White Sox, Tigers Will Play Doubleheader July 24

The White Sox and Tigers will make up their rained out game from last week on Friday, July 24 in the form of a day-night doubleheader. Gametimes that day are now 12:05 PM Central time for the first game and 6:05 PM for the 2nd. The change has already been made to the official schedule.

Poor End in Detroit, Good(ish) Start in Tampa Bay

Yeah, I'm a day late on the Tigers/Sox game from Wednesday, but there's not much about that affair I want to relive. Sometimes you just lose, and it looks like Wednesday's series ender in Detroit was just one of those games.

It'd be easy to pin that loss on another tough day at the plate for the Sox, but I don't think that paints the whole story. Armando Galarraga is just a good pitcher, and it's time people start realizing that. The more dissapointing aspect of that 9-0 loss was Jose's collapse toward the end of his outing, however, I remain optimistic. After his first two starts last year, Jose was 0-1 with a 6.17 ERA, with a .340 BAA in 11.2 IP. This year, he is 0-2 with a 6.97 ERA and has a .267 BAA in 10.2 IP. In 2008, he went 6-2 over his next 10 starts, posting a 2.19 ERA and holding opposing teams to a .191 BAA in 70 innings until arm problems started affecting him in early June. I think he just needs some time to work this out.

I don't have much else to say about that game, so I'll leave you with this good piece from South Side Sox, especially focus on the part about Jose's forkball. I've noticed he doesn't seem to be throwing it much so far this year. In fact the only thing he's been doing has been dropping his arm down for some reason, because every time he does it seems like he lays a fastball right in someone's wheelhouse.

WEDNESDAY: Tribune recap \ Sun-Times recap \ MLB.com Wrap \ B-R.com Box Score & PBP

I'll update this post later today with some thoughts on yesterdy's win. Check back!

Today's White Sox-Tigers Game Postponed

According to the Chicago Tribune, today's game agaisnt the Tigers is being postponed due to rain. No make-up date is available, but since they didn't even try to wait this rain out for more than 10 minutes before calling the game, I'm guessing they're not going to try a day-night doubleheader tomorrow, either.

After tomorrow, the Sox have two 3-game series left in Detroit; the first at the end of July; Friday 24-Sunday 26, and the second the very last series of the season, October 2-4. I'm guessing one of those 6 days will have a double-header, since the Sox and Tigers don't share an off day around any of those series, except for Monday, October 5, which would be the day after the regular season was supposed to have ended. Actually, the Sox and Tigers apparently only share 3 off days the rest of the season (that aren't part of the All-Star Break); April 30, June 15, and June 22.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

This is apparently "unintentional movie reference series," but the White Sox won their first road game of the 2009 season, 10-6 against the Tigers at Comerica Field yesterday behind an offense that is currently clicking on all cylinders. Yes, the eternal pessimist will point to the fact that 5 of the Sox's 10 runs came via 4 homers, but that's really missing the forest for the trees. The Sox scored early and often, mixing some good situational hitting with a couple of their patented home runs, sensational defense, and the pitching was... enough.

Chicago Tribune recap \ Chicago Sun-Times recap \ MLB.com Wrap \ B-R.com Box Score & PBP

THE GOOD

• As posted earlier, Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko's back-to-back home runs in the 2nd inning were the 300th of each of their careers. It is indeed the first time 2 teammates have ever hit a pair of such milestone home runs in the same game.
• Carlos Quentin hopefully put any doubts aside anyone has about the effects last year's wrist injury may still have. He clubbed a pair of homers, a two-run bomb off Zach Miner in the 4th that chased the Tiger starter and then a solo shot in the 6th off Eddie Bonine that he pretty much muscled out of spacious Comerica Field with one hand. Quentin now has 4 home runs in his last 4 games and is one off the pace of league leader Evan Longoria.
• Josh Fields and Dewayne Wise, both question marks at the start of the year had solid games again at the plate and in the field; Wise was 1-3 and since being moved to the bottom of the order, had been hitting .385. However, he separated his shoulder making a spectacular running catch in the 5th inning to help preserve a win for Gavin Floyd. Fields, meanwhile was 1-5 with a walk and scored a pair of runs, but made another nice play at third in the 8th, again, with the Tigers threatening.

