Black Sox Blog

The Chi Sox finished 1-7 this week. Tigers Pitcher had the Sox hitless through 7 innings, when a controversial hit wasn’t ruled an error. Brandon Inge grabbed a hard hit grounder and botched the throw to Cabrera at 1^st. Inge told the press it should have been an error. The Tigers pitching went deep in all 3 games against the Chi Sox, shutting them out in the last two games of the series. Adam Dunn continues to struggle with the adjustment to the DH position. It’s not time to hit the panic button on Chicago’s south side yet, although many are thinking it’s time to move the hand closer to that button.

The White Sox went 2-5 this week ending with the Angels sweeping them. Injured starter, Jake Peavy, is due back quite soon. “[I am] just waiting for the days to come up and see what happens,” said Guillen. “Right now, I want Jake back. But I don’t count on him right away because that’s too much to ask.” Guillen says it’s too early to be upset or worried about the “up-side down” Central standings. “Kansas City is playing pretty good ball. Cleveland is playing very well,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. “I said [the Indians are tough] when we left Cleveland, and people laughed at me.”

The Sox are off to a quick start, as well as the Royals, with a 6-3 start. In a 4 game set against the Rays, the Sox went 3-1 with the loss coming on Friday. It was released Friday that slugger, Manny Ramirez, would be suspended for 100 games for testing positive for a second time for banned substances. In the first game of the series, Edwin Jackson pitched 8 innings, allowing only 4 hits and an earned run. Jackson is now 2-0 on the season. Gavin Floyd also pitched a gem, allowing 4 hits and no earned runs in 8 innings. The White Sox are looking very strong in their starting rotation. The offense is on a tear right now too.

The White Sox got off to a quick start offensively, scoring 23 runs combined in their first two games against the Tribe. Their Season Opener was blown open in the 4^th inning, where the Chi Sox scored 8 runs. Quentin hit a two run double in the 7^th to give the Sox so breathing room in yesterday’s win. The Sox went for the sweep today, but the Tribe pitching held them to only one run. The Sox also hit into a double play that started off a popped up bunt. Though the Sox bats fell short today, it is a very impressive start to their season.

White Sox catcher, AJ Pierzynski, leaped up in celebration after the last out in the Chi Sox 7-3 victory over the Diamondbacks. The White Sox, previous to that game were 0-12 with a tie when Pierzynski was behind the plate. Although the White Sox were below .500, they are confident they completed their Spring Training mission. Ozzie Guillen has been very impressed with the squads situational hitting. “You always want to win,” Pierzynski said. “At the same time, it’s not the most important thing. Everyone here looks like they are climbing, and that’s what you want at this time of spring.” They are not worried about their record, pointing at the 2001 Seattle Mariners who had a 13-19 record before the regular season. Don’t except the White Sox to have such a record with AJ behind the plate come regular season.

Jake Peavy was shut down after yesterday’s outing after throwing 80 plus pitches. In the locker room after the game, he told the press that he’s going to rest today, throw a bullpen on Monday, and hopes to be ready to pitch against the Cubs. Earlier today, Peavy started to take anti-inflammatory medication to stop the shoulder pain. The doctors told Peavy that “rotator cuff tendinitis” could be the issue causing pain. Peavy said that what he’s been experiencing has been “a culmination of start after start after start”. The pain in his shoulder has been getting worse with each start. Peavy did not do well in physical tests he was given today and is no longer going to be making his first appearance of the season on April 6^th against the Royals. The team doctors have decided to slow down his recovery process. This is not the news Chi Sox fans want to be hearing right now.

Edwin Jackson gave up 4 earned runs in 4 innings in yesterday’s 4-1 loss to the Rangers. The Sox line up composed of all the players that will most likely be starting on Opening Day with the absence of Gordon Beckham. Rangers’ pitcher, Matt Harrison, pitched 4 quality innings against the Sox. Ozzie Guillen has Lastings Milledge slotted to start against the Dodgers next. Milledge seems to have made an impression on Guillen and will be showcasing his talents hoping to earn a spot on the 25 man roster. Closer John Danks is also slated to make an appearance against the Dodgers.

