As you’re probably aware by now, the White Sox beat the Twins in the series finale today, 12-5. It was kind of fantastic, if I do say so myself. For all the struggles the Sox had in the Metrodome, they’re having some better luck now that the Twins play in Target Field. Since Target Field opened in 2010, the Sox are 11-10 there.

Chris Sale continued on with his amazing start to the season, picking up his ninth win and dropping his ERA to 2.27. Of his 93 pitches, 64 were for strikes, and Sale only walked one batter. He did give up two runs, one being a homer in the fifth, but he only allowed six hits over seven innings.

» Continue reading “Sale Shines as Sox Score a Dozen”

Success! That is what the Sox have been experiencing of late. A winning homestand last the boys were home. A great road sweep and now it is back home.

This time, let’s hope that the typical that has happened to the Sox doesn’t happen tonight against the Mariners with a letdown. Here is what you might want to know for the upcoming series against the Mariners:

2012 Record: White Sox 29-22, 1st in AL Central. Mariners 23-30, 3rd in AL West

2012 Series Record: 3-0

2011 Series Record: 7-2

All-Time Series Record: 215-183 (The Sox are 120-79 at home against the Mariners)

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

Jake Peavy: 6-1, 3.07 ERA, 64K v. Felix Hernandez: 4-4, 3.17 ERA, 75K

Gavin Floyd: 4-5, 5.02 ERA, 54K v. Hector Noesi: 2-6, 5.01 ERA, 34K

Chris Sale: 6-2, 2.34 ERA, 61K v. Kevin Millwood: 3-4, 3.56 ERA, 42K

Friday’s game is at 7:10 pm, Saturday’s game is at 3:10 pm and Sunday’s game is at 1:10 pm. All times CDT.  » Continue reading “Seeking a New Outcome. Series Preview: White Sox v Mariners”

In yesterday’s game, Jose Quintana and Robin Ventura were ejected by home plate umpire Mark Wegner, prompting an epic rant by Ken “Hawk” Harrelson. In case you didn’t see the video Cheryl linked to yesterday before it was taken down, you can see it here at Deadspin. And in case you missed the backstory, go read Cheryl’s recap.

The ejections and the rant prompted a discussion at a White Sox message board I post at. Well, mainly the rant. The posters at the board are split relatively evenly between those who like Hawk and those who hate him, so what I thought I would be getting is half of the posters applauding the rant and half of them calling for Hawk to be fired.

What I actually got was more people applauding the rant. » Continue reading “You Gotta Be Bleepin’ Me Too, Hawk”

So the White Sox ended up winning by a final of 4-3 over the Rays. The winning streak is now at eight games. The Sox haven’t done that since July of 2010 when they won nine games in a row. But that is all secondary.

The real story of the day was events in the first and fourth inning of the game. In yesterday’s game, AJ Pierzynski had a terrible slide in the game that apparently resulted in a spiking of Ben Zobrist. As I was watching it, it just looked like an incredibly awful slide to break up a double play opportunity. Not like someone intentionally trying to hurt another player. But because AJ is involved, you have to wonder.

Fast forward to today as nothing else happened suspicious in yesterday’s game. Bacon gets hit in the top of the first inning. Nothing happened to any Rays players. Probably because it was the first inning and Bacon wasn’t hurt. Then in the fourth inning, AJ gets hit in the back by Alex Cobb. You might be thinking, um ok why? Is the ball just getting away or is something up.  » Continue reading “The Game Ended Up Secondary As White Sox Sweep Rays”

Hawk Harrelson and his usual broadcast partner Steve Stone

I know you will be shocked by this confession (ok, maybe not if you have read me in the past) I’m about to make but according to a recent project at Fangraphs, Hawk and Stone come in last in their off season ranking. I can’t say I disagree with this too much. Mainly because I am not a fan of Hawk.

There. I said it. I’ve said it before, but in the context of who Hawk was working with (i.e., Tom Paciorek.) However, in looking at things on their own, I am still not a fan.

Why? Because the things that make him enduring to some are what drive me bonkers. He’s a homer for sure. And there is nothing wrong with being a homer. Except for when you are such a homer that you can’t fairly criticize when criticism should be levied.

There is also the seeming dismissiveness of the person in the booth next to Hawk. Sure, Hawk has been around the game of baseball for a VERY long time. So long in fact that you can pick up some interesting history if you can listen long enough to hear it. » Continue reading “Hawk Harrelson as Worst Announcer?”

(l-r) Jeff Manto, Brent Lillibridge, Ken "Hawk" Harrelson, Adam Dunn

Yesterday was day two of SoxFest. It was another fun day. There were moments of testiness as well as some questions that were asked that left me scratching my head. Below are the tweets of the day. There are a couple of gaps. For the first time ever, I ended up in Twitter Jail for tweeting too much in an hour. Fortunately, it only lasted for an hour. If it had gone longer, I am not sure what I would have done. Maybe create an account just for the jail time. In any event, enjoy. I will bring you day three today as well on twitter. As always, if you have any questions, please ask. I know the spelling gets wonky at times so some of the tweets might not make a ton of sense. (Like Ichiro turning into i crap!)

Day Two Tweets: » Continue reading “SoxFest Day Two. A Bit Of Drama”

Opening night is Thursday and Opening Day is Friday! Can you feel the and taste the excitement of getting the 2011 march to the playoffs officially under way? I know I am getting anxious to see the games actually count. In that vain, here are some of the promos that were done for the upcoming season. If you aren’t pumped for Friday, these will definitely get you there. Oh and this is the last monday you will not have a real game to look forward to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7JjqYobGIA » Continue reading “It’s Just Days Away”

It’s Monday. You have to wait until 9 pm tonight to watch / listen to some White Sox baseball. Jake Peavy appears to have suffered a setback in his miraculous recovery from having a completely detached latissimus dorsi muscle. The news of Jake may have you a bit sad, but there are still guys on the team who can take the ball every 5th day to make up for his absence until he can return fully healthy and stay with the team from his return until the end of the season. Oh and the team is 8-14-1, despite an offensive explosion in the game against the Dodgers yesterday. In any event, to get you through the day, enjoy some videos that will hopefully brighten your day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2Vbu3-YBMk

» Continue reading “Cheer Up”