Tag Archives: for the win!

May 3, 2011 · 1:01 pm

Extra ChiSox awesomeness, Day 3 Or: A win!

Finally, a win at The Cell. It was a nice surprise to load up GameDay around the 7th inning and see that we were winning. And, then to tune in again at the bottom of the 8th, and bite my fingernails a little bit throughout the top of the 9th.

santos-save.pngSo, yes, of course it’s a little easier to be positive today! But, if I was going to focus on one thing to be positive about, I think its time to talk about Sergio Santos.

3 saves in as many opportunities, he still has a 0.00 ERA (though, everyone who saw the game in NY knows that he owes that, in part, to Brent Lillibridge), and just generally coming out and getting the job done.

It is nice that we, as a collective unit of White Sox fans, don’t have to cringe every time we go to the bullpen in the 9th inning. Sure, the beginning of the season means that we’re all probably a little on edge, but at least we have someone that is proving to be up to the task.

Go, White Sox!

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April 27, 2011 · 12:06 am

Twice in a row?! That’s unheard of! Or: BRENT LILLIBRIDGE DESERVES CAPITAL LETTERS TODAY.

1. Gavin Floyd. My faith in him was rewarded tonight. Again. Rock steady. Love it.

2. Oh, Matt Thornton… I don’t want to cringe every time they call you out of the bullpen. I know you’re probably not pleased about how things are going lately either, but please stop breaking my heart, yeah?

3. Speaking of closers, nice to see Santos out there again- though I suppose no small part was due to his defense, this time around. Even if AJ has to throw himself in front of a rather large percentage of his pitches, its another save for the books. Maybe by the middle of June we will no longer lead the AL in blown saves.

4. There were no commercials on the broadcast I was watching tonight (not sure why) so I got to see a lot of the White Sox dugout during commercials. The cameramen LOVED Gavin Floyd. And, also, AJ Pierzynski’s hair manages to stay remarkably spiked in spite of his batting helmet and his catcher’s mask. It’s really rather amazing.

lillibridge.jpg5. Can we give the save to Brent Lillibridge? Anyone who has been listening to me on twitter lately (and, a little bit here) has had to suffer through 2 weeks of me complaining about the lack of giving Lillibridge a chance in the OF. And, tonight he came through in a big way. TWICE. I unofficially give him the save – I don’t care that he’s not a pitcher. So, instead, I will give him a gold star. It’s almost as good, I’m sure.

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I am going to dedicate an entire post to his display of defensive brilliance if mlb.com ever posts that footage because that was truly awesome. Rodriguez and Cano. A one-two punch that completely saved the game (and he whipped that first catch back to – I think -1B accurately, even after smashing into the wall). I will personally sew him a cape of his own if he keeps that up.

6. And, ps: everyone should go [here] and vote for the All-Star game. And, might I suggest that if you are aren’t attached a particular SS/2B/3B, I think you should write in for Omar Vizquel. Because I would love to see him there and I think he should have been on the voting list – but, then again, I am biased. And, clearly, it is all about me.

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April 25, 2011 · 11:37 pm

I almost forget how to write an entry after a win. Or: !!!!!

I am so out of practice with how to write a blog after a win that I almost don’t know what to say. Mostly, I’m just happy that I get to use my winning tag instead of my losing tag.

It was an exciting night at Yankee Stadium (for the southside): Humber carrying his no-hitter into the 7th, good defense, good offense, and some solid outings by the bullpen. It was nice to see the pinch running grabbing that insurance run (Good to see you again, Brent Lillibridge!), that 3-6-1 double play in the 9th and just some of the utter randomness we witnessed tonight. Like Ramirez’s infield fly-ball single – say what?! – that you kind of had to see to believe. I was actally surprised that there was no way to get that down as an error. I hope mlb.com puts up a copy of that at some point.

happydance.jpgI don’t even care that the amount of excitement I am feeling over actually winning a game is a little excessive. We’ve had a rough go of it lately – I’ll take all the good I can get.

Now we just have to figure out how to do this two days in a row.

And, tomorrow, I will be sitting at home, trying to use the power of my mind to *will* Gavin Floyd to remember to keep breathing and try to stay calm. He can do it, as long as he doesn’t beat himself.

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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 12, 2011 · 10:55 pm

I think we’re taking “All In” a little too literally. Or: Everyone gets a participation ribbon tonight.

So, I guess I can stand behind “All In” as general concept, and it certainly makes for a snazzy catch phrase, but I don’t think that the Sox really needed to adopt it as a permanent game strategy.

RIB1-PAR.jpgSeriously, both of the bullpens at The Cell tonight seemed to have automatic revolving doors on them and it seemed like people were in danger of getting crushed if they didn’t keep moving through them. It was one of those games that remind me of the games I played as an 8-year-old where the lineup changed every inning so everyone got a chance to play.

Thank you, Alexei Ramirez. Thank you for stopping me from biting my nails down to the quick, thank you for allowing my heart rate to finally go back to normal, and thank you for finally allowing me to get go to bed so I am not a zombie at work all day tomorrow.

Bottom of the 10th, walk off home run. And he knew it was out of there the second his bat made contact with the ball, tossing his bat behind him and just watching the ball fly over the fence.

MAGIC.

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April 10, 2011 · 3:40 pm

Holy drama, batman! Or: We all knew this was coming.

So, what to say about the Rays/ChiSox today?

Well, it was all Chicago all the time until Sam Fuld decided (again) to show his teammates, his management, and pretty much everyone else in the world of MLB what he’s worth. A double which had him on base an in position to score, putting the Rays on the board (6-1). Really, the only hiccup in Gavin Floyd’s day was his throwing error (though, I would have to argue that he wasn’t alone in that one) that allowed Fuld to score.

And, then comes the drama. The score was (very briefly) 6-2 until the call on Johnson was reversed and his RBI (bringing Damon across home plate) didn’t count.

And, then Maddon got mad. Pun intended. He was pissed. He came out of the dugout red-faced and hand-waving in the familiar way. My lip-reading skills are amateur at best, but I saw an awful lot of bullsh*t getting thrown around in amongst the general flailing. I think he knew from the time he marched onto the field that he was going to yell until he got himself tossed from the game. It was a close call, an arguably an important one, so the dramatics weren’t unexpected.

But, I can’t help but wonder if at least 50% of Maddon’s ranting was letting out 7 games worth of frustration in a public venue. It’s been a rough start for them, really, and who could blame him? Unfortunately, it didn’t help his boys today.

However, aside from that aforementioned throwing error, this guy was having a pretty great day (and getting a reasonable amount of exercise, running back and forth to first):


Way to go, Gavin Floyd.

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April 9, 2011 · 7:04 pm

Credit where credit is due, Or: Wow.

It’s a lot easier for me to be complimentary about someone on the opposing team when the sox still came out with the W against Tampa today.

I’m new, so I doubt there is anyone reading this, but just for the record, I have a deep abiding love of the outfield – especially right outfielders – and sometimes people like to give me heat for it.

But, come on. There are almost no words for how awesome this was, no matter which team you were pulling for today and whether you, like me, love the outfielders or really couldn’t care less.

http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?c_id=tb&content_id=13609203&topic_id=8877450

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