox are not.  Chicago had their chances in recent weeks but lack of hitting in key situations and the failure of starting pitching, one of the Sox's strengths earlier this season, combined to send Chicago packing.  The final two weeks of the seaon are an after-thought.  And, there may be some fall-out or shakeups in the Sox roster. 

Continue reading "ChiSox Losing to Twins and Hopes Fade"

The Minnesota Twins came to town and roughed up starter John Danks and were leading the Chicago White Sox late, 5-3 tonight.  It doesn't look good.  Chicago trails the Twins by six games and basically need a sweep to have a fighting chance down the stretch of the season.  If the Sox come out of this trailing by more than six, you can wave goodbye to any post-season chances.  Let's face it, the Twins may be the better team.  The Sox are good but the Twins are better.

Continue reading "It Looks Tough For White Sox"

Albert Pujols and Joey Votto have been battling each other all year, but Carlos Gonzalez has leap-frogged the front-runners in the Triple Crown race.  Gonzalez leads the National League in hitting (.337), is tied with Votto for the league lead with 100 Runs Batted In, and with 32 home runs is just five back of Pujols, two behind Adam Dunn, and tied with Votto and Mark Reynolds.  While he may have the best shot at the Triple Crown, I suspect Gonzalez’s home-road splits (.387/.435/.783 at Coors Field, .288/.310/.450 on the road) will keep the voters from naming him the NL MVP.

Continue reading "Another Triple Crown candidate storms to the top"

Perhaps the Chicago White Sox will look back on their season and say that their 4-3 road win against the Indians was a big one.

Credit catcher A. J. Pierzynski with coming up with a clutch three run HR in the top of the 9th to break a 1-1 tie.  The Sox held on to top Cleveland 4-3.  Edwin Jackson pitched into the 9th to notch his 3rd win with Chicago since arriving from Arizona in a late summer trade.  The win puts the Sox 4 games behind first place Minnesota in the AL Central. 

Continue reading "Pierzynski's HR downs Tribe, 4-3"

The White Sox pounded out 21 hits and scored 10 runs.  It could have been more like 15 runs, if the Sox made their hits count.  But backed by Alex Rios' strong night at the plate, going 5 for 6, including a home run, the Sox were able to withstand a 9th inning meltdown by closer Bobby Jenks. 

Continue reading "Jenks is Jinxed But Sox Prevail, 10-6 over Indians"

Manny Ramirez, who electrified the city of Los Angeles while a member of the Dodgers, was claimed off waivers and will be heading to the Chicago White Sox.  While this addition is going to add plenty of buzz in Chicagoland, and will make the lineup of the White Sox formidable, time will tell if this is the answer that Chicago needs.

Continue reading "Manny Headed to ChiSox"

It's getting toward crunch time and the Chicago White Sox wasted scoring chances only to fall 2-1 to the NY Yankees in Chicago before a sold-out crowd.  It was a picture perfect day for baseball and Gavin Floyd pitched well but not well enough for the win, in giving up 2 runs.  Rookie pitcher Ivan Nova did him better, going 5 2/3 innings while allowing a Juan Pierre single to drive in Gordon Beckham. 

Continue reading "Sox Lose A Tough Game, 2-1 to Yanks"

The Chicago White Sox scored in bunches to put away the New York Yankees 9-4 on Friday night in Chicago.  The Sox put up two 4 run innings to take control of the game.

The White Sox came out early and scored 4 runs in the bottom of the first inning, highlighted by A.J. Pierzynski's double which scored two runs.  The Sox also got a nice performance from pitcher Freddy Garcia (11-5) who kept the Yanks off balance all night.  Garcia went 7 innings and ate up some innings.  The bullpen has been battered, and reliever E. Threets possibly re-injured himself and had to be taken out of the game.  Both Matt Thornton and JJ Putz are on the DL.

Continue reading "ChiSox Top Yanks, 9-4"

Albert Pujols and Joey Votto are having monster seasons.  Not only are the sluggers leading their teams in the playoff hunt – the Cardinals are 1.5 games back in the Wild Card race while the Reds lead the NL Central – but Pujols (.321, 34 HR, 93 RBI) and Votto (.326, 31 HR, 90 RBI) are the top two National Leaguers in each of the Triple Crown categories.  Both have strong cases for the MVP award, but if either one wins the first Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967, it would be awfully hard for the voters not to choose him as the league’s Most Valuable Player.

