May 2009
The Curse Continues
The White Sox had their third opportunity to complete a sweep this week, and the Pale Hose looked at Gavin Floyd to have a strong outing. Floyd struggled in his last few starts, but he came off a gem against the Pirates last Saturday.
The Sox were up against Weaver who has been a Sox killer, but the Sox were able to strike first against the righty in the forth with a sacrifice fly from Konerko. Unfortunately the Sox couldn’t muster any more run support for Floyd, and the Angels were able to place a three spot on the board in the sixth. Floyd made two mistake pitches in the inning, and the Angels hitters didn’t miss the opportunity to drive in some runs.
Eventhough Floyd got the loss, I thought he pitched very well. He went eight innings while surrendering three runs on seven hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts. He went to Ozzie after the seventh, and he asked to stay in and pitch the eighth. Ozzie, being impressed with his righty, left him in, and Floyd had a 1-2-3 inning striking out Abreu and Hunter.
The offense stunk, and I didn’t like their approach against Weaver. Batters didn’t have patience at the plate. There were 1-0, 2-0, first pitch out, counts in which batters freely swung at pitches that kinda made you go, “Huh.”
Beckham Promoted to Triple-A
I wasn’t shocked when Beckham started at third base. Eventhough Ozzie said he wants Beckham to stay in Triple-A for the year, I think Fields is on his last legs as the starting third baseman. If Fields continues to struggle, I think we will see more of Nix / Betemit at third until the White Sox organization feel Beckham is ready for the transition to the MLB.
Quentin Placed on the DL
Quentin was placed on the DL today, and Dewayne Wise was recalled from his rehab assignment from Triple-A.
I am surprised it took the White Sox this long to place CQ on the DL. He should have been on the DL a week or so ago. Hopefully CQ can come back healthy and regain his stroke. His plate discipline hasn’t been good, and he has struggled alot at the plate.
With Wise coming back to the team, it will be interesting to see what Ozzie will do. I assume he will platoon BA with Wise in CF or give Podsednik a blow.
Personally, I think BA is doing alright at the plate, and he is the best defensive outfielder the Sox have. He has been showing better plate discipline, but I didn’t like his approach with Weaver Wednesday. Well, a lot of the offense was first pitch swinging, and it wasn’t paying off for most of them.
Sox Bats Blast Angels at the Big A
The White Sox haven’t been the road warriors this season, and they looked to redeem themselves from letting the Sunday night’s game slip through their fingers. John Danks goes to the mound in search of his forth win of the season, and he will go against Santana. The Pale Hose have lost their last five on the road, and they wanted to come out strong in support of Danks.
If the first inning was any indication of how the game was going to be, no one knew the onslaught the Sox would unleash on the Angels pitching staff. The White Sox opened the frame with four straight hits to lead 1-0, but when the dust settled, the White Sox were leading 3-0. But the inning did have his toll on CQ when he was rounding first base on his double. He heard a pop and started to limp over to second base. He was helped off the field. Word has it that he traveled back to Chicago for treatment, and it is unknown if he will land on the DL.
Podsednik has been on fire at the leadoff spot, and he played a fantastic game going 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Alexei, batting second, came alive going 4-for-4 in his first four at-bats. He finished the night going 4-for-7 with three runs score and three RBIs. JD had a big night as well hitting a three run homer. He ended the night going 2-for-5 with four RBIs and a walk. Thome, the man of the night, also hit a three run homer that surpassed Mike Schmidt on the all-time home run list for thirteenth place. Paulie added to the hit barrage with a solo shot later in the game. Anderson filled in for the ailing Quentin, and he went 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Fields and Getz each had two hits apiece, and AJ had three hits.
It was good to see Alexei really start to break out. It looks as if he is really seeing the ball well. I liked how BA came out and had a good game as a replacement for Carlos. BA needs to continue to have strong games – especially with Wise on his rehab assignment in Triple-A.
Danks battled through six innings. He was roughed up in the first inning for three runs, and he continued to work hard through the next five. He surrendered three runs on four hits with six walks. With the defense and offense behind Danks, he managed to get the win, and it was a hard fought win for for southpaw. Carrasco pitched two innings of relief with Jimmy Gobbles pitching a solid ninth who dropped his ERA by a few runs.
With the way Danks started, it looked to be a game in which either team could win. Danks settled in over the course of his six innings pitched, and he was able to trust in his defense and offense. It was a great win to kick off this road trip, and it was a very nice win to wash out that nasty loss Sunday.
