2006 State of the Sox

October 1: Twins 5, White Sox 1, Games Left 0

Record: 90-72 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 30: White Sox 6, Twins 3

Well, the Sox are doing everything possible to help the Tigers take the division, winning the first two games against the Twins.  Unfortunately, Detroit isn't holding up its end of the deal.

The Sox enjoyed their first three-game winning streak in more than a month, and did it with an offense that pounded out base hits, and Jon Garland carrying a shutout into the ninth.  Garland won his 18th game of the year, and will finish the year leading the team in wins for the second straight season.

Since it doesn't really matter how the Sox won, I'd rather talk about the interesting dynamics at play in the field this morning (the game started at 11:10 a.m. CST):

• Tadahito Iguchi packing heat in the lower part of the order.  The Emperor had three hits and three RBI, including his 18th homer of the season, to key this win.  He's already set a career-high in homers, he's improved his walk-rate while reducing strikeouts, cut down on errors, and will finish with a near-identical OPS (he's a few extra-base hits short).

That said, I feel vaguely disappointed with his season, and I'm not sure why.  Some of it has to do with his bunting/situational hitting, which appeared to be less solid compared to his rookie season.  He may have also been streakier, and when he looks bad at the plate, he looks bad.  Most of it is probably due to Scott Podsednik not being nearly as effective, and thus the 1-2 combination lacked punch.  At any rate, it's another solid season in the books, and his option will be exercised.

• Ryan Sweeney versus Brian Anderson.  Pods started today, and I'm not sure why.  Anderson manned center, and Sweeney was in right.  If Anderson and Sweeney are competing for the same job, Sweeney won decidedly today.

Sweeney went 2-for-4 with a two-out RBI single; Anderson went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.  Anderson played flawless defense, but Sweeney made a nice sliding catch by the wall.  Fall and winter ball is going to be crucial for Anderson's future, both short- and long-term.

• Enough with the Alomars already.  Sandy Alomar Jr. started today, and while he had a walk and a hit, there's no point in him being out there, not with Chris Stewart on the bench.  Given the way he threw Grady Sizemore out twice in his last start, I want to see more of Stewart.  We already know Alomar's done.
  

• Ross Gload, .329 hitter.  He had three more hits, including a triple.  Ross, if you're reading this (and I bet you are), please, please, PLEASE work on your outfielding skills so we can play you more.

Record: 90-71 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 29: White Sox 4, Twins 3

The details of this game are quite inconsequential -- Freddy pitched another gem, Jermaine Dye took sole possession of second place on the White Sox single-season home run list with his 44th of the year, Alex Cintron went yard as well.  Jerry Owens made a nice running catch and doubled before injuring his foot on a slide. 

Nevertheless, we're still out of the playoffs.  So let's talk about A.J. Pierzynski.



For some reason, Minnesota Twins fans boo A.J.  It makes little to no sense, considering:

• He contributed to a couple of pennant-winners
• He was traded; he didn't leave by his own choice
• He brought a hell of a lot back in the trade (Francisco Liriano, Joe Nathan, Boof Bonser)
• He was replaced by the should-be AL MVP (Joe Mauer)

Twins fans boo him all the same.  Then again, Twins fans become abnormally excited when a 55-year-old Dutch guy circles them, so there's not much use analyzing their behavior.

A.J. enjoyed the last laugh tonight, stomping on home plate after Bobby Jenks struck out Phil Nevin on three pitches with the bases loaded to end the game.  I'm certain that will endear him even more to the locals. 

Was it a little over-the-top?  Maybe.  But considering how badly home plate umpire Chuck Meriweather was handling appeals that inning, I don't blame him.  Jenks had to record five outs in the inning thanks to the Metrodome turf and Meriweather, and he barely got the job done, leaving the bases loaded.

After Nick Punto singled with a chopper over Joe Crede's head, Jenks struck out Liu Rodriguez check-swinging with a curveball.  A.J. picked the ball out of the dirt, tagged out Rodriguez, and there was no call.  He appealed to third base umpire Phil Cuzzi -- no swing.  A dozen foul balls later, Rodriguez walks.  Great. 

Up comes Mauer, and Jenks strikes him out on three pitches, the last one a check-swing.  Pierzynski points to the third-base umpire while Meriweather is ruling no-swing and ignoring A.J.'s request.  Finally, Meriweather points to Cuzzi, and Cuzzi rings him up. 

After Michael Cuddyer doubles, it's the same situation with Justin Morneau.  It takes an abnormally long amount of time to get an appeal, and Cuzzi gets it right again.  Two outs.  After a weak Torii Hunter infield single, A.J. finally catches a strike three for which he doesn't have to press the umpires.

But A.J. did more than bitch.  He provided a key run by singling with two outs off a lefty who came in to face him.  With Ross Gload on second, Ron Gardenhire rolled in Dennys Reyes, and Pierzynski hit a hanging slider back through the box to extend the lead to 4-1. 

Considering he had no help from backups this year, A.J. has handled southpaws respectably in 2006, or at least better than last year.  He improved his batting average 36 points (.266), and his on-base percentage by 50 (.297).  In a season where he's had to catch a personal-record number of games (tonight was No. 139) thanks to incompetent backups, the effort's appreciated. 

He even stole a base off Jesse Crain, his first since August 16, 2003. 

Record: 89-71 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 27: White Sox 2, Indians 1 (7 1/2 innings)

Tonight's game was the first Sox game I enjoyed watching (or reading about) in more than a week.  Since shutting out the Tigers 7-0 on September 19, the Sox haven't played crisp baseball at any point until tonight.

The offense didn't do much, though since they were really a beefed up version of the Charlotte Knights, I wasn't expecting much.  With Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye, Joe Crede and A.J. Pierzynski out of the lineup (and Scott Podsednik in it), runs weren't going to come by the truckload.

I saw what I wanted to see, and that's:

• Brandon McCarthy proving he can start.  Black Mac gave up two hits in 5-1/3 innings, one of them of course the requisite homer on a high fastball.  He did strike out eight while walking only one, and had all three pitches working.  One thing he could stand to do is add some variation on his fastball, maybe turn it into a two-seamer or something, because it's only a complimentary pitch now, 90-92 and straight.

