tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1949702245077129032024-03-05T09:22:15.596-06:00The White Sox BlogA sports-savvy chick writes about her favorite baseball team in this witty, up-to-date blog.White Sox Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445023835731368659noreply@blogger.comBlogger245125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194970224507712903.post-40719778133806085142012-03-25T21:47:00.001-05:002012-03-25T21:47:31.488-05:00Case ClosedBy my count, Opening Day is around the corner. And I'll be honest with you, being depraved of baseball for about 6 months and seeing the White Sox win their last few Spring Training games has got me excited for the start of the season. I am ready! Now don't get me wrong, I'm excited in the sense that I found $0.10 on the ground, not $20. I have low expectations and high levels of eye-rolling on stand-by. Regardless, spring is in the air and my first pair of tickets is in the mail.<script src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js" type="text/javascript">
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You know who is NOT ready for baseball? The main attraction itself, the White Sox. I'm fairly encouraged by Phil Humber, I'm reassured by John Danks and Gavin Floyd, but I'm downright flabbergasted at the rest of the pitching situation. The Sox don't have a closer. I've read an article or two mentioning Will Ohman or Addison Reed, but the most likely candidate is Matt Thornton. To which I say, "We have these fancy things called memories now. Use them to go back in time and revisit this exact same situation last year." Matt Thornton was always one of my favorites. But as a closer... well, he was not one of my favorites. Why did we have Sergio Santos as the leader in saves last year? Because Thornton couldn't latch on to the save. I'm not sure what the reason is. Perhaps the high-pressured situation. Perhaps the clubhouse was down in the dumps last year. The true reason, I'll never know. But, still, I am not willing to put all my eggs in the Thornton basket. Do I have any suggestions? Oh, sure, go back in time and SIGN SOMEONE! Other than that, well, I supposed it'll be up to Mr. Ventura to make do with what he's got.</div>
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And speaking of White Sox closers... look up<a href="http://bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view/20220324jenks_faces_dui_charges" target="_blank"> Bobby Jenks</a> and see what he's up to lately. Big Bobby was recently arrested for a DUI. I know what you're thinking. But I'm not about to trash talk Bobby. This just reminds me of how much I hate it when athletes' private lives become public. Little kids look up to these players as what they want to be when they grow up. And here are the media, peddling for on more click on their blog. Bobby's been portrayed in a bad light before, and guess what? Does that make his win as a rookie closer in the 2005 World Series any less meaningful? Does that make his goatee any less hilarious? More importantly, does this make his wife and kids any less hurt by the situation? I'm sure everyone knows someone who has had a DUI. And while it is NOT something to be taken lightly, at least that person and his/her family were allowed the courtesy of not having the news plastered on the internet. It's why I say things in the clubhouse should STAY in the clubhouse. At least in the world of sports, can we move away from the paparazzi-like drama and focus on what we're really here to do?</div>
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And that's the end of my rant, folks! Go tweeter this to your MySpace friends or something?</div>White Sox Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445023835731368659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194970224507712903.post-22626482527818762272012-03-12T21:20:00.001-05:002012-03-12T21:20:34.160-05:00Marketball<script src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js" type="text/javascript">
</script>Marketing is quite a big deal nowadays. I'd say about a third of our T.V. watching experience is marred by commercials and advertising. I can't even imagine the statistics on how often we are bombarded by slogans and commercials away from our couches, but I'd imagine that brands follow us everywhere. It seems that the Miami Marlins are following in the footsteps of other brands in trying to make a name for themselves. Clearly, the theme of the Miami offseason was "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!" The owners of the team went [and I am choking a little as I type this] all in this season, bringing the flash to Miami. Brand new stadium, brand new uniforms, even brand new name, and the Media Monster known as Ozzie Guillen. Ozzie brought his antics and his staff, plus the pitching equivalents of yin and yang, Mark Buehrle and Carlos Zambrano.<br />
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For a long time I feared that Ozzie's soft spot for Zambrano would bring Big Z to the South Side, but this is going to be even better! The circus will be in full swings, just in a different town. Zambrano, who was indefinitely suspended last season, beat up on a Gatorade machine, threatened to retire, and threw tantrum after tantrum in recent years is moving to Miami, where Ozzie thinks he can handle him. On the other hand, you have mellow-jello Mark Buehrle who I have never seen without a smile on his face. That alone will bring fans to the stadium. For about a month. I'm sure when Opening Day comes around and the Marlins will have all the actual playing capacity of a team full of Mark Teahens, the fans will trickle off, but hopefully by then, enough Miamians will have bought season tickets to pay for Joey Cora's salary. In the meantime, the promotional appearances continue! Ozzie Guillen, coach extraordinaire managed to get himself tossed from a Spring Training game. "Oh Ozzie!" Cue laugh track, trombone. Maybe this year he can have a spin-off of "The Club,"<br />
but this time, make it a sitcom.<br />
On the other hand, we have the White Sox marketing team. Whose winning slogan this year is "Appreciate the game." If that's not the most defeatist slogan of all time, I don't know what it. All I hear out of "appreciate the game" is "Pay attention to all the subtleties of losing because we didn't feel like spending the same amount of money as we did last year so that we could get a team that could actually win. We have great hot dogs. Have a beer?" I understand a more humble approach to a publicity campaign after last year's "All In" became the most loathed phrase in Chicago History and we lost the whole pot. But have they cut the salary of the marketing people and asked Hawk to come up with a slogan? Heck, I'm surprised the new campaign isn't "I love cotton candy!" At least that would have made me chuckle.<br />
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In all seriousness, I did see a poorly-written commercial celebrating the return of Robin Ventura. Good idea, poor execution. The idea behind the marketing campaign is not falling on deaf ears. This year, let's step away from the media circus and focus on winning day by day, not on putting on a big, pressure-filled show. There is a chance for a good offensive showing this year (I honestly cannot fathom Adam Dunn doing any worse. It can only go up from here!), the pitching can be mediocre enough, and at the end of the day, I think we have the potential to stay away from last place. This year, I am voting for my own marketing slogan: "To the true fans, we're really trying to give you something worth watching."White Sox Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445023835731368659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194970224507712903.post-31911433610759771142011-09-28T14:52:00.002-05:002011-09-28T14:52:48.869-05:00A Week of Good-Byes<script src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js" type="text/javascript">
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This week has been a lot more emotional for me than I originally thought. What was supposed to be a week of relief as this disaster of a season came to an end, was instead a week filled with sadness, memories, nostalgia, and- I’ll admit it (and I can do this because I’m probably the only Sox blogger who is a chick)- a few tears.<br />
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It started last Sunday, at a showing of Moneyball. The storyline was a little too close to home this season. Sure, the story of the A’s is a story of underdogs payroll-wise, but the story of a struggle between GM and manager could have been lifted from our own headlines. There is a moment in the story, where the GM dictates to the coach that he built that particular team to be played a certain way. It made me wonder how GM envisioned the Sox this year. Was it his fault for giving Ozzie too many options, or did Ozzie just make all the wrong choices? Which brought us to Monday…<br />
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The announcement that Ozzie was leaving left me with lukewarm feelings, thinking back on Ozzie’s career with the Sox. For most of the younger Sox fans, including a handful of us bloggers, Ozzie is really all we know. Those in their 20s are too young to remember anything memorable of the past managers. It’s easy to remember a player when you’re a kid. It’s not so easy to remember someone who sits on the bench. Unless, of course, that someone is Ozzie. Ozzie was, for better or worse, the face of the Sox. He made a name for himself by speaking his mind- even if the thoughts he was expressing were muddled or in Spanish. He stuck up for his players and led them to a memorable World Series win. Was his song and dance getting old? To many, yes. But it is still the end of an era, and as such I can’t help but feel a twinge of sadness.<br />
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Now multiply that twinge of sadness by about 6,000. Those were my feelings in realizing last night may have been Buehrle’s last game in a White Sox uniform. I plopped myself down in front of the TV around 6PM and immersed myself in the pregame show, interviews with Kenny from the previous day, and a little chat from the local sports guys. By the time the game started, I was already feeling the momentousness of the occasion.<br />
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I don’t need to enumerate his accomplishments in the black and white uniform. We all know too well about his surprising talent despite his surprisingly slow fastball. And we know him as a guy with a smile on his face, who was part of the 2005 gang.<br />
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I desperately try to cling to the gang, but I’m beginning to feel like the Black Knight of Monty Python fame clinging to his limbs. Crede is gone, Buehrle’s contract is over, Ozzie has moved on, Pods, Dye, Jenks, Uribe, etc, etc, etc, etc… AJ and Paulie are all that’s left. The rest are elsewhere or, like Dye and Crede, retired.<br />
