New Jermaine Dye Rumors and Other Notes

I'll begin tonight with the standard Jermaine Dye rumors. Of course, as everything else apparently does, this directly ties into the Mark Teixiera Mega-Sweepstakes that has currently swallowed everything baseball-related. The lastest news on Teixeira is that his most previous employer, the Los Angeles Angels officially pulled their offer off the table after they tired of waiting, and in his latest blog update, ESPN's Peter Gammons says,

We don't know ... there really might be a three-way deal among the White Sox, Angels and Reds that would put Jermaine Dye in Cincinnati, Joey Votto in Anaheim and Chone Figgins in Chicago.

The deal makes sense for the Sox who, fill a hole at third base and at the top of their lineup and it makes a lot of sense for the Angels, who pick up a young first baseman to fill their new hole on the right side of the infield. I have no idea how trading a young, cheap player with major upside for 1 year of Jermaine Dye makes any sense for Cincinnati, but hey they haven't had a winning season since 2000 so who knows what's going on at Big Red Headquarters.

Meanwhile, the Sox seem to be schmoozing free agent Bobby Abreu... Who just so happens to play the same position as Jermaine Dye! Talk about coincidences.

If you remember, back in July (when it wasn't zero degrees out), I posted that I wouldn't mind seeing the Sox take a flyer on Daniel Cabrera at the trade deadline. Cabrera was released by the Orioles this off-season, but he just signed a deal with the Nationals. So that's that.

Fox Sports' head baseball guy, Ken Rosenthal published this snazzy slideshow of the 11 (I don't know how he settled on that figure, either) best free agents still available as well as where he felt they'd sign. #9 on his list is Orlando Hudson, who the Sox reportedly coveted earlier in the year and who just so happens to play a position that we don't have a definitive answer at the Major League level currently. Talk about coincidences. The Hudons situation feels more and more like a standard KW-style signing... A proven veteran that's been getting little publicity recently because of some nagging side issues (injuries) that fills a definite hole in this team/lineup, and will hopefully accept a lower than desired contract because of said issues. Something to keep your eyes on, but while I wouldn't be shocked if Hudson wasn't the Sox's starting second baseman in 2009, I'd say he's the frontrunner for the job, despite not being employed here yet.

Finally, in case your worried that you've been fixating too much on this whole free agent class, I've got good news for you. The guys at MLB Trade Rumors.com published this list of available (and potentially available) free agents in the 2009-2010 off-season. Headliners include Indians C Victor Martinez, Mets 1B Carlos Delgado, Orioles 2B Brian Roberts, Devil Rays OF Carl Crawford, A's OF Matt Holliday, Sox RF Jermaine Dye, Angels RF Vladimir Guerrero, Tigers RF Magglio Ordonez, Sox DH Jim Thome, Mariners SP Erik Bedard, Sox SP Jose Contreras, Cubs SP Rich Harden, Braves SP Tim Hudson, Angels SP John Lackey, Indians Cy Young SP Cliff Lee, Diamondbacks SP Brandon Webb, and Sox RP Octavio Dotel.

You're welcome. Merry Christmas, Sox fans.

Viva Las Vegas

The White Sox and Cubs have added two more Spring Training games this year in Las Vegas. The games will be split-squad games for the Sox, and they will be on March 4 and 5 at 7:05 and 1:05 local time respectively. The games will be played at Cashman Field, located a few blocks north of Downtown and about 10 minutes from the heart of the Strip. You can get single-game tickets starting February 2 and they can be purchased through the Cashman Field box office, (702) 798-7825.

The games haven't been added to the team's official Spring Training schedule yet, which can be found here.

Make your plans.

Gifts for the Sox fan in your life

Believe it or not, Christmas is less than two weeks away, and if you're like me, you've probably got, at least, the vast majority of your shopping to do. Now, I can't help you with your great aunt that you haven't seen in years or your in-laws whose only wish for Christmas is to strap you to a rocket and blast your ass into the Southern Hemisphere, but if you do have a Sox fan on your Christmas list and you're stumped on what to get them, here are some great ideas that you can go ahead and try on for size.

For starter's we'll assume our Sox fan in need already has all the basics; customized jersey of his favorite player, 2005 World Series DVD collection, White Sox hat, etc. You know, the basics (by the way, this is a good time to mention that 2005 stuff is still an acceptable gift. I know it's been a few years, but trust me, it's still a nice, warm memory).

OK, with that out of the way, let's start. The first item on the list is for the Sox fan who simply has it all, and for the generous soul that has about $1,000,000 just lying around... I present to you, Black Betsy, Shoeless Joe Jackson's game-used bat that is currently auctioning on eBay. Both Betsy and Jackson hold legendary status in baseball, let alone White Sox, lore. There are few things you can literally say are "one of a kind" but this certainly qualifies. Bid carefully, however, the seller refuses to ship the item anywhere, so you'd to get to Philadelphia and back before Christmas, but hey, your Sox fan gets maybe the most celebrated piece of White Sox memrobilia in existance and you get the satisfaction of knowing 1/2 your bid went to a charitable cause.

Now, supposing that a million bucks is a bit out of your price range, well here's another spectacular gift that probably any Sox fan would love; a 2005 World Champions street banner. These were the banners that hung around Chicago immediately following the Sox's World Series win in 2005. The banners were auctioned off in November or December of '05, but they still make appearances on eBay every now and then. I just chose that first one because it comes with free shipping and again, the proceeds go to charity.

All right, if you're still with me, I think we can shy away now from the incredibly overpriced gift ideas to the more practical. For the White Sox fan who loves to read, there are plenty of good options out there, but two that I will highlight right now are Sox and the City by Richard Roeper and Minnie and the Mick by Bob Vanderberg. Roeper, of course, is the Sun-Times columnist, national movie critic, and die-hard Sox fan. His book is much more contemporary and is mostly about the '05 season. Vanderberg's work is a baseball history, of the White Sox and Yankees constant battles at the top of the AL standings in the 1950s and early 1960s, a time period in White Sox history that sadly, has never recieved proper attention for its excellence.

If your Sox fan's pad is in need of some color on the walls, here are some suggestions. My personal favorite is a skyline panoramic from local Chicago photographer, Bob Horsch. You may remember his studio on Michigan Ave. Unfortunately, he's dropped out of the retail business, but still runs a website and makes appearances at various art shows. His work is stunning, and really any Chicagoan at hear would appreciate a lot of his work, but in this Sox-centric entry, go with the shots of the skyline taken during the play-off run in 2005. They are hard images to find, especially in frameable size and quality. He has a few different shots and other White Sox-inspired works, so give it a long, hard look.

Another very unique gift idea comes from Joe's Sports store; a canvas painting of a ticket to the 1983 All-Star Game played at old Comiskey Park. Kind of a tall price, but terrific artwork and something I had never seen before I start piecing this column together. I don't think you could miss with this one. Finally, if you're buying for someone in the 25-30 range, consider this commerative plaque of the 1993 AL West Champs. The 1993 team still holds a special place in White Sox history, especially for those of us who were just tuning into baseball when the '93 Sox showed up and won the division. Obviously, the 2005 White Sox have displaced them as "favorite" team for all but a few, but this is still a chapter of White Sox history many of us aren't quite ready to give up on.