THE BAD

• With Dewayne Wise sidelined for anywhere from 4-8 weeks, the Sox have recalled Jerry Owens from Charlotte. Yay.
• Brent Lillibridge got the start for the injured Chris Getz at 2nd and leading off and it was more the same for the Sox lead-off hitters. Lillibridge was 1-6 on the day with three strikeouts. Yes, his double to lead off the third inning sparked a 4-run "smartball" rally in the inning, but otherwise he was pretty brutal at the plate, striking out his final three appearances at the dish.

THE UGLY

• Gavin Floyd won his first game of the season despite his best efforts. He managed to get through only 5 innings, walking seven Tigers and allowing 6 earned runs. It seemed like every time the Sox staked him to a lead, he'd try his best to cough it up.
• DJ Carrasco had another scary outing, as well. With the Sox up 10-6, Carrasco relieved Floyd in the 6th and after getting Granderson to fly out, he immediately loaded the bases. Yet, somehow, he wiggled out his jam, too, striking out Carlos Guillen and then getting Ramon Santiago to ground back to him harmlessly. Still, I could have done without the drama.

Congratulations, Jermaine Dye & Paul Konerko (Update)

Jermaine Dye just took Zach Miner deep to lead off the 2nd inning for a 1-0 White Sox lead, but that home run is special because it is #300 for his underrated, but illustrious career. And speaking of milestones, he is currently 5 RBI shy for 1,000.

Gavin looked good in the 1st. Let's hope he can make this stick.

UPDATE: Paul Konerko just went back-to-back with Dye off Miner, for his 300th career homer, as well. I'm not even going to begin to speculate whether or not two teammates have ever hit their 300th career home runs in the same game, let alone in simulatenous at bats. Regardless, this is certainly something special that we likely won't see again for years, if again in our lifetimes.

Oh, and Paul is currently 40 RBI short of the 1,000 RBI plateau.

And as for the movie poster, well, they will be dining in Detroit tonight, so I figured the quote is still applicable.

Chris Getz Out of Line-Up

Bummer for Chris Getz as he will sit out today's game against the Tigers with a bruised arm. Getz is a native of suburban Detroit and played baseball at the University of Michigan, so this series was something of a homecoming for him. Brent Lillibridge, who started Saturday, will take over duties at 2B and leading off, presumably until Getz is ready to play again. Not sure when that will be however, Ozzie Guillen has already labeled him unlikely to play tomorrow, as well.

The Sox are currently hitting .041 from the lead-off position and have a .200 OBP mostly thanks to Lillibridge's 2 walks Saturday. Needless to say, the lead-off hitter has been the most disappointing area of the team after 1 week of play. I think most people knew the Sox weren't going to have a Rickey Henderson-esque lead-off hitter but this is beyond ridiculous.

The Sox needed only 5 games to go through 3 separate lead-off hitters, which seems to be a new franchise benchmark for futility at the top of the lineup. Ironically, however, the only season that seems to have started with as much uncertainty at the top of the order in the past 20 years was (you guessed it), 2005, when the Sox featured 4 separate lead-off hitters through the team's first 10 games; as far as I can tell, '05 and now '09 are the only 2 seasons since 1990 that the Sox have started more then 2 lead-off hitters through the team's first 10 games; in '05 Scott Podsednik, Pablo Ozuna, Willie Harris, and Timo Perez all lead-off by April 15 (Game 10).

Upcoming Series... at Detroit, April 13-15

SERIES: at Comerica Park, Monday-Wednesday; all three games start at 1:05 PM Eastern Time, or just after noon here in the Central Time Zone.