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When I thought the game couldn’t get more emotional for me and carry more meaning, I realized Joe Crede was throwing the first pitch. I later read an article Chuck Garfien wrote about his battle with back pain and the end of his career. He returned to Chicago, where he is still revered by fans, and where the organization still recognizes him. Pair that with his pal and fellow Missourian Mark Buehrle’s emotional night and I had goose bumps all night. There was an electric feel in the air. Rain was pouring down, the manager’s chair had Don Cooper in it, Mark Buehrle took his curtain call, and it was clear that a new era is being ushered in. A new time, with new players, but a tradition that spans generations.White Sox Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445023835731368659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194970224507712903.post-23240535375446537862011-04-11T13:23:00.006-05:002011-04-11T14:44:23.994-05:00Sizing Up the Competition: Indians & Royals<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">It’s a little strange for me to keep having to tell myself that it’s only 9 games into the season and that we’re not in first place because we’re trailing to the Indians. And the Royals are tied with us. Should I be worried? Well, the Indians swept the Red Sox, so I would think that’s saying something if they are beating the big-budgeted Yankee rivals. Because they also swept the Mariners, the Indians are on a 7-game winning streak. I’m sincerely impressed. And, yes, worried. If you look at the Indian’s roster, no huge names stand out, other than Carlos Santana, but I have a feeling I’m thinking of the wrong Santana.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">To be honest, their starting rotation sounds like a mess, with 5 right-handed pitchers who were named “defective” by the teams’ own writers (Indians.com). Here’s what the same writer has to say about their ace, Carmona: “Back in 2007, Carmona looked like an ace-in-waiting. Now he looks more like a middle-of-the-rotation guy ... Of course, on this particular staff, he's an ace”. Other phrases to describe the Cleveland starting rotation? The “time was ripe to give up on the Masterson-as-a-starter experiment”, “a serviceable placeholder in the rotation”. And the White Sox have certainly beaten up on the Indians’ pitchers (particularly on Opening Day when they were pummeled by 15 runs). How, then, are these pitchers leading a team to victory?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">I suppose the hitting could be a factor. 7 of their 13 active players at hitting above .300. Of course, so is Mark Teahen, so that can obviously be deceiving. Maybe we can be optimistic and say this is a fluke and the Indians are coasting as long as they can before they crash and burn. Or maybe they’ll keep on pace for 126 wins this year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">And then there are the Royals. From Ball Star (royalsblog.kansascity.com): “Most teams don’t trade away a former Cy Young winner in his prime, give the opening-day slot to a guy with a 5.60 career ERA, trade their most complete position player for an unproven 24-year-old right-hander — and expect their rotation to be improved.” And another optimistic description: “</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Which part of the Royals will be more improved* this season — the offense or the starting pitching? <i>*We may want to phrase this, ‘Which part will be less worse?’, but anyway…</i>” Who would have thought the Royals had anything worth living for after trading Zack Greinke? Especially since the AVG leaders on their team are (excluding Billy Butler): Wilson Betemit, Alex Gordon, and Chris Getz in that order. How do you feel about yourself, Josh Fields? All the White Sox leftovers (Aside from Alex Gordon who I desperately wished would play for the White Sox to no avail) are doing better than your cleft chin! But I digress.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">It seems that the Royals are, much like the Indians, running on fumes and waiting for their luck to run out. So where does that leave the Sox? Their 6-3 record is not shameful by any means. The team (bullpen aside, but even that seems to be improving) is looking solid all-around, probably a few weeks from regaining Cy Young winner Jake Peavy, and the offense is everything we thought it would be on paper (minus a week off for Adam Dunn).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">I have no answers to these questions, but 153 games to figure it out.</span></div><script src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js" type="text/javascript">
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Now I'm not saying that's what made Gavin's game different today, but it may be adding to the adjustment period he is going through at the beginning of the season. I didn't get to see all of the game today, but I liked what I saw from Gavin. I, of course, missed the 4 runs he gave up, but he looked really solid. He didn't seem jittery, he didn't seem concerned that his curve ball wasn't on top, according to the Twitter world, he just went out there and did 7 innings of pretty solid work.<br />
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There were definitely some good things about today, too. Like Paul Konerko's first homer of the year. Once again, I didn't see it. Also, there was A.J. being A.J., sliding into the short stop at second base, trying to make him bobble the throw to first. Forget Charlie Sheen, get Pierzynski his own comedy tour.<br />
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Sadly, I got to be right today, as Alex Gordon owned our butt. If you type "Alex Gordon" into the blog's search box, you will find that in every post where he is mentioned, I write that I still like Alex Gordon. (Actually, I write "I still like Alex Gordon, even though..." well there's always something not to like, and I still liked him in spite of it. And times like today is why.) And in a post from 2008, I wrote this:<br />
<blockquote>If Crede doesn’t come back next season (as painful as it is for me to admit that it is a possibility), we must move on to the farm, where Josh Fields has been seething with rage and jealousy, having first to relinquish his “hard-earned” spot to Crede and Uribe. I would rather have Jeff Cox play third base than Fields, but it’s an option. There are also third basemen out there or the taking. Maybe the Royals will be naïve enough to take Fields off our hands in exchange for Alex Gordon. I can’t explain it, I just really like the kid.</blockquote> Well, apparently Kenny Williams reads my blogs, but he thought "Gordon" was a fancy was of spelling "Teahen."<br />
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Overall, I'm not losing hope. I just hope the bullpen gets it together. It's been rocky out there for every reliever, and I'd really like to see that change. Drastically. And soon.<br />
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And on that bombshell, good night Sox fans!<br />
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--And one last thing. I mentioned Chuck Garfien today and in a previous post, I think, but I have to say, he just seems like the nicest guy. Sure, I made fun of his occasional misuse of homonyms, but what he lacks in grammar, he makes up for in good-natured charm. Glad he's on our side of town.<br />
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And of course, the story is Alexei Ramirez bunting into a triple play. A rare feat in baseball. Almost as rare as having two identical pop-out-foul-bunts, one of which ended up in someone’s glove. Now, Alexei needs to be scolded for his terrible bunting, but isn’t Ozzie really to blame for giving the sign for small ball when obviously it wasn’t going to work? It’s like asking Juan Uribe to bunt all over again: why bother when you saw with you own eyes that it wouldn’t work? I’m sure my question will go unanswered, and I’m not waiting for an answer. I’m waiting for a change. 2 on, not outs… and you choose to make Alexei Ramirez bunt. Sure… you’re the manager, not me.<br />
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There is a bright spot for the 2nd place Sox, though. They are playing the first place Royals (seriously) next, which should make for an easy couple of wins, and will hopefully result in the Sox taking over first place. First place, just like Carlos Quentin, who was voted the AL Player of the Week. In just 11 at-bats, CQ picked up 7 RBI and 3 doubles (leading the American League in both those categories). TCQ seems to be off to a good start, so long as he keeps from punching bats, twisting his ankles, or stays away from really dangerous areas such as baseball fields.<br />
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Quentin is really the only surprise this year. So far, Dunn and Konerko are blasting RBIs and looking every bit as solid as we could have hoped for the first 3 games. Quentin is really a surprise because the last 2 or 3 seasons have been a rollercoaster ride for him and his fans. Come to think of it, let’s add that to the list: no rollercoasters for Quentin. Or those spinning teacup things.<br />
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And then the 6th inning game. Slow. Painful. Four runs later, Buehrle exited the game, with a 10-run lead. And then the floodgates opened. Ohman’s first thrown pitch was a solo home run. (Yes, his ERA after just 0.2 innings of play is 40.50] Crain earned some runs (as did Tony Pena), and even Chris Sale looked bad (despite not being credited with any runs). Fans on Twitter joked that “All In” meant have to put every single player in the game. I joked that it was Josh Fields’s fault. Overall, I can’t put my finger on it.<br />
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The offensive explosion seemed promising in the beginning, but faltered toward the end, indicating some of the problems of previous year. The bullpen looked so shaky, I could imagine Bobby Jenks stroking his bleached goatee and laughing an evil laugh.<br />
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It’s not exactly the way I planned to spend my time after opening day. Usually a game won is pretty clear cut. But I haven’t felt so bad and so good about a game at the same time in very long.<br />
