(l-r) Former White Sox player Jason Frasor and current relievers Will Ohman and Jesse Crain
Sometimes, I wonder if guys who are not stars on teams have to find ways to distinguish themselves. Some players take to twitter to become fan favorites. Others quietly go about their business as athletes and then people who are just casual fans might notice them.
Happy New Year my lovelies! It is 2012 already and that means spring training is that much closer. I hope you had a wonderful and safe new year’s celebration. Additionally, you are recovered from all the partying you may or may not have done.
Still not much in the way of huge news, but there are a few tidbits for you below.
Jason Frasor, we hardly knew ye. He was traded back to the Blue Jays for some pitching prospects. Perhaps that is why his $3.75M option was picked up early in the off season. A move that was curious to say the least.
Is another Cuban player on the Sox radar? Perhaps as there is speculation the Sox may enter the bidding for Yoenis Cespedes » Continue reading “South Side Hits: January 2, 2012 White Sox Stuff”
First, a GINORMOUS Congratulations to Mark Buehrle who picked up his third consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove for the 2o11 season. If you have watched Mark at all, you know the man has a wicked pick off move as well as being incredibly good at fielding his position as a pitcher.
We still don’t know whether Mark will be back at 35th & Shields, but we can still hope for it to happen. Now for the news you might have missed with additional drama continuing on the the north side of town.
Chris Jaffe at The Hardball Times has a great piece on Tony La Russa‘s career. It includes his playing career as well as managerial. Most of the managerial stuff has to do with the St. Louis Cardinals, but
Bacon is in a position right now he’s probably tired of seeing: looking for a bounce back year at the dish.
You know that the Field of Dreams sold. Now you can read about the Chicago couple who purchased the property. » Continue reading “South Side Hits: November 3, 2011 White Sox News”
Welcome to November 1, 2011 folks. Hard to believe that we are getting so close to the end of the year. Of course, that also means we are that much closer to the 2012 baseball season. First things first though. We have to find out who the 2012 White Sox will be. We’re getting closer though. Yesterday, the rest of Robin Ventura’s coaching staff was named.
From the press release, Jeff Manto is the hitting coach, Mark Parent will be the bench coach and Joe McEwing will be the third base coach. All of these guys have some coaching experience, but not at the major league level. Given the experience level, it seems fairly clear that the direction of the team is to try to be “young” while still saddled with some veterans that if they could be moved, those guys would be out of here.
I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, to go young. However, I still am leary of the general manager trying to use this manager and his coaching staff as a shield for his failures and missteps the past few seasons. I hope Ken is smart enough to own up to his mistakes and is truly trying to fix them, but not by trying to outspend. I also hope there is a serious look at the minor league system and perhaps some re-evaluating of how things are being done. Just once I’d like to see a player drafted by him actually developed and utilized BY THE WHITE SOX instead of shipped off elsewhere. » Continue reading “Happenings At 35th & Shields: Welcome To November White Sox Fans!”
This is it. The last stand. The last three games before we no longer see this same collective group of guys on the field. It almost seems fitting that the final team the blow into US Cellular Field is one that hasn’t been here this season. Here is what you need to know as it pertains to the Toronto Blue Jays visiting for the first and only time during the 2011 season.
2011 season records: White Sox 77-82, 3rd in AL Central. Blue Jays 80-79, 4th in AL East. Season Series: 1-3
2010 series record: 3-5
All-time record: 161-186 (The White Sox are 86-83 at home against the Blue Jays)
The following pitchers are expected to start in the three games to end the season:
Dylan Axelrod: 0-0, 4.26 ERA, 13K v. Dustin McGowan: 0-1, 6.35 ERA, 17K
Mark Buehrle: 12-9, 3.72 ERA, 103K v. Henderson Alvarez: 1-2, 3.65 ERA, 34K
Philip Humber: 9-9, 3.86 ERA, 107K v. Brandon Morrow: 11-11, 4.78 ERA, 196K
Monday and Tuesday’s games begin at 7:10 pm. Wednesday’s game is at 1:10 pm. All Times CDT. » Continue reading “Series Preview: White Sox v Blue Jays”
Tragic Number: Zero
With their 7-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals, the White Sox were officially eliminated from the AL Central race. Technically they’re still in the wild card race with an elimination number of one, but we all know the likelihood of that happening.