CURRENT STANDING: The Tigers are 4-3, currently 1st place in the A.L. Central, 1/2 game ahead of the Sox and are undefeated (3-0) at Comerica this season.

MONDAY'S PROBABLES: Gavin Floyd (0-1, 2.57) vs. Zach Miner (1-0, 1.59)

TUESDAY'S PROBABLES: John Danks (0-0, 0.00) vs. Rick Porcello (0-1, 7.20)

WEDNESDAY'S PROBABLES: Jose Contreras (0-1, 7.20) vs. Armando Galarraga (1-0, 1.29)

After an embarrassing opening series in Toronto, the Tigers righted their ship in a big way, sweeping previously unbeaten Texas at home and taking sole possession of 1st place in the Central division along the way; their 4-3 mark is 1 win better than both the Sox and Royals. Of course, any time Gavin is set to pitch against Detroit, we have to point out his impressive career numbers against the Tigers; 9 games, all of them starts, a 4-0 record and a 3.23 ERA with 41 strikeouts and just 15 walks in 53 IP. He's even better at Comerica, where 4 of those starts have taken place and he's 2-0 with a 2.62 ERA. If there's one guy to worry about with Gavin, its Placido Polanco, who has a career .381/.458/.667 line against Gavin in 24 career plate appearances, though he was substantially better against Gavin in 2007 than 2008.

It's also noteworthy that the Sox have dominated the Tigers in Detroit since they moved to Comerica Park in 2000, going 49-32 at Detroit during that span, the most wins the Sox have recorded at any park outside of Chicago since 2000. This past decade, the Tigers have only won the season series against the Sox once (2004, when they won 11 of 19 games).

The Tigers have been getting it done with their offense. They rank near the top of the American League in most major offensive categories; notably Runs Scored (41, 2nd), Team Batting Average (.284, 3rd), and AB per HR (23.2, 4th). Individually, Miguel Cabrera is leading the charge, with a .520 BA after the first week of the season, 2nd in the American League and Brandon Inge already has 4 HR on the year, also good for 2nd in the A.L. To make matters worse, Cabrera has hit the current Sox staff well over his career, especially Jose Contretas, who he is 7-10 against in his career with a ridiculous line of .700/.769/.800, though he has only hit 1 HR in 72 combined plate appearances against the entire pitching staff (that lone HR, if you recall was courtesy of Octavio Dotel last June and was of the walk-off variety).

At any rate, its difficult to peg any team after just one week, but this Tigers team has been particularly vexing. After losing 3 of 4 from Toronto in an ugly series in which they were outscored 24-16, they bounced back at home against the Rangers blowing them out in a three-game sweep by a combined 24-9.

One Final Matchup to Watch: Paul Konerko/Jim Thome vs. Fernando Rodney. Rodney has inherited the Tigers' closing role in the wake of Todd Jones' retirement and Joel Zumaya's continued arm troubles. Rodney has been around for years now, but is still relatively unknown to many Sox hitters; 9 of them have seen him 4 times or less in their careers. Though Rodney has owned A.J. Pierzynski (0-8, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 4 K), he has fared less well against Konerko and Thome, who are a combined 8-19 (.421) against Rodney and Thome is the only active Sox hitter to have taken Rodney yard, a solo home run on September 18, 2006.

A Happy Easter Weekend on the South Side

You know, as bad as the Sox have looked at certain times this first week (I'm looking at you, Friday night debacle), today's 6-1 win over the Twins puts us back at .500 and 1/2 game out of the division lead in the increasingly uncompetitive American League Central.

Anyways, Happy Easter, everyone, I'm going out to dinner in a little bit, so check back tonight for recap of this weekend's series against Minnesota, as well as the upcoming series preview with the Tigers. I'll post that all before bed tonight.

