Vazquez, Offense Outstanding in Rare Series Win in Oakland, 13-1 (Game 124, ’08)

This was a great win for the White Sox for a great number of reasons.  First, the White Sox won, staying in first place with Minnesota.  Next, the outing by Javier Vazquez was simply outstanding.  He was actually better than outstanding.  After the White Sox put up six runs after the third inning, it would have ben easy for Vazquez to lose mental focus and let the A’s back into the ballgame, which they have a tendency to do against the Sox year after year.  The Sox had not won a series in Oakland since 2000.  That is quite a long time to go without a series win there.  The ‘house of horrors’ for the Sox turned out to be a hitter’s paradise for the Sox, who destroyed the A’s with the long ball.  With each day, Carlos Quentin looks like the American League MVP, with another 2-run shot today.  Alexei Ramirez, whose looks are deceiving, has remarkable power, as displayed in his grand-slam home run to add insult to injury to the A’s.  It was great to not only see the win, but to see the domination. 

Vazquez’ outing was remarkable for a number of reasons.  He threw only 91 pitches in 8 innings.  That is incredible for a guy who throws a lot of pitches like Vazquez, especially against an opponent that takes as many pitches as the A’s do.  He also had 8 strikeouts and no walks.  Javy was as good as I could expect – playoff calibur pitching.  Lights out.  I have been hard on him in the past, but if he could pitch like this consistently, I would be most pleased.  Wonderful job.  Sox will be home against Seattle, and they can hopefully continue their winning ways at home…