The good news is the White Sox won the game, Nick Swisher hit two home runs, one from each side of the plate, with 5 RBI, and Gavin Floyd gave up three earned over six innings.  The bad news is the bullpen was not stellar and Nick Masset made things a little more interesting than they had to be.  Still, only one of those runs were earned after Joe Crede made a bad throw over the head of Nick Swisher.  I'm not too concerned yet about Joe Crede, but his error total is a bit alarming when compared to his past numbers.  Joe has been having his troubles defensively at third this year.  Still, he is capable of making the great, game-saving spectacular play, as he did in the Cubs series. 

The goal every day remains the same - to win.  Hopefully the Sox can do that tomorrow and take the series against their division rivals. 

 

Turnabout is fair play, and all is fair in love and baseball I suppose.  The White Sox returned the favor of the Northsiders for last week's Wrigley Field embarassment, soundly beating the Cubs tonight 5-1 to complete what was for me as a White Sox fan, a glorious three-game sweep.  And while a sweep of the Cubs, something that has not happened since 1999 was sweet, it was really necessary since the Tigers and the Twins don't lose baseball games anymore.  Ever since the White Sox awoke the sleeping Tigers they have gotten themselves to within 5 games of the White Sox, and the Pihrannas continue to annoyingly knip at the heels of the White Sox, winning again and just 1.5 games behind the White Sox.  The Twins, somehow behind the efforts of the mighty Boof "I changed my name to that legally" Bonser and the great Slowey have managed to win without end, a trend I certainly hope will not, nor do I expect to continue.  The Tigers have some serious offensive juice, but whether their pitching can be good enough in the long haul remains to be seen.  If pitching wins, the White Sox, behind their American League best bullpen and excellent starting pitching should be there all year, if not the favorites.  I'm not sure they will win the division by 6 as Lou Piniella predicted in yesterday's press conference, but they seem to have gotten some things together offensively lately, and I hope that will continue.

The Sox pitchers finally decided to pitch these Cubs in, completely neutralizing Aramis Ramirez, who was O for the Cell, and Derrek Lee, who has hit Buehrle hard in the past was struck out twice, and was O for 3 after going 5 for 5 yesterday. At Wrigley, these guys were diving out over the plate and killing the Sox pitchers.  I'm glad to see an adjustment was made in this series.  When Linebrink induced Ramirez into a double play in the eighth to kill a rally, I thought it was perfect redemption for the walk-off homer Ramirez hit off Linebrink last weekend.  Amazing what a difference a week, and a venue can make. 

It was sweet payback indeed, and I was priviledged to be able to attend at least half this game tonight, after watching some of it at Mitchell's where Chris Rongey and Matt Abbatacola from the Score were hanging out.  Lots of fun for White Sox fans.  They will have to keep things moving forward with Cleveland coming to town tomorrow. 

An incredible ballgame.  This was not without late-inning heroics and outstanding clutch pitching on the part of the White Sox bullpen.  They were fantastic, and Bobby Jenks was incredible, stranding Derrek Lee on third with just one out, inducing two ground balls, one to the ever-dangerous Aramis Ramirez.  I held my breath as I watched the last out, as Jim Edmonds grounded out to Alexei Ramirez to end the game. 

The Cubs are probably the best team in baseball, and the White Sox have thus far handled them quite well at home.  I always want the Sox to beat the Cubs, but I want the Sox to beat any team standing in front of them.  The Twins finally lost a game, putting the White Sox back to a 1.5 game lead.  This was a test for the White Sox, a test they have so far passed.  They need to beat good teams and not so good teams.  It's good to see them win a series against a good team like this. 

I'm still not too happy with what has been happening to the starting pitching.  Contreras and now Vazquez was not particularly good, struggling to find the strike zone, always behind in the count.  I think the key with this Cubs team is to throw strike one with a secondary pitch - like the breaking ball.  At Wrigley, they pounced on the first fastball thrown and got on base a bunch.  In this series, they have been let on with the walk and gotten big hits when our pitchers have gotten behind in the count.  With a good offense like the Cubs, you have to have command of everything - secondary pitches as well as the fastball.  You have to attack them and get ahead of the hitters, as Ozzie said in his postgame press conference.  What has saved the starting staff of late is the bullpen, that is so vastly improved with Dotel and Linebrink it is like night and day.  Masset has done a very good job as well as the long relief guy out of the Sox pen.  You win as a team and lose as a team, so it is good to see the bullpen picking up the starters of late.  They have been nothing short of outstanding.  It was nice to see the bullpen able to close the door today, when they failed last week.  It has been nice payback, and more importantly, very necessary to the Sox' psyche.  They can beat these guys - good teams as well as not so good. 