Continue reading "Pair of Triple Crown candidates duel it out"

Where is Bobby Jenks when you need him?  The Chicago White Sox lost two tough games to Detroit, both in the late innings over the weekend, to fall 3 games behind the hot Minnesota Twins.  The Twins are a good team.  You have to play well to beat them, and the Sox haven't figured out how to do it against them.  Their upcoming series will be telling.

Continue reading "Bullpen Falters, Sox Drop 3 Games Behind Minnesota"

White Sox closer Bobby Jenks is on a short leash.  He has blown some ugly games, the most recent allowing Detroit to tie the game in the last of the 9th inning when Ray Raeburn when a 3 run HR with 2 outs.  The Tigers tied the game, but lost when Mark Kotsay drove in 2 runs with a triple.  That was a big win for Chicago.  But Jenks' high-wire act has to tone down.

Continue reading "Jenks On The Spot for Chisox"

There is still plenty of baseball to be played.  It is early August.  But as the season winds down, you come face to face with your division rivals.  And, the Chicago White Sox play a doubleheader against Detroit on Tuesday.  This isn't a do or die series, The Sox lead the Tigers by 6 games in the standings.  But for all the hard work they have done in recent weeks, the Sox can ill afford to have a bad series in Detroit.  If they split their games, or win 3 out of 4, they will be in very good shape. 

Continue reading "Big Series in Detroit for ChiSox"

You know, baseball is a funny game.  The Chicago White Sox have rescued their own season by winning games, and are a season high 14 games over .500 at 58-44.  Now, the front office wants to get into the act.

Continue reading "Sox Obtain Jackson in Trade; Stymied ..."

The Chicago White Sox hit last night and Gavin Floyd went 7 strong innings to get the win, as the rolled to an 11-0 rout of Seattle on Tuesday night.  The Sox are hot at home and have won nine in a row.  The White Sox, who turned around its season winning 26 of 31 games after June 8th, are playing solid baseball at the end of July.

Continue reading "ChiSox Play Longball in 11-0 Rout of Mariners"

Chicago White Sox pitcher John Danks pitched two hit ball for over 7 innings and Alex Rios continued his hot hitting as the Sox blanked the Mariners, 4-0 Tuesday nite.  With the win, The Sox pick up a game on both Detroit and Minnesota, who both lost earlier in the day.  The Sox lead increased to 3 1/2 games over both teams, their largest lead of the season.

Continue reading "Danks' Gem Paces Sox to 4-0 Win"

The Chicago White Sox were close to winning a game up in Minnesota, where gettings wins is as rare as finding gold coins in the street.  They led 6-3 going into the 9th inning and closer Bobby Jenks and Sergio Santos played "Who wants it more?"  The Sox seemed to say "We don't want to salvage a split" and slip away with a 2 1/2 game lead over the Twins, their nemesis in recent seasons. 

Continue reading "Sox Have To Shake Off Tough Loss"

Thank goodness Joey Votto (.314/.422/.589 with 22 home runs) was elected to the National League All-Star team via the Final Vote.  Billy Wagner, Carlos Gonzalez, and Ryan Zimmerman are great players and were all worthy of roster spots, but Votto should have been the NL’s starting first baseman over Albert Pujols, and it would have been a travesty had he not made it in the end.  Votto leads the NL in both On-Base Percentage and Slugging Percentage and is tied for the lead in home runs; if the season ended today, he’d likely be voted the league’s Most Valuable Player.  It’s too bad, then, that Votto went 0-2 and did not make an impact in the game.  (Each of the other first basemen on the National League side – Pujols, Ryan Howard, and Adrian Gonzalez – went 0-2 as well.)

Continue reading "All-Star Game thoughts"

The Chicago White Sox beat KC in a 15-5 rout, hitting 5 homers in the game, including Carlos Quintin's grand-slam for good measure.  It was his second HR of the day, when four Sox players hit home runs in a 7 run spurt.

Continue reading "Sox Climb To The Top, Win 8th In Row"

All one can say is the Chicago White Sox has turned around their season.  They are winning games.  They are now in second place with a win and a Twins loss last Wedneday night.  The bad news and the Sox have to get ready for this, is Jake Peavy, a former CY Young winner, was placed on the DL and is likely out of the season.  If he is out, the Sox have chance now to make the adjustments.  The can bring in Daniel Hudson who has been pitchning well in the Whits Sox famr system. Or they can try to trade for a pitcher.  All I can say is, a trade is going to cost you.  You have to give up to get.