• Charlie Haeger continuing to get hitters out.  A couple days after earning his first major-league win, Chuckleball picks up his first major-league save, throwing 1 2/3 perfect innings with two strikeouts.  Better yet, he cleaned up for McCarthy, who walked Grady Sizemore with one out before departing.  How'd he do that?  With some...

• Quality play by Chris Stewart.  I don't think Stewart is the Sox's answer for backup catcher yet, but if he's better than Sandy Alomar Jr. or Chris Widger, it's a start.  He showed he at least as a cannon arm by throwing out  Sizemore not once, but twice.  The guy has a quick release, even gunning down the speedy center fielder on a Haeger knuckleball.  He doesn't have a hit to his name yet, but he doesn't look as clueless at the plate as Josh Fields.

• Rob Mackowiak playing the corners.  Jerry Owens manned center and had two hits and a stolen base, although he looked hopeless against a lefty.  Meanwhile, Mack made a beautiful leaping grab at the wall to rob Kevin Kouzmanoff of extra bases.  He drifted back with it perfectly, and was able to make a two-footed, straight vertical jump to snatch the ball in front of the yellow line on the Jacobs Field wall. 
  

• Ross Gload continuing to contribute.  He hit a solo homer, his third of the year, to put the Sox on the board.  He also singled later in the game.  He's hitting .320, and could be a vital part of the team next year.
  

Record: 88-71 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 26: Indians 6, White Sox 0

Man.  The outcome of this game was merely a collage of sterotypical performances played out to caricatural lengths. 

We had:

1) The White Sox versus a lefty:  C.C. Sabathia entered this game undefeated (3-0) against the Sox in five starts, with a 2.86 ERA and a .219 batting average allowed. 

It's safe to say he improved rates in every single category after tonight.  Captain Cheeseburger threw eight innings, allowing four hits and striking out 11.  Josh Fields whiffed in all three at-bats, and nobody had two hits.  Only once did the Sox have two baserunners in the same inning.

2) Javier Vazquez:  Vazquez has looked better as of late, but this start was straight out of the first half.

Javy allowed runs in only two innings, but the Tribe scored three runs in each of them.  The sixth inning was especially spectacular -- he walked Jason Michaels with two outs (on borderline calls that didn't go his way), then hung a slider for Victor Martinez to put runners on the corners.  Another meatball to Ryan Garko one batter later, and it's a six-run game.

Of course, the rest of Javy's numbers looked great.  Only six hits in seven innings, two walks opposed to 12 strikeouts.

3) The case against Brian Anderson:  Obviously I don't think there's much of one, but his unsuccessful diving attempt allowed two runs to score -- this on the heels of a game in which he committed an error. 

Ozzie's actually giving him playing time now (today was his sixth start in a row), and it'd be nice to see him beef up his resume instead of possibly adding question marks to the strongest part of his game.  At least he had a hit.

September 25: Indians 14, White Sox 1

Record: 87-70 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 24: White Sox 12, Mariners 7

Some bullet points as the Sox have their first two-game winning streak since Sept. 9:

• Freddy Garcia notched his third straight victory and his 16th of the year.  It wasn't as impressive as his last two starts, as he ran into some trouble in the seventh after pitching six strong.  This time, he only carried a no-hitter into the fourth.
• Brian Anderson homered and doubled to snap a slump in which he struck out five times in two games. 
• The Sox were back to hitting rookie lefties, the only kind they can hit.  Ryan Feieraband was the victim this time.
• The Sox hit five homers in all.  Along with Anderson:
• Paul Konerko hit homers No. 34 and 35
• Joe Crede hit No. 30 to give the Sox four guys with 30+ homers.
• Juan Uribe hit a grand slam.
  
• Neal Cotts continues to confuse, facing two guys and giving up two homers.  One of them was to a lefty, of course.
  
• Dustin Hermanson finished off the game by throwing two innings and 35 pitches.

Record: 87-69 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 23: White Sox 11, Mariners 7

Some bullet points on a Sox victory that snapped a three-game losing streak:

• Jim Thome returned to his early-season catalyst form.  He hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Felix Hernandez (more first-inning RBI by Thome), and then walked in the eighth inning to set up Paul Konerko's go-ahead homer.
• Ryan Sweeney recorded his first true RBI with a two-run single for insurance runs in that eighth inning.  His only other RBI came on a groundout.
• Brian Anderson struck out three times in three at-bats.  He has five in his last two games.  This was off Felix Hernandez, who served up Anderson's first two home runs last year.
• Ross Gload led off.  Although he didn't do anything of note, it was a good idea.  Too bad nobody thought of it earlier.
• Mark Buehrle had another miserable outing -- 4 2/3 innings, nine hits, seven earned runs.
• Charlie Haeger did not -- 3 1/3 inning of perfect relief, five strikeouts. 
  
• The Sox and Mariners reversed bullpen roles today, with the Mariners allowing nine runs, while Haeger and Bobby Jenks combined for 4 1/3 innings of one-hit relief.

Record: 86-69 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 22: Mariners 11, White Sox 6

Some bullet points on a crushing Sox loss:

• Jose Contreras was lit up early and exited before two innings by aggravating his hamstring again.
• Brandon McCarthy showed why he might be able to start by allowing only one run over three innings.  He showed why he might not be able to start by allowing three walks and four hits over those three innings.  Of course, he allowed his requisite homer.
• The bullpens were a study in contrast:
• The Mariners used five relivers, and they combined to throw a near-perfect 4 2/3 innings.  The Sox managed their only baserunner on Seattle's relievers via a walk.
  
• The Sox used six relievers, and each one of them allowed a run except for Matt Thornton.  Thornton is a former Mariner, which probably explains it.
• Juan Uribe hit a three-run homer, his 20th of the year.
• Jim Thome hit a first-inning RBI single, driving in Scott Podsednik.  If only Pods had gotten on base more often in the second half.

Record: 85-69 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 21: Mariners 9, White Sox 0

The 2006 Chicago White Sox are still dead.

A no-name lefty shut them down, and the Sox defense played like crap.  Javier Vazquez pitched well, and all but one of his runs should've been unearned.  He struck out 12, and Raul Ibanez's solo shot in the seventh was Vazquez's only real mistake. 

Otherwise, an unearned run scored in the second when Juan Uribe dropped a two-out pop-up, and then Paul Konerko committed two errors in the same inning, but only one counted.  He threw high to Uribe on a force attempt at second, and then found himself screened by the runner on a routine grounder to first.  Since he didn't get a glove on it, no error was charged.

