Results tagged ‘ A's ’

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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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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Some Musings as First-Place White Sox Begin Second Half of Season Against the Twins

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With the All-Star Game break, the blog has been dark for the past three days. But the Sox are back in action today–and so am I.
Here are a few thoughts as the Sox attempt to continue the surge that moved them into the A.L. Central lead after Sunday’s win against the Royals.
–The Sox have reported that Jake Peavy‘s surgery yesterday could not have gone better. Jake, see you in Glendale.
–The South Siders’ No. 1 draft pick, Chris Sale (pictured below), has been promoted from Class A Winston-Salem to AAA Charlotte after only four one-inning stints. Seems like he’s doing his Daniel Hudson imitation, only quicker. He could be in Chicago before too long.
–Those Adam Dunn to the White Sox rumors continue. Reports are that the Nationals are holding out for Gordon Beckham. If that’s the case, it won’t happen. Beckham’s 2010 struggles aside, Gordo is a keeper and the Sox know it.
–I haven’t seen it reported anywhere, but if the acquisition of Dunn doesn’t materialize–and I think Prince Fielder is out of the question–how about adding Raul Ibanez as a lefty bat in the Sox lineup? I’ve always liked him (actually hated him) because of his great success against the Sox over the years. Word is that the Phils wouldn’t mind parting with Raul.
–The Sox are hoping to start a new tradition tonight at Target Field. A tradition of dominating the Twins on their home field. The pitching matchups for the weekend:
TONIGHT: John Danks vs. Kevin Slowey
TOMORROW NIGHT: Gavin Floyd vs. Francisco Liriano
SATURDAY NIGHT: Mark Buehrle vs. Carl Pavano
SUNDAY: Freddy Garcia vs. Nick Blackburn

–After the four games in Minnesota, the Sox play three in Seattle, enjoy an off day and then travel to Oakland for three before returning home on July 26 vs. the Mariners.
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Dana Eveland (Who?) Does His Sandy Koufax Imitation

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Dana Eveland, who is with his fourth organization since 2005, might as well be Sandy Koufax when he faces the White Sox. He’s now 3-1 in six starts this season with two of the victories against the South Siders.
He beat them on April 15 in Toronto, allowing only two runs and three hits in six innings. Last night, in the 2-0 Blue Jay win, he hurled seven innings of shutout ball, surrendering a mere two hits. It’s either that Eveland has turned the corner since failing to stick with the Brewers, Diamondbacks and A’s or he’s simply taken advantage of our season-long offensive doldrums.
It’s reached the point in the Sox season where nobody really knows if this is a .500 team or a contender. John Danks has been the only consistent starter and aside from Paul Konerko, Alex Rios and Andruw Jones, the offense, in the words of a fellow Sox fan, has been revolting. And the bullpen has suffered from the starters’ inconsistency.
We have no other choice but to wait it out and hope that a winning streak is right around the corner.
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The Springtime Ritual of Predicting the Winners

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We all know that preseason predictions mean nothing–nada, zilch, zero. And while we shouldn’t take them seriously, it’s still a lot of fun–especially when the so-called experts pick your team to win.
Historically, it’s very rare when the baseball media elite pick the White Sox to win their division, let alone the AL pennant or World Series. It’s not that much different this year as the Twins seem to be the most common pick to conquer the AL Central. That said, there are a few “big name” media types among those who have picked the South Siders:
* Hall of Fame electee Bill Madden of the New York Daily News and author of the forthcoming bio of George Steinbrenner.
* Fox Sports‘ Ken Rosenthal, who somewhat tongue-in-cheek picked the Sox to win the World Series while referring to them “Team Wacko.” Think that had anything to do with our Ozzie?
* ESPN‘s Tim Kurkjian, who doesn’t exactly wear a Sox jersey on the weekends.
* Jon Heyman, he of SI, SI.com and the MLB Network.
Since I’m drinking the prediction Kool-Aid, I might as well add my two cents. Here are my divisional picks for 2010:
AL CENTRAL

1. White Sox
2. Twins
3. Tigers
4. Royals
5. Indians


AL EAST 

1. Rays
2. Red Sox
3. Yankees
4. Orioles
5. Blue Jays


AL WEST

1. Angels
2. Mariners
3. Rangers
4. A’s

NL EAST

1. Phillies
2. Braves
3. Marlins
4. Mets
5. Nationals


NL CENTRAL

1. Cardinals
2. Reds
3. Brewers
4. Cubs
5. Pirates
6. Astros


NL WEST

1. Rockies
2. Dodgers
3. Giants
4. Padres
5. Diamondbacks

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Why?

Headline: Andrew Bailey of A’s voted 2009 Baseball Writers’ Association of America AL Rookie of the Year.

Don’t get me wrong. Andrew Bailey is a very worthy choice for the honor with 26 saves and a 1.84 ERA.

What I can’t understand is how Sox rising star Gordon Beckham can win AL Rookie honors from two player polls–Sporting News and the Major League Baseball Players Association–and finish fifth with no first place votes, 11 points behind fourth place and 78 points in back of Bailey. For the record, the Top 5 were Bailey, the Rangers’ Elvis Andrus (65), Rick Porcello of the Tigers (64), the Rays’ Jeff Niemann (21) and Beckham (10).

What do the writers know that the players don’t or vice versa? It just doesn’t make sense.

Beckham in the Thick of AL “Rookie of the Year” Race

The list is certainly impressive.

Minnie Minoso, Luis Aparicio, Gary Peters, Pete Ward, Tommie Agee, Carlos May, Britt Burns, Ron Kittle and Ozzie Guillen comprise the honor roll of Sox players who have been named American League Rookie of the Year by either the Baseball Writers’ Association of America or The Sporting News.

If Sox fans controlled the voting, Gordon Beckham would unanimously join this illustrious group in ’09 and claim the team’s first rookie award since Ozzie in 1985. He has been nothing short of spectacular since being called up from Charlotte on June 4, and he’s got my support, but as good as Beckham has been he’s not a shoo-in.

As I see it, it’s a six-player race with outfielder Nolan Reimold of the Orioles, A’s closer Andrew Bailey, Tigers hurler Rick Porcello, Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero and the Rays’ Jeff Niemann rounding out my top candidates.

Here’s the comparison:

* Beckham:  In 86 games he has knocked out 87 hits, including 11 homers and 25 doubles, scored 48 runs, driven in 53 and sports a .279 batting average with an on-base percentage of .353.

* Reimold:  In 103 games he has knocked out 99 hits, including 15 homers and 18 doubles, scored 49 runs, driven in 45 and sports a .279 batting average with an on-base percentage of .365.

* Bailey:  He has compiled a 6-3 record with a 2.03 earned run average and 24 saves. He also has struck out 81 while walking only 23.

* Romero: The talented lefty has bolstered the Jays’ staff with his 12-8 record. 4.22 ERA. In 153.2 innings he has struck out 119 and given up just 68 bases on balls.

* Porcello: He is 13-8 with a 4.21 ERA and has struck out 78 while walking 45 for the AL Central-leading Tigers.

* Niemann: He has compiled a 12-5 mark with a 3.57 ERA and has K’d 106 while walking only 50. 

For us Beckham boosters, who have seen the gifted one play every day, it’s a closer competition than we’d like. But here’s hoping that Pale Hose justice prevails.                     

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