After throwing two scoreless innings on Friday, Peavy woke up Saturday morning feeling soreness in his arm. Sox fans shouldn’t be worried because the soreness”only in the right spots.” He added that it felt good to feel soreness in his lats because it is a sign of good soreness. He noted that he was far from a hero and there is still a ways to go on the  road to recovery, but he remains optimistic for the season to start. Peavy’s doctor projected Peavy will start 15 to 20 games this season.

Good news as the Sox are approaching their Cactus League Opener, Jake Peavy is readying himself with the club. After a season-ending surgery last season on his right shoulder, Peavy is back with the team. Peavy through a 40 pitch bullpen on Wednesday followed by some long toss on Saturday. Peavy told mlb.com that he believes he is past the “grueling part” of his recovery, and though he is not 100%, he feels healthy. As the actual season gets closer, the competition for starting spots get more serious. Mark Teahen and Brent Morel seem to be fighting it out for the starting position at 3rd base. Teahen, the veteran and Morel, who is said to have Joe Crede like defensive abilities are helping eachother out in the midst of this competition. Teahen is helping the youngster with defensive skills and Morel is helping Teahen get acquainted to new coaching. It is still up in the air if Peavy will be ready Opening Day and who will be starting 3rd.

With the White Sox getting ready for the start of the 2011 season, so is their veteran, almost 44 year old Omar Vizquel. After 22 major league seasons, he says to keep motivated during Spring Training, you have to set goals and “do something out of the ordinary everyday to kind of push yourself”. Whether it’s a great double play a game or try to steal two bases, you should always have a goal to acheive and to stay motivated, he says. Visquel enters the season 201 hits shy of entering the legendary 3,000 hit club. Though his body keeps getting older, Vizquel’s “youthful enthusiasm” keeps him young enough to compete with the best youth in the league. Look out for Vizquel and the rest of this Chi Sox team come April time.

With the pitchers and catchers due to report to the Chi Sox spring training in 4 days, the question Chi Sox fans are asking is “Will Peavy be ready“? White Sox manager hopes so and joked around with Peavy during their half hour phone conference regarding the status of his arm. “You better be ready for Spring Training or I’m going to get fired,” Ozzie jokingly told Peavy. The 29-year-old pitcher wants to be back to his team for Opening day against the Tribe on April 1st, but he will listen to the doctors and trainers input before making the final decision of coming back. The Sox are hoping for the speedballer to return to their starting rotation at the start of the 2011 season.

The White Sox just signed Cuba native, Alexei Ramirez, to a four-year, $32.5 million  contract. It seems as if Ramirez wants to spend his entire career on the south side of Chicago. Though Ramirez played centerfield at first, his successful transition to shortstop gives the Sox one of the best double play combinations in the Major Leagues, with second baseman Gordon Beckham. The Louiseville Slugger Silver Slugger Award was given to Ramirez in the 2010 season for being the best offensive shortstop in the American League. It was a no-brainer to extend Ramirez’s contract for both sides. Alexei loves Chicago, and both general manager Kenny Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen agree  he is a great fit both on and off the field. Look for Ramirez to be turning double plays at US Cellular Field for years to come.

Closer and closer to the end of the season, the Sox seem to be taking a step backward as they battle with Minnesota for the top spot in the AL Central.  The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Sox once again 6-4 in a very uneventful game except for a big eighth inning for both teams.  After the Blue Jays scored six runs in the top of the eighth, the Sox tried to battle back and scored four runs in the bottom of the inning.  However, that was the game, the Sox couldn’t manage to muster up any more runs to get back into the game against the Blue Jays.  Gavin Floyd pitched a decent game, lasting seven and one-third innings and gave up seven hits and four earned runs.  Jim Thome hit his thirty-first home run of the season but it just wasn’t enough again.  Offensively offtrack lately, the Sox once again had more strikeouts, nine, than hits, seven.  No way can Chicago keep up this trend as they come up to the end.  Despite the loss, Chicago is still one game up in the AL Central as they head into a three game home series against Detroit in which John Danks takes the mound in the first game.

