The Bats can Wake Up Whenever They Want

Another discouraging loss at the Cell today. After last night's shut out, the Sox pushed their scoreless inning streak to 17, failing to crack the scoreboard until the Carlos Quentin came home on a 1-out groundout by Jermaine Dye. Unfortunately, the Royals tagged 2 runs on Bobby Jenks the inning before, on a double-homer combo by Alberto Callaspo and Coco Crisp (career SLG of .328 and .409 respectively).

You have to feel for John Danks today, he pitched his heart out. Maybe not his best effort ever, but definitely enough to win. When you keep the other team off the scoreboard for 6 innings, you should be celebrating a win, especially when that other team is the Royals, but maybe these aren't your dad's Royals? Or, were we saying that same thing last year when they swept Detroit at Comerica in the opening series last year?

Yes, its only three games (a grand total of 1.9% of the season), but the Sox managed 5 runs and 18 hits in the three game series; 11 of those coming Opening Day, so its hard not to be frustrated right now.

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

POSITIVES

• John Danks is the most obvious. In his first start after some asshat at Sports Illustrated labels him one of the young pitchers at highest risk for injury, Danks pitched 6 strong innings, allowing no runs and just 3 hits. The only real justice of the day was that he wasn't saddled with a loss as has happened so often already in his young career.
• Carlos Quentin finally notched that first hit of the season, a lead-off double in the 9th that didn't quite spark the rally we hoped for. Still, even with his batting average sitting at .125, Quentin's at least been getting on base, with an OBP of .417, tied for second on the team.
• Overall, the pitching has been very solid. Opponents are hitting .194 against the Sox. The staff ERA is 2.00, and they're averaging more than 1 strike out per inning (1.17). Matt Thornton did a great job cleaning up a mess created by Mike MacDougal and Octavio Dotel continued to dominate; 2 IP, 6 K.
  

NEGATIVES

• Uh, where to start? For brevity's sake, let's just run through the numbers: Alexei Ramirez... 0-4, 2 K, still looking for his first hit of the season; Dewayne Wise... Batting 8th, still hitless, 0-2, 1 K; Chris Getz... leading off 0-4, 1 K; Jim Thome... 0-4, 2K.
  
• Mike MacDougal still looks like shit.

I guess there's a little war of words brewing between Mark Buehrle and management over Buehrle's off-season workout plan (or lack thereof). Joe Cowley writes that the Sox want to see Buehrle work a little harder and get in better shape, but Buehrle is apparently fine with just kicking back and relaxing. While it's nice to think athletes try and take care of their bodies, it is hard to argue with Mark's results... 8 seasons with 30 starts and 200 innings? That's pretty much unheard of in this day in age.

Here's a good read from South Side Sox, one of the finer White Sox blogs out there, on the upcoming seasons for the Sox's minor league affiliates.

White Sox Heed My Call

Less than 12 hours after I posted, "Dewayne Wise continues to be brutal at the plate, he's now 0-8 with 4 strikeouts. Can we please give someone else a chance to fail at leading off tomorrow?", the Sox lineup for this afternoon's affair with Kansas City was posted on Scott Reifert's blog.

• Chris Getz, 2B
• AJ Pierzynski, C
• Carlos Quentin, LF
• Jim Thome, DH
• Jermaine Dye, RF
• Paul Konerko, 1B
• Alexei Ramirez, SS
• Dewayne Wise, CF
• Josh Fields, 3B

I'm not sure if I should be surprised or not. On the one hand, Ozzie can be as stubborn as a mule when it come to these things, so for him to renig on his assertion that having Getz lead off would put unnecessary pressure on him is actually surprising, especially so early in the year. Wise, however, really made this decision a no-brainer. I know, 2 games and 8 plate appearances is a very, very small sample size but he looked absolutely brutal. Perhaps the pressure of leading off was weighing on the mind of a guy who has been a career minor leaguer.

Anyways, the Royals will start Kyle Davies in today's rubber game. Considering how the current roster has hit off Davies (.329/.390/.671), I'm hoping for a "W."

