State of the Sox 2009

September 7: White Sox 5, Red Sox 1

It took nearly a month and a half, but Mark Buehrle finally picked up his first win since the perfect game.

He definitely worked hard enough for it.  Only two of his seven innings were of the 1-2-3 variety, and he stranded runners in scoring position in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

The fifth inning nearly could have broken him. He retired the first two hitters before Alex Gonzalez and Jacoby Ellsbury hit back to back singles. Dustin Pedroia worked a tough walk, and that set the table for White Sox nemesis Victor Martinez.

Buehrle got ahead 1-2 on Martinez, and won the battle when Uncle Victor hit a can of corn to Alex Rios in center. After halting that two-out rally, the rest of Buehrle’s day was smoother. He ultimately limited the damage to a bloop RBI single by Kevin Youkilis in the first.

He received enough support, both by the offense and bullpen.

The Sox touched up Josh Beckett for all three runs he allowed in the third inning. Jayson Nix didn’t move on an inside curveball to lead it off, and Scott Podsednik followed with a single to center. After a sac bunt by Alexei Ramirez, A.J. Pierzynski hit a tapper to short soft enough to score Nix to tie the game.

Mark Kotsay then inflicted more damage upon his former team. He followed a Jermaine Dye four-pitch walk with soft single to center to score two runs.

Kotsay tried to make it a 4-1 lead when Jeff Cox sent him home on Carlos Quentin’s double to left, but home plate umpire Marc Crawford ruled Kotsay out. The throw beat him, but it appeared Kotsay made a great slide to avoid Jason Varitek’s tag. Crawford did not reward Kotsay for his effort.

Thankfully, the Sox didn’t need that run. Tony Pena entered the game in the eighth inning after Buehrle allowed a leadoff single and retired all three men he faced, including two by strikeouts. He did cause the heart to stop when he allowed a long foul ball to Jason Bay that would have tied the game, but instead he walked out with a rare hold.

Quentin gave the Sox a little more breathing room in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out homer off Hideki Okajima, a liner that rocketed off the back of the Sox bullpen.

Record: 69-70 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 5: White Sox 5, Red Sox 1

Tim Wakefield wasn’t as sharp, and the White Sox hitters wisened up.  As a result, the Good Guys jumped on the knuckleball early, giving a halfway-perfect Gavin Floyd a nice early cushion en route to their four consecutive victory.

Scott Podsednik provided a positive omen when he led off with a single up through the middle — a nice change of pace after Sox hitters were way too pull-happy in their first outing against Wakefield.  He stole second, Jayson Nix (pinch-hitting for Gordon Beckham, who left early with a stiff back) walked, and A.J. Pierzynski tested Wakefield’s bad back with a bunt that at least moved the runners over.

Paul Konerko lined a single back through the middle to drive two runs in, and two batters later, Paul Konerko would score on Chris Getz’s flare for a quick 3-0 lead.

That was all Floyd needed.  He took a perfect game into the sixth inning before Nick Green spoiled it with a two-out single.  It appeared that he might have a Mark Buehrle performance in him thanks to some nice defense.  Mark Kotsay ran a ball down in deep right field, and Alexei Ramirez gloved a grounder up the middle and made a spinning throw to get Mike Lowell out at first.

Even though Green shattered that dream, it didn’t seem to bother Floyd too much.  He finished with a career-high 11 strikeouts, with only Jason Bay’s leadoff homer in the eighth getting on the board.

Ultimately, it was no harm done, because Paul Konerko answered in the bottom of the inning with his 25th homer, doinking it off the left-field foul pole to get the run back.

Mark Kotsay also homered off Wakefield, giving him two in two games against his former team.

Record: 68-69 | Box score | Play-by-play

September 2: White Sox 4, Twins 2

Gordon Beckham and the White Sox were down to their last bullet. Down 2-0 because they couldn’t get to another pitcher of no repute, the Sox faced a taller task of having to get to Nathan … with nobody on and an 0-2 count.

Nathan threw his best put-me-away slider, diving down and out of the zone. Beckham checked his swing, and first-base umpire ruled no swing on Mike Redmond’s appeal. Another slider, same location, but Beckham found it easier to lay off. Beckham didn’t bite on a low-and-away fastball, either, filling up the count.

Nathan then threw a fastball right down the pipe, and Beckham cranked it into the left field seats to put the Sox on the board.

But the Minnesota closer got back on the horse, getting Paul Konerko against the ropes with a 2-2 count. Konerko laid off an outside fastball to work the count full. He fouled back another fastball, and when Nathan came back with a hanging slider, Konerko got enough of it to put it in the first row, over the glove of a leaping Denard Span.

Suddenly, the Sox that showed nothing against Brian Duensing tied the game against one of baseball’s best closers.

And, they weren’t done.

Nathan lost control of his slider, with Jermaine Dye drawing an easy walk watching four of them slide out of the zone. He was replaced by Dewayne Wise, who stole second during Carlos Quentin’s at-bat. Quentin tried helping him out by chasing a well-outside breaking ball to fall behind 1-2, but Nathan threw three more out of the zone.

Ron Gardenhire had seen enough, as he called for Matt Guerrier to finally end the Minnesota misery. Guerrier picked up where Nathan left off, getting an 0-2 count on Alexei Ramirez. But Ramirez got down for a weak breaking ball, and lined it into left field.

