Clearing the Dust...

What was once the most embarassing team in the MLB... is still the most embarassing team in the MLB. WIth the rumors floating in the air about getting rid of Gooch, Buehrle and Dye, I have yet to wonder of the possible outcome. Why would we trade Buehrle to the Brewers? Why would we accept Jim Hendry's (GM of the Cubs) offer of Jacque Jones for some prospects? Where in the world would Tadahito go? All of these will remain an inigma, as we sit, watch, and read what goes on in the sports world.

Lots of Work to do...

The Sox have to blow off all the remains of the past few weeks and start fresh. We've been losing (6 straight), we haven't been hitting AT ALL, our bullpen has collapsed and we have no arm power in the outfield!

I don't know what has happened, but I don't like it.

Our base coaches have been a bit too aggressive, allowing runners to get out a home, or stopping them from an obvious scoring chance! I like them, but still... open your eyes.

I'll post again later, or maybe not...

FINALLY!!!

I can rest easily tonight as I now know that the White Sox finally managed to pull off a victory and throw us out of our little skid.

I happend to miss the game on the radio because my batteries died... yeah... so I missed a great victory.

• Notes
• Jon Garland got his first win of the season.
• Erstad stole his 5th base off former teammate Jose Molina.
• Ryan Sweeney got his first double of the season.

Fianl score, Sox 6 -- Angels 3

You Know...

Another loss to the Chicago White Sox comes the way of a Kelvim Escobar gem, and a score of 5-1.

I don't even feel like writing because we're so bad, but I want to since I have so many things to write about.

• Why in the world can Rob Mackowiak not get the job done with runners on?
• At this point, I could field better than Ryan Sweeney.
• I need Podsednik back.
• Erstad gets standing ovation in first AB back at the Big A.

That's really all I feel like writing. But on the flip side, Jose Contreras pitched well! When he dropped down sidearm he hit his spots, which is good. And I can tell A.J.'s defense behind the plate has vastly improved since last year. Joe Crede is still the #1 third baseman in the AL Central. He makes every play look easy and the only other contender would be Detroit's Brandon Inge.

I like the fact that our defense is playing well, but I would like to see more 'pen improvement. Other than that all I can say is

GO SOX!!!

Sox Lose!!! Sox Lose!!!

Why is it that thats all the real news we're getting now? All thanks to nobody getting on base for John Danks. It's the fact that we don't have a legit leadoff hitter that may be the problem. Darrin Erstad is good, now don't get me wrong, but after my last post you can see how much I enjoyed having Pods at the top of my lineup.

I'm thinking of starting a new little updater for after the games. Something like...

• Dye and Konerko both homer off of Mariners' righty, Batista
• Danks KO's 4 in loss

And stuff like that.

But anyways,

[Game Info]

Tomorrow the sox will take on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, in LA. The game is set to start at 9:05 PM, so join Chris Rongey at 8:35 PM tomorrow night for the Sox pregame show. Then join Chris Singleton and Ed Farmer for the lineups, first pitch and the rest of the game starting at 9 eastern time on AM 670 The Score.

After Sox loss, Danks Going for Game 2

John Danks needs to win a game! He's 0-3 but has pitched well enough to get the win in all 4 of his starts. The offense just hasn't performed well enough to back him up and win him a game. Come on guys! Get Danks a win!

Apparently my lineup idea went unnoticed. Mainly because no one really reads this. But I can still post! Luis Terrero played left field last night and hit a homer in his first Sox at bat. Congrats, Luis!

I've been hearing on ESPN 1000, actual names will go "not named" so lets just call them... Silvy and Waddell, ok? Anyways. They think that Jermaine Dye may be getting too old and is falling off the map offense wise. He still has a great arm and can roam right field with the best of them, but the fact that he has 5 home runs and 14 RBI proves them wrong.

We haven't yet gotten Scott Podsednik back to our leadoff slot. As soon as he gets back into our lineup I can see some more wins for the Sox. More stolen bases are needed. We need to get some runners on second and third via the SB, and thats what Pods brought to us! Erstad has contributed with a few swipes, but just the left handed presence at the top of our order is what we need again.

What if we put Erstad first? Ozuna could bat 7th or 8th...

