2006 State of the Sox

August 31: Devil Rays 5, White Sox 3 (10 innings)

The three-game winning streak the Sox rode into today's game sputtered to a stop.  Despite having very little offense, shaky pitching and underwhelming defense, the Devil Rays needed 10 innings to beat the Sox.  That's how much talent is on this team, but at the same time, that's how inconsistent they are.

No one particular person was to blame.  The offense couldn't figure out a Tampa Bay bullpen they'd beaten the first two games of the series, the pitching blew two leads, and some shoddy defense ruined one of them.

Brandon McCarthy was pinned with another extra-inning loss thanks to Delmon Young.  It's safe to say he's gotten revenge against Sox pitching after Freddy Garcia plunked him in his first major-league plate appearance.  The rookie finished the series 8-for-11, including a 4-for-5 performance today.

He led off with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and to third on Carl Crawford's ground ball.  Two walks later, he and Greg Norton scored on Jorge Cantu's two-run single.  Game over.  Three of McCarthy's losses have come in extra innings, and another one has come in the ninth.  As good as he sometimes is and definitely can be, I don't particularly trust him in a one-run game because I don't think he's conditioned to working without a net. 

Bobby Jenks would've been a better option -- it's just a shame they had to use him in the first game of the series.  Thanks, Neal Cotts and David Riske!

Of course, Matt Thornton blew the last lead the Sox had when he gave up a solo shot to Dioner Navarro.  Ed Farmer said he threw a change-up, which is scary since it's really not that good of a pitch.  He needs to go after hitters with the high and hard stuff. 

And then there's the fact that the Sox offense might not have done much.  They had a couple nice bursts.  Jermaine Dye had a run-scoring single, and A.J. Pierzynski hit an abnormally clutch two-run homer after a Paul Konerko double play for a 3-2 lead.  Unfortunately, they couldn't do anything against Tampa Bay's bullpen, as Devil Rays relievers threw 4 1/3 innings of one-hit ball. 

A decent outing by Javier Vazquez went spoiled, as he tossed a quality start with six innings of two-run ball.  He was spared a run when Navarro failed to tag on a flyball to left with one out, but it came back when Tadahito Iguchi short-hopped a relay toss on the back end of a double play attempt.  Instead of ending the inning, a run crossed the plate. 

Record: 78-55 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 30: White Sox 5, Devil Rays 4

Tadahito Iguchi picked the right time to break out of a power slump, and he picked up a teammate in the process.  His two-out homer -- his first since August 9 -- gave the Sox a whole new ballgame, and Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome made it a White Sox victory a couple batters later.

The always-shaky Tampa Bay bullpen lost a 4-1 lead despite the best efforts of Scott Podsednik, who went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts and stranded six runners.  It's a candidate for worst single-game performance of 2006.  His strikeout with Juan Uribe on third made it seem like the Rays' relievers would be let off the hook, but Iguchi followed with a bomb to center to tie it up. 

But the Sox weren't done.  Dye singled, alertly stole second and scored when Thome, playing his first game since tweaking his hamstring, ripped a knuckling single past Rocco Baldelli to drive him in.  During a season in which the Sox have struggled to both steal bases and score from second, the go-ahead run was awfully refreshing.  Thome aggravated his hammy, so he may be out for a few more days.

Jenks nailed down the save with the help of another strange putout -- a 9-3-6 double play.  Baldelli flew out to Dye while Ben Zobrist rounded second -- in his scramble to get back to first to beat Dye's throw, evidently he missed second.  Konerko threw to Uribe, the ump called Zobrist out, and the game was over. 

The Sox somehow recovered after a rough start from Jon Garland, who gave up a leadoff homer to Baldelli, one of three in the first inning.  Delmon Young, still not fazed by the HBP, had two of the four RBIs.  Garland only allowed the one run the rest of the way, but it didn't look like the Sox offense was going to throw in its share, stranding 11 runners while only driving two in. 

Juan Uribe drove one in with a sacrifice run; the other scored on Jorge Cantu's error, one of three Devil Rays errors on the night.

Record: 78-54 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 29: White Sox 12, Devil Rays 9

If the Twins are the Pirahnas, then perhaps the Devil Rays could be called the Ill-Tempered Sea Bass.  The Sox evened the season series at two apiece, but it wasn't easy -- even with the rare shellacking of a middling lefty.  The Sox sent Casey Fossum packing early, but the Devil Rays brought the tying run to the plate as late as the eighth inning. 
It was an ugly victory, but it got the job done.  The Sox are now back atop the wild card lead with a Twins loss. 

This is an easy recap, since the main storylines are repeating themselves:

• Jermaine Dye:  MLB's Player of the Week and my MVP hit a big three-run homer in the first that bounced off the top of the wall.  Delmon Young probably should've caught it, but he didn't.  He'd later misplay a flyball that helped the Devil Rays cut the lead to three in the eighth.
• Freddy Garcia:  He can't complain about offense, but he turned a 7-0 game into a 7-5 game before he left.  Tampa Bay also swiped four bases on four attempts off him.  He wins his 13th game of the year while his ERA clears 5.00.
• Joe Crede:  A four-hit day, a couple RBI, and his average is back over .300.
• A.J. Pierzynski:  Hit by a pitch again, this time in retaliation, as Freddy plunked Delmon Young in his first major-league at-bat.  Young would homer off Freddy later.
  
• Ross Gload:  He's filling in admirably for Jim Thome -- two hits in four at-bats.
• Joey Cora:  Sent Paul Konerko to the slaughter trying to score from first on Crede's double in the sixth. He was out by a ton.
• Brian Anderson:  A hit raises his average over .230 and he also drew a walk, but at the same time failed to capitalize with a runner on third and less than two outs.  A step forward, a step back.
  
• Neal Cotts:  Sucked.
• David Riske:  Also sucked, though it's typical of his up-and-down ways.
• Matt Thornton and Bobby Jenks:  Saved the day, though they shouldn't have been called upon.

Record: 77-54 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 27: White Sox 6, Twins 1

Three words can sum up the difference between Mark Buehrle's gem today versus his mediocre outing against Detroit earlier in the week -- the inside corner. 

After weeks of nibbling with the backdoor curveball that he couldn't get, Buehrle was on the attack.  He didn't just use the inside corner to keep hitters honest -- he lived on it.  Fastballs and cutters up and in, curveballs low and in, with the occasional change on the outside corner with two strikes. 

Simply put, we hadn't seen this Buehrle since the end of June, and it was about damn time.  Even when the Twins scored their only run in the first, Buehrle threw a good pitch -- an up-and-in heater that Michael Cuddyer fisted over Joe Crede's head for a bloop RBI single.  This time, bad luck could not faze Buehrle, and neither did a defensive lapse when he picked off Luis Castillo, only to see Ross Gload throw high to second on the rundown.  Castillo advanced to third, but Buehrle left them there.

Not only did Buehrle pitch like Buehrle, but the offense hit like it should have off Carlos Silva -- lots and lots of homers.  They even overcame some early double plays -- at one point, the Sox had ended three out of their last four innings via the twin killing going back to yesterday.  Paul Konerko's 5-4-3 double play that stranded Scott Podsednik on third provided an ominous omen that fortunately never came to fruition.

Konerko would make up for it in the third when he drove in the go-ahead run with a double to the left-center gap, one batter after Jermaine Dye's RBI infield single.  Konerko then started the rally in the fifth that would put the game away, singling with two outs to keep the inning alive.  A.J. Pierzynski paid Silva back for hitting him squarely in the ass with a fastball by drilling a two-run shot just inside the right-field foul pole.   Crede would make it back-to-back with a laser over the left-field fence that reminded me of his first major-league homer. 

Buehrle guided a well-rounded effort by the Sox.  Juan Uribe homered, Brian Anderson had a couple hits (PLAY HIM), and everybody had a hit besides Tadahito Iguchi, who could use a break.  Scott Podsednik had his best game in some time, going 3-for-4 with another bunt single and a stolen base while playing solid defense -- including an outfield assist, as he gunned down Castillo at second base trying to stretch a single into a double.

Record: 76-54 | Box score | Play-by-play

Week in a Box: August 20-26

This was perhaps the most exhausting week of the season, with the Sox always scrambling, and more often than not, coming up short.  Of course, there's plenty of blame to go around.

