This is awesome.
Much thanks to YouTube user rairjordan and a big hat tip to the fine folks over at Mouthpiece Sports for this incredible trip down memory lane today. I loved it so much I wanted to share it with you all here at MSF.
Michael Jordan. The White Sox. The Cubs. Wrigley Field. Harry Caray. Jordan getting two hits and a couple of RBI. (Video after the jump.)
White Sox rookie 3B Gordon Beckham has put his name front and center in the AL Rookie of the Year discussion by leading all AL rookies in doubles (23), RBIs (52), and extra base hits (34).
He is also dealing with a strained right oblique injury that may threaten his ability to battle Rangers shortshop Elvis Andrus mano-a-mano for the award down the stretch.
The injury forced Beckham to leave Saturday’s game against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning, and was originally called a “stiff back.” As I mentioned in a previous post, all White Sox fans have become conditioned to fear our third baseman and the term “stiff back” being placed anywhere near eachother.
Luckily for Beckham and the White Sox, the injury does not appear serious and his return is likely this week. Most likely, Beckham will return on Wednesday, but the White Sox could hold him out until Friday (with an off day mercifully coming on Thursday).
Scott Merkin wrote about Beckham’s injury today at his White Sox blog “Being Ozzie Guillen” and says that the manager is going to err on the side of caution with his young phenom, but that Guillen also wants Beckham back in the lineup when he is ready to both help the White Sox finish strong in September and compete for the Rookie of the Year.
From Merkin’s article updating the status of Gordon Beckham’s injury:
“I want him to finish strong,” said Guillen of Beckham. “Hopefully he can get what I want him to get, that award. He deserved and earned it. It’s our job to make sure we do the best for him to get it. We’ll talk to (White Sox athletic trainer) Herm (Schneider) about it. It’s a day game today and hopefully the long day he’ll get better.”
Let’s hope the kid can come back and find his hitting stroke again. Â Gordon Beckham struggled out of the gate, then got hot, and has cooled off as of late (7 for his last 36 with only 1 2B). When Beckham was hot, the White Sox were playing their best baseball of the season and threatening the Tigers’ hold on the top spot in the AL Central.
Though another AL Central crown and a return trip to the playoffs seems out of reach for the White Sox in 2009, crazier things have happened. No question, the White Sox need a healthy and hitting Gordon Beckham to have even a prayer of a late September surge.
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* – Gordon Beckham thumbs up photo credit: Michael O’Day via MLB.com
I wrote about a week back regarding the obsessive magnetic attraction that this year’s Chicago White Sox have with .500.
Every time we get a few games over .500, we can’t stand the prosperity and play like the Royals.
And then once the pendulum has swung back, and we’re under .500, and jackass bloggers like myself are acting like the sky is falling, we turn into the Yankees.
Case in point: the last four games.
After dropping what felt like 6,000 games in a row, and essentially falling out of the AL Central race, the White Sox have reeled off the following:
So, in summation, the White Sox had fallen to 64-69 on Tuesday. Now here we sit on Saturday night with the White Sox one game under .500, 6.5 games out of first place, and playing like we all know this club is capable of playing.
Personally, I plan on enjoying it until we get to a few games over .500, and then the fear of an inevitable three- or four-game implosion will overshadow any optimism that builds up. Â It’s just been one of those years.
If the White Sox finish anything other than 81-81 this year, I will be surprised. (And believe me, I hope to be surprised…positively.)
Here’s the thing, as bad as things have seemed this season, the White Sox are not out of it yet. If we just make up one game per week on the Tigers leading up to our final three game set with Detroit from September 25th-27th, we’ll be a home sweep away from being tied for the lead in the division.
A long shot? Sure. But for a veteran club that’s experienced in pressure, pennant-race baseball, it’s not completely outlandish.Â
In other White Sox news, one thing that could make a late-season charge up the AL Central standings more difficult would be for Gordon Beckham to miss any time. The Sox sterling rookie left today’s game in the first inning with back tightness. Though it doesn’t sound serious, I’ve seen no updates on his status moving forward, and White Sox fans have been conditioned to be fearful about back tightness and our third baseman being mentioned in the same sentence.
Perhaps it was just time for a day off. Gordon has played in 81 straight games, counting today’s.
Also, a big congrats to Ozzie Guillen, who won his 500th game as a manager yesterday. Hopefully there are at least 500 more, and then 500 more after that, for Ozzie on the South Side.
Anyway, to close this post, I will just say that even though I’ve said previously that I have essentially given up hope on the White Sox making the playoffs this year, I’m starting to get pulled back in. Impressive four game streaks have a way of doing that.
If we can keep up the good play over the next four at home, and then defy historical trends by playing well out West on a six-game trip to LA and Seattle, I’ll really be excited.
Let’s go Sox. Championships are won in September, and there is still a whole lot of September left.
Below, you will find a screen grab I just took a few minutes ago from chisox.com. Its claims and insinuations are so outlandish that you might think it’s doctored. But rest assured, this is exactly as it appeared to any website visitor as of about 1:45 CT.
Please give me a moment, as I must collect myself — and navigate through the tricky emotional ocean of simultaneously wanted to laugh hysterically and cry plaintively — before I will be able to write anything coherent and worthy of your eyes.
…
Quick! While I’m composing myself, follow this link to purchase your very own 2009 White Sox playoff tickets!
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Seriously? The only explanation I can come up with is that, for some reason, the White Sox are mad at their fans and lashing out. Maybe it’s the poor attendance? Who the hell knows.
But why else would this be the second image in the rotating melange front and center on the White Sox home page?