It didn't really matter, as the Mariners showed up the Sox in every way.  They played errorless ball, and Jake Woods dominated the Sox.  He conked Pablo Ozuna in the head with a fastball, and the Sox offense remained stagnant.  Meanwhile, when Boone Logan hit Yuniesky Betancourt in the kneecap in the ninth inning, the Mariners retaliated by loading the bases on Logan, and then hitting a grand slam off David Riske.

Meanwhile, Joe Crede is now hitless in his last 25 at-bats.  At least he didn't hit into any double plays. 

It's time to play the kids already.

Record: 85-68 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 20: Tigers 6, White Sox 2

This is how the season ends
This is how the season ends
This is how the season ends
Not with a bang, but with a whimper.

I suppose "The Hollow Men" would be a fitting name for this year's Sox -- not because of their hearts or hunger or whatnot, but because of the results.  The Sox lead the league in homers.  They hit two today.  They were both solo shots, and that's all the offense they had. 

They're not mathematically eliminated, but there's no real way the Sox can make up this much ground against two opponents 5 1/2 games ahead with weaker schedules.  This was a must-win game, and they lost it.

They lost it in classic 2006 Sox style.  The Sox offense missed some opportunities early when Jeremy Bonderman started the game struggling.  Jermaine Dye grounded out to third with a runner on third and one out in the first.  Joe Crede had runners on first and second in the second, and grounded into a double play.  He hit into not one, not two, but THREE twin killings, and is hitless in his last 22 at-bats.  He needs a day off.

Jon Garland pitched a mediocre game.  He kept the Sox in it, but it didn't look pretty, giving up double-digit hits, often times in clumps.  He gave up three straight hits in the third, resulting in two runs, and three straight hits in the fifth for two more.  Garland threw a lot of fastballs, and the Tigers benefited when they counted on them early in the count.  His night ended when he gave up a first-pitch fastball homer to Magglio Ordonez at the top of the eighth, when Garland was still out there for some reason.

Meanwhile, the Sox finally put runs on the board when Juan Uribe and Tadahito Iguchi hit solo homers in the sixth to cut the lead in half.  Dye followed with a single to put some pressure on.  But Jim Thome struck out, and Paul Konerko flew out to end the threat. 

Record: 85-67 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 19: White Sox 7, Tigers 0

Who'da thunk that Freddy Garcia is two hits and two innings away from being the next Johnny Vander Meer?  I guess that's why he's Big Game Freddy.

Fresh off his eight-inning one-hitter against Anaheim, Freddy goes and does it again, with only three slight differences.  One was that he gave up the lone single to the second batter he faced, not the 24th, he walked two batters instead of none, and had five strikeouts instead of three.  But he did retire 23 straight hitters again, and he did win another key ballgame.

Freddy only saw a jam in the first inning, when he walked Curtis Granderson on four straight pitches and gave up a single through the hole to Ivan Rodriguez.  The Tigers didn't advance any further, going line-out, pop-out, pop-out to end the threat.  The only other baserunner would reach with two outs in Freddy's last inning of work, when Brandon Inge walked after an eight-pitch at-bat. 

He attacked hitters once again, getting a lot of pop-ups on high fastballs, and weak groundouts on that splitter he's throwing more effectively. 

Also for the second straight start, Freddy received the benefit of the big bats, although they didn't show up right away.  Justin Verlander (AKA Justin The Incredible Fudge Factory Verlander) didn't allow a hit until the fourth, when Paul Konerko singled after Jermaine Dye was hit by a pitch and Jim Thome walked to load the bases. 

So yeah, the Sox had the bases loaded with less than two outs, and I was none too thrilled.  This time, however, A.J. Pierzynski capitalized.  Verlander had him down 1-2 in the count, and tried to strike him out with the same pitch he K'd him on in the second inning -- a curve in the dirt.  A.J. didn't bite, and he looked low the next pitch.  It was a fastball at his shins, and much like he did against Cleveland's Tom Mastny on September 8, Pierzynski golfed it into the right-center seats for a grand slam.

For whatever reason, what the Sox can't do against Kenny Rogers, they can do against Verlander.  The veteran has four wins against the Sox; Verlander's loss tonight was his fourth of the season against Chicago. 

The Sox actually scored all their runs tonight via the long ball, although it wasn't like they failed to execute in other areas.  That's just how the game worked out.  Dye and Thome went back-to-back, and Tadahito Iguchi surpassed his home run total for last season with a solo shot in the seventh for the final run.

They might've had another run in the sixth, as Scott Podsednik was on base preceding Dye's homer.  But with a 2-0 count, Pods tried taking off while Verlander was in the stretch.  He didn't make it. 

Record: 85-66 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 18: Tigers 8, White Sox 2

I was entertaining the idea of using yesterday's 1,000 words to sum up today's result.  It would be accurate, but variety is the spice of being disgusted less with this White Sox team.  I think that's how the saying goes.

Anyway, using the bare minimum of words, to match the amount of effort the Sox showed today:

• Meet the new Kenny Rogers.  Same as the old Kenny Rogers.  And the other old Kenny Rogers.  And the other one.  Hell, even when they beat him, Rogers didn't allow an earned run.
  
• The Sox hit into three double plays.  Big surprise.
  
• The Sox turned a triple play and a double play, but Mark Buehrle allowed so damn many hits (double-digits again) that he was able to overcome them and suck.
• Brandon McCarthy gave up a homer!  Sean Tracey hit the backstop!
• Rob Mackowiak dropped a ball in center field.  Hell of an exclamation point for his season out there.
• Good news: Jim Thome finally hit his 40th homer.  Bad news: It came with the Sox down 4-0 in the seventh.

But hey, Josh Fields went deep in his first major-league at-bat, joining Miguel Olivo and Carlos Lee as the only Sox to accomplish that feat.  Now watch him fail to be used at times when he could possibly help the team.

Record: 84-66 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 17: Athletics 5, White Sox 4

Record: 84-65 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 16: Athletics 7, White Sox 4

I didn't catch this game, mainly because it wasn't on TV, and given that the Sox struggled against a mediocre righty, I didn't think their performance against a top-flight lefty in Barry Zito was worth gluing myself to the radio broadcast.

Turns out I was right, but for a reason I didn't suspect.

