Monthly Archives: April 2011

April 22, 2011 · 9:44 pm

I am getting used to this. Or: I think this rut is getting comfortable.

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I feel like Charlie Brown can describe anything I want to say better than I can.

On a wet and cold and windy and miseable night in Motown, the White Sox momentum came to a dead halt. Again.

There are some pretty abysmal statistics floating around in the White Sox offense, with certain members of the line-up 0/15 and 4/38 in their most recent plate appearances. And, yeah, there is a whole host of other things I could expound upon, but tonight. I’m just going to hope that the Sox defrost overnight and pull things together overnight.

I would really be a fan of seeing some unfamiliar faces in the line-up tomorrow and seeing the order get shaken up a bit. Because things really aren’t gelling right now, so why not try something new?

What’s the worst that could happen?

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April 21, 2011 · 10:15 pm

And the pendulum swings the other way. Or: Snapping a losing streak.

pendulum.jpgIs the momentum shifting, finally? Oh, I certainly hope so. It’s been rather depressing to not only be losing, but to be practically giving things away. It is very possible that, given the quality of the Rays’ and Angels’ roster, we still would have lost even if we were playing better. But, at least we might have looked better doing it.

I really hope that tonight might be a little bit of momentum swinging in the other direction. But, I said it after a loss and it’s just as true after a win. It’s still only April. There’s still a lot of ball to play.

I was thrilled (as I said earlier) to have Omar Vizquel in the starting line-up tonight. I was watching the Fox broadcast and the Tampa announcers were spouting some pretty ridiculous stats about the difference in wins and losses and hitting percentages when he’s in the starting line up v. when he’s not – in past seasons.

And, really, I am wondering (casually, because I didn’t do the research) if the same would hold true this season. I’m biased in his favor because, essentially, he’s a rock star and there’s no telling me any different. He is a walking, talking highlight reel. And, more than that, he’s pretty darned consistent and we could sure use some of that floating around right now.

It was also nice to see Gavin (thank you for not disappointing my faith in you) Floyd and the rest of the pitchers hold it together. It’s a nice feeling to have more good things than bad things that I want to say about the game for a change, but I’ll spare you the re-hashing of the game just to satisfy my own whim. Instead, I will leave you with a small Omar Vizquel highlight reel in photographic form.

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I then tuned into the Indians/Royals and arrived just in time to see Getz steal 2nd and get landed on (pretty solidly, there will probably be footprints on his back tomorrow) by Everett. And, then watch him steal third to get into position to get the Royals on the board for the first time off of Francoeur’s single in the bottom of the 8th. Pretty exciting final inning at that game tonight – moreso if you’re a KC fan, watching them pull it out in the bottom of the 9th.

Now over to the OtherSox/Angels game, scoreless in the third. Time to enjoy some West Coast ball.

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April 21, 2011 · 8:02 pm

Oh, right. Baseball is fun. Or: OOOMAR!

omar-vizquel.jpgI am going to say it. I don’t care if we are only in the 4th inning and the Rays have just scored twice to bring the game closer, 5-2 ChiSox (I won’t lie, it feels nice to type that). It honestly doesn’t matter (to me) what happens from here for the rest of the game. There has been pitching (when Gavin remembers to breathe), there has been defense, and there has been offense – from both sides (but that’s not new for the Rays these days).

Also, I have been obnoxiously whining to anyone who will listen (and even to people who won’t) that I’ve wanted Omar Vizquel to start (because he is amazing) and he’s in the line-up tonight and he’s sure earning his salary tonight. I also wanted to see Lillibridge in the line-up (remember home run 10,000 anyone???), but I’m not going to be picky.

There’s been some great stuff from the Rays tonight, with pretty much every inning ending with Fuld catching something (sometimes while having a conversation with the security guards) in left field, and it’s nice to see Johnny Damon’s smiling face back in the lineup (even if he ends up being the death of us tonight!)

It’s not perfect. But, thank goodness. It’s (so far) a good game and ChiSox baseball is fun again tonight.