Continue reading "Sox Make Five Errors En Route to 4th In Row."

The Chicago White Sox won a big game 5-3, against the Texas Rangers.  Alexei Remirez hit a big two run blast in the 6th inning for the winning Sox.  The Sox climbed back in the race on a sorching hot streak.  They cooled off a bit on this road trip, dropping two out of three to KC, and then righting themselves with a big win tonight.  This coupled with losses by the Twins and Detroit give Chicago a fighting chance to do some damage right before the All-Star break. 

Continue reading "Sox In Race To Win It"

With All-Star rosters set to be announced this weekend, I’m hoping that fans made good decisions in for whom to cast their final ballots.  While voting began not long after spring training ended, the true All-Stars have revealed themselves over the entire first half of the season.

Continue reading "Who's on first at the Midsummer Classic?"

When you're hot you're hot and that's what the Chicago White Sox are.  They won their 11th sraight game Saturday night, 3-2, defeating their cross-town rivals, the Chicago Cubs on Paul Konerko's 8th inning Home Run.  Konerko has 19 dingers and most likely will be picked for the AL All-Star team in a few weeks. 

Continue reading "White Sox Keep Winning, Beat Cubs 3-2"

Don't count them out.  Just about everyone who follows baseball did, but the Chicago White Sox have found a winning recipe, great starting pitching, and have won 9 straight games.  The White Sox beat Atlanta 2-0 on a late Paul Konerko 2 run blast to left field.  They swept the Braves, now bring on the Cubbies. If ever a cross-town rival series had import, this one does.  If the White Sox take 2 out of 3 this weekend, they will be in the Central Division race. 

Continue reading "ChiSox Are Hot, Win 9th Straight"

The hype over Washington Nationals’ phenom Stephen Strasburg has been followed by terrific pitching from the young right-hander, but the Nats’ front office also deserves a lot of credit.  In his first three starts, Strasburg has faced the Pirates, the Indians, and the White Sox, all of whom rank near the bottom offensively.  While I think Strasburg has a tremendous amount of talent and is going to be a great pitcher for quite some time, I’d like to see how he fares against the heavy-hitting lineups of the Yankees, Reds, and Red Sox.

Continue reading "Nationals handle Strasburg’s schedule ..."

Julio Franco may be the oldest player in Major League history to hit a home run (he also holds a number of other oldest player records), but Jamie Moyer has established himself as the game’s new Ageless Wonder.  In throwing a two-hitter against the Braves on May 7th, the 47-year-old became the oldest player to throw a complete game shutout.

Continue reading "Jamie Moyer: baseball's new Ageless Wonder"

Today’s post is brought to you from Toledo, Ohio.  With Spring Training wrapping up in just over a week, every team has reason to be hopeful that this will be their year.  Though it is widely accepted that exhibition games are meaningless, the Giants should feel good about their 18-7 record this spring, and the Indians are certainly pleased that they have won 13 of their first 19 games.  The reigning World Series champion Yankees, meanwhile, can shake off their 9-12 record as rustiness.  It may not have the excitement of October, but April is when everyone’s glass is half full; no one has ground to make up or nagging injuries to play through.  Every team has a share of first place, and that’s what makes it the most promising time of the year.

Continue reading "The most promising time of the year"

While researching ballplayers of the nineties, I discovered that in 1993, Jeff King of the Pirates drove in 98 runs while hitting only nine home runs and slugging just .406.  I then wondered if any player has ever driven in 100 runs with fewer than 10 homers or with a slugging percentage under .400.  Upon further investigation, I found that in 1996 – the year he turned 40 during the Dog Days of August – Paul Molitor hit just nine homers but accumulated 113 RBI’s while playing for the Twins.  Thanks to his American League-leading 225 hits and batting two hitters behind leadoff man Chuck Knoblauch in the midst of his best season (.448 OBP), Molitor led the Twins in both hitting (.341) and Runs Batted In.  I have yet to find a player with a season of 100+ RBI’s despite a slugging percentage under .400 (Molitor’s was a healthy .468), but I will continue searching.

Continue reading "Run production and slugging: not ..."

UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar was released from a hospital in Bismark, N.D., Tuesday and he is currently recovering at his home in Minnesota from Mononucleosis and a serious bacterial infection in his intestinal tract.

Continue reading "Hopefully, Brock Lesnar is not the next Bo Jackson"

How much money can owner Jerry Reinsdorf throw at the Chicago White Sox?  He went out an acquired Jake Peavy, a former Cy Young winner with the Padres.  Peavy went 3-0 in his short stint as a starter this season.  Peavy looked like an All-Star caliber pitcher.  He pitched great against Detroit in the last series of the season.  If he stays healthy, he will be a big help with the Sox.  The other question is Alex Rios, the player the Sox acquired from Toronto.  Rios did not have a good season with the Sox.  He may have the tools, but didn't showcase them enough with Chicago.  If the Sox part ways with Jermaine Dye, who again had a nice year, then Rios would start in rightfield.  Is Rios a power hitter who can hit to all fields? or a guy who can hit his way on base?  Can he drive in runs?  That's what the Sox need.

Continue reading "Chi Sox Need An Attitude Adjustment"

The Chicago White Sox have wilted in the summer heat.  While it may be warm in Chicago, the Pale Hose' chances of making it post-season are all but done.  The White Sox had a shot but blew it by playing poorly on the road in their last road-trip.  And, they came back in a fog. 

Continue reading "Ozzie on the Edge? Sox Fading Fast"

The good news for the Chicago White Sox is that both Detroit and Minnesota lost tonight.  The bad news is that the Sox trail the Angels 5-1 in the 6th inning.  If Chicago wants to make a late season run at the Division title, it can't afford to let this game slip away.  And, they are surrendering meekly.  They have amassed a grand total of 3 hits in the game.

Continue reading "ChiSox Season On The Brink"

Sunday August 16, 2009 following their 4-3 loss at Texas, is the first time since April 21st that the Red Sox do not have a share of the wild-card or AL East lead.  Does this mean that Red Sox nation should give up hope for the playoffs or a world series birth this year?  Probably not.  However, they should.  Sorry Red Sox fans and band wagoners, your team simply is not going to make the playoffs this year with the emergence of the Rangers pitching staff and the dominance of the Yankees offense.

Continue reading "Boston Red Sox to MISS Playoffs in '09"

Give the White Sox management credit.  They spent a heap of money on Jake Peavey and Alex Rios.  Peavey, the fine pitcher from San Diego is getting ready to make his first start for Chicago.  Alex Rios, who has speed, a good glove, and can drive in runs, needs to start producing.  The Sox made a great effort to make themselves better to win the AL Central Division title.  It is up in the air. They trail Detroit and could make up their decifit in a week if they play really well.

Continue reading "White Sox Need to Play Well Now"

I know, I know.  We’re all grieving over the way our boys have been playing.  I hope everyone’s been keeping the faith though.  Sure, it’s a cold streak.  But they’ll be back.  I know it.

Continue reading "This Week in Baseball – Notes"

It's the mid-season break during the 3 day All-Star game break and it's a chance for baseball players and managers to get away from the game and re-charge for the 2nd half of the season.  While the Chicago Cubs are certainly not out of it in their division, I feel more confident about their cross-town rivals having better success.

Continue reading "White Sox Have A Shot To Repeat"

Well since I’ve last wrote, Mark Shapiro has said Eric Wedge’s job is safe at least for this year, so I’m not going to continue to beat a dead horse calling for Wedge’s head anymore. What I do think is funny is that a guy who is equally if not more responsible for the unraveling of this team is saying someone else’s job is safe for now, like he isn’t living on borrowed time himself. Sometimes I wonder if Larry Dolan really cares or what kind of trance Shapiro has him under. If he is under one, I’d like to get my hands on some of that elixir Mark has been giving him. Tonight it’s Jeremy Sowers vs. Mark Buehrle in Chicago for the now infamous 8:11 start time. Here are some things that caught my script “I”:

Continue reading "Konerko dialed in at US Cellular. ..."

