2006 State of the Sox

Weeks in a Box: Three-pack

This is brief, since 1) vacation and work helped me to get behind on these, and 2) the Sox weren't really worth talking about in September anyway.

Player of the Week:

Sept. 10-16: Tadahito Iguchi
Sept. 17-23: Paul Konerko
Sept. 24-Oct. 1:  A.J. Pierzynski

Player of the Weak:

Sept. 10-16: Scott Podsednik
Sept. 17-23: Joe Crede
Sept. 24-Oct. 1: Brian Anderson

Pitcher of the Week:

Sept. 10-16: Freddy Garcia
Sept. 17-23: Freddy Garcia
Sept. 24-Oct. 1: Freddy Garcia

Pitcher of the Weak:

Sept. 10-16: Jon Garland
Sept. 17-23: Mark Buehrle
Sept. 24-Oct. 1: Javier Vazquez

Fireman:

Sept. 10-16: Nobody
Sept. 17-23: Charlie Haeger
Sept. 24-Oct. 1: Matt Thornton

Gascan:

Sept. 10-16: Mike MacDougal
Sept. 17-23: Neal Cotts
Sept. 24-Oct. 1: Neal Cotts

Super Sub:

Sept. 10-16: Ryan Sweeney
Sept. 17-23: Pablo Ozuna
Sept. 24-Oct. 1: Ross Gload

Super Scrub:

Sept. 10-16: Nobody
Sept. 17-23: Rob Mackowiak
Sept. 24-Oct. 1: Josh Fields

Gold Glove:

Sept. 10-16: Brian Anderson
Sept. 17-23: No comment
Sept. 24-Oct. 1:  Chris Stewart

Player of the Week:

Sept. 10-16: Rob Mackowiak
Sept. 17-23: Paul Konerko
Sept. 24-Oct. 1: Brian Anderson

Week in a Box: September 3-9

Because I forgot:

Player of the Week: Tadahito Iguchi

Player of the Weak: Juan Uribe

Pitcher of the Week:  Jose Contreras

Pitcher of the Weak:  Mark Buehrle

Fireman of the Week: ThornDougal

Gas can of the Week: Brandon McCarthy

Super Sub of the Week:  Alex Cintron

Super Scrub of the Week: Ryan Sweeney

Gold Glove: Juan Uribe

Hands of Stone:  No clear-cut winner.

Week in a Box: August 27 - September 2

The season's been infuriatingly inconsistent, and this week was no different.

Player of the Week:  Jermaine Dye.  Joe Crede had nearly an equally good week, with the exception of a throwing error in Friday night’s game.  Dye strengthened his MVP candidacy, even with a golden sombrero on Saturday.   

Player of the Weak:  Scott Podsednik.  If nothing else, he earns this one due to his maddening inconsistency.  He started the week with a primo Pods performance (bunt single, 3-for-4, two stolen bases, outfield assist), and then finished the week 2-for-18.

Pitcher of the Week:  Mark Buehrle.  He’s back over .500 with two wins this week.  He prevented two sweeps with a vintage outing against Minnesota, and a serviceable start against Kansas City.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Jose Contreras.  Another turd of a start.  He’s allowed 26 runs in his last 19 1/3 innings.  The defense let him down, but he didn’t help himself out either.  

Fireman of the Week:  Bobby Jenks.  He picked up saves No. 37, 38 and 39, allowing only one baserunner in three innings of work.  

Gas can of the Week:  Neal Cotts.  This is getting out of hand.  He’s pretty much allowing two baserunners for every out.  He finished August with a WHIP of over 3.00.

Super Sub of the Week:  Ross Gload.  Gload continues to produce.  He’s got an eight-game hitting streak going, which is impressive considering that includes a couple pinch-hit appearances.  August was his busiest month (38 at-bats), and he was up to the task (.919 OPS).

Super Scrub of the Week:  Rob Mackowiak.  I know it’s unfair, but his presence is beginning to frustrate me.

Gold Glove:  Juan Uribe.  Made a couple nice plays in the hole this week.  He definitely has a defensive presence.

Hands of Stone: Tadahito Iguchi.  He spoiled an unusually gritty outing by Javier Vazquez with a bad throw to first on what should’ve been a routine double 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.

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.

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)

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. 

Week in a Box: July 14-22

Not only have the Sox stumbled out of the gate starting the second half of the season, but now that truck that tows the gate has arrived, and it just ran over the Sox.  

This is the lowest the South Side has been since last September.  

Player of the Week:  Jermaine Dye.  You know what’s crazy?  Jermaine has had four multi-hit games, and only went one game without reaching base during this week – and he’s yet to drive in a run.  It just goes to show how badly the guys in front of him are doing.  He's made a handful of nice catches, too.

Player of the Weak:  A.J. Pierzynski.  Aside from his upper-deck homer at Yankee Stadium, he’s pretty much been a non-factor.  He’s about one more 0-fer from dropping under .300.  He needs some help.

Pitcher of the Week: Jon Garland.  This was easy.  After all, he has the only win of the second half.

Pitcher of the Weak: Mark Buehrle.  Hawk Harrelson calls this stretch the roughest Buehrle’s ever suffered, but he did show signs of life in his last start after the five-run inning.  I’m going to predict he’s not going to win this award a third week in a row.

Fireman of the Week: Nobody.  Brandon McCarthy comes the closest, but he only pitched an inning, and he walked two batters.

Gas Can of the Week: Bobby Jenks.  Only one of three outings has been scoreless, and in the one where he left unscathed, he still allowed two baserunners.  Add in his questionable pitch selection to Ian Kinsler and Michael Young, and that’s all she wrote.

Super Sub of the Week:  Nobody.  A bad week for the bench.  

Super Scrub of the Week: Chris Widger.  Pablo Ozuna’s hitless in his last 16 at-bats or so, but Widger is the more automatic out, and he grounded a throw to second off a pitchout.