To go into complete cliche territory here for a second: Playoffs? Are you f%&*$n#g kidding me? Playoffs?
Not in 2009. No sir. Not anymore. No way, how how.
A couple of weeks ago, when the Sox were still hovering a few games over .500 and within a good weekend’s striking distance of Detroit, something like this would be understandable. Get your playoff tickets! Get excited for the stretch run everybody! Jake Peavy! Gordon Beckham! Jake Peavy! Gordon Beckham!
But over our last 11 eleven games, the White Sox have managed to go 2-100. I’m not sure how it’s possible…I know the math doesn’t add up…but it’s true.Â
We’ve lost 100 games in two weeks.
Or does it just feel that way?
If someone gave me truth serum, I would tell them that when I wrote this post six days ago I honestly had not totally given up on the team yet. Part of my motivation in writing it, with the season on the brink of slipping away, was a little reverse psychology. The White Sox always seem to tank whenever I praise them on MSF; I figured by publicly doubting them I could reverse that maddening trend. (I realize this is a ridiculous notion, but I’m obsessed with sports and the White Sox, okay? Give me a break.)
Instead, they’ve lost 75 games in the week since that post was published.
Wait…damnit, sorry…it just feels that way. I know it’s only been 50 losses in the past week.
Playoffs. You have got to be kidding me.
(And by the way, as I write this, Mark Buehrle is being outdueled 2-0 by perennial Sigh Young candidate Brian Duensing. The White Sox are teetering dangerously close to another sweep in the Metrodome. Â Wait…Scott Linebrink just came in. Â Expect a crooked number any second now.)
My apologies for the negativity. You know I don’t like to be this. You know I always look for the positives in everything. But these last two weeks of White Sox baseball easily rank in the top 10 letdowns of my life as a sports fan. It’s all about expectations, and I legitimately expected this team to make it to the playoffs and have a chance to make some noise.
I never expected that we’d be completely and utterly embarrassed like we have been.
Why am I wasting time ranting like this? Â Oh yeah, because the White Sox decided to mock their own fans with their outlandish website claims of playoff tickets even being a remote possibility. And while I actually agree with the moves, based on the team’s performance of late, Ken Williams can gussy up the trades of Jim Thome and Jose Contreras however he wants: he waved the white flag.
Sadly, I don’t blame him. But maybe he should have informed the guy in charge of managing the website.
Damn you, White Sox web admin. Damn you.
Update: My strategy may be working!
Down 2-0 headed into the top of the 9th, the White Sox were facing certain death when Joe Nathan came in to close it out. But a funny, unexpected thing happened…the Sox exploded for two runs!!! Wait…just checked again…now three runs!!! Â No, four! And we knocked Nathan out of the game!
Time for Bobby to come in and close this out. Â Yeeessss!
Maybe my diabolical plot of reverse psychology will work after all. Â So about those playoff tickets…
Update: Sox win! 4-2! Bobby shuts the door in the 9th.
A team-galvanizing win that could harken a turnaround…or just a momentary blip in a September of wasted opportunity? We shall see.
But it does, I’ll admit, feel good to get a comeback win at Minnesota.
Wow.
I was a little out of the loop last night, leaving my computer at the office for the first time in who knows how long and then going to see a movie with the girlfriend. Every now and then it’s good to get away from sports and blogging for a night. Plus, I was dreading the results of the White Sox first game in Minnesota and didn’t want to be put in a bad mood.
Of course, as a proud iPhone owner and MLB At Bat app user, I could not escape finding out about the Sox 4-1 loss to Minnesota — our 9th loss in 11 games — but, and this is the most disheartening part, it didn’t really disappoint me too much because I was expecting it.
What I just saw this morning upon arriving at the office, however, I did not expect. I guess I probably should have.
The White Sox have traded veterans Jim Thome and Jose Contreras to the NL West. Thome goes to the Dodgers and Contreras to Rockies. In return for the players and “cash considerations” (whatever that means), the White Sox received infielder Justin Fuller from the Dodgers and pitcher Brandon Hynick from the Rockies.
Clearly both of these moves were salary dumps by Ken Williams and the first steps in piecing together the 2010 White Sox.
Fuller is a 26-year old “prospect” still mired in A ball. Brandon Hynick, on the other hand, does seem to have a bit of potential. A 24-year old righty, Hynick has had a solid season at AAA: 3.83 ERA and 92/48 K/BB ratio. According to RotoWorld, Hynick could be an effective reliever at the major league level by next year.
But this post isn’t about analyzing two basically nondescript minor leaguers who may or may not ever contribute to the success of White Sox baseball. This post is about saying goodbye to two White Sox veterans who contributed to some really good times during their South Side tenures.
First, Jim Thome.
I was wholeheartedly against the Thome acquisition when it happened. Still hating him from his days in Cleveland, I just could not wrap my mind around rooting for a guy that for so long had been a sworn enemy. Plus, after we tanked in the second half of 2006, and then sucked beyond belief in 2007, I began to believe that by signing Thome and letting Aaron Rowand go the White Sox had somehow cursed themselves.
But finally, late last season, after his home run proved to be the difference in the one-game playoff against the Twins, I fully embraced Thome. I figured a trip to the playoffs was enough to erase whatever curse might have existed.
But like everyone in the White Sox lineup, Thome has struggled in 2009. His home run totals have gone as follows during the previous three seasons: 42-35-34. In this, his fourth season with the White Sox, Thome had only hit 23 before being traded to go along with a .252 average and a .375 OBP that would be one of the lowest of his career.