Regardless of what happens tomorrow, I still consider this a victory for the White Sox in winning a series against the best team in baseball.  Still, I would love a sweep tomorrow, as it would complete a full 'payback' to our neighbors from the North. 

Great to see the big wood broken out today by the White Sox offense, with a big third inning, capped off by a grand slam by Nick Swisher.  Jermaine Dye did not homer, but went 3-for-5 and made two outstanding defensive plays, one to end the ballgame right against the wall on a ball hit by Fukudome.  Fantastic day for JD.

Jose Contreras was not great, but was good enough to get the win, much better than last weekend's disasterous game against the Cubs.  He surrendured three solo home runs, but that was not enough to dent the Sox' big offensive attack in the third.  Even though the White Sox did not need anything more than they got in the third inning, I'm glad they continued to add on, with a run in the sixth and then the eighth.  That is something the Sox did not do yesterday against the Dodgers, and something they have generally not done much lately.  I also liked the aggressive baserunning, with Cabrera taking the extra base twice, challenging the arm of the inexperienced Eric Patterson. With Patterson and Ward playing the corner outfield positions, the White Sox showed some excellent aggressive baserunning.  Very good to see. 

While a sweep would be fantastic, I don't expect that to happen.  I do hope the Sox can pick up the series win at least with a victory tomorrow.

 

The good news is, John Danks was outstanding once again, now posting the lowest road ERA in all of baseball, and the White Sox got a win and a road series win at that.  The bad news is, the Sox left 11 guys on base.  Watching this game reminded me a bit of last weekend's Cubs series when the Sox scored early, but could not add on.  The difference today is it didn't cost them, as the bullpen finished the job in a way they could not last weekend. 

I understand Don Cooper being frustrated with Sox fans, but we've been watching the same thing all season long - an inability to drive runners in, leaving them stranded.  The invincible Twins meanwhile have won nine in a row, and what was a 6.5 game lead is now down to just a 1/2 game lead.  That is why fans are upset.  The pitching has been excellent all season, but it was bad last weekend against the Cubs - the worst overall pitching performance they have posted against the worst possible team to do it against - at least for fans.  I think Don Cooper is being defensive because he knows his pitchers didn't get the job done.  If anyone should be mad at the anemic offense it should be him, but I will give him props for not throwing the hitters under the bus. 

The White Sox will begin Round 2 of the Fight for Chicago Baseball Dominance tomorrow.  I only hope they can at least be respectable in this one, and demonstrate why they have one of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball.

This was painful to watch tonight.  Gavin Floyd was not great.  It seems if he cannot locate his curveball, he gets hit hard on his fastball.  Still, even had he been perfect, the Sox would have still lost, being shutout once again.  The White Sox defense was spotty too, with 3 errors on the night. 

This game was virtually unwatchable.  One popup and flyout after another, four lousy hits.  It's the same old thing with this team.  Any left hander who has a good changeup is unhittable to this squad.  With Minnesota's win tonight, the Sox' lead has all but evaporated in the Central - down to just 1/2 game up.  They haven't deserved to be called a first place team anyways.  This team is offensively streaky, its defense shaky, and its pitching is becoming inconsistent.  It is quite possible once this team relinquishes first place, they will never return to it.  I hope I'm wrong.

It was a game to be celebrated for the team as well as individuals.  The White Sox finally got a road win with a 6-1 victory over the Dodgers, and everyone who was not a pitcher, except Pablo Ozuna, got at least one hit.  Jermaine Dye continues to be on fire, going the opposite way with a 2-run homer in the eighth.  He had been aced by sinkerballer Lowe earlier, looking bad on a couple of at bats - striking out once swinging way out of the zone and the other looking.  Dye ended up getting the last laugh, adding insurance to a precarious 1-run lead. 

