2008 State of the Sox

Week in a Box: April 7-13

And now a look back at the week that was.  As always, if your opinion differs, state your case.

Player of the Week:  Joe Crede.  Two grand slams -- including one to break open the home opener -- will do that

Player of the Weak:  Jim Thome.  Went 2-for-14 with no extra-base hits this week, and he's missing pitches he ordinarily hammers.

Pitcher of the Week:  Gavin Floyd.  He took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning against the Tigers, improving to 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA on the season and stopping a two-game losing streak.  Now, if he can manage it against a team besides Detroit.  Honorable mention to Javier Vazquez.

Pitcher of the Weak:  John Danks.  The Minnesota Twins deployed their Death By Singles attacked, and Danks succumbed, lasting only 2 1/3 innings in a 12-5 loss to the Twins.

Fireman of the Week:  Matt Thornton.  He didn't work anything resembling high-leverage innings, but he threw three scoreless innings, striking out four Twins over a two-inning stint, and retiring three Tigers on six pitches, all of them strikes.

Gas Can of the Week:  Nick Masset.  Nick Magic played a big part in two five-run innings in that 12-5 loss to the Twins, allowing all three of Danks' inherited runners to score on top of his five earned runs.  He helped turn a 7-3 game into a 12-3 game.

Super Sub of the Week:  Brian Anderson and Toby Hall.  Both did what they were supposed to do in their spot starts.

Super Scrub of the Week:  Nobody.  With two off days, Ozzie Guillen hasn't had to use his bench much.

Gold Glove of the Week:  Juan Uribe.  Continues to be a double play-turning machine.

Hands of Stone:  A.J. Pierzynski.  It's mostly the pitchers' fault, but teams are running wild on him right now.

April 13: White Sox 11, Tigers 0

It seems like the White Sox have had more easy victories against Detroit in the last week than they had all last year against any opponent.  Two grand slams provided a hefty cushion, and Javier Vazquez didn't mess around.

The end result: A second straight shutout of the Tigers.

Paul Konerko broke out of his slump in a big way, driving in the first five runs of the game off Kenny Rogers.  After it appeared Rogers would skate from an early jam in the first when Jim Thome grounded into a 4-6-3, Konerko shot one through the left side for a one-run lead.

He then broke it open with a grand slam in the fifth, taking an 0-1 curveball just left of dead center for his second homer of the year.  He nearly doubled his season total of RBI in one game.

Nick Swisher started both rallies, singling to lead off the first, and walking to lead off the fifth.  Orlando Cabrera followed suit with a walk and his first infield single, respectively, as the top of the order continued to do its job.

Rogers' day ended on the strangest play of the young season.  Thome hit a sky-high pop-up behind third base, and Miguel Cabrera fell into Doug Eddings while trying to track it.  The ball ended up dropping just behind third base for an infield single.  Zach Miner came in and struck out Konerko, but Jermaine Dye picked him up with an RBI double.

After A.J. Pierzynski's third intentional walk of the season, Joe Crede did what Joe Crede does with the bases loaded, crushing a no-doubter into the left field stands for his second slam of the season.

It was all icing on the cake for Vazquez, who was as sharp as ever today.  He struck out Clete Thomas -- who entered the day 10-for-23 -- three times and made him look like a rookie for once.  He struck out nine over seven innings, allowing only five hits and zero walks.  Only one Tiger reached scoring position, when Gary Sheffield led off with a double.  He was stranded there after two flyouts and a strikeout.

Here's how easy it was at the end: Javier Vazquez and Matt Thornton combined to throw 24 straight strikes -- Thornton went 6-for-6 in his ultra-quick inning of work.  Nick Masset broke the streak with his first pitch of the ninth, but sent the Tigers home scoreless by stranding two runners after a walk and a single.

Record: 7-4 | Box score | Play-by-play