Gold Glove:  Juan Uribe.  He’s made some beautiful plays going to his right, left and back, and he’s also turned some nice double plays.  This is the Juan we expected to see all year.

Hands of Stone:  Rob Mackowiak.  It’s been a great week defensively for the Sox, but his failure to get to the laziest pop fly in the world may have cost the Sox the series against Detroit.  Then again, with the way things are going, they probably would’ve blown it some other way.

Week in a Box: July 2-9

Just a brief rundown of this week's awards, as I'll be having a more extensive look at the first half during the midseason review.

Player of the Week:  Jermaine Dye.  As tempted as I am to give this to Jim Thome (five straight multi-hit games), Jermaine’s had six multi-hit games out of his last eight, and of course had the big shot off Jonathan Papelbon to avoid the sweep.  He also took away an extra-base hit to save Cliff Politte from a true pressure situation in the 19th inning.

Player of the Weak:  Paul Konerko.  With runners on, his performance has been less than savory.  He grounded into a double play three times, and failed in three opportunities with the bases loaded in the last two games.

Pitcher of the Week: Jon Garland.  Garland had a nice start against the Orioles, throwing strikes and letting his defense take care of him.  Only 92 pitches in 7 1/3 innings.

Pitcher of the Weak: Mark Buehrle.  Anybody who allows seven runs to the Cubs in any inning – especially the first – is worthy of scorn.  And his second start of the week against the Red Sox was no great shakes either.

Fireman of the Week: Matt Thornton.  Five scoreless outings, including getting a big out and recording his first save against Baltimore, and working a scoreless 1 1/3 innings against Boston.

Gas Can of the Week: Cliff Politte.  Even factoring in his scoreless inning against Boston, he still allowed more than one run per inning this week.  Extra points for making a six-run lead feel unsafe against Baltimore.

Super Sub of the Week:  Alex Cintron.  He wasn’t spectacular this week, but seeing him fill in for Tadahito Iguchi without much of a drop-off is comforting to know. 

Super Scrub of the Week: Chris Widger.  An 0-for-5 week has him dangerously close to the Mendoza Line.  Pablo Ozuna looks like he’s falling back to Earth as well.

Gold Glove:  Brian Anderson.  You know how they say Gold Gloves are given to the best hitters at the position?   Anderson’s hitting helps him here, because it’s helping him stay in the lineup, which means his glove is out there more.  And considering I get dizzy from watching Rob Mackowiak’s feet, I’m grateful.

Hands of Stone:  Scott Podsednik.  More of the same from Pods.  Misreads, drops, and a weak arm to boot.

Week in a Box: June 25 - July 1

The Sox continued their dominance over the National League with a 4-2 week, with the two losses coming after foiled late comeback attempts.  With two victories in Wrigley Field, the Sox also ensured the season victory over the North Siders, preventing any real measure of bragging rights for Cub fans.  

And now the awards:

Player of the Week:  Juan Uribe.  He comes up with a game-tying, three-run triple against the Pirates, and then drives in five of six runs against the Cubs.  He even drew his first walk in more than a month!

Player of the Weak:  Javier Vazquez.  He’s just frustrating me.  I haven’t given this award to a pitcher yet, but with no position players truly tanking, why not?  Pods had a terrible week with the glove, but even he came up with a couple of key hits.

Pitcher of the Week:  Mark Buehrle.  No truly remarkable performances, but Buehrle pitched the best.  Freddy Garcia also did a nice job of battling for a victory against the Pirates.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Javier Vazquez.  Two terrible starts, and both times the Sox prevented him from getting the loss.  

Fireman of the Week:  Bobby Jenks.  Four scoreless outings, three-for-three in save opportunities, and nearly picked up a win after getting a key double play in the extra-inning affair against the Astros.  He’s been everything the Sox needed in the bullpen.

Gas Can of the Week:  Cliff Politte.  Gregory Pratt called it.  I’m pretty sure they guy’s done, which is unfortunate considering all he did for the team last year.  

Super Sub of the Week:  Alex Cintron.  He came up big twice in the Pirates series, scoring a key insurance run in one game, and racking up four hits to keep the Sox in the finale.  He’s also 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts.

Super Scrub of the Week:  Chris Widger.  Went 0-for-5 against the Pirates, stranding seven baserunners and grounding into a double play.  

Gold Glove of the Week:  Paul Konerko.  Second week in a row for Paulie?  Well, he turned a snap 3-6-1 double play against the Pirates, and then threw out Juan Pierre at home (nice job by A.J. Pierzynski blocking the plate) to preserve the Sox’s lead.  

Hands of Stone:  Scott Podsednik.  The one reason we can’t name this the Rob Mackowiak Playing Outfield Award.  He made miscues in two games against the Pirates and two in one game against the Cubs.  Even he admits his glove is horse-sh-t.

Week in a box: June 18-24

The Sox continued their pillaging of the NL Central with an undefeated week that included two milestones.  For one, they set a franchise record by scoring at least eight runs in six straight games, and they also achieved their first nine-game winning streak since 1977.

After finishing a sweep of the Reds, a 20-run outburst in the opener against the Cardinals gave the Sox the highest single-game output on the season.  A follow-up shellacking of the Cardinals sent them into hyper-excuse mode, and they finished off the sweep with a classic pitcher’s duel.  Two victories against Houston brought back memories of October.  

In other words, this week was perfect*.

Player of the Week:  Joe Crede.  After going through somewhat of a power slump, the big bat returned with a four-homer week.  He had two against the Cardinals – almost three, as he had a double off the top of the wall – and his grand slam against the Astros made it feel like October all over again.  

Player of the Weak:  Nobody.  I can’t do it.  Jermaine comes closest, but he had a big single today, as well as a tremendous diving catch against the Astros Friday.  That’s enough to overcome being the only starter without a hit in the second game against the Cardinals, right?