Update: Here's Baseball Prospectus's Complete Projected Standings

Last night I mentioned that BP released it's projected standings for the 2009 season and I was just waiting to find them online before I could comment. Well, here they are. I know the Sox and their fans will probably take it as a slight that we're picked to finish dead last in the Central, but I really don't think that's the case. The Central is very tightly packed, the Sox are only projected 5 games behind 2nd place Minnesota and 10 games behind projected champ Cleveland. Look at the rest of the divisions. The Orioles are projected to finish 32 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East. The Pirates are projected 30 games behind the Cubs. A 10-game swing is not that unreasonable, last year five American League teams posted 5-game or greater differences from their Pythagorean record, and two more had 4-game differences.

Now, that said, this does underscore that even casual, national observers can tell that the Sox have some serious holes to plug. Spring Training kicks off Sunday in Glendale and the Sox still have not addressed some of their problems. While it's nice to think all of them can be fixed internally, the Sox's recent player development history makes me believe otherwise.

Anyways, when combined with yesterday's predictions from Cleveland, the running sum of combined AL Central predictions is:

1. Minnesota (average preditced position: 1.5)
2. Cleveland (2.0)
3. WHITE SOX (3.5)
4. Detroit (3.5)
5. Royals (4.5)
   

Let the Pre-Season Predictions Begin!

Well, we're still a few days away from the first practice pitch of Spring Training, but several folks are jumping on the prediction bandwagon early. I've read some reports that say Baseball Prospectus picked the Sox dead last in the Central in 2009 based on their PECOTA predictions, but I can't find a good, free site that legally publishes those numbers. If someone knows of a place I can see the 2009 PECOTA predictions without paying for them, I could comment, otherwise, I'll have to wait until sometime in the next few weeks to buy Baseball Prospectus 2009.

Also, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer has published its predictions (still seems a bit early, especially in a division like the Central with so many roster spots up for grabs, but whatever) and they've put their money on the Twins. They've got the Sox in second, Tribe in third, Tigers fourth, and Kansas City bringing up the rear. I'll try to keep an eye out for other predictions and see if we can't keep a running summary of the many, many expert opinions that will soon flood the baseball talk landscape.

Don't fuck with the White Sox & Sobering News from the Infirmary (even more!)

Let's get one thing straight before I begin... These are season-defining wins. This isn't just a "flash in the pan." or "give us some hope for next year," type shit that all of us are so used to (remember Kip Wells' audition at the end of the '99 season when he looked like the stud pitcher we'd been waiting for since Black Jack?).

No, the White Sox aren't just finding exciting ways to win, they're finding ways to win that make you want to believe that they're up to something special. I don't like using the cliche "oh, it's 2005 all over again!" line because there are already so many differences between these White Sox and their World Champion predecessors, however, I'll be damned if this doesn't feel like a little like most other championship seasons I've been privy, too. And of course, as a Chicago sports fan, that's like asking a Martian to describe water and I know that despite the dramatics and improbably comebacks, it's only 2 games, but sometimes two games transcend the standings and calendar because of the way they make you feel. The confidence they instill in you that, no matter how terrible the defense may look or how overmatched they may look at the dish, they're not going to go down until they've played every trick in their bag and ace up their sleeve.

If Quentin's 3-run bomb on Wednesday wasn't clutch enough for you, how about JD tonigt? Bottom of the ninth, down by a run, facing Detroit's closer (who, granted can be a gascan, but does have 319 career saves), and one strike away from ending the game. Wow. Wow, wow, wow.

To douse the party with some cold water, Gavin Floyd had himself a so-so game, but the defense has been atrocious in both wins. The errors and mental mistakes the Sox have been making the field need to be corrected ASAP, but for now, everything is good in White Sox-ville.

