A day off for the White Sox means a day of sitting back and enjoying some of other fine offerings from around the league(s) – thank you, MLB Extra Innings! – without the stress of suffering through the 8th and 9th (and inevitable 10th) innings at The Cell.
Last night, the Twins @ the Rays provided a pretty exciting night of baseball. Watching Fuld steal 2nd in the 6th (and left stranded at third), Johnson running into the Rays’ dugout for the third out at the top of the fifth, Joyce’s double to tie it up in the bottom in the ninth, the Twins pulling ahead by one in the top of the 10th, and Damon’s 2-run walk-off homer to win it in the bottom of the 10th (followed by Damon getting a towel-full of shaving cream in the face, courtesy of BJ Upton).
It was a good night to be Rays fan, but after the string of 10th inning drama that we Sox fans had to endure this last week at The Cell, I can certainly sympathize with the Twins fans. Maybe I should start mass-producing my 9th inning survival kit.
Sox vs. Angels tonight in ChiTown! I’m excited for the boys to be back, but not so excited for the fact that we are playing a team with such a strong bullpen when that’s where we’re feeling the hurt the most. But, I guess, no time like the present to see what’s what. Pressure’s on, boys. Go Sox, go!
(And, as an aside – because apparently I’m always going to have something to say about the Sox – I am a little irritated that so many blogs and news sites are talking about Ozzie running off to Florida like he’s running away from the club on their day off. I know we’re having bullpen difficulties and I know that things are kind of tumultuous in the Sox camp right now, but with or without baseball, life happens. He’s said in a number of places that he’s off, visiting his son, and cheering him on. And, not that anyone asked, but that’s certainly okay by me. Ozzie isn’t the pitching coach and the boys in the bullpen are big boys, I’m pretty sure they don’t need Ozzie holding their hands on an off day. Things are going to be what they will be, they probably won’t be fixed overnight, and I hope that everyone took the off day to relax, re-focus and refresh. We’re going to need it.)
If you’re itching for some baseball content to get you through until the games start tonight, spend some time at iam42.com and celebrate Jackie Robinson Day. Even for a sport so rich in history, this is some of the good stuff.
Watching the Dandelions Grow 
The beauty of Ozzie is that he probably couldn’t care less what the blogs are saying. He’s going to do what he’s going to do and the players all seem to love him so obviously he’s doing something right. Besides, for the bullpen this is probably like any of us in our own jobs when the boss is in a foul mood because the numbers aren’t looking good and then heads out into the field for the day. They’re probably heaving a huge sigh of relief and enjoying the respite.
Kristen
This is a very simple game…
True enough. I’m pretty sure the boys are probably glad that their boss is taking his frustration to an entirely different state. (And, speaking of, its probably not too much fun to be the pitching and bullpen coaches these days, either.)
And, yeah, Ozzie is going to keep on being Ozzie. Ranting and raving and talking himself in circles and just generally being equally as noteworthy as anything that happens on the field. :)
-K
Watching the Dandelions Grow