Pitcher of the Week:  Freddy Garcia.  His performance against Anthony Reyes wasn’t just good karma – it was his best performance of the year by far.  Tremendous outing.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Jose Contreras.  You know it’s a good week when he’s winning this award, and setting the franchise record for consecutive victories while doing it.  El Conde has looked shaky as of late, with nine earned runs in his last two starts – though two last week were the fault of a Podsednik misread.  Still, his fastball looked flat against the Astros and his control’s still a bit off since returning from the DL.  Jon Garland pitched a turd of a game against Houston, but he gets credit for his tremendous start against the Reds, as well as his first career homer.

Fireman of the Week:  David Riske.  If he’s going to be anything like he has been so far this season, Kenny got a steal.  A clutch outing against the Astros helped preserve the winning streak, and he got the job done by plunking Chris Duncan, preventing another Ozzie meltdown – though it didn’t stop the controversy.

Gas Can of the Week:  Agustin Montero.  This is a recurring theme.  Four runs in an inning against the Cardinals turned a 20-2 game into a 20-6 game.  He is what he is.  Matt Thornton couldn’t have had better timing in picking up his victory with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, because this award had his name on it after he surrendered a homer to Timo Perez.
 
Super Sub of the Week:  Ross Gload.  Sure, he got in a couple games during blowouts, but he gets credit because he couldn’t have had a better week – literally.  In three games, he went 4-for-4 with a couple RBI, and he’s reached base in his last six at-bats.  Alex Cintron misses out after his third game-winning single, and Rob Mackowiak's been solid with the bat, including a four-hit game against the Reds to start his week.

Super Scrub of the Week:  Nobody.  Who deserves it?  

Gold Glove of the Week:  Paul Konerko.  Jermaine had the great grab, but Paulie started a couple of beautiful, rally-killing 3-6-1 double plays against the Cardinals that kept them from being involved in either of the first two ballgames.  

Hands of Stone:  Rob Mackowiak.  One word sums up his performance against the Astros today: brutal.  He probably willed himself to score the game-winning run just so nobody would talk about it.  Brian Anderson’s back in a couple days, thankfully.

*There was a minor flap involving Ozzie Guillen, but I forget the details.  Something about him, some writer, and a British cigarette. 

Week in a Box: June 11-17

While the Detroit Tigers are off playing the creampuff Devil Rays and Cubs, the Sox ran into two tough road opponents -- the Texas Rangers and Cincinnati Reds, on the road.  They finished up with a 5-1 record in those games and a 5-2 week overall. 

Brian Anderson and Juan Uribe are turning it around, the bullpen's shaping up, and the starting pitching has been solid.  Not a lot of complaints, but we'll air them anyway along with the week's best:

Player of the Week:  Paul Konerko.  Konerko’s production became more important when interleague play moved to the National League parks.  He’s responded with a six-game hitting streak, during which he’s 12-for-23 with an OBP of .607.  He’ll be on the All-Star team somehow.  

Player of the Weak:  Scott Podsednik.  Not the worst week that’s won this dubious distinction, but his average has sunk below .250, and his defense has been poor to boot.  Guess what he’s winning later?

Pitcher of the Week:  Mark Buehrle.  Buehrle threw his second consecutive eight-inning outing en route to an easy win against Texas, faring much better against the Rangers than he did the first time around.  He seems to be back in rhythm after a rough stretch.  

Pitcher of the Weak:  Javier Vazquez.  Vazquez didn’t need to hit a Ranger batter because Vicente Padilla might’ve hit A.J. Pierzynski.  He should’ve hit a Ranger batter because they were smacking him all over the park.  Not a good week in any respect.  

Fireman of the Week:  Brandon McCarthy.  Brandon tossed a couple scoreless outings in some high leverage situations, including two outs against the Reds and two innings against the Rangers.  

Gas Can of the Week:  Augstin Montero.  The Rangers raked him around the yard after Ozzie Guillen led Sean Tracey from the mound to the dugout by his ear.  Not particularly inspiring work.

Super Sub of the Week:  Pablo Ozuna.  A 9-for-16 week has boosted his average to .438 over 80 at-bats.  He owns an eight-game hitting streak, and with three more RBI this week, he surpassed his total of 11 last season.  He started a furious rally against Cleveland that just fell short, and he helped preserve a series win with a three-hit night against Texas.  Ozuna also displayed a glove at both left and second for once. 

Super Scrub of the Week:  When the Sox win both games A.J. Pierzynski had to sit and Ross Gload goes 4-for-7, you can’t hand this to anyone.  

Gold Glove:  Juan Uribe.  He made a couple nice plays this week, and I’m getting the sense that the double play combo is more in rhythm than it had been.

Hands of Stone:  Scott Podsednik.  Pods still looks awkard.  He dropped a flyball against Texas against the wall that led to a run, and his misread of a flyball gave the Reds the lead and nearly gave away both a win and Jose Contreras’ winning streak.  

Roll out the red carpet for: David Riske.  Acquired for Javy Lopez, Riske racked up two strikeouts during his first outing with the Sox.  This little move for Kenny Williams could go a long way.

Week in a Box: June 4 - 10

Not a bad week for the Sox, considering they could’ve lost every single game they played this week.  All in all, there were four one-run ballgames (including three by the score of 4-3), three comebacks, lots of late-inning heroics, and accelerated heartbeats for everybody involved.

It’d be nice to win a laugher for once, but two series victories against the biggest intra-division rivals?  I’ll take it.  

Player of the Week: Jermaine Dye.  Three home runs this week, three multi-hit games, and he provided the three runs needed to beat Cleveland in a thrilling comeback victory, including a two-out, two-RBI single that would prove to be the game-winner.  I’m calling him The Assassin – who’s with me?

