Black Sox Blog

Playing in the earliest home opener in Cleveland’s history, the White Sox came up short in a 10-8 loss against the Indians.  After giving up seven runs in the second inning, the Sox battled back against reigning AL Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia and tied the game up at 7-7.  Thome fueled the Sox with two home runs off of Sabathia as well as eight of the nine Sox batters tallying a hit.  Seeing the Sox put up such good numbers on the offensive side of the plate is definitely encouraging for chances this season.  Mark Buehrle had a horrible start being taken out in the second inning after giving up seven hits and seven earned runs which included two home runs.  Nick Masset came in for the Sox and pitched well going four and one-third inning only giving up two hits and striking out four.  All tied at seven in the eighth inning, Casey Blake hit a three-run double off of Octavio Dotel to take the lead.  In the ninth inning Jermaine Dye hit a solo home run to try to spark a rally but the Sox came up short.  Not a bad showing for the first game of the season against a good Cleveland team.  Game two of the series is on Wednesday.

The White Sox ended their 2008 spring camp against the New York Mets in the annual Civil Rights Game.  Martin Luther King III threw out the first pitch in a game that is intended to not let us forget the past and the fight for equality is an ongoing struggle.  The Mets won the game 3-2 which capped off a bad month for the Sox in which they only won two of their last fourteen games.  Jose Contreras pitched for the Sox and went five and two-thirds innings giving up five hits and two earned runs.  Contreras also struck out six and did not walk any batters.  John Maine and the rest of the Mets pitching staff dominated the Sox giving up only seven hits compared to twelve strike outs.  Carlos Beltran had a two-run home run while Pablo Ozuna went three for four with two RBI.  The spring ended on a bad note for the Sox and they must gear up to get ready to play the powerful Indians on Monday to start their season off.

Arizona Diamondback ace Dan Haren stole the show and pitched amazing in a 8-4 win over the White Sox.  In seven innings Haren only gave up three hits and two earned runs.  He struck out six compared to only one base on balls.  On th other side of the chalk Nick Masset went four innings and allowed seven hits, five earned runs, and four walks.  Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko each had a home run which contributed to two of the eight hits the White Sox had on Thursday.  Starting third basemen Joe Crede left the game early after fouling the ball off of his left foot.  No results have been announced on the status of his foot.  The White Sox play against the Texas Rangers tomorrow and if I were into baseball betting, I’m thinking the White Sox will get firing on all cylinders in preparation for the grueling first few series of the regular season.  One win in the last ten game should be addressed immediately and taken care of by the entire organization.

Despite four home runs by the White Sox, including two from Jim Thome and a grand slam from Alexei Ramirez, the Sox lost to the Brewers 12-10 in an offensive-dominated game.  Gavin Floyd started the game for the Sox and had a very interesting day on the mound to say the least.  He pitched five innings and gave up nine hits, six earned runs, zero walks and struck out seven.  The Sox had four errors defensively that proved to be the difference maker and allowed the Brewers to rally and take the win.  Eight different players for Chicago recorded a hit and surprisingly they only had one strike out the entire game.  Without the errors the Sox would have surely won this game with ease.  On another note, Juan Uribe was announced as the opening day starting second basemen, leaving Alexei Ramirez looking for a starting position.  Ramirez’s best bet is in center field since Jerry Owens is probably going to start the game on the injured list.  The South Side Sluggers take on Arizona tomorrow in one of their last three games before the regular season starts against Cleveland on March 31st.

Snapping a nine game winless streak was just what the Sox needed.  The Sox defeated the Colorado Rockies 5-2.  In his final start of the spring, Mark Buehrle pitched a great game and looked like he felt really good throughout the game.  Buehrle pitched six innings, gave up four hits, one earned run and struck out five.  Juan Uribe, Carlos Quentin, and Alexei Ramirez all had two hits for the Sox.  Uribe bumped up his average to .388 which helps his case to remain part of the team throughout the year.  I think Uribe is vital to the success of the Sox and he could really contribute offensively and defensively at 2nd base.  Despite having ten strike outs to their ten hits, the Sox pulled off key hits at key times to put some much needed runs on the board.  The White Sox take on the Milwaukee Brewers tomorrow and look to continue this “hot streak” and get some momentum rolling for the start of the regular season.

On Sunday the White Sox completed their eighth straight game without a win. The Kansas City Royals beat the White Sox by a score of 6-5.  White Sox starter John Danks pitched four and one-third innings and gave up six hits, five runs, and four walks.  Jim Thome and Carlos Quentin led the way for the Sox by each getting two hits.  Total the Sox only got nine hits which equaled their nine strike outs.  Brian Anderson and Quentin each had a home run but it wasn’t enough to get past the Royals with a win.  Having not won a game since March 15th, the Sox should be concerned about heading into the regular season having not performed well at all lately.  Wednesday the team is expected to trim down to the final roster to get ready for the initial push starting in April.  Ozzie Guillen and everybody else need to find a way to get some momentum going so they can have a fighting chance to have a respectable season.