Player of the Week:  Jermaine Dye.  Jermaine boosted his MVP status with at least one hit in every single game this week; four of them were homers, including a two-run shot off Joe Nathan to keep Saturday's game alive.  Also scored four of the Sox's 10 runs in the blowout against Detroit.  He surpassed 100 RBI this week for the fourth time in his career.

Player of the Weak:  Ozzie Guillen.  I know he's not a player, but poor lineup construction helped to lose some winnable games.

Pitcher of the Week:  Jon Garland.  Worked his first shutout of the season against the Tigers to help ensure the split.  He's become the rock of the rotation, for better or for worse.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Jose Contreras.  Something's wrong with him, because he started twice this week and didn't even crack eight innings combined.  But he did give up 12 runs and 15 hits. 

Fireman of the Week:  Brandon McCarthy.  He earned himself a chance to start with 5 1/3 innings of one-hit, one-run ball.  Also tossed a scoreless inning against Detroit. 

Gas can of the Week:  Neal Cotts.  Another rough week -- five baserunners in only two innings, and 20 in 6 2/3 innings over the course of August.  He's been downgraded to "useless" until further notice.

Super Sub of the Week:  Ross Gload.  Filling in for Jim Thome, who pulled up with a hamstring injury in a game against Detroit, Gload's gone 6-for-13 with some sterling defensive work at first base.

Super Scrub of the Week:  Sandy Alomar Jr.  Did you know he started three times this week?  Isn't that three times too many?  He did hit a homer off Johan Santana, but his presence is a downgrade.

Gold Glove:  Ross Gload.  You can see the difference in range when Gload's out there, in comparison to Konerko.  Also made a nice stretch and dig on Pablo Ozuna's 5-7-3 putout.

Hands of Stone:  Rob Mackowiak.  I know he can't do much about it because he doesn't make the lineup cards, but man, he's terrible.

August 26: Twins 8, White Sox 7 (11 innings)

I don't have the heart to re-live this one, so I'm just going to mention the bare minimum of details needed for searching this later.

• Rob Mackowiak started -- against a lefty -- in place of Brian Anderson.  The last time Anderson started, he went 2-for-4 with a triple and a diving catch.  This is infuriating me.
• Jose Contreras worked the shortest outing of the year, only lasting 2 2/3 innings, giving up 7 hits.  Many of them were to center field.  Please tell me how many Brian Anderson would have gotten to, 'cause I missed the early going of this game.
• The Sox fared alright against Santana -- three runs in seven innings.  That's a relative pounding.  Gload and Konerko both took him deep.
  
• Brandon McCarthy gave up his requisite homer -- a solo shot to Torii Hunter, one swing after Hunter just missed one foul.  It was the only hit McCarthy allowed, and he walked one while striking out four over 1 1/3 innings.
• Bobby Jenks was forced to register five outs in the ninth inning thanks to a Juan Uribe error, and a blown call at first.  He only retired four batters before a run was scored on a Nick Punto sacrifice fly.
• Jermaine Dye homered off Joe Nathan, just after pulling a long one a mere few feet foul of the left-field pole.  Add Nathan to the blown saves list.
  
• Matt Thornton was dinked to death, with Lew Ford pushing a jam-shot single between third and short, advancing to second on a bunt and scoring two batters later on Punto's grounder off a diving Ross Gload's glove.
• Tadahito Iguchi grounded into a double play to end the game -- with Dye standing on deck.  That was after Pods reached base with a nice drag bunt.
  

I'm going to re-continue crying now.

Record: 75-54 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 25: Twins 5, White Sox 4

With Brad Radke gone after two innings and a huge chance to wear out the Twins bullpen in the first game of the series, this was a game the White Sox needed to win.  They didn't, and now they're behind the Twins in the Wild Card, and they'll be lucky to avoid the sweep.



The complexion of the game changed over the course of two pitches -- when Neal Cotts allowed a single to Justin Morneau on a 1-0 pitch, and then Torii Hunter followed up with a first-pitch, three-run homer off David Riske to give the Twins a 4-3 lead.  Riske pitched Hunter away, which was where Hunter looked for it, and he put it into the right-field bullpen.

The fact that Mike MacDougal took the loss in the eighth inning is almost immaterial, because he pitched well, getting groundballs.  They just happened to be extremely well-placed.  Hunter hit a weak single, Lew Ford replaced him at first after a fielder's choice on a weak grounder, he advanced to second on a weak grounder, and then scored on Bartlett's grounder.  There's not much he could do about that.

But Cotts -- September call-ups can't come soon enough, because Boone Logan (54 Ks, 1 HR in 40 IP) might be a better option to get a lefty out.  Cotts has now allowed 17 of the last 28 lefties he's faced to reach base.  And Riske, who's been effective more often than not, made a bad pitch.  It's a shame, because Ozzie made the right decision in pulling Javier Vazquez, who'd pitched well but has teased with the five-and-dive all year.

That doesn't excuse the Sox offense, which was suppressed by former Sox farmhand Matt Guerrier after it jumped on Brad Radke for three runs in the first two innings.  Paul Konerko hit his first homer in 60 at-bats for a two-run lead after Jermaine Dye walked, and then Rob Mackowiak contributed an RBI single in the second.

Joey Cora killed the rally when he sent Ross Gload home, testing Jason Tyner's quality arm.  Problem was, Gload had just touched third when Tyner got the ball.  Instead of having runners on the corners and one out, they had a runner on first and two outs.  Scott Podsednik hit a flyball to center that would've scored Gload had he held up, but for reasons only Cora knows, he wasn't there. 

Mackowiak, for reasons only Guillen knows, was starting in center.  Fortunately, he had two hits, because he didn't need to be out there.  And when Pods dragged ass on a flyball that was closer to left than center and went to the wall for a double, Anderson's abscence was felt even more.

The Sox offense fell asleep, with A.J. Pierzynski's first pitch homer off Pat Nesheck serving as the only additional run.  And if they're not going to score off the Guerriers of the world, they're not going to score off Jesse Crain and Joe Nathan.  They made things a little exciting in the ninth when Podsednik singled with one out, then advanced to second on a bad pickoff throw. 

But the unflappable Nathan locked up Alex Cintron (pinch-hitting for Tadahito Iguchi, a move I didn't get) on a curveball for out No. 2, and Jermaine Dye fouled out for the final out.  A fan interfered with the ball as Justin Morneau lined up for the catch, and the first-base ump ruled Dye out.  It was a good move by the fan, as he didn't touch Morneau and tried to keep the Sox alive.  It's better to do that than to completely yield, like Astros fans did for Juan Uribe in the bottom of the ninth of Game 4. 

Record: 75-53 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 24: White Sox 10, Tigers 0

Finally, a thorough ass-kicking.

I'll have more later, as I'm leaving for a Johnny A concert in Poughkeepsie right now.  But feel free to get a head start recapping without me.

UPDATE:  Nine two-out runs.  Nine...two-out...runs. 

Why couldn't we have gotten some of those two days ago?

Nevertheless, the Sox salvaged a split with arguably their best performance of the year.  Great pitching, great hitting, fine defense, and they didn't give up one out on the basepaths as they coasted through a game for the first time since 10 days ago. 

Pitching:   Jon Garland threw his first shutout of the season, scattering six hits and one walk while striking out two.  He hit all his spots, and as a result, the Tigers put runners in scoring position only twice -- in the third, and when he left the bases loaded on weak singles in the ninth.  In the process, he lowered his ERA to 4.47.  Yet another great outing for Stopper Jon.

Hitting:  The Sox never let Nate Robertson off the hook, thanks in large part to two Jermaine Dye homers.  The only Chicago run scored with less than two outs came on Pablo Ozuna's RBI single following a Brian Anderson triple in the third. 

Dye hit two bombs, one off the right-field foul pole, and one just inside the left.  Juan Uribe tomahawked a three-run shot.  Paul Konerko and Joe Crede hit back-to-back RBI singles off Colby Lewis in the seventh.  By the time the smoke cleared, not only did everybody besides Ross Gload have a hit -- everybody besides Ross Gload either scored a run or drove one in, too. 

Defense:  Anderson made a fine diving catch in center field -- combine it with his two hits and two runs scored, and he. should. be. playing. every. day.  Gload also made a diving stab to knock down a liner, giving him time to toss to Garland covering first.