Behind a stellar pitching performance by Jered Weaver, the LA Angels beat the White Sox for the second day in a row by a score of 2-0.  The Sox line-up could not seem to figure out the pitching of the Angels and only managed three hits on the day.  In a big game between divisional leaders, three hits compared with seven strike outs is not going to give any team a good chance to win.  John Danks started the game and pitched pretty well but just did not have enough help from his offense.  Danks lasted for five innings and gave up five hits, two earned runs, two walks, and four strike outs.  Catcher A.J. Pierzynski and Ozzie Guillen were both ejected in the ninth inning for arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire.  Guillen was trying to fire up his team so they could get a spark and score a couple runs to steal the game, but his efforts came up short.  Paul Konerko missed his second straight game with an injured right hand.  Jose Contreras takes the mound in the last game of the series to try and avoid the sweep.

In 2007, Jim Thome led the White Sox in batting with an average of .275.  With only two other players breaking the .260 mark, better offensive production is going to be very important for the South Side Sluggers if they want a chance in the stacked AL Central.  Jermaine Dye, Joe Crede and the rest of the crew need to play to their potential to put some pressure on opposing pitchers as well as give their pitchers some insurance runs.   While the Sox slugged more home runs than the favorite Indians and Tigers a year ago, both clubs well surpassed the Sox in RBI and especially runs scored.  Getting on base early and often will be key to helping put more runs on the board in a league that is showing capabilities of putting up high run totals day in and day out.  Ozzie Guillen is going to need to find a good combination of 1, 2, and 3 hitters that can put up high on-base percentages to give the sluggers a chance to bring them home.  Key in the newcomers to shake things up and help increase the embarrassing run totals of a year ago.  Thanks to the big time line-ups of the Tigers and Indians, as well as the solid pitching staffs of both teams, Ozzie Guillen and the Sox are going to have to be determined and play with a chip on their shoulder to put up the run totals to rival their adversaries.

With so many new faces in new places, the 2008 MLB season will be characterized by how the off season moves will impact each team.  The era of free agency has shown how it can create great parity within the league, setting up epic battles between teams in every division.  After a lackluster 2007 season, the Chicago White Sox look for their newly acquired personnel to make an immediate contribution.  Ozzie Guillen and the Sox look to new Shortstop Orlando Cabrera to thrive not only defensively, but with his quick bat and intelligence at the plate, he is a perfect fit to hit number two in the line-up or possibly even lead-off.  Cabrera’s intangibles also excite the club, his leadership will help to bring the club house closer together and make everyone around him step up their play.  With the exception of Bobby Jenks, the bullpen last year was bad, that is why the performance of relievers Scott Linebrink and Octavio Dotel is vital to the success of the Sox.  Linebrink’s experience and wicked sinker will help preserve leads and keep opponent run totals down in anticipation for Jenks to come out and rock the crowd.  Dotel’s addition deepens the bullpen and takes pressure off of many guys so that the whole crew can perform to their full ability when they get their chance.  Teams can never have too many relievers when going up against the big names of the AL Central such as Magglio Ordonez and Travis Hafner.  The catalyst of the newcomers this year has to be switch hitting outfielder Nick Swisher.  Swisher brings high octane and a genuine  excitement to the game.   With a chance to be a fan favorite on the south-side, look to Swisher and Guillen to gel well together and bring back that swagger to the Sox that they have been missing for the past two seasons.  With so many changes this season, don’t count out the Sox, expect the unexpected in 2008.

