July 2010

Harrell’s Successful Debut, Trade for Jackson Highlight Interesting Day in SoxWorld


Lucas Harrell is up, Edwin Jackson is in and Daniel Hudson is out.

Anything else happen in White Sox World yesterday? Oh yeah, the South Siders won their fifth in row and their 12th straight at home–an impressive 6-1 victory over those pesky A’s.
As we turn our attention to today’s trade deadline, we’re well aware that Kenny Williams may not be done. Will Jackson be turned around in a package for Adam Dunn? Is Brett Myers on the horizon? Is there a wild-card player out there that KW has his eye on? I’m going to hold my comments until the deadline has passed since I’ve got a feeling we’re not done.
The Harrell story is a nice one. Drafted in 2004, it has taken Lucas all this time to reach the majors and he made the most of it, giving up a single run in six innings for his first major league victory.
Harrell on the mound…

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Getting a hand from the crowd…

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And being greeted with the traditional beer shower…

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Harrell may be on his way back to Charlotte when Jackson arrives, but what a night it was for a guy who has waited a long time to reach the bigs and woke up yesterday morning having no idea he was on his way to Chicago.
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Sox Sweep Mariners, Win 11th Straight at Home

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It was another White Sox explosion tonight as the South Siders crushed four home runs in a 9-5 victory over the Mariners. It concluded a four-game sweep over Seattle and moved The Good Guys to a game and a half in front of the red-hot Twins.
Ramon Castro connected for a pair of roundtrippers and Paul Konerko and Carlos Quentin hit back-to-back blows in the seventh to cinch the victory.
Freddy Garcia bounced back from his disastrous last start and pitched six solid innings to win his 10th game of the season.
A weekend series with the A’s is up next.
Sox Loyalty

My company is running a sports career event this week in New York, where high school and college students from around the country are touring NY area sports venues like Yankee Stadium, Red Bull Arena, Madison Square Garden and Citi Field and hearing from sports business leaders.
One of the stops we made on Wednesday was the MLB Network where we posed for pictures in one of the dugouts at Studio 42, named after Jackie Robinson.

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Scotty Pods Hits Tinseltown

jlm-stars-hollywood-sign.jpgI’ve said before in this space that all members of the 2005 World Champion White Sox have lifetime immunity with me and my Sox posse.  And their comings and goings will always be newsworthy enough to secure a place here at Art of the Pale Hose.


With that in mind, it’s important to note that Scott Podsednik, he of the dramatic home run in Game 2 of the ’05 Series, is now a Los Angeles Dodger. Scotty Pods was traded by the Royals yesterday to bolster the L.A. outfield with both Manny Ramirez and Reed Johnson on the sidelines.
Like we would with all the other ’05 champs, we wish Scotty the best and hope he is a smashing success in Hollywood. And it’ll be nice not to have to face him again in 2010.
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The Pen Sparkles as Sox Top Mariners in Impressive Comeback Win

Credit Gordon Beckham, Alexei Ramirez and Paul Konerko for their clutch home run prowess and Alex Rios‘s clutch single which drove in the winning run in the seventh. But the real heroes in the 6-5 come-from-behind victory over Seattle tonight came out of the bullpen in a game that saw Mark Buehrle struggle in only five innings of work as he missed the opportunity to win No. 10.

A scoreless inning and a third from Sergio Santos…
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A scoreless 2/3 of an inning from Matt Thornton, who was credited with the win…
A scoreless eighth inning from J.J. Putz…
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And a scoreless, three strikeout save from Bobby Jenks…

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And the Sox remain one game up on the Twins in the A.L. Central pennant race as they won their 10th straight victory at home and made it 17 of 18.
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Floyd and Alexei Head List of Sox Heroes

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Three homers (Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramirez, Andruw Jones), 12 hits, four doubles (two each by Dayan Viciedo and Gordon Beckham) and a Gavin Floyd gem later, the White Sox walked away with an 11-0 thumping of the Mariners tonight at the Cell.
It was the ninth straight home victory for the South Siders and 16 of the last 17. The win, combined with the Twins’ victory over the Royals, keeps the Sox lead in the A.L. Central at one game.
Floyd continued his sparkling pitching run with seven innings of shutout ball. In his last 10 starts he has compiled an impressive 1.04 ERA and hasn’t given up more than two earned runs in a game in almost two months.
The one thing that stands out to me more than anything else–including what Floyd has 
done–is the recent play, both offensively and defensively, of Ramirez. He had a homer, three hits and three RBI tonight and has now brought up his average to .288. And he’s been virtually flawless in the field with his patented flair. 
Simply put, Alexei’s performance alone has been worth the price of admission.
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This is Good News: The Greatest Offensive Force in White Sox History Comes Home

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From whitesox.com:

Frank Thomas, who will have his No. 35 retired by the White Sox in August, rejoined Chicago as a team ambassador, the club announced in a press release Tuesday.

“Frank Thomas is one of the greatest offensive players in Major League Baseball history and, without question, one of the greatest players in our franchise’s long history,” said White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. “It is with great pleasure that we formally welcome Frank back to the White Sox family.”

On Aug. 29, the two-time American League Most Valuable Player will be honored at U.S. Cellular Field, an event the team will call “Frank Thomas Day,” the White Sox announced in February.

Moving forward as an ambassador, the 42-year-old will be making appearances for the team by joining its speaking bureau, which consists of Carlton Fisk, Minnie Minoso, Ron Kittle, Bill Melton and Bill Skowron.