Player of the Weak:  Juan Uribe.  Congrats to Juan for the birth of his fourth child, but that's all the good news for him this week.  An 0-for-10 streak has caused his average to sink below the Mendoza Line, and his glove has been disappointing as well.  But I’ll get to that later.  

Pitcher of the Week:  Jose Contreras.  He outdueled young Detroit flamethrower Justin Verlander for the only victory by a Sox starter this week.  El Conde looks like he’s back to form after his DL stint.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Jon Garland.  It’s tough to hand this one down, because he pitched better against Detroit than his line (7 IP, 6 ER) would indicate.  If Brian Anderson’s playing center instead of Rob Mackowiak, he allows only two earned runs.  But he does deserve criticism for allowing two more homers to push his total up to 19 in 77 innings.  Don’t look now Jon, but you’re in Ezequiel Astacio territory.  

Fireman of the Week: Bobby Jenks.  Before entering Game 2 against the Indians in a non-save situation, Bobby saved the previous four Sox victories.  His ERA is finally under 3.00, and has thrown 10 consecutive scoreless outings.  

Gas Can of the Week:  Cliff Politte.  I wouldn’t give this award to him if he were injured just before his disastrous outing against Texas – but the fact that he hid shoulder injuries for a couple weeks brings him this mark of disgrace.  

Super Sub of the Week:  Alex Cintron.  While Uribe’s wife was giving birth, Cintron came in and delivered two game-winning hits against the Tigers – his first homer in a White Sox uniform, and a late-inning RBI single the day after.  And he ended the latter game with a 6-3 double play to boot.  

Super Scrub of the Week:  Nobody.  Rob Mackowiak’s game-tying single against the Indians spared him.  Otherwise, everybody’s playing well.  Chris Widger even drew two walks in a start.  

Gold Glove:  Brian Anderson.  With one dramatic catch against Travis Hafner and the Indians, he solidified his spot on this team.  Mackowiak would not have made that play, and the Sox probably wouldn’t have recovered from a two-run (minimum) deficit.

Hands of Stone:  Juan Uribe.  He should be a Gold Glove shortstop, but he’s not playing like it right now.  His weak-assed toss that Grady Sizemore beat to the bag cost Javier Vazquez a shot at the win, and he also screwed up another double-play toss the next day.  If he’s not going to hit, he has to field.  He’s doing neither. 

Week in a Box: May 28 - June 3

Quick and dirty, since I'm playing catch-up.

Player of the Week:  Tadahito Iguchi.

Player of the Weak:  Scott Podsednik.

Pitcher of the Week:  Javier Vazquez.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Jose Contreras.

Fireman of the Week:  Everybody's sucked.

Gas Can of the Week:  Cliff Politte.

Super Sub of the Week:  Nobody's looked great.

Super Scrub of the Week:  Ross Gload

Gold Glove: Joe Crede

Hands of Stone:  Alex Cintron

Week in a Box: May 21-27

Talk about bookending a week with ugly.  It started with a collapse against the Cubs in the first game of the post-brawl era, and ended with a piss-poor effort that inspired an Ozzie Guillen.  

In the middle, however, was the first home sweep of the Oakland Athletics since 1997, including an impressive effort to foil Frank Thomas’ impressive return to the city.  

The awards:

Player of the Week:  Paul Konerko.  Konerko hit five home runs this week, although four of them were of the solo variety.  But two of them kept the Sox in the game against the Cubs, and another two kept the Sox from being completely embarrassed against the Blue Jays.  

Player of the Weak:  Jermaine Dye.  Nobody had a truly terrible week, but Jermaine had a few things he’d like to forget – a silver sombrero against the Cubs, dropping an easy flyball against the A’s and not running his hardest from first to third and getting thrown out by Alex Rios in the process.  

Pitcher of the Week:  Mark Buehrle.  Buehrle hasn’t allowed an earned run in 21 consecutive innings – which is both good and bad if you think about it.  But his seven strong innings against the A’s (including a pickoff) keyed a rare Sox sweep of Oakland.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Freddy Garcia.  Garcia was hit really, really hard in his start against Toronto, snapping his seven-game winning streak in the process.  He couldn’t find the inside corner and the Blue Jays let him have it.  Troy Glaus’ homer nearly hit some diners at the restaurant in the upper deck behind center field of the Rogers Centre.

Firemen of the Week:  Bobby Jenks and Matt Thornton.  Not only did Jenks pitch another scoreless week, but he went above and beyond the call of duty as a closer.  He pitched two innings for the win in the opener of the Oakland series, and closed out the last game of the series by pitching 1 1/3 inning – including striking out Jason Kendall with runners on second and third with two outs in the eighth.  Thornton has been thrown into high-leverage situations and he’s responded with zeroes, so we can’t rob him of an award again.  

Gas Can of the Week:  Cliff Politte.  He pitched three outings and allowed run(s) in each of them.  His ERA is back up to 7.00.

Super Sub:  Rob Mackowiak.  Perhaps Brian Anderson catches what turned out to be Michael Barrett’s game-tying triple on Sunday, but Mack can’t take himself out.  He did make up for it with a game-tying homer in the opener against Oakland, and then drove in a key insurance run in the closing game of the series.  He went 7-for-15 this week.

Super Scrub:  Nobody.  Everybody on the bench is basically holding up his end of the bargain. 

Gold Glove:  Joe Crede.  Crede made a couple of big-time defensive plays this week.  One was a diving stab to his right against Oakland, and another saved a run – though in vain – against Toronto.

Hands of Stone:  Jermaine Dye Rob Mackowiak.  See the comments below.

Week in a Box: May 14 - 20

The week started with something that hadn’t been accomplished in over 100 years, and managed to end with a stranger series of events.  

Yes, Mark Buehrle became the first pitcher in 105 years to allow seven runs in the first inning and come away with a victory on Sunday, and then Michael Barrett punched A.J. Pierzynski in the face for no good reason to close out the week.