All right, books and wall art have been covered, but if that's still not quite what your Sox fan is in to, then how about some memrobilia? Nothing quite beats a great, throwback jersey. Mitchell & Ness are still the name when it comes to throwback jerseys, but don't sleep on Grandstand Sports, a local outfit that will do a lot of great work for you. The online catelogues overlap quite a bit, but if you can't get to Philadelphia to check out the Mitchell & Ness flagship store, Grandstand, located a few blocks west of the Cell on 35th is probably just as good, with a wide array of White Sox, other Chicago sports, and general sports apparell.

If jerseys aren't your thing, then check out this Mark Buehrle "No-Hitter" autographed ball. I've shyed away from autographs so far, mostly because I think they're easy to find with Google and eBay, but this is a really special piece of Sox history. The first no-hitter in 16 years done by one of the team's greats (I think we can call Mark that now). Really nice stuff, he even took the time to note the no-hitter in his signature.

If eBay is scaring you away, no fear, you can find just as nice as piece of Sox history on the team's MLB shop; a 2005 World Series ball in a very nice case. Again, I haven't linked anything to the White Sox online shop yet because, well, it's easy to find on your own, but this is too good to pass up. Just the World Series ball alone is nice enough, but the specially built case really makes this shine.

Finally, for the older Sox fan, there's also this beautiful replica of Old Comiskey Park. Of course, the old park has been gone for years now, but for many older fans it's still a very special place to them, and these mini-stadiums are absolutely gorgeous. Buyer beware, the replica doesn't come with the protective glass box. They'll add the glass case for about $40, but you can probably find something similar at Hobby Lobby for a fraction of that price.

Lastly, for those of you shopping on an extreme budget and nothing falls into price, there's options out there for you, too. Nothing quite so subtely says "you have way too much Sox crap," like a good old tie. And every fan should probably have one, too. They range from the pretty decent looking to the completely and utterly ugly. And, at prices starting at $12 and change, they could fit in even the tightest of budgets. If a tie is a bit too crappy a Christmas present, then let me also suggest this Southpaw bobblehead doll. Current bid is only $19.99 so the price will hopefully be right, and while you can find bobbleheads all over eBay, few will likely be as timeless as this. I don't foresee Southpaw and the Sox having a nasty divorce over a contract dispute (the reason that my Magglio Ordonez bobblehead has been relegated to the very back of my White Sox display). Sure that bobblehead will look great now, but you never know when that guy will suffer a career-threatening injury, try and sandbag the Sox, sign with a hated division rival, have a war of words with our maneger, and lead that team to the World Series.

And finally, if the Sox fan on your list is anything like me, then they still relish division championships and play-off appearances. Sure, the World Series run changed a lot of things, but realistically, I'm 25 years old and I can remember the Sox making the postseason 4 times. 4. So let's not get overly confident in our success. With that said, I'm sure some 2008 Division Champions merchandise will go over well and be timely. Unfortunately, not much of the stuff is left, it seems. There's none available at the official shop and the best I could find was this website, offering all three shirts, but at prices that make you believe they won't be around much longer. If not that, then it wouldn't hurt to check out a local sporting goods store, but if the stores in Central Illinois are any sort of barometer, then available sizes and prices will vary widely.

Merry Christmas.

Jenks' trade value, Top 10 Prospect Shake-Up, and Farm Team featured on Deadspin

Another pretty quiet day for the White Sox in Las Vegas. The same general rumors are still floating around, Jermaine Dye is available, Jim Thome is available, Paul Konerko is available, but nothing really substantial. The biggest news of the day is that the two best closers available, K-Rod and Kerry Wood look like they've either signed contracts or are close, which of course affects the trade value Bobby Jenks, another asset the Sox supposedly have not been afraid to make available. It's been widely known that the closer market is one of the rare, truly buyer-friendly markets now, as evidenced by the "small" 3 year, $37 million deal Francisco Rodriguez signed with the Mets this afternoon. By no means, loose change, but considering the contract Rodriguez envisioned midseason, its obvious the glut of available closers and relative lack of teams needing closers will affect their value. This, of course means, the Sox will probably not be able to get fair value for Jenks this off-season and at this point, I'd expect him back for '09. Nothing, though, will really surprise me at this point.

Reds manager Dusty Baker weighed in on the ongoing Dye-to-Cincinnati trade rumors and revealed that the biggest stumbling block in the deal was Jermaine's contract, worth potentially $23.5 million over the next two years.

Not terribly shocking from the Red's perspective, they are well known cheap asses, plus it's pretty shitty to lose one of your top prospects (Bailey), rent a guy for 1 year at $10 million and then forfeit your top draft pick in 2010 when he walks as a free agent. This is however, interesting from the Sox's perspective who have repeatedly insisted they're not just slashing payroll for the sake of slashing payroll. If that were really the case, why was it so hard to come to a number everyone liked? I mean, I know it's a business and maybe Williams and Co. are waiting for a few of the other big dominoes to fall before gauging Dye's true current value, but if the real goal of the Sox is to simply get younger and more athletic, then you'd think eating some of Dye's salary wouldn't be such a deal-breaker. This makes me think that either:

1. The Sox are just cutting payroll for the sake of cutting payroll or...
2. The Sox are cutting payroll in anticipation of some other unseen moves later down the line.

Here's something that ought to give you nightmares. Joe Cowley, citing unnamed sources, claims that the Sox might try to reunite with Freddy Garcia. I shit you not,

A major-league source told the Sun-Times not to be surprised to see Freddy Garcia back in a Sox uniform in spring training if his current ''aches'' subside. The Sox know what they get with Garcia, and he'd love to be reunited with Ozzie Guillen.

If one of management's new goals was to rebuild some organizational depth, then consider the past 12 months very, very succesful. According to the Tribune's Mark Gonzales, Baseball America is putting the final touches on their 2009 prospect guides and the White Sox revised (since the Vazquez trade) top 10 will look like this:

1. Gordon Beckham
2. Dayan Viciedo
3. Aaron Poreda
4. Tyler Flowers
5. Clayton Richard
6. Brandon Allen
7. Jordan Danks
8. Brent Lillibridge
9. Chris Getz
10. John Shelby

The bolded names (1/2 the list) are guys who have been in the White Sox organization for less than 1 year. Very unlikely that any of these newcomers will make any, let alone major, contributions at the MLB level in 2009, but considering the complete mess that was the White Sox farm system just 1 year ago, this influx of young talent is very encouraging.

There has been a surprising lack of interest in free agent Orlando Hudson, at least that's what this guy thinks. Considering a few months ago, Hudson was thought to be the prize free agent on Kenny Williams wish list, it is a bit surprising to see those rumors completely vanish. However, the more I think about it, the more this seems to be the KW MO. He was able to snag Dye and Pierzynski for bargain prices before the '05 season because of their injury/character questions and the two have been outstanding, key members of the organization ever since. So even though the Hudson rumors have lulled, I'm not giving up on the thought of him starting at 2B for the White Sox in '09.