Ozuna had the strangest gem of the day when Sean Casey singled to left off Crede's glove.  Casey thought Crede had caught it and whirled around in disgust -- only to discover that the ball trickled into left field.  Ozuna hustled in, barehanded the ball and fired to first just in time to nip the Mayor, who will have to try to live that one down for a while.  Heads-up play all around, with Gload still there to cover first.  Had Scott Podsednik been in there, I don't think he could've made that play. 

Record: 75-52 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 23: White Sox 7, Tigers 5

Well, the Sox at least avoided a sweep in Motown, and they did get to a starter early for once... but where to start unraveling this mess?



The Sox's situational hitting was great....and then it sucked the rest of the game.  Jermaine Dye had a three-run homer after Jim Thome reached with a two-out walk and Paul Konerko singled.  Then Jim Thome came through with an RBI ground rule double -- though he strained his hamstring while doing so -- and Paul Konerko followed with an RBI single to make it 6-3. 

Freddy Garcia made me ill and angry at the same time, squandering the three-run lead as the Tigers raked him around the yard.  Also, Rob Mackowiak was playing center for some unknown reason, and a ball dropped in front of him and Scott Podsednik, and behind Juan Uribe.  So after Freddy complained about his offense, he didn't help himself when he finally got some support.

(Brian Anderson did get into this game, but only as a pinch-hitter after Jim Leyland replaced his reliever during a 2-2 count.  Anderson got one pitch and struck out, although Pods recorded the strikeout for failing to get a bunt down the first two times.)

But Freddy settled down, and so did the Sox offense.  At one point, Freddy had retired 10 in a row, and at one point, the Sox offense stranded two runners in four consecutive innings, and 10 runners overall.  The culprits included:

• Dye, flying out harmlessly to center with runners on first and second and no outs in the fourth.
• Podsednik, grounding into an inning-ending double play in the fifth with runners on the corners.
• Alex Cintron, grounding into an inning-ending double play with runners on first and second in the seventh.
  

After the initial outburst, Joe Crede provided the only run afterwards with his second homer of the game in the seventh, which was a huge insurance run to put the Sox up 7-5.  Crede had two homers on the day -- on the first, he somehow managed to pull a shoe-high breaking ball on the outside corner into the left field seats. 

Freddy frustrated me all day, as Detroit ran wild on him.  They stole two bases (making it 32 for 33 on the year), and Magglio Ordonez was able to go from first to third on a single to left thanks to a huge jump.  For all the complaining he does, he doesn't throw his teammates a single bone.  ESPN2 didn't show Freddy in the dugout after Matt Thornton gave up a double to Sean Casey scoring the two inherited runners, so I don't know if he threw his hands up in disgust, but at least he can't complain about the offense.

Mike MacDougal and Bobby Jenks finished the game, doing well in a rare high-leverage situation, but had the Sox executed (0-for-5 bunting on the night, with Mackowiak, Uribe and Pods all failing), this one should've been a laugher.

Record: 74-52 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 22: Tigers 4, White Sox 0

I don't know how the offense could get any lower.  Of course, there's always the possibility of a no-hitter, but it can't get much worse.

Kenny Rogers and Fernando Rodney held the Sox to five hits as they were shut out for the third time this season.  And what's more unfortunate is that Sox hitters were able to reach base in clumps, yet still couldn't manage one measly run.

Paul Konerko grounded into two double plays, killing rallies in the first inning and eighth inning when the Sox had runners on first and second and less than two outs.  Joe Crede managed to hit two balls hard tonight (he was the only one going to right field), but when he could've used another flyball to right with first and second and no outs, he popped out to first instead.

Sandy Alomar Jr. came up to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh after Brian Anderson singled to center with first and second -- and promptly grounded out to short.  The Sox preferred grounding the ball to the left side -- they did it 11 times in fact, and grounded out 15 times overall.  It truly was a sad sight.

Mark Buehrle didn't look much better, putting the team in an early hole when he allowed four consecutive singles and a bases-loaded walk to put the Tigers up 2-0.  He got a popout and a tapper to end the inning, but the damage was already done. 

Marcus Thames killed Buehrle in particular -- he hit an RBI triple with two outs in the third, and then a solo shot in the fifth to complete the scoring on the evening, and he took advantage of Buehrle's biggest weakness: an inability to get the ball inside.

Dan Iassogna ejected Ozzie Guillen for arguing balls and strikes (the fifth time this season), and the strike zone didn't help Buehrle, who kept trying to throw backdoor curves and changeups to a spot where the umpire wouldn't call it.  He never established the inside corner, and the Tigers were able to chase him after 5 1/3 innings and nine hits.  Kenny Rogers did what Buehrle should've done, throwing a couple inside fastballs to back the Sox off the plate.  He kept them honest enough, as evidenced by the results.

Mike MacDougal and Brandon McCarthy did a nice job of keeping the Tigers down after that, but it'd be nice to have some high leverage work once in a while. 

Record: 73-52 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 21: Tigers 7, White Sox 1

CHICAGO WHITE SOX FORM RECAP

The White Sox failed to gain ground both in the wild card and the division during an important AL Central game against the DETROIT TIGERS thanks to some lackluster offense and a starting pitcher who couldn’t quell rallies.

JUSTIN VERLANDER held the Sox to one run over seven innings, with the Sox only scoring on him with a HOME RUN by JERMAINE DYE.  VERLANDER scattered five hits, as the Sox reached base here and there but were not able to put together rallies.  VERLANDER won his 15th game of the year.

The Sox starting pitcher, JOSE CONTRERAS, had a Jekyll-and-Hyde performance, alternating quick innings with ones where the TIGERS racked up hit after hit.  He ran into trouble in the SECOND INNING right after the Sox took the lead, when MAGGLIO ORDONEZ reached base by a HIT BY PITCH.  CONTRERAS came apart after that, allowing three consecutive hits en route to TWO runs, and the Sox never led again.

The Sox would add ZERO runs the rest of game thanks to NO run-scoring hit(s) by ANYBODY.  Chicago’s wild-card lead is now down to ½ game, and they trail in the division by 6 ½ games.

Record: 73-51 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 20: Twins 7, White Sox 3

CHICAGO WHITE SOX FORM RECAP

The White Sox failed to gain ground both in the wild card and the division during an important AL Central game against the MINNESOTA TWINS thanks to some lackluster offense and a starting pitcher who couldn’t quell rallies.

JOHAN SANTANA held the Sox to one run over seven innings, with the Sox only scoring on him with a DOUBLE by TADAHITO IGUCHI.  SANTANA scattered SEVEN hits, as the Sox reached base here and there but were not able to put together rallies.  SANTANA won his 15th game of the year.

The Sox starting pitcher, JAVIER VAZQUEZ, had a Jekyll-and-Hyde performance, alternating quick innings with ones where the TWINS racked up hit after hit.  He ran into trouble in the THIRD INNING right after the Sox took the lead, when JASON TYNER reached base by a(n) ERROR BY PAUL KONERKO.  VAZQUEZ came apart after that, allowing three consecutive hits en route to FOUR runs, and the Sox never led again.

The Sox would add TWO runs the rest of game thanks to TWO run-scoring hit(s) by JERMAINE DYE AND JOE CREDE.  Chicago’s wild-card lead is now down to ONE game, and they trail in the division by 5 ½ games.

Record: 73-50 | Box score | Play-by-play

Week in a Box: August 13-19

Given the up-and-down nature of the Sox’s play this past week, it’s going to prove difficult to try to pin down who was the best, and who was the worst.  We’ll give it a shot. 

Player of the Week: Jon Garland.  I couldn’t find one offensive player who didn’t have a hand in any of the Sox’s disappointments this week, but I found a pitcher who fits the bill.

Player of the Weak:  Joe Crede.  Everybody had a fairly average week at the plate except for Crede, who went 3-for-26 this week.  

Pitcher of the Week:  Jon Garland.  Two starts, two runs, two wins. 

Pitcher of the Weak:  Jose Contreras and Freddy Garcia.  Contreras had an inexplicable meltdown against the Twins, and Freddy gets in on the action thanks to his attitude.

Fireman of the Week:  David Riske.  Matt Thornton was the only pitcher to not allow a run, but he only pitched 1-1/3 innings.  Riske allowed one run in 4-1/3 innings, including 2-2/3 innings of shutout ball against Kansas City. 

Gas Can of the Week:  Neal Cotts.  For the second straight week, Neal grabs this one.  Justin Morneau’s bloop single was excusable, but three runs in less than an inning against Kansas City isn’t.