After all was said and done, the Sox finished the week in first place, with the same record as the streaking Detroit Tigers.

Player of the Week:  Jermaine Dye.  Before his 0-for-4 outing against the Cubs, Jermaine had not only a six-game hitting streak, but a six-game RBI streak.  His three-run homer against Minnesota became more important after Buehrle gave up seven runs, and he kept the Sox in the rubber game against the Devil Rays singlehandedly.  

Player of the Weak:  Brian Anderson.  He’s hitting .170, didn’t show up on a flyball that he should’ve had that led to a key insurance run for the Devil Rays, and his overreaction in the brawl with the Cubs will likely lead him to miss several games in the near future.  

Pitcher of the Week:  Freddy Garcia.  His two victories on the week give him seven straight overall.  He’s walked only one batter in the last 29 2/3 innings, and he’s lowered his ERA in every single start this season.  

Pitcher of the Weak:  Javier Vazquez.  Javy had his second straight rough start, this time not being able to hold a lead against the Devil Rays.  On the bright side, this is probably the best start for a Pitcher of the Weak, so…yeah.

Fireman of the Week:  Bobby Jenks.  His two outings against the Twins and Devil Rays this week:   2 1/3 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, 6 K.  He’s touching the upper ‘90s and locating his curveball.  Honorable mention to Matt Thornton, albeit in lower-leverage situations.  

Gas can of the Week:  Boone Logan.  Not only did he allow runs with his arm, but with his head and feet as well.  Along with piping meatballs to Tampa hitters, he failed to field his position AND cover first base.  We’ll find out if he’ll be sent down in the very near future.

Super sub: Rob Mackowiak.  Mack thumped out three hits in his first start of the week in the final game against Minnesota, and went 6-for-11 on the whole.  He’s hitting .343 on the month and playing a solid outfield to boot.

Super scrub:  Ross Gload.  This is unfair ‘cause the guy can’t get playing time, but he’s hitless in his last 10 at-bats.

Gold glove:  Nobody.  Feel free to offer any ideas, but I didn’t feel like anybody had a particularly good week.

Hands of stone:  Juan Uribe.  He had one of the errors that led to Minnesota’s seven-run first inning, as well as one that led to the insurmountable nine-run deficit against Tampa Bay.  I’m guessing it’ll be awhile before he wins this again.

Silver lining: Brian Anderson.  Joe Crede took a couple weeks off and rediscovered his swing.  Hopefully Anderson will do the same thing during his upcoming suspension.

Week in a Box: May 7-13

Jose Contreras visited the DL, the Sox started a rookie knuckleballer, a game was rained out, the bullpen tried out another reliever, Johan Santana mauled us once again, the umpires screwed the Sox over and both Ozzie Guillen and Don Cooper were ejected, leaving Tim Raines to make his managerial debut…

…yup, this week had it all.  

On to the awards:  

Player of the Week:  Joe Crede.  I was tempted to give this one to Scott Podsednik because he had his two best games of the year this week – but Crede has just been so clutch with the bat and glove that he can’t be denied.

Player of the Weak:  Tadahito Iguchi.  He had some atypically ugly swings this week with more strikeouts (7) than hits (3).

Pitcher of the Week:  Freddy Garcia.  The Chief returned to what made him an ace pitcher at one point his career – he threw more fastballs against the Angels than he did in any other start this year, and the result was eight innings of one-run ball.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Jon Garland.  Sure, he wouldn’t have had much of a chance against Johan Santana anyway, but he barely pitched better than Charlie Haeger did in his start – and when the nicest thing that can be said about your performance is that it edged out a rookie knuckleballer’s debut, then you get to sit in the corner.

Fireman of the Week:  Brandon McCarthy.  Prepped to be the tandem starter with Haeger, McCarthy pitched beautifully out of the bullpen to keep the Sox in the game against the Angels, as the Sox cut the Anaheim lead from 6-0 to 6-5.  Had Ozzie kept Cotts in, his final line would’ve looked better.

Gas Can of the Week:  Boone Logan.  Why is Logan’s ERA only 3.27?  Because other pitchers pick up his inherited runners and he doesn’t return the favor.  Cliff Politte kept it from escalating Saturday night – and of course Matt Thornton didn’t pick him up on the tail end.

Super sub:  Pablo Ozuna.  His pinch-hit appearance against the Twins brought his batting average below .500.  He had a huge two-run triple against the Royals, stole a key base against the Angels and racked up two hits against Santana in his first two at-bats.    

Super scrub:  Nobody.  Rob Mackowiak had the weakest week of any Sox reserve, but even he didn’t have any sort of real negative impact.

Gold Glove:  Joe Crede.  The guy continues to make big plays.

Hands of Stone:  Brian Anderson.  Not his finest week – he misplayed a ball against the Angels and struggled with the Metrodome lights against the Twins, while the guy he replaced made national headlines with a catch in Philadelphia.

The Hokey Pokey:  The Sox front office.  You bring Chuck Haeger in, you take Chuck Haeger out, you bring Agustin in…will Jeff Nelson be next?

Week in a Box: April 30 - May 6

The Sox finished the fifth week of the season tied with the New York Mets for the best record in baseball, and owning a 1 ½ game lead over the Detroit Tigers.  It could’ve been larger if the Sox bullpen got the job done against Kansas City Friday, but the Tigers bailed them out by blowing a save themselves against Minnesota Saturday.  

Anyway, on to the awards:  

Player of the Week:  Joe Crede.  He reached base in all seven games this week, including hits in the first six games.  But it’s the timing of the hits that count.  He hit a go-ahead grand slam against Seattle on Friday in the seventh inning, then hit a go-ahead solo shot for good measure in the eighth two days later.  He’s covering the plate better than anybody on the team right now.

