Sox Get it Dunn in Finale

Adam Dunn has been struggling mightily these first 2 months of this 2011 season. But lately it seems he has started to turn the corner, belting two home runs in this last series against the A's, driving in 6 in the series while walking 3 times and scoring 3 runs. One of his two series home runs was a game changer in the series finale on Sunday.

The White Sox offense struggled early, unable to get anything going until the 4th when Konerko started things off with a single, followed by an hit batsmen to AJ, which eventually set Dunn up with 2 on and 2 out to take a hanging curveball and absolutely park it deep in the right field bleachers.

                                           You can't leave the breaking ball there.....

That was a big moment for a few reasons, first of all it gave the Sox the lead and put a struggling offense right back in the game. But possibly more important (because this is more long term) it gave Adam Dunn more confidence and right now, that is what he needs. Nothing helps break a ball player out of a huge slump more than production. He said in a post game interview that he is finally starting to feel better up there at the plate, which is huge for the White Sox.

After 2 A's runs (which tied the game at 3 in the 7th) the White Sox would catch a break and take full advantage of it in the bottom half of the 7th. With men on 1st and 2nd Carlos Quentin would hit a slow roller to A's third basemen Scott Sizemore who would rush his throw to second (as a speedy Alexi was trucking into second) and throw the ball into left field, allowing Teahan to round 3rd and score and Alexi to get up and make 3rd. Konerko would follow with a solid single into left to plate an insurance run in Ramirez to give the Sox the 5-3 lead. Santos would come in for the save, he looked shaky again giving up 2 hits, a walk, and a run. The game ended on a ground ball to third and a close (and questionable) play at first, but none the less the White Sox got the much needed win to close out the A's and take 3 of 4 for the series.

Lets talk pitching real quick. Phillip Humber was absolutely solid yet again, he has yet to give up more than 4 runs in a game for this entire season. He went 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits. Phil had a rocky first inning but after that he was lights out, striking out 7 and only walking 2. He has been our most reliable starter all season and quite the pleasant surprise I might add. Humber was done in the 7th, giving way for Matt Thornton in the 8th who pitched an inning, giving up no hits and walking one. Cue Sergio Santos in the 9th, coming off a horrendous blown save on Friday Sergio looked shaky again. As I said earlier he gave up 2 hits, a walk, and a run. But he did record the save, giving the Sox the win.

Where does this win put us? 3.5 games out of first and 2 under .500. We go on the road to Minnesota to face off with a red hot Twins team who have been charging as of late. They are 8 and 2 in their last 10, hopefully we can cool them down and get back to .500. I don't mean to pat myself on the back prematurely but I do believe I set the date at June 15th for the Sox to be back to .500. Well they're 2 games under with 2 games to play until June 15th..... (not to mention that game on Friday night, if they hang on to that, they're an even .500 right now, oh well). But we need to keep this momentum going and we need to just dominate in Minnesota to propel this team into inter league play (which is where we always make up ground).

I wanna talk about one player right now who has been an absolute force lately. Paul "The Captain" Konerko. He is currently on a 13 game hitting streak, hitting an unreal .460 (23 for 50) with 9 doubles, 6 homers, 15 RBIs, 6 walks, and 10 runs scored during this streak. That is unbelievable. The man has been on a mission. That is why he is our captain people, he has single handedly ignited this offense. Numbers don't lie. As of right now, his numbers on the season are as follows:

Average: .322
Home Runs: 16
RBI: 52
Doubles: 11
OBP: .390
SLG: .563
Walks: 28

The man has literally gotten better with age. Paulie, this buds for you.

Anyway, today (Monday) is a much needed off day for the club as they travel to Minnesota. Lets hope we can cool the Twins down and get back to .500. We are right back in this pennant race folks (just as this White Sox fanatic predicted we would be). This team is too good to not be in it. Enjoy the off day and lets go out and get those pesky Twins tomorrow. Go Sox!

Brent Lillibridge Saves the Day

As I posted yesterday, I apologize for not posting this past week, I was in Cooperstown NY. The Sox had a decent week while I was gone and are slowly climbing the ladder. That being said, lets get started.

The White Sox came into US Cellular field on Saturday needing to bounce back after a heartbreaking loss on Friday. We have been slowly crawling back towards a .500 record and the top of this division. On a night where the bats weren't really there, the Sox needed all the help they could get from their pitching and defense. Brent Lillibridge and John Danks certainly rose the the occasion.