Super Sub of the Week:  Alex Cintron.  Had his highs and lows, but he drove in seven runs in his two starts with two bases-clearing hits.

Super Scrub of the Week:  Nobody.  Every Sox sub had his moments this week; even Sandy Alomar Jr.

Gold Glove:  Joe Crede.  Diving stab against Minnesota.  Diving stab against Minnesota.  Game-ending 5-3 double play against Kansas City.  No errors.

Hands of Stone:  You make the call.  Seriously, I have no idea who to pick.  Rob Mackowiak played two balls into doubles; Jermaine Dye dropped a ball, leading to a run; Alex Cintron didn’t run after a pop-up, leading to a three-run homer; Tadahito Iguchi had a couple of errors; Brian Anderson even had his first major-league error, although it came a day after his hustle preserved a victory against Kansas City.

August 19: White Sox 4, Twins 1

Plainly put, Jon Garland didn't dick around tonight.  What's to like?

• Pounding the strike zone high and low, outside and inside, with all his pitches
• Allowing only five hits in 7 2/3 innings
• Allowing only two of those hits to reach the outfield
• Retiring 14 hitters in a row (four straight 1-2-3 innings)
• Throwing first-pitch strikes to 18 out of 28 batters, including 10 of 11 at one point.
• Walking only one batter, Joe Mauer, in the first inning

Better yet, I can only remember at one point during the game when a Twin was able to pull the ball with any power.  Justin Morneau hit a towering shot down the right-field line, and Jermaine Dye made a nice catch right against the side wall.  Garland allowed no extra-base hits, though he avoided one when Luis Castilo's chopper down the third-base line hit the umpire.

Garland simply disabled Minnesota, and the only run he allowed was unearned, when Tadahito Iguchi made a bad throw on Jason Tyner's infield single. Stopper Jon made a throwing error himself in the first inning, but he pitched around it.

Errors on Minnesota's side provided most of the Sox's offensive attack tonight.  Rob Mackowiak's fourth-inning solo shot was the only run Chicago scored by its own merits -- and Mack also played an errorless center field today, so while I wasn't happy about him starting tonight, he got the job done. 

Otherwise, Jim Thome scored in the first inning when Luis Castillo lost the ball in the ceiling and it dropped just in front of him.  Thome got a double out of it, and then crossed the plate when Jason Bartlett threw low to first on Paul Konerko's grounder which would have ended the inning. 

Joe Crede scored in the second thanks to another Twins gaffe.  He singled (breaking an 0-for-16 slump), advanced to second when Mackowiak's tap to third went between Nick Punto's legs for another error.  Mack then broke up a possible double play opportunity on Juan Uribe's grounder to the right side, and Scott Podsednik drove Crede in with a bloop single to make it 2-0.

The Sox scored a key insurance run in the eighth when A.J. Pierzynski singled to left with Thome on second.  Cora held Thome up on the throw home, but A.J., as he is wont to do, got caught between bases when Punto cut off the throw.  Somehow, he slid in underneath Justin Morneau's tag on the rundown, and Thome crossed the plate while A.J. emphatically clapped his hands. 

Matt Thornton and Bobby Jenks closed out the game, and the Sox claimed a game I didn't think they'd win. It makes up for Freddy's debacle last night, since I only expected the Sox to take one out of three. 

Record: 73-49 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 18: Twins 7, White Sox 3

This was the only pitching matchup that benefited the Sox on paper -- Boof Bonser vs. Freddy Garcia -- and Boof prevailed.  With Brad Radke and Johan Santana following him in the rotation, this could get ugly. 

Garcia had what was is his typical game now -- six innings, a ton of hits (10), no walks, and needing some good defense to escape, because the Twins hit a LOT of balls hard.  Torii Hunter continued his dominance of Garcia, scoring two runs via a double and a solo homer.

The biggest issue, though, was Freddy's inability to hold momentum.  Each time the Sox scored, he'd give the run(s) right back, and he needed a big-time diving stop by Joe Crede with runners on the corners to keep the fourth inning from getting out of hand.  Hunter led off with his double, Jason Kubel drove him in with a double, and then Freddy couldn't snare Jason Tyner's drag bunt single to put runners on the corners. 

Jason Bartlett hit a smash to third, and Crede dove to his right, looked Kubel back, then threw to second in time to force out Tyner.  Kubel would score on a sacrifice fly, but without Crede's snare, the Twins would've scored at least two runs, with runners on second and third and nobody out. 

Unfortunately, the defense let Sox pitching down later as Brian Anderson committed his first major-league error when Justin Morneau's Texas-leaguer bounced in front of him, and then over him.  The ball trickled behind him, and two runs crossed the plate to make it a 6-3 game.  On top of that, it spoiled a decent outing by Neal Cotts, who struck out Joe Mauer and Jason Kubel around intentional walks, along with the weak flare by Morneau. 

Of course, the day after I loudly proclaimed "HE SAVES RUNS," he gives an extra one to the Twins.  Go figure. 

Oddly enough, the guy next to Anderson, Scott Podsednik, played a great game.  After starting the game with his trademark backwards K, he worked a 10-pitch walk after Anderson popped up the first pitch with Juan Uribe on second and two outs.  Although he didn't score, he kept Boof Bonser from getting too comfortable.  He used his legs a little, too, reaching on an infield single and stealing second, then stealing second.  Add a couple nice running catches, and he played the kind of game that can redeem faith. 

Unfortunately, the Sox could never truly get going.  The offense provided a couple nice moments, including Jermaine Dye's monster two-run shot to right-center, and Jim Thome doubled then scored on Paul Konerko's seeing-eye single up the middle.  But other attempts at rallies fell short, as the Sox left runners in scoring position in the third, sixth and seventh innings.

Record: 72-48 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 17: White Sox 4, Royals 3

I didn't see this game; I followed it inconsistently on radio and gamecast thanks to meeting at work.  Here's what I know we'll need to know for logging this game:

1) This is the second time Mark Buehrle's made history this year.  On Mother's Day, he became the first pitcher in over 100 years to win a game after allowing seven runs in the first inning.  Now he's part of the only time where the first four leadoff batters have homered.  David DeJesus, Pablo Ozuna, Emil Brown and Jermaine Dye traded shots leading off the halves of the first two innings. 

2) Yet Buehrle won his first game since June 27, and evened his record to 10-10.  June 27 was a long time ago.  Hell, it was my first road trip this summer.

3) Nice to see Scott Podsednik's legs finally working, as he scored easily from first on Paul Konerko's double down the left field line. 

4) Bobby Jenks tempted fate in a big way, facing Sox-killing Mike Sweeney with the bases loaded and forcing him into a 5-3 double play.  I love Joe Crede's defense.

5) START BRIAN ANDERSON EVERY GAME!  HE SAVES RUNS!  START BRIAN ANDERSON EVERY GAME!  HE SAVES RUNS!

Feel free to fill in any of the gaps. 

Record: 72-48 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 16: Royals 10, White Sox 4

Place these people in order from who sucked the most to who sucked the least (while still sucking, big-time):

1) Ozzie Guillen:  It was a good idea to sit Jermaine Dye, who had a rough game yesterday and could use the break.  But he also sat the two guys who were worth a damn last night – Brian Anderson and Juan Uribe.  Rob Mackowiak and Alex Cintron took their places, and they also blew.  But more on them later.

2) Jose Contreras:  The Sox ace looked like the Sox’s former ace, Mark Buehrle, during a six-run third in which he allowed two homers.  He had little success dropping down – when he did so, it usually ended up over the inner half of the plate when he was trying for the outside corner.  He somehow lasted into the seventh inning, and ended up throwing under 100 pitches when he was pulled with two outs.

3) Alex Cintron:  Failed to make a good effort for a pop-up behind third base that Juan Uribe would call for 100 out of 100 times.  Scott Podsednik arrived late, and for once we can say it wasn’t his fault.  That gaffe preceded Mark Grudzielanek’s three-run homer.  Also popped out weakly on the first pitch when flipped to his good side, facing a lefty.  Did hit a grand slam to break up the shutout in the ninth, at least.

4) Tadahito Iguchi:  Actually had one of the Sox’s hits, but failed to cover second on a grounder to short that would’ve ended the sixth.  He also double-clutched on a relay throw that could’ve and should’ve caught Grudzielanek on his triple.  

