It seems for John Danks, when it rains, it pours.  Before, the White Sox could not score any runs for him, now, the runs are aplenty.  To Danks’ credit, so far he has done his job, pitched well enough most times for his team to win, and not complained when his team was not hitting.  With an ERA of 3.78 for a rookie, I am quite impressed.  I was also impressed with his outing tonight, surrendering just 1 earned run over 6 innings of work. 

Glad to see Jim Thome looking healthy, going 2-for-3 with a walk and 5 RBI, including a 3-run bomb.  What a difference the big guy makes in the heart of the White Sox order.  Yet another plus-10 hit ballgame for the White Sox.  I’m hoping the Sox offense will continue to be consistent, even if it does not produce more than 10 hits a game.  As long as the hitting is timely, they should be fine.  Let’s go for the sweep tomorrow..

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A solid outing by Jose Contreras put the Sox in the win column for yet another day.  Three earned over 6 1/3 innings pitched is not bad.  Good enough to give his team a chance to win, which they were able to do behind the bats of Erstad and Konerko, each with three hits.  It is good to see the offense produce at least 10 hits in a game for the third straight game.  Now, they will have to continue with the A’s again tomorrow night. 

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Some firsts took place in this game today.  It was Nick Masset’s first Major League start, his first win as a starter, and the first time the Chicago White Sox scored at least 10 runs in a single game in 2007.  It was, however, not the first time AJ Pierzynski has made his presence known in stinging fashion against the Cubs.  The big 7-run seventh inning could be capped by none other than Cub agitator AJ Pierzynski, and came against former Sox reliever Neal Cotts.  Since AJ caught him plenty of times in the past, I wasn’t entirely surprised he saw the ball well off him, even though it was a lefty-lefty matchup that would definitely not usually favor AJ.

When I saw AJ crush the ball into the right field stands, I could hardly believe it, but in a way it made sense.  I was amused with the reactions of one fan on TV after the home run.  No doubt a Cub fan, he shook his head with a befuddled look on his face as if to say, "You gotta be kidding me!"  It is always amazing to me how many weird and unthinkable things happen in these Sox/Cubs series.  It is like playoff baseball – it seems anything that you never thought would happen does.  That’s what makes the game so amazing. 

I also find it uncanny how relievers who were traded in the offseason, namely Aardsma and Cotts have struggled mightily when facing their former teams.  Cotts got lit up, as did Aardsma for the second straight day.  I’m glad it turned out in the White Sox’ favor, but it is pretty strange how much Aardsma, who has been very solid for the Sox struggled so badly over the past couple games against the Cubs.   

Still, the White Sox have to look to the American League again as they take on the A’s tomorrow night at home.  It never seems to get easier..

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Well… David Aardsma had been good, but not when it mattered perhaps a little more, at least to White Sox fans.  The ex-Cub could not contain his former mates’ bats, and gave the precious 1-run lead the White Sox had right back to the Cubs, who went on to clobber the Sox 11-6, with the icing on the cake being a grand slam by pinch-hitter Lee off Boone Logan, who had to come with a fastball on a 3-1 count with the bases loaded.  Same old story as the day before.  Bullpen unable to get anything done.  Staring pitching good.  Hitting good enough.  Bullpen – garbage.

It is difficult for me to feel good about the White Sox’ chances with Masset on the mound. I’m not sure what to expect from him, and Zambrano has always been tough on the White Sox. Still, Zambrano has not quite been his usual dominant self this year, and it just might be a good time for the White Sox to face him. It is imperative not only for the White Sox to win this one today for psychological reasons, but because they still have teams in front of them in the standings…

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With the increased intensity of this Sox/Cubs rivalry series, the losses and wins also become more intense, at least to the fans.  I must admit, this series does not for me have quite the "World Seriesesque" importance it used to have since the Sox took it all in 2005, but I still hate watching the Sox lose, and particularly to the Chicago Cubs. 

Buehrle, with 3 earned runs on 6 hits was not terrible, but he was hard on himself for walking pinch-hitter Blanco.  It was MacDougal who really gave it up though, with a game-tying triple on the first pitch to Angel Pagan.  After that, everything fell apart.  I’m glad I was not able to actually watch this game live due to work.  It may be just one loss on the win-loss ledger, but as much as players might try to downplay it, these games are not "just another game."  The cross-town classic, like postseason baseball, tends to bring out some of the most unlikely and improbable things I’ve ever seen in regular season games… I hope for a better result today for the White Sox.

Jon Garland’s numbers against the high-powered, star-studded Yankees lineup with 1 run given up, with 6 hits over seven innings make me glad Kenny Williams did not deal the right-hander in the offseason.  After years of awaiting the coming of the real Jon Garland, 2005 was the breakthrough, and Garland hasn’t looked back since.  Just enough offense by Dye to account for all 4 runs reminded me of 2005 a bit, with great pitching and only enough offense to win the game. 

With the White Sox headed to Wrigley today to play the Cubs, I like the momentum they are carrying into what is always a very emotional and exciting series, no matter where each of the teams are in the standings. 

John Danks is finally getting something to show for his efforts with another win, and that an impressive one over the Yankees.  Only 2 earned runs over 7 hits for the rookie, who got just enough offense from his team to win.  Danks striking out a career-high 7 batters is most impressive against this powerful Yankees lineup.  That has to be quite a confidence-builder for the Danks. 

Mark Buehrle was not great tonight, with 4 earned over 6 innings pitched.  He could not earn his 100th career victory, but the Sox still won with some clutch hitting by none other than Jermaine Dye and Juan Uribe.  I could harldly believe it in the 9th when Uribe hit the yellow line off the wall, missing a home run by inches.  It was good enough to tie the game, and was untied in the bottom of the 10th with Jermaine going right up the middle to score Terrero, who raced around the bases home.  A very fine team effort.

I was admittedly frustrated earlier in the game as I watched the Sox hitters continue to pop the ball up, or hit ground balls right at a fielder.  I feel like I’ve seen this so many times this year, but when it really counted, they were able to get the hits that made the difference.  It has been a very interesting year so far.  This is different from ’05 and ’06.  It is a very different team altogether, but still with the core guys who are capable of doing damage and winning a division.  Winning 6 of their last 7 is great.  The Sox will go for the sweep tomorrow…

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Now… if the White Sox could play like this consistently throughout the rest of the season, they could win the American League Central.  This looked like the 2005 White Sox with Contreras throwing a complete-game shutout, and all three runs coming without the benefit of the home run.  Even though a sweep was quite possible, a series win in the dome is still good, especially when one considers what a house of horrors the Metrodome has been for the White Sox over the years.  I do not relax in the knowledge the Sox need to face the Royals next, who have always been a challenge for the White Sox.  They must do what they did so well for most of 2005 – win as many series as possible by pitching well and playing sound, fundamental baseball. 

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John Danks has not pitched all that badly. In fact, he’s been pretty good – good enough to win in most cases. But the amount of runs he was given to work with at the beginning of the game – four, equalled the total number of runs he had in support all of his previous starts. Hard to believe. A veteran, let alone a rookie would have a hard time winning with that kind of run support, or lack thereof. Still, today the White Sox got enough done with those four runs to win. But in the Metrodome, it seems one can never score enough runs. After a couple walks and a couple strikeouts, Bobby Jenks was able to close the door for his eleventh save on the season.

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