Wednesday's recaps: B-R.com Box Score & Play-by-Play | Chicago Tribune | Associated Press | MLB.com Wrap | Soxmachine.com

Tonight's recaps: B-R.com Box Score & Play-by-Play | Chicago Tribune | Associated Press | MLB.com Wrap | Soxmachine.com

Clayton Richard looked good in his MLB debut Wednesday against the Rangers. I mean, he didn't look great, but considering he was starting his first game against the American League's best offense, I can't complain too much. The shoddy defense behind him surely didn't help, but he worked very quickly and looked poised enough to throw his fastball and breaking balls for strikes. Ozzie was impressed, and Richard earned a second start against Minnesota.

And now, I need to mention Alexei Ramirez, and not for his 3-4 performance tonight against Detroit but for the play he made Wednesday afternoon against Texas. I'm sure you've seen it, but if not, here it is again. It's jaw-dropping, and as good as any defensive play I can remember someone on the Sox pulling off... From Durham's back-to-the-infield running catch in the home opener of 2000, to Uribe's dive into the stands during the World Series, and Tadahito's gravity-defying assist last season, that ranks up there, and his play has rightfully earned attention and praise both locally and nationally.

More bad news, as you're probably aware, Joe Crede was placed on the 15-Day D.L., Josh Fields was brought up from AAA Charlotte, and he started at third tonight. Josh went 1-3 with a walk and run scored tonight, but he did commit an error. Hopefully Joe is fine for personal reasons, but it's a shame because this injury probably will cost him a fortune; Crede's stellar play at the start of the year silenced the doubters about his surgically repaired back, but now those questions will be raised. Barring a miracle October (which I wouldn't mind), Joe's wallet will be much lighter.

Joe Cowley is also reporting that Scott Linebrink may join Contreras and Crede on the Sox's ever-growing Disabled List. No decision until tomorrow morning.

Elsewhere around the Central, the Twins dropped a 5-4 decision to the Indians at the Prog. Twins centerfielder Carlos Gomez had to be carted off the field in a neck brace after crashing into the left/center wall in Cleveland while making an outstanding catch in the first inning. Luckily, it sounds like Gomez will be OK (or at least, there's no serious nerve injuries), and I wish him the best. Though we're in a tight race with the Twins, you don't want to see it come to that. Cleveland's win keeps them at pace with the Royals for last place in the Central, as the Royals beat the Rays 4-2 in Kansas City. Both the Royals and Twins are 13 games behind the Sox.

Trade rumors continue to swirl around the White Sox, and it's getting to be too much to keep up with, so here's a quick run down of some stories regarding the White Sox:

• The White Sox are believed to be a suitor for Seattle's Jarrod Washburn.
• Don't expect to see the Red Sox and White Sox make a trade involving Juan Uribe.
• The White Sox are making a push for Justin Duchscherer, but an asking price of Josh Fields and Aaron Poreda is way too high.
• Peter Gammons says the White Sox are also looking seriously at Huston Street.
• Finally, the big deal that was being rumored was a deal with the Dodgers in which the Sox would acquire a pitcher like Derek Lowe in exchange for Orlando Cabrera.
  
• Don't get excited/worried about seeing Damaso Marte return to the South Side. Pittsburgh's LOOGY and Xavier Nady were dealt to the Yankees (I'm sure he won't wilt under the pressure).

Despite Kenny Williams' warning that the Sox might be quiet this deadline, they've been very active behind the scenes, but so far nothing to really report. I guess the Sox cut Esteban Loaiza, but that's not really shocking after watching him pitch a few weeks ago with nothing on any of his pitches.

Next Series: at Detroit, July 25-27

DETROIT TIGERS (52-49, 3rd, 5<sub>½ GB)
When the Tigers pulled the trigger on the megadeal that brought Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera to Detroit, baseball experts and prognosticators couldn't keep themselves from gushing over Detroit... Would they win 100 games? Would they return to the World Series? How great will the AL Central race between Detroit and Cleveland be? Bla, bla, bla. Flash forward to the end of July and the Tigers have been buried in the Central pretty much since Day 1, and just in time for a macthup with the Sox, they're playing good ball again. After fighting to get back to .500 in mid-June, Detroit sort of floated with a break-even record until this past week, when the salvaged the final game of their series in Baltimore and swept the Royals in Kansas City. Riding a 4-game win streak, they sit only 5½ games behind the closest they've been to the division lead since they were 42-40 and 5 games back on July 1.