After being so reliable in the last month or so, ThornDougal finally let us down.  Entering a tie game, Matt Thornton got two outs around a single and a walk.  I'm guessing Ozzie should've left him in, as he's been effective against righties, too. 

Instead, Ozzie brought in Mike MacDougal, returning to action since undergoing an MRI on his right shoulder, and he gave up the go-ahead run on a single by Mark Ellis.  He then walked Milton Bradley and Frank Thomas back-to-back, driving in another run to make it 6-4.  Boone Logan then walked Eric Chavez, the only man he faced, and Dustin Hermanson ended the inning.

By that time, the damage was done, the Sox offense couldn't come back, and a quality start by Javier Vazquez -- his fourth in a row -- was wasted.  Frank Thomas drove in all three of Vazquez's earned runs, on a sacrifice fly in the third inning, and a two-run homer in the sixth.

Jermaine Dye put the Sox on the board with a two-run homer off Zito, two batters after Pablo Ozuna led off with a double.  In between, Tadahito Iguchi popped up a bunt.  The Sox added two more in the sixth when Juan Uribe singled, Brian Anderson doubled (he had two hits and made a nice catch, I'm told), and a useful Sandy Alomar Jr. drove them both in with a single.

They should've scored more, unfortunately, since they had nine hits and walked seven times including three(!) by Joe Crede.  Jim Thome went 0-for-4, and stranded three runners in that sixth inning when he hit a flyout with the bases loaded.  He's now mired in a 2-for-22 skid.

Record: 84-64 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 15: Athletics 4, White Sox 2

Back in late July, we talked about how the deployment of Rob Mackowiak in the field has detracted from the fine season he's having offensively. 

Tonight was one of those times.



Mackowiak, starting in center field of course, put the Sox on the board with his fifth homer of the year.  An inning later, he helped the A's to take the lead with an ill-advised dive.  Such has been the case with Mackowiak all season long, and such has been the reason why I've advocated Brian Anderson in center at all costs.

While the lineup card didn't suit me, the decision looked okay early when Mackowiak ran down a rare ball hit over his head in the second inning, then turned on an Esteban Loaiza fastball to put the Sox up 1-0 in the third.  The blast was Mackowiak's second of the year against the A's. 

The good vibes wouldn't last, though.  Jon Garland walked Eric Chavez to start the fourth, and then Jay Payton hit a flare to short center.  Mackowiak sprinted in, dove...and landed with a thud before the ball did.  So he mistimed a dive he didn't need to take, and the ball bounced away from him to put runners on second and third.  Two sac flies later -- one of them Jermaine Dye caught inexplicably flat-flooted, costing him valuable split seconds on his throw to the plate -- Oakland had a 3-1 lead, and Garland was saddled with his fifth loss of the year.

The results from the last two games indicate that Garland and Freddy Garcia switched identities.  While Garcia nearly tossed a perfect game on Wednesday, Garland struggled to get through 5 2/3 innings while giving up nine hits and walking two. 

He kept the Sox in the game by pitching out of a couple jams.  In the second, Frank Thomas lumbered out a double, advanced to third on the flyball Mack actually ran down, but was stranded on third.  Garland stranded Mark Kotsay in the third after his RBI triple to keep it a tie game, pitched around Milton Bradley's leadoff double in the fifth, and got out of a two-on, one-out jam in the sixth with a little help from Neal Cotts.

Unfortunately, the Sox offense didn't help him out much.  Mackowiak's hit was the only one until Juan Uribe and Scott Podsednik had back-to-back singles with one out.  No, I don't know how that happened.  Tadahito Iguchi walked to load the bases, Dye hit a sac fly, but Jim Thome popped out to keep the Sox from tying the game. Thome had a rough night, striking out twice looking.

The A's managed to add an extra run when Cotts, after actually retiring a lefty for the last out of the sixth to spare Garland, walked Milton Bradley to lead off the inning.  In came Brandon McCarthy, which seemed like a disaster waiting to happen.  But after Bradley barely stole second, McCarthy made some great pitches. 

He shattered Big Frank's bat for one out, though Bradley advanced to third on it.  After an intentional walk, Black Mac got Jay Payton to hit a grounder to second, but Payton busted it down the line and just beat Uribe's double-play relay attempt as a run crossed the plate for a 4-2 lead.

Record: 84-63 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 13: White Sox 9, Angels 0

If you had to pick one pitcher who'd come closest to throwing a perfect game, Freddy Garcia would either be the last one or the first one you'd pick.  On one hand, he tends to get lit up early, and takes a long time to find a groove.

On the other hand, he's been a party to three near no-nos in the past 13 months.  Last year, he lost his no-hit bid, and the game, when Jacque Jones homered off him in the eighth inning.  Earlier this year, he was the winning pitcher on the other side of Anthony Reyes' one-hitter.

There's been a track record for this sort of thing, and considering Freddy shut down Anaheim earlier this year, the hacktastic Angels probably were the best candidate for Freddy to give it a run.  That's exactly what he did, throwing 7 2/3 innings of perfect ball before Adam Kennedy's single on a 3-2 changeup broke it up. 

From the audio, Freddy didn't do anything special except to throw strikes.  I couldn't see the game, because it was 1) during the day and 2) on WGN, but considering the Angels flailed at junk out of the zone during the first two games of the series, I had the pictures in my mind.  He didn't even need any spectacular plays, though Ed Farmer said Brian Anderson made a nice running grab in the second. 

Meanwhile, the offense finally scored in multiple innings for the first time all series.  Paul Konerko scored from first (!!!) on Joe Crede's double, just beating the relay home to give the Sox the only run they needed in the third inning.  Oddly enough, they decided to score more.

They lit up a wild Joe Saunders, who couldn't make it out of the fourth.  A Tadahito Iguchi RBI double and a Jim Thome RBI single through the shift made it a 3-0 game after three, and Saunders only recorded one out the next frame.  After Brian Anderson singled and Sandy Alomar Jr. struck out, Saunders threw four straight balls to Pablo Ozuna and Iguchi each to load the bases.  Jermaine Dye geared up for a get-me-over fastball and laced it to left for his second ground-rule double of the week, scoring two.

Thome followed up with a sacrifice fly, and Konerko doubled (he had another four-hit game) to make it 7-0.  The only offensive blemish came in the sixth, when Iguchi inexplicably stopped running on Konerko's would-be RBI single.  He quit running three-quarters of the way home, and was tagged out.  I'm still waiting for an explanation on that.

