Interleague plague is over. Fittingly, the White Sox go back to “normal” play by facing a division rival, the Minnesota Twins. Here is what to know as the White Sox embark on a seven-game, seven-day road trip:

2012 Record: White Sox 38-34, 1st in AL Central. Twins 29-42, 5th in AL Central

2012 Season Series Record: 2-1

All-time Series Record: 371-416 (The Sox are 168-224 at Minnesota)

The following pitchers are expected to start in the three games:

Jake Peavy: 6-3, 2.74 ERA, 83K v. Francisco Liriano: 1-7, 5.74 ERA, 65K

Gavin Floyd: 5-7, 5.20 ERA, 76K v. Liam Hendricks: 0-4, 7.39 ERA, 17K

Chris Sale: 8-2, 2.24 ERA, 89K v. Nick Blackburn: 4-4, 7.45 ERA, 26K

Monday and Tuesday’s games begin at 7:10 pm. Wednesday’s game is at 1:10 pm. All times CDT.  » Continue reading “To The North! Series Preview: White Sox @ Twins”

Finally, the White Sox will get a chance to see the final division rival in a series. The season is nearly two months old and it seems the only teams the White Sox have played are the Tigers and Indians.

Now we will finally get to see exactly how bad (or perhaps on the verge of resurgence) the Twins are over the next three days. Here is what you should know for the upcoming series.

2012 Record: White Sox 21-21, 2nd in AL Central. Twins: 14-27, 5th in AL Central.

2011 Season Series Record: 9-9

All-Time Series Record: 369-415 (The Sox are 201-192 at home against the Twins)

» Continue reading “The Bad is Coming. Series Preview: White Sox v Twins”

Spring Training is over. Things will matter starting tomorrow. For the Sox, the things that will matter begin on Friday afternoon.

Before spring training really had begun, I made an early prognostication on how the AL Central would look come October. Now that spring is done and the season is about to begin, I thought I would revisit how the standings may look. I knew things could change, but how much still remains to be seen.

In addition to what I think, I also talked to fellow AL Central writers, Jen who writes about the Royals, Jessica who writes about the Tigers and Jen, a contributor here on South Side Hit Girl.

So far, everyone is in agreement that the Tigers are the team to beat. From there, opinions vary a great deal. I think the standings will end up with Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City, Cleveland and Minnesota. The White Sox the past few weeks had me thinking there might be something special happening. » Continue reading “Did Spring Make A Difference In Eventual AL Central Standings?”

The off season is starting to wind down and with the exception of a few moves that other teams made, I’d say this off season has been rather dull. There were a couple of big free agent hitters that had to get new homes and a couple of pitchers needing new homes as well.

The places where those guys landed was rather meh to me. However, the amount of money those guys got to head to new places was ridonkulous. The money that Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder got is . . .  insane. The money C.J. Wilson got was also a bit out there. I should throw Mark Buehrle in that group as well, but given the hometown discounts he gave in the past as well my love for him, I kind of give him a pass.

Sure, the money is insane, those guys got, but the thing that concerns me the most about their deals is the number of years. None of those players is what you’d call a spring chicken. Long term deals always scare me because while a guy has held up well in the past, you just never know what will happen with his health. Not to mention, if that guy does break down fairly early, then you are stuck with a contract that you cannot move. For the team in general, this is one of the worst things that can happen. Especially if you are not very good at developing players from your farm system to use in the majors. CoughtheWhite SoxCough » Continue reading “Early Predictions”

I like a good competition. When my favorite team is fighting against their foes for a championship, I want them to face the best. When they face the best and take down the foe, it feels much sweeter to me. However, last season, I started to see a shift in the competition.

Sox fans don’t really like any of the team teams in the AL Central as a whole. Those teams are the enemy and stand in the way of taking the division crown and ultimately the best prize, the World Series Trophy. There is one team that is generally looked at as eh because they’ve been bad for so long and not a threat, but that could change soon. » Continue reading “A Shell Of Themselves”

If you are surprised by the result, 5-4 final Twins win, then I wonder what baseball team you’ve been watching all season. Figures that the Twins would regain some dignity and avoid another sweep. The fact that Carl Pavano got the win makes it even worse because he tends to throw junk these days. At least the Sox split instead of lost the season series with the Twins this year. Sure, the Twins aren’t the Twins of old, but baby steps in learning to handle that team.