Elsewhere, a few other former Sox making news. The shortstop-less A's aren't thrilled at the prospect of signing Orlando Cabrera and forfeiting their 1st round pick in next year's draft. Don't expect OC to sign anywhere until Rafael Furcal, who was not offered salary arbitration by the Dodgers and carries no draft pick compensation, lands somewhere. Also, Jon Garland's name has been popping up. His most previous employer, the Angels, don't seem to keen on bringing him back, and while there were some rumors about him signing on with the Cardinals, the Orioles may also be in the mix.

Finally, the White Sox's newly renamed A-ball affiliate, the Winston-Salem Dash were featured on Deadspin today, the king of the sports blog world. Reason?

The team's new phallic-inspired logo.

I'll probably still just call them the Warthogs.

Quick update before bed

Very quiet day from Las Vegas, both for the Sox and just in general around Major League Baseball. What did we learn today? Apparently CC Sabathia wants to be a Dodger, Greg Maddux has retired and, as expected, Orlando Cabrera declined salary arbitration from the White Sox, so the Type A free agent is now free to sign with whomever he likes. For right now, I believe this means two things:

• The White Sox cannot negotiate with Cabrera until May 15, when he will almost assuredly be off the market and...
• The best case scenario for the Sox is OC signing with the Dodgers, as well. Since the first 15 picks of the draft are protected from free agent compensation, the Sox can only snag a 2nd 1st rounder if Cabrera signs with a team holding a pick between 16-30. If I did my math and slotting right, the Dodgers hold the 17th pick in the 2009 Draft.

If I'm wrong on any of those points, please let me know.

The only interesting nugget to chew on that I found today comes from John Perrotto from Baseball Prospectus via Sports Illustrated.com hosted by CNN (got all that?). Perrotto claims that the Sox are likely to bring someone in to fill the hole in center field rather than give the job to our current internal options: Owens, Anderson, or Wise. If that is true, well, I can't blame them.

Finally, Jow Cowley threw together some KW soundbytes from the last few days, which summarize pretty succinctly where he and the White Sox organization stand. Can't be more than 300-400 words and is a good, quick read.

Rumors Run Rampant, Sox trade Dye to Reds?

That's the way the situation looked earlier this evening. First Jayson Stark noted Jermaine Dye was the #2 trading chip at the MLB Winter Meetings in Las Vegas, right behind Jake Peavy. The way Stark writes, it's as if JD may as well have packed his bags and kept his phone next to him. Stark also mentions that Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, and Bobby Jenks are being shopped by the White Sox.

MLB Trade Rumors runs down the evening's events in pretty good, chronological order. The supposed Dye for Homer Bailey trade was first broken by the Dayton Daily News, but since then that rumor has been rejected by the White Sox, Reds, and Jermaine Dye's agent.

So, for now it looks like that Jermaine Dye jersey you own is still up to date, but Homer Bailey seems like the kind of guy Kenny Williams targets and reels in. He is a former first round draft pick, who has struggled at the Major League level, but has been very, very highly regarded. He has been the Reds' top prospect since they drafted him and peaked in 2007 when he was ranked the 5th-best prospect in all of baseball. Bailey's struggles at the Major League level may warrant getting another player in a deal with the Reds, but that's OK, since they have one of the best farm systems in baseball.

Orlando Cabrera rejected salary arbritation from the White Sox (or at least, he will). Since Cabrera is a Type A free agent, the Sox will recieve either a team's 1st round draft pick (if it is pick 16-30) and a Sandwich round pick or the sandwich round pick and their 2nd round pick (if it is #1-15).

I'm not terribly sad to see Orlando move on. While it wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world for him to come back for one more season and hold down the fort at shortstop while the Sox's bevy of middle infield prospects continue to develop, Cabrera never seemed like a great fit with this team, and if he's leaving while his value is at its peak, he'll bring back more goods in the June Draft. In the end, Jon Garland for 1 year of Cabrera and 2 high draft picks will likely turn out to be another one of Kenny Williams' more inspired moves.

Sox-O-Meter... The Vazquez Trade

After plenty of speculation, rumors, and hearsay, the White Sox and Braves officially finalized their 6-player deal that sent Javier Vazquez from Ozzie Guillen's doghouse to the middle of the National League East (still trying to figure out whether or not Javier got the raw end of this deal). I'm going out drinking a little bit later, so let's get right to the nitty gritty. 1st part of the Sox-O-Meter measures how much I'll miss the guys that we're saying good-bye, too; 5 Sox mean I'll be holding a candlelight vigil outside of the Cell later this week, 1 Sox means I would stuff the guy in a box and maybe send him Express 2-day mail to Atlanta... If the Sox would let me.

JAVIER VAZQUEZ

I know that everyone is ready to shit all over Javier because his last four starts in a White Sox uniform (the last, of course, being his Game 1 Meltdown in the ALDS) were god awful: 4 G, 0-4 record, 24 ER, 16.1 IP, 13.22 ERA, 24 H, 8 BB 1.960 WHIP, and 18 K.

Ouch. Of course, the book on Javier has always been a guy with A+ stuff and F- balls and his meltdown in 4 of the Sox's biggest games didn't do much to discredit that reputation. But this is still a guy who over the last 9 years has averaged 216 IP and 193 K every 162 games. Those kind of pitchers don't just grow on trees, and for all the huffing and puffing that Javier was a April/May pitcher, I never got the memo that stated games in April and May meant less in the standings than games in September. Yes, he wilted under the pressure, but he still showed up and ate a lot of innings and preformed, at worst at the league average. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people are getting caught in the "Javier Sucks" hype that started when Ozzie called him out, escalated when Javier stupidly said he'd rather spend his time on a beach in Puerto Rico, and was sealed when he performed with the same effectiveness of a BP pitcher.





Look, I knew this was a move that was going to be made back when Ozzie Guillen publicly mused he would start Clayton Richard over Javier had the ALDS made it to a Game 5. Once you're in the Ozzie Doghouse, you don't come back out, but right now there are two very big holes at the back of the White Sox rotation, and unless the Sox add another starter to help shore up the rotation, I have a bad feeling that a lot of people will be pining for Javier by midseason.

BOONE LOGAN
Awesome name. Awful pitcher. Does anyone remember that on June 14, Logan had an ERA under 1.90 and he still finished with an ERA approaching 6? Do you realize how bad you have to be to raise your ERA 4 runs over 18.1 IP? 23 ER, a FOUR HUNDRED BAA, an OPS Against of 1.211 (for comparison, the all-time career OPS leader, Babe Ruth, posted a 1.163 during his career). The fact that Boone's a lefty doesn't even save him now, Matt Thornton's impressive season and Aaron Poreda's probable move to the bullpen mean the Sox have no need for more left-handed arms, especially left-handed arms that only get about 55% of opposing batters out.





Not only would I not ship Logan Express to Atlanta, I would probably first mail him to Prague just so he had to sit in the box for a few extra days.

All right, now we're to the 4 players we get back. Again, the Sox-O-Meter is on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being I'm psyched for this guy, 1 meaning, I have no idea why he was included.