Finally, real sad story out of Los Angeles. As I'm sure you know by now, Angels SP Nick Adenhart was killed last night, hours after making his 1st start of the season. He was one of the Angels most promising young players, and his last start of 2008 (and 2nd to last of his life) was against the Sox on May 12 in Anaheim. That game proved to be the lone win in his Major League career. I remember watching part of that game on TV and being impressed with his arsenal of pitches. I remember thinking once he learned how to pitch at the Major League level, he would be a pretty solid starter, and since he was only 21 (at the time), the sky seemed like the limit.

Now he's gone, killed in a hit-and-run by a drunk driver. He was 22. I am 25. Kind of puts things in perspective.

161-1 Still Possible.

You can't win them all. Zack Grienke made the Sox look bad all night. All night. Granted, it didn't help that the lone time the Sox got to Greinke, they were in their classic "Station-to-Station" style; lead-off singles by Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye poised the Sox for at least 1 run, but a double play courtesy of Paul Konerko and a weak ground out by A.J. Pierzynski ended the threat harmlessly. 2-0 Kansas City. You win some, you lose some.

Still disapointing, however, given Greinke's career stats at the Cell entering tonight's game: 8 G, 6 GS, 0-6, 7.78 ERA, 37 IP, 47 H, 32 R, 32 ER, 11 BB, 30 K, 1.568 WHIP. Tonight's line: W, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K.

POSITIVES

• Gavin Floyd entered the year as a chic pick to regress after his breakout year in 2008. Instead, he was on top of his game, even without his best command. He still attacked hitters and featured that dominant breaking ball, striking out 9+ for the third time in his career.
• Josh Fields made another great play at third base and has made every routine play with ease. It doesn't hurt that he's 2/5 with a walk.
• The bullpen again looked good; Matt Thornton and Scott Linebrink were both effective, pitching a combined 2 perfect innings, striking out 4. The Sox team ERA is now 2.00, second in the American League only to Texas, believe it or not.

NEGATIVES

• Dewayne Wise continues to be brutal at the plate, he's now 0-8 with 4 strikeouts. Can we please give someone else a chance to fail at leading off tomorrow?
• Paul Konerko's also not hitting. Aside from the aforementioned double play, he struck out. In fact the only positive thing he did at the plate tonight was merely flying out in the 7th rather than grounding into another rally-killing double play.

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

Welcome Back, Baseball

Here's a nice collection of photos that can be found on the Tribune's website showing the park staff getting ready for Opening Day. There's plenty of good ones, but 14 and 15 show some of the work that's been going on at Gate 5 and picture 22 is a nice one of the new scoreboard in left field.

Contreras, Colon Win Spots in Rotation

For all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds Opening Day, and all the ensuing drama that comes with a late-game 3-run homer, this little nugget from the AP recap might have slipped past even the savviest of readers,

Ozzie Guillen said Jose Contreras would be the team’s No. 4 starter with
Bartolo Colon in the fifth spot.

This means Contreras and Colon will be pitching the first two games of the series with Minnesota; The Count facing Nick Blackburn on Friday and Bartolo Colon squaring off against Francisco Liriano.

Neither had a Spring that begs for much optimism; Contreras did go 3-0, but he had a 5.82 ERA in 17 IP while allowing 26 total baserunners and striking out 14. Colon, in 15 innings of work wen 0-2 and posted a 6.60 ERA. Both guys are coming off major injuries in the past year (frankly, its amazing Jose can walk pain-free at this point). And here we go, putting 40% of our games in their hands.

God help us.

First Win in the Books

Well, it was worth the wait. The Sox opened the 2009 campaign one day behind schedule, but with results like this I won't complain. Great pitching and some timely hitting overshadow a few miscues on the basepaths and some other less than stellar performances at the plate for a 4-2 Opening Day winner.