I got into a discussion with Sean yesterday about the post I made a couple of weeks ago concerning when a runner has officially taken possession of a base.  We consulted the rule book (online at baseball-almanac.com, a great site) and found no specific details about the situation.  (Though, admittedly, I did not carefully pore over every bit of it research-style, since we were simply having an entertaining discussion.)  While shifting through various alternative scenarios to try to tease out the answer, this fun one came up:

Continue reading "More Baseball Rules Discussion"

The Chicago Cubs are 35-36.  The Chicago White Sox are 36-38.  Both teams are flirting with the .500 mark as we get closer to the half-way mark of the season.  Unless these teams are can go into after-drive and put the pedal to the metal, it is likely that these team will finish near the .500 mark.  The Cubs had a thrilling homestand and won some games with pulsating finishes.  Then they go on the road and make the Detroit Tigers look like world-beaters.  In one game, the Cubs have a one run lead late, but  their closer gives up a 2 run homer in the last of 9th to win the game for Detroit.

Continue reading "Chicago baseball is simply mediocre"

While most teams would amp up at the idea of playing in your own backyard, sleeping in your own bed, and having the greatest baseball fans in the world backing you up, the 2009 Chicago White Sox seem disinterested when they arrive at U.S. Cellular field.  Most teams look forward to the notion of returning home after a nine game road trip, but to any sox fan whose been paying attention, our players seem to dread it.  What is the problem?  What is the answer?  It always seems to come back to not being able to figure out what the problem is exactly with absolutely no solutions in sight.  Whether it is the White Sox not being able to hit a pitcher they have never seen before, or subconsciously all the players believe a few home runs will loosen everything  up at the cell considering our home ballpark is usually a launching pad, these guys look like their sleepwalking when they play at home.  

Continue reading "Home Sweet Road"

    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.

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

Continue reading "White Sox send down struggling Contreras; ..."

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

Continue reading "Almost Perfect is Close Enough for Buerhle"

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.

Continue reading "Bring on the Royals"

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.

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

   Watching Mike MacDougal can be downright painful and very frustrating. Well, the frustated White Sox finally cut the righthander after designating him for assignment a week ago.

Continue reading "Mike MacDougal - He Gone...."

  John Danks, had only given up 2 runs all season and had held Ichiro to 1 hit in 8 previous at-bats. This sounded like a good situation for the Sox and chance to sweep the Mariners in Tuesday's doubleheader.

Continue reading "Danks comes back to earth........"

Well, the White Sox got another quality start out of Bartolo Colon, in their 2-1, game 1 win on Tuesday.

Although Colon is no stranger to success in the major leagues, he was a reach for a reliable starter, and indeed was slotted as number 5 in the rotation. His start to the season has to have the club excited, and patting themselves on the back, for acquiring the veteran righthander.

Continue reading "Colon is up to the task"

In this chapter, one focused on the bullpens, things are a little on the hazy side. What I mean by that is, evaluating a bullpen isn't an exact science like evaluating an infield, where the positions are first base, second base, third base, shortstop, and catcher. With a bullpen there are long men, middle relievers, setup men, and closers, but those roles are utilized and defined differently by each major league club, with the sole exception being closer.

Continue reading "MLB's Top Five Bullpens"

It’s Day Two of The Sports Don’s 2009 Baseball Preview, and I present perhaps the toughest division in baseball to predict. The American League Central could finish in any order, and I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised. And yes, that includes the upstart Kansas City Royals winning the division for the first time since 1985 when George Brett was 32, and the Royals defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

Continue reading "The Sports Don's 2009 AL Central Preview"

I am so excited to finally watch a Chicago Cubs game in Spring Training. So, I am gonna do my best to do up-to-the-minute highlgihts.

9:06 p.m.: Getting ready to start. White Sox John Danks is the starting pitcher. So Taguchi plaays right field for the Cubbies. Derrek Lee is off, Micah Houffpauir is at first. Seems sold out, which I think it is. Groovy.

Continue reading "Finally! A Chicago Cubs Game!"

With Alex Rodriguez's recent admission that he took performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), the baseball world was again rocked with a big name star being right in the crosshairs of the steroid era.

Continue reading "Does A-Rod's admission guarantee ..."

February 21, 2009 – By signing Joe Crede, the Minnesota Twins have signaled to everyone in baseball that they believe they can contend for a World Series Title this season.  The club finished 2008 with an 88-75 record and narrowly missed the postseason by virtue of a one-game-playoff loss to the Chicago White Sox.  The Twins were successful despite suffering some key injuries.  Now with a healthy roster and established starting rotation, the organization is indicating that it’s ready to contend by signing the big bat they’ve been missing for so long.

Continue reading "Signing Crede Signals Twins Intent ..."

