Tag Archives: taking it one day at a time

May 30, 2011 · 1:21 pm

A little optimism on a sunny Monday. Or: Today is a new day.

So, yesterday happened (and, unfortunately, due to some of the on-and-off-the-field actions and interactions, it is still happening in some respects). But, today is a new day and it’s time to fill up the glass again, since it was far less than half full after yesterday.

So, in order to do that, I am going to do a few things:

1. I am adding Carlos Quentin’s awesome sliding grab from yesterday’s epic-smushing of the ChiSox in T.O. to my ❤ defense page. Because, down 13-2 in the bottom of the 8th and he’s still running down a play like that? I don’t know about the lot of you, but this is a guy I want on my team 10 times out of 10.

2. I am going to post links to three great moments from this season, chosen in a completely random and biased fashion. Because, the emotional rollercoaster goes up and down and round and round, but baseball is a great game.

CWS @ NYY – April 26, 2011

  • Just what the recap says: Gavin Floyd struck out 10 and Paul Konerko went yard, but Brent Lillibridge sealed the win with back-to-back stunning grabs. Probably my favorite game of the year so far.

    • ~

    CWS @ OAK – May 13, 2011

  • Enter Jesse Crain in what has become his typical scenario: Bottom 7th, 0 out, runner on 1st and 3rd and the lead has just been sliced from 4-0 to 4-2 and, finally, after a whole season of coming up short, we manage to pick off someone, and catch someone stealing – home, no less – in the same game. Wacky happenings, but definitely a fun day at the ballpark.

    • ~

    CWS v. TB – May 7, 2011

  • Short and sweet. Sergio Santos practicing his little-used fielding skills and ending a sweet 3-6-1 double play. I should probably add this to the ❤ defense page. It’s not Sergio’s fault that I didn’t start this page until after he nearly split himself in two to make this play.

    • ~

    3. I am also going to link to an article I read this morning on another blog. Putting things into perspective – with a few laughs thrown in – always soothes the sting a little. Just a little advice for anyone else who is having trouble keeping the glass half full. – 8 Simple Ways to Enjoy Baseball

    Go Sox!

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    May 23, 2011 · 10:05 pm

    I am overwhelmed with deja-vu. Or: Why do I usually have time to blog on days that frustrate me?

    So, watching the White Sox starter hang out on the mound for 8 innings, and throw more-or-less decent pitches while our bats go to sleep and we get shut out by the Rangers?

    I think we’ve done this before.

    *sigh*

    I know that these Rangers are not quite the Rangers we played a week ago (just in case Hamilton and Cruz thought we had forgotten about them), but there was something about this game that was just pretty painful. It was kind of like we just never were in it at all. The loss against the Dodger’s last week wasn’t nearly as painful, since there was some good baseball in there.

    It felt a lot like April up in here tonight.

    So, in the spirit of April, I’m going also going to try to hold onto my optimism. Because, I don’t have too much with a positive spin about tonight. But, that being said, if the Rangers weren’t the same team we played the last time, the White Sox weren’t the same team tonight that we’ve been lately.

    Alexei Ramirez was named AL player of the week this week. His bat was heating up at the same time as his defense, and it really was a good week for him. And, it also marks the first time since early April (another time where we were regularly winning) when both Carlos Quentin and Paul Konerko made the list.

    I’m hopeful that this is a sign of further good things to come.

    Congrats, Alexei.

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    May 7, 2011 · 3:54 pm

    And May keeps going on. Or: Winning would be nice, even just for a change of pace.

    I missed a couple of days of due to the pesky intervention of the real world and have been out of the blogosphere loop and have had to settle for my daily baseball intake being limited to the radio on my drive to-and-from work, and the boxscores on GameDay.

    More of the same, less of the different. If I didn’t know that every single person in a ChiSox uniform is feeling even more depressed than I am about the general state of the ballclub, I would think they were actively trying to push me off the bandwagon.

    But, they’re stuck with me, so here I am. Now that I am no longer up to my eyeballs in real-world junk, I am here to talk about today’s thing that is awesome about the White Sox.

    Carlos Quentin. Call him in a pinch and he’ll come through. Firstly, he’s leading the team in crossing the plate – however he gets there – and is second in hits, home runs, total bases, slugging and OBP. And, not to mention, he has twice as many doubles as the next guy on this team. There are a whole list of reasons he was the first AL player of the week this season. And, after hearing about last night’s solo bomb, I’m happy that there’s still lots of good stuff in there.

    cqhr.jpg

    Come on, boys, let’s turn this thing around. We’re from the wrong coast for divine help in the outfield, and we’re the wrong Chicago team to suddenly hire a 12 year old star pitcher, so you’re on your own (like my subtle baseball movie references?), but I know there are lots of us that are hanging out on the bandwagon, just waiting for the fun to begin.

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    May 4, 2011 · 3:11 pm

    There is still good stuff about Chicago, Day 4. Or: May might be a very long month.

    So, yes. We lost a no-hitter last night.

    We lost an ugly no-hitter, even.

    But, since I am determined to stay positive, there were good things about last night.

    It might be a little bit sad that we lost such an ugly no-hitter, and it might be almost unbelievable that we lost a no hitter with better pitching than our opponent. But, we did.

    Which is a good thing. Really. Hear me out.

    So, the starting rotation is slumping (more or less). The bullpen is slumping (more or less). And, the offense and defense and the bats are slumping. But, for the first time in a long time, it wasn’t the pitching that was the problem.

    It’s discouraging that you can pitch a better game and still lose a no-hitter, but it’s nice to see that our hurlers can still throw a pretty good ballgame. At least, to me, that’s still a positive. One less thing to try to fix.

    I found a nice little wrap-up that sums things up nicely:

    Batters faced: Minn = 30, ChiSox = 32
    K-BB Ratio: Minn = 2-6. ChiSox = 4-1
    Strike pct: Minn = 53.7, ChiSox = 66.1
    1st-pitch strike pct: Minn =36.7, ChiSox = 59.4

    So, instead of focusing on the ugly things about this game that allowed us to lose a no-hitter when our pitchers actually did get the job done, I’m going to focus on the fact that Jackson and Thornton (thank goodness, it was nice to see) did a pