What, you thought I could limit it to
only five?
No. 20: Sept. 5 -- Tigers 2, White Sox 1 (11 innings)This game wouldn't have registered had it been anybody but Timo Perez driving in the game-winning run with a double off the wall. Otherwise, it was your garden variety, can't-get-a-run-off-a-reliever-in-six-innings type of performance with which we grew all too familiar.
No. 19: Aug. 21 -- White Sox 5, Royals 2Alternate title: "When Overmanaging Becomes Embarrassing." The first of two White Sox winners on the list, and this one marks the debut of Mike Myers. Not by coincidence, this is also the game where four consecutive pitches were thrown by four different White Sox relievers.
No. 18: Aug. 19 -- Mariners 11, White Sox 5
Jon Garland gives up 10 runs in 2 2/3 innings, the second time he
breaks double-digits in that category. Making matters worse, five of
them scored after a Juan Uribe and three consecutive walks by Ryan
Bukvich. And during one of those walks, Bukvich threw a run-scoring
wild pitch as well.
No. 17: July 2 -- Orioles 7, White Sox 6
On the night of what felt like his last start as a White Sox at U.S.
Cellular Field, Mark Buehrle left the game in the eighth inning with a
6-2 lead. Bukvich and Bobby Jenks undid his work in a matter of
minutes.
No. 16: May 8 -- Twins 7, White Sox 4 (10 innings)
This one featured the turning points of the season for two White Sox whipping boys:
- Mike MacDougal had a 3.09 ERA when he entered the game in the
eighth inning to protect a three-run lead. After giving up three hits
without recording an out and watching all of them come around to score,
it skyrocketed to 5.40, and never dipped below 5.00 again.
- Nick Masset gave up the game-winning shot to Justin Morneau,
starting a stretch where he'd give up 12 runs over five innings of
relief. His season was never the same, either.
No. 15: April 15 -- Indians 2, White Sox 1Jose Contreras, Masset, Andrew Sisco and David Aardsma hold the Indians to one hit and zero earned runs -- and still lose, thanks to two errors by Joe Crede and another by Darin Erstad. Game time temperature was 39 degrees, so that's why the Sox couldn't hit.
No. 14: July 21 -- Red Sox 11, White Sox 2The game was already well in hand when Ehren Wassermann, Boone Logan and Dewon Day combined to walk five straight batters en route to a seven-run inning for Boston, but they downright humiliated the bullpen, even by 2007 White Sox standards. Kason Gabbard started for the Red Sox, so that's why the Sox couldn't hit.
No. 13: June 3 -- Blue Jays 4, White Sox 3Toronto starter Sean Marcum only lasted three innings, so that's why... you get the idea.
When Brian Tallet induced a pop-out off the bat of A.J. Pierzynski leading of the six inning, he extended the Sox's hitless streak off relievers to 54 at-bats. In other words, opposing relievers had combined to throw two consecutive no-hitters against White Sox hitters.
They added seven more to that list before Pierzynski snapped the slide with a leadoff double in the ninth. In true Sox fashion, he'd reach third on Crede's productive groundout to first, but Rob Mackowiak popped out and Alex Cintron struck out to end the game.
No. 12: June 24 -- Cubs 3, White Sox 0The North Siders enjoyed the first sweep of their crosstown rivals in the history of interleague play. Hawk Harrelson embarrassed himself by bitching out umpires for correctly ruling an interference call on Juan Uribe, taking away an apparent double play. Ozzie Guillen was ejected, but only because he requested it.
No. 11: July 14 -- Orioles 7, White Sox 6 (10 innings)
With Baltimore down to its final strike, Jenks throws a wild pitch that allows the tying run to score. Hawk allegedly erupted with his most explosive "Dadgummit!" of the year, but unfortunately, I had the pleasure of seeing this one in person.
No. 10: May 30 -- Twins 7, White Sox 6What's more embarrassing than blowing a lead with a wild pitch? How about losing a game on a four-pitch walk?
That's exactly what Aardsma did in this gem. With the bases loaded and two outs, Guillen called on Aardsma to face Torii Hunter. Aardsma preceded to throw four pitches nowhere near the strike zone, and that was the ballgame.
This one had other highlights, such as Paul Konerko's throw to second bouncing off Cintron's knee. Garland also let an early 6-1 lead go to waste by walking five batters, and Minnesota's bullpen contributed heavily to the 61 streak by throwing six hitless innings of relief.
No. 9: July 16 -- White Sox 11, Indians 10I firmly believe that this White Sox team caused more fans to turn against them in victory than in defeat. That's why a win against the eventual AL Central champions ranks as the ninth worst game of the season.
With the game tied at 2, the Sox opened the floodgates in the sixth, sending 13 batters to the plate, resulting in nine runs. They showed some power, they hustled, they took advantage of poor strategy and execution by the Indians, and in the process, created the most glorious 40 minutes of White Sox baseball this season. After five and a half innings, the Sox led 11-2.
It ended with Jenks stranding the potential tying run at second, the sixth Sox reliever deployed by Guillen that night. When a fan can no longer enjoy a nine-run lead without an ounce of dread, what else is left?
No. 8: July 6 -- Twins 20, White Sox 14No. 7: July 6 -- Twins 12, White Sox 0
Sure, Minnesota scored 20 in the opener, while the White Sox's No. 20 suffered through
a historically putrid outing. But then I remembered that the Twins spanked the Sox by double the margin without a designated hitter in the second game. That's an insult to injury if there ever was one.
No. 6: July 31 -- Yankees 16, White Sox 3It's not just that the Sox lost by a baker's dozen in the opener of a series in the Bronx. It's that they lost by a baker's dozen on the evening of the trade deadline, during which Kenny Williams made it abundantly clear that the team that tortured Sox fans for the first four months of the season would continue to hammer away at them for the final two.
Two extra points -- Sox pitchers allowed a franchise-high eight home runs (the Yankees tied their team record), and Scott Podsednik, Darin Erstad and Jerry Owens appeared in the same lineup for the first time.
No. 2: Aug. 24 -- Red Sox 11, White Sox 3
No. 2: Aug. 24 -- Red Sox 10, White Sox 1
No. 2: Aug. 25 -- Red Sox 14, White Sox 2
No. 2: Aug. 26 -- Red Sox 11, White Sox 1If you want to pore through the details of this bloodbath and decide on an order, you have a sicker sense of humor than I do.
No. 1: April 2 -- Indians 12, White Sox 5For future reference, when your Opening Day starter gives up seven runs in one inning of work because he's simultaneously going through a divorce and implicated in a smuggling investigation, perhaps you should just end the season right then and there.