5) Rob Mackowiak:  Silver sombrero while stranding two runners (though he did single in the ninth), and misplayed two balls in the outfield.  One seemed to knuckle off the bat of Reggie Sanders, but the other one the typical Mack misplay – the one where he breaks sideways first instead of back, and the ball barely goes over his head.  

6) A.J. Pierzynski:  Had runners on second and third during the only time before the ninth inning when the Sox had runners in scoring position, and Adam Bernero struck him out on three pitches.  Swung at a pitch in the dirt, fouled back a high fastball, and swung at a pitch in the dirt.  Terrible at-bat.
 
7) Neal Cotts:  He faced three lefties, and all three of them reached base.  Joey Gathright singled, David DeJesus singled and Mark Teahen doubled.  One day after having a day where he won both matchup advantages he had, lefties have now reached base in 14 of their last 23 at-bats against Neal.

8) Joe Crede:  An 0-for-4 night (all pop-ups/flyouts) dropped his average below .300, and failed to move runners over when they had first-and-second, no outs in the ninth. 

Feel free to offer write-in votes, though merely saying “the offense” or "the Sox" is prohibited.  After making another middling starter look like mid-1990s Greg Maddux, it’s simply too easy of a target.

Record: 71-48 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 15: Royals 4, White Sox 2

How do you lose a game to the Royals?  Do the following:

• Get behind in the count to enough of their hitters
• Play piss-poor defense
• Fail with runners on scoring position

That's pretty much it, and that's pretty much all the Sox did tonight, as Runelvys Hernandez outdueled Javier Vazquez thanks to the Sox offense making him look like he did when he shut down the Sox on Opening Day 2003. 

The Sox never lead in this game, and not only did Vazquez struggle (he's back to not making it through the sixth), but the defense gave him very little support.  The two homers he gave up to Mark Teahen and Emil Brown were on him, as he fell behind 2-0 to a lot of batters and only struck out one.  But he should've gotten through five innings while only allowing one run, except that Jermaine Dye dropped the third out in right field.  It's the second time he's done that this year, and he even used two hands.  The error brought a run in and put a runner on third, though Vazquez racked up his only K to end the inning. 

Meanwhile, the Sox offense slogged through a terrible night -- grounding into two double plays, failing to score the leadoff man three out of three times, and not executing with runners in scoring position.  The only time they came through was due in large part to -- guess who? -- Brian Anderson. 

After Juan Uribe hit an infield single, Anderson smoked a double down the third base line that a douchebag fan interfered with.  A bad carom might've scored the run; instead, there were runners on second and third.  Scott Podsednik hit a sacrifice fly that scored Uribe, and then Tadahito Iguchi made up for an earlier strikeout/situational hitting mistake with an RBI single to tie the game at 2. 

Unfortunately, Iguchi would be caught at home trying to score on Jim Thome's double.  It was closer than I thought it'd be, but mainly because the Royals figured they had some time to get the throw in.  They did.

But the Sox didn't want to win this one.  Hernandez lowered his era to 7.93, and the leaky Royal bullpen retired the last four hitters on 12 pitches (including two strikeouts).  The defense had three misplays aside from the Dye drop.  David Riske made an ill-advised throw to first on a great bunt, putting a runner on second (the only blemish on his terrific 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief), and then Paul Konerko failed to glove a hard-hit grounder right at him, and also could've snagged a jam shot that fell in between him, Iguchi and Neal Cotts. 

And not to mention Paulie hit a one-hopper to the wall and ended up being held at first.  As far as his athleticism was concerned, it was a rough night for him.

Record: 71-47 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 14: White Sox 12, Royals 2

I spent a little time before this series going over how only two of the White Sox’s eight wins against the Royals have been of the solid variety.

Make that three of nine, as the Sox received a nice outing from Jon Garland and plenty of offense in the form of an eight-run explosion off Mark Redman in the fourth inning.  

Jim Thome started it, and Thome would put the exclamation point on it when he went deep for his 36th homer of the year.  In between, RBI base hits by A.J. Pierzynski, Joe Crede, Brian Anderson and Tadahito Iguchi kept the line moving.

Anderson had a perfect day at the plate, with two singles and his sixth homer of the year . He also drew a walk to raise his on-base percentage of over .300, and his batting average to .225.  Perhaps my estimate of .235 by season’s end was too conservative.  

Meanwhile, Garland held up his end.  He only walked one batter, and of course, he was the only guy that came around to score on Garland, who won his 13th ballgame.  Otherwise, he stayed in control and let the Royals retire themselves.  

Brandon McCarthy finished the game, and allowed a homer to John Buck leading off the ninth.  He’s now given up 11 homers in 63 1/3 innings, which is a slight bit troubling.  But as long as he’s giving them up in 10-run ballgames, there’s not a lot of reason to complain.

Record: 71-46 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 13: White Sox 7, Tigers 3

The Sox failed to sweep Baltimore, Kansas City, Toronto and New York, but at least they figured it out against the most important team.  All of a sudden, the Tigers' double-digit division lead is down to 5 1/2 games.  We know what that's like.



This was your classic grind-'em-out game, with Freddy Garcia posting yet another underwhelming-yet-surprising performance and the bottom of the order sparking rallies instead of killing them.

Garcia was his typical self: ugly in the early going, with the Tigers exploring every inch of the park but not quite able to put together a big inning, scoring single runs in innings No. 1, 3 and 4. Freddy's fastball looked hittable, he was leaving a fair amount of breaking stuff up, the Tigers weren't swinging and missing very often ... and when he left the game, he had retired his last 12 in a row and struck out six on the game.  How he allowed only three runs in seven innings?  Your guess is as good as mine, but that's our Freddy.

Meanwhile, the Sox got to Zach Miner early, when Alex Cintron tripled and scored two batters later on Paul Konerko's sacrifice fly, which Curtis Granderson caught with a spectacular diving catch.  Jim Thome advanced to third on it, but Carlos Guillen prevented a run himself when he made a spectacular catch-and-throw on Jermaine Dye's grounder in the hole.  I didn't think he'd grab it, and then when he grabbed it, I thought he had no chance of throwing Jermaine out.  The toss was right on the money, and the Tigers' defense saved at least two runs with the glove alone.

(Guillen would make another great defensive play in the eighth inning, when he got in the way of Ivan Rodriguez charging the umpire after his ejection and held him up.)

The second inning was something special.  A.J. Pierzynski singled, and after Miner retired Joe Crede and Juan Uribe, Brian Anderson drew a tough walk.  Miner walked Podsednik, and then Cintron cleared the bases with double over the head of Magglio Ordonez for a 4-1 lead.  And Garcia, as ugly as it was, made it stand.

Jim Leyland, as good a manager as he is, blew his bullpen management today.  When Joel Zumaya only faces one batter in a close three-game series, something's wrong.  Zumaya faced Konerko with runners on the corners (after Jamie Walker allowed a Pablo Ozuna pinch-hit RBI single to make it a two-run game) and blew him away with fastballs of 99, 100 and 101 miles per hour. 

That was the only batter he'd face, and when Todd Jones came into the ballgame in the ninth, the Sox were glad to see him.  Jermaine Dye homered to lead off the inning, and then Joe Crede doubled and scored on Brian Anderson's RBI single -- again with two strikes. 

Meanwhile, the Sox bullpen this series pitched five scoreless innings, with Matt Thornton coming up big with an inning ending double play when he came in to flip Guillen around from lefty to righty.  Thornton wouldn't be able to close out the game after allowing two bloop singles (one of them nearly causing a collision between Uribe and Anderson), but Jenks shut the door without issue. 

Record: 70-46 | Box score | Play-by-play

Weeks in a Box: August 6 -12, July 30-August 5

This week is a 2-for-1 special.  Now that I'm not traveling anywhere for a weekend, I can catch up for the week I missed as well. 

The selections for this week are under the microscope, while the picks for the week of July 30-August 5 are in parentheses.