Jenks Spoils Sox Chance to Sweep
It was a game the Sox were cruising until they hit a speed bump in the bottom of the ninth. The White Sox defense was the savior for Buehrle who gave up ten plus hits over six innings. It was a game that you could sense that the Pirates were one hit away from breaking the game open, and they got that chance in the bottom of the ninth off of Bobby Jenks.
The Pirates got within one when Dotel served up a home run in the eighth, but the Sox still had the lead which meant Bobby in the ninth. He was able to get the first two outs, but Jenks was having issues locating his fastball. Wilson tied the game with a solo shot, Morgan doubled, and Young snuck a grounder past a diving Fields for the Pirates to take the lead.
It was a disappointing loss because of how Buehrle battled and the defense was working 150%. For the bullpen to give up three runs as such they did during a weekend in which the pitching staff was on fire, you just need to scratch your head and give it up to fate - or as I like to call the curse. The curse of the sweep. Sox cannot finish off sweeps. Either they struggle throughout the game, a key error, lackluster hitting, or bullpen woes cost Sox opportunities to complete the sweep. The curse is alive. It knows it will bite you at the most dramatic moment. In the case of last nights game, Wilson’s home run and the RBI single to take the lead.
You know closers will blow saves, and it happened to one of the best in the game when Papalbon surrendered a home run. It’s a tough game to lose, but the Sox had a successful homestand. They were 4-2, and the pitching was solid minus Thursday’s game and the bullpen blowing the lead last night.
Brian Anderson had a great game. He smacked his first home run of the season, and he just missed his second one.
Alexei’s defense was the best I’ve seen it this season. He made some key plays that kept the Sox in the game.
Carlos managed a double which lead to BA’s home run. Other than the lone hit by CQ, he is still struggling at the plate.
The Sox need to say focus for they head to LA to play the Angels in which its always a tough series for them.
Honoring America’s Soldiers Past and Present
I would like to take a moment to honor all the men and women of the armed forces that died protecting our nation domestic and abroad.
Richard, Alexei Give White Sox Another Shutout Win
The old saying goes, “You are only as good as your next starting pitcher,” and that saying held true today when Clayton Richard took the mound in search for his first win of the season. He replaced Jose Contreras in the rotation when Contreras requested to be optioned to Triple A to work on his command. Richard’s last outing was a gem in which he went seven inning giving up two runs, one earned.
Richard pitched six solid innings while surrendering four hits and three walks. I thought he mixed his pitches well, and he was able to have hitters chase after his slider that helped him earn a career high eight strikeouts. I like to see a few more solid outings from Richard before I start drinking the special koolaid, but so far his last few outings has really impressed me.
So far, it’s been a great homestand minus the blowup Thursday against the Twins. Back-to-Back shutouts, strong starting pitching, a little small ball, a little long ball, and solid defense.
White Sox struck first when JD eached second base on an error by SS Jack Wilson. Paulie hit a grounder up the middle for the first run playing Dye. Alexei extended the lead when he hit his second home run, a two run shot to left, in as many days. JD rounded the offense when he smacked a hanging curveball into left for his eleventh home run of the season.
Carlos looked like his was pushing himself. He only had one good at-bat in his three attempts. He missed a hanging breaking ball in one at-bat in which he again swung at the first pitch. His last at-bat he finally tried to work the count to no avail. With the weather getting warmer, I hope Carlos can get on track after suffering from his foot ailment for the past few weeks.
I thought Getz hit the ball well. He seemed to be strugging in his last few games, but I thought he had some good at-bats. Fields still looks to be lost at the plate even though he had a single in the game.
Buehrle heads to the mound tomorrow looking for the sweep.
Floyd Blanks Those Pesky Pirates
While Floyd hadn’t won a game since April, the talented right hander looked for his third win of the season. We saw a confident pitcher on the mound last, and Floyd took a no-hitter into the fifth. He limited his walks to only two which plagued Floyd in most of his starts, and he limited the Pirates offense to only two hits. It was his best game of the season by far in which he went deep into the game pitching eight solid innings. His curveball was devestating. It was great for Gavin to be able to get ahead of batters to be able to toss that wicked bender. It was a game that the Sox needed to kick off interleague weekend. To preserve the win, Bobby Jenks saved his tenth game of the season in as many attempts.
The pitching was fantastic, but the offense did just enough to give Floyd the win. I was disappointed in few of the batters pitch selection. For example, Dye had a 1-0 count, and he swung at an off-speed pitch out of the zone for an easy double play kicked off by the pitcher. Dye has been struggling. I still think he isn’t comfortable hitting third. There was some highlights on the offense.
Ramirez was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, key stolen base, and his second home run of the season. Pods was 2-for-4 with an RBI groundout that plated the White Sox first run. I thought BA had some nice at-bats where he tried to work the count.
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