At 38, Jim Thome clearly was not a part of the White Sox long-term future. With Ken Williams adding so much salary acquiring Alex Rios and Jake Peavy, the writing had been on the wall that Thome would not be a South Sider for long.
And now he is not, heading to the Dodgers to most likely be in the playoffs and contribute as a pinch hitter. Best of luck Jim. I didn’t like you when you arrived in Chicago, but you won me over with your attitude, leadership, and clutch hitting. I’m sure the Dodgers will benefit from your presence.
It is much harder to say goodbye to Jose Contreras.
I know, Contreras has basically been awful this season except for one short stretch after he went to the minors. His numbers on the year: 5-13, 5.42 ERA, 1,448 WHIP. Terrible, awful, putrid…whatever negative adjective you want to put on it, go ahead.
But this is the season I will always remember and appreciate Jose Contreras for: 15-7, 3.61 ERA, 1.231 WHIP in the regular season. 3-1, 33 innings pitched over four sterling starts during the playoffs.
The season, of course, was 2005, when Contreras teamed with Mark Buehrle, Freddy Garcia, El Duque Hernandez, and Jon Garland (who was also traded to the Dodgers last night) to produce perhaps the greatest team playoff starting pitching performance in the history of Major League Baseball.
Maybe I’m overhyping it, but that’s certainly what it felt like.
And isn’t it telling that three of the pitchers from that staff — Garcia, Garland, and Contreras — are past their prime and battling through tough years and injuries, yet they were acquired by contenders for the stretch run? That’s how indelible the memories are of their tremendous performances when it mattered most.
Look, I don’t know exactly why I’ve always like Jose Contreras so much. For his White Sox career he had a 4.66 ERA and went 55-56. And while most people think he “blossomed” once he got out of New York — and yes, his two best full seasons were in Chicago (2005, 2006), — his ERA was 4.64 as a Yankee and was 4.66 with the Sox. Essentially, Jose was what he was: a mediocre major league starting pitcher.
But throughout 2005 and through the first half of 2006 (during which time he was one of the best pitchers in the game before his season fell apart) I just developed a really strong belief that Contreras would always come up big in big spots. I don’t have stats to cite, or a whole lot of anecdotal evidence other than the obvious from the 2005 playoffs, all I know is this: if it wasn’t Buehrle on the hill in a big spot, I wanted Contreras there.
I appreciated his backstory and all that he went through to pitch in the Majors. I appreciated how quickly he seemed to warm to Chicago after being traded from New York. I appreciated the steely determination in his eyes when he took the hill. I appreciated the fact that he always looked like his only thought was putting his team on his back and carrying them through that night.
And I think his teammates and his manager saw the same thing.
That’s why Jose could go 10-17 with a 5.57 ERA in 2007 and still be in the rotation in 2008. And that’s why, after surprising everyone by coming back this Spring Training from a terrible 2008 Achilles injury, Ozzie Guillen did not hesitate to put him in the rotation.Â
The one word I would use to describe Jose Contreras is: resilient. And for a time in 2009, it looked like his resiliency — and Ozzie’s faith in him — would pay dividends.
Jose had a great stretch in the middle of the season after being sent to the minors, but just couldn’t hold onto it. It certainly wasn’t for lack of effort, but perhaps more a lack of trust in his own abilities. Jose didn’t trust his fastball and tried to get everyone out with his breaking stuff. It led to walks, way too many hits, and killer big innings that doomed Jose and the White Sox.
And, in the end, it led to Jose Contreras’ departure from Chicago and our departure from the playoff race.
What are we losing statistically? I don’t really know. It pains me to say this, but not a whole lot. Â A 5.42 ERA should not be difficult to replace. And our young pitchers, Gavin Floyd and John Danks, have had time to learn from Jose and soak in the lessons from Contreras’ incredible and unique career in baseball.
So perhaps the timing is perfect for Jose to move on. Ever since the second half of 2006, Jose Contreras has been a shell of the pitcher that he was in 2005. But for that one season, and even for half of the next, Jose Contreras was as good a pitcher as the South Side has seen in many years. And say what you will about his struggles over the last three years, but one thing is for certain: there was one time during his White Sox tenure that the team, the fans, and the city needed him more than any other — the playoffs in 2005 — and he stepped up huge.
I’ve never forgotten that, and neither probably have Ozzie and Jose’s veteran teammates. And maybe that’s part of the problem. The 2005 Jose Contreras just isn’t there anymore, no matter how much we’ve all wanted to see it and how many chances he’s been given to recapture that brilliance. In brief flashes he is the same pitcher, but not consistently, and certainly the flashes are fewer and further between.
He was a spry 33 in 2005 (purportedly) and is now 37 coming off an injury. I still see the same look of determination in him, the same will to win that he’s always had, but Jose’s mound presence and pitching no longer are defined by the same level of confidence he once had. At least not to me.
So maybe it would have been better for the White Sox to have just cut ties with Jose once his season went south in 2006. Had they, the only memory White Sox fans would have of Jose Contreras would be 2005. But that’s not how it happened, and to all White Sox fans — many of whom, like myself, are rightly frustrated with Jose’s recent performances — I will just say this: remember Jose for what he was in 2005, what he helped deliver to the White Sox and the city of Chicago, and for the leadership and attitude he provided even during his most egregious struggles.
Jose Contreras will always be a positive part of White Sox history. The time has come for him to move on and ply his trade elsewhere, but I will always remember him fondly. And the Rockies just became my favorite NL team for the rest of 2009.
As to the overall mindset that created the impetus for these two moves, I’m on board.