Player of the Week: Tadahito Iguchi.  He fought his way out of a big slump in a big way, racking up three straight multi-hit games and raising his average nine points.  He also made some nice plays with the glove.  (Joe Crede)

Player of the Weak:  A.J. Pierzynski.  Had a little bit of a rough week, starting with him stranding five runners in Toronto, and it never quite got off the ground.  Had a rough week with baserunners as well.  (Tadahito Iguchi)

Pitcher of the Week:  Jose Contreras.  Nine innings, three hits, zero runs.  'Nuff said.  (Javier Vazquez)

Pitcher of the Weak:  Jon Garland.  After spending the better part of two months avoiding the long ball, he surrenders three to the Yankees after the defense worked hard to keep him out of trouble. (Freddy Garcia)

Fireman of the Week:  Bobby Jenks.  Jenks threw 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in a huge win against the Yankees, and nailed down two other saves. (Brandon McCarthy)

Gas Can of the Week:  Neal Cotts.  So far this month, he has allowed seven baserunners in 2 2/3 innings.  The only good thing he did – getting Jorge Posada to ground into an inning-ending double play – came after hitting Jason Giambi with the bases loaded. (Bobby Jenks)

Super Sub of the Week:  Alex Cintron.  Filled in admirably when Juan Uribe’s back stiffened, playing good defense and adding a couple key RBI singles against the Yankees.

Super Scrub of the Week:  Pablo Ozuna.  0-for-4 with two strikeouts and 0-for-1 pushed his slump to 2-for-29 and 0-for-3, respectively.

Gold Glove:  Joe Crede  Man, he looks good.  And against Alex Rodriguez and Brandon Inge, he’s looked even better.  (Crede)

Hands of Stone:  Scott Podsednik.  He had a rough game against the Yankees, especially with throwing the ball.  We know he has a weak arm, but the hesitation is rather new.  (Podsednik, though to his credit, everybody else is throwing the glove around pretty well)

August 12: White Sox 4, Tigers 3

Today, for better and for worse, we saw the return of Old Mark Buehrle.

In the early going, he was the Mark Buehrle who could pound the inside corner with fastballs, setting up the quality curveballs diving low and in, and working the change to the outside corner. 

In the fifth inning, he was the Mark Buehrle who got flustered by a defensive miscue and held the door open for the Tigers as they took a seemingly commanding lead. 

All in all, it was good to see the pitcher we got to know and love over these years.  He was working quick, throwing strikes, and in a surprise to everybody, racking up a lot of striekouts.  He set a season-high with seven, all of them collected in the first three innings as he blew through the Tiger lineup.  For those who wanted their Buehrle back (Buehrle-back-Buehrle-back...), they got him.

The fifth inning hurt -- Juan Uribe got to the bag late on a shoulda-been double play, and Buehrle helped the Tigers make the extra out count.  Sean Casey hit a two-run homer, and then the Tigers collected a couple of two-out hits to push a third run across the plate.  The 3-0 lead seemed insurmountable considering Kenny Rogers was throwing a perfect game at the time. 

Like the Tigers, however, the Sox were able to turn a Detroit lapse into runs.  Paul Konerko singled, advanced to second on Jermaine Dye's groundout, and then advanced to third when Carlos Guillen booted Sandy Alomar Jr.'s grounder.  Uribe -- in his first game back -- doubled down the left field line to drive in Konerko, and Brian Anderson followed up with a two-run single on a 1-2 pitch off a wily veteran.  This time it was Rogers; last time it was Mike Mussina.

Then the Tigers failed to turn a double play of their own two innings later, and the Sox converted.  Instead of grounding into a 5-4-3, Joe Crede got to second when Brandon Inge -- much like Alex Rodriguez two games before -- threw wide to second to put runners on second and third.  Jermaine Dye scored on Alomar's sacrifice fly, and that would be all they needed. 

Hats off to a tremendous game by the bullpen for coming through when Ozzie employed the quick hook on Buehrle, who pitched a scoreless sixth and was only at 91 pitches.  Mike MacDougal earned his first Sox victory with 1 1/3 perfect innings, and Matt Thornton and Bobby Jenks combined to throw a perfect 1 2/3 innings of their own as the Sox locked up their fifth consecutive series victory.

Now, if only they could lock up the sweep tomorrow -- they haven't done that since blowing St. Louis away in late June.

Record: 69-46 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 11: White Sox 5, Tigers 0

Jose Contreras may have just had the start of the year. 



He may not have come close to matching his strikeout totals from his start against the Reds, and Javier Vazquez has allowed fewer hits in two different starts, but when it comes to timing, context, and the fact that Jose went the distance, I don't see how you can take the honor away from him.

Using only 101 pitches, Contreras tossed a three-hit shutout, walking one while striking out five for his 11th victory of the year.  He took a no-hitter into the fifth, when with two outs Curtis Granderson doubled to right. He never allowed two runners in an inning, and retired every single leadoff man.  Only Carlos Guillen's second-inning walk and Sean Casey's eighth-inning single put runners on for the Tigers with less than two outs. 

He was dominant, the defense was solid (with Tadahito Iguchi and Alex Cintron making some solid plays), and the offense got the job done when they needed to.

Just like they've done two times this season, the Sox had little problem with Justin Verlander.  It looked a little scary through four when the Sox had eight hits but only one run to show for it, thanks to Craig Monroe throwing Cintron out at the plate, and a generous neighborhood play for Guillen on a double play.  At that point, Scott Podsednik had scored the only run when he singled, advanced to third when Verlander had a rare errant pickoff throw (he leads the league in pickoffs, even as a righty), and Iguchi grounded out to short to score the first run of the ballgame. 

As it turned out, the only run the Sox would need, but that didn't stop them from breaking out in the fifth.  Chicago added four more for insurance, when lefties Jim Thome and A.J. Pierzynski took the Detroit rookie deep with a runner on each time.  Thome hit his 35th of the year with Iguchi on, and Pierzynski hit his 10th after a Jermaine Dye single. 

Record: 68-46 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 10: White Sox 5, Yankees 4

So….what the hell is anybody supposed to make out of this game?

Javier Vazquez strikes out eight and only gives up two runs…in only five innings, while walking six.

Brandon McCarthy looks tremendous… yet gives up two runs, on a homer to the Yankees’ weakest hitter.

Scott Podsednik delivers two key RBI singles…yet is caught stealing and late on a pop-up.  

Brian Anderson nearly strikes out looking three times…but when he’s let off the hook, he comes up with a key double.

Ozzie Guillen gets tossed…yet all the right moves were made.  

It was a strange game to end a strange series with even stranger umpiring.  It was awful all the way around, with neither team being favored.  Ozzie was ejected after arguing a shoulda-been double play, when Bobby Abreu was caught way off base on a pop-up to short.  He missed the bag sliding back, but Dale Cooper called him safe.  Ozzie was ejected in a heartbeat.

Fortunately, a close call went the other way when Mike Mussina barely missed the outside corner with a fastball to catch Anderson looking.  He’d made the same pitch the first two times, but he stared down the umpire when he didn’t get the call this time around.  Mussina left the next pitch up, Anderson doubled and would later score on Pods’ second single of the day for what would prove to be a key insurance run.

The Sox would score their other runs in an inning where New York gave them at least six outs.  After Jermaine Dye was hit by a pitch and A.J. Pierzynski singled, Joe Crede hit a weak chopper to third.  On what should’ve been a routine double play, Alex Rodriguez threw to the ball to right to score a run.

Alex Cintron followed up with an RBI single, and after an Anderson strikeout, Pods picked him up with a single.  The Yankees would botch yet another double play when Robinson Cano dropped the exchange, but Mussina would escape the inning with no further damage.

The Yankees, meanwhile, did plenty of damage against Vazquez by getting 12 guys on base in Javy’s five innings.  But Javy repeatedly pitched out of jams, with only Jason Giambi’s homer putting runs on the board.  

Vazquez pitched around a leadoff double and infield single (should’ve been a Cintron error) in the first, a leadoff double in the second, a sacks-packed jam in the fourth (which he put himself in by walking the bases loaded), and finally worked an uneventful fifth inning, in which he only allowed a two-out single.  When he was attacking the zone, he looked like he did in Toronto; when he wasn’t, he looked like he has the rest of the season.

The bullpen made up for Vazquez’s short outing.  Neal Cotts did his thing, by allowing a hit to a lefty (11-for-18) and walking a guy while only getting one out, but McCarthy pitched around it.  He’d give up a homer in his next inning of work, but it was on a nice fastball.

Matt Thornton came back from a shaky outing his last time around to throw 1 1/3 scoreless innings, though Giambi provided a scare when he ended the eighth with a flyball that fell two feet short of a homer.  Bobby Jenks closed the door in a fitting fashion, retiring the first two guys, allowing two weak singles, and then getting a groundout from Johnny Damon to end the ballgame.