Player of the Weak:  Juan Uribe.  Sadly, Juan wins this award for the second straight week because he simply can’t get it going with the bat.  He’s still playing exceptional defense, but everybody else is hitting so well that he just can’t keep up.  He went 3-for-24 this week, and although he did have the game-winning single against Seattle, it dropped because Jeremy Reed 1) was playing too deep, and 2) didn’t go all-out for it.  

Pitcher of the Week:  Javier Vazquez.  Javy wins this award this week not because he was the only pitcher to win two games this week, but because they were big performances.  Two quality outings helped ensure a split at Jacobs Field and prevented the Sox from embarrassing themselves against Kansas City for two consecutive nights.   

Pitcher of the Weak:  Mark Buehrle.  For two straight starts he has looked awful, without his changeup and catching too much of the plate with his fastball and curve.  He failed to finish six innings for the first time since he was ejected in Baltimore last year.

Fireman of the Week:  Neal Cotts.  No reliever had a perfect week, but Cotts’ slip-up against Cleveland was the least costly.  He also earned his first major-league save.

Gas Can of the Week:  Matt Thornton.  Bobby Jenks blew a save and Boone Logan lets inherited runners pass through easier than Canadian customs, but Thornton had three outings and let runners score in two of them.  Ozzie has to know that if Thorndog gets a 1-2-3 inning, he should quit while he’s still ahead.  His WHIP stands at 2.00.

Super sub:  Pablo Ozuna.  It’s the second straight week the Secret Weapon has won this award, and after the Pablo Ozuna Game, it can’t be given to anybody else.  Honorable mention goes to Ross Gload, who has started the last four games after starting zero in the first 27.  He’s been less scary in the field than I thought he’d be.  

Super scrub:  Alex Cintron.  He should’ve never started at DH in the first place, but Cintron stranded quite a few runners on the week.

Gold Glove:  Joe Crede.  The sliding catch isn’t all he did this week, making a couple nice diving stabs a key strong throw to retire Sox pest Willie Bloomquist in the extra-innings game against Seattle.  Brian Anderson had a great week as well, with a nice diving catch of his own and a beautiful throw home that might’ve nailed Jhonny Peralta against Cleveland.

Hands of Stone:  Scott Podsednik.  While his hitting has come around (batting .438 in May so far), his glove’s been atrocious.  An inexplicable error against the Indians and a subpar effort while trying to preserve Javy’s no-hit bid against Kansas City earn him this dishonor.

Happy trails:  Boone Logan.  Javy Lopez’s line in Charlotte: 12 games, 14 innings, 12 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts, 0.64 ERA.

Week in a Box: April 23-29

Five out of the six games this week consisted of a dreaded West Coast swing, and the Sox managed a winning record.  Feelings cancelled each other out when the weirdness of the Sox losing a series collided with knowing the Sox would struggle in Seattle.

I managed to miss the last two games of the week, but the Sox picked up where they left off in Anaheim, taking the first two games of the series.  Missing half the games in the week disqualifies me from making any judgments in areas that numbers can't sum up, so the fielding awards are up for grabs.  Let me know who you think should win the best and worst of the week with the glove, lest I leave them blank.

Here are the winners and losers of the week that was:

Player of the Week:  Paul Konerko.  Jermaine Dye had another hot week, but he scared Sox fans by needing out of a game with a strained calf muscle.  Paul Konerko strung together four multi-hit games and closed out the week batting .372.  

Player of the Weak:  Juan Uribe.  Juan opened the week by going to 3-for-4 with two homers against Minnesota.  He finished the week going 1-for-23.  He seems like he’s just throwing the bat at everything.  Let the record show that Jim Thome struck out 11 times this week, also.  

Pitcher of the Week:  Jose Contreras.  El Conde improved to 4-0 with two victories on the week.   He completed eight innings each time, only allowing three earned runs to lower his ERA to 1.45 on the season.  He’s now racked up 12 consecutive regular-season victories, and would be the frontrunner in Cy Young polls if the season were to end today.  And if the season were to end today, it'd probably be some sort of record.  

Pitcher of the Weak:  Freddy Garcia.  Mark Buehrle had the roughest outing, but even without his best stuff he went seven innings.  Freddy has yet to last that long in any start, whether staked to a big lead or in a close game.  Of course, there may be a reason for that.

Fireman of the Week:  Neal Cotts.  After a shaky start to his season, the Illinois Redbird has been Cotts-steady.  Three scoreless innings, no walks.

Gas Can of the Week:  Brandon McCarthy.  Black Mac had a rough week – Seattle tagged him with the loss when Yuniesky Betancourt drove in the winning run with a single to left, and then he couldn’t even finish an inning against the Angels.  Boone Logan also sucked, but at least he earned the “save” for his efforts.

Super sub:  Pablo Ozuna.  Nobody really stood out this week, but Ozuna went 2-for-4 in his only appearance and finished the month hitting .500, so a tip of the hat for that.

Super scrub:  Nobody.  Ozzie relied on his starters for this week, and the brief appearances by the Sox bench didn’t hurt ‘em.

Gold Glove:  Up for grabs.  I’ll take suggestions from the crowd, as I missed the last three games of the week.

Hands of Stone:  Up for grabs.  Same goes for this one.

Dave’s not here man:  Freddy Garcia.  Like someone I can’t recall said, marijuana is only a performance-enhancing drug if you’re playing bass.

Week in a Box: April 16-22

Perfect.  

Sure, a 6-0 week that includes three games against the Omaha Royals isn’t the most a team can brag about, but the six wins count no matter what – especially when the Sox had to go through Johan Santana for one of them.  The streak has catapulted them to the top of the division after losing the lead two games into the season.  Let’s hope they can start another 163-game regime.

Jim Thome also set a record by scoring at least one run in 17 consecutive games (and counting) to start the season.  Sox starters picked up the win in every game, which is a testament to their performance, solid offense and a bullpen that’s doing just enough to close games out.