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I guess what I’m really trying to say is that it’s day one. It really doesn’t determine anything. What it does is give fans hope for the next 161 games, it brings the word “baseball” into conversation, and it makes conversations a little bit more interesting than “that was a good game.” In the end, that’s what baseball is all about. Averages, numbers, the “long-run”, not just a small sample. So the Sox are off with a win, and the fans are left with many questions whose answers are just beyond the 9th inning of every game from now until October. Cheers to Opening Day.<br />
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PS: Joe Crede walks into a bar. Everyone buys him a beer. No joke. Just what it’s like being AWESOME.<br />
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Uh… what was I talking about? Oh yeah, Matt Thornton. The Sox front page features an article about him and how they will deliver him from anonymity by making him their closer. Yes, at the moment, he seems to be the prime candidate to fill Bobby Jenks’s oversized britches.<br />
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I’m not sure how I feel about this. First of all, I was Thornton’s biggest fan in 2009. Last year, though, it was appallingly difficult to tell if he was having a so-so year in the midst of the Sox driving themselves into a ditch or if he was having difficulties. That, or, maybe everyone figured him out. After all, the same article mentions that, “According to FanGraphs.com, Thornton threw his fastball 88.1 percent of the time among his 974 pitches last season.” I’m not exactly a mathematician, but my counting skills tell me that’s a lot of pitches that are the same. If you asked me a few years ago, I would say that’s all a closer is: a guy that throws really really really really really hard. If you asked me last year, while Jenks was struggling and complaining about his fast ball, I would stand behind that even more. In the ninth inning, Thornton isn’t coming on to cover Tony Pena’s ass after he got 12 men on base and allowed 45 runs to score (Pena often does that. Look it up…), he’s coming on with no one out, with arguably less pressure and more room for error. If there’s one thing Thornton’s proven is that he is the voice of reason. And if he thinks he’s ready to close, that may be reasonable enough.<br />
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Speaking of the bullpen, Kenny Williams said an interesting thing about Chris Sale. Sale was scheduled to train with the starters, but was announced to be a bullpen arm within a few days. What gives? Well, Kenny says Sale has prepared as a starter all his career and Kenny did not want to change the way he prepared for the season, for fear that it would change his game in any way. Uh… sure. I’ll buy that.<br />
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That’s my bullpen news of the day. It’s exciting to see footage crop up from Spring Training and I can’t wait to see the first game! Combined with the increasing puddles outside and the diminishing mounds of snow, I am ready for baseball season.<br />
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<iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fthewhitesoxblog.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fspring-training-time-to-grab-bullpen-by.html&layout=box_count&show_faces=true&width=450&action=like&colorscheme=dark&height=65" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height:65px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>White Sox Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445023835731368659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194970224507712903.post-90226379549239510892011-02-14T13:16:00.002-06:002011-02-14T13:17:40.933-06:00Good on Paper, Bad in Excel"Someone mentioned to me how on paper, we look great and I said, 'Yeah, the '08 Tigers, on paper, they were the most feared team in the history of baseball.' I was terrified and thinking, 'This team is ridiculous and we have no chance.' We ended up winning the division, and the Tigers finished dead last. It can happen to us." –Matt Thornton<br />
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I feel like, in a strange way, Matt Thornton has been this team’s voice of reason this offseason. From his radio interview saying Oney should not have brought out clubhouse business, to admitting that looking good on paper doesn’t mean anything, Matt Thornton is a smart guy. But how good do the Sox really look on paper? Enter Microsoft Excel and the writer of The White Sox Blog. Phase one, pitching.<br />
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Pitching is really the backbone of any baseball team. If your starting pitching is good, you won’t need much. Sure, there are the likes of Wilson Betemit, Josh Fields, and Mark Teahen, who have single-handedly lost a game or two, but for the most part, pitching makes or breaks a team. So I laid out a spreadsheet of the ERAs and winning percentages of all the pitchers listed for the White Sox by ESPN.com. Then, I took the average of both the ERAs and the percentages for both 2010 and for the entirety of their respective careers. To borrow from Top Gear, the results were STAGGERING. Well… not really.<br />
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Although I didn’t get weighted average (so the results are a bit biased because some pitchers pitched 500 innings, some pitched about 2), and some pitchers had no results to speak of, the number is still technically the White Sox “on paper.” The average ERA in 2010 for the 18 pitchers listed on ESPN.com is 4.44. This is a fair ERA, but nowhere near brilliant, or even good, considering that it is an improvement from the pitchers’ lifetime average ERA, <b>4.73</b>. And while 2010 was somewhat of a disappointment, these pitchers had an average winning percentage of 56%, while their lifetime winning percentage was <b>53.2%</b>. If we only win 53.2% of our games this year, we’d be no better than this year. Last year, we won 54.3% of our games.<br />
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Don’t despair, though. While the numbers are staggering with 2.00 ERAs and 77% winning percentages, last year’s World Series winners, the Giant only won 56.8% of their games. See, we’re not exactly in bad shape. But does the pitching look great on paper? Well, according to dictionary.com, you’d have to define “great” as “of exceptional talents or achievements; remarkable” or “impressive or striking.” How can you use any of those words in conjecture with a staff that refuses to relinquish itself of Tony Pena?<br />
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://assets.sbnation.com/imported_assets/24404/teahen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/imported_assets/24404/teahen.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>Now, I know you’re waiting with baited breath for me to deliver on the promise I made last post. More Mark Teahen bashing. Well, here it is. From the front-page itself: “Mark Teahen acknowledges his on-field performance, offensively and defensively, last season was subpar.” Don’t worry, Mark. No one thinks your performance was subpar. It was right on par with your crappy career-long performance. You were playing for the Royals, not the Red Sox, for a reason, honey. Because you are subpar compared with anyone else on your team. Or any other team for that matter. Let’s all face it. Teahen will be eating a lot of bench and using his frequent flier miles on flights to Charlotte this year. Even Peavy said he hears Brent Morel is the third baseman elect, and couldn’t be happier about it. God, I miss Josh Fields… At least he was arrogant about his abilities and I didn’t feel bad about making fun of his unshaven cleft.<br />
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One thing I didn’t talk about was Alexei’s extension. And by that, I mean, Dayan Viciedo’s enormous contract. Alexei’s extension finally gave him a contract that wasn’t, well, insulting. Viciedo’s contract makes me wonder if he’ll ever be a big league player and why we owe him so much money. I’m sure the Cuban well has not run dry, but is it possible for the Sox to have struck gold twice? With their luck, no. So, again I ask, for the 40th time, what’s the deal with Dayan Viciedo?<br />
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That’s all for today. Keep your eyes open for a post sometime this week that uses actual statistics!<br />
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It’s colder than a witch’s tit out there! And you know what that means! It’s time for the White Sox Blog to come back to life. No, that’s completely made up. But after computer malfunctions last December and a crazy January, I find myself in February, ready to pick up my typewriter and write to my adoring fans. Also, I have a new laptop on which to write my blog on.<br />
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First, let me just tell you that if I ever read the phrases “All In” and “White Sox” in a sentence (apart from this one) ever again, I might personally go to Jerry Reinsdorf’s house and steal his wallet. Now clearly, Jerry allowed the Sox to expand their budget a tad, but this “tad” is probably still on pace with average revenue growth. It’s not like he’s not going to get that money back and then some. “All-In” doesn’t even apply to this situation. Unless our payroll was double that of the Yankees and had half of their players, we are being duped into believing Jerry is making some great sacrifice and giving us the money his wife would otherwise use to buy dinner.<br />
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As for Jake Peavy being “All In”… yeah, well he better be. He’s getting paid and adding no value. On a more serious note, he seems determined to be our 5th starter by opening day. My hopes aren’t as high. Then again, if Jose Contreras did it, so can Jake Peavy. Oh, God. Let’s not make that analogy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1YDJPTa6_9DAgMjGnwqO7hF6_xHc-L57GbLlrgVPOzSbk2CoL7HjeChHa-iRLZZci0T60bVUrKZnPNShX3gVJ0jECIREiPsmXoQieoBj2Oqm15qyUKTFRqnvgVBzcyKah70dxG4mu-3A/s1600/newyankees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1YDJPTa6_9DAgMjGnwqO7hF6_xHc-L57GbLlrgVPOzSbk2CoL7HjeChHa-iRLZZci0T60bVUrKZnPNShX3gVJ0jECIREiPsmXoQieoBj2Oqm15qyUKTFRqnvgVBzcyKah70dxG4mu-3A/s320/newyankees.jpg" width="320" /></a>If Peavy isn’t ready, Freddy Garcia isn’t an option either. It turns out Freddy got picked up by the Yankees. That’s right. New York’s going to get a little wetter this summer. Freddy and Colon in a Yankees uniform. A sight to behold! You are one Jose Contreras away from the best team ever!<br />
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There’s always Chris Sale, according to the internet. And while my little “hole in the wall” blog is part of the internet nevertheless, I am going to respectfully disagree. Freakin’ idiots. Okay, forget the “respectfully” part. You’re not going to entrust your starting rotation to a kid in the year that you’re going balls to the walls (alternative #1 for “All-In”). Who knows what problems Sale will display when pitching for 7 innings at a time? And, not to agree with Don Cooper, but he shouldn’t be bounced around. Look at what it did to Beckham. At least in theory.<br />