The Sox have taken two out of three games in their last four series.  That may feel like underachieving against the Royals and Orioles, but against a team like the Yankees, it feels pretty damn good.

Record: 67-46 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 9: Yankees 7, White Sox 6

I wouldn't have been as frustrated with the Sox for having the bases loaded, no outs, and getting zero runs out of the situation.  After all, they hadn't scratched a single hit off Randy Johnson for the first six innings, so I was just glad they weren't embarrassed by a pitcher who entered the game without a strikeout in his last two starts.

But watching the events unfold in the next inning, when Tadahito Iguchi led off with a homer, and Joe Crede hit a two-out, three-run bomb to make it a one-run ballgame, I couldn't help but become peeved by the at-bats by A.J. Pierzynski, Alex Cintron and Brian Anderson. 

With the bases loaded, Ron Villone jammed Pierzynski into a weak pop-out at first.  One down.  Then Cintron popped out on a bad 1-0 offspeed pitch.  Two down.  Then Anderson tried jumping on a first pitch and flew out to left.  Three outs.  Threat over.  Anderson was the least culpable, but when you have three bullets against Ron F. Villone and get nothing, that's just plain stupid.

The Sox almost made up the margin in the ninth, trying to force Mariano Rivera into his second straight blown save.  Anderson reached base when he was hit in the arm, and after Podsednik struck out (0-for-2 with Ks), Iguchi looped a single in front of Bernie Williams, putting runners on the corners.  Jim Thome would ground out to end the inning, and the Sox found themselves on the wrong end of a nailbiter this time. 

Jon Garland didn't have his finest start, giving up three homers and looking generally like he did in the early part of the season.  Only Crede's defense kept the game from being a complete disaster.  Joe saved two runs -- one on a 6-3 double play that ended a scary first, and another with a sharp grab of Craig Wilson's grounder with a runner on third and one out.  Unfortunately, he couldn't toe the line in innings No. 5-7.  David Riske and Mike MacDougal combined for three scoreless innings to keep the Sox in it -- unlike the middle relievers in yesterday's game -- but it was too little, too late. 

Record: 66-46 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 8: White Sox 6, Yankees 5 (11 innings)

Jermaine Dye had another game-winning hit (for that matter, another game-winning single up the middle), but to me, Bobby Jenks is the man of the hour.

Jenks came in and cleaned up a mess left by Neal Cotts (with an assist from Scott Podsednik), then pitched two scoreless innings through extra innings for a well deserved win, a victory the White Sox sorely needed.

One inning after Cotts plunked Jason Giambi with the bases loaded to score the winning run, he allowed a leadoff double to Robinson Cano -- although he took an extra base when Pods got to the ball and hesitated throwing it in, though even in Little League you're taught to throw the ball to second.  The HBP and Cano's two-bagger means lefties/switch hitters have reached base in 12 out of their last 17 plate appearances. 

Jenks came to the rescue after Cotts got Craig Wilson to ground out to second, advancing Cano to third.  Jenks got Melky Cabrera to ground out, freezing the runner at third, and then he struck out Johnny Damon to end the inning.  Jenks would throw two more scoreless frames after that, twice stranding runners on second after a pair of singles, both which turned into doubles on a stolen base and bad pickoff move by Jenks himself.

Moreover, Jenks outdueled one of the greatest closers in baseball history, as Mariano Rivera blew only his third save of the year when Paul Konerko homered to lead off the ninth.  Twice this game, he went with outside pitches to the right-center gap, with an earlier hit falling for a double.  Two innings later, the Sox assembled their game-winning rally when Tadahito Iguchi singled off Cano's glove and Jim Thome walked to lead off the 11th.  After Konerko failed to get the job done this time, flying out to right, Jermaine Dye picked him up with a single on a two-strike, knee-high fastball.

In truth, this was a game the Sox didn't deserve to win, as they played sloppy all over the field.  The bullpen didn't hold the lead -- Matt Thornton allowed two baserunners after getting the first out, Mike MacDougal gave up a hit to Alex Rodriguez on 0-2, and Cotts hit Giambi.  Thankfully, Cotts got Jorge Posada to hit into a double play to end the inning. 

The Sox offense didn't execute much better, wasting four baserunners over the course of the evening.  Podsednik was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple to get the Sox offense started, and Alex Cintron and Brian Anderson were each caught stealing to end innings.  Pablo Ozuna merely was caught stealing for the second out, although given the way he looked back towards the bag, Joe Crede might’ve missed the sign for hit-and-run. 

Rob Mackowiak had an awful game, dropping a ball in the first inning that led to a run, and then grounding into a 1-2-3 double play in the second inning with the bases loaded and no outs.  Thankfully, Cintron, mired in a 1-for-15 slump, poked a single to left to give the Sox a brief lead.  Freddy Garcia would give it up when he allowed a two-run, two-out homer to Rodriguez to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead. 

Garcia allowed two gopher balls on the night, but somehow held the Bombers scoreless to keep the Sox in the game.  More importantly, like Jenks, Garcia outworked his counterpart, Chien-Ming Wang, who only lasted five innings thanks to a patient, if inefficient, Sox offense.

Record: 66-45 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 7: Angels 6, White Sox 3

Thanks to the two-hour wait at the border, I missed all but 1 1/2 innings of this game.  Buehrle gave up six runs, three homers and balked in a run. Sox hitters struck out 10 times, and the 7-8-9-1 hitters went 0-for-14.

I saw Jim Thome's 34th homer, and Joe Crede returned to the lineup after tweaking his back and had a two-out RBI single.  Brandon McCarthy at least spared the bullpen with 2 1/3 scoreless innings.  Sandy Alomar started, and probably shouldn't have.  That's about all I know of this game. 

Record: 65-45 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 6: Blue Jays 7, White Sox 3

Today’s game reminded me a lot of another game I had attended earlier this year – the third game of the Pittsburgh series on June 29.

In that game, we had:

No. 1: The Sox taking an early lead
No. 2: Jose Contreras giving it up, along with six earned runs
No. 3: A bunch of runners stranded by the catcher
No. 4: Some Jim Thome heroics
No. 5: An inability to complete a sweep
No. 6: Helping a team overcome a long losing streak.
No. 7: The last man in the bullpen allowing a homer as the only hit.

Here were the differences:

No. 1: The Sox went up 3-0 after two and a half, whereas the Sox were only up 4-3 on June 29.

No. 2: Jose Contreras gave up most of them during a terrible fourth inning, whereas he allowed nearly a run an inning on June 29.

No. 3: A.J. Pierzynski stranded five runners; Chris Widger stranded seven on June 29.  Pierzynski also had a hit, although it was with nobody on.  Otherwise, he made the final three outs in innings Nos. 1, 3 and 5.

No. 4: Thome reached base three times, scored two runs and finished the series reaching base 11 times in three games; he hit a game-tying, pinch-hit homer on June 29.

No. 5: The Sox took two out of three both times.

No. 6: The Blue Jays had lost seven straight; the Pirates ended a 13-game skid on June 29.

No. 7: David Riske allowed a solo shot to Bengie Molina; Cliff Politte gave up the walk-off homer to Freddy Sanchez on June 29.  

One thing that doesn’t relate to the June 29 game is worth noting.  Rob Mackowiak started at third base for Joe Crede, who’s nursing a stiff back, so it was the rare occasion where Mackowiak and Anderson started in the same lineup.  

Mack hit eighth, Anderson hit ninth.  Mack went 0-for-3, Anderson went 2-for-4.  Both of Anderson’s hits were solid, and his double off Burnett immediately followed a four-pitch strikeout by Mack.  

It’s not often that they start together, but with Anderson collecting hits off both a tough righty and lefty – A.J. Burnett and B.J. Ryan – while Mackowiak and pinch-hitting Pablo Ozuna failed, I think it’s safe to say he made a statement.

Record: 65-44 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 5: White Sox 7, Blue Jays 1

Without a doubt, today was the finest day of Javier Vazquez's White Sox career.



Eight innings, two hits, one run, two walks and 13 strikeouts.  Aside from one mistake to Troy Glaus, who hammered it for his 250th career homer, and his sixth against the White Sox this year.  Considering none of our pitchers can keep Glaus from hurting them at least once, there’s no reason to hold it against Javy, especially considering the way he pitched.