Mark Buehrle got strikeout number 1,000 on the evening.  Being a contact pitcher, that is quite an accomplishment, and while Buehrle can be hot and cold, overall he has been fantastic for the White Sox and has been quite dependable overall.  Congrats to Mark Buehrle for reaching a personal pitching milestone. 

As for the team, it was good to see the Sox get some clutch hitting last night.  They will have to continue that this series, and definitely against the Cubs this weekend.
 

Javier Vazquez set the tone early with a complete misconception of the strike zone.  And while he pitched better in the second inning, the two runs put up by the Cubs in the first inning was an already insurmountable lead for a team that gets guys on and simply cannot get them in.  I'm not sure what the ultimate implications of the nightmarish weekend will have on the Sox, but I don't expect things to be a whole lot better in Los Angeles.  With the Twins sweeping the Diamondbacks, the lead is now just 1.5 games up in the division.  Say what you want about 'first place,' but this team doesn't look like nor perform like a first place team. 

This team is anything but a great team.  I'm not sure what they have to do to execute timely hitting, but their consistent inability to do this for three months makes me very skeptical they will start now.  In the past I have remembered these series to be competitive.  After the first game, they were simply not competitive whatsoever.  Javy and Jose gave them no chance to win.  Things could change at home next weekend, but again, I'm skeptical.  As with anyone, I simply have no confidence in a team that is consistently inconsistent.  I don't believe in this team, and will not believe in this team until they prove they can be believed in.  I'll always be a fan, but they haven't proven themselves to be good enough win with consistency.  They are in first place because other teams have not played well.  This is a mediocre team that cannot execute the little things with any consistency.  Teams like that do not win.  And unless this teams plays better, they won't either.  I'm not holding my breath. 

 

It's bad enough to lose against the Cubs, but to get beat in this way, with a disasterous 9-run inning is completely unacceptable.  Good pitching supposedly beats good hitting, but all we have seen in this series, and even in the Detroit series is that this pitching is not consistently good enough to beat the better offenses.  The Cubs bullpen was vulnerable and Marmol was wild again, throwing behind Alexei Ramirez to plate a run.  The White Sox, if they pitch mediocre win this game.  But the pitching staff has decided to take the last two days off in one of the most important series of the season.  The Sox have proven they are not good enough to run with the best and that is garbage.  They had a 4-1 lead and I knew it would not be enough.  All Sox fans can hope for is to use some of the positive momentum they gathered at the end by having the tying run on deck.  The best they can do is beat the Cubs on national TV and hopefully have their way with them at home next weekend. 

The Cubs were very beatable today but the Sox' inability to cash into opportunities, including a leadoff double by Anderson in the top of the ninth did them in.  No big surprise.  Same garbage. 

I called this result when Dotel came in.  I knew he would blow it, which he did, allowing two homers to Lee and Ramirez to tie the game at 3.  When the Sox continued to miss out on opportunities, I knew they were going to lose.  I also knew after the Sox didn't cash in in the top half of the ninth, the Cubs would hit a walk-off homer, which they did.  Totally predictable.  Totally pathetic.  At least it's only game 1. 

 

 

This was not a great game for Gavin Floyd, even though his ERA amazingly went down, and all but one of the runs scored on him were unearned after a bad miscue by Pablo Ozuna which opened the door to a big 6-run second inning.  Floyd was wild a bit again, but it was good to see the White Sox offense once again support their struggling pitching. The ballpark is getting very small in this weather, with Jermaine Dye having an amazing day, going 3 for 4 with two homeruns, including a grand slam and six RBI.  When the Sox went down by 6 in the second inning, I was amazed when the White Sox came right back with a six-spot of their own to tie up the ballgame, topped off with Cabrera's 3-run homerun. 

This Cubs series means more than it has in years past I believe.  This is not just 'another series,' at least not for the fans.  Both teams are in first place and battling to stay there.  This should be one of two amazing cross-town series. 