John Danks who recently made a minor change in his mound mechanics has been lights out his last 2 starts (including last night). He went 7.2 innings only giving up 2 runs on 4 hits. He was stellar. John Danks obviously is a better pitcher than his 2-8 record reflects. But it is nice to see him still going out there and absolutely battling every time he has as start. Look for him to start stacking up the wins, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he ended the season with a winning record (Mark my words right now). Anyways, Danks goes 7 and 2 thirds innings and gives way for Jesse Crain who finished off the final inning and a third to nail it down and get the save to give the Sox a 3-2 victory.

Lets talk about the defense real quick. Not the strongest outing all around as the Sox committed two errors, one by Ramirez at short and one by Castro behind the plate. But those errors were erased from our minds when Brent Lillibridge made a game saving, home run robbing snag, going over the wall and bringing a Coco Crisp shot back into the park.

From this angle you can really see what a great catch (especially given the circumstances) this really was.

With a man on base for the A's, that ball would have taken the lead away from our Sox and a win away from John Danks. Brent Lillibridge has been playing his way into a starting position. He hustles all the time, he throws the leather, and boy for a little guy, he can really swing. Last night was no different, making a huge play in the field as well as on the base paths, stealing second and advancing to third in the 6th, only to score what turned out to be the winning run on the next play. Brent Lillibridge, this buds for you.

As I stated earlier, the offense struggled a little bit scoring 3 runs on only 6 hits. Out of our 3 runs 2 of them were the results of throwing errors. Ramon Castro led off the 4th inning with a solo home run and that was really it for the offensive fireworks. But we took advantage of mistakes by the other team and thats what great teams do. They find a way to win, which is exactly what the Sox did last night.

We need to keep stacking up wins people, there has been a changing of the guard in the AL Central as the Tigers moved into a first place tie with the Indians last night. I don't mean to say "I told you so" but just as I stated many times earlier this season, the Indians have finally come down to earth and are fading fast. They are 2 and 8 in their last 10 and I suspect they will continue to fade. This race is between 2 teams folks, the White Sox and the Tigers. We need to keep winning, we're almost back to .500 and when that happens this race will really heat up. First things first, we need to take care of business today against Oakland and take 3 of 4 from the A's at home. The key for us to winning this division is going to be to win games at home, our home record going into today (Sunday) is 15 and 17. Thats not good folks, we need to win at home. Its as simple as that, if we can start winning big at home, this team is really going to take off. They have been playing better and better and continue to climb, lets get this one today and go from there.

Today (Sunday) we have Phil Humber on the mound who has been our best starter, first pitch is going to be at 1:10 over on Comcast Sportsnet. Go Sox.

Apologies for not posting for so long

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't posted in about a week, I was actually in Cooperstown NY on a very baseball oriented trip. I just wanted to apologize and give my explanation really quick. That game last night was the first thing I saw when I got back into town, needless to say I don't have much to say about it. I'm actually still in shock that we couldn't close that one out last night. I keep randomly saying out loud "how... how did we lose last night? I mean it was right there...." So I'm gonna need some time to collect my thoughts. But I will be posting again tonight after the game ends, so look for a much needed new post after the game tonight! Go Sox! We really need this one!

White Sox Complete The Boston Massacre

Shout out to Jay Modelski for the title.

The White Sox completed a HUGE sweep of the Boston Red Sox today (Wednesday). This was a back and forth game that eventually landed on the White Sox side. Just a monster win today for our Sox. They NEEDED this one and they got it. What I loved about this game was the fact that we were down early and battled back to hang on and win by 3 runs. Right now, we are to the Red Sox what the Twins are to us. A pain in the rear. How great is it that we stormed into Fenway and swept the hottest team in the league?

                                                               Come on, I had to do it

Gavin Floyd looked very shaky early on, giving up a quick 3 runs in the 2nd inning. But after that folks, Gavin settled down and put it on cruise control with just a 1 run speed bump in the 6th. So Floyd goes 6.2 innings and gives up 4 earned runs and 9 hits. The Red Sox scored 3 in the 2nd as I said already, those 3 runs off 4 hits. They would score again in the 6th on a David Ortiz home run. Sale would come in and shut down the Bo Sox for the 3rd out of the 7th inning and then the entire 8th, he goes 1.1 innings retiring everyone he saw, setting up Sergio Santos to come in and close it out in a 1-2-3 9th.