The two hits he allowed were in a row – Lyle Overbay singled after Glaus’ homer in that fifth inning.  Usually that inning marks his downfall, but after he walked Gregg Zaun to put runners on first and second with one out, he rebounded to strike out Ryan Roberts and John McDonald, striking out the side in the process.

The rest of the game was Vazquez’s.  He started the game facing the minimum (a walk in the third was the only blemish, and he nullified it with a 1-6-3 double play).  He retired the last 11 batters he faced, and struck out the side twice.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but from where I was sitting, it looks like his fastball and changeup did almost all of the heavy lifting.  He was doing a tremendous job of keeping the fastball just enough off the corners to look enticing, and his changeup was low and slow, just like he needs it to be.  

The start matched a team game-high in strikeouts, tying Jose Contreras’ mark against the Reds on June 17.  It was the first time Vazquez went eight innings since April 19.

Vazquez was helped out by another patient White Sox attack.  They drew seven walks, including a bases-loaded RBI one by Paul Konerko for the Sox's third straight free pass in the sixth inning, who had his second straight outstanding day since returning to the lineup.  Konerko went 4-for-5 with an RBI in each of his first four plate appearances.

The Sox took advantage of a big Toronto miscue in the third, when Konerko grounded into what looked to be an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.  But Ryan Roberts threw wide of first, allowing Tadahito Iguchi to score to make it a 2-0 game.  Jermaine Dye followed up with an RBI triple to make it a 3-0 game, and the Sox were set from there.  Iguchi scored three runs on the day.

More importantly, the Sox were able to overcome two baserunning miscues in the first inning.  Scott Podsednik’s day looked great for about 1 ½ batters.  He started off with a walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and stole third.  But when Iguchi hit a grounder to third, Pods was caught in between and was eventually tagged out.  He’d strike out twice on the day and went 0-for-4 overall, though he did make a nice running catch to take a base hit away from Zaun in the seventh to end it on a decent note.  

But Jim Thome one-upped Pods’ blunder when he took off on Dye’s fly ball to right field two batters later.  The problem was, there was only one out.  Thome had rounded third and was halfway to home when Alex Rios caught the ball and calmly threw to second for the rare 9-6 double play.  I swear, these things only happen when I’m there.

After that, the game was gravy.  The only downside was that Joe Crede left the game with a sore back.  Let's hope he's back in the lineup tomorrow; if he's not, let's hope Rob Mackowiak takes his place.

Record: 65-43 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 4: White Sox 6, Blue Jays 4

This was a really fun ballgame to watch.  Maybe the most enjoyable ballgame all season. 

The Sox offense made Roy Halladay throw 31 pitches in the first inning, and although they didn't score any runs, as long as they stayed that course, something would happen.  They were staying back on the ball, fouling away pitches, taking some close ones, and making Halladay work for his outs.

Sure enough, it happened, and the Sox overcame a 3-0 early deficit against a former Cy Young winner with good at-bats.  A lot of it was due to having Jim Thome and Paul Konerko back in the lineup, together again.  They reached base the first four times each, and keyed a patient offensive attack that didn't rely on the long ball.

Scott Podsednik got things started with a perfect drag bunt, and followed up by swiping second.  That was the Pods that got earned him an All-Star spot.  He scored two batters later on one of Jim Thome's two doubles.  Pods would rope a two-out RBI double to make it a one-run game, picking up Rob Mackowiak, who blew a bunt attempt two batters earlier. 

A.J. Pierzynski gave the team a lead when he hit a three-run, opposite-field homer -- and not a cheapie, either -- and Jon Garland wouldn't give it back.  Glaus has killed the Sox this year -- he demolished Freddy Garcia earlier -- but Garland overcame his first gopher ball in seven starts to earn his eighth straight win.  The Toronto third baseman would also go opposite-field off Bobby Jenks in the ninth, but Bobby struck out the side otherwise.

Fortunately, the Sox added an insurance run in the ninth to make that second homer negligible.  Paul Konerko singled with two outs, a pinch-running Ross Gload stole second on the first pitch, and then he'd score on Jermaine Dye's single for a 6-3 lead. 

Record: 64-43 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 2: Royals 7, White Sox 3

Normally, losses to the Royals are unacceptable, but when you have injuries, defense, and finally the weather working against you, you just have to throw your hands up and say "Uncle."

With Paul Konerko and Jim Thome shelved, Alex Cintron received the start at DH for the second time all year.  And much like the last time Cintron DHed, the White Sox sported a lackluster offensive performance, and the rest of the team's execution wasn't much better.  That game also featured rain prominently.

Scott Podsednik made another error in left, his seventh of the season, freezing on Reggie Sanders' liner right at him before lunging and missing on a lunging last-second make-up attempt.  But Juan Uribe did him one better when, after finding himself in Ozzie's doghouse for lackadaisical play, he flat-out dropped a routine foul ball.  Joe Crede has done this a couple times because of his depth perception problems, but Juan's error -- his fourth error in his last seven games.  This stretch will likely cause Juan Uribe any chance at a Gold Glove, which is unfortunate though not unfair.

Juan did make up for it, however, when he blasted a solo homer in the eighth inning to cut the Royals lead to 5-3.  Two batters later, A.J. Pierzynski reached to bring up Jermaine Dye.  But after the Royals made a pitching change, the wind shifted 180 degrees, and now batters were staring into gale-force gusts.  Dye managed a single, but Joe Crede, who'd been so good this series, struck out as the wind picked up even more. 

Finally in the eighth, after Ozzie Guillen brought in Neal Cotts to relieve Brandon McCarthy, horizontal sheets of water rained down on Kauffman Stadium, causing a rain delay.  With the way it was going, I'm guessing the next call to the bullpen would cause the sky to open up and shoot flames.

Freddy Garcia battled all night long.  While I wasn't monitoring the radar gun all that closely, I can't remember one pitch getting into the 90s.  Heck, even 89 would've been a thrill.  He was able to work around most of the lineup after Joey Gathright's sacrifice fly drove in an unearned run off Podsednik's error, but Mark Teahen gave him problems all night long.  Teahen hit a two-run homer in the fifth to give the Royals the lead back, and then added a key insurance run with an RBI double in the seventh. 

Ozzie Guillen probably should've pulled Freddy after that, but he tried to get one more out.  He couldn't do it.  He walked Shane Costa intentionally (Shane Costa?), and then Ryan Shealy singled to drive in the Royals' fifth run.  Brandon McCarthy and Neal Cotts were warm in the bullpen, by the way -- not that Neal's a lock to get lefties out right now.

Not that the Sox offense would've made it up.  They scored all their runs via the homer, including a titanic Jermaine Dye shot in the fourth that gave the Sox the lead.  That fourth was the best chance to dig into Luke Hudson, who otherwise had stopped the Sox cold.  But with runners on first and third and one out after the Dye homer, Cintron grounded into a 3-6-3 double play.

Cintron's doing a fine job this year as a backup infielder, but let him never start at DH again.

Record: 63-43 | Box score | Play-by-play

Week in the Box: July 23-29

Time for a quick, dirty and ultimately belated version of Week in the Box.  Between the Baltimore trip I just took and the one to Toronto I'm currently planning for next weekend, I'm somewhat pressed for time.

Player of the Week: Tadahito Iguchi.  Jermaine Dye and A.J. Pierzynski made good runs at this one, but they had a couple clunkers along the way.  The Emperor showed up all week.

Player of the Weak:  Paul Konerko.  Had two homers, but both were solo affairs in losses.  He struck out at least once in every game.

Pitcher of the Week:  Jon Garland.  Two more wins stretches his win streak to seven, and his near-shutout of the Rangers was huge.  Who cares if he missed hitting Ian Kinsler?

Pitcher of the Weak:  Mark Buehrle.  Got smacked around by the Twins, allowed a ton of baserunners.  It's what he's been doing all month.

Fireman of the Week:  Matt Thornton.  Came up huge in both wins and losses; could've closed out the game Bobby Jenks blew.

Gas Can of the Week:  Neal Cotts.  He entered four games this week and only faced the minimum once.  Also let a lot of inherited runners score.

Super Sub of the Week:  Ross Gload.  His game-winning grand slam against the Orioles is about as clutch as one can get. 

Super Scrub of the Week:  Chris Widger.  He didn't play, but his whining after getting DFAd was more than fairly ridiculous.  That happened on the 23rd, so we can consider this a parting gift.

Gold Glove:  ?????  I can't recall any definitive winners.

Hands of Stone:  ?????  Same here.