These are games the Sox are supposed to win, and they have done so, convincingly, tonight and last night.  The White Sox were able to string together multiple hits, home runs, walks, even a sacrifice bunt by Alexei Ramirez, who still contributed, being only one of two in the lineup without a hit.  Pretty much every aspect of the offensive game was working for the White Sox tonight.  The pitching wasn't bad either, as Buehrle gave up only 2 earned over eight innings.  Excellent outing for Mark and a nice win for the White Sox.  They'll go for the sweep tomorrow. 

The Chicago White Sox crushed the Pittsburgh Pirates, supporting a struggling Javier Vazquez who was knocked around himself for a bit, giving up 5 runs on just 5 hits.  He was leaving pitches up over the plate, and they weren't fooled whatsoever it seemed tonight.  Fortunately, the bullpen was perfect, and Russell was even brought into the game, with a perfect frame to finish the game.  For another rare time, the Sox offense supported the struggling starter, but they went a bit overboard.  Hopefully the Sox will not be 'all or nothing,' barely scratching together any hits and runs tomorrow.  While the pitching has been getting hit a bit more, they are still very good.  With some offensive support, this team should be in great shape.
 

I didn't get a chance to watch this game, but in a way I'm glad for that because from the box score, it looks like another game of missed opportunities, and hits in double-digits, but scattered enough to prevent any real scoring.  If I had one wish for this team, it would be to have them hit consistently in the clutch.  To me, this is the single biggest problem that ails the White Sox in 2008.  The pitching was not great, but good enough, with just 3 earned by Contreras.  The White Sox pitch well, get guys on base a lot of the time, but the one thing this team just cannot do so far with any consistency is hit with runners in scoring position.  That inability may cost them a playoff birth.  If this team hits in the clutch with more consistency, they would be a practical shoe-in for the Division since they pitch so well, even with Buehrle so far having a mediocre season.  Top to bottom, no pitching staff is deeper as far as I can tell.  Still, this game is won in reality, not 'what ifs.'  The White Sox have shown their potential, so it is clear this team can hit in the clutch sometimes and win.  They have done so inconsistently, and still find themselves 7 games over .500 and still 4.5 games atop the Central Division.  If this ballclub could play to its potential, and Konerko could get healthy and be the Konerko we have come to know, this team would run away and hide in this division.  They will have a chance to start again against the lowly Pirates tomorrow night. 

The White Sox ended their perfect run against the Rockies in interleague play with their loss tonight 2-0.  Errors were costly, with Konerko unable to field a grounder that ultimately plated the first run of the ballgame. Still, without being able to score a single run all night, errors or no errors, this team is not going to win ballgames.  Three hits is not enough.  The pitching was very good again, with John Danks surrenduring no earned runs on 5 hits.  With Minnesota's win, the Sox' lead is down to 4.5 games. 

I suppose there is no point getting upset with a trend that has been in existence for this team over the past year and a half.  It's not likely to change now since it hasn't changed before. This team features excellent pitching and a streaky offense - period.  That is what they are and that is what they are going to be.  They have little ability to manufacture runs so if it is not their night offensively, they will not win.  Simple as that.  It frustrates me this team has few options, but without an offensive overhaul, this is what this team is.  Konerko hitting .215,  Thome hitting .219, and now Quentin cooling off has not helped matters.  It is not April.  It is the middle of June, and while Paulie has been dealing with his hand injury, this team needs more from the middle of its lineup to continue to compete down the stretch.  Because everyone else in the division has underachieved, the White Sox have a legitimate shot.  Still, they need more, and they need it now - not necessarily from different guys, but from who they have on the field today.

Ed Farmer on the radio broadcast often speaks of the runs scored from the seventh inning on often deciding a ballgame.  They did last night when the White Sox managed to put together a seventh-inning 3-run ralley.  The reason the game was a bit on the 'freaky' side was because all of the Rockies' runs came via the solo home run.  Looks as if they like hitting here as much as the White Sox do.  It was not a stellar night for Gavin Floyd, but the offense was fortunately able to pick up the pitching, as they so often appear able to do at home.  Then, the bullpen did its thing and closed the door to enable another White Sox home victory.  What surprised me a bit about their lack of success in Detroit was they fact they had done pretty well there in the past.  The Sox will have to get used to playing and winning on the road, but in the meantime they can hopeully continue their home success with another victory tonight.