Chicago Tribune recap Chicago Sun-Times recap MLB.com Wrap B-R.com Box Score & Play-by-Play

If all's well that ends well, then you couldn't have scripted today's game much better. Mark Buehrle didn't have his A-game stuff, but he pitched well enough to win today. A final line of 6 hits, 3 walks, 2 runs, and just 3 strike outs over 5 innings won't wow anyone, but the Royals had a runner in scoring position every inning he was on the mound. If you want to criticize Buehrle's efforts for allowing so many baserunners, I won't try and stop you, but there's still something to be said for bending but not breaking.

Of course, the hero of the game is good ol' #25, Jim Thome, who launched a 2-out, 3-run homer off Kyle Farnsworth in the 8th inning to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead. Youngsters Chris Getz and Josh Fields also had significant parts of today's win; both had a pair of hits and each scored a run. And if you're looking to truly feel good about today, note that all 4 runs the Sox scored today came with 2 outs.

Now for the bad, and believe me, there was plenty to go around. For one, Gil Meche more or less had his way with the Sox bats. Yes, he gave up 7 hits, but 5 of those came in the 2nd and 3rd inning. Meche retired the final 11 of 13 batters he faced, and one of those hits (Pierzynski in the 7th) got himself thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double. And speaking of bad baserunning, the Jermaine Dye looked particularly bad on the basepaths today, getting thrown out at the plate (by a good 10 feet... Nice call, Cox) in the 2nd and then was caught stealing to end the 8th... Why Jermaine Dye is testing arms of outfielders on short singles and trying to steal bases I have no idea, I know the Sox are pushing this whole speed/youth thing, but you still have to work with what you got.

Oh well, I can't complain too much. A win is a win.

Despite the outcome, even Royals fans are finding solace today.

From Upon Further Review, a Kansas City sports blog published by the Kansas City Star,

The Royals ran Buehrle out of their after five innings because of their solid
collective approach at the dish. Hope to see lots of that this year.

I guess hope really does spring eternal. Though, I'll admit the Royals have the look of a frisky team that's going to be a pain in the ass for somebody. Luckily, we have Jim Thome who absolutely murders the Royals.

First Place!

De-fault! De-fault! The two sweetest words in the English language! With today's postponement and losses by Cleveland, Minnesota, and Detroit, the White Sox and Royals are tied for first in the American League Central with a lofty 0-0 record. Now all that remains is to maintain for the next 181 days.

Despite being flanked by two Metra tracks, there has been a mystifying lack of Metra service to U.S. Cellular Field, but hopefully that's about to end. Metra, IIT, and U.S. Representative Bobby Rush are tentatively planning on breaking ground on a new 35th Street Station on the Rock Island District Line that runs just to the east of the Dan Ryan Expressway. The new station will be located at the corner of 35th and Federal St., on land donated from IIT and, if all goes well, South Suburban customers may finally be able to take the Metra to and fro Sox games as early as late 2010.

The Rock Island District, for those unaware, runs between Joliet and the LaSalle Station Downtown. The line serves South Side neighborhoods like Beverly, Morgan Park, and Washington Heights and suburban towns like Midlothian, Oak Forest, Tinley Park, and New Lenox.

Finally, buried on the New York Times' website is a blog from Tyler Kepner, their baseball writer. Normally I don't even bother reading Kepner's writings, but when you pick the Royals to win the A.L. Central, I feel I must bring it up.

Opening Day Postponed (Updated)

As I'm sure you know by now, the White Sox have postponed tomorrow's Opener vs. Kansas City because of some very cold and snowy weather predictions. Opening Day is now Tuesday afternoon at 1:05 PM. Yeah, I understand the reasoning and I know there's not much the Sox can do in the face of Mother Nature, but this stinks because a) I have some friends with tickets that specifically took off work Monday to go to the Opener and I know some of them won't be able to duck out of work Tuesday. Yes, you can exchange any unused tickets from Monday's game for a slew of other April games but it's just not the same as going to the Home Opener, not to mention that was the only Premium pricing game of the month, so they're getting doubly jobbed. But it sucks for me because even if I was working Monday, I could have followed the game on the radio and I was hoping to write a Running Diary of Opening Day for the blog here... But Tuesday is Election Day in Illinois so I plan to be at work from roughly 5 AM-midnight (that's about right).

