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 White Sox as usual decided today would be a great day to mess with the fans again. They played a doubleheader against the Twins and wouldn’t you know they took both games?! It was the first time they did it in Minnesota since 1976. The afternoon game featured a pitching performance by Philip Humber that resembled how he had looked at the beginning of the season.

There wasn’t much offense in the game, but it’s ok as the Sox scored that “one more run than the other team” to take the game. Sure, there were seven hits and Big Donkey did have a strikeout in his first game since August. What else is new? At least they didn’t lose any ground. In the process, they got back to .500. AGAIN. » Continue reading “A Good Day With Near Perfection”

What do you know? An offensive explosion Sunday afternoon to cap off a three-game sweep of the Mariners. The Cuban Tank hits a home run in his season debut and Tyler Flowers hits his first career grand slam. Oh and the Sox are in SECOND PLACE while getting to within six games of Detroit. E number holding steady. Many questions cross Sox fans minds at the moment, but we should all be “happy” about the weekend. Let’s hope this continues through the week.

First up is a brief three-game and visit at home. Here is what to know about what is potentially happening.

2011 Record: White Sox 66-65, 2nd in AL Central. Twins 56-77, 4th in AL Central. Season Series: 4-7

2010 Record: 5-13

All-Time Record: 364-414 (The Sox are 199-191 at home against the Boogey Man)

The following pitchers are expected to start in the series:

Mark Buehrle: 10-6, 3.19 ERA, 88K v. Kevin Slowey: 0-2, 6.84 ERA, 14K

Zach Stewart: 1-3, 4.76 ERA, 26K v. Anthony Swarzak: 3-4, 3.62 ERA, 34K

Jake Peavy: 6-6, 4.93 ERA, 82K v. Scott Diamond: 0-2, 4.97 ERA, 4K

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

Seven. 27. Those are the numbers the White Sox are facing as they head to Seattle to conclude their brief trip through the West Coast. Still a chance? Sure, but this weekend looks to be make or break. Lose the games and fork / dagger to team and fans. Now we wait with baited breath to see if the upcoming homestand and month of September will be tense because of a battle or laughable because the Sox are just bad who they are. Here is what we can expect this weekend:

2011 Record: White Sox 63-65, 3rd in AL Central. Mariners 56-73, 4th in AL West. Season series: 4-2

2010 Record: 9-1

All-Time series record: 209-183 (The Sox are 87-103 in Seattle)

The following pitchers are expected to start in the series:

Jake Peavy: 5-6, 5.06 ERA, 74K v. Charlie Furbush: 3-5, 4.64 ERA, 37K

John Danks: 5-9, 3.88 ERA, 104K v. Michael Piñeda: 9-7, 3.73 ERA, 148K

Gavin Floyd: 11-10, 4.45 ERA, 117K v. Jason Vargas: 7-11, 4.18 ERA, 102K

Friday and Saturday’s game begins at 9:10 pm, Sunday’s game begins at 3:10 pm. All times CDT.  » Continue reading “Series Preview: White Sox at Mariners”

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?”

Carlos Quentin at the Plate

Dear Carlos Quentin,

White Sox fans really love you right now. Thank you for providing the vast majority of the offense against the Boogey Man Twins. I wish there had been more, but I will always take your two home runs and RBIs in a game to put the Sox up in the first inning and then using the long ball to take the lead. I could do without the getting hit by pitches (21 on the season now), but that did allow for a pitching change. Glen Perkins, who took over for Matt Capps who loaded the bases, threw a wild pitch that helped to get an insurance run.

Mark Buehrle was Mark as usual. He pitched eight strong innings. He did give up three runs in the game, but they were all unearned. Adam Dunn had a ball get past him in the first inning for an error. The Twins did what they do best and scored three runs. Mark is now tied with Dave Lemonds for having 17 consecutive starts where he has given up three earned runs or less. The man is dealing. Another win for him is always nice.  » Continue reading “Offensive Hero”

Admit it White Sox fans. These next three days make you a *little* bit nervous. Sure, the Twins are in the rearview mirror looking to get back in this race and resemble the walking wounded, but you still don’t trust that what should happen will in this series. The White Sox are making their first visit to Target Field this season. Here is what you can expect.

2011 Record: White Sox (33-35; 2nd in AL Central) Twins (26-39; 5th in AL Central) Season Series: 0-2

2010 Series Record: 5-13

All-Time Record: 360-409 (The Sox are 162-221 in Minnesota)

The following pitchers are expected to pitch in the series:

Gavin Floyd: 6-5, 3.89 ERA, 60K v. Carl Pavano: 3-5, 4.54 ERA, 33K

Mark Buehrle: 6-4, 3.95 ERA, 43 K v. Nick Blackburn: 5-4, 3.47 ERA, 46K

Edwin Jackson: 4-5, 4.39 ERA, 65K v. Brian Duensing: 3-6, 4.98 ERA, 48K

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

Yes, the White Sox got some hits today. And they even scored a couple of runs. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to beat the Twins today as they lost by a final score 3-2. With today’s loss, the Sox are firmly planted in the AL Central basement.

The Twins got the scoring going early with a lead-off walk to Denard Span. He was then sacrificed to second base and finally scored on a Jason Kubel RBI single. Yay . In the bottom of the first inning, Juan Pierre ended the hitless streak against the Twins with a single, but he was then promptly picked off base. Yay.  The top of the second inning saw more adventures in Juan-land when Danny Valencia hit what should have been a double. » Continue reading “Hits AND Runs”