On Friday the White Sox lost to the San Francisco Giants by a score of 4-3.  The Sox had a bad offensive day by only getting six hits compared with five strike outs for the entire game.  Barry Zito started the game for the Giants and pitched really well.  Zito went six innings and only gave up two hits and struck out four.  Gavin Floyd started the game for the Sox and pitched a solid six innings.  In six innings, Floyd gave up six hits and two earned runs.  Floyd also struck out four and did not give up any walks.  A good outing for Floyd could have translated into a win if the Sox could have put some runs on the board.  On Saturday the Sox took on their cross-town rivals and tied the Cubs 8-8.  Javier Vazquez had an eventful start going six innings and giving up six hits and four earned runs as well as six strike outs.  Juan Uribe hit his first home run of the spring.  Uribe and Pablo Ozuna led the way for the Sox getting three hits each and a total of five RBI.  However, the Sox still haven’t found a way to pull out a win.  Tomorrow the Sox take on Kansas City and look to match good offense with good defense and pitching and end this winless streak.

Once again the White Sox struggled to put runs on the board and give up eight in a loss to the by a score of 8-2.  Mark Buehrle started the game for the Sox and pitched a solid five innings.  Buehrle gave up five hits and struck out five, his only earned run was a home run by Rafael Furcal in the third inning.  Furcal had a monster of a game getting four hits in five at bats.  Brad Penny pitched a gem for the Dodgers going six innings and giving up three hits, no runs, and three strikeouts.  Paul Konerko led the way for the Sox getting two hits in four at bats.  A day after being told that he was put on waivers, Juan Uribe started the game at second base and went one for three at the plate.  To gain any kind of consistency and rhythm, the White Sox organization needs to make up their minds about Uribe and Crede to avoid distracting the teams mental focus.  The Sox take on the San Francisco Giants tomorrow and look to get back in the winning column.

A day after putting up zero runs, the White Sox offense got a jump start from veteran Jim Thome.  The Sox tied the Colorado Rockies 10-10 and the game was called a tie after the ninth.  Thome led the Sox with two home runs, including a 3-run homer in the eighth inning that capped a six run rally that put the Sox ahead 10-9.  On Thome’s three hits he tallied six RBI and was the backbone for the rejuvenating of the Sox.  Nick Swisher did not have any hits but got on base three times by being walked.  Alexei Ramirez started the game off with a home run in the first inning and added another hit with two walks.  Nick Masset and D.J. Carrasco both pitched three innings and gave up six hits.  Masset gave up six earned runs and struck out four while Carrasco gave up two earned runs and struck out two.  A really good game offensively for the Sox was not matched with a solid pitching and defensive game.  However, if the Sox can consistently put up numbers like today, they could do some damage.  We’ll see when they play the L.A. Dodgers tomorrow.

Trying to get back on track with their offense, the Sox seemed to go backwards with a 5-0 loss to the San Diego Padres.  Wilfredo Ledezma started the game for the Padres and dominated the entire White Sox lineup.  Ledezma went four innings and only gave up two hits with three strikeouts and two walks.  Ledezma brought his spring ERA down to .82.  Jerry Owens and Joe Crede led the way for the Sox with two hits each, only four other players got on base with a hit.  John Danks started the game for the White Sox and got hammered early giving up three runs in the first inning before settling down.  Danks pitched five innings giving up four hits, four earned runs and a home run.  Danks also struck out eight in the losing effort.  Once again the Sox did not take advantage when they had runners in scoring position and continued their offensive struggles.  Tomorrow the Sox take on the Colorado Rockies and look to end their offensive woes.

The Milwaukee Brewers took the White Sox to the 10th inning and ended up in a 4-4 tie.  Javier Vazquez got the start for the Sox and pitched a solid game up until the 5th inning.  Vazquez threw well giving up six hits and striking out six batters.  Although he gave up all four of the runs, only one was earned and the other three were unearned after a bad error by the third basemen Josh Fields.  Not only did Vazquez pitch well for the team but he also contributed two hits and scored a run.  Pablo Ozuna also chipped in two hits but the stat of the day had to be the ten strikeouts by the Sox offense.  The White Sox take on the San Diego Padres tomorrow and look to avenge their March 9th blow out.  The South Side Sluggers need to pick up their offense and concentrate on making contact and eliminating some of the strikeouts that seem to plague this club night in and night out.

The White Sox started out St. Patty’s day weekend in good fashion by beating the Chicago Cubs 5-3.  Jim Thome hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to spring the Sox up by two runs to never look back.  Batting a miserable .194, Thome’s home run was his second of spring training and hopefully a sign that his bat is getting back to old form.  Juan Uribe continued doing well by getting two hits of the seven total by the Sox.  Surprisingly, the Sox managed to score five runs on only seven hits.  Nick Massett got the start for the Sox and pitched a pretty good 4.1 innings and giving up six hits and three earned runs.  Sunday the Sox faced off against ace Dan Haren and the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Behind Haren’s five innings four earned runs and four strike outs, the Sox came up just short by losing 4-5.  Jerry Owens and A.J. Pierzynski led the way for the Sox with three hits each and Jermaine Dye added a three-run homer in the losing effort.  Battling the rainy weather, the Sox had chances to put some points on the board but left eleven men on base.  Sox will look to continue to gel together in these next two weeks before the regular season starts.