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In minor league news, Joe Crede is back! He’s back baby! Crede has inked a minor league deal with the Rockies. That’s pretty much the worst thing I’ve ever heard, but at least it’s something! Show them what you’ve got, Joe!<br />
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In related news (if you define “related” and “news” loosely), Gordy Becks has decided he will no longer do things like endorsements, and focus on baseball. That’ll disappoint the Victoria’s Secret girls. And the Giordano’s manager. And anyone who counts on Beckham’s salary for that matter. And on that note, I’m sorry if you came to this website because you searched “Eva Longoria shirtless.” There were 18 of you. Thanks for that precious info, Google Analytics.<br />
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It’s good to be back. Join me Thursday, when I attempt to catch up on an entire offseason of baseball and I say more mean things about Mark Teahen.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">Let’s talk numbers.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>14. </b>That’s Paul Konerko, and he was just signed to a 3-year, $37.5 million dollar contract with the Sox.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>2020.</b> No joke, that is when the ramifications of this contract are over. Paul will only get $6.5 in his last year with the team (2013, and will get the remainder of his salary in $1-million-per-year installments).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>34. </b>How old Konerko is now.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>37.</b> How old Konerko will be when his contract will be up.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>0. </b>That’s the number of pitchers KW has brought into the bullpen this offseason, while the number he booted was <b>3.</b> Jenks, Putz, and Linebrink are all gone. Love them or hate them, they were spots in the bullpen, and even at their worst, they could at least eat innings, and at their best… well, they were pretty good.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now, I know this makes it seem as though I think this deal is a bust. And, to be honest, I feel like I am increasingly disappointed in the way turned out. I am torn between how much I genuinely liked Paulie as a guy, hitter, and first baseman and the fact that he’s in the twilight of his career, a cash vacuum, and unable to pitch.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It almost seems like the Sox had to make this move to save face after boasting about how they wanted and would get Paulie. Now, who's to say what's going on backstage, but... when the press is reporting that Jerry Reinsdorf himself got involved, it seems a bit like tattling to your parents. I have some very negative feelings about how this whole business was handled. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But, in the spirit of things, I say, Welcome Back Paulie! May you steal many bases, hit more home runs than anyone on the team (Hmm… this could easily turn bad), and have as great a year as 2010. Long play the King!</div><script src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js" type="text/javascript">
</script>White Sox Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445023835731368659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194970224507712903.post-21263589909485564972010-12-07T17:04:00.002-06:002010-12-07T17:06:41.134-06:00I Told You So...Welcome to the "I told you so" page, winter meetings edition. After my last post, Kenny talked about making sure that Konerko fit into the White Sox budget, that the money was there, and that Konerko was his top priority. Now, I've said before that if we spend all the money Konerko will want to make, are we going to be left with much? Here's where I was scratching my head every time Kenny Williams talked:<br />
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1. Williams said both Dunn and Pierzynski were moving some of their salaries into the back years to set aside more money for Konerko today. Unless payroll is estimated to decrease drastically, this would mean a one-year contract for Konerko, who I understand wants a multi-year deal. This won't work.<br />
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2. KW didn't just talk: he talked a lot! I mean, these people seem to have a very minimum understanding of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ9EJIvi8PU">bargaining</a>. "We are so desperate to have you! We are doing everything to have you! We have all this money available JUST. FOR. YOU!" Wouldn't your response also be, "Okay, then I will take $74 million dollars a year for the next 40 years, please"?<br />
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3. Why Konerko? For the same reason that the Sox didn't want to sign Jim Thome last year, I would think there would be just as many reasons not to sign Paulie this year. The list of free agents going into 2011 seems to be massive. I would be just as sorry as the next person to see Paulie go, but I'm not willing to promise him my first born child to avoid it.<br />
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And now we are all surprised talks are slowing down and Kenny is a lot less optimistic. Color me shocked! <br />
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In related, "I told you so" news, Scott Boras is boasting that Joe Crede is ready to try baseball out again. Sadly, Crede has been the boy who cried wolf a bit too many times in terms of his back, so I don't think many would bite. However... how's that for a cheap Konerko alternative with an added bonus: It would make me a whole hell of a lot less grumpy.<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fthewhitesoxblog.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F12%2Fi-told-you-so.html&layout=box_count&show_faces=false&width=450&action=recommend&colorscheme=dark&height=65" style="border: medium none; height: 65px; overflow: hidden; width: 450px;"></iframe>White Sox Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445023835731368659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194970224507712903.post-44155355769826815442010-12-03T00:46:00.001-06:002010-12-03T00:46:45.087-06:00Can We Afford to Afford Konerko?Let’s talk Dunn: I’ve been watching CSN today and trying to see what everyone has to say about this. And for once, instead of praise, I heard my kind of talk: money talk. Now, obviously, no one knows too much about the money situation because the White Sox aren’t a publicly traded company. But here’s what we do know. The White Sox have enough money to pay $56 million over 4 years to Adam Dunn- that’s as much as Mark Buehrle is making, and about 14 times as much as Jim Thome made with the Twins last year. A.J. PIerzynski just agreed to a 2-year, $8 million deal. Combined with some stats courtesy of baseball-reference and some intense work in excel, here is what I have so far:<br />
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The White Sox are liable for $96 million in player salaries so far in 2011. Plus or minus a few minor leaguer salaries (which are about half a mill a pop), so let’s just round it up to $100 million. The Sox spent $113 million on player salaries last year, according to Forbes magazine. That was roughly 58% of total revenues. By my calculations, based on trends over the last few years, revenue is supposed to increase by about 8.7% next year. If we assume the Sox are willing to spend the same proportion this year, that would mean about $123 million on player salaries this year. That leaves another $23 million in the budget. There’s also the issue of Juan Pierre, and the only data I found for him is that his former team is still paying for $3.5 mill of his salary. This year he made $7, so assuming that stands… that’ll add another $3.5 to the payroll, leaving the Sox with $20 million.<br />
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In case you lost me so far, all these numbers are based on estimates, but I am projecting that the Sox organization has another $20 million to spend on salaries. Of course, assuming my total estimates are correct, and revenues continue to increase as planned. Also, assuming the Sox don’t pick up any more stragglers like Andruw Jones, Mark Kotsay, and the likes of major disappointment to people with brains everywhere, Tony Pena.<br />
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The more I think about this large sum of money, the less it seems. The Sox need another closer, some more solid power in the bullpen, and maybe someone on the bench. The more I think of how much back up the Sox need in the bullpen and perhaps on the bench, the less I want Konerko to be resigned. Jenks was making almost $6 mill this year. We’ll need at least that much if we pick up another free agent closer. If we pay Konerko the $14 million he was paid this year, there’s your budget. Yet Kenny claims he is actively pursuing Paulie, as approved by Jerry Reinsdorf.<br />
<br />
And while you all are wrestling with the idea of “Who will play first base, Adam Dunn or Paul Konerko?” I am playing with the numbers, wishing I could see a financial statement. Can we afford Paulie? Yes. Can we afford to have Paulie and still have solidity everywhere else? I’m reluctant to agree.<br />
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<iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fthewhitesoxblog.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F12%2Fcan-we-afford-to-afford-konerko.html&layout=box_count&show_faces=false&width=450&action=recommend&colorscheme=dark&height=65" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height:65px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>White Sox Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445023835731368659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194970224507712903.post-70780724793117576802010-11-24T13:06:00.001-06:002010-11-24T13:07:43.981-06:00Marky Mark Goes SoloIt was the winter of 2010, 5 years after the happiest summer of the decade. Chicago was still glowing from a victorious win by its hockey team, but still wiping tears after yet another barren summer. Mark Buehrle, Freddy Garcia, Paul Konerko, A.J. Pierzynski, and Bobby Jenks sat in front of a campfire, telling scary stories. Being traded to the Cubs, having to face Tim Lincecum for every at-bat every day for the rest of their career, having to wear a pink uniform. But none was as scary as the tale told by a man on the other end of the phone line. "You're going solo, Buehrle," announced Jerry Reinsdorf. "I'm disbanding the 2005 band. I hope you know all the songs."<br />