Ken Williams did everything he could to solidify the pitching staff and lineup for the stretch run this year. But a 2-9 record with the division lead right there for the taking just is not going to get it done. And with the Peavy and Rios acquisitions clearly meant for the future as much as they were meant for this year, Ken couldn’t just sit on his hands while the team pissed away a golden opportunity to defend its division title.
It’s sad to see two tremendous veterans go, and ever sadder to understand the circumstances for why they are leaving — the team’s failure — but I certainly understand it.
Best of luck to Jim Thome and Jose Contreras (and Jon Garland) in their new digs. Their roles will no doubt be different, but at least they will be playing for something. Unfortunately, after the last two weeks, that’s more than can be said about the teammates they leave behind.
Scott Merkin has a great post at his official MLB.com blog, Being Ozzie Guillen, about Jim and Jose entitled Thome, Contreras = Pure Class. I agree wholeheartedly.
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* – Jose Contreras and Jim Thome photo credit: by Charles Rex Arbogast – AP via South Side Sox
* – Jose Contreras ALCS photo credit: Getty Images via MLB.com
* – Jose Contreras hat tip photo credit: Nam Y. Hu (AP) via Camden Chat
No one who roots for the White Sox is happy right now. Â And that’s an understatement.
I was already despondent heading into today’s game against the Yankees, but was at least excited that the game would be on WGN so I could watch it down here in Dallas.Â
After watching Sergio Mitre and a reliever one-hit the White Sox, I wish I hadn’t wasted my time watching. And Ozzie Guillen apparently feels the same way.
A sampling of Ozzie Guillen’s comments after today’s Yankees loss for the White Sox, from ESPN.com:
“I feel like I’m stealing money from Jerry, and that’s a shame. When you have more errors than hits, you better look yourself in the mirror and second-guess yourself. I’m second-guessing myself right now, making the wrong lineup every day. I watched Little League this morning … they were playing better than we did. At least it was more fun. This is not major-league baseball, sorry.”
…
“There’s no doubt in my mind we’re better than this. But you get to a point where it is what it is. And my hope is getting less and less. It’s a long mountain, and the mountain is getting higher and higher every night. And if we’re going to climb to the top, maybe they need a cable car to get up there. But they’re not going to walk up there.”
Ozzie also discussed his frustration in having no option other than Jose Contreras to throw out there every 5th day. We all remember and love Jose for his incredible contributions in 2005, and it’s sad to see such a great champion struggling so badly.
It’s also sad to see a team with so much potential, and such a great chance to defend its AL Central crown, flush it down the tubes with its continued inconsistency and ineptitude.Â
We can only hope for better things tomorrow. And as they say, momentum is tomorrow’s starting pitcher. Â Unfortunately for the White Sox, that isn’t yet Jake Peavy…it’s Freddy Garcia. As with Contreras, we all remember Freddy from 2005. Freddy in 2009?
Ugh.
And that pretty much sums up the last week of White Sox baseball.
Update: Jake Peavy left today’s rehab start early. Great.
I am not really sure if the White Sox are moving in the correct direction. Were the moves that Kenny Williams made at the trade deadline meant to stock up the current team for the playoff push or lay down the foundation for next year’s team?
I do not think that anyone will argue with me when I say that one of our biggest liabilities is the pitching staff. More specifically, the bullpen. There are certain pitchers that come out in relief and all you can hope for is that they are not going to pitch batting practice. I cannot explain the level of frustration that I feel when I am listening to a game and I hear that Dotel or Linebrink are warming up.
The move to bring in Jake Peavy was a good one.  But if and when he comes back this season, he will still need run support and that appears to be lacking as of late. While I am a supporter of Freddy Garcia due to his performance in 2005, I am not really sure if he gives us a greater chance of winning the division this season.
Speaking of the division, are we just hanging around or what? Â We’re not gaining any ground on the Tigers and the Twins are now right up there with us due to our respective performances in the last two series.Â
I am just not sure if what we are seeing is a team that has just lost its stride and is going to limp into the rest of the season or one with the potential to still turn things around. Trust me when I say that I hope that I am wrong, but I think that the writing is on the wall and not even a healthy Jake Peavy can come in the save the day.
Working hard to get my fill,
everybody wants a thrill
Payin’ anything to roll the dice,
just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on…Don’t stop believin’
Hold on to the feelin’…
I suspect that I don’t have to tell you what song those lyrics are from. Nor, I would imagine, do I probably need to remind you of the importance of that song to Chicago baseball fans and, specifically, to White Sox fans. It was the anthem of that glorious run in 2005 that put the win in Windy City baseball.
After the last week and half, 2005 seems like eons ago. And even for me, Mr. White Sox Positivity, the guy who can usually find a silver lining even in every home run given up by Scott Linebrink, it is becoming really, really hard to continue believing in 2009.
Oh sure, I know that the White Sox are working hard to get their fill, and doing their best to give everyone on the South Side a thrill.
And Ken Williams certainly has proven that he is willing to pay anything (too much?) to roll the dice…even just one more time with the current core of veterans.
And yes, in any given year some will win, and some will lose, and I am a Chicago baseball fan which makes me predisposed to singing the blues; but, the 2009 season has just been a terribly frustrating movie — one of those ones with a great director and really good actors that you like, and you keep thinking it will get good, but the script just never fulfills its potential — that just goes on and on and on and on…
I am reluctantly writing this post to say that I have officially stopped believing in the 2009 Chicago White Sox.
Certainly, I will not stop rooting for them. I will not stop hoping beyond hope that this team has 6- or 7-game winning streak in it somewhere that can get us back into legitimate contention. I will not avoid tracking the White Sox every night by listening to Ed Farmer on my iPhone. No, I am a fan. I will suffer while mired in frustrating mediocrity with the rest of the fan base and the organization.