Oh well!

Today's pitching match up: John Danks 0-3 against Miguel Batista 2-2.

Lineup Idea

So, since everyone is freaking out on the Sox's lineup, I came up with an idea to fix it all.

Jim Thome is out with a leg injury. So what do we do with our DH spot? Heres what: We take Paulie and put him at DH, move Erstad (who has played at first in LA) to first base, then either call Anderson back up or put Ryan Sweeney in center! And there ya' go!

Erstad and Sweeney could switch time in center, and when Erstad is in center Paulie would be at first a Ryan (Sweeney) batting in DH.

Problems solved.

Sox fall to Angels, head to Seattle

Over the past few days I have neglected my ability to write on this blog. I will try my hardest to write as much as I can.

Today, the Sox took a hard loss to the Angels with Mark Buehrle on the mound for us. The Angels sent Kelvim Escobar to the bump to face one of his former teammates in Darin Erstad. He repaid them by slamming a two-run shot off of Escobar in the 3rd inning. What a way to tell your team, "You made a mistake letting go of me."

Mark Buehrle's second no-hitter in the past three starts was broken up by a Macier Izturis homer, followed by a Vladamir Guerrero shot to the outfield. Not too much to hang onto as the Sox finish the game with a loss 5-2 to the Angels. Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez locked up his 8th save of the season. What a gamer he is.

Not too much to report on except the next game is on Tuesday against the Mariners, with Javier Vazquez going for us against the Mariners' Jarrod Washburn.

Vazquez Gets the Call Against Twins

The pitcher I hate will take on the team I hate. We have a little streak going with one win in the end of the Indians series, we have one injury so far which is Mark Buehrle.

Vazquez needs to have a good game. You can never tell with Javy. He's an inconsistent starter who will strikeout a lot of hitters and win around 14 games a year. I don't really care for Vazquez and I would like it if Kenny could throw him into a trade so we can get a quality pitcher.

Our offense is doing great! We're getting hits from Crede, Iguchi, Pierzynski and Uribe. We're getting homers from Thome and Erstad, we're getting some stolen bases from Erstad and Pods. I like the way this team is shaping up. We may not do so well today against Carlos Silva depending on how our lineup looks.

I say if it's Pods, Erstad, Konerko, then Thome we may stand a chance in the first inning to put up some runs and come away with the victory if our bullpen holds up a lead.

[Game Info]

The game is going to be on AM 670 The Score, like always. But it will also be on FOX channel 32. Joe Buck and Tim McCarver probably for the Fox booth, but on the radio side we get Ed Farmer and Chris Singleton.

[Visiting The Central]

Minnesota - W-3, L-0

Cleveland - W-2, L-1

Kansas City W-2, L-2

Chicago ---- W-1, L-2

Detroit ---- W-1, L2

Ahh... what a surprise!

The Royals are in third, the World Series team is tied for last, and the Twinkies are in first playing 1.000 baseball! This is great. Early in the season and we're losing to the worst team in the league.

Sox Get First Win of Season

CHICAGO -- With Mark Buehrle on the mound the Sox succeeded in doing something before the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. And that is: Win a game. Though Grady Sizemore lead off the game with a homer... again... Buehrle did well!

Until the second inning when Ryan Garko hit a liner that went straight towards Buehrle's pitching hand and nailed him. Mark then went hopping off the mound in pain as he left the game with a hand injury. More news to come.

We did, however, pull off a win in the most unusual way I have ever seen... or... heard.

The bases are loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning after 3 straight walks by Roberto Hernandez of the Indians, with the score tied at 3 a piece. A.J. Pierzynski is batting and he gits hit by a pitch! A walk off HBP! I've never heard of that!

[Visiting The Central]

Minnesota - 3W, 0L

Cleveland -- 2W, 1L

Detroit ----- 1W, 1L

Chicago -- 1W, 2L

Kansas City 1W, 2L

Look at that! We're tied for last with Kansas City! The high school team!

We can still make a run for first in our upcoming series with the Twins, if we can pull off a sweep. Think it could happen?