TYLER FLOWERS

The centerpiece of this deal from the Sox's perspective, and Kenny Williams called him a potential All-Star. Plus power. Plus power. But unlike the Sox's previous dabbles with power prospects (Joe Borchard), Flowers seems to understand that concept known as the "strike zone." Last season, in the Carolina League, he posted a .427 OBP and walked 98 times, while still hitting 17 HR, driving in 88 runs, and slugging .494, 5th best in the league amongst guys who spend their entire season in the Carolina League. It would also be nice to point out now that Flowers played insanely well during the AFL, hitting .387/.460/.973 with the Mesa Solar Sox.

The one downside to Flowers I've read have been some questions about his defensive ability behind the plate, but luckily the Sox will likely be shedding Jim Thome after 2009, Paul Konerko after 2010, and Jermaine Dye either after '09 or '10, depending on whether or not his option is exercised. Looks like there'll be some room for him.





Kenny hit a home run here, acquiring a guy with a monster bat who fits in much better in the American League.

BRENT LILLIBRIDGE
Lillibridge absolutely fell apart at the plate last year. After hitting between .275-.300 for most of his first three seasons in the minors, he posted a .220 BA in 90 games in AAA Richmond and then a .200 BA in 29 games with the Braves. Williams called him a supersub in the same style as Pablo Ozuna, but for all the crap Ozuna got around here, he still hit .290 in his 3 1/2 years with the Sox... Looks like big shoes to fill for Lillibridge. Considering the Sox lineup right now might have as many as three gaping holes (Getz/Nix at 2B, Fields at 3B, Anderson in CF), there's only so much offense you can give up.





Whatever, I don't expect anyone to recognize the name Brent Lillibridge in 5 years, except for the high school kids back in Everett, Washington that he'll be coaching by then.

Drinking time now... More to come later. Check back tonight or tomorrow!

Some Quick Notes and Arizona Fall League Updates

Well, somewhere in watching the Hawks blow a 2-goal lead with 10 minutes left in the 3rd period, my mind wandered back to baseball and I realized I haven't been nearly as productive around here as I hoped when the season ended. Anyways, in the next few weeks I hope to have a few things done around here, such as some player reports and making cases for Carlos Quentin to win the AL MVP and Alexei Ramirez to win the Rookie of the Year (even though I know neither will).

I start off tonight with a real good post over at Sox Machine, that analyzes the current "predicament" the Sox have with some aging players, and why no one should be terribly upset if Williams and the Sox don't make a deliberate attempt to get younger this off-season. Real good read, I'd recommend it to anyone.

Kind of a fluff article in the Tribune today about Aaron Rowand helping cousin James Shields reach his full potential and become one of the stars of the Rays. Shields beat the Sox in Game 1 of the ALDS, so uh, thanks, Aaron.

And a couple of transaction notes, the Red Sox grabbed Dewon Day from the Sox off waivers. Also, MLB.com reported that Josh Fields had arthroscopic knee surgery last week, which does nothing to improve my own personal evaluation of Fields (briefly; he sucks).

Finally, the White Sox have 7 prospects currently playing in the Arizona Fall League with the 1st place Peoria Saguaros (at 8-3, they lead the American Division by 2 games and have the best record in the AFL). The two most intriguing prospects there are Aaron Poreda and Gordon Beckham, the team's best pitching and positional prospect respectively. After starting 27 games with Winston-Salem and Birmingham this year, Poreda has been used exclusively out of Peoria's bullpen; working 4 innings in 4 games. His 6 strikeouts look good, but 5 hits and 2 walks has his WHIP almost approaching 2.

In 5 games, Beckham is hitting .250 with a pair of doubles and 2 walks for a line of .250/.368/.375.

Aside from Poreda and Beckham, 2 other Sox prospects have looked good in their first few weeks of AFL play; Cole Armstrong, a left-handed hitting catcher who hit well in 2 stops in Birmginham and Charlotte this season has continued hitting in Peoria, AZ to a tune of .385/.429/.577 along with a homer and 6 RBI. Stefan Gartrell, a 24-year-old outfielder who played at AA Birmingham this season, is hitting .280/.379/.360. Really the only downer for the Sox at the AFL right now is Carlos Torres, who was lit up in his first 3 appearances of the season, but pitched a perfect inning Friday against Mesa, so hopefully he has turned the corner.

All the Saguaros' stats can be found here.

'08 Season a Failure?, Early Off-Season Analysis, and the Sox Are a Hit on the Boob Tube

We'll start tonight with a delightful piece from Mike Imrem that was published in The Daily Herald about a week ago. In it, Imrem lambasts the Cubs and Sox as a pair of losers who deserve the same treatment after their LDS flops this past October; even if the Cubs were sexy pre-season picks to win the National League in the World Series, cruised to 97 wins, and were generally considered the best team in the N.L. from Game 1 to 162 while the Sox were written off as pretenders in the A.L. Central and only won 89 games this season, even with the added benefit of getting to play a 163rd game!

If you can't tell, I strongly disagree with Mr. Imrem, who summarizes his basic position when he writes,

The Rays eliminated the Sox in four games and the Sox are considered successes.

Down deep they aren't.

I could go on copying and pasting his rants about how Chicago fans should expect a winner every year, yada yada yada... My only question is where does a Chicago baseball fan get the right to take on that kind of Yankee-fan mentality? When did baseball only become a game of "World Championship or Nothing?" The 100-year-and counting and 88-year-old droughts aren't enough? I'm not saying I'm 100% satisified with the way this season ended, but to paint it a dissapointment and failure is remarkably oversimplifying what this great game is all about.

In the end, I agree with Richard Roeper, a great Sox fan, who summed it up when he noted that, simply stated, the Rays were just a better team. Over the course of the regular season and in 3 of the 4 ALDS games, Tampa Bay was just the superior baseball team. Even with just one week passed since the 2008 White Sox season ended, the dissapointment I felt after Game 4 is fading; this Tampa Bay team is just really good.

Where I stand with the Sox, however, is why I feel this year was a success. Last October, the White Sox were coming off a 90-loss season and looked old and full of holes. The Indians and Tigers looked much better on paper, and it appeared the Sox were doomed to spend the next few years struggling to keep their heads above .500. Now, I look at a roster teaming with good, young players like Carlos Quentin, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, and Alexei Ramirez. I see some holes that if plugged correctly, will make the Sox an immediate contender for next year's American League pennant. In short, I've turned nearly 180-degrees on the Sox. I can't wait for next year to begin. They say that hope always springs eternal in February and March, but if hope springs eternal in October and November, well then how could it be bad?

If you remember, earlier this month I wrote about the fact the Sox had already pulled the official "Division Champs" hats from whitesox.com... Not that I'm 100% sure, but it looks like the White Sox shop has even less Division Champs stuff up now. I could be wrong, but I could have sworn there were more than 5 items up for sale last time I checked a few weeks ago. At any rate, I'm sure there's not a ton of this stuff lying around so get it while you can.

This afternoon, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Ken Griffey, Jr. had his left knee scoped today in Cincinnati. The Enquirer also reported that it's very unlikely the Sox will pick up the $16 million option on Griffey this year, but if Griffey's knee is healthy for '09 (a big, big *if*, I know), he could be an intriguing role player for the Sox. If this bum knee was responsible for his power outage in '08, when his at-bats per home run nearly doubled from 14.27 AB/HR in 2007 to 29.33 AB/HR in 2008, why wouldn't you want a power-hitting left-handed bat with some outfield defensive versatility? For the right price, of course.