But no matter how hard I try, it will be hard to not lament what has been such a wasted opportunity in 2009. I really thought the White Sox had the potential to be better in 2009. And maybe they did; it just hasn’t happened yet.
I don’t remember where I read it, either at Sox Machine or South Side Sox, but someone described the White Sox in 2009 perfectly by saying that they have a “gravitational pull towards .500.” No description could be more apt. Â Every time we’ve gotten two or three game below even, we go on a winning streak. Every time we taste prosperity and show signs of turning things around for good, we lose games we should win and fall right back.
Now, today, on August 27th, we are a game under .500, 4.5 games back of Detroit in the pathetic AL Central, and tied with Minnesota for second place. And our last loss came off the bat of one of the best clutch hitters of my lifetime, David Ortiz, but a guy that has appeared washed up for the majority of this season.
The White Sox have lost four in a row, five out of six, and are 9-13 thus far in August. As we sit mired in one of our worst team-wide slumps of the season, another game at Boston, plus two more road trips to New York and Minnesota beckon. New York is the best team in baseball and the Metrodome is a constant house of horrors for the White Sox.
I want to believe, I really do…I just can’t find any genuine belief left in me. I wonder why…
And, honestly, I could keep going. But I don’t want to. It’s depressing.
Sadly, I am beginning to wonder now if my hope and belief in this team was misplaced all along. In 2007, the White Sox were an abomination. Last year, we surprised everyone by winning the AL Central and making the playoffs. Perhaps I should have expected 2009 to settle in somewhere right in between those two seasons, with virtually the same core intact. That is exactly what has happened.
I keep waiting, hoping, believing that the next White Sox winning streak will be the one that blows us past .500 and to the top of the standings for good. But at some point, you are what you are.
The 2009 White Sox are, simply put, a .500 baseball team.
Not great, but not terrible.
And in a poor division, that is just good enough to keep us within reasonable striking distance. And it was not too long ago (2006) that an 83-win team (the St. Louis Cardinals) won their division and shocked the world by winning the World Series.
The difference is that the 2006 Cardinals got off to a great start, were 16 games over .500 early, still 7-8 games over .500 heading into September, and hit the serious skids late in September while dealing with injury issues. But they had shown the ability to be a division-leading, playoff team.
The 2009 White Sox, on the other hand, have shown only flashes of such potential. Unfortunately, we’ve shown just as many flashes that we have the potential to be as bad as we’ve been over the past week.
As I said, a .500 team.
And to make things worse, while the North Siders are crowing (typically) about how the sky is falling and how awful their season has been — and they are right — the Cubs are still at least two games over .500. They just play in a division that has a great team, the Cardinals, so at least they have had the benefit of closure and of knowing that their team will not be making the playoffs.
I think closure may have come for me last night when Big Papi hit his walk-off home run.Â
Yes, the White Sox are “only” 4.5 games out. And yes, we still “control our destiny” with games upcoming against Minnesota and Detroit. But the term “control your destiny” only has meaning and leads to excitement when you actually believe that your team has it within themselves to win the games that will determine their destiny.
Back in April, the White Sox opened the season with a win over Kansas City (4-2) before losing their second game (0-2). Thus, after two games the White Sox stood at .500 and had given up as many runs as they had scored. Now, after 127 games, not a lot has changed. The White Sox sit at one game under .500 and have scored only six runs more than they have given up.Â
Maybe we should have all realized way back in April, after those first two games, that the White Sox were nothing more than a .500 club. And maybe a lot of people did; I was just not one of them. Now I have to deal with the consequences: high hopes dashed during the dog days of disappointment.
I expect the White Sox to win tonight’s final game in Boston, putting us right back at .500. After that, in New York and Minnesota, who knows.
But I do know this: if the White Sox somehow rebound from this awful four-game performance to get a few games over .500, I’ll wait to see if they can maintain it before totally buying in. That way, I can be pleasantly surprised instead of incredibly disappointed.
Eh, who the hell am I kidding. I’m already incredibly disappointed by 2009. Yeah, there is still time to turn things around and make one last dash for Detroit, I suppose. But hopefully they help us out by fading and reverting closer to .500 themselves. Sadly, that is probably what it will take.Â
If the first 127 games of this season have proven anything, it’s that the gravitational pull of mediocrity appears to be too much for the White Sox to overcome.
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* – Ozzie Guillen thinking photo credit: Chicago Sun-Times
* – Ozzie Guillen hand on face photo credit: Charles Krupa, Associated Press via Chicago Tribune
A couple of days ago I posted that Jake Peavy could possibly return by August 28th, based on his strong first rehab outing in Charlotte. Â Unfortunately for White Sox fans, Peavy’s second start did not go quite so well (4 runs in 4 innings) and he is still not to the point where he feels comfortable going 6-7 innings.
Considering that he’s been out for two months, this is understandable. Â I think we’d all just gotten our hopes up that Peavy would be back sooner rather than later.
From today’s Trib by Mark Gonzalez:
While Jake Peavy returned to U.S. Cellular Field to rejoin his teammates, it now appears he might not make his White Soxdebut until the end of an 11-game trip at the earliest.
“I don’t think that’s smart,” Peavy said Wednesday of focusing on a return date. “The time when I go out and am able to get six or seven innings under my belt, feeling good, knowing I’m able to execute a pitch in the seventh as well as I can do it in the first, and throw the ball where I want to at 100 percent, when I see that day, we’re going to go from there.”
Peavy said setting a specific date “seems to put on too much pressure.”