The offense was stellar again, scoring 7 runs on 12 hits. Highlighted by a powerful day at the plate for Brent Lillibridge, who was 2 for 5 with 2 RBIs and a homer and a double off the top of the green monster (which was his second ball in as many days that hit the very top of the monster, if we were at home, he would have had 2 more homers). Alexi was 3 for 5 with an RBI, continuing to tear the cover off the ball. Not to mention another great day at the plate by the captain, Paul Konerko who was 3 for 4 with 3 RBI, a homer, and a run scored. This offense is heating up with the weather (just like I said it would about a month ago). The pitching is completely shutting teams down, the bullpen has been stellar, and the offense is starting to really mash. This team is falling right into place like we thought it would (well most of us at least).

Their last 15 games against the Red Sox, the White Sox have outscored Boston 88 to 50! They have now won their last 7 straight games at Fenway Park, the last time the White Sox did that..... 1959. Foreshadowing?  We'll see.

We come home now and let me just say, its about time, we've already had 3 ten game road trips and have played the most road games in all of the major leagues. Get this, the Sox are only on the road for 9 games from now until the all-star break (July 11th). This is our time to get hot and tear it up at home. This is our chance to get back to .500 and burn right past it and take our top spot in the division. I don't think its any fluke that the Indians have played mostly home games (when compared to the other teams in the league) and we've been on the road more than any team in the bigs and the standings look the way they do. Its going to even out, the Indians are on their way back down to earth, and our talented Sox are finally starting to let their talent show. Sit back, relax, and strap it down Sox fans, here come the Sox!

If you like what I write, please share it with your friends on facebook , twitter, stumbleupon, ect. by clicking the icons below and then clicking "share" Its easy to do and it is much appreciated.

Also, make sure you take a look at my wrap up for the Sox month of May. Some pretty eye opening stats in there.

Month of May: Turn Around?

Alright Sox fans, May is over with. Was May the month the Sox started to turn it around? Or just a big tease? I believe that in a few months, we'll look back on May and say "Yes, this is where our season turned around." Hawk Harrelson always talks about "season defining moments." So far, the play that seems to have turned our season around was a 3 run home run by Brent Morel back on Tuesday, May 17th against the Texas Rangers. I was actually at that game and let me tell you, it was not a pretty start. John Danks was wild, falling behind hitters, walking guys, giving up hits. He had 72 pitches through the first 3 innings. The offense was dead. It looked like we were going to get shutout. But then Brent Morel of all people, stepped to the plate in 5th, setting the scene for what up until now, has been the moment that has turned this team around.

With a 2-1 Count of all things, Brent gets a fastball out over the plate and does not miss it. Notice that there was also 2 outs. This ball got out of here in a hurry and I remember sitting there at the game (after I came down off the high supplied by this Brent Morel shot) that this could be the moment that gets this team going and not to pat myself on the back, I believe that I was right.

Look at his swing, head down, bat and arms extended. Perfect. Since this play the Sox have been playing a lot better, they've had a tough game here and there but you can see the offense and the pitching bearing down. They were 9 and 6 after this home run, not great, but thats also including this tough road trip we've had to deal with lately.  But anyone who has watched this team lately can tell they've been playing better.


I have a few stats here for the Month of May, especially compared to the awful start we got off to in April.

We closed out May with a 13 and 16 record. That compared to our 10 and 18 record in April.

In April we were 4 and 8 at home. That stat needs to improve if we're going to win this division. In May we were 6 and 5. So it is improving.

We were 10 and 8 on the road in May as opposed to 6-10 in April.
In May our we scored 129 runs and only allowed 109. As opposed to April, where we scored 109 runs and gave up an astounding 149 runs. What does this mean? Well the pitching gave up 30 less runs which is huge. The offense also scored an additional 20 runs. Thats a pretty nice swing on both ends.