Well, get ready for another season of Detroit Tigers baseball. We have been spoiled the last couple of years. The team actually has expectations and unfortunately so do the fans. Can Mo Town survive another sports team to fail miserably like the hapless Lions? Are we just a hockey town? I don't have the answer to that, but I do get excited for Tiger baseball. As a proclaimed member of the Red Sox Nation, I still love the Tigers. I watch most games and even try to get to the ballpark. I lived in misery because all my neighbors are "Tigers for Life". So my sports life is much better when the Tigers are winning.

Continue reading "Detriot Tigers look to impress in 2009"

Can you feel it?

Pitchers and catchers report in less than a month. The World Baseball Classic is upon us.

Can you feel it?

Many of the mega contracts have been finalized, while a handful of others are still in the works.

Continue reading "Astros Payroll: Design on a dime"

This could be a short post.  No, no one will bite and claim Bobby Crosby and his $5.25 million contract.  For the sake of completeness, though, let's run through who might conceivably pick up Crosby. 

Continue reading "Bobby Crosby on Outright Waivers...Will ..."

After reading article after article about how great an acquisition Swisher will be for the New York Yankees I think it is important to look at the trade from the perspective of the White Sox.

Continue reading "Why The White Sox Won't MIss Nick Swisher"

So this is my first official blog entry for this site.  Pretty exciting huh?  Yeah, not too exciting for me, either.  So in the rare occurance that by happenstance someone stumbles across my posts, I tip my virtual cap to you.  I hope to be updating this relatively frequently. 

Continue reading "Just Starting out"

There is no stove hotter than the one burning on the south side of Chicago this winter.  Coming off of an improbable division title the White Sox are a team some people would expect to return most of their lineup.  Despite making the playoffs for just the 5th time since 1959, last season’s White Sox were a flawed bunch.  At no time were those flaws more apparent than in their first round series against the Rays.  After four games the younger, faster, and better defensive team won and went on the win the pennant. 

Continue reading "What is Kenny Cooking?"

With the regular and postseason over, and the hot stove not quite on fire just yet, it’s a perfect time to pick my regular season award winners for the 2008 season.  Here are my MVP picks.

Continue reading "MVP Award Picks"

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the "Inbound Link Contest".  We have a winner!  A big congratulations go out to Marija.  Thank you for all your hard work on this.  While we had a lot of people participate, Marija was able to win with only 4 links!  So it wouldn't have taken a lot to win this contest!  We'll be having another contest soon so stay tuned.

Continue reading "Inbound link contest winner announced!"

Below is the original blog I wrote about last night's game.  Upon finishing the blog, I learned some disturbing news about Tim Wakefield.  I thought I'd share that first:

“Tim Wakefield has been scratched from his scheduled start on Tuesday with tightness in the back of his shoulder, the same injury that kept him off the World Series roster. Wakefield has already been sent back to Boston, where he'll be examined by Dr. Thomas Gill.

Continue reading "Dice-K dominates, but Wakefield goes to the DL..."

As I sit here watching the Futures at Fenway game on NESN, it’s nice to see the minor leaguers get a taste of the big leagues – especially after our own big leaguers lost 5-3 last night.

Continue reading "Frustrating loss for (Red) Sox in series opener"

You know, I was just thinking about how the White Sox are going to be a lot tougher to play than the Royals.  They're a first place team who are fighting to keep their spot.  They have hitters like Orlando Cabreara, Jim Thome, and the All Star Carlos Quentin.  Oh yeah, they also picked up Ken Griffey Jr. 

Continue reading "Sox against the Sox - Game 1 preview"

    Sure enough, just after I wrote about how I’d like to see Jerry Manuel try to stretch Aaron Heilman for some more two-inning relief appearances, Heilman blew a tie game in his second inning of work on Friday night.  After getting through the seventh inning cleanly, Heilman loaded the bases in the eighth and gave up a game-winning grand slam to pinch hitter Mark Loretta.  To add insult to injury (literally, considering the ailing arms of John Maine and Billy Wagner), Heilman was tagged with the loss again on Saturday in another collapse of sorts from the Mets’ bullpen.  This one was a group effort though, with Scott Schoenweis and Billy Wagner contributing to the blown 4-1 lead.  After yet another solid, but insufficiently long, outing from Johan Santana, Schoenweis allowed a solo home run to Kaz Matsui, who has killed the Mets, hitting .438 against his former team over the last three years.  Wagner then gave up a bizzare two-run single to Geoff Blum with the bases loaded in the ninth to blow the save, as both runners crashed into one another and Ramon Castro all at once at the plate.  Then, in the tenth, Heilman put the first two runners on base before handing the ball over to Pedro Feliciano.  Feliciano actually did not pitch poorly, striking out the first batter he faced and then allowing the game-ending sacrifice fly on a weakly hit liner by Darin Erstad.  Fernando Tatis made an excellent catch on Erstad’s sinking flare, but was unable to throw Lance Berkman out at the plate.

