It is official now. Both the Indians and Twins have been eliminated from post season play. But of course, that is really not the big news of the day. No, that is that the Sox won and for the moment have a 1.5 game lead over the Tigers who will begin play against the Indians shortly. » Continue reading “The High Wire: White Sox 5 Twins 3″

The White Sox finished their set against the Twins this afternoon. I was lucky enough to be in attendance for my last Sox game of the season. I always hope the Sox will pick up a win, but I was a little worried about them after last night’s debacle which I don’t want to talk about anymore. Luckily for me and the people I was with, they pulled out a 6-2 win! » Continue reading “Alex Rios is the Offense”

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”

This was a homer happy game, and it…was…AWESOME.

Between the two teams, there were eight home runs hit tonight, as the Sox beat the Twins 11-8. The Sox took two out of three and sit 3.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians who come to town this weekend.

Let’s talk pitching before I get into the home run goodness. » Continue reading “Home Run Happy!”

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”

Just a couple of more days. Then things count for real. While we have all been paying attention to the spring somewhat, there is an important thing to consider. What should we expect with the other teams in the division.

Some of us are starting to drink that delicious Kool-Aid the White Sox have been serving up the past couple of weeks. I wonder if it will continue. Since you might not be super familiar with the other teams in the division (other than disliking or even hating them), here are things that Jen who writes Drinking The Royals Blue Aid as to say about the Royals and Jessica who writes Motown Lowdown has to say about the Tigers this season.

On the KC Royals:

1) Pitching: If the Royals are to improve and contend, pitching will be key.

2) Will the young players (ie Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Danny Duffy, and the bullpen) build on their rookie seasons or will they deal with the dreaded “sophomore slump”?

3) Were the 2011 seasons for Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur career years or can they duplicate them?

And in combining all three, Kansas City is hosting the All-Star Game. Can they get more than one All-Star? » Continue reading “What Is In Store for the 2012 Chicago White Sox?”

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”

Happy Super Bowl Sunday. I can’t say I really have a team I am rooting for as my team failed to make a repeat performance. No matter as I am sure I will tune in for some time before I decide I just HAVE to watch my latest British obsession, Downton Abbey. If you haven’t been sucked into this British Drama, you are lucky. I find myself having to watch each episode twice because it is that good.

In any event, there is still not much going on at 35th & Shields this off season. THANK GOODNESS the 23rd is coming up soon. At least then we will have thing to discuss. In the meantime, here are a few stories worth your time to read so you stay on top of the Sox. Sure, the off season has been mostly uneventful, but there are a few things to take notice of. » Continue reading “South Side Hits: February 5, 2012″

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”

Wouldn't it be awesome to see this sort of thing all season?

Hello lovelies! Hope you had a great weekend. If you are in the Chicago area, hopefully the weather over the weekend (beginning last Thursday) didn’t stress you out. And if you are in other parts of the country dealing with rain and snow, sorry. I hope it wasn’t too much of a hassle for you and didn’t ruin your weekend.

We are now just a few days away from SoxFest 2012! It should be a good time this weekend. If you will be there, be sure to come find me as I will be there both Saturday and Sunday. If you can’t attend, check out my twitter both days as I plan to live-tweet the happenings. » Continue reading “South Side Hits: January 23, 2012 White Sox Links”