This is a pretty good writeup on White Sox pitching prospect Lance Broadway.  Scott Merkin discusses the White Sox top 2005 draft pick’s chances of breaking into the rotation in 2008.  It’s nice that the front office is continually able to produce quality prospects.

The story also talked about how the White Sox WERE going to pick up Mark Buehrle’s option.  I kind of thought he’d be the odd man out, but Merkin speculates that it could be any of last year’s five starters who gets dealt.

September 26, 1906 at Southside Park
White Sox 2, Americans 0  (87-55)

The White Sox extended their American League lead to two games with third straight win over the Boston Americans.  Ed Walsh pitched another shutout and he gave up only six hits in an outstanding pitching performance.

George Davis had the only extra base hit of the game.  He doubled and scored a run.  George Rohe singled twice in the win.

September 11, 1906 at South Side Park
Browns 7, White Sox 3  (76-51)

The White Sox were blown out by the St. Louis Browns for their second straight loss.  Frank Owen gave up three runs in the first inning and he was pulled after that in favor of Frank Smith. 

The White Sox scored two of their three runs in the first inning.  Ed Hahn singled twice and scored to lead the White Sox with the bats.

Sometime the goal isn’t to win, it’s to lose less.  The White Sox dropped two of three to the Twins and they’re causing us problems by staying in the mix.  The good news is, the Tigers are faltering, so at the end of the day, there could be room for both of us.  Needless to say, this is a huge series this week.

Friday’s game was kind of ugly.  The White Sox could never get on track and while they tied it at 3-3 in the sixth, the Twins didn’t let that sit for long.  Jermaine Dye hit homerun number 33 and he drove in two runs.  FreddY Garcia took the loss and gave up five runs on ten hits in 6 1/3 innings of work.  Final was 7-3.

On Friday, the White Sox ran into Johan Santana.  Between that a Twins four run third inning, the White Sox couldn’t muster a come back.  Javier Vazquez dropped to 11-8 and in seven mediocre innings.  Tad Iguchi had two hits and an RBI.

Saturday’s win was bigger then it might have appeared.  Had we lost that game, we would be on the outside looking at the Wild Card.  Garland gave up only one unearned run on five hits in 7 2/3 innings.  Rob Mackowiak homered while Jim Thome doubled twice and scored twice.

Yesterday, the White Sox ran into Johan Santana.  Between that a Twins four run third inning, the White Sox couldn’t muster a come back.  Javier Vazquez dropped to 11-8 and in seven mediocre innings.  Tad Iguchi had two hits and an RBI.

The Tigers still have a nice lead, so a 2-2 split won’t cut it here.  If we’re going to make some progress, we need three of four.  And hopefully while we do that, the Twins hit the skids as well and give us some breathing room.

August 1, 1906 at South Side Park
Americans 3, White Sox 1  (50-43)

The White Sox four game winning streak came to an end at the hands of the Boston Americans.  Ed Walsh threw a solid game and gave up three runs on ten hits but he was given only one run to work with by the offense.

Lee Tannehill scored the only run for the White Sox.  He tripled and scored in the third inning.

July 4, 1906 at South Side Park
Browns 3, White Sox 0  (36-31)

The White Sox were shutout in the first game of their second straight doubleheader.  Browns starter Barney Pelty held the White Sox to a single hit as the White Sox were completely shut down.

Roy Patterson threw a decent game but it went to waste because of yet another pathetic performance by the White Sox hitters.  He gave up three runs on only four hits and two walks with two strikeouts in eight innings.

July 4, 1906 at South Side Park
White Sox 5, Browns 1  (37-31)

The White Sox finished up their four game series with a win over the Browns.  Nick Altrock picked up the win and he gave up a single run on eight hits.

The game was close through six innings when the White Sox opened the game up.  A three run seventh put the game away but prior to the White Sox had a 1-0 lead for most of the game.