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It seems that aside from Mark Buehrle, the remainder of the 2005 gang is gone. Of the gang, the one with the best fighting chance of returning is probably Freddy. It seems the Sox are uninterested in entering in a drawn-out, multimillion dollar contract with the rest. Especially not Konerko and A.J. And who can blame them? Sure, Konerko's year was so stellar he deserved a spot at the All-Star game, but at 34, he's in the twilight of his career. Weren't we begging for his release in 2008? As for A.J., well, I just hope Tyler Flowers is ready. I haven't seen much of him, so that worries me. Almost as much as the fact that Donny Lucy isn't on the 40-man roster.<br />
<br />
But the real issue is that the Sox find themselves with a real P.R. problem. Konerko, Pierzynski, Jenks are all staples. They are all the go-to names when thinking of the White Sox. So who will be the face of the organization once they are gone? The obvious answer seems Gordon Beckham, since he was the farm system's golden child, but we are nevertheless filled with a void in our hearts that can only be filled by another World Series trophy. Or the addition of some big names in exchange for releasing some others. What will the advertising campaign be like this year? Who will replace Konerko as captain? Where exactly is Joe Crede? Will Alexei ever weight more than 86 lbs? These questions and more will be answered on the next episode of... SOAP!<br />
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And just so we're clear, I think the new gray uniforms look even worse than the old ones. And no one likes the gray anyway. They're so bleak. What is this, the Great Depression?<iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fthewhitesoxblog.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F11%2Fmarky-mark-goes-solo.html&layout=box_count&show_faces=false&width=450&action=recommend&colorscheme=dark&height=65" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height:65px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe><br />
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</script>White Sox Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445023835731368659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194970224507712903.post-35929256148433273632010-11-18T14:45:00.004-06:002010-11-18T15:10:20.823-06:00Fire Sale! Everyone Must Go! Great Deals Here!<b>If you are a White Sox fan, read the following paragraph. If not, skip it to the next one! It’ll be real good!</b></span> It has recently come to my attention that Brent Morell was named (unofficially, perhaps, as of now) the White Sox’ new third baseman. While I have mixed feelings on this issue, there is another that springs to mind when thinking about this issue. What of Mark Teahen? To be honest, the only realistic solution is that the Sox pay him $4 million for him to play with the Charlotte Knights. You may say, “there’s always someone stupid enough. They might take him on and even give him an extension and a raise.” If you were a fan of say, the Oakland Athletics, or the Royals, you’d be right. Those idiots are the Sox. But on the totem pole of dumb decisions… well, it doesn’t get any dumber than that. Who would buy this crap?<br />
<br />
In just 77 games, Teahen picked up 25 RBI!!! 25! That’s almost one point courtesy of Mark Teahen for every 3 games he plays! He also stole 3 bases! That’s exactly <i><b>300%</b></i> more than Paul Konerko stole in 2009! <span style="font-size: x-large;"><u><b>300%!</b></u></span> That’s a big number! And you just can’t argue with numbers! Especially if I make them bold, underlined, or a really big font. He also had 89 bases this year! That’s like 22 home runs! How many home runs did he actually hit? Well, that’s just irrelevant! I just said it was like 22! NUMBERS! His batting average was .290 and his on base percentage was a decent .357! Yes, that was in 2006 and with the Royals, not the Sox, but again, IRRELEVANT! I mean… if you’re to compare him with the world’s greatest third baseman, Josh Fields, well, then Mark Teahen looks even better! You know how many stolen bases HE had? 0! How many RBI? 6! Some third baseman, right? Look at Teahen! It’s all NUMBERS! You know what else is a big number? 100%! Yes, that’s his fielding percentage! I mean, for a third baseman, that’s REALLLLL good! Better than Joe Crede. And by that, I mean better than when Joe Crede played the OF, 1B, and DH! And for just $4 million dollars, you can have him! That’s SOOO much less than Alex Rodriguez, how can you say no? YOU CAN’T SAY NO!<br />
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<iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fthewhitesoxblog.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F11%2Ffire-sale-everyone-must-go-great-deals.html&layout=standard&show_faces=true&width=450&action=recommend&colorscheme=dark&height=80" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height:80px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>White Sox Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445023835731368659noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194970224507712903.post-53704915749179949732010-10-12T11:29:00.001-05:002010-10-12T11:30:37.178-05:00There's Not Place Like The CellI have always had a deep respect for coach Quenneville. I don’t know, maybe it’s because he wears a suit, or because his English is definitely English, but there’s something about his that makes me really want to listen to what he has to say. It’s definitely either something that demands respect or a really cool mustache. I’ll figure it out by the end of hockey season. So with one winning coach in town, eyes shift to the city’s losing coaches. The Cubs’ head of operations has fled town, the Bears’ coach is… I don’t really know, but Ozzie… well, he’s a bit quieter than he was a few months ago.<br />
<br />
Rumor has it, Ozzie was running his mouth around town saying he wants an extension with enough money to last him 13 lifetimes. He’s got at least 8 left if he continues to fight paws-up, like a cat! This really seems like the wrong time for Ozzie to be making his case. After all, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz has come off a year with so much talent that fell so, so short of the mark, that fingers would be amiss to point at anyone by Ozzie. It seemed that rather than give gifts, Ozzie has taken them away.<br />
<br />
<b>Brains</b>: You, scarecrow, I’ll miss most of all! Brainiac Carlos Quentin had enough college education and focus to hit 36 home runs (with 100 RBI) in 130 games in 2008 before a season-ending injury. Think of what Carlos could do in the coming years! Well, clearly, he was encouraged to give up his somber ways enough that he loosened up and lost his mind altogether. Bad base-running and boneheaded calls to steal bases (I don’t see anyone asking Paul Konerko to steal a base!) caused Carlos to get injured again and again. And his batting average took quite a toll. Although Quentin contributed with RBIs this year, it was clear that he is not the same Carlos we saw in 2008.<br />
<br />
<b>Home</b>: All Nick Swisher wanted was to go home. And his wish was granted. The follicle-loving Swisher was sent to the Yanks in exchange for something like Jayson Nix and Wilson Betemit. Basically, for nothing. And to make matters worse, Swisher started to produce for the Yankees. Might something have to do with the way he was managed in Chicago?<br />
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<b>Courage</b>: The Sox played bravely against the Yankees, the Red Sox, and … well, pretty much everyone, especially this year. Except the Twins. If Ozzie is responsible for naming the Twins the Piranhas, he should also give the Sox a nickname. The guppies? The Yellow-Bellied Sox? Anything that implies that the Sox’ overall fortitude decreases tenfold when faced with the fearful Twins, who folded-again- in the ALDS after just 3 games against the Yanks.<br />
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<b>Heart</b>: Perhaps Ozzie’s biggest problem was his heart. He took turns caring too much and taking things too personally and then making decisions that were all business (such as not signing Jim Thome despite being a lovable guy, not bringing back Joe Crede, etc.). Perhaps Ozzie’s biggest mistake was not knowing he had a heart- much like the Tin Man. He acted as though rational, but really did answer to some sort of emotion. I guess that’s why they call it sentiMENTAL. Get it? Get it? Well, I tried.<br />
<br />
I will tell you this: I don’t expect Ozzie to jump ship to the Cubs or every do something as disgraceful as Lou Piniella, abandoning the burning ship. Plus, I DO believe Ozzie is competent enough not to let the ship burn quite so hot.<br />
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As for the future, I can’t know if they’ll sign Ozzie again or not. But I will say this: It’s far more likely to see a future without KW than a future without Ozzie. <br />
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<br />
And I can't help but wonder if Ozzie is to blame. Jim from the Sox machine talked about Ozzie's choice to leave starters in long past what has come to be a typical pitch count. Edwin Jackson's last outing, for example, consisted of 128 pitches. I assume this would take its toll on the pitcher who has been almost unstopable otherwise since joining the White Sox. Then again, perhaps he has just run out of the steam that came with the excitement of leaving the sinking ship known to the baseball world as the D-Backs.<br />
<br />
Is it praise-worthy that Ozzie defied the new norms and stuck with a good thing? Or does it show that he is careless with the health of his pitchers and thinks little of consequences?<br />
<br />
That last question confuses me because often times, Ozzie throws games away by making stupid choices like putting in Tony Pena and other times he'll do anything to win this one game (Well, to be honest, other than the Edwin Jackson incident, I can't think of another time he's done this...)<br />
<br />
Ground was lost against the Twins once again today, with a series coming up where the two face off. It seems improbable that the Sox will gain any ground by then, and even more improbable that the Sox will overtake the Twins in the standings. But one can hope.<br />
<br />
A sweep of the Twins could do wonders. Another spectacular winning streak would also be nice. But what will really happen? We'll have to adopt the Cubs' slogan. There's always next year. How odious it sounds. Can't Obama do something about this?<br />
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The Sox bit the big one again in today's televised battle against the Kansas City Royals. Paul Konerko's solo home run was just about the only good thing about today's game.