Another thing for which I'm awaiting an explanation: Neal Cotts threw a perfect inning of relief.  It was his first one since July 16.

Record: 84-62 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 12: Angels 4, White Sox 3 (11 innings)

After months of the pitching staff being the disappointment, it's been the offense that's costing the Sox victories.  For the third straight game, the Sox only scored in one inning, and it wasn't enough this time. 

Mark Buehrle pitched a solid ballgame, which I've described in further detail on Sox Machine.  Dustin Hermanson didn't blow it in a high leverage situation, Matt Thornton prevented an inherited runner from scoring, Bobby Jenks prevented his runner from scoring, and yet even with three scoreless innings, they couldn't get any help. 

The bullpen finally cracked when Jenks -- throwing 93-94 again after hitting the upper 90s Monday -- allowed Chone Figgins to hit the game-winning single with runners on the corners and two outs.  The batter before, Jenks nearly got the Sox's fourth double play of the game, but it was hit a little too weakly to short, and they could only get the force at second. 

Jenks may have lost some velocity, but the offense has to own up to this one.  Like yesterday, they had one solid inning off the Angel starter, this time Ervin Santana.  A.J. Pierzynski led off with a single, and Joe Crede followed with the same on a 13-pitch at-bat.  Rob Mackowiak's single would score Pierzynski, Juan Uribe bunted them over to second and third.  After a Scott Podsednik walk, Tadahito Iguchi drove two runs in with a single to give the Sox a 3-2 lead. 

Pods then killed the rally with an ill-advised steal attempt of third when Santana couldn't find the plate.  He was thrown out easily, as Maicier Izturis placed the tag down on a nancy-boy-sliding Pods for the second out. 

Then, the Sox missed a golden opportunity in the ninth inning when Joe Crede struck out with runners on first and third with one out.  Paul Konerko walked, and a pinch-running Jerry Owens advanced to third on a single smoked by A.J. Pierzynski.  But Crede looked overmatched against Francisco Rodriguez, and Rob Mackowiak chopped out to second to end the inning.

The only other threat, and it wasn't much of one, came when Ross Gload made a nice hustle play to turn a single into a double on Vladimir Guerrero in right in the top of the 11th.  But Pierzynski tapped meekly back to the pitcher, and that was that. 

Record: 83-62 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 11: White Sox 3, Angels 2

What an enjoyable game to watch.  Two pitchers hurling their balls off, some great defense, timely hitting, and all in all, mistake-free baseball.  Bobby Jenks even became the third Sox pitcher to record 40 saves in a season, though he allowed a run in the process. 

And it only took two hours and 22 minutes, which was awfully considerate for us East Coast folk.

We finally saw Jose Contreras pitch a tremendous ballgame for a second start in a row, throwing eight innings while only allowing a single run when Chone Figgins led an inning off with a triple.  Contreras let him score, but with no further damage.

At the start of the game, he took advantage of the Angels' impatience.  They're one of the most aggressive teams in the majors, and Contreras made them swing and miss often in the early going, teasing them with a tricky changeup along with his forkball, and he kept the sidearm stuff to a minimum.  He struck out five of the first seven batters he faced, and had eight K's overall.

Anaheim caught on during the third time in the order, and Contreras got some help from his defense to escape some jams.  After Maicer Izturis drove Figgins in with a single, Orlando Cabrera smoked a liner during a hit-and-run -- right into Joe Crede's mitt.  Crede made the easy toss across the diamond for two.  Adam Kennedy would end the next inning in a similar fashion when he hit a shot right at Paul Konerko at first.  He touched the bag with his mitt to double up Juan Rivera.

John Lackey was just as good, and also got the help with a tricky double play when, on a hit-and-run, Jermaine Dye lined one off Lackey's glove, deflecting into Adam Kennedy's.  Kennedy then threw to first to complete the DP.

Unlike Contreras, Lackey had one inning where everything went wrong.  He walked Jim Thome to start the inning, left a pitch up for Konerko, who singled to right to put runners on the corners.  He then had A.J. Pierzynski lunging for two sinkers in the dirt to put him in the hole, but he left his third pitch low.  That's where A.J. was looking, and he golfed a double to right-center for the first run of the game. 

Crede followed up with a single, and Rob Mackowiak hit a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.  That would be all the offense -- not just in regard to runs, but hits.  The only other base knock came when Juan Uribe hit a flare to left that went in and out of Rivera's mitt.  Unlike other games, it wasn't the offense's fault.  Lackey was just tough, and that's why he's one of the best pitchers in the league.  When he did throw hittable stuff, the Sox took advantage. 

Jenks survived the ninth, though it didn't look good at the start when he allowed back-to-back singles to Vladimir Guerrero and Garrett Anderson.  But Jenks induced a double play off Rivera's bat, and then he struck out Howie Kendrick to end the ballgame.  He was grabbing a lot of the plate, but his velocity was back up in the 96-98 m.p.h. range.

Record: 83-61 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 10: Indians 5, White Sox 2

To get an idea of what happened this game, just look at yesterday's recap and...

• Forget about all the offense, save Tadahito Iguchi, who hit a two-run homer.
• Replace Jon Garland with Javier Vazquez.
  
• Same bullpen woes, except subtract Dustin Hermanson and add David Riske and Sean Tracey.

There you go.

Record: 82-61 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 9: White Sox 10, Indians 8

I should know better than to get comfortable with a huge lead. 

The White Sox took a nine-run lead into the seventh, and then watched the bullpen give up all but two runs of it and allowed the tying run to come to the plate in the process.  It took another solid effort from Mike MacDougal and Matt Thornton to protect it. 

Boone Logan replaced a solid Jon Garland to start the inning, and retired the first hitter he faced.  He then failed to retire the next three to load the bases.  Then Brandon McCarthy came in and failed to retire the next three men he faced, scoring three runs in the process.  Then Dustin Hermanson came in, retired the first man he faced, and then allowed a three-run homer to Kevin Kouzmanoff to make it a 10-8 game. 

Hermanson then allowed a double to Hector Luna to bring the tying run to the plate, but he got Joe Inglett to ground out to end the inning -- thanks to a nice stretch on the receiving end by Ross Gload. 