Well lets put it this way: Johan Santana doesn't pitch until Sunday against Contreras. Francisco Liriano is injured so we don't have to worry about him. If Vazquez can get a win tomorrow against Silva, and by some miracle Contreras beats Santana we could be tied for first by Monday!

Buehrle to Make 1st Start of Season

Finally, in Chicago, Mark Buhrle will make his first start of the season! He didn't start opening day for the first tim since I've been a Sox fan, which is crazy. Though Jose Contreras did fine on opening day (yeah right...) I would've considered Buehrle to have been a better choice.

Jeremy Sowers will oppose Buehrle as we hope to come away with our first win of the season.

[Game Info]

The game will be on at 1:05 PM CST on AM 670 The Score, if you live in the Chicago area. Join pre and post game host Chris Rongey at 12:35 for the beginning of the pregame show, then immediatly following will be Ed Farmer and Chris Singleton from the lovely U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois. Then after the game: the post game show with Rongey.

GO SOX!!!

Sox Lose Again

CHICAGO -- Jon Garland took the hill 0-0, yet left it 0-0. Jim Thome hit his first homerun of the year in the first inning off of Westbrook, and I'm glad he did! We need some help on the offensive side of the game. Though our pitching needs a little work with Cooper, we can still pull off a winning record in Week One.

I don't really like the fact that Buehrle didn't go on opening day. He's never good unless he's pitching on opening day. Now granted he hasn't pitched too well in the past anyway he does have a better record when he starts on opening day.

Now... back to the actual game! Thome also hit a double, along with Tadahito Iguchi. Speaking of Iguchi, Tadahito hit a home run today! More of this should be expected from Tadahito.

Our pitching did well! Garland KO'd 5, MacDougal struckout 3, and David Aardsma punched out 5.

Final Score: Indians 8 - Sox 7

Sox Hitter of the Game: Jim Thome (1)

Sox Pitcher of the Game: David Aardsma (1)

[Visiting The Central]

Detroit beat the Blue Jays 10-9. The Twins won 7-2 against the Orioles with Ramon Ortiz getting the win. The Royals right now are losing to the Red Sox... 6-1.

Garland on the Bump for Game 2

So now after our loss on Monday, Jon Garland will take the hill for us. We need a win from him and our offense needs to come through. Some good pitching from Garland and a great game from the bullpen, as well as some timely hitting from people who go without needing to be named, and we should have the win locked up.

Garland will be taking on the Indians' Jake Westbrook in today's game.

Contreras' loss on Monday was obviously a bad one, though we did find out that in 1917 Lefty Williams was taken out of his opening day start after giving up around 7 runs, then the Sox went on to win 100 games and beat the Giants in 6 games to win the World Series.

You know what that means: Another World Series victory is in the future for the Sox.

[Game Info]
The game, as always, will be broadcast on AM 670 The Score and will feature Chris Singleton, and returning from California: Ed Farmer. I think Steve Stone did a good job in the game on Monday and I'd like to have him as a 3rd broadcast man.

[Visiting the Central]
Another stop in the AL Central as this takes us to the land of game previews, standings, and division leaders.

Lets first take a look at the standings.
Minnesota - 2W -- 0L
Cleveland -- 1W -- 0L
Kansas City 1W -- 0L
Chicago -- 0W -- 1L
Detroit ---- 0W -- 1L

Kansas City surprised me in 3rd place. I thought we'd be there by now, but we're only 1 game into the season.

Todays Games: Orioles are in Minnesota to wrap up their series with Ramon Ortiz going for the Twins and Jaret Wright for the O's. Toronto and Detroit will also finish their series with Nate Robertson on the mound for the Tigers against A.J. Burnett for the Blue Jays. Josh Beckett will be pitching for the Red Sox as they take on Odalis Perez and the Royals in KC today.

And thus wraps up today's edition of:

-- Visiting the Central --

Sox Lose in Opening Day

CHICAGO -- Everything was smooth... until the second pitch of the game was thrown. That is when Cleveland centerfielder Grady Sizemore hit a home run off of Jose Contreras to make the score 1-0. Then everything fell apart in the first ending up in a 5-run inning.

But that wasnt the end of the Sox! In the bottom of the first Pablo Ozuna led off the inning with a double then was driven in on a Darin Erstad 2-run shot.