Continue reading "Shaky Pen Gets Mets Swept By 'Stros"

For the first time since May 13, the Minnesota Twins--the team that stood pat during the recent Trade Deadline Sweepstakes--assume first place in the NL Central today.

Chicago had been waiting for its bats to heat up all season, and both Swisher and Konerko have had a few streaks of hot hitting, but they couldn't get the whole team hitting at the same time. So they grabbed Ken Griffey, Jr., a move that was part consummation of a long-time love affair with Junior by GM Kenny Williams and part best-choice trade.

Continue reading "Twins in First"

In my opinion, its only one game, and im not too shocked, but it got me thinking...are managers like Gardy bad for the game? In my opinion, no. He is fiery yes, but I wouldnt call him unreasonable. He has never come close to making a spectacle of himself like that minor league manager a while back, i believe the hat-kicking fiasco was the farthest i think i have seen him go. Whenever I have seen him come out to argue a call, I have always agreed with him, at times i have been nearly as mad. The call the other night that led to the hat-kicking and fans throwing things was a horrendously bad call. I saw that, everyone I was watching the game with saw that, and obviously Gardy saw it. I dont think you can blame what followed his ejection on Gardy. Our fans...Minnesota fans...of all sports, at all levels...need little provocation to act like morons. (See the Hockey riots at the U of M when they won the Championship). I thought it was funny, and hopefully, but doubtfully, it will serve as a small wakeup call to Umpires to open their damn eyes. This whole thing about instant replay is rediculous. I have a better idea, give the umpires glasses or fire them all and hire people that can do the job better. Baseball has been around for what, 130 years? This problem hasnt been this bad for 130 years, or even five years. It seems like in the last year or two, umpires have gone blind. Fix that problem before you go to the video tape folks.

Continue reading "Gardenhire Suspended"

You're chasing the top team in your division. They come to town for a four-game series. You must win three of four at least.

That's just what the Twins did by winning 10-6 on Thursday. But it was the way they did it that's so hopeful for the Twinkies.

Continue reading "Twins come back, take three of four from Sox"

A few trades of note for Mariners fans--the ones made, the ones not made, and the ones made by other teams. Here are the Top 3 Seattle Deadline Stories:

1. Rhodes is now a Marlin. This was the guy everyone figured the Mariners would deal, and it came through. It makes complete sense, as the Mariners don't need Rhodes down the stretch, for a handful of lefty specialist innings, while the Marlins do. In return, Seattle gets Gaby Hernandez, a once-well-regarded starter who's scuffled at Albuquerque (where every pitcher scuffles), and he'll get a fresh start with Tacoma and the Mariners. He's nobody special, but Rhodes is an aging lefty in a one-year deal, so Lee Pelekoudas got who he could. Nice job, Lee.

Continue reading "Mariners Deadline Analysis"

Well that was a surprise...

Nice win by the Yanks followed by a very unexpected trade with the Tigers to acquire Catcher, Pudge Rodriguez for P Kyle Farnsworth.

The more I think about this trade, the happier I get...you can take the angle that the Yanks (like any other team in baseball) can't afford to give up a quality arm...That is true, however this 'quality arm' is not exactly what I would call consistent and not someone that i want pitching meaningful innings in, in October.

Continue reading "Delayed Reaction to Pudge"

Most people would say the surprise team of the year in baseball is the Rays. The Twins are a close second.

This series against the White Sox is crucial. After this, they play only one more series. This is the team the second-place team must catch up.