So, it looks like Sox fans will have to patient as we await the debut of our new star pitcher. Â Luckily, we were able to hit some long balls last night off of Zack Greinke and get a good start from Jose to take a 2-1 series win over the Royals. We need another 2-1 or 3-0 set against the Orioles, and then it’s off to perhaps the most difficult road trip of the season. If Jake Peavy is pitching by the end of it, looks like it will be a bonus for the Sox.
On the same day that we got a little more information regarding the White Sox debut of Jake Peavy, a familiar face will take the mound at U.S. Cellular Field for the first time in three seasons.
First, let’s talk about Peavy.
It had been rumored that Jake Peavy might make his White Sox debut on September 3rd when the pale hose travel to the North Side for a makeup game with the Cubs. Everyone seemed excited about this because obviously we’d love to crush Cubs to win the season series 4-2 while furthering erode the North Siders’ playoff chances and bolstering our own. Â Plus, the irony of Peavy doing it would be delicious considering how much the Cubs wanted to pry him away from San Diego.
However, it’s not happening…and for good reason.
As reported this morning by Dave Van Dyck of the Tribune, the White Sox are not going to chance having Peavy bat and run the bases. Hence, he will only pitching in the safe haven of AL ballparks (possibly as soon as August 28th against the Yankees, depending on how he feels after his next rehab start) where his healing ankle can take cover in the dugout while the White Sox are up to bat.
“He’s not going to pitch over there (at Wrigley),” Sox general manager Ken Williams said. “He got hurt on the bases.”
This is a pretty easy one: I agree. Why chance it? Peavy reportedly looked great in his first rehab start at AAA Charlotte (3 innings, 43 pitches, 1 hit, 5 Ks), and will be heavily counted on down the stretch with our pitching staff looking a bit wobbly lately. Gavin Floyd and John Danks have put together some solid starts recently, but Mark Buehrle has struggled since his perfecto and Jose Contreras has just been awful.Â
And then there is the lingering question mark of who takes the ball every fifth day now that Clayton Richard is in San Diego. That’s where we get to the other half of the headline, regarding the former hero returning to the South Side.Â
Freddy Garcia, who won 40 games for the White Sox between 2004-2006, takes the ball tonight in the second game of a huge series against the Kansas City Royals. He will be opposed by Gil Meche, who is only 5-9 on the season, but has a solid career track record against the White Sox.Â
Garcia has only pitched 73 innings since leaving Chicago in 2006 after going 3-0 in the 2005 playoffs and helping bring a World Series title to the Windy City. He failed to gain traction with the Phillies or Tigers and is now back on the South Side being managed by his good friend Ozzie Guillen.
As Scott Merkin reported at chisox.com, while Garcia’s right shoulder may not quite be back to its old strength, he was hitting the low-90s on the gun in his last rehab start. Â Plus, his manager and teammates have confidence that Garcia has that “wily ‘ol vet” experience and ability to still be effective and help the club.
“I’m really glad to be back,” said Garcia, who joined the White Sox on Monday after their six-game, seven-day West Coast road trip. “It took me a long time to come back, but I’m glad to be here.”
…
With Jose Contreras struggling mightily over his past six starts, allowing 24 earned runs over 28 1/3 innings, a strong effort from Garcia could propel him into a permanent starting spot over the season’s final six weeks. Manager Ozzie Guillen will go with the hot hand, both in the field and on the mound, but cautions fans not to expect the 2005 Garcia to take the field against the Royals.
“He knows how to pitch, he knows how to get people out,” said Guillen. “I think he’ll be fine. He knows how to do stuff out there.”
“All I need to know is that he’s healthy and he’s got his arm strength to where it is at a point where he can effectively use his offspeed stuff to complement [his fastball],” said White Sox general manager Ken Williams. “His fastball doesn’t have to be 93 [mph] because of his second and third pitch.”
We know that Jake Peavy will have a spot in the rotation when he returns, and now it looks like two of the 2005 heroes will be duking it out for the 5th spot. Regardless, it will good to see Freddy Garcia back on the bump for the White Sox tonight, and I expect the Comiskey faithful to give him an appreciative hand when he takes the mound.
Hopefully he gets an ovation when he walks off the mound as well, because that would most likely mean that he has put the White Sox in a position to win. Sitting two games back, with September rapidly approaching, and a roadtrip to Boston, New York, and Minnesota on the horizon, the White Sox need to get as many as possible against the Royals and Orioles at home this week.
Here’s hoping “Big Game” Freddy can live up to the nickname his first time out.
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* – Jake Peavy photo credit: Bill Walker/Charlotte Knights via Knights website
* – Freddy Garcia photo credit: HotFootBlog
Much was made of the recent 6-game West Coast trip that faced the White Sox. As any Sox fan knows, we typically struggle out west, especially at Oakland. For that reason, a 3-3 split against the Mariners and A’s is actually palatable. What is frustrating is that it should have been 4-2, but the White Sox could not hold a 2-1 lead in the 8th inning yesterday after another solid pitching outing from John Danks.
But the White Sox stole one in the 9th last Tuesday against Seattle, when Alexei Ramirez cracked a three-run homer in the top of the 9th, so I guess you could say Sunday’s loss was just the road trip evening itself out.
What faces the White Sox this week is, on the surface, much less intimidating than last week’s West Coast swing and the impending road trip against Boston, New York, and Minnesota. The White Sox go back home for three against the cellar dwelling Royals, an off day, and then three more against the cellar dwelling Orioles. Sitting 2.5 games behind Detroit with 44 games left to play, this is a huge opportunity for the White Sox to quit flirting with .500 and get to six or seven games over.