The White Sox sleptwalked their way through this series.  Either the pitching was not there and the hitting was, or vice versa.  Today Buehrle was fantastic, but with the White Sox unable to do anything more than score 1 run, he didn't have much of a chance to win unless he pitched a shutout.  Surrenduring only 1 run should have been good enough.  Kenny Rogers has been tough on this team in the past, but the Sox need to make adjustments.  Last night Verlander made an adjustment to beat a team out that has owned them.  The White Sox hitters could not reciprocate that with an adjustment to Rogers.  Hopefully the Indians will beat the Twins tonight so the Sox will lose no more ground to second-place Minnesota.  Still, the Sox will have to do their own winning - quickly, starting at home.  What I don't like about this series is awakening the sleeping Tigers, who have struggled all year.  The Sox did themselves no favors giving them even the thought they could get back in this race.  It is very early, and I suppose nobody save the Royals are truly out of it yet. But the Sox had a chance to impress upon the Tigers they are the team to beat in the Central.  They failed to do that today. 

The White Sox had nothing working for them tonight.  Vazquez didn't have it, giving up 5 earned runs over 6 innings, and the offense, who has owned Verlander in the past, could not do better than 4 hits and 1 run.  Verlander seemed to rely less on his fastball since everyone knows the Sox hit the fastball.  The White Sox were therefore shut down.  A boring game to watch for a Sox fan.  Not much else to report except for the hope they will get at least one in this series tomorrow.
 

The White Sox did not look like losers tonight.  They were in the ballgame all night long, but did not run the bases as well as they could, and Jose Contreras was not particularly good tonight.  That to me was the key - Jose Contreras.  Six earned runs is not good, even if the offense has been clicking lately.  Contreras' pitches seems to lay flat right over the plate all night, and as Steve Stone said during the radio broadcast, whenever Contreras would drop down, he would leave the ball over the inner portion of the plate and it got hit hard most of the time.  Why Cabrera was pitched to, a guy who had proven himself to be hitting better than Larish behind him is anybody's guess, but in the end, Contreras had to make pitches he didn't make. 

Fortunately the Sox lost no ground on the Twins who were shut out tonight by Cleveland.  Also, the White Sox will face Justin Verlander tomorrow, a guy they have owned for the most part, who has been struggling mightily this year.  Let's hope for better things tomorrow.

I knew it would be the best case scenario - for the Sox to sweep the Twins in a four-game set and be up 6.5 games in the Central Division.  I didn't know if it would happen, and would have been happy with 3 out of 4.  But I'll take the perfect homestand.  Home runs, solid pitching, and plenty of offense have helped the White Sox thrive at home.  They will hopefully take the power show on the road now as they play next in Detroit.  They have always played well in Comerica, and that will hopefully continue tomorrow.  Great to see Nick Swisher breaking out, raising his batting average substantially at home, and knocking a couple over the wall from both sides of the plate. 

It is pretty clear to me this team can pitch with any team certainly in this division, and probably in all of baseball.  Now that they have been hitting, they may be able to hit with the best of them too.  If that continues to happen with any consistency for the rest of the season, the White Sox should make the postseason and have a shot at the crown once again. 

Feast or famine.  Hot or cold.  Good or bad.  It seems the White Sox offense in 2008 is either one or the other, and rarely in the middle.  For now, this offense is scorching hot, plating 10 or more runs for three games straight now, this time on a warm a muggy day in Chicago.  Incredible.  I will not venture to guess whether this sudden outburst of offense is a direct result of Ozzie's tirade after the awful Tampa Bay series, but whatever it is, I wish they could bottle it up and take it whenever the need a little 'Instant offense.'  Gavin Floyd gave up just 2 earned over 7 innings.  Fantastic.  Instead of getting too high with the highs or low with the lows, this team is steadily growing in its stature as the team to beat in this division, now with a 5.5 game lead and 10 games over .500.  If they can sweep the Twins tomorrow, they could be 6.5 games up in the division before the end of tomorrow evening.
 