The White Sox had an embarrassing offensive game against the Oakland A’s on Friday which led to their loss by a score of 8-1.  Only tallying three hits the entire game compared to the twelve hit by Oakland is a certain recipe for disaster.  Jose Contreras got the start pitching four innings and giving up six hits and five earned runs.  Contreras also walked four batters and struck out only two.  The Sox tallied ten walks but left thirteen men on base and ended up with only one run.  Rich Harden pitched a great game for the A’s going for five innings and only giving up one hit, one earned run and striking out five.  Eleven different players chipped in for the A’s on offense and scored eight runs despite leaving twenty one men on base.  The South Side Sluggers really need to work on their offensive consistency for the start of the season or they are going to get off to a bad start against Cleveland and then against Detroit.  Ozzie Guillen better start working his magic before it is too late.

The White Sox played a very solid game against the Colorado Rockies to win by a score of 4-1.  They played a well balanced game all around, from hitting to fielding they were running on all cylinders.  Nick Swisher and Josh Fields led the way for the offensive attack.  Swisher went 2 for 3 and Fields bounced back and went 3 for 4.  Brian Anderson helped out with two hits including a home run in his second consecutive game.  Javier Vazquez pitched a spectacular five innings by striking out seven and only giving up one hit.  Vazquez must have still been riding the emotion and adrenaline from the birth of his daughter which cause him to miss six days of camp.  The Sox get a day off tomorrow and then take on the Oakland A’s on Friday.  Hopefully they can continue producing on offense and if Vazquez’s performance rubbed off on the other pitchers the A’s are in for a battle.

Soaking up the sun in warm Arizona, the White Sox took home a good win against the Ichiro-less Mariners in high scoring battle 9-8.  Jim Thome and Paul Konerko helped out pitcher Mark Buehrle by hitting back-to-back home runs off of newly acquired ace Erik Bedard.  Nick Swisher chipped in with three hits including a double and a triple.  A good day at the plate can be attributed to the fact that the Sox had nine runs and nine RBI’s on thirteen hits and only three strike-outs.  Fighting for a spot, Juan Uribe contributed two hits and an RBI to bolster is stance for a starting position.  Mark Buehrle pitched four decent innings giving up six hits and three earned runs to earn his first win of spring training.  Fresh off their win over Seattle, the Texas Rangers had to take the Sox into the tenth inning before beating them 7-5.  Gavin Floyd got the start for the Sox and pitched a decent four innings giving up three hits and two earned runs.  However, once again I would say the downfall for the South Side Sluggers was their hit-to-strike out ratio which was 10-7.  If the Sox can keep that ratio leaning toward the hits, I believe they can be successful throughout the year.

After losing three straight in an embarrassing fashion, the White Sox rallied behind a two-run home run by Brad Eldred in the eighth inning to slide past the S.F. Giants by a score of 6-4.  John Danks started the game for the Sox and went four innings allowing one run and three hits.  His outing was a success and very promising for the rest of the year for him.  Boone Logan got the win for the Sox going one and one-third inning and giving up two hits.  The Sox had a solid offensive game tallying eleven hits and only four strike outs.  The South Side Sluggers failed to continue their winning streak on Sunday by getting blown out by the San Diego Padres 12-3.  Their offensive production was a joke by only getting nine hits compared to their ten strikeouts.  On the other hand, the Padres racked up sixteen hits with only three strikeouts.  Clearly the difference in the game was the patience at the plate and the pitching of either side.  Jose Contreras and Octavio Dotel both had bad performances giving up a combined five runs and eight hits in only five innings.  Looking to get back on track, the Sox take on Seattle tomorrow and will attempt revamp their offensive strategy. 

In their first game against former teammate Jon Garland, the White Sox got rolled over in a lop-sided loss to the LA Angels, 11-1.  Jon Garland allowed only one run in three innings and showed some of his spectacular skills that he used to show off in Chicago.  Jermaine Dye and A.J. Pierzynski were the only South Side Sluggers to record hits in the game which was a very poor showing for the entire club.  Lance Broadway pitched a very poor outing with 5 earned runs and 6 hits in only two innings of work.  A lot of work needs to be done to spare the embarrassment of such a showing by the Sox.  In their very next game they were once again beat badly by the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-0.  The Sox only recorded 5 hits to the Diamondbacks 12 hits and their pitchers were once again out shined by their opponents.  Ozzie Guillen and the rest of the White Sox organization needs to figure out something quickly to end this streak of getting beat badly.