Expecting anything more than a split next week is probably wishful thinking, so the White Sox need to take it upon themselves to string together some victories — and some breathing room — against teams that they should beat at home this week.
Mark Buehrle kicks off the home stand today against Brian Bannister, and Mr. Perfect needs to fulfill his role as staff ace and get us off on the right foot.Â
With the most difficult stretch of the season beginning one week from today, the White Sox cannot afford to waste this opportunity.
In How the Economy has affected Major League Baseball, part 1,873, Alex Rios is now a member of the South Siders, the Chicago White Sox. Rios was claimed on waivers this past weekend by the Sox and the Blue Jays agreed to let him walk yesterday while the Sox will assume the rest of Rios’ nearly $70 million contract.
Purely from a baseball standpoint, this is a great move for the Sox. Nothing against Scott Podsednik, but Rios is a superior player at the plate and above-average in the field, and while he is having a below-average offensive season, most of that is driven by bad luck. Currently Rios has his lowest wOBA since 2005, largely driven by the lowest BABIP figure of his career. While Scotty Pods has outperformed expectations, White Sox center fielders still only have a .269 wOBA on the year. Rios easily surpasses that and if he can get back to last year’s form, he could be one of the best pickups of the year.
The drawback, however, is the money question. Rios has an extremely backloaded contract, with salaries at the $12 million mark for 2011-14. While the media will make a big deal about how much payroll the White Sox are taking on, one key point is that the White Sox payroll dropped by $25 million in the offseason. The club also has close to $35 million coming off the books for next year. Williams and Reinsdorf clearly want to win and aren’t shy about spending money to try and get that next championship. One big thing for the White Sox is the amount of payroll they’ve taken on recently. With the acquisition of Peavy and Rios, Kenny Williams is clearly gunning for the World Series this year. And, all things considered, they have the team to get there. Once Peavy gets back, the White Sox looks like this:
Buerhle – Peavy – Danks – Contreras – Floyd
From top to bottom, I’m not sure there’s a better rotation in the American League. That certainly beats the rotations of the Angels and Tigers, two division leaders. Only the Yankees really have a claim that they have a better rotation, but Sergio Mitre is also in that rotation, who isn’t better than Gavin Floyd.
As far as the lineup goes, Rios gives Ozzie Guillen a lot more options if he wants to rest his outfielders. Jim Thome could also get some rest against lefties. Currently the lineup looks a little crowded, but here’s a guess at a potential lineup:
CF – Podsednik
3B – Beckham
LF – Rios
RF – Dye
1B – Konerko
DH – Quentin
C – Pierzynski
SS – Ramirez
2B – Getz
That could be a potential lineup against lefties. Another lineup could look something like this:
CF – Rios
3B – Beckham
RF – Dye
DH – Thome
1B – Konerko
LF – Quentin
C – Pierzynski
SS – Ramirez
2B – Getz
Either one of those lineups could be interesting. No matter what happens, the Sox should be able to overtake Detroit with these additions and take the AL Central.
Contract data from Cot’s Baseball Contracts.
Baseball Stats from Fangraphs.
Last weekend I was lucky enough to catch a baseball game everyday. Watching the White Sox vs. Yankees series was entertaining, there is not doubt about it. Sitting in front of the TV I was able to revisit something that has been on my mind: Â
Has the advent of the baggy pants (pajamas) in baseball caused the strike zone to change?
My perspective on this is that once the players started to wear loose fitting pants the umpire was no longer able to see exactly where their knee began. While it is comfortable for them, they are putting themselves behind the eight ball from the umpire’s perspective.
One player that I noticed tried it both ways was Jermaine Dye earlier in the season. While he only wore the pants in the traditional fashion for a couple of games, to me it was obvious that his strike zone was different. It would be nice to sit down and discuss this with him. I wonder if he saw the same thing that I did while I was sitting on my couch?
It is obvious that taller players with long legs are at the biggest disadvantages. I also think that it has to have some impact on their ability to run. Just look at Manny Ramirez’s pants. How can he run in those things?
I guess the bottom line for me is that if you take away the umpires’ point of reference, then don’t complain. I really wish the players all would go old school and wear their pants in the traditional sense. Just for arguments sake it would be interesting to see if the strike zone were to go back to the official rule definition of the strike zone.
* – Jermaine Dye photo credit: Getty Images via Daylife
Now that White Sox rookie Gordon Beckham has opened up the 80s music floodgates by choosing “Your Love” by The Outfield as his walk-up song for each at-bat, I feel empowered to dedicate other cheesy 80s songs to White Sox players.Â
And today, on the morning after his third walk-off hit of the season, Scotty Pods gets his very own cheesy 80s song dedication from Midwest Sports Fans.
The song “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John, in honor of the fact that three weeks into the season Podsednik was not even playing. Now, however, with the White Sox in the heat of a pennant race, you could make a very solid argument that he has been our team MVP this season.
So hit play and read on…
[track title="I'm Still Standing" artist="Elton John" url="http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/wp-content/uploads/mp3/I'm-Still-Standing.mp3" alt="Scott Podsednik Is Still Standing"]
So why this song? It’s pretty simply really:
Don’t you know I’m still standing better than I ever did
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid
I’m still standing after all this time
Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind
But seriously, all 80s cheese aside, the 2009 story of Scott Podsednik combines two of the quintessential reasons why we love sports: the comeback story and the triumph of the underdog. Cast aside last season after 162 underwhelming at-bats for Colorado, a year after being cast aside by the White Sox after 214 other underwhelming at-bats, Scott Podsednik was sitting on his couch when the 2009 season began.