The Indians scored 4 more in the top of the second, followed by one for the Sox in the bottom.

In the third inning is when things started to look up for the Sox when Paul Konerko blasted his first homer of the year to make the score 9-3.

The scoring stopped until the top of the eighth inning when the Indians scored one, the bottom of the 9th resulted in 2 more Sox runs, then the end of the game and the score came out to: 12-5, Indians.

Winning Pitcher: C.C. Sabathia, 1-0.
Losing Pitcher: Jose Contreras, 0-1.
Sox Player of the Game: Darin Erstad. 1/4, 2 RBI, HR. .250 AVG.

Todays Sox Lineup

Please get your pencils and scorecards ready, here is the correct lineup for todays ballgame.

38 -- Pablo Ozuna ---- LF
17 -- Darin Erstad ---- CF
25 -- Jim Thome ----- DH
14 -- Paul Konerko ---- 1B
23 -- Jermaine Dye -- -RF
24 -- Joe Crede ------- 3B
15 -- Tadahito Iguchi - 2B
12 -- A.J. Pierzynski -- C
5 --- Juan Uribe ------ SS

And pitching
52 -- Jose Contreras -- RHP

Contreras to go Opening Day

For the first time since I've been an official Sox fan, Mark Buehrle isn't starting opening day! I've always seen Mark start but now its Jose Contreras, who had 17 straight wins between '05-'06. I think this is a good move on Ozzie's part and I like the fact that our 2nd best pitcher is going on one of the most important days of the year. Our 1st best pitcher being Garland.

I'm thinkin the Indians, who we play today, will really do good this year, except their first three games, if you know what I mean (wink, wink. Nudge, nudge).

According to The Score Pablo Ozuna will be leading off in todays game and will be playing Left Field.

Game lineups will come later, and the pitching matchup will be later, also.

[Game Info]

Starting at 12 o'clock, on AM 670 The Score, with the pregame show is Chris "The Ranger" Rongey. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:05 PM but I say it'll be around 1:08. With the first pitch, and the whole game, is Steve Stone, who is filling in for Ed Farmer because Ed's daughter had a little accident involving a car, and Chris Singleton!

[Pitching Matchup]

For us: Jose Contreras. For them: Captain Cupcakes Sabathia. Or C.C. if you live in Ohio.

[Visiting the Central]

In my first Visiting the Central I will look around the league at what other central division teams are doing! So lets get started... Detroit is playing Toronto with Bonderman going for the Tigers and Halladay for the Jays. Cleveland is playing the White Sox, our White Sox. Minnesota is playing Baltimore and we all know who's going for the Twinkies (ahem, Johan Santana). And last, and I mean last, The Kansas City Royals High School Baseball Team will play the Boston Red Sox. Meche vs. Schilling, but hey; who cares?

Breaking News!

Our fifth starter has been announced, finally! John Danks, who I love, is our "official" fifth starter! So now we have a complete pitching rotation that may look like this:

1. Mark Buehrle, LHP
2. Jose Contreras, RHP
3. Jon Garland, RHP
4. Javier Vazquez, RHP
5. John Danks, LHP

Does that not look good?

Infielder Reviews

# 8 Alex Cintron. We locked him up in the off-season and he can play anywhere in the infield except first base. He came through in the clutch against Pittsburgh last year and he should do the same this year. He's a switch hitter so we can use him against any pitcher if any of our infielders need a day off. A-

# 24 Joe Crede. Our third baseman and one of the best defensively in the league. He goes all out in the field and can make some Spider-man like catches. He can hit, too! 30 homers and 94 RBI for a defensive third baseman? Sounds pretty offensive to me... A

# 15 Tadahito Iguchi. TADAHITO (clap, clap, clap clap clap)!!! This guy makes the best plays at second base yet they don't even count for fantasy! If they did though... you'd be winning leagues like crazy! Anyways. I like the way he hits and he can bang some homers as well. Dude's only 5'-10" and he can play ball with the best of 'em. A

# 14 Paul Konerko. If I say anything bad about Paulie I may jinx him... So I'm going to just say that he can hit homeruns and drive in runs... anything yet? Good... he can play first base really well... Paulie also made the final outs for each of our playoff series' in '05 A+