The White Sox want you to know that Kenny Williams is hard at work... At least that seems to be the angle of this piece published yesterday on the main site. Though the first half is the general "rah-rah" fluff you'd expect from the official voice of the Sox; the usual lines about needing balance, consistency, depth, etc. However, the 2nd half has some nice analysis of the current state of the Sox's payroll situation. As of right now, the White Sox have 13 players under controlled contract for 2009 at the tune of $99.125 million. With key guys like Bobby Jenks, John Danks, and Gavin Floyd either up for arbitration or still needing to settle on an '09 contract, that figure should balloon, I'm guessing to around last year's Opening Day payroll of $114 million before you even finish the 25-man roster.

I don't know how this will handcuff Williams and the Sox. Merkin wants you to believe that Josh Fields and Chris Getz can be starters on contending baseball teams, but I really don't see it, especially with Fields who is more of the same "all home run, little defense, not much else" that everyone was so damned pissed about in the first place. This also doesn't really address the fact that with Jose Contreras out until at least midyear, the Sox currently have no real plan in place for the 5th starter's spot, other than now to have Richard and Broadway duke it out and pray Contreras isn't terrible when he comes back.

Bottom line: Plenty of holes, not as much money.

Northwestern University's Medill Reports suggests that high ticket prices for the Sox, as well as Bears, Cubs, and Bulls are here to stay despite recent economic problems. The article mostly focuses on the Cubs (rightfully so, since their average ticket price is now 60% higher than the MLB average ticket price), there are some good graphs and interesting data if you're into the whole sports economics thing.

Greg Hansen, a columnits from Tucson, Arizona feels the Sox are trying to dupe the good residents of Tucson as they try to bolt town for greener pastures in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix. Apparently the fate of the White Sox Spring Training plans for 2009 is all the talk of Tucson, and Hansen even gets particularly feisty when he writes,

Here is the deal: Reinsdorf and the White Sox will pay $3million to leave town now. Do they really think we are the kind of suckers who would take that deal? Is the cost of blowing up spring training baseball in Tucson a mere $3 million?

Here's my take, as a lifelong Sox fan: I honestly don't care. I'd like to see the Sox get the best deal they can and bolt Tucson for Glendale... Having never been to Arizona, I can't comment as an expert as to what's going on out there, but as far as I can tell, Phoenix is the place to be. I can fly there and not have to drive almost 2 hours through the desert. Just about every other team that trains in Arizona plays somewhere in the Phoenix area. The Phoenix Metro area has over 3 million more people than Tucson, and believe me, that means much more to do non-baseball-related. And finally, have you seen the park the Dodgers and White Sox will share in Glendale? It's beautiful.

Finally, the Sox had a huge gain in television ratings this past season, despite the fact baseball's TV ratings on average suffered in the '08 season. The Sox's rating jumped 67% from 2007, of course boosted by their 17-win improvment over last year. The only team that had a bigger ratings jump, percentagewise, was the Rays, who nearly doubled their ratings in a single year. Paced by both the Sox's and Cubs' play-off runs, Comcast SportsNet was one of the strongest local baseball television stations in the country, and the White Sox finished the season as the 11th most watched team in baseball.

Good-bye, 2008 White Sox

As far as season-ending losses go, this one was pretty painless.

That's the way Jim Margalus at Sox Machine (the best White Sox blog out there) described tonight's 6-2 season ending loss to Tampa Bay. As I sat on my couch, watching the outs slowly melt away, there was no agony or depression like in 2003. No heart-breaking dissapointment a la the 2000 ALDS. No bitter numbess like in 2007. It was just ending. A remarkable season, unlike any other in White Sox history ended today, on our home turf with a whimper. When Ken Griffey, Jr. struck out to end the Sox season and perhaps his career, it was just over, like any other game. Of course, over the next few days when I come from work with nothing to watch on television that baseball is over for the winter, but tonight strangely doesn't feel like that. Tonight was a night to celebrate all the Sox had done in 2008; they went from division doormats to a wild, roller coaster play-off race, to division champs. I think this guy, a part-time columnist from Rockford got it better than anyone else. Even the players and management were in good spirits, all things considered.

From a fan... Good-bye, 2008 White Sox. You weren't my favorite. But this was a great season. I had a lot of fun, and when compared to last year, when in mid-season I was agonizingly counting down the days left in that failed campaign, I am already counting down the days until pitchers and catchers report. I'm pumped for 2009, hoping for more heroics at the Cell.

Not much in the news today... Kenny Williams said he has a plan for this off-season that is a crossroads for the organization. With some premium young talent, like Carlos Quentin, Alexei Ramirez, John Danks, and Gavin Floyd, the Sox have an enviable core to build around, but there are a lot of question marks, some the Tribune hits, others it doesn't.

Quickly, as far as I see it, in the starting 9, there are 3 question marks for the '09 Sox... Center field, Shortstop/Second base (depending on where Ramirez settles), and Third base. If the Sox can add three speedy, decent OBP guys to those holes you may be looking at a 90+ win team next year. More off-season musings to come in the next few weeks.

Shockingly, a guy who covers the Tampa Bay Rays has little concept of baseball... The meekest Sox play-off loss since 1919? Come on, dude, stick to the Rays and leave the rest to us. 2000 ring a bell? When the Sox put up the best record in the American League and were swept in the first round by Seattle? Don't pat yourselves on the back too hard, the 15 or so Ray fans out there, we've been beaten much worse before.

A day after his gutsy performance in Game 3, Ranger fans are still trying to put a positive spin on the Danks/McCarthy deal.

Finally, on the lighter side, we have Evan Brunell over at some conglomerate of sports blogs, Most Valuable Network (MVN), who plays GM for the Padres in the '09 off-season today. First move? Trade Khalil Greene, a nearly 29-year-old middle infielder who hit .213/.260/.339 (all career lows) last year for the Padres and is due $6.5 million in '09 for Clayton Richard, the Sox's 24-year-old lefty prospect who had mixed results in his first 1/2-season spend in the bigs.

Uh, OK, dude.

As for White Soxing... I'm not taking too much time off. Work is crazy right now, but there's some off-season stuff to be done.... Player report cards, off-season predictions, etc. Plus, by now I think we all know Kenny Williams isn't afraid to pull the trigger, so there should be some juicy off-season news to write about. Come check back before February, you here?

As for now, enjoy the ALCS, NLCS, and World Series, and go Bears!

Not Over Yet

Hey, what do you know, they do want to keep playing ball?

After looking dead, old, tired, etc. in two ugly losses to the young and upstart Rays this week, the Sox once again stood on the edge of the cliff, toes overhanging, on the verge of season's end... And once again they pulled it out.

They're getting a lot of attention tonight, from local, out of market, national, and even international press regarding their stubborn resiliency. In the past week, the Sox have played 4 "must-win" games and they've come up aces in every one of them. Funny how in just 2 days you can go from down in the dumps (Friday afternoon) to feeling pretty good about things (today). I don't claim that this win swung the series back in the Sox's favor, even if they win tomorrow they still need to beat Tampa Bay in their dome to advance to the ALCS, a tall task in and of itself. But, at least they didn't just roll over and die for Tampa, either. Now, for some praise.