A few stand out players from the month of May:
- Offensively Paul Konerko, Alexi Ramirez, and Carlos Quentin had a great month, Paulie continued to lead the team in RBI's, Carlos Quentin would lead the team in doubles and Alexi Ramriez turned it on late in the month, with a ton of clutch hits and RBIs.
-Phil Humber gets my shout out for the pitching staff, closing out the Month with a 3.06 ERA overall and a 4 and 3 overall record (which is impressive especially when you look at the lack of offensive support the pitching staff received earlier in the year). He has shut down teams like the Yankees and Red Sox AT their ballparks and has arguably been our most reliable starter. Which is why Ozzie continues to stick with the 6 man rotation (which seems to be working for us) because Phil Humber has more than earned his spot in this rotation. Phil, this buds for you
-Out of the bullpen, this one goes out to Sergio Santos, closing out the month as our closer, with a stellar 1.40 ERA in 25.2 innings pitch, he has 8 saves and a 2 and 1 record. That is just unreal. He has been the most reliable reliever that we have, stepping up and filling in our whole at the closer's role. Sergio, this buds for you.

In conclusion Sox fans, we continue to climb... look at the stats and watch the team, you can see the improvement all around. We just need to continue to play to our potential and get better and this team will be something special. A month from now, for my next month wrap-up I'll be talking about a first place Sox team who charged hard in June. Lets get em' this month boys. Go Sox.

Boston Tea-Off party

The White Sox charged into Fenway Park on Tuesday looking for a much needed win. Thanks to the offense and a strong start by Phil Humber, the White Sox achieved that goal. The White Sox scored early and often. There was so much offense, I'm only going to list a few notable highlights and then I'll list the offensive stat lines. 

The White Sox scored 10 runs on 15 hits. Finally, the offense is starting to play like the team we had envisioned at the beginning of this season. The Sox scored 4 runs in the 2nd inning, highlighted by a 2 run single off the bat of Alexi Ramirez (who has been absolutely on fire as of late). The Sox scored 1 in the 3rd inning after back-to-back doubles off the bats of Konerko and AJ. Then they scored again in the 4th on another 1 run single by Alexi. The Sox then put 4 more runs on the board in the 6th highlighted by a RBI double by Carlos Quentin. 

Here are the offensive lines I promised you:

Juan Pierre: 1 for 4 with a run scored and 2 RBI

Alexi Ramirez: 4 for 5 with 3 RBI and a run scored (Have a day!)

Carlos Quentin: 1 for 4 with a double and an RBI

*Brent Lillibridge: 1 for 1 with a pinch-hit single

Paul Konerko: 1 for 3 with a double, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI and a walk

AJ Pierzynski: 2 for 4 with a run scored, a double, 1 RBI and a walk

Alex Rios: 0 for 5, the only White Sock without a hit

Adam Dun: 1 for 2 with a run scored, 2 walks 

Gordon "The Slayer" Beckham:  3 for 5with 2 runs scored and an RBI

Brent Morel: 1 for 5 with 2 Runs scored 

Phil Humber had another impressive start, giving up only 1 run through 7 innings. He pitched 7.2 innings, allowing 3 more earned runs in the 8th, when he was clearly out of gas. Despite his shaky finish, he still pitched a great ball game, shutting down a dangerous Red Sox offense for 7 strong innings. Once Humber ran out of gas towards the end the Sox called upon Will Ohman who looked a little off, giving up a 2 run homerun to David Ortiz (one run charged to Humber, One to Ohman) Ohman escaped the 8th. 9th inning cue Brian Bruney who was just brought up. He looked a little shaky in his first major league outing of the year, giving up 2 more earned runs. The Sox 10-1 lead quickly turned into a 10-7 score, but either way, held up in the end, as Chris Sale came in and got the final out, giving our White Sox another huge win against a tough team.

Thank you offense. 

Right now, I would like to take this time to give Alexi Ramirez his due. I know I ride him a lot and I criticize the way he does things at the plate, but he's really been showing me up lately (and I'm loving it). He was 4 for 5 tonight, with a lot of big hits, 3 RBI's and he didn't leave anyone on base. Alexi has had an unbelievable month this May (especially as of late) and a case can be made to give him the player of the month for the American League and all of the Major Leagues.  The four hit game today for Alexi raised his overall average to a respectable .290 and his average for May to .313. Alexi, this buds for you.

This game was just a HUGE win for this club. The White Sox have now won their last 7 games in a row at Fenway Park (Shout out to THE Tim Madden for bringing that stat to my attention). The way this road trip started, it did not look good for us going into Boston, but let me just say this, these last 2 wins will not mean nearly as much if we don't get the job done tomorrow. This is because of the position we're in.... constantly working up hill, and needing winning streaks to get back to .500. 