I guess I can accept two of three.  And the Tigers took two of three against the Pirates so here it is, Sunday night, and we’re two and a half games back.  If the Yankees lose tonight (they’re just starting), we’ll have a seven game lead over them for the Wild Card.  That’s pretty substantial. 

Juan Uribe has simply been on fire and he had an outstanding series.  On Friday, he was a triple short of the cycle and he drove in five runs.  Jon Garland had a solid start and he gave up two runs on seven hits through six innings of work.  I didn’t see the game, but Paul Konerko stole his first base since 2004 and it was only one of five in his career.

Saturday, A.J. Pierzynski came up huge.  His three run homerun in the top of the ninth gave the White Sox an 8-6 lead and that ended up being the final.  Jim Thome, Joe Crede and Paul Konerko also homered in the game.  Neal Cotts picked up the win and Bobby Jenks saved his 25th game of the season.

Today’s game was rather odd with the wind blowing out.  The White Sox and Mets combined to score 26 runs and they had 34 hits in a slugfest.  Juan Uribe drove in four more runs and Scott Podsednik and Jermaine Dye scored twice.  Mark Buehrle gave up ten earned runs (11 total) through five innings of work. 

Next up is a four game series at home against the Orioles.  Baltimore is just ahead of the last place Devil Rays in the AL East and it’d be nice to for the White Sox to bury them and maybe head into the All Star break in first place.

The White Sox keep on winning as do the Tigers.  And the more this goes one, the more it looks like the Tigers and White Sox will be competing for who they get to play in the first round more then they’ll be playing for a playoff spot.  Regardless, the Astros came to town and the White Sox took care of business, taking two of three in their weekend series.

On Friday, a grand slam by Scott Podsednik gave the White Sox a 6-0 lead and Jose Contreras kept his winning streak alive.  Contreras is now 8-0 and he gave up four runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings.  The final was 7-4.  Joe Crede has two hits and three runs in the game.

Saturday was a fun game.  The White Sox were down 5-1 and they scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh on Joe Crede’s grand slam to tie the game up.  The game went into extra frames and then in the tenth, Alex Cintron singled home Rob Mackowiak to win the game.  Matt Thorton picked up the win in the 6-5 win after pitching 2 1/3 shutout innings to close out the game.

Last night’s game started out as a blow out before the White Sox stormed back.  Down 9-1, the White Sox scored one in the seventh, three in the eighth and then four in the ninth (another grand slam, this time by Tad Iguchi) to tie the game up.  This time though, the Astros came out on top and they scored a run in the thirteenth to put the game away.  Javier Vazquez was roughed up and Iguchi finished the game with two homeruns and seven RBIs (his three run shot in the eighth accounted for those three runs).

Next up is the lowly Pirates, who have dropped eleven straight games.  We’re still a game and a half back of the Tigers, who swept the Cardinals this weekend.  And not that I’m settling for it right now, but the Sox have a nice, comfy six game lead for the Wild Card so there’s always that to fall back on.

What a beatdown.  The Cardinals, despite their injuries, are the cream of the crop over in the National League.  They came to the south side and left with their tails between their legs.

On Tuesday, the White Sox scored eleven runs in the third inning and proceeded to score 20 runs on 24 hits in the entire game.  Joe Crede hit two homeruns and he was one of four different players to drive in three runs.  He also scored four times.  Every White Sox starter had at least one hit and one run and ironically the only starter who didn’t drive in a run was Jim Thome.  Javier Vazquez cruised to an easy win and he’s now 8-4.  He gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts in seven innings.

Of course David Riske and Ozzie Guillen were kicked out of the game after Riske beaned Duncan.  This was after Sidney Ponson hit both Brian Anderson and Pablo Ozuna.