Jeff Cox tested Span’s arm in left, sending Wise. It was a smart decision, but it nearly backfired when Span’s throw appeared on line. Mike Redmond couldn’t handle the short hop, however, and Wise slid in under the catcher as the ball caromed away, giving the Sox an unlikely 3-2 lead.

Another bad bounce gave the Sox the luxury of an insurance run, when Redmond couldn’t block a Guerrier slider, allowing Quentin to score.

Bobby Jenks finally got to pitch when it counted (although, I’m sad to say, Guillen didn’t warm him up until a two-out mound meeting after the Sox tied the game). He couldn’t get Jose Morales out either, as the third catcher fisted a flare to left to keep the Twins’ hopes alive. Jenks ended it one batter later, when Wise made an ugly catch around Jayson Nix in shallow right for the game’s final out.

Mark Buehrle once again failed to record a win since the perfect game, and much like his cohorts in the rotation, his quality start went unrewarded. He held the Twins scoreless until the sixth, when he couldn’t survive the Minnesota cadre of Sox killers.

Alternating between guys who hammer Sox pitcher and guys who don’t, Buehrle ended up on the wrong side of the numbers.  He retired Punto (no big deal), gave up a single on an 0-2 count to Span (per usual), and struck out Orlando Cabrera.  All he had to do was retire one of the Twins’ tough lefties to preseve the shutout.  He couldn’t.

Buehrle even caught two breaks.  Joe Mauer’s opposite-field double bounded over the fence, which kept Span at third when he would’ve scored easily.  After an intentional walk to Justin Morneau to face the equally unfriendly Jason Kubel, Buehrle fell behind 3-1.  He threw a fastball well out of the zone, but as Kubel bent down to unbuckle his shin guard, home plate umpire Bob Davidson surprisingly called “strike.”

Buehrle couldn’t take advantage, as Kubel went the other way on an outer-half pitch and flared one just in front of Quentin for a 2-0 lead.

That appeared to be plenty for the buzzsaw known as Brian Duensing, especially since the Sox routinely shot themselves in the foot.

Scott Podsednik started it in high style by leading it off with a single, then running into an out. He saw hit-and-run when nobody gave him the single, and was effectively picked off.  That set the tone for the day, because when Beckham followed with a walk, Paul Konerko grounded into a double play.

That was the first of four twin killings on the afternoon. Ramirez’s one in the fifth particularly hurt, as the Sox had two on and nobody out, but the seventh inning was the most fitting.  The Sox brought the best of both worlds together — Jermaine Dye grounded into a double play, and Carlos Quentin was thrown out at second trying to stretch a single into a double to end the inning.

But while Buehrle couldn’t get the win, at least the bullpen earned it.  Scott Linebrink survived his inning of work, getting help from Ramon Castro (throwing Brendan Harris out at second) and working around a typical Punto infield. single.

Ozzie Guillen then summoned Randy Williams to start the eighth, and didn’t push his luck after facing Mauer and Morneau.  Carlos Gomez came to the plate, Guillen countered with D.J. Carrasco, and the Sox won the battle with an inning-ending 4-3.

Record: 65-69 | Box score | Play-by-play

August 27: White Sox 9, Red Sox 5

Hats off to Jayson Nix, who changed the course of this game with one big swing.

The Sox had the bases loaded, nobody out and a 3-0 count off Junichi Tazawa, who only had one pitch and couldn’t even locate it. Mark Kotsay took strike one, then swung at ball four — and perhaps ball five — to hit a sac fly to left.

Alexei Ramirez followed with a routine fly to center on a 2-0 pitch, and it appeared Tazawa would be let off the hook despite having plenty of nothing.

Nix made Tazawa pay, hitting a towering fly on another 2-0 pitch that scraped the Green Monster. The hang time allowed both runners on base to score, giving the Sox a 3-0 lead. Scott Podsednik put the cherry on top with a single back through the box for a 4-0 lead.

More surprisingly, they doubled their lead in the third. A.J. Pierzynski and Paul Konerko led off with singles. Although Konerko should’ve had a double off the Monster, Carlos Quentin picked him up. He came up after Jim Thome’s sac fly and hit his 15th homer to stretch the lead to 7-0. Alexei Ramirez doubled and Jayson Nix singled — both with two outs — for an 8-0 lead.

The Sox ended their night of offense with one more two-out run. Paul Konerko picked up his extra base by scoring from first on a Jim Thome doubled.

It was pretty much smooth sailing after that. John Danks pitched six strong innings; the only glitch came in the form of back-to-back homers by J.D. Drew and Alex Gonzalez.

Nix prevented another run from scoring on Danks when, learning from his mistake in the first game, he threw home to get a runner at home instead of pursuing a rundown between first and second. Pierzynski placed the tag on Jacoby Ellsbury, who sprained his ankle against Pierzynski as he blocked the plate.

If there was one reason to be discouraged, a Red Sox shortstop had a better relief outing than the White Sox’s two highest-paid relievers. Nick Green walked a three batters, but didn’t allow a hit for a 0.00 ERA. Meanwhile, Octavio Dotel couldn’t finish a second inning due to control issues and double issues (David Ortiz and J.D. Drew hit consecutive wall-bangers), giving up two runs.

Then, one moment after Steve Stone laid down the adrenaline excuse, Bobby Jenks gave up a homer to Drew to lead off the ninth.

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