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April 20, 2011 · 9:22 pm

One! More! Time! Or: A picture is worth a thousand words.

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This is going to be a long season, methinks.

Again, I got home just in time for the last inning and missed pretty much everything there was to see.

If anyone has today’s “glass half full” thought for the day, I would certainly appreciate it.

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April 19, 2011 · 9:05 pm

I’m starting to get used to this. Or: Nothing new to say here.

Well, unfortunately I don’t have much new to say after today’s loss to the Rays. The score was 2-1, but I don’t know that it was even that close.

Phenomenal job today by James Shields. Good, sharp game. And, a really charming interview at the close of the game. A solid complete game that took him over 1000 career innings. Well done. There’s nothing to be done but to applaud his effort today.

Not a bad outing by Danks, we’ve certainly seen worse lately, but there was just the same usual problems plaguing us tonight. Some questionable defense, some less-than-desiable offense, and just a general feeling that there is just something missing that is preventing this team from feeling like a cohesive unit. Sometimes, it just seems like 9 guys hanging out in the grass. There was actually a really great running and sliding catch where I was actually surprised that Rios and Pierre didn’t smash into each other. And, it’s disappointing that the defense has me feeling this way.

I would love them to win, but I don’t even really need that. I would just like them not to give things away. Even games where we lose can be fun to watch, if they’re good, quality ball.

Oh well. In an effort to be positive, I would like to point out that there was one bright spot tonight.
jesse crain.jpg“Hello, my name is Jesse Crain and I will be auditioning for the role of closer.”

Two good outings in the last three games. I’ll use that to fill up my glass a little and try to keep it half full.

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April 19, 2011 · 2:34 pm

Reaching the goals. Or: Is the glass half full?

I’m listening to The Danny Mac Show [Podcast] while at my desk.

I am sure that I will have something more to say after the Sox @ Tampa game tonight, but this particular exchange from this morning’s show made me laugh out loud for real. Bill Melton is on the phone and, after some poking fun at Bill about how they (the hosts) will come after Bill if he starts to get down on the Sox on the air during this slump – like certain other Chicago sportscasters have been known to do – this happens:

Bill Melton: “Don’t worry about it. I’m not concerned about that. We’re doing exactly what we said we we’d do – staying close to Minnesota.”

Yes. Yes we are.
goldstar.gif I feel like this statement deserves a gold star.

Making light, putting things in perspective, and then going on to remind us that there is still a lot of baseball to play.

It’s a little snarky, but – to me – it’s also keepin’ the glass half full. And, this is not a bad thing right now. I hope things start looking up, I would like a few less bumps in the road, and I would like if my team were in it for the duration, but for the moment, I’m just going to try to look on the bright side.

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April 18, 2011 · 9:20 pm

Ei yei yei. Or: Why aren’t expressions of frustration easier to spell?

Hrmph.

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Well, tonight apparently didn’t go much better in Tampa. Shut-out in game #1.

I (fortunately or not) wasn’t home to watch the first 8 innings and, by the time I got home, my ComCast channel had switched over to the Bulls’ pre-game show. Obviously, they didn’t feel like there was much hope for the Sox staging a comeback tonight.

But, since I am officially on Day Two of my moratorium on over-reacting, I am just going to take it for what it is. Just another notch in the belt of the early part of the season. And, as a source of entertainment, tonight might be a good night to wander over to twitter and read about the #LegendOfSamFuld. Because, according to GameDay, he had a pretty darned good night. If only he would take his darned good nights away from my White Sox. :)

I do have one thing to say, though: Just because my brother and I like to mock each other whenever possible about our opposing teams, it doesn’t mean that the ChiSox had to lose tonight just because the Jays lost this morning. They really don’t have to strive to have the same record as the Jays (0.438 – ouch, that hurt to type). They could have left one of us (ie: me) with bragging rights.