Continue reading "Twins come back to knock off Sox"

    Monday night in Miami was an all-around bad experience for the Mets.  John Maine cruised into the fifth inning with a 2-0 lead, and looked just fine to the naked eye.  But after Maine missed with a 1-0 fastball to John Baker, Jerry Manuel, Dan Warthen and Ray Ramirez, the trainer, jogged out to the mound to consult with Maine.  He appeared to say he was fine, and stayed in the game for the time being.  But after his next pitch to Baker left the yard for a solo home run, and his 1-2 pitch to Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco chased Endy Chavez to the warning track to make the catch, Manuel and Warthen decided they had seen enough, and pulled Maine in favor of Carlos Muniz.  Maine is listed as day-to-day with shoulder stiffness, and Warthen said he was most concerned that Maine might develop further injuries if he tried to compensate in his delivery to protect his shoulder.  In all likelihood Maine will miss a start in order to rest his shoulder, and hopefully pitch again next week.  After the game Manuel was adamant that Maine will not pitch through any pain.

Continue reading "Mets Fried By Fish, Maine Leaves Early"

I used to believe I had already gone through the greatest sports books already, but a summer read has changed my mind.

"Eight Men Out," by Eliot Asinof, is quite unlike most great sports books and movies, which tend to be inspirational. This is nothing of the sort — it’s a cynic’s delight, the kind of book that reinforces your sense that the world is screwed up, no one has pure motives and problems are not so much solved as dealt with by finding convenient scapegoats.

Continue reading "'Eight' good enough to be among best sports books"

To try and motivate our bloggers to get inbound links we're going to have a contest to see which blogger can get the most inbound links to their blog. The contest begins now and ends July 31st, 2008. To be entered in to the contest all you have to do is go out and get as many websites to link to your blog as you can and at the end of the month send us an email listing all those links. All links must be active from August 1st through August 7th when we'll be judging the entries - a winner will be announced on August 7th. All entry emails must be received by Midnight on July 31st, 2008. You can email them to sportsfan@nbabasketballonline.com

Continue reading "Inbound link contest - Win $100!"

One of the All-Star Break traditions: Reassessing our predictions from the first half of the season. Some of mine have changed, some have stayed the same—and some were just damn wrong. Living in the West, I will take the contrarian position and roll from west to east in my choices.

Continue reading "Second Half Predictions"

    Mike Pelfrey pitched another gem Sunday night, throwing eight shutout innings in the Mets' 7-0 victory over the Rockies, and won his sixth straight start.  New York cruised through their six-game homestand, outscoring the Giants and Rockies 31-4 with four shutouts to boot.  They now stand just a half game behind the Phillies for first place in the NL East.

Continue reading "Big Pelf and the Mets Take Nine Into ..."

As promised, Ill continue to trapeze my way through all 15 American League clubs, stopping and giving credit where credit is due to the biggest blood-suckers in the game-- the All-Underachievers.

Continue reading "All-Underachieving Squad (cont.)"

For some of you who don't know, I am a fantasy sports fanatic. I enjoy the crunching of number, and the drafting of players. This is an example from one of my leagues (my team is SPeff Starz, having an unusually bad season for my standards.)

Continue reading "All Stars and Winning Fantasy Baseball: Relation?"

The closer position in baseball is a relatively recent development, one which has only come about as a full-time position with specific duties in the past twenty years. There were closers before then, guys who came into the game in tight situations, but they might appear in the sixth or seventh inning as the ninth, and (at least early in this century) might be starters pitching on their off-day.

Continue reading "K-Rod: King of Saves"

All right then, it’s almost July, which means it’s almost time for yet another midsummer classic, which once again will pit the National League against their arch-rivals, those bums from the junior circuit.

Continue reading "All-Star foppery"

Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella on national TV on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball was ejected for arguing a check swing call.  Technically you cannot argue balls and strike calls but technically this is NOT A BALL AND STRIKE CALL - it is a CHECK SWING call.    Did he swing or not-  the ball itself was clearly outside the strike zone.  Lou approached the first base umpire who warned him and then Lou turned around to head back to the dugout.  He had already been ejected by the home plate umpire who then flashed the second ejection sign in Lou's face.  Clearly on the replay the umpire at first base blew the call.   Clearly also Lou was heading back to the dugout and the first base umpire had exercised control of the situation and there was no need to proceed further.   Unbeknownst to Lou, home plate minor league fill in Rob Drake decided this was his day to make a name for himself on national TV and become part of the show.   He had his mask off and ready for a confrontation with Lou as he first threw him out behind his back and then again in front of him.  

Continue reading "Lou ejected by minor league umpires ..."