Black Sox Blog

Looking back, it seems so much easier then it should have been. The White Sox finished their sweep of the Houston Astros, and for the first time in 88 years, the city of Chicago, and more specifically, White Sox fans, have a World Series championship.

Freddy Garcia and the bullpen were awesome. Garcia went seven innings and gave up only four hits with seven strikeouts. The big guy, Bobby Jenks, got the save by pitching a one hit ninth, and the rest is history. Jermaine Dye had an RBI single in the eighth, and that was all the White Sox needed.

Dye was picked as the MVP. Anytime it’s a short series like this, it can be tough to narrow it down to one guy, but Dye had a hit in each of the four games, including three last night. He drove in three and scored three.

Celebrate everyone!! The drought is over.

The last time the White Sox won the World Series, World War I, while winding down, was still happenning. The Great Depressing was well over a decade away, and a man named Woodrow Wilson was the President.

The 88 year drought could end tonight.

Wow.

Let me say it again. Wow. Down 4-0, I had pretty much wrote this game off. Then the fifth came, and the White Sox could not be denied. Joe Crede led off the inning with a solo homerun to make it 4-1. I’m not sure if that was the inspiration that the White Sox needed, but the flood gates opened. Juan Uribe, Scott Podsednik, and Tad Iguchi all singled and it was 4-2. Another single by Jermaine Dye and it was 4-3. Paul Konerko flew out to make it two outs, and the A.J. Pierzynski came up huge with a two run double. Down by four entering the inning, the White Sox left the inning with a one run lead. Prior to that, Roy Oswalt had given up only two hits. In the fifth inning alone, he gave up six hits.

A Jason Lane RBI double in the eighth (he had also homered earlier in the game) tied things up and we went into extra frames. From innings 10 through 13, the two teams combined for only one hit. It wasn’t until the 14th that the White Sox finally broke the game open.

Jermaine Dye led off with a single, but that baserunner was immediately eliminated by a Paul Konerko double play. The inning seemed to be all but over, and then Geoff Blum went yard to give the White Sox a one run lead. Not satisfied with just one run, Aaron Rowand, Joe Crede and Juan Uribe all singled back to back, and then Chris Widger drew a walk to put another run on the board.

The Astros threatened in the 14th by getting two men on (a walk and an error), but Mark Buehrle came in to get the final out of the inning to secure the White Sox win. It can all be locked up tonight!!

Playing in the rain, the White Sox accomplished what they’ve done all season. It wasn’t pretty, but they did just enough to win. In the top of the fifth, Morgan Ensberg drove in two runs with a double and the Astros looked like they were going to cruise to a 4-2 lead.

Paul Konerko had something else to say about it though. In the bottom of the seventh, Paul Konerko hit a two out grand slam to give the White Sox a 6-4 lead. The rest of the game wasn’t without it’s drama though as the Astros tied the game in the ninth on a two run single by Jose Vizcaino.

Then with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Scott Podsednik, who didn’t hit a single homerun during the regular season (and now has two in the post season), hit a walk off solo shot to end the game.

What a game. The White Sox head to Houston with a 2-0 lead. While the Red Sox last year taught us that no lead is sacred, I’m definitely feeling good about the series. Jon Garland throws against Roy Oswalt tomorrow.

My favorite White Sox is Joe Crede. Seeing him play the way he did yesterday was simply awesome. I’ve been hoping he’d turn into the 30 homer, gold glove third basemen that some thought he might, however, if he can nab a World Series MVP instead, it would be even sweeter.

Three huge defensive plays at third and a solo homerun were his contributions. Jose Contreras pitched well, as did Cotts and Jenks out of the pen. And Jermaine Dye gets an honorable mention for putting the Sox on the board in the first inning.

And while you hate to bad things happen to an icon like Roger Clemens, it’s also a good thing we won’t have to face him the rest of the series (speculation).

2-2 in the fifth. Go Sox.

Game one of the World Series was always for Saturday, but as of last night, the White Sox have an opponent. The Houston Astros topped the St. Louis Cardinals in five games, so the Astros travel to Chicago for game one.

Jose Contreras will square off against one of the greatest pitchers ever, Roger Clemens. Clemens had some leg problems (I want to say it’s his hamstring) so hopefully Konerko and company will be able to take care of business.

For another week, this White Sox fan will get some excitement. It’s hard to believe that when I started blogging in February that I’d be covering THE year for the White Sox.

The Cardlinals avoided elimination last night with some two out heroics in the ninth inning. In the meantime, I recommend you check out this White Sox column by Broken Cowboy.