This week’s winners and losers will be hard to pick, especially when there are so many of the former and so few of the latter, so feel free to disagree if you feel I made the wrong choice on a close call.

Player of the Week:  Jermaine Dye.  This was such a toss-up, between him, Jim Thome and Paul Konerko.  And that’s not overlooking the breakout week by Scott Podsednik or the hitmongering of A.J. Pierzynski either.  I may change my mind and give this one to Thome because he’s been such a force, but since his World Series-winning single, it seems like Jermaine can do no wrong with runners on.  Help me out here if your inclinations are any stronger.

Player of the Weak:  Brian Anderson.  It’s the second week in a row that Anderson receives this award, but he didn’t have the worst run.  He can surely build off a week in which he went 2-for-10 with a couple of walks, and his defense hasn't suffered through the struggles.

Pitcher of the Week:  Javier Vazquez.  Should Jose Contreras share this honor?  Maybe.  But Vazquez went eight innings without giving up a hit (Doug Mientkiewicz’s check-swing nubber didn’t count), which gives him an edge on seven innings of dominant, one-hit pitching by The Count.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Freddy Garcia.  He did go 2-0, which might make me consider sparing him the ignominy.  But he’s throwing a lot of meatballs and should’ve been beat up more by the Twins.  And it’s not cool to roll your eyes at a teammate for making an error that was mostly weather-induced.

Fireman of the Week:  Bobby Jenks.  He’s back into regular season form, throwing in the high-90s and locating his big curveball.  Jenks has four scoreless outings in a row and is 6-for-6 in save opportunities despite his early troubles.

Gas Can of the Week:  Boone Logan.  So what if he entered a game situation that was tailored for him on Saturday and didn’t execute?  If the two lefties he faced on Saturday reached on hits, that’s one thing.  But he walked them, and it wasn’t even close.  That was the only true lowlight out of a bullpen that wasn’t used much this week.

Super sub:  Rob Mackowiak.  Nobody really stands out because Ozzie’s been relying on his starters, but Mack’s batting eye is coming around.  Alex Cintron could make a case, and perhaps Saturday’s game is still too strong a memory.
 
Super scrub:  Chris Widger.  It’s hard for a backup catcher to hit, since he’ll see less at-bats than just about everybody else on a typical bench.  But he’s 0-for-9 so far, and that’s not cool.

Gold Glove:  Joe Crede.  He did have his second error of the season on a throw he should’ve made, but he’s looked so good out there otherwise.  Visually, he’s a sight to behold.  

Hands of Stone:  Scott Podsednik.  He’s alternated great games with bad ones, and I have to hold my breath whenever a ball goes to left.  It’s shades of Manny Ramirez out there – he makes you wonder where his head is sometimes.

Happy trails to you: Boone Logan.  With Javier Lopez pitching well in Charlotte, there’s little room for a situational lefty who can’t take advantage of his situations.  I don’t know if Logan will be gone, but there’s not much of a reason to keep him up.

Week in a Box: April 9-15

It’d be harder for a great week of baseball to look much uglier than it did in the past seven days.  The Sox went 5-1 including a sweep of Detroit, but the bullpen has yet to come together and Jon Garland and Javy Vazquez were shelled in victory and in defeat.  At least a steady offensive presence and solid defense should help them to weather the storm until all the pitchers are on track.

Here are the winners and losers of the week that was:

Player of the Week:  Paul Konerko.  He started the week 0-for-4; he finished the week with five straight multi-hit games, four homers and nine RBI.  He’s made the opposition pay for pitching around Jim Thome, and his turnaround from a slow start gives the Sox one of the most dangerous 1-2 punches in the game.  Nobody will talk about his gigantic contract as long as he keeps hitting like this.

Player of the Weak:  Brian Anderson.  After winning the Gold Glove last week, his defense continues to be acceptable.  And that’s the best you can say about him.  He’s been horrendous with the bat, and killed several rallies inside the same game against Toronto on Friday, earning the worst single-game performance in recent history according to Black Betsy.  He enters the coming week hitless in his last 16 at-bats.

Pitcher of the Week:  Mark Buehrle.  The lefty rebounded from a so-so abbreviated performance in the opener to post two wins, going eight innings each time and lowering his ERA from 6.75 to 2.25 in the process.  He’s also picked off a runner each time, and his defense has been excellent.  

Pitcher of the Weak:  Jon Garland.  Allowing nine runs to the Tigers won’t help out the ol’ ERA.  Only San Diego’s Dewon Brazelton has allowed more earned runs after two starts, and that’s not good company to have.  Brazelton has a career 6.42 ERA.  One theory is that he can’t pitch with a big lead.  The other is that last year might not happen again.

Fireman of the Week:  Brandon McCarthy.  The first two-time winner in site history!  Only because nobody else has stepped up.  Not that he had a bad week, but it wasn’t anything special.  Two earned runs in five innings is okay, but it’s sad that it’s the best we have.  Bobby Jenks is looking better than he has been, thankfully.

Gas Can of the Week:  Cliff Politte.  After being spared this dubious distinction last week, Politte comes away with the prize this time around.  He’s allowed earned runs in three of his four outings this year, and got torched for four runs after Boone Logan got the first batter of the inning out.  He did follow up with a scoreless second inning of work, but something doesn’t look right.

Super sub:  Alex Cintron.  As Juan Uribe gets over a sore muscle in his left side, Cintron has looked great filling in.  He hit two triples in the slugfest against Detroit, and in four starts this week he went 7-for-17.  He’s not Uribe with the glove, but he hasn’t made any mistakes, either.  Pablo Ozuna bounced back this week after a rough start to his season as well.

Super scrub:  Rob Mackowiak.  With Brian Anderson having a rough go of it during his rookie season, Mackowiak’s the only one who can fill in.  Let’s hope his recent 0-for-11 skid (with six strikeouts) will come to an end soon.