And I can't help but wonder if Ozzie is to blame. Jim from the Sox machine talked about Ozzie's choice to leave starters in long past what has come to be a typical pitch count. Edwin Jackson's last outing, for example, consisted of 128 pitches. I assume this would take its toll on the pitcher who has been almost unstopable otherwise since joining the White Sox. Then again, perhaps he has just run out of the steam that came with the excitement of leaving the sinking ship known to the baseball world as the D-Backs.
Is it praise-worthy that Ozzie defied the new norms and stuck with a good thing? Or does it show that he is careless with the health of his pitchers and thinks little of consequences?
That last question confuses me because often times, Ozzie throws games away by making stupid choices like putting in Tony Pena and other times he'll do anything to win this one game (Well, to be honest, other than the Edwin Jackson incident, I can't think of another time he's done this...)
Ground was lost against the Twins once again today, with a series coming up where the two face off. It seems improbable that the Sox will gain any ground by then, and even more improbable that the Sox will overtake the Twins in the standings. But one can hope.
A sweep of the Twins could do wonders. Another spectacular winning streak would also be nice. But what will really happen? We'll have to adopt the Cubs' slogan. There's always next year. How odious it sounds. Can't Obama do something about this?
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<br />
<iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fthewhitesoxblog.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F09%2Fground-lost-time-running-out.html&layout=standard&show_faces=false&width=450&action=recommend&colorscheme=dark&height=35" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height:35px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>White Sox Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445023835731368659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194970224507712903.post-26403533594239613502010-09-09T15:19:00.001-05:002010-09-09T15:21:13.544-05:00Plenty of Baseball To Be PlayedI would be a moron if I believed that. The Sox are on their last leg in every way possible. Nothing short of a miracle will repair the 6-game deficit that the Sox find themselves in. Perhaps a loss-less stretch until the very end of the season will be enough. But is that possible with the state of the Sox at present?<br />
<br />
Gordon Beckham’s hand is injured, Paul Konerko’s back is giving him a hard time, and now Bobby Jenks was diagnosed with “ulnar neuritis.” In case you’re not a doctor, that basically means discomfort in the nerve known as your “funny bone”, meaning pain in your little and ring fingers and possible weakness. Good thing you don’t need fingers as a pitcher.<br />
<br />
And now, on to the starting pitchers. Gavin Floyd seemed to have reached the end of his rope. He gave up 6 runs on 13 singles today. Freddy Garcia had to get an epidural and may start on Sunday, but in his last outing he didn’t even make it 3 innings.<br />
<br />
The only way I can describe this situation is by comparing it to the 70-year-old pregnant woman. It’s just wrong. While the Sox have the ability, they can’t pull it together. (On the flip side, the 70-year-old pregnant woman doesn’t have the natural ability, but somehow she did it.)<br />
<br />
BUT instead of tying a boulder necktie on and jumping into the river, let’s look at what we have to live for.<br />
The first reason is Chris Sale. Sure, his success is probably due in part to the fact that he’s faced batters only once. But, there’s also the fact that his fastball has reached 99 mph, that he has a complete repertoire of successful pitches at just 21 years old, only a few months after being drafted, after only a limited time with Coop.<br />
<br />
The second is that after this painful month is over, Jake Peavy will be back and we have as much of a chance as we did this year to not be screw-ups. And if that’s not enough, we have two more years of Mark Teahen. Oh, wait. Reasons NOT to jump off a bridge… Scratch that last one.<br />
<br />
No, let’s not! Let’s look at this terrific deal. Mark Teahen had a 3-year, $14 million contract with the White Sox. That’s infinity times higher than Joe Crede’s salary (Because there’s nothing you can multiply $0 by to get to FOURTEEN MILLION.), and he’s making about 10 times more this year than Josh Fields (who made about $422,000 this year). The only net gain or loss from that fortunate trade was Chris Getz. God, we’re lucky…<br />
<br />
Sorry about the sporadic posts. Night school isn't the best way to keep up with baseball. Thankfully, there's not much more baseball to be analyzed this year.<br />
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<iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fthewhitesoxblog.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F09%2Fplenty-of-baseball-to-be-played.html&layout=standard&show_faces=false&width=300&action=recommend&colorscheme=dark&height=35" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:300px; height:35px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>White Sox Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445023835731368659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194970224507712903.post-63536699476412384232010-08-30T13:01:00.002-05:002010-08-30T13:15:50.982-05:00What Does Manny Mean For Sox Players?I briefly touched on the Manny trade yesterday- kind of a generic story about what I hoped Manny would do for the team. What I failed to do was analyze his impact on his teammates.<br />
<br />
For once, this isn’t a question about “Who will be sent back to Charlotte?” (The answer seems like it would have been Brent Lillibridge) As rosters expand this week, no one needs to be moved, but according to an article on the White Sox front page, this move essentially benches Andruw Jones and Mark Kotsay. Says the article, Jones will be a defensive replacement (in what world is Jones superior to ANYONE as a defensive replacement?) and Kotsay will be just a back-up first baseman. Worse yet, is the prospect for Mark Teahen. The only position he is adequate for is DH, and…. Well, in case you haven’t figured it out by now, that spot is taken.<br />
<br />
Is Manny actually superior to any of these guys? Let’s make some projections happen. This chart predicts how these men would fare over 300 at-bats (Why 300? I don’t know, it just seemed like a nice round number. It’s just so we’re not comparing apples to porcupines.)<br />
<br />
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<tr> <td style="border: 1pt solid black; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b>Player<o:p></o:p></b></div></td> <td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b>Current AVG<o:p></o:p></b></div></td> <td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b>RBI<o:p></o:p></b></div></td> <td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b>HR<o:p></o:p></b></div></td> <td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b>SO<o:p></o:p></b></div></td> <td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b>BB<o:p></o:p></b></div></td> <td style="border-color: black black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b>GDP<o:p></o:p></b></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Manny Ramirez<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">.311<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">61<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">12<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">58<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">41<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">6<o:p></o:p></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Andruw Jones<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">.215<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">50<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">22<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">78<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">39<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">17<o:p></o:p></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Mark Kotsay<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">.233<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">31<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">8<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">33<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">29<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">8<o:p></o:p></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Mark Teahen<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">.269<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">36<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">7<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">70<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">30<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">10<o:p></o:p></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Brent Lillibridge<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">.281<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">68<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">5<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">95<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">5<o:p></o:p></div></td> <td style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color black black -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">5<o:p></o:p></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Overall, Manny’s projected numbers seem to be better than everyone’s. The only questionable one is Brent Lillibridge who has had the smallest sample size of at-bats by a large margin.<br />
<br />