Under almost any circumstances Mark Buehrle pitched well enough to win, surrenduring only 1 earned run over eight innings.  Tonight, Mark would have ultimately needed only 3 runs, but the Sox offense decided to give the pitching staff yet another breather with an 11-2 shellacking of the Twins. I'm glad to see the White Sox beating pitchers now that were giving them trouble before - guys like Hernandez, Blackburn, and Grienke as I mentioned yesterday.  The Sox appeared to be waiting on the offspeed stuff, and Livan was fooling nobody tonight.  Crede is absolutely on fire, hitting two three-run homers tonight, his second multi-homer game in a row.  Paul Konerko even got himself a triple, his first since 2000, going 2-for-4 on the evening.  With tonight's win, the White Sox have guaranteed themselves to remain in first place regardless of what happens in the next two games against Minnesota, having now extended their lead to 4.5 games.  It would be great to be 6.5 up, but I like the Sox chances to take at least 3 out of 4 games in this series.  They're hitting (literally) on all cylinders now.

Javier Vazquez was not at his best last night.  With the way this pitching staff has been throwing the ball lately though, I would say it is okay to cut these guys some slack. The offense, long overdue in paying back its pitchers, did so last night, putting up 10 runs against Minnesota pitching.  It appears the Sox are finding something offensively these days.  They have done so against pitching that had given them problems as the past - guys like Blackburn and Grienke.  If the trend of strong pitching and enough offense continues, not to mention exceptional defense, as displayed last night by Konerko and Dye, both making spectacular diving grabs, then this team should be in it all year long.  It appears this division in 2008 is there for whomever wants it.  The White Sox are poised to take advantage.  Kenny was right.  This team has the horses.  They now need to perform as they are capable of, as they did last night. 

Jose Contreras was a question mark for a lot of people coming into this season.  And while there are 102 ballgames to go in 2008, he has thus far proven to be a rock in this rotation for the White Sox.  He continued his KC domination last night, helping the White Sox sweep the Royals, and extend their lead in the Central Division to 2.5 games. Contreras had some offense behind him, with Dye, Thome, Cabrera, and Ozuna all getting a couple his apiece.  With the Twins coming to town, this could be a pretty big series as June series go.  I had forgotten it was to be a 4-game set with a makeup game. If the Sox at least split, they gain and lost no ground.  Hopefully they can game some ground by continuing their winning ways at home.

Well...this is another game in which the White Sox had to pick themselves up when one part of the team failed.  It was good to see the offense pick up Bobby Jenks' blown save in the ninth.  It took an extra 6 innings to get it done, but they didn't quit and Paulie was able to hit the walk-off home run just a little bit before midnight.  Before that though, the relief efforts by the bullpen and the defense of Alexei Ramirez really saved the evening, allowing them to come back in the 15th.  Let's go for the sweep tomorrow!

It was good to see the Sox get back in the win column with last night's thumping of the Royals.  While  beating up on the Royals may not seem like much of an accomplishment with the way KC has been playing lately, Zach Grienke has been solid this year, and never an easy guy for the White Sox to face.  They managed 8 earned runs off him last night, while Gavin Floyd only allowed 2 earned runs over 7 innings.  The ball was flying out of the yard, with Swisher finally hitting one out, Quentin doing what he does - now with 15 home runs and 50 RBI on the season.  Alexei Ramirez appears to not want to leave the starting lineup, and with the way he has been playing on both sides of the ball, with another homerun last night, it doesn't look like he will be leaving the everyday lineup just yet.  He just might have played himself into a starting job.  I hope so.  Two more with KC, then the Twins come to town. It will be interesting to see how things shape up in the division standings by the end of this weekend.
 

What Ozzie said after the game..."it could be me, it could be Greg Walker, it could be the players"...when referring to what he believes has to happen to this team was not received well by Kenny Williams, who was disappointed with his manager. What I believe endears Guillen to Sox fans though, is the fact he speaks his mind, much of which resonates with what the fans themselves are thinking. The White Sox' inability to drive runners in scoring position, especially with two outs has been epidemic for a year and a half now. If the White Sox do not quickly pick up their pitchers with some offense, this will be a very difficult summer. Ozzie said there will be changes to the lineup on Tuesday but...given the personnell, there are only so many changes that can realistically be made. Quentin in the lineup alone should help though.