OFFENSE: 507 R (3rd in A.L.), 5.02 RPG (3rd), 969 H (3rd), 115 HR (3rd), .276 Team BA (4th)
PITCHING: 4.36 ERA (11th), .266 BAA (9th), 4.44 Starter ERA (9th), 4.22 Bullpen ERA (12th)
HOME SPLITS: .302 BA (2nd), .361 OBP (3rd), .492 SLG (2nd), 4.41 ERA (12th)

LAST 10 SOX/DET GAMES: Memorably, the Tigers swept the last series between these two, a 3-game set in mid June at Comerica. That was the series immediately after the Sox's 4-game sweep of Minnesota. The teams met 6 times in April, in Detroit during the first weekend of the series that the Sox swept (which concluded with that 13-2 pounding of Justin Verlander and the Tigers on ESPN), and then the next weekend at the Cell, in which the Sox took 2 of 3 from Detroit, including back-to-back shutouts. The Sox's 7-0 win over Detroit on April 12 was the first of Gavin Floyd's flirtations with a no-no. The Tigers beat the White Sox on the last day of the 2007 season, so the team have split their last 10 right down the middle.

NON-OBVIOUS PLAYER TO WATCH: In a lineup full of sluggers like Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera, and Gary Sheffield you might be surprised to find that Marcus Thames leads the team in home runs and is outslugging everyone who has picked up a bat for Detroit outside of Matt Joyce (another guy, I guess to watch).

PROBABLE PITCHERS: Tonight, Gavin Floyd takes the hill for the Sox. His career against the Tigers has been well documented and brilliant, Gavin has started 6 games against Detroit over the last two years and has allowed only 12 total runs, good for an ERA of 2.43 and record of 3-0. Detroit counters with Nate Robertson, who had a career year for the Tigers during the World Series run in 2006, but has been on the downslide since, though that's not shocking as his career ERA is 4.74 and the Sox have hit him well, especially big guns like Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome, who are hitting .371/5/9 and .471/2/3 against him respectively.

Tomorrow night, John Danks looks to rebound from his first truly bad outing since April 9. Danks' ERA was pushed over 3 for the first time since June 9, but he is still in the Top 5 of the American League. Justin Verlander will start for Detroit, and while he got off to a rocky start this season, he has turned his shit around since he was 1-7 with an ERA over 6 on May 14. In 12 starts since then, he's gone 7-2 with a 2.53 ERA in 81.2 innings and a BAA that's under .200. If there is one alarming stat, however, it would be lower than usual K/BB ratio, which even during his good stretch is right around 2:1.

Finally, Javier Vazquez goes for the Sox in Sunday afternoon's finale against Zach Miner. Vazquez has pitched poorly of late and Comerica Park has not been his friend. Though he did throw a 5-hit shutout against the Tigers in Detroit on May 22, 2005 (while still a member of the Diamondbacks), since joining the Sox in 2006, allowing 11 earned runs in his other 9.1 IP. Miner, who has only started 2 games since 2006, started Monday at Kansas City and pitched 6 innings of scoreless ball. He started 1 game in May of last year in a double header against the Red Sox in which he took the loss despite the fact he gave up only 1 earned run in 5.1 innings, but was used as a reliever from there on out. In 2006, he appeared in 27 games for the American League champs, starting 16 of them, but he also posted his career high ERA of 4.84.

Notes: Reflections on Wednesday's comeback, Clayton Richard's debut, a rundown of some more Sox-related news items, and this week's Minor League Recap will come tonight, since I can't watch the game... Fucking WCIU.</sub>