Honestly, I would rather Ozzie choose two of these yoo-hoos and send them to Charlotte and literally bring every single pitcher down there and see what we can do for the bullpen. Perhaps that is the magic of the Manny trade: the ability to get rid of the many DHs and bring in as many young arms as the cell can hold. It’s brilliant, Kenny. Really, you are a ninja.<br />
<br />
If, on the other hand, the plan was to add Manny, but keep Jones, Kotsay, Teahen AND Lillibridge on the roster… well, he’s doing a great job of wasting Jerry Reinsdorf’s money.<br />
<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fthewhitesoxblog.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fwhat-does-manny-mean-for-sox-players.html&layout=standard&show_faces=false&width=300&action=recommend&colorscheme=dark&height=35" style="border: medium none; height: 35px; overflow: hidden; width: 300px;"></iframe>White Sox Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445023835731368659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194970224507712903.post-19006850106042576062010-08-29T23:58:00.002-05:002010-08-30T11:37:56.460-05:00Here's To Manny (Wins)<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"></meta><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"></meta><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"></meta><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CMara%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CMara%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CMara%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"></link><style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">It’s almost 100% official: Manny Ramirez is coming to the
White Sox. I’ve abstained because… well, with Kenny, you can’t ever think that
a rumor is true. After all, he is the trade ninja. But, for once, Kenny
delivered just as was rumored: The Manny Ramirez is heading to Chicago.</div><div class="MsoNormal">It was interesting watching this story develop, because KW
and Ozzie were both tight-lipped and outspoken about the possibility. Ozzie has
implied that he could handle Manny better than his former managers. Kenny never
confirmed nor denied it, but later in the process hinted they may be looking at
other players. Alas, the trade happened as foretold.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Of course, there is still a chance that The Manny Ramirez is
the second coming of The Ken Griffey Junior- at a time when he is but a shadow
of his former self. In the wake of injuries, steroid-use scandals, and after
being labeled a clubhouse cancer, there is an undeniable downside to Manny as
well as the potential for greatness.</div><div class="MsoNormal">This potential for greatness has me picturing his dreadlocks
running the bases to the tune of fireworks, and the Sox winning every game by a
touchdown! Of course, we’re going to need about 3 touchdowns’ worth of points
to win with our bullpen in such a tattered state, but that’s a different story.</div><div class="MsoNormal">That, indeed, is a very, very, very sad story. Thornton and Putz are both condemned to the
DL due to various ailments. Scott Linebrink is also suffering from an ailment,
but if anyone knew what that was, we’d be looking for a cure instead of sending
him to the mound. I predict a new
campaign with black and white ribbons as the symbol and many, many telethons. “Pitch
for the cure” or something. There must be something that keeps him from
producing consistently, if ever. What’ worse is that I can’t bring myself to
hate him more than I hate Tony Pena.</div><div class="MsoNormal">For more, we’ll have to stay tuned and watch him play. Let’s
hope for the best!</div><script src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js" type="text/javascript">
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<p class="MsoNormal">
Here’s to Manny More!</p><p class="MsoNormal">
It’s almost 100% official: Manny Ramirez is coming to the
White Sox. I’ve abstained because… well, with Kenny, you can’t ever think that
a rumor is true. After all, he is the trade ninja. But, for once, Kenny
delivered just as was rumored: The Manny Ramirez is heading to Chicago.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
It was interesting watching this story develop, because KW
and Ozzie were both tight-lipped and outspoken about the possibility. Ozzie has
implied that he could handle Manny better than his former managers. Kenny never
confirmed nor denied it, but later in the process hinted they may be looking at
other players. Alas, the trade happened as foretold.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
Of course, there is still a chance that The Manny Ramirez is
the second coming of The Ken Griffey Junior- at a time when he is but a shadow
of his former self. In the wake of injuries, steroid-use scandals, and after
being labeled a clubhouse cancer, there is an undeniable downside to Manny as
well as the potential for greatness.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
This potential for greatness has me picturing his dreadlocks
running the bases to the tune of fireworks, and the Sox winning every game by a
touchdown! Of course, we’re going to need about 3 touchdowns’ worth of points
to win with our bullpen in such a tattered state, but that’s a different story.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
That, indeed, is a very, very, very sad story.<span style=""> </span>Thornton and Putz are both condemned to the
DL due to various ailments. Scott Linebrink is also suffering from an ailment,
but if anyone knew what that was, we’d be looking for a cure instead of sending
him to the mound.<span style=""> </span>I predict a new
campaign with black and white ribbons as the symbol and many, many telethons. “Pitch
for the cure” or something. There must be something that keeps him from
producing consistently, if ever. What’ worse is that I can’t bring myself to
hate him more than I hate Tony Pena.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
For more, we’ll have to stay tuned and watch him play. Let’s
hope for the best!</p></script>
<iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fthewhitesoxblog.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fheres-to-many-wins.html&layout=standard&show_faces=false&width=300&action=recommend&colorscheme=dark&height=35" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:300px; height:35px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>White Sox Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445023835731368659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194970224507712903.post-82132109746619056732010-08-19T00:40:00.002-05:002010-08-19T12:09:59.622-05:00The Man With The World on His Shoulders<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbM-6AjbYSRFgHQf_xbrG5u4W4dW1mAYPBDE_IR11uu0KKp_dkUblm2KlzKqod80tEOmymz_Vn1tB5uC8Uqx1s9635-93u-AHsWx8PzbJTSF0anS8FCwtCoqr5jzT1RxwwOvbFB7rDw9Y/s1600/thomesworld.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbM-6AjbYSRFgHQf_xbrG5u4W4dW1mAYPBDE_IR11uu0KKp_dkUblm2KlzKqod80tEOmymz_Vn1tB5uC8Uqx1s9635-93u-AHsWx8PzbJTSF0anS8FCwtCoqr5jzT1RxwwOvbFB7rDw9Y/s320/thomesworld.jpg" /></a></div>Because these last couple of games are unworthy of anyone’s patience and attention, I’ve decided to use today’s post as a sort of walk down memory lane. A “Where are they now?” for the recently departed players of the team. So, where are they now?<br />
<br />
Jermaine Dye is the easiest: he’s sitting at home on his couch. Or perhaps he and Joe Crede are touring with Journey, singing backup.<br />
<br />
Jayson Nix was claimed by the Indians earlier this year after being designated for assignment. After batting a deplorable .163 with the Sox, Jayson went on to hit .264 for the Indians. Quite an improvement. Plus, this time around he had one more hit (37) than SO (36)! Conclusion? Not a big loss.<br />
<br />
D.J. Carrasco, a man I would have traded Tony Pena’s soul for, moved over to the National League. He posted a mediocre 3.88 ERA in 45 games with the Pirates, then moved to the Diamondbacks, where further atrophied to 5.63. Overall, on the year, he has a 4.10 ERA and 57 holds. Comparatively, in 2009 with the Sox, his ERA was 3.76 with 103 holds (although, he had 30 more innings under his belt, so when the numbers are reduced proportionally, he should still be at 70 holds on the year). Seems the choice here was a good one, unless he, like I assumed of our own Edwin Jackson, was suffering from a case of “being on a horrible team.”<br />
<br />
Scott Podsednik, who I was more than upset to let go played for the Royals, then Dodgers this year. I often compared him to Juan Pierre this year. Pierre is leading the majors with 47 stolen bases, while Scott has 34. Still, Podsednik is hitting a much better .308 with a slightly better .354 OBP and 49 RBI over Pierre’s .273/.345/31. Pierre has turned out to be a pretty good player for the Sox as of late, but I’d still rather have Scotty. I guess this one’s a toss-up.<br />
<br />
Finally, there’s Jim Thome. After hitting .249 with the Sox the previous year, Thome went on to hit .273 for the Twins this year. He’s had 17 HR so far. HOWEVER, his first half numbers looked a little different. He was hitting .255 with only 10 HR in 61 games. Recently, he’s had 7 in the last 20 and he’s hitting .313 with a .423 OBP. His numbers are even better against the Sox, with an overall .387 BA and .459 OBP. As for a conclusion on this one… well, I don’t have one. I loved Thome as a player, but he was often frustrating in terms of productivity. Do I wish we had another slugger on the team? Sure. But should it have been Jim Thome just so he wouldn’t be single-handedly making Sox fans cry every night as part of the Twins organization? That I can’t be sure about.<br />
<br />