Thomas will be the 10th player to have his number retired by the White Sox, joining Nellie Fox (2), Harold Baines (3), Luke Appling (4), Minoso (9), Luis Aparicio (11), Ted Lyons (16), Billy Pierce (19), Jackie Robinson (42) and Fisk (72).

Thomas finished his career with the South Siders as the team’s all-time leader in home runs (448) and RBIs (1,465) while ranking third in hits (2,136).


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Danks Outduels King Felix as Sox Remain in First

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We knew that tonight’s game, with Felix Hernandez on the mound for the Mariners, would be a tough one for the White Sox to win. But we also know these 2010 Sox and their ability to bounce back from losses.
Last night John Danks led the way in the 6-1 dismantling of Seattle in the South Siders’ triumphant return home after the 4-6 road trip. Paul Konerko smashed his 22nd homer of the season and Juan Pierre (2), Omar Vizquel, Alexei Ramirez and A.J. Pierzynski added RBIs. Pierre and Ramirez had three hits apiece.
To me, when Danks is on his game there’s nobody I’d rather watch pitch– and he was certainly on tonight, hurling eight innings and allowing only six hits in winning his 11th contest of the season.
After the tough road swing, this was an awfully welcome win as the Sox hold on to their one-game division lead over the Twins. And beating King Felix made it even sweeter.
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Hose Returns to the Cell, Hoping to Regain Magic

While we’re surely disappointed, let’s put our 4-6 post-All-Star Game road trip, capped off by today’s 6-4 loss to the A’s, into perspective.

We went into the Midsummer Classic a half-game ahead in the division and after the subpar trip to Minnesota, Seattle and Oakland we’re now a full game up on the Twins. It’s true that we increased the lead to 3 1/2 during that span, but we live in a real world and we knew our torrid play wouldn’t last forever. The important thing is that we’re still in first place.
Our return to the Cell tomorrow night against the Mariners won’t be an easy game to win as John Danks faces Felix Hernandez. He blanked the Sox, giving up two hits and striking out eight in eight innings last Wednesday in the heartbreaking 11-inning loss. But I feel a whole lot better that we’ll be in the comfort of home.
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Just One of Those Days: A’s 10, White Sox 2

guillen-ozzie080505.jpgIt’s something White Sox fans certainly didn’t want to happen, but the truth is that the South Siders were due to be on the losing side of a blowout as they were this afternoon in 
Oakland. You never like a loss, but this one is a whole lot easier to take than the recent walk-off defeats. I bet even Ozzie would agree with me.
For the record, the last time the Sox lost by as many as five runs was on June 8 in a 7-2 loss at the hands of the Tigers at the Cell. The last time they lost this badly was four days earlier in a 10-1 drubbing by the Indians, also in Chicago.
Since then, there have been the 11 and nine game winning streaks and the Sox have consistently battled and played close games in the losses. So today’s 10-2 result was rare indeed.
Freddy Garcia, the ace of the staff most of this season, was dreadful for a change as he got yanked in the second inning after giving up five runs, six hits and three walks. The only offensive highlight in our four-hit attack was a two-run homer by Ramon Castro which tied the game at 2-2 in the second inning. It was all downhill from there.
The Sox, with Daniel Hudson on the mound, will attempt to win the series against the A’s tomorrow and finish the 10-game Minnesota, Seattle and Oakland road trip at .500.
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You Gotta Love the Way These Sox Bounce Back

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There’s no doubting the resiliency of these White Sox. And it was evident again last night as Mark Buehrle observed the first anniversary of his perfecto by snapping his personal Oakland jinx in a sparkling 5-1 complete game victory.

Thanks to Tim Clodjeaux, a member of my Sox posse, I am reminded that after their three most heartbreaking defeats this season, the South Siders have rebounded in impressive style.
* May 9 (Mother’s Day): The White Sox take a 7-5 lead into the ninth against the Blue Jays in Chicago, but Bobby Jenks implodes, giving up four runs, including a three-run homer off the bat of Jay Fred Lewis, in the 9-7 loss…Two days later, after an off day, the Sox put the Blue Jay defeat in the rearview mirror. Behind Freddy Garcia and a five-run fifth, the Pale Hose topple the Twins, 5-2, at Target Field.
* July 18 (last Sunday): In arguably the most gut-wrenching loss of the season, the White Sox go into the ninth against the Twins in Minnesota up 6-3, but lose 7-6 on another Jenks implosion…The next night in Seattle the Sox acted like that heartbreaking loss never happened. Thanks to a fine performance by Dan Hudson and a balanced offense, sparked by Alex Rios, the Hose bounced back with a 6-1 triumph.
* July 21 (last Wednesday): With the White Sox and the Mariners hooked up in a Gavin Floyd-Felix Hernandez pitching duel in the series finale, the teams are scoreless through 10. The Sox score a run in the top of the 11th, hoping it would hold up. Not so much. Jenks gives up a pair in the bottom of the inning and the Sox lose, 2-1…With Buehrle compiling an 0-6 record in Oakland and the Sox facing red-hot hurler Trevor Cahill, fans couldn’t be blamed for doubting the club’s chances in the opener of the three-game series after an off day. But Buehrle was masterful last night and the Sox offense delivered.
The truth is that these kinds of games are going to happen–to every team, multiple times every year. The key is to minimize them and when they do happen bounce right back. The Good Guys have done that.
Standings update:  The Sox are now 53-42, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Tigers and three in front of the Twins. Minnesota lost last night to the Orioles and the Tigers and Blue Jays were rained out.
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