It used to be that when the Sox would be facing the Twins, I could easily make fun of how bad the Twins were playing. Now, not so much. In any event, after an abysmal homestand, here is what you need to know for the upcoming road trip the White Sox are embarking upon:

2013 Record: White Sox 15-20, 5th in AL Central. Twins: 17-17, 4th in AL Central

2013 Series Record: 2-0

2012 Series Record: 14-4

All-time Series Record: 385-420 (The Sox are 175-226 at Minnesota against the Twins)

The following pitchers are expected to start the three games:

Hector Santiago: 1-1, 1.69 ERA, 25K vs. Pedro Hernandez: 1-0, 5.6 ERA, 11K

Jake Peavy: 4-1, 3.03 ERA, 45K vs. Kevin Correia: 4-2, 3.0 ERA, 20K

Dylan Axelrod: 0-3, 4.17 ERA, 22K vs. Mike Pelfrey: 3-3, 6.03 ERA, 15K

Monday and Tuesday’s games begin at 7:10 pm. Wednesday’s game starts at 1:10 pm and is the free MLB dot TV game of the day. All times CDT. » Continue reading “To The North! Series Preview: White Sox At Twins”

Well, you can’t win them all, I guess. At least not in baseball. Although that would be awesome if you could.

The Sox dropped the finale to the Orioles this afternoon. Gavin Floyd struggled a little bit this afternoon, which he hasn’t really done in his career versus the Orioles. In fact, Floyd is usually incredibly good against this team. But he struggled today, and the offense couldn’t pick him up.

But Sox fans have come to expect that Floyd isn’t at his finest in April and May. In April, he has a 5.54 career ERA with a 12-11 record after today’s loss. In May, he has a 5.11 ERA and a 9-12 record. So Floyd isn’t stellar.

The offense almost got Floyd off the hook. They staged a bit of a comeback in the ninth, but a called third strike to Alex Rios ended the rally, with the Orioles winning 5-3.

» Continue reading “Floyd Flops”

Remember when we traded for Jake Peavy while he was injured? That was fun. Peavy was broken and stayed broken for a long time. Sox fans were looking for that great pitcher that we thought we were getting.

It seems like that pitcher has come back. Yes, I know it’s still April and anything can happen. But Peavy looks good. In Wednesday’s game, he pitched seven innings and only gave up one run while striking out eight. Not bad for someone who detached a muscle.

Offensively, the Sox exploded tonight. Adam Dunn looked great tonight. He went 1-for-2 with a strikeout and three walks. That one hit was a key hit. In the sixth inning, Tommy Hunter loaded the bases. Orioles manager Buck Showalter pulled Hunter and replaced him with Troy Patton with two outs in the inning. With a full count from Patton, Dunn doubled to left and cleared the bases, putting the Sox up 8-1 which would be the final score.

You know who else looked fantastic again? » Continue reading “Offense Explodes in Win”

It was cold and windy in Chicago. Typical April weather. Maybe that affected the way the White Sox played. I know it affected my viewing experience.

I got to go to the game tonight. I’m always in a good mood at White Sox games, win or lose. Obviously I’d prefer wins, but I take what I can get. At least I’m at the park.

My body sure knew it was cold. I have chronic knee problems, and the right knee is worse than the left due to an incident at my job. Maybe Hector Santiago’s body knew it was cold when he gave up those two home runs in the ninth to tie the game at four apiece.

I also have carpal tunnel and tendinitis in both wrists which will make my career in the journalism field oh so fun. My left wrist is still stiff from the cold, and I left the ballpark over two hours ago. Maybe the cold was affecting Zach Stewart too since he looked awful in the tenth. He even looked awful warming up.