Let me tell you why tomorrow is so HUGE for this club:

-It would salvage the road trip (allowing us to split the tough road trip at 5-5)

-It would complete a sweep of the Red Sox

-The momentum would propel us into a 10 game home stand where we could really do some damage

-Most importantly it would bring us closer to .500 and a slipping Indians team 

Sweeping a dangerous Red Sox team would really do a lot for the mental state of this team. Lets get this done tomorrow boys, we need it! First pitch is going to be at 12:35 over on Comcast Sportsnet. 

Just a heads up to all you Sox fans out there. Look for a special post from me tomorrow; I will be doing a monthly wrap up for this past month of May. See you then!

White Sox Top Red Sox on Memorial Day

The White Sox went into Boston on Monday to face a Red Sox team that has been smashing the baseball lately and bounce back from a frustrating series in Toronto. This series in Boston is going to be an important one for the following reasons:
- We need to close out this road trip strong in order to minimize the damage done earlier in the road trip
- This is the last series of the road trip, we need momentum going into a 10 game home stand
- We're still flirting with .500 and we can't afford to drop games at this point in the season
- This team needs confidence, what better way to gain confidence than beat a tough Red Sox team in Boston?
- The Indians are starting to come back down to earth, nows the time for us to make our move as the schedule is about to get easier and we're on the cusp of a home stand

Well the White Sox got off to a promising start in this series. Everyone showed up folks, it was great to see. I actually have a smile on my face right now, recollecting all the good things I saw in this game. We still left a lot of guys on base, BUT we scored 7 runs, which is just fine, everyone is going to leave men on base, what is  important is getting enough men in to sustain a lead. Well South Siders, our pale hosers did just that for us on Monday.

The Sox got off to a promising start against a tough John Lester (coming into the game 7-1 with a 3.36 ERA), plating 2 runs right out of the gate in the first on 3 hits and a hit by pitch. Peavy looked pretty solid all day, only giving up a few runs on a few hits. He allowed a solo home run in the bottom of the first to Gonzalez, which quite frankly was a decent pitch by peavy, the ball caught a little too much of the plate, but it had a lot of movement on it and it was breaking hard, down and in... Gonzo just stayed right with it and smashed it, sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the other guy, Adrian Gonzalez displayed a great piece of hitting on that home run.

You can kind of see the ball, coming from a right hander and breaking down the way it was, just a great piece of hitting, this swing really stood out to me while I was watching the game, look at his hips open up, head down, balance, weight shifting perfectly. Rarely do I praise opposing players or teams (especially Red Sox...) But Gonzo, this buds for you.

The captain, Paul Konerko blasted a solo home run in the 3rd to make it a 3-1 ball game. Not to be out done, the Red Sox would answer back with a 2 run single by Dustin Pedroia to tie the game at 3. Ok, fast forward to the 6th inning for the play of the game, the White Sox load the bases with 2 outs and with a full count, Alexi Ramirez bloops a double over first base, just inside the foul line. He couldn't have thrown it out there any better. The Sox score 2 on that play and then, with runners on first and third, big hittin' Carlos Quentin singles to make it a 7-3 ball game, where the score would stay and eventually go final.

This was a huge win for the Sox for many reasons.
- Its always important to get the first game of the series, especially on the road and in a situation where you cannot afford to drop games.
- More confidence for Peavy as he continues to settle in
- The offense showed up on the same day as the pitching and defense!
- Bumped the Sox up to 3rd place... may not seem like much, but it shows progress (small victories add up to big ones)

If this team can play consistently like they did today and by that I mean, play to their potential, they WILL win this division. They showed today the kind of talent and potential they have on this club and folks, it was GREAT. Lets just hope they hit a groove and keep this up, because it still is early on and this team can do some serious damage in what is proving to be a weak division this season.

We're in Boston again tomorrow, first pitch is at 6:10 and this one is going to be on WCIU. Lets close out this month with a win boys, we need it.

 I would just like to take this time to say THANK YOU on this memorial day to all of those men and women in uniform and their families who have made such huge sacrifice to fight for our safety and our freedom in this great country. I don't think that men and women in uniform get enough credit from our citizens, nor do their families. I cannot say that I know what you are going through or how it feels, but again, from the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of the citizens of these United States, Thank You, God bless you and your families.