# 38 Pablo Ozuna. The ultimate utility player! He can play first, second, short, third, and all of the outfield! I love Pabs! .328 average last year and he only played in 79 games! What a trooper. I love his style though he needs to improve in the outfield. A little touching up in that catagorie and you have one of the best utility players in the game. B-

# 5 Juan Uribe. The best shortstop EVER!!! Ok maybe not that good but he can play. He was part of the final out of the 2005 World Series (along with Paulie and Jenks *see pitching reviews*). He can hit, too, but not so much power as just getting on base. B+

Catcher Review

Pitchers are done so the Catchers, naturally, should be next!

# 44 Toby Hall. I like his style plus he adds a right-handed veteran bat to put in against all the tough lefties we usually face. He and Vazquez seem to wrok well togther but that's just what I think. Can't wait for the regular season on him. B+

# 12 A.J. Pierzynski. A.J. is a grinder and has been since we got him! I love how, when he got punched by Barrett last year, he didn't punch back and get ejected. Though that would've been good to of seen some life out of the Sox and know they're alive I like the way A.J. reacted. Pure all-star last year even though he didn't get to play in the game. A

White Sox Pitching Review

OK, so the team is about to go into their 107th season in the Majors. My team review begins now:

# 54 David Aardsma. Acquired from the Cubs for Neal Cotts, this fire throwing right-hander has come out of nowhere to be one of our best bullpen arms. He can throw in the mid 90's, usually. A good addition to our already good bullpen. B

# 56 Mark Buehrle. Our "ace" since Loaiza left the team. He has one of the best pick off moves I've ever seen and can pitch a game in under 2 hours. A great left handed starter and we have him! He did go 12-13 last year with a 4.99 ERA but he should improve on that this year. B+

# 52 Jose Contreras. A consistent starter since 2005 when he was a crucial key to our championship run. I need to see more wins out of him yet he gets 'em when we need 'em. The other thing is that he baffles hitters with his 3 arm angles. You never know where hes coming from! B

# 34 Gavin Floyd. He is an OK pitcher, young and vulnerable, but OK. He does get cocky at times and misses his spots A TON! Yet he does show signs of being good and can impove on everything with Dr. Cooper, AJ, and Toby. He's in the running for our 5th starter spot. D

# 20 Jon Garland. One of the winningest pitchers on the Sox in the past 3 years. He went 18-7 last year with a 4.51 ERA. He's in serious contention for a Cy Young award(if Johan Santana suddenly dies...). A

# 40 Charlie Haeger. I saw him pitch in his first game against the Angels last year and he walked like 7 guys in 2 innings. He is a knuckleballer so that could've been some of the problem. I do like his stuff though and he could be a potential set up man in our bullpen. Wouldn't think of him as a starter just yet. B-

# 45 Bobby Jenks. One of the best closers in the league. 40+ saves a year and he was on the mound for the last out of the World Series in '05, which we should all forget. When he's on and focused you can expect a 100 MPH fastball which is awesome for a closer. A

# 57 Boone Logan. I don't know too much about Boone but he does have some control issues from what I've heard. Too early for me to make a comment. ???

# 47 Mike MacDougal. If Jenks goes down, which I hope he doesn't, Mike would be our closer. He can also throw around 100 MPH and has wicked poise on the mound. I like his stuff and he should be our go-to guy in the bullpen. Next to Jenks, of course. B+

# 46 Nick Masset. Picked him up in the Brandon McCarthy trade so I don't know much about him either. I heard he can hit 98 MPH on his fastball, but I have no idea yet. Too early for him, too. ???

# 51 Andrew Sisco. Also acquired in the McCarthy deal. And I also know nothing about him! ???

# 37 Matt Thornton. Great arm in the bullpen for anytime to have, but last time I checked: We do. I like the way he pitches and he shows great confidence on the mound. He can throw mid 90's like Aardsma. I like him! Another person to consider for the closer spot if, and I mean if, Jenks goes down. A-

# 33 Javier Vazquez. I didn't like him before but now I'm starting to have second thoughts. He's a strike out monster and can win ballgames. Needs to improve on his ERA a smidge but other than that he may become a favorite in my mind! B+