Oh well...

UPDATE: Well I guess it's not all bad. On Monday from 1 PM-3:30 PM, Comcast Sports Net Chicago will air last year's 1-Game Playoff against Minnesota. So yeah, it sucks we're another day from starting the 2009 season, but if you're thinking of turning your DVR or VCR off, you may just want to let it run.

Gammons Heaps Praise on Several Young Sox Hitters

In his latest blog over at ESPN.com, Senior Baseball writer Peter Gammons took time out of his usual busy schedule of fawning over the Red Sox to write about young and breakout players he watched over the past several weeks of Spring Training. Surprisingly, the White Sox (specifically Gordon Beckham, Josh Fields, and Alexei Ramirez) got some love.

Beckham got the most air-time, being named as one of Gammons' Most Impressive 20 (or so) young players he saw in action, and favorably compared him to other young and immediately effective players like Evan Longoria or Chase Utley, all of whom he describe have "the big league player walk." Fields and Ramirez were highlighted as 2 players he feels will have breakout years in 2009.

Always nice to get some national publicity, I'm still not expecting much out of Fields, but if he can be effective with the bat and adequate in the field, I'll be very happy. As for Alexei, if 2008 wasn't a breakout year for him, then I'm very excited to see what he can do in '09. And finally, while I'm happy Beckham will be in Birmingham this year to fine tune his game, it's also nice to see more and more people take notice of his intangible gifts, the gifts that help make good ballplayers great. You can't go wrong with guys that both traditional scouts and statheads simultaneously drool over.

White Sox Now 5th Most Expensive Ticket in Baseball

Team Marketing Report (TMR) released its annual analysis of the average cost of attending a baseball game for the upcoming 2009 season (Warning to those of you with a slow connection, this link is for a 2-page PDF file). The White Sox, with an average ticket price of $32.28, are the fifth-most expensive team to catch live in the Majors, up 6.6% from 2008 and about $5.50 more expensive than the league average. The Sox also claim the league's fifth most expensive Fan Cost Index (FCI), a rudementary tool designed to determine how expensive it is for a family of 4 to go to a game. The FCI adds up prices of tickets, parking, 2 beers, 4 pops, 4 hot dogs, 2 game programs, and 2 baseball hats. While the FCI has been criticized in the past (who really buys 1 hat at a ballgame, let alone 2?) it's still a decent ballpark figure (no pun intended) for the total cost of attending a Major League Baseball game. The Sox's FCI for 2009 is 224.11 up 4.4% over 2008.

If there's one nugget of good news from this report its that the Sox are still a bargain compared to their North Side neighbors. The Cubs average ticket price is $47.75 (47.9% higher than the Sox's) and their FCI is an even $305, 36.1% greater than the Sox's.

Billy Pierce to Throw Out First Pitch of '09 Season

Though there was hope that President Barack Obama would ceremoniously kick off the 2009 season with the First Pitch before the Home Opener, official word from the White House came today that being the Leader of the Free World apparently comes with some drawbacks; notably a packed schedule. Currently, the Obamas are in London attending a G20 conference and will spend the rest of the week galavanting about Europe.

In his place, the Sox will honor one of their all-time greats, Billy Pierce. It seems appropriate as this season is the 50th anniversary of the Sox's magical run to the 1959 American League pennant. Pierce pitched 13 seasons for the Sox, amassing a career 211-169 record and 3.27 ERA over 18 total years (he spent his first two seasons in Detroit and his last three in San Francisco). He's widely considered to be one of the bigger Hall of Fame snubs; his 119 career ERA+ is tied for 120th all-time and tied with such Hall of Famers like Red Faber, Rollie Fingers, and Bob Lemon and ahead of such Hall of Famers like Warren Spahn (118), Steve Carlton (115), Early Wynn (106), and Catfish Hunter (103).