MacDougal and Thornton ensured no further drama, putting up 1-2-3 innings in the final two frames to end the game.  Ozzie Guillen may have been overmanaging when he brought in Thornton against Shin-Soo Choo for the last out, because the Indians countered with Jason Michaels.  But Thornton blew away Michaels for his second save of the year.

The win shouldn't have been this hard, because the offense put up a bunch of early runs off Fausto Carmona, many of them coming with two outs. 

Fresh off a four-hit game Friday, Konerko added three more today, with two of them leaving the yard.  The first was with two on and two outs in the first inning, picking up Jermaine Dye after a strikeout.  They'd start another rally with two down in the second, when Scott Podsednik singled, stole second, and scored on Tadahito Iguchi's single.

Juan Uribe blasted a solo shot with two outs in the third, and then the Sox opened it up in the fourth.  Iguchi doubled with two outs, then scored on a triple by Dye, who scored on a single by Jim Thome to make it a 7-1 game.  Only when Dye homered to lead off the sixth did the Sox score with less than two outs, and it put Dye within a single of the cycle.

The more incredible aspect of Dye's homer is that it came a half-inning after he saved at least extra bases on an Aaron Rowandesque catch.  Ryan Garko hit a deep drive to right, and Dye ran with it and caught it in front of the yellow stripe on the right-field fence.  At the same time, his right knee and most of his face banged into the chain-link fence, but he held on to the ball.  He took a couple minutes to compose himself, and stayed in the game.

Garland battled through a pesky Indians lineup for six strong innings.  He was past 40 pitches when he ended the second, stranding two runners each time in the process.  After Choo tripled to lead off the third, Garland settled down.  Choo would score on a fielder's choice, but Garland finished his night retiring nine of the last 10 men he faced, with a two-out single by Casey Blake the only blemish. 

Record: 82-60 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 8: White Sox 7, Indians 6

On a night when the Sox wore green for Halfway to St. Patrick's Day, the Pale Hose needed the luck of the Polish to pull this one out.  Perhaps we can call September 8 "St. Stanislaus Day." 

At any rate, A.J. Pierzynski's walk-off homer, along with Matt Thornton's clutch relief appearance, bailed out an apparently banged-up Bobby Jenks and helped the Sox to hang with the Twins for another day. 

Jenks sounded (I only had the radio feed) terrible, allowing four straight doubles and three runs without retiring a single batter.  Ed Farmer said his fastball was in the 91-92-m.p.h. range, and the Indians had no problem catching up to it.

Thornton cleaned up his mess, thank God.  He walked Victor Martinez, then induced a double play off the bat of Ryan Garko.  He then blew away Shin-Soo Choo on three pitches to keep it a one-run game. 

As it would turn out, neither closer could retire a batter.  Eric Wedge sent Tom Mastny to the mound to finish the game, but that didn't happen.  Paul Konerko roped a single to left, and Pierzynski attempted to bunt him over.  He missed.  He then missed on his next swing.  After fouling off a curveball, Mastny came with something harder and A.J. was ready for it.  He golfed a shin-high fastball into the right-center bleachers for the game-winner.

Pierzynski not only ended the evening -- he helped to get the Sox started when he hit a bases-loaded single in the first to tie the game at 1.  The Sox failed to capitalize further, as Rob Mackowiak (playing third) struck out, and Ryan Sweeney grounded out to prevent them from posting a crooked number early.

Juan Uribe went deep to give the Sox their first lead of the night, and he had a tremendous night as well.  He had three hits, and helped to start a two-out rally in the sixth when he singled, stole second and scored on Alex Cintron's single for a 4-2 lead.  The steal was his first of the year.  

Konerko himself had a game with four hits, including an RBI single.  The Sox needed every ounce of offense from those four because the other five positions in the lineup went a combined 3-for-20.  Ryan Sweeney is now hitless in his last 10 at-bats, so I'd say that experiment needs to end.

Freddy Garcia pitched well enough to win, and resembled old Freddy a little bit more.  I don't know how fast he was throwing, but he wasn't grabbing as much of the plate.  He had four walks, but eight strikeouts, and avoided giving up a homer for the first time in five starts.  He couldn't retire Grady Sizemore either, as he scored the two earned runs Freddy allowed and ended his evening a homer short of the cycle. 

Record: 81-60 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 7: Indians 9, White Sox 1

I only saw this game through the third inning, but evidently I saw all I needed to see.

I hated the way Mark Buehrle pitched Grady Sizemore.  Considering the way the offense performed, Sizemore's first two at-bats lost the game for him.  In the first, Buehrle plunked him after getting the first two pitches in for strikes.  The second time around, it was like the HBP scared Buehrle away.  He put a fastball on the outside corner, and Sizemore hit it out opposite-field. 

Victor Martinez added another homer with a fastball up and over the plate in the fourth, and all in all, it was an Ugly Buehrle start -- four innings, 10 hits.  Ugly Charlie (Haeger) followed, and considering he walked three in less than three innings, I'm guessing he didn't have the control he showed against Tampa Bay.

Also from the highlights, I see Brian Anderson misplayed an Andy Marte drive to center into a triple.  Neal Cotts needed 21 pitches to retire a batter, allowing two hits, a walk and a run in the meantime. 

Hell, Jermaine Dye drove in the only run with a single after Tadahito Iguchi's double, then killed the rally when he thought there were two outs instead of one, and took off on Rob Mackowiak's flyball.  Another ugly performance against a middling lefty, and I'm glad I missed most of it.

Record: 80-60 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 6: White Sox 8, Red Sox 1

If somebody told me that Jon Garland, Javier Vazquez and Jose Contreras were going to allow three runs over 22 innings this series, wouldn't you have expected more than one win?

Alas, Jose Contereras and a suddenly alive White Sox offense helped them to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Red Sox, with the former throwing eight strong innings and the latter putting up eight solid runs for victory No. 8-0.

Contreras had his forkball, or at least used it more.  In his starts between his last gem in Detroit several weeks ago, he'd been relying too much on his two-seam fastball, which lost effectiveness when he dropped won.  This time, his pitches had sink, and he frustrated the Red Sox all night long.  He struck out five of the first seven hitters he faced, and only Coco Crisp's solo home run tarnished his line. 

On the night, he had nine strikeouts to only one walk and four hits.  He ended his night after the eighth inning, with Crisp the only Red Sox to reach scoring position.  Contreras stranded him at second in the first and sixth innings, the only innings in which he had to work out of anything resembling a jam.