I was lucky enough to sit by the bullpen. When I say “by the bullpen,” I mean “practically in the bullpen.” My seat was the first row after the Sox bullpen. So I got to watch all the Sox pitchers warm up. I even got to take a few up-close pictures of my favorite player since AJ Pierzynski was RIGHT THERE. » Continue reading “Epic Meltdown in 3…2…1…”

The big news of the previous day? Mark Buehrle and the White Sox have officially parted ways. I was expecting this and had even prepared for it. Still sucks that he is gone, but given what he was looking for, what the Sox had in terms of money and the fact that KW used that dirty word, well . . .

In any event, here are some of the stories you might have missed while you were possibly dealing with the grief of the new reality that Mark is not a member of the White Sox anymore.

Robin Ventura gave an interview where he talked about a number of things.

I’ve been talking about the dirty R word that Ken Williams has never used in his tenure as White Sox GM. That is until now.

Ron Gardenhire says Ozzie leaving is kind of . . . well you should read it.

» Continue reading “South Side Hits: December 8, 2011 White Sox Links”

Before we get to the recap, everyone congratulate Cheryl for running the Rock ‘N Roll Half Marathon today. Yay Cheryl!

The Sox salvaged the series! They took two of three from the Royals while gaining a game on the Tigers who lost to Baltimore today. John Danks took a no-hitter into the sixth as the Sox beat the Royals 4-2.

» Continue reading “Win a Game, Gain Some Ground”

The White Sox are on a roll. They won their sixth game on this road trip, beating the Orioles 6-3 tonight. Mark Buehrle pitched spectacularly, and the offense scored early.

Buehrle pitched an amazing game tonight. He went eight innings and only gave up three runs while striking out six and only giving up eight hits. In addition to picking up the win, Buehrle has allowed three runs or fewer in 18 consecutive starts, which ties the club record. Sergio Santos picked up his 25th save of the season. He also set the new MLB record for scoreless road appearances to start the season at 25, breaking the one Mariano Rivera set in 2005. » Continue reading “Records Galore”

Yay Morel-mushroom puns!

The White Sox picked up their longest win streak of the season when they beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 tonight at Camden Yards. This five-game winning streak is the longest of the season, and the Sox won by a run in back-to-back games in Baltimore.

Gavin Floyd pitched a good 6.2 innings, drastically better than his start against the Yankees last Wednesday. He gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk. After giving up three runs in the fifth, Floyd got into a little trouble again in the seventh. With Felix Pie, the tying run, on third with two outs, Ozzie called on Will Ohman to get out Nick Markakis. He struck him out, and the Sox finished the inning unscathed.
» Continue reading “Not Mush-Room For Error”

Yes, you read that correctly.

The White Sox managed to sweep the Twins this afternoon. Jake Peavy took to the mound as an ace. He brought the pitching, and the offense showed up in rare form.

Peavy was back and was amazing this game. He pitched eight shutout innings and only allowed three hits. He struck out six batters and only threw 108 pitches, 72 for strikes. Matt Thornton came on in relief and pitched the ninth, allowing one hit. The Twins finished with four hits and an error.

The Sox hit pretty well today. The team had a total of 12 hits, and none of the starters went hitless. Carlos Quentin, Alex Rios, and Brent Lillibridge each had two hits while Alexei Ramirez and Rios each had two RBIs. Paul Konerko, Lillibridge, and Brent Morel each contributed an RBI in the Sox 7-0 win over the Twins. Lillibridge, Konerko, Ramirez, and Rios all homered in the game as well.

Baltimore is up next, and John Danks will face Jeremy Guthrie. Both pitchers enter with a personal losing record, Danks at 4-9 and Guthrie at 5-15. The Sox look for another sweep in this four-game set at Camden Yards.

The White Sox looked to take three of four games from the Yankees. However, behind Edwin Jackson’s atrocious pitching, the Sox were blown out, 12-3.

Jackson lasted 4.0+ innings and did NOT pitch well at all. In those innings, he gave up four hits and five walks. Four of those walks came in the third inning, two of them came around to score.
» Continue reading “That Was Embarrassing”