At any rate, it's nice the Sox were able to turn dissapointment into a very nice gesture for one of the best and classiest players to ever play for the Pale Hose. Pierce embodies all that's good with the Sox, and it will be nice a way for him to celebrate his 82nd birthday, which was actually today.

Tribune Reveals New Ballpark Amenities, Food Choices

You definitely know a new season is just around the corner when we finally get a sneak peek at the new features and (more importantly) food items that will be at U.S. Cellular Field this year.

The highlight of the new food items has to be the Build Your Own Burrito/Nacho carts. For $7-$8, you can pick between beef or chicken and then load up with a bevy of toppings. The carts will be deployed in both the Upper and Lower bowls of the park, so fear not 500-level ticket holders. The Sox will also open a Wine Bar in the Lower Level this year, with a glass going for $7.50-$9.50. Lastly, luxury box patrons will also be able to order a mega 2-foot, 2-lb meatball sandwich, but unfortunately, those will not be available to the general public. I'm also looking forward to the Taste of the Ballpark special that will be available in the Upper Deck. $7.50 for a hot dog, pop, small nacho, and bag of popcorn is an awfully good deal... Pending the hot dog doesn't turn out to be a cocktail weine and there's more than 1 chip with the nachos.

On the less edible side of things, the highlight of this offseason's round of renovations is the new Out of Town scoreboard above the concourse in right field. You of course remember the old, slow board. Yes, it was antiquated and yes, the board was generally at least an inning behind in out-of-town scores (which was utterly ridiculous now that you can just check the scores your own if you have an iPhone, Blackberry, or some other web browser on your cell phone), but the old board did have some charm and it was one of the last features of the park that had lasted since it opened in 1991. That said, the new board does look very, very nice.

MLB Network HD Available

I don't know how long MLB Network has been available in HD, but I noticed the channel on my Comcast cable for the first time yesterday. I don't know about you guys with the dish, but apparently MLB-N HD is available in Chicago as well, on Channel 233.

The White Sox will be on MLB Network later today, as they take on the Brewers in Phoenix today at 2 PM. I'm uncertain as to when they make their regular season debut on MLB Network, but be sure I'll be writing about it when it finally happens. Today is the last game of the season at a Spring Training facility, the Sox wrap up their Spring schedule with a pair of games against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

Finally, anyone lucky enough to have tickets to Monday's Opening Day game against Kansas City, pack a spare blanket and get out the long underwear. From Tom Skilling,

Windy, unseasonably cold for the Sox's home opener, with wind chills in the
20s. Snow or snow showers heaviest near the lake. North winds 20-30 m.p.h and
gusty.

Scott Podsednik released by Rockies

The Scott Podsednik era ended in Colorado yesterday, as the Rockies released the former Sox outfielder to make room for 23-year-old Dexter Fowler. You can't blame the Rockies, Fowler has been tearing up the Cactus League this Spring to the tune of a .292/.342/.415 line over 30 games.

I just wanted to bring that story before someone suggests it...

White Sox Programming on MLB Network

Ah, the calendar has turned over to April and we're (thankfully) less than a week removed from Opening Day; an Opening Day that's looking pretty gloomy. But hey, it's still Opening Day, right?

Anyways, with the new season there's a lot more game oriented programming on MLB Network starting in April, including live games, a nightly highlight show, and weekly recap show Sunday night. That leaves less time for pre-produced programs, but the Sox are still pretty heavily featured on the Network.

As usual, all times are Central...

April 1, 7:00 PM - 30 Clubs in 30 Days: Chicago White Sox live from Glendale, AZ

April 2, 9:oo AM - Spring Training Game, White Sox at Milwaukee Brewers

April 12, 4:30 PM - 1959 World Series Highlights

April 14, 10:00 AM - 1959 World Series Highlights

April 15, 11:00 AM - Baseball Seasons: 1993

April 18, 7:00 PM - 1959 World Series Highlights

April 26, 6:00 AM - Baseball Seasons: 1993