Overall, I think Kenny hasn’t made as many mistakes as I’d like to accuse him of making this past off-season. Has he lost his magic touch? Well, to some extent, I’ve been beginning to doubt him ever since the Griffey trade. But is our entire season doomed because of the simple decision not to pick up Jim Thome once again? Absolutely not. The failures of our season are not Jim Thome’s fault. Surely, he's not the nail in the coffin deciding that the Sox are 5 games behind the Twins. It is the Sox’ fault for not winning with the talent they do have. <br />
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<iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fthewhitesoxblog.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fman-with-world-on-his-shoulders.html&layout=standard&show_faces=false&width=250&action=recommend&colorscheme=dark&height=35" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:250px; height:35px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>White Sox Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445023835731368659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194970224507712903.post-29407716202416232362010-08-18T12:28:00.004-05:002010-08-18T12:33:11.915-05:00Twins-Sox Game 1: An Illustrated StoryThe Sox took on the Twins. The ending was so tragic, it left me speechless. Instead of a post, here is the illustrated story of last night's game:<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtg1_iXhHHxMafGThDJ5hhsbch5s76TMLImUxwFhG6ck5Qfi9FIIQTNFdzFWGPFLHmhfOpre75urjKNOD6vVa5rzDSi8iq_7SxNfg4tEA-lHuA_525CDPVvU85NpLDnwmCxTfqOQnaG4Y/s1600/sleepingbeauty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtg1_iXhHHxMafGThDJ5hhsbch5s76TMLImUxwFhG6ck5Qfi9FIIQTNFdzFWGPFLHmhfOpre75urjKNOD6vVa5rzDSi8iq_7SxNfg4tEA-lHuA_525CDPVvU85NpLDnwmCxTfqOQnaG4Y/s1600/sleepingbeauty.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First inning: John Danks sleeps, Sox put out batting cage machine on the mound instead. Machine throws slow-pitch baseballs...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-1mQiM0Mg6zSBbbFg1IbkzxQdQD-cjXZihknb0fWCFu_LjHiPPSOPkYj0dUEF16fg9hDhvXgS_LeLVGXS7szdrfr8ACsE89QUSVX4CCtXJR66zJk8G7mbWmErr3vKpnovRsUPuKwWc-Y/s1600/paulkonerkogod.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-1mQiM0Mg6zSBbbFg1IbkzxQdQD-cjXZihknb0fWCFu_LjHiPPSOPkYj0dUEF16fg9hDhvXgS_LeLVGXS7szdrfr8ACsE89QUSVX4CCtXJR66zJk8G7mbWmErr3vKpnovRsUPuKwWc-Y/s1600/paulkonerkogod.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Konerko starts to put the Sox on the board</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOeisZxgm9eRP7S5nERcSztes0iuUApojnw2YjxK2XcEKiMTzuBtLylWc5cy1_KJ54geBzJb6QFSkDm89GBX5SZMs4mcObIHWZExGbhGCKP6JCONK4ydRPgN5-FfxiUnYDwbfQigz3dg/s1600/mongoose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOeisZxgm9eRP7S5nERcSztes0iuUApojnw2YjxK2XcEKiMTzuBtLylWc5cy1_KJ54geBzJb6QFSkDm89GBX5SZMs4mcObIHWZExGbhGCKP6JCONK4ydRPgN5-FfxiUnYDwbfQigz3dg/s1600/mongoose.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hawk Drunkely talks about Danks being a Mongoose</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhAuA-AcVZP7jMGhOy3zOWAYenRY6Iy4DKC7FlvRIfd-Crk7YpuX_2CCPHxOuhvMAjbPg9iH7_e0M7NxQ1bcFhnv0ZGitSRYER_ZQA5H3TtzO47gVjGVByNRcQjCpwlRFgH4xLi_mYmY/s1600/danksperforms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhAuA-AcVZP7jMGhOy3zOWAYenRY6Iy4DKC7FlvRIfd-Crk7YpuX_2CCPHxOuhvMAjbPg9iH7_e0M7NxQ1bcFhnv0ZGitSRYER_ZQA5H3TtzO47gVjGVByNRcQjCpwlRFgH4xLi_mYmY/s1600/danksperforms.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Danks chooses to wake up and perform</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisCgvFa89K7iKTZZJ-nAXPsX9zgYO0nVob0faoTaExyRWmfe7mp-u_e2ssKrTx2eapGc6OIsWN80WrqCt-JSnFBUkIQGy0yUWwSsIHtqR35d4sSARg8VWOX0iZpxK5MBembCtVoxnmLn4/s1600/youngpunchesaj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisCgvFa89K7iKTZZJ-nAXPsX9zgYO0nVob0faoTaExyRWmfe7mp-u_e2ssKrTx2eapGc6OIsWN80WrqCt-JSnFBUkIQGy0yUWwSsIHtqR35d4sSARg8VWOX0iZpxK5MBembCtVoxnmLn4/s1600/youngpunchesaj.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young punches AJ right in the face and misses home plate by about 6 feet.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhM_aCpQpzQLAtB0qnINOedaJRXisIgK50uQ3vbBZxNQ6ic224KOS1VyxsG4S89IDZUDXvEf6qWHJCvyrZRO8LH6f2BsNp4JcOIW0wm1GDBjh1AEmSAHVgOTDyA1MMr__r0KOyf5ZIwWk/s1600/alexeithehero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhM_aCpQpzQLAtB0qnINOedaJRXisIgK50uQ3vbBZxNQ6ic224KOS1VyxsG4S89IDZUDXvEf6qWHJCvyrZRO8LH6f2BsNp4JcOIW0wm1GDBjh1AEmSAHVgOTDyA1MMr__r0KOyf5ZIwWk/s1600/alexeithehero.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alexei's heroics get the Sox the lead</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4qUbYYnxztSxJhDfuqBoYLx_az2UATp9kBbOE1k4ZRcohlytkUDv44Wqr6UBs-sLjJxyy7YXbOyrusEk4goehyphenhyphenFiMMWKijY6wVqq3aPTM2C5eR_7xNuJFcYycyTrcTPfqE49dtJIlDtg/s1600/thomewalkoff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4qUbYYnxztSxJhDfuqBoYLx_az2UATp9kBbOE1k4ZRcohlytkUDv44Wqr6UBs-sLjJxyy7YXbOyrusEk4goehyphenhyphenFiMMWKijY6wVqq3aPTM2C5eR_7xNuJFcYycyTrcTPfqE49dtJIlDtg/s1600/thomewalkoff.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In a situation similar to 2008's game 163, Thome hits a walk-off homer. This time, for the wrong team.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fthewhitesoxblog.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Ftwins-sox-game-1-illustrated-story.html&layout=standard&show_faces=false&width=250&action=recommend&colorscheme=dark&height=35" style="border: medium none; height: 35px; overflow: hidden; width: 250px;"></iframe>White Sox Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11445023835731368659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194970224507712903.post-62935165181691400752010-08-15T17:43:00.002-05:002010-08-15T17:45:55.382-05:00Cherry Garcia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhem8Vyy42WjD5eZ-7-llT9V8ZxmzStFkhWFSUdPLKQGEB5TeyA0S7RZ3H661F2d4YdECDIYGCmA-xhqWl5GVmKu3rJPdT7xQYqqq7BjHTl0rXiDbdYkhVIapE9mQ8HFp5ZUTjfNOUPOH8/s1600/penacherry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhem8Vyy42WjD5eZ-7-llT9V8ZxmzStFkhWFSUdPLKQGEB5TeyA0S7RZ3H661F2d4YdECDIYGCmA-xhqWl5GVmKu3rJPdT7xQYqqq7BjHTl0rXiDbdYkhVIapE9mQ8HFp5ZUTjfNOUPOH8/s320/penacherry.jpg" /></a></div>This loss could be blamed on many. Should it be Freddy Garcia for giving up 5 runs in 5 innings? Could it be JJ Putz who gave up 3 runs in the 8th, 2 earned? Could it be Tony Pena for giving up 4 runs in the 9th? Could it be Andruw Jones and his terrible defensive day in Center Field? I’ll tell you this much: It wasn’t the offense’s fault.<br />
<br />
The clock seemed to be ticking in slow-motion. Between Freddy, Galarraga, and plenty of base runners, the game lasted 3:31. The score swung back and forth, but was mostly tipped in the direction of the Tigers. It was 5-1. Then the Sox took a 7-5 lead. The Tigers came back and won the game 13-8.<br />
<br />
The fans booed during this game. But they did not boo enough. There were boos that deserved to be directed at JJ Putz for giving up the lead the same way he gave the game up yesterday. There were boos that Andruw Jones deserved when he played some iffy center field, then simply dropped a ball from his glove. And of course, the cherry on top of the cake, Tony Pena. But, then again, isn’t he always the cherry on top of a loss?<br />
<br />
The bottom line is that the Sox are in terrible shape. And they are heading to Minnesota for a 3-game series. And while the offense has been fine, the pitchers seem to be back in the form they were in in April or May. Freddy is what I predicted: growing fatigued as the season rolls on. The bullpen is losing it, too. Putz is starting to look rickety at a time when Jenks is being considered for the DL.<br />
<br />
Let’s focus on the positives if for just one paragraph. Chris Sale looks fairly decent. I don’t think he should be a permanent in the arm in the bullpen just yet, but it’s good to know that our farm system does occasionally run into talent. Hawk Harrelson was out for the day due to a family illness. Oddly enough, they didn’t bother to find Steve Stone a counterpart. He was at it solo. It was extremely awkward at first to hear a one-sided conversation during a sports commentary situation. As I tweeted, the situation grew on me. It was like being home alone when you have a big family. It was peaceful, it was free of references to Hawk’s career, and there were no cookies. It should have been a good game.<br />
<br />
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<br />
What’s more, John Danks and Ozzie dealt quite well with an unfair situation. When the umpires issued warnings to both dugouts when Carlos Quentin was hit for the second time that night (and for the 10,000th time in his career, it may seem), John Danks refused to be shy when it comes to the inside corner. He did his thing, and Ozzie seemed to back him up in case of a potential ejection. Overall, he kept the Twins to 1 run over 8 innings. He threw more pitches than I would have cared for, but he, of course, had to compensate for Freddy’s outing, when the bullpen was abused.<br />
<br />
I personally think hitting players in retaliation is an obvious and an easy way to get ejected and pay a big fee. I’m sure the umpires are not goldfish, and their memories can last up to, if not more, than 30 seconds, and they will surely remember yesterday’s escapades in case one of the Twinkies does get plunked today. And Carlos, is just Carlos: a plate crowder.<br />
<br />
Aside from Freddy’s hiccup, the pitching seems to be holding up. So, provided the offense keeps up its 6 run nights, this series will end with the Sox back in first. If Pierzynski and Viciedo continue to be quick outs, this feat won’t be so easy.<br />
<br />
It will be a little easier, considering that many of the Twins players took a beating yesterday. One pitcher had to walk off the mount after racing Carlos Quentin to first. In the process, Carlos seemed to step on the first baseman’s glove. I’d say that’s enough blood to make the sharks attack.<br />
<br />
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