Mark Buehrle struggled again in Kansas City. In 6.1 innings, he gave up seven runs, six of which were earned. He gave up two walks and 15 hits, two of which were home runs. Buehrle definitely did not have himself a good game. Jason Frasor came on to finish the seventh and only gave up a walk. Josh Kinney came on for the eighth and gave up a walk and a hit.
Sox hitting was relatively…well, it wasn’t fabulous. They racked up two runs on nine hits and four walks. Alexei Ramirez and Tyler Flowers each picked up a walk while Gordon Beckham drew two. Ramirez also went 2-for-3. Juan Pierre, Paul Konerko, Alex Rios, and Beckham all picked up one hit, but it was AJ Pierzynski who had the best night at the plate, going 3-for-4. Ramirez and Flowers were the two who managed to push a run across the plate.
Although they were officially eliminated, the Sox still have second place to play for. And pride. Always play for pride. Phil Humber will face Felipe Paulino tomorrow night.
Oh White Sox. You tease and tease all season and then completely screw yourselves over. Tonight was no different as Justin Verlander picked up his 23rd win of the season as the Tigers beat the White Sox 5-0.
Gavin Floyd had another rough outing. He lasted 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on four hits and four walks. He struck out three but gave up the go-ahead home run to Victor Martinez. It happened to be a three-run home run unfortunately. Matt Thornton came on for an inning and gave up another run on a hit. Jason Frasor pitched 1.2 innings and gave up one hit while Addison Reed pitched the ninth and gave up a hit and a walk. The bullpen has been relatively effective recently with only a few blemishes.
The White Sox only picked up seven hits (but so did the Tigers). They also drew four walks (the Tigers had five). So the offenses weren’t too different. Except in their effectiveness. Juan Pierre, AJ Pierzynski, Tyler Flowers, and Brent Morel each picked up one hit. Morel drew two walks while Dayan Viciedo and Alejandro De Aza each drew one. The surprise (at least for me) of the game was Alex Rios who went 3-for-4. He has now brought his average up to a whopping .224.
The Sox hope to end their skid tomorrow night as Dylan Axelrod makes his first Major League start against Brad Penny. Axelrod threw two scoreless innings on September 7. Good luck, kid. Here’s hoping the offense backs you up.
The White Sox looked for a series win against the Cleveland Indians on Sunday. Prior to the game, the White Sox had a 15-minute ceremony honoring military members, police officers, fire fighters, United and American Airlines pilots and flight attendants, and the lives lost ten years ago during the September 11 attacks. After the moving ceremony, the White Sox took to the field. They didn’t have the greatest game and lost 7-3.
Sox pitchers didn’t have the greatest game. Zach Stewart picked up the loss after giving up three runs in five innings pitched. He gave up sevens hits and walked two while striking out four. Will Ohman pitched 0.1 innings, giving up a home run and one other hit. Jason Frasor came out and had a good game. He pitched 1.2 innings, gave up one hit, walked one and struck out one.
Matt Thornton pitched the eighth and didn’t have a great game. In one inning of work, he gave up three runs on four hits and a walk. Addison Reed pitched a perfect ninth, striking out one.
The Sox didn’t do much hitting today. They scored three runs on seven hits. Juan Pierre, Alexei Ramirez, and Alejandro De Aza each picked up two hits while Dayan Viciedo picked up one. Pierre, Ramirez, and Gordon Beckham each batted in one of the runs. On the plus side, they picked up five walks, two from Brent Morel, and Paul Konerko and AJ Pierzynski were the only two batters to strike out.
The first-place Tigers come to town for a three-game set. John Danks faces Rick Porcello tomorrow night at US Cellular Field.
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.
Oh White Sox. I don’t know what is up with you. In his worst start in months, Mark Buehrle threw 114 pitches in just six innings before the bullpen took over in the Sox loss to the Angels.
Buehrle had a rough start. In the first inning, the Angels scored an unearned run, as the Sox committed two errors. First was Alexei Ramirez’s error that allowed Peter Bourjos to reach first. He came around to score on Torii Hunter’s single and an error by Juan Pierre. Buehrle lasted six innings and allowed a run in each of the first four innings. The last three runs were earned, and he was pulled.
Jesse Crain came on for 1.1 innings. He only allowed one hit before being replaced by Will Ohman. Ohman faced Bobby Abreu, threw one pitch, and got him to fly out to Alex Rios. Jason Frasor came on, and that’s when the tides turned.
» Continue reading “PK 2K Not Quite Enough”
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