Contreras was close to perfect, but it didn't stop the Sox offense from finally providing a starter some breathing room.  Kyle Snyder scared me when he struck out two of the first three batters he faced for a 1-2-3 first, but Jim Thome homered to lead off the second, and the Sox were on their way.  They scored more runs in the second inning than they did in the first two games of this series combined.  A Sox hitter finally did something with the bases loaded when Alex Cintron hit a ground-rule double (one of his three hits) with the bases loaded to drive in two.

Ryan Sweeney, starting in center and batting leadoff while Scott Podsednik hit eighth, racked up his first career RBI with a groundout, for a 4-0 lead.  That was the only good that came out of his night, as he went 0-for-6 with a double play and two strikeouts.

Snyder left the game in the middle of the third when Jim Thome doubled and scored on one by A.J. Pierzynski.  Thome went 4-for-4 with three runs scored, so it appears he's back in the groove.  Jermaine Dye hit his 40th homer to let himself off the hook, and added a nice diving catch in right field. 

Paul Konerko was the only offensive player to maintain his struggles.  With runners on the corners and one out, he lined out to third.  It was a nice play by Mike Lowell, but he keeps failing to elevate the ball in those situations. 

Dustin Hermanson, appearing in his first major-league game this season, worked a 1-2-3 ninth with two groundouts and a strikeout, a performance reminscent of what he did so well for most of 2005.

Record: 80-59 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 5: Red Sox 1, White Sox 0

Okay, so how come the rest of us had to go to work today while the Sox offense is able to make Labor Day a five-day weekend? 

There's not much to say about the Sox offense aside from the pathetic sight its become.  This time they managed a whole three flyouts against an unremarkable starter (Kason Gabbard).  Woo!  But they also hit into three double plays.  Boo!  In order:

1. Paul Konerko grounding into a double play with the bases loaded in the fourth inning.  At the time, it was a scoreless affair.
2. Joe Crede lining into a 5-3 double play in the sixth, catching Tadahito Iguchi off first with runners on the corners, one out and Boston up 1-0.
3. Paul Konerko grounding into a double play with no outs in the seventh, Boston up 1-0.

Awful. Konerko's first grounder was absolutely rage-worthy because it was a 1-0 count, and it was a fastball at his shins.  Pathetic.  Putrid.  Keep the ball low and outside and the Sox hitters will do all the work for the opposition.

The only bright spots were Pablo Ozuna, who went 1-for-4 but hit two other balls hard and made a nice diving catch to boot, and Ryan Sweeney who had his first two hits of his major-league career.  They were both stranded on third for their efforts. 

Meanwhile, Javier Vazquez's brilliant complete-game effort didn't make a difference.  He racked up 11 strikeouts while allowing only three hits, but because Coco Crisp hits a measly two-out RBI single, Vazquez gets hung with the loss.  If he wanted to chew out the offense tonight, he'd have every right.

Record: 79-59 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 4: Red Sox 3, White Sox 2 (10 innings)

Bobby Jenks didn't have it tonight, but he's just one guy.  Outside of one inning, the Sox offense had nothing either, and that's a much bigger problem.

Jon Garland pitched six tough innings, giving up only one run despite not having his best control against a patient lineup, yet he was in line for the loss when he was done after six, giving up only one run.  Mike MacDougal and Matt Thornton did their jobs, working two scoreless inning to bridge to Jenks.  The defense played mistake-free baseball.

Jenks may have blown the save, but this loss was all on the offense.  They managed to make Julian Tavarez look tough for the second time this season, as Tavarez induced 14 groundouts to zero flyouts.  The only time the Sox hit the ball in the air before the ninth inning was on Jim Thome's titanic shot over the Green Monster, and Joe Crede's flare of a single that Brian Anderson would've caught.  Gabe Kapler, making only his fourth start in center for the Red Sox, didn't. 

Earlier in the season, Tavarez threw four innings of one-hit ball in that 19-inning game that closed out the first half.  Of course, if all he needed to do was throw the ball low and away, I might've thrown a scoreless frame as well.

Ordinarily, that would be enough for Jenks.  MacDougal managed to pitch around a leadoff walk in the eighth when Juan Uribe made a beautiful play on a chopper up the middle.  He tagged Coco Crisp, who had taken off on a hit-and-run, then threw to first for the 6-3 double play.  Matt Thornton struck out Wily Mo Pena to take a 2-1 game to the ninth. 

Jenks, however, couldn't get away after walking Manny Ramirez to lead off the ninth.  His bigger failing was not putting Trot Nixon away after having him down 0-2.  The next three pitches Jenks offered were three easy takes, and that gave Ramirez a running count.  He took off, and while Nixon chopped the ball to first, it was enough to get the runner into scoring position.  If Manny's not running, the play to second is a lot easier. 

Bobby gave up a double to Mike Lowell to tie the game, and then Brandon McCarthy gave up a leadoff blast to Carlos Pena for the game-winner in the 10th.  It's his fourth extra-inning loss of the year, and not the guy you want in the game when one swing will end it.

On the other hand, he probably did me a favor, since the last train leaving Fenway took off at 11:08.  The Sox weren't going to score with a lineup that featured Rob Mackowiak in place of Jermaine Dye and Ryan Sweeney in place of Jim Thome. 

Record: 79-58 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 3: Royals 7, White Sox 3

I never thought I'd be so glad to see no more games against the Royals on the schedule.  This time, Mark Redman was the soft-tossing lefty who spun Sox hitters into the ground, and with Freddy Garcia susceptible to giving up runs early, I didn't like this match-up from the get-go.

The Sox did take the lead thanks to a Paul Konerko homer, but they failed to capitalize an inning later when they had the bases loaded and Jim Thome was at the plate with a 2-0 count.  He looked at the next two strikes, then struck out swinging.  That's been the way it's gone for Thome as of late, although he did hit his first homer since Aug. 14 later on.

Speaking of homers, Freddy Garcia allowed more of them than walks once again today.  Angel Berroa and Ryan Shealy went deep in back-to-back innings to give the Royals a 3-1 lead, and Shealy victimized Freddy again with an RBI single to make it 4-1.  Aside from the homers, Freddy looked decent, racking up seven strikeouts and his fastball hitting 92.  Unfortunately, he was left in one batter too late.  Mark Grudzielanek doubled off the wall, setting off an unfavorable chain of events that Brandon McCarthy was thisclose to getting out of. 