(I should quickly interject here that such a situation is probably more palatable for Scotty Pods than it might be for others. His wife is, shall we say, easy on the eyes; so at least he had that going for him.)
With the White Sox in desperate need for someone to produce at simply better than a below-average level at the top of the order, Podsednik got the call from the organization for whom he helped deliver a World Series title in 2005. Almost immediately Scotty Pods began delivering, going 2-4 with a run in his first game on May 1, one that I attended at The Ballpark in Arlington against the Texas Rangers.
He would go on to have three multi-hit games in his first five games back, which was nothing more than an auspicious precursor to what has become one of the truly great comeback stories of the 2009 baseball season. For the season, Pods is hitting .303 with 50 runs, 16 SBs, a .357 OBP, and 33 RBI.
And not one of those 33 RBI, or many of his 234 career regular season RBI, was bigger than the one he got last night.
The White Sox were hosting the Angels last night, baseball’s hottest team since the All Star Break and perhaps the AL’s most solid squad top to bottom. Coming off of a successful weekend series against the Yankees (in which Podsednik had 6 hits, 6 runs, and 5 RBIs), and with a tough road trip on the horizon, it was imperative that the White Sox get off to a good start in the series last night.
Heading into the bottom of the 9th inning the score was knotted at 4 a piece. With two outs, #9 hitter Jayson Nix stepped up to the plate and it appeared we were headed for extra innings. But Nix doubled, extending the game for at least one more at-bat. That’s when our hero, Scott Podsednik, strode to the plate with a chance to either a) get the game to Gordon Beckham with a walk or infield single, or b) win it himself with a line drive into the gap.
Much to the joy of Hawk Harrelson and White Sox fans everywhere, Pods chose option B and the game was OVVUHHH!Â
The win left the Sox three games over .500 and just a single game behind Detroit, and it further cemented Scott Podsednik’s status as one the most clutch and valuable players on a 2009 White Sox team that is starting to make its fans believe that it could be capable of delivering some pretty exciting and successful baseball down the stretch and into October.
Ozzie Guillen, who is typically never accused of understatement, had perhaps the understatement of the year when commenting on Podsednik’s game-winning hit from last night. From Joe Cowley’s game wrap at the Sun-Times:
‘‘I don’t think this ballclub would be fighting right now without Pods,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. ”I doubt it. He’s been great for us.”
Yes he has, and Pods has shown no signs of slowing down.
Quick trivia question: in 2005, two White Sox players were in the top 15 in the voting for the AL MVP. Â Who were they?
Answer: Paul Konerko (6th), Scott Podsednik (12th).
If Scotty Pods keeps playing as well as he has been, and helps ignite the White Sox all the way to an AL Central crown, he may squeeze his way into the top 15 again.
The last few weeks in the White Sox universe have been dominated by Mark Buehrle’s perfect game, the return of Carlos Quentin, and Gordon Beckham’s emergence from prospect to consistent producer. But make no mistake about it: there is no more prominent reason for why the White Sox are a game back in the AL Central and riding a wave of momentum than their rejuvenated catalyst at the top of the order.
Scott Podsednik is still standing all right, and he’s doing so much more than that: hitting, running, and walk-offing himself to South Side stardom once again and the White Sox right back into the thick of playoff contention.
**********
Scott Podsednik walk-off photo credits: screen grabs from MLB.com
There’s been a debate going recently around the Dallas / Midwest Sports Fans office about which rookie is better: Elvis Andrus or Gordon Beckham. Jerod had his post defending his boy Gordon, while I had my own post arguing for the case of Elvis Andrus.
The debate breaks down to a fundamental issue: Elvis is better in the field (with the ceiling of an absolutely elite defensive shortstop) while Gordon can flat out rake at the plate. The questions arise on the opposite ends of the spectrum with Elvis’ offense (Jose Reyes, Edgar Renteria-esque at his peak) and Gordon’s defense (improving, but not spectacular).
Most people would probably take Gordon because of the gap in the offense, but Elvis will probably end up being an above-average offensive player as a leadoff hitter with an average in the .280-.290 range. Could be headed for a season with 50 stolen bases at some point in his career (already more than 20 this year).
But everyone around here knows about Beckham’s potential, which quite frankly is scary. He already strikes me as a fan of another AL team as a guy I do NOT want to see come up in a big spot, and I think he’s only going to increase that reputation as a middle-of-the-order threat.
The one definitive advantage Elvis has is his age. Gordon is 22 years old, meaning he’s got a lot of time to improve. Elvis, though, is still 20 for about three more weeks. While it’s not a huge gap between the two, Elvis still could get a lot better as his body matures along with Gordon.
In the end, neither choice is wrong. Both are spectacular players and Jerod mentions in the Dallas Sports Fans post that if Gordon stays at third base, there might come an All-Star Game with Elvis starting at SS and Gordon starting at 3B. That would be quite a dynamic left side of the infield.
Here’s some more links as you trudge through the week:
ESPN’s Mort Goes to Camp = FAIL (Moon Dog Sports)
Who would win in a fight…Young Jeezy vs. DJ Drama (Hail Mary Jane)
NFL Power Rankings – Training Camp Edition (My Sports Rumors)
College Football Relegation Mock Draft (ESPN)
How does Allen Iverson not have a job? (Barkley’s Mouth)
More Arbitrarily-Chosen Power Rankings (Major League Jerk) **Totally because of the movie line at the Padres spot**
The beatdown: Ryan vs. Ventura (ESPN)
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Best of Midwest sports betting websites here, along with online casinos and games.
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