Today was a case of bad pitching all around. And by all around, I mostly mean Vazquez because he was around to see the ship sink for a full 7 innings. It was an unfortunate hit-and-miss case because the Sox got themselves 10 hits and made only 3 of them stick, while the Tigers got 11 and made 8 of them into runs. 8 of those 11 hits were personally delivered by Vazquez. Paired with four walks. He also gave up two home runs. He had a few good innings, but got his pitch count way high way fast and wasn’t pulled until far too much damage was done. Russell didn’t have himself a great inning + 1/3, either. He pumped his ERA up to 6.17, letting two more score before Wasserman came to close. No, I didn’t misspell “Jenks,” Wasserman really was our closer and no, The Sox weren’t trailing by enough, Wasserman had to allow another run to cross home plate.
The hitting started off sloooowly. And it started off with Uribe. He had himself two hits for the night, including a double before getting into a double play and undoing any progress the team had made or that he had been responsible for that far. Swisher had a double order of doubles, and Paul Konerko went 3-for-4. I have to compliment him because he’s had a great few games this home stand. He’s been 5-for-10 (That’s .500 for you non-math majors) with three walks and a homer. And if you look at him at bat, he’s great because he can turn a count around. He will start with 0-2 or 1-2 counts often just to make them go full. I guess he put on a personal rally cap, catching up in the areas where he was struggling this year. Or, at least, that’s what I’m hoping for. On the flip-side, Cabrera and “Big Pierogi” Pierzynski went 0-for-5. At one point, my notes said, “What’s OC doing in the 7th? Just walking away from pitches?” He seemed to have given up entirely. Griffey got hit by a pitch, but earned no bases otherwise. B.A. came in to run for him and stole his 3rd base of the season and got himself in scoring position for Ramirez’s almost 2-RBI almost-single. TCQ is continuing his hot-streak, by putting his 30th HR of the year on the board. He also got hit by a pitch- AGAIN.
And then there was Jeff Cox. I would like you to know how crazy he is to believe that with Thome and Konerko running, a double can turn into an RBI triple? Konerko got himself a great hit, there was some shuffling, and Thome was ready to park himself at third, but Cox was waving around. Sure enough, he was thrown out at home plate, and Konerko barely made it into third, but come on, buddy! You’re not dealing with Ramirez and [Insert name of 2nd fastest White Sox runner here. Having a hard time coming up with a name? Yeah… that’s a problem.], but two famously-slow veterans. Didn’t he do this to A.J. when we played the Royals July 21st? And, once again, it may have been the decision that cost us the game.
Alright, notes. Found another 24 I don’t like today to add to my list: Cabrera of the Tigers. 3-for-3 with 2 walks. Ouch. Today, Dye was passed up for Griffey. I’m not saying Dye doesn’t deserve a day off, but I am sure that this was more about putting Griffey at bat than it is about JD’s well-being. Rodney of the Tigers was out again today. He was more hit-able today, but I have a question about his numbers. How is it that he’s so good with his fastball, his opponent’s batting average is in the .180s, but his ERA is around 5.60. Isn’t that an oxy-moron? It certainly seems very high to me.
Tomorrow, Mark Buehrle is back to try to lead the White Sox in a win against their Red counterparts.
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