Neal Cotts issued an intentional walk, and McCarthy got Emil Brown to pop up.  He unintentionally intentionally walked Shealy to get to Paul Bako -- which was the right move.  Bako just happened to hit a jam-shot too far in front of Uribe, and it scored a run.  The inning unfolded from there, as Angel Berroa singled two more home to give the Royals some key insurance runs.

The Sox finished the season series against Kansas City 11-8 -- the same record they had against that Tigers team that lost 119 games in 2003.  The Twins, meanwhile, went 15-4 against Detroit that year, and ended up winning the division by four games.

Record: 79-57 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 2: White Sox 5, Royals 3

After a terrible defensive showing by the White Sox yesterday, it was awfully nice of the Royals to return the favor. 

The Sox took an important game tonight, but needed a couple of misreads by Joey Gathright to get the win, because the Sox offense struggled once again.  Since they were facing another middling lefty in Odalis Perez, why wouldn't they?

Buddy Bell actually inserted Gathright in center before the start of the inning and slid David DeJesus to left.  That turned out to be a mistake, because while DeJesus made a couple nice sliding catches, Gathright struggled with a couple reads as dusk set in. 

The first was on a regular old Tadahito Iguchi flyball.  The Sox entered the inning down 3-2, but tied it up when Brian Anderson led off with a double, went to third on Juan Uribe's sac bunt and scored on a surprisingly useful Sandy Alomar Jr.'s sac fly.  Pablo Ozuna (2-for-4 from the leadoff spot) then doubled to keep the inning alive, but Iguchi followed up with a lazy, medium-range flyball.  Gathright ran in, then lost the ball and watched it right in front of him.  Ozuna came around to score, and the Sox took the lead. 

In the following inning, Paul Konerko led off with a double, and then Joe Crede added a double of his own when Gathright broke the wrong way on a line drive.  Surely enough, Konerko only advanced one base on a double.  In next week's episode of "That's so Paulie!" watch him take 2 1/2 walk signals to cross Michigan Avenue.

Ross Gload, as he's been apt to do, singled Konerko home, stole second as Anderson struck out, but a beautiful unassissted double play by Angel Berroa kept the Sox from putting any more runs up.

Fortunately, the Sox bullpen was good for the lead this time, with Mike MacDougal, Matt Thornton and Bobby Jenks shutting the door.  Jenks pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out the side.  Believe it or not, that's the first time he's done it all year. 

Mark Buehrle sounded good enough, throwing a quality start to propel himself back over .500 on the season.  He did allow nine hits in six innings, though fortunately none of them left the yard.  Mike Sweeney drove in fellow Sox killer Mark Grudzielanek with a single in the first, and
Ryan Shealy gave the Royals a brief lead in the sixth with an RBI double.  I don't know how he looked with Alomar catching -- I could only catch the game on the radio. 

Joe Crede made up for flying out with the bases loaded last night, delivering a two-run single with the sacks packed in the third to give the Sox their first lead of the series.  Jermaine Dye, on the other hand, had maybe his worst game of the season.  He earned himself a golden sombrero, going 0-for-4 with four Ks against Perez.

Record: 79-56 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 1: Royals 7, White Sox 5

The Sox offense nearly won it for them, but the defense ended up losing this one.

The Royals scored all their runs by the fourth inning thanks to three errors and some poor pitches by Jose Contreras, then hung on as the Sox mounted a rally that managed to be furious and sluggish simultaneously.  It came up short, however, and in the end, the Sox were lucky the Twins lost to the Yankees.

The fourth-inning rally by Kansas City started as many do, with a leadoff walk to Emil Brown.  Contreras then dropped down about four times in a row to Ryan Shealy, who finally found a pitch left up in the zone and singled to center.  Rob Mackowiak earned the first error in the inning when his throw to third skipped away from Joe Crede, and Shealy rolled into second. 

Alex Cintron then failed to get down on Paul Bako's nubber, and the Royals took a 2-0 lead.  Crede then compounded mistakes when his barehanded field-and-throw of Andres Blanco's sacrifice bunt sailed over Tadahito Iguchi's head.  Two more runs and a 4-0 lead.  The rest of the inning was on Conteras, with David DeJesus hitting a solid double to left center and Mark Teahen hitting a two-run homer that just about sealed the deal.

Meanwhile, Runelvys Hernandez kept the Sox down in his second straight start, with Crede putting up the only run via a shot that hit water in left center. 

Only until Buddy Bell went to his bullpen did the Sox start to mount rallies, and they arguably had the worst batting-round inning ever.  They sent 10 guys to the plate and only scored three runs in the eighth.  The Sox loaded the bases on a Scott Podsednik single, an Iguchi walk and a Jermaine Dye single, and the Sox kept the sacks packed after that. 

But station-to-station baseball kept the damage minimal.  Jim Thome looked bad striking out against Jimmy Gobble.  Paul Konerko was hit by a pitch to drive in one.  A.J. Pierzynski drove in another with a nice single on the 12th pitch of his at-bat -- but only one run scored.  Crede hit a medium-range fly ball to left, but Dye couldn't score on it.  Ross Gload followed with a single, but only one run scored because Konerko can't score from second.  Alex Cintron then ended the inning with a pop foul to left. 

It was the same deal in the ninth, with Iguchi walked, Dye doubling and Thome walking to load the bases with one out.  Paul Konerko flew out to left, Pierzynski walked, and then Crede left them loaded with a flyout to left to end the game.  Either of those innings could've completely blown up, but the Sox couldn't find the gap to do it. 

On the other hand, the September call-ups kept the team in the game.  Boone Logan, pitching for the Sox for the first time since the debacle on May 16, pitched a scoreless inning with one strikeout, and Charlie Haeger added two perfect innings of his own.  Haeger looked worlds more relaxed in his second big-league outing.  During his start against Anaheim, his knuckleball was hitting 77 or 78 m.p.h. and often sailed high.  This time, he was sitting at 70-72 and most of them dropped into (or around) Pierzynski's mitt knee-high. 

The other September call-up, Ryan Sweeney, saw his first big-league action when he entered as a defensive replacement in center in the eighth inning.  He finished the game standing in the on-deck circle after Crede flew out to end the game.

Record: 78-56 | Box score | Play-by-play

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

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 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 singl