In today’s edition of fun with numbers, we have 13, second, nine, 12, six. Let’s start with 13. 13 is the number of runners the White Sox left on base in the game tonight. There were 12 hits tonight and two errors. You would think someone could have driven in more than just four runs and leaving 13 guys on base. Sadly, the team was hitting only .187 tonight with runners in scoring position.

Second and Nine: That is the place the White Sox still sit. Unfortunately, they are still nine games behind the Tigers. At this point, it’s over. The Sox would have to win pretty much every game and even if the Tigers go .500 the rest of the way, chances are still remote of doing anything more than just going on a little tear too late. There it is again, that too little too late. The Sox are a half game in front of the Indians and this coming weekend could potentially decide if the Sox will stay or go from second place. » Continue reading “Bet You’re Shocked”

Hey look guys! Three in a row against the Twins! That’s pretty exciting, even in this…interesting…season. At least for me.

Jake Peavy got a win, y’all. I know, right?! He went 6.1 innings and didn’t give up a run. He walked two, allowed four hits, and struck out a season-high nine batters. Well played, Peavy. Will Ohman gave up a hit without recording an out before Ozzie pulled him for Jason Frasor. He pitched 0.2 innings, gave up a hit and struck out one. Matt Thornton pitched a perfect eighth and struck out two, and Sergio Santos picked up his 29th save by striking out two in a perfect ninth.

Sox hitters did OK tonight. Adam Dunn walked in the second. After moving to second on a Tyler Flowers ground out, he scored from second…FROM SECOND…on a single by Alejandro De Aza who was thrown out at second on the play to end the inning. Not too shabby, Dunn. Alex Rios put the Sox on the board again in the fourth with a solo home run to left. De Aza got to work again in the fifth. To lead off the inning, he hit a triple to right and scored on a Brent Morel single to give the Sox a 3-0 lead.

The Sox look to complete the sweep tomorrow night. John Danks looks for his seventh win while Carl Pavano looks for his eighth. The Sox sit eight games back of the Tigers but are in second place in the division.

The White Sox have WON A SERIES AGAINST THE BOOGEY MAN! Zack Stewart attacked hitters. Jason Frasor has won over fans getting huge outs when it is almost a matter of life or death. Alejandro De Aza getting on base consistently. Alex Rios making contact and there not being an out following. (Where has this Rios been???) Juan Pierre seven-game hit streak.

You read that right, folks. The new guys and some regular bums came through tonight to help the White Sox win 6-1 over the Twins. Oh and let me repeat, WON A SERIES AGAINST THE BOOGEY MAN!

Early on this game was a bit of a pitcher’s duel. Odd to say with a guy like Carl Pavano who generally throws soft junk, but he’s not had a win for a long time. Last time, in fact was against the White Sox. Too bad (not really) tonight it wasn’t meant to be for him.  » Continue reading “Dare I Say It?”

The day started off with some rain. The tarp was on the field, but eventually nature cooperated, the game began on time and it was a game of looking around the field and wondering who are these people?

However, while looking around wondering who the people wearing the Twins uniform were, there were other, more typical things to consider. Double plays? Check as the Sox hit into 4 of them on the night. Runners (i. e. Michael Cuddyer stealing three bases) running rampant on AJ and Gavin? Check? Fearful play of Minnesota? CHECK!

Something annoying I’ve noticed about the White Sox is that they just cannot stop playing down to competition. Yeah, the Twins are to them as the Yankees are to the Twins. But this ragamuffin bunch should have gotten beaten. » Continue reading “At Least Mother Nature Cooperated”

The White Sox and A’s finished a four-game series at US Cellular Field this afternoon. The Sox had won two of the first three games and looked to take the series while the A’s hoped for a split. The Sox won the game, 5-4.

Sox starter Phil Humber pitched another great game. He pitched seven innings and gave up three runs on four hits and two walks. Humber struck out seven. Matt Thornton came on for the eighth and walked one batter. In the ninth, Sergio Santos came on for the save. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk.

A’s starter Guillermo Moscoso pitched 6.1 innings, allowing five runs, four of which were earned. He gave up six hits and walked four. Overall, not a terrible outing. Grant Balfour came on in relief for 0.2 innings and allowed a hit. In a turn of events, Brian Fuentes came out for the eighth inning and didn’t allow a run or even a hit. Not knocking Fuentes, but that hasn’t been his MO as of late.
» Continue reading “Dunn’s Blast Backs Sox, Error Costs A’s”