I guess since the Sox passed me by tonight, I’m going to hang out on the sofa with ice on my wrist (lheaven knows what I did to it tonight) and watch the Angels/Rangers game. Check out what the Angels look like when they’re not bundled up from head to toe in polar fleece.

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April 17, 2011 · 5:13 pm

Lather, rinse, and repeat. Or: Close, but still not enough.

So close, and yet still so far. Story of this homestand, really.

After a particularly well-played series by the Angels and a rather underwhelming series (with the occasional bright spot – today, AJ Pierzynski and Alexei Ramirez sure showed up to play and I think Jesse Crain was trying to formally audition for the role of closer.) from the ChiSox, April is proving to be a bumpy ride and we officially have a losing record.

Olympic-rings.gifHowever, as of today, I have officially withdrawn myself from participation in the over-reaction Olympics. I’ve been training hard, but I think its time to pull back a little.

I hereby do solemnly promise to stop worrying about the rest of the season until at least the end of April. Instead, I am going to take it day-by-day and give them a couple of weeks testing out the waters and getting comfortable.

Why? Because….

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Tomorrow takes the boys in black to Tampa (which will at least save me the effort of flipping to the Tampa game during the commercials. Tampa has somehow wormed its way onto my radar. And, while I’m enjoying it, I would be happier if they weren’t in the AL with the Sox. But, I guess that was bound to happen, with my AL-centric viewing pattern.), followed by trips to Detroit and New York. Ten games in ten days, I hope we can get some momentum. Which also takes us to the end of the month and the end of my self-imposed embargo on hitting the panic button.

Maybe getting the heck out of Dodge with different crowds, a different atmosphere, and different weather will inspire some change.

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April 16, 2011 · 10:17 pm

Ow. Or: No, really. OW.

advil.jpg Well.

That could have gone better.

*sigh*

We didn’t even wait until the 9th for it to all fall apart tonight. Just a long, slow, steady downward tumble today.

All I have to say is that I hope we break-in this line-up before the end of April. Get all of the kinks and issues ironed out before we dig ourselves into a hole that we can’t get out of.

Tonight, I am breaking out the advil, because this one hurt.

aj-gavin.jpgI think I should also probably pass a couple of them to AJ Pierzynski, who is probably going to be a little bruised tomorrow morning after throwing himself into the path of the oncoming train more than a few times tonight.

Which brings us to the pitching staff (because everything does, these days). Oh, Gavin. Gavin, Gavin, Gavin. Why did you insist on breaking my heart tonight? I’m not giving up on you (its going to take a lot more than a couple of disappointing starts for that), but next time, take a few deep breaths and stop getting ahead of yourself. It’s only April, the season is young. Don’t worry yourself into being your own worst enemy.

I don’t really have anything more eloquent to say tonight.

Hats off to the Halos tonight. Well played, gentlemen. Well played.

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April 16, 2011 · 4:41 pm

And, the rain continues to fall. Or: Here we go again.

Well, it seems like the entire east coast is wet, soggy, cold and miserable.

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Even the games that aren’t delayed or postponed seem to be going on with some less than desirable weather. Not exactly a fun afternoon at the ballpark for anyone east of Chicago today.

They (whoever “they” are) tell me that the Sox are still expected to play starting at the top of the hour. So, maybe we are in for another game like last night. Rain coming down for pretty much the whole game, raging winds, the Halos bundled up in their fleeces, and 2 separate rain delays.

We didn’t play terribly (at least, there was nothing epically terrible to complain about – we were kind of just generally blah) all things considered, but it didn’t work out so well for us yesterday and I’m not all that eager to relive it today.

So, click [here] for a not-quite-family-friendly picture that sums up how I feel about the rain situation today.

So, for the moment, I just finished up the Reds/Pirates game (I hope Juan Francisco can walk off whatever was causing him to hop to first in the bottom of the 8th) and now I’m killing time with Rays/Twins. A roof is looking like a good thing right about now, because no matter what “they” say – the weather looks pretty miserable and I’m not holding my breath.

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