The offensive onslaught continued on Wednesday.  This time it took three different innings to get to ten runs, but by the end of three, the Sox had a 10-3 lead.  The final tally put them at thirteen runs on sixteen hits.  Joe Crede homered again while Jim Thome hit his 23rd .  Paul Konerko drove in four runs and Tad Iguchi knocked in three.  This time it was Buehrle who benefited from the run productoin.  He also improved to 8-4 and he gave up four runs on ten hits with five strikeouts in seven innings.

Yesterday was the antithesis of the previous two games.  The White Sox managed only a single hit in the entire game and fortunately it was a solo homerun by Thome.  Freddy Garcia and Bobby Jenks combined to throw a four hit shutout.

Finally we’re knocking on the Tigers door.  We’ll also miss Roger Clemens as the White Sox play a rematch in what was last year’s World Series because the Astros come to town for the weekend series. 

Anytime you head out on the road and take three of four games, it’s a solid series.  Unfortunately, the Tigers won their four game series with the Devil Rays, so we’re right back to that game and a half deficit that we had after the weekend.

On Monday, Jose Contreras won his fifteenth game in a row and improved to 7-0.  He gave up three runs but he struck out eleven.  A.J. Pierzynski hit a homerun and drove in two runs while Jim Thome scored twice.

Not to be outdone, Jon Garland picked up the hitting on Tuesday with one his best outings of the year.  The final was 5-2 and Garland improved to 5-3 on the season.  Not bad for a guy with a 6.01 ERA.  Paul Konerko did the bulk of the damage with a three run homerun and Thome scored two more times.

Wednesday was a nasty loss.  Vicente Padilla completely shutdown the White Sox, who managed only four hits the entire game.  Joe Crede had a tough game with three strikeouts.  That was only the second time all season he struck out at least twice in a game.

The Sox got back on track yesterday.  They jumped out to a 5-0 lead after four and Mark Buehrle threw eight solid innings to pick up his seventh win.  Juan Uribe and Jim Thome both homered and Pablo Ozuna had three hits and two RBIs.

The Sox head to Cincinnati for a three game series.  At this point, if we win, things will take care of itself so that’s all I ask.

June 6, 1906 at South Side Park

White Sox 4, Athletics 3  (19-21)

The White Sox won their third straight and finished a sweep over the Athletics in a tight contest.  The A’s led for most of the game, but the White Sox finally tied it up with a single run in the seventh, and then they took the lead with two runs in the eighth.

Frank Owen yielded three runs on nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  The White Sox managed only six hits but they made their baserunners count.  The White Sox scored both of their eighth inning runs on a throwing error by Athletic’s third baseman Art Brouthers and Billy Sullivan’s single in the seventh scored Jiggs Donahue to tie the game up.

June 5, 1906 at South Side Park

White Sox 7, Athletics 1  (18-21)

The White sox turned on the offense as they blew out the A’s 7-1.  Ed Hahn had the unusual box score as he went zero for one with four walks and two runs.  He absolutely did the job of the leadoff man.

Lee Tannehill went three for four with a run and Frank Isbell had a single, a double and a run.  Doc White picked up the win and gave up only a single hit.  Bris Lord broke up his no hitter in seventh inning with a single left center.

June 4, 1906 at Southside Park

White Sox 3, Athletics 2  (17-21)

Roy Patterson outdueled Athletic’s starter Eddie Plank as the White Sox topped last year’s American League champs.  The White Sox pulled ahead with two runs in the sixth inning to put them ahead for good, 3-2.

Ed Hahn had a solid game.  He went two for three with a walk and a run.  Frank Isbell went two for four with a triple and a run and Jiggs Donahue had two hits.

Patterson gave up two runs on eight hits and no walks with six strike outs.

June 2, 1906 at Southside Park 

White Sox 6, Naps 1  (16-20)

Frank Owen gave up one run on only six hits as he pitched the White Sox to the win.  Fielder Jones and Frank Isbell both scored two runs and all ten of the White Sox hits were singles.

The win snapped a three game losing streak.  Owen struck out two and yielded only one walk.