2007 State of the Sox

August 8: White Sox 6, Indians 4 (13 innings)

Tonight exemplifies what I love about baseball.  Pick a storyline, any storyline:

1) Juan Uribe winning the ballgame with a two-run homer on the same night he committed two errors, including dropping a shallow flyball that nearly cost the Sox the game.

2) A.J. Pierzynski bailing out Uribe with a leadoff homer in the 12th, rehashing memories of one of the highlights of 2006, St. Stanislaus Day.

3) Ozzie Guillen getting a chance to make up for his gaffe that helped decide yesterday's game -- and making the wrong decision again!  Jerry Owens led off the 11th with a single, and instead of stealing on slow Joe Borowski and Victor Martinez, he called for Josh Fields to bunt once again.  Fields popped up the bunt, wasting an out, and then Owens stole second the very next batter.  Martinez couldn't even make the exchange!  To nobody's surprise, nobody scored.

4) Owens turning in a completely schizophrenic performance.  Before the single that could've/should've set up the winning run two innings before it actually happened, he tapped back weakly to the pitcher three times in a row.  On the other hand, he made a fantastic diving catch to rob Victor Martinez of extra bases and to save a run.

5) The return of Mike MacDougal, who was blowing 96-m.p.h. fastballs past Indians hitters up in the zone and locking them up with tight two-strike sliders.

6) Bobby Jenks retiring three more hitters, extending his perfect streak to 35, in perfect usage by Ozzie.  The game was tied going into the ninth, and Ozzie wanted to keep it that way.  Mission accomplished.  Jenks even made a nice play coming off the mound to snare Ryan Garko's chopper, making the throw in time to end the inning.

7) The redemption of Jose Contreras, who looked great in his bullpen debut.  He was almost handed his 15th loss of the season when Uribe dropped the pop-up in the 12th, but he came back in the 13th to strike out two batters, pulling the string on Franklin Gutierrez with a runner on second to end the inning.

8) Jon Garland and C.C. Sabathia looking wobbly, but turning in a duel nonetheless.  Garland pitched rather well for a guy who struggled to get strike one, retiring 11 in a row at one point.  He fell behind 11 of the first 14 batters he faced, but he pitched well from behind.  He got dinged for two runs in the sixth on a pair of run-scoring, opposite-field singles where good hitting beat good pitches.

Meanwhile, Captain Cheeseburger looked as beatable as he has against the Sox, which isn't saying much.  They only scored two runs on him, but it should've been more considering five of the six hits off Sabathia went for extra bases.  Timing, as always, was the issue.  Jermaine Dye grounded out and failed to score the runner from third in the first inning, and then Fields was caught trying to steal third in the fifth to thwart another potential opportunity.

Add in all of the above, and that's why watching baseball is an unparalleled experience.  Damn the ratings, and give me this game anytime.

Record: 53-60 | Box score | Play-by-play