John Danks, of course, who won his 2nd consecutive "Do or Die" game. His line wasn't overpowering, just 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB, and 7 K, but the all important win. Danks made pitches when they counted; in the first Tampa put 2 of its first 3 hitters on base and walked away with a goose egg. In the 2nd, after Tampa Bay struck first on a 45-foot RBI single by Akinori Iwamura, Danks could have imploded, especially when the Iwamura and Jason Bartlett moved to 2nd and 3rd respectively on a wild pitch. Instead, Danks got BJ Upton to fly out and end the threat. Danks wasn't spectacular, but he won.

How about Dewayne Wise, who keeps finding ways to win? The career minor leaguer who came up with the Sox's only big hit in the first two games of this series continued his big play in Game 3, stroking a big, 2-run double down the left field line in the Sox's big 4th inning that turned out to ultimately put the Rays down for good. Wise is hitting .400 in the LDS so far, 2nd on the team only to AJ Pierzynski (who had a nice 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB game himself batting 2nd for only the 4th time since September 9th). He's been so good even Fox Sport's Senior Baseball writer, Ken Rosenthal has taken notice:

White Sox left fielder Dewayne Wise is the kind of player who makes the baseball postseason unlike any other. Wise, 30, didn't even have a job at the start of spring training. Now, he's starring in the Division Series.

The bullpen trio of Octavio Dotel, Matt Thornton, and Bobby Jenks also were huge in putting this game out of reach. When Upton launched his 2-run bomb that made everyone sweat a litle harder, it was clear Danks was out of gas and in a do or die game, Ozzie needed his three best relievers to seal the deal. They were beautiful, whether it be striking out Evan Longoria looking, having great reactions and making great plays on a bizarre dropped third strike against Willy Aybar, or or slamming the door in Tampa Bay's faces with some 95+ MPH heat. For a unit that's been pretty rightfully maligned this season, the Sox's bullpen has by and large stepped up their game lately when needed.

Lastly, Ken Griffey, Jr. for tagging on up Alexei Ramirez's sac fly, moving from 1st to 2nd. Had he played it safe and stayed at first, he wouldn't have scored on Wise's double, and with Juan Uribe and Orlando Cabrera failing to keep the rally going, the Sox would have been out what proved to be a pretty crucial run. For all the homers and power the Sox can display, they played very smart and very aggressive baseball. They did the small and smart things needed to win games, rather than sit back and wait for someone to hit a 3-run homer. It was actually, very fun to watch.

So, Game 4 is tomorrow at the Cell... Gavin Floyd faces Andy Sonnanstine at 4:07 PM Central time. Nothing has been decided yet in the American League, so don't stop believing, Sox fans!

And now, for a few news tidbits before bed. Carlos Quentin took some live BP today at the Cell and said he felt great in a postgame interview. Ozzie Guillen was a bit more skeptical of Quentin's chances of returning to play in 2008, even if the White Sox advance past the ALDS, but it's nice to see Carlos working his tail off to even make a return a slim reality and not a complete fairytale.

Fox Sport's Gerry Fraley wrote a nice piece about Ken Williams' deliberate plan to keep the Sox competitive past the glory of the 2005 season. Though the Sox took a lot of heat after Games 1 and 2 for looking old and plodding; it's nice to step back and look at the enviable talented core of young playes they have; Alexei Ramirez (26), Carlos Quentin (25), Gavin Floyd (25), and John Danks (23) are as solid as any 4 young and upcoming stars on one team. Though 2007 was a distaster, both the short and long term future of the Sox looks good thanks in large part to Williams' wheeling and dealing.

As for Rays' fans, panic may be too strong a word for their current mindset, but concern may be right on target? A Rays blogger noted what a difference one game makes.

The White Sox looked very much at home. And they looked very much like a veteran team, getting stronger as the game wore on, making adjustments to Matt Garza's power game, staying patient, hitting the ball where it was pitched.

Finally, Metromix has a sweet slideshow of photos from the Sox's win this afternoon up. For anyone lucky enought to attend, try and find yourself! Tomorrow's game already looks to be a sell out (at least, according to Ticketmaster), but there are still some deals available on StubHub.

Go Sox.

I Just Can't Help Myself

I know, I know... I don't have much room to gloat... But this is still pretty fuckin' funny.

Three Up, Three Down.. 0-2 Series Hole Style!

Oh god.

I was still confident after Game 1. It was more or less meaningless, the Sox are a veteran team and they basically sacrificed the game when they trotted Javier out there in an effort to reset their taxed rotation. Game 2 was supposed to make everything all right, but after tonight's ugly 6-2 loss, the Sox are once again, on the brink of elimination.

On the plus side, the last time we found ourselves in this situation, the Sox ripped off three straight wins, but methinks taking 3 from Tampa (including another one in their Dome) will be a bit more difficult than winning three straight over the Indians, Tigers, and Twins.

Anyways, here we go.

ONE UP: Clayton Richard
Wow. After Richard allowed an RBI single to Carl Crawford, the first batter he faced, he went on to strike out the next 5 Rays he faced. His line from yesterday is a bit inflated by the fact that Clayton wore down toward the end of his appearance; the last three batters he faced either reached base via the single or walk. Had Ozzie called on Octavio Dotel a few batters earlier, Richard conceivably could have retired 10 Rays and allowed only 2 baserunners. Nice.

Richard was so impressive in his post-season debut, Guillen is seriously considering starting Clayton if the series somehow makes it to a fifth game.

ONE DOWN: The Sox on Fake Field

Metrodome. Rogers Centre. Tropicana Field. Call them whatever you want, but as has been well documented this season, the Sox simply suck in domes and on fake grass. 4-16 this season, the worst record in the American League. I can't say why, maybe it's the teams, maybe it's the way the field plays, but the Sox struggles on turf are more than just a psychological thing at this point, I believe. The plus side is that, even though to advance now the Sox would need to win 1 more game at Tropicana Field, none of the other teams in the postseason play on artificial turf. The Sox are 85-58 on grass this year, a winning percentage over 59%.

TWO UP: Mark Buehrle

Despite the opening pic and his line from Game 2, Mark Buehrle pitched a real nice game. By now, we should all know that he's a guy that pitches to contact, a strategy that doesn't lend itself to turf or hard grass surfaces, where ground balls explode rather than slow down. Yes, he gave up a 2-run, go-ahead homer to Akinowri Iwamura and then was saddled with a few more runs in the 8th, but he still came out and pitched like the bulldog he was, especially considering the Sox found only 2 runs to support him. Here's hoping we get to see #56 at least one more time this year.

TWO DOWN: Wasted Opprotunites

The Sox left 12 runners on base in Game 2, obviously far too many, especially when you're in a tight battle. They left the bases loaded in the 1st, runners at first and second in the 2nd, 4th, and 7th, and a runner on third in the 6th. So many chances, and so many of them wasted. In the 1st inning, when they had Kazmir on the ropes and scored their 2 runs, they were 3-5 with Runners in Scoring Position. They had 7 more at bats with a RISP and failed every single time. You can't win if you can't hit with men on or hit home runs.