Gold Glove:  Joe Crede.  As much as I want to give it to The Emperor for his amazing diving throw Saturday, Crede has been a difference maker with the glove.  He started the week preserved the Sox’s victory in Kansas City singlehandedly with two diving stabs, and has made a few more along the way.  

Hands of Stone:  A.J. Pierzynski.  I know the Sox have a lot of pitchers who are prone to throwing balls in the dirt, but there are a few where he could’ve tried harder to block ‘em.  By and large, the Sox’s defense has looked great, though.

Get your head out of your ass:  Neal Cotts and Cliff Politte.  Nobody’s expecting them to have last year’s success, but Cotts has already surrendered more homers this year than he did in 2005, and Politte’s ERA is 15.75 at this point.  Matt Thornton is outperforming both of them right now – handily.

Week in a Box: April 2-8

The Sox stumbled out of the gate on their victory lap, celebrating more ceremonies (3) than victories (1).  Mike Sweeney and Travis Hafner wasted no time making their presences felt, Boone Logan looked like a fluke (but the rest of the bullpen didn’t look much better), Paul Konerko and Scott Podsednik started out 0-for-two-dozen between them, and Jermaine’s leg forced some unusual lineups far too early. 

But alas, on to the awards:

Player of the Week:  Jim Thome.  Thome made his presence felt immediately in Chicago, homering in his first two games in a White Sox uniform.  He looks healthy, and if he stays the course he’ll turn what was a weakness last year (DH) into a major strength. 

Honorable mention to Tadahito Iguchi for picking up the pieces after what has been a horrible start by Sox leadoff men – he’s got five walks in his first four games.

Player of the Weak:  Scott Podsednik.  He started 0-for-13 before adding a single and scoring a key run in Saturday’s affair against the Royals.  I know he’s still rounding into form since his spring was somewhat abbreviated, but he’s fouled off a lot of bunt attempts, and he’s hit too many flyballs.  He should get a whipping whenever he does either.

Honorable mention to Paul Konerko for hitting into three double plays in his first three games and playing a subpar first base.

Pitcher of the Week:  Javier Vazquez.  He’s looked the sharpest after one full turn through the rotation and it’s not even close.  I didn’t realize his changeup was that good. 

Pitcher of the Weak:  Freddy Garcia.  We’ll see if he “just couldn’t get loose,” but when he’s hitting 88 instead of 93, there’ll be trouble.  Jon Garland also got hit hard, but at least he pitched three solid innings to build off of during his next start.

Fireman of the Week:  Brandon McCarthy.  The stick-thin righty says he’s feeling increasingly comfortable in the bullpen and it shows.  He’s allowed one hit and zero walks in four innings, striking out four.  It’s going to tough to not overuse him because his curveball looks filthy. 

Gas Can of the Week:  Boone Logan.  In a week where there are a few culprits, we’ll tip our hat to the rookie.  His appearance just may have cost the Sox a series win against Cleveland.  Cliff Politte, you’ve been spared.

Super sub:  Rob Mackowiak.  This is a tough one, as nobody’s looked phenomenal.  I guess we’ll go with Mack, who’s only 3-for-15, but he’s driven in a few runs when he’s had the chance.

Super scrub:  Pablo Ozuna.  He’s been his Secret Weapon self at the plate, but his misadventures in left field may have led anywhere from one to seven runs against Kansas City on Friday.  His “performance” made us long for the days of Joe Borchard.

Gold Glove:  Brian Anderson/Juan Uribe.  This isn’t so much a vote for them as much as it is a vote against everybody else.  They’re the only two who haven’t missed plays they should’ve made.  Joe Crede arguably had the most aesthetically pleasing week, but he did let a routine grounder eat him up.

Hands of Stone:  Pablo Ozuna.  It was between him and Paul Konerko, but Ozuna looked so bad in left field on Friday that it couldn’t be avoided.  Especially considering his counterpart that game, Emil Brown, had no problem handling the winds at Kauffman – and he’s widely considered the worst defensive everyday outfielder in the American League.  So Konerko gets away with three misplays against Kansas City in the first two games (though he was only charged with one error).  

Get well soon:  Jermaine Dye.  With the large number of lefties in the division, he’ll be a key to roster continuity.

Week in a box: Preview

Throughout the season, I'll be handing out awards to Sox players for numerous categories.  Some categories will appear every week, and others I'll make up on the fly as I see fit.  Anyway, here are some predictions as to who will take home the most awards in each category at season's end. 

Player of the Week:  Jim Thome.  I've been impressed with his approach all throughout Spring Training.  Even ignoring the home run outburst in the last week of spring, he's had an eagle eye at the plate.  Almost everytime he swung early, he made square contact. 

Player of the Weak:  Brian Anderson.  No offense, it's just the safe pick.  I'm not sure yet if a gimpy Pods would count.

Pitcher of the Week:  Mark Buehrle.  Once again, the safe pick.  He should be fine.

Pitcher of the Weak:  Jose Contreras.  Oh, I think he'll be fine overall, but he has the potential to have the worst weeks at a time.

Fire Man of the Week:  Neal Cotts.  He's been the most consistent reliever all spring long.

Gas Can of the Week:  Bobby Jenks.  A bit risky, but nobody can be that comfortable with him starting the ninth until he shows us something different.

Super sub:  Alex Cintron.  Rob Mackowiak tends to use his best weeks up in one month; Cintron might be more consistent throughout the whole year.

Super scrub:  We can't blame Timo anymore, so it's gonna be Pablo Ozuna.  Worst bat on the bench, and his glove isn't better than the others, either.

Gold Glove:  Juan Uribe.  Hopefully he'll claim the real award at season's end as reparations for last year's scam.

Hands of Stone:  Jermaine Dye.  Tadahito Iguchi will get more chances to make mistakes, but Jermaine struck me as awkward in the field last year, and he's only getting older.