THREE UP: Dewayne Wise

Give the guy props, his three-run homer in Game 1 is currently responsible for 50% of the runs the Sox have scored. Wise has had a nice season here for the Sox. Considering he's been a career minor leaguer, I don't know if he's likely to reproduce his numbers, but he's another nice option off the bench and is better at every facet of baseball than Jerry Owens.

Of course, despite the fact he was pretty much the only guy who came through in Game 1, he was on the bench in Game 2, watching Nick Swisher have an OK game, but flying out and striking out in his last two at bats, both times with the potential tying run on base.

THREE DOWN: Jim Thome

For all the press Thome and Griffey have gotten about wanting that elusive World Series ring, neither had done much to show that on the field. The reason I pick on Thome more than Griffey is that Thome is still an intergral part of this team. He bats in the middle of the lineup, and while Junior has clearly lost a step from his prime, Thome still can play at a pretty high level. Yeah, his .245 BA this season was 30 points lower than his career BA and easily the lowest of his career when he wasn't limited to less than 60 games in a season either because he was a 21-year-old rookie still breaking in with the Indians or suffering from back problems in Philadelphia. Thome still his 34 homers, drove in 90 runs, and slugged over 100 points higher than Junior during Griffey's brief stay in Chicago.

This postseason? 1-9 with an RBI, and that easily would have been 0-9 had the Rays had their usual shift on for Thome.

Look, I know Thome was critical to the Sox, and was the only offense in their win over the Twins in the Tiebreaker game, but if you want to do more than just get there again, more production will be required.

Rob Neyer: Sox Aren't Dead Yet

Lead off this morning, with a quick blog post by ESPN's Rob Neyer, who proclaims,

You have to like the Rays in a best-of-five series, straight up. So you have to really like them now, when they need to win just one of three. But the White Sox have a shot because they're heading home, where they have thrived. Tampa Bay's 57-24 record at home was the best in the American League; Chicago's 54-28 was third-best. The White Sox finished second in the American League in home scoring, and their 143 home runs at home were easily the most in the majors.

So there you go. Nice to have someone in Bristol (sort of) on our side. Tampa starts Matt Garza and Andy Sonnanstine in Games 3 and 4. The Sox that have seen Garza, have hit him well. In 41 combined plate appearances, the Sox have hit him to a combined tune of .382/.488/.618, not bad especially when paired with a notoriously offense-friendly ballpark. However, those numbers are pretty light; Jerry Owens, for Christ's sake, is one of the most seasoned players against Garza.

Sonnanstine is a bit different. Of course, he pitched a three-hit shutout against the Sox earlier this year, but he was pretty mediocre in his two other starts against the Sox; 12 IP, 19 H, 7 R (all earned), 1 BB, 4 K. That's an ERA of 5.25 and a WHIP of 1.667.

Confidence is probably too much, but I still think they can hang around in this thing. Toward the end of his post, Neyer says that if the Sox can get the series back to Tampa Bay, they at least have a chance. You have to assume if the Rays let a 2-0 series lead evaporate into a 2-2 tie, they'll come home on their seat's edge. Can they reverse their struggles indoors? I don't know, but anything can happen in what is essentially a 1-game play-off, and right now, that's all I got going.

If you want a Division Champs hat, you'll need to look for one offline somewhere. Sometime earlier, MLB.com pulled the official hats the Sox were wearing on the field after they beat Minnesota; the ones that look like this. Apparently, the reason is that since the Sox were the last of the 6 division winners to make the cut, they simply ran out of hats. If you notice, all the hats look exactly the same, just with different patches sewn on the front.

If you want one, whitesox.com won't be any help. Check out sporting goods stores around the area.

Finally, the Seattle Times speculates that White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn is in the running for the vacant GM position with the Mariners. Best of luck. Seattle is a nice town, but Lord help the guy who tries to fix that team right now.

P.S., Rick, if you land the job, I would like to request your first order of business to trade Ichiro to the Sox. We can play hardball here and work out the terms, but I won't take "No" for an answer.

Now We're in Trouble

If you replace "Bears" with "Scott Kazmir," you get a pretty good idea of what just went down in Game 2.

In his first post-season start Kazmir was crappy. He his Orlando Carbera, walked Nick Swisher, and allowed a single to Jermaine Dye. Bases loaded. No outs. Meat of the order coming up. And they scored... Two fucking runs, on a single and sacrifice fly. Garbage.

Mark Buehrle came up pretty big. I can't say he came up huge, because he is going to get hung with a loss in a must-win game, but damnit, he held a 90-win team to 3 runs for nearly 8 innings. So, while Buehrle doesn't get an A+ with a star for this effort (his line is worse than he pitched, as he wore down toward the end and the bullpen allowed 4 more runs to score in the 8th), but the story of the night... No offense.

So, the Sox are down 0-2 to Tampa Bay. But we're coming home to a real ballpark. It's not over, Danks and Floyd have been huge, and if we can send it back to Florida tied at 2, I don't dislike our chances.

More later... Maybe tonight, maybe not.














Fairweathers.

Game 2: Must Win for Sox

Just to reiterate, tomorrow afternoon's game in Tampa is critically important to the Sox. While the Rays would just "play out" their homefield advantage, history says that even if the road team drops its 1st 2 games on the road in the baseball play-offs, they are all but done.

Since baseball expanded the post-season to the Division Series round in 1995, there have been 52 completed LDS series (1995-2007 = 13 years). By my count, the team with home-field advantage has won the first 2 games of the series 19 times and they have gone on to win 16 of those series, an 84% success rate.

1. 2007 ALDS - Red Sox win 1st 2 in Boston, beat Angels in 3
2. 2007 ALDS - Indians win 1st 2 in Cleveland, beat Yankees in 4
3. 2007 NLDS - Diamondbacks win 1st 2 in Phoenix, beat Cubs in 3
4. 2006 NLDS - Mets win 1st 2 in New York, beat Dodgers in 3
5. 2005 ALDS - White Sox win 1st 2 in Chicago, beat Red Sox in 3
6. 2005 NLDS - Cardinals win 1st 2 in St. Louis, beat Padres in 3
7. 2004 NLDS - Cardinals win 1st 2 in St. Louis, beat Dodgers in 4
8. 2003 ALDS - A's win 1st 2 in Oakland, lose to Red Sox in 5
9. 2000 NLDS - Cardinals win 1st 2 in St. Louis, beat Braves in 3
10. 1999 ALDS - Indians win 1st 2 in Cleveland, lose to Red Sox in 5
11. 1999 ALDS - Yankees win 1st 2 in New York, beat Rangers in 3
12. 1998 ALDS - Yankees win 1st 2 in New York, beat Rangers in 3
13. 1998 NLDS - Braves win 1st 2 in Atlanta, beat Cubs in 3
14. 1997 NLDS - Marlins win 1st 2 in Miami, beat Giants in 3
15. 1997 NLDS - Braves win 1st 2 in Atlanta, beat Astros in 3
16. 1996 ALDS - Orioles win 1st 2 in Baltimore, beat Indians in 4
17. 1996 NLDS - Cardinals win 1st 2 in St. Louis, beat Padres in 4
18. 1995 ALDS - Indians win 1st 2 in Cleveland, beat Red Sox in 3
19. 1995 ALDS - Yankees win 1st 2 in New York, lose to Mariners in 5

21 times, however, the road team has split the 1st 2 games. 12 times, the road team that earns a split, 57%, end up winning the series. 84% is certainly not a death sentence, but the White Sox will certainly put themselves in a serious, serious hole if they come home down 0-2.

Here are the series in which the road team earned a split in the 1st 2, and how they ended for them.

1. 2006 ALDS - Tigers split 1st 2 in New York, beat Yankees in 4
2. 2005 ALDS - Yankees split 1st 2 in Los Angeles, lose to Angels in 5
3. 2005 NLDS - Astros split 1st 2 in Atlanta, beat Braves in 4
4. 2004 ALDS - Twins split 1st 2 in New York, lose to Yankees in 4
5. 2004 NLDS - Astros split 1st 2 in Atlanta, beat Braves in 5
6. 2003 ALDS - Twins split 1st 2 in New York, lose to Yankees in 4
7. 2003 NLDS - Marlins split 1st 2 in San Francisco, beat Giants in 4
8. 2003 NLDS - Cubs split 1st 2 in Atlanta, lose to Braves in 5
9. 2002 ALDS - Angels split 1st 2 in New York, beat Yankees in 4
10. 2002 ALDS - Twins split 1st 2 in Oakland, beat A's in 5
11. 2002 NLDS - Giants split 1st 2 in Atlanta, beat Braves in 5
12. 2001 ALDS - Indians split 1st 2 in Seattle, lose to Mariners in 5
13. 2001 NLDS - Cardinals split 1st 2 in Phoenix, lose to Diamondbacks in 5
14. 2000 ALDS - Yankees split 1st 2 in Oakland, beat A's in 5
15. 2000 NLDS - Mets split 1st 2 in San Francisco, beat Giants in 4
16. 1999 NLDS - Astros split 1st 2 in Atlanta, lose to Braves in 4
17. 1999 NLDS - Mets split 1st 2 in Phoenix, beat Diamondbacks in 4
18. 1998 ALDS - Red Sox split 1st 2 in Cleveland, lose to Indians in 4
19. 1998 NLDS - Padres split 1st 2 in Houston, beat Astros in 4
20. 1997 ALDS - Indians split 1st 2 in New York, beat Yankees in 5
21. 1996 ALDS - Rangers split 1st 2 in New York, lose to Yankees in 5
    

No Need to Panic Quite Yet

Yes, this afternoon's 6-4 loss sucked. Sucked hardcore; and once again a lot of the blame falls square on the shoulders of Javier Vazquez who continued to cement his reputation as the anti-Big Game Pitcher. Today's effort fits right in with his career play-off trend. And while Javier claims he would like the ball again,

"I'm not quitting,'' Vazquez said Thursday, after the media horde departed for less depressing lockers. "I want the ball again... I would love to get the ball again, to get another chance. All of us here are competing for the same goal, to win the World Series, and I want to do my part.''

You'd have to believe that Ozzie and crew would be downright crazy to actually do it, and thankfully, Ozzie seems to be on the same page with the rest of the world. Right now, it's wishful thinking if you're even looking at Game 4, let alone Game 5, but Guillen said if the series goes the distance Javier would likely not be getting the call.

So... Why should we all be optimistic? Here's two good reasons: Mark Buehrle and John Danks. The Sox lefties are scheduled to start Games 2 and 3, both on normal rest, and if there has been one Achilles' Heel to the Rays improbable run to the post-season this year, it has been their struggles against left-handed pitching. Did anyone notice that Clayton Fucking Richard completely handcuffed them until he ran out of gas? Yeah, his line doesn't look great; 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K, but he was clearly coasting on fumes toward the end and allowed the last three batters he saw to reach base... Take those AB's away and Richard got 10 outs, 1/2 of them via strikeout, and allowed only 3 baserunners. Fucking tight. Tampa Bay had the 2nd lowest BA against left handed pitchers in the American League this season, and were only 25-24 when facing a lefty on the hill. But, to play Debbie Downer, the Rays have had some success against Buehrle. So we'll see how this plays out. The point being, everyone, we're not out of this thing yet; we could be down 0-2 after 2 home games (sound familiar?)

Aside from Dewayne's 3-run homer, the only other moment of excitement in today's game occurred in the 7th when Orlando Cabrera and Grant Balfour shared an awkward at bat. Not sure what happened, but after Balfour's 1st picth sailed well outside, Cabrera kicked some dirt in his general direction, and tempers momentarily flared. You can see video embedded at Awful Announcing if you missed the broadcast. After the game, however, Cabrera said it was just a misunderstanding, but this opens the door for some added spice; hopefully the next time the Balfour/Cabrera duel erupts, the outcome is a little better.

Ozzie's decision to start Javier Vazquez in Game 1 had "Airmchair Manager Fodder" written all over it, especially when juxtaposed with Richard's excellent work out of the bullpen. NBC Sport's Baseball "Expert" Tony DeMarco feels that Ozzie's decision to start Javier in Game 1 was a mistake that has put the Sox behind the 8-ball. Here's why I respectfully disagree:

1. It is not critically important for the Sox to have won both games in Tampa Bay. Sure, it'd be nice, but if the Sox leave with a split, they're in very good shape. Mark Buehrle was going to start one of the two games, the question was Game 1 on short rest or Game 2 on normal. Considering Mark has started 2 of his last 3 games on short rest, I'm perfectly happy with the decision to give Mark and extra day off and hopefully put him in a better position to win. Put it this way: would you feel more comfortable with the Sox down 0-1 and Buehrle pitching tomorrow or Buehrle losing Game 1? Exactly.
2. The move allows Danks and Floyd to pitch Games 3 and 4* at the Cell. Granted, Danks' home/road splits favor him on the road, but for both it will be their first postgame start and I don't think you can overestimate the crowd factor. Rather than facing 40,000 cowbell-clanging, mohawk-wearing, clowns amplified because there's a god damn roof on the stadium, the pair of youngsters will come home to 40,000 supportive South Siders wearing black and waving rally towels. Much better. Also, I know you don't like to plan for down the road when you're in "Win Now" mode, but the Sox still need to remember to handle these arms very cautiously. Both Floyd and Danks have pitched a number of innings, many important ones in the past few weeks, and it would be reckless to simply overwork these guys who are so prominent in the short and long-term plans for this team.

Finally, on the lighter side, Jimbo's Pub, the most notable "Sox bar" in Bridgeport lost its appeal in Illinois Appellate Court and looks to be headed the way of the dinosaurs, but fear not, the bar will at least remain open until the end of the White Sox season. Speaking of bars, if you're like me and are a North Side Sox fan, Time Out Chicago published a brief list of "Sox-friendly" bars in enemy territory.

Play-Off Beard Update: About two days since I shaved clean in preparation for October. Anyone who knows me knows that I grow facial hair about as fast as the continents move, so I'm still at that sharp, sandpaper state.

Remember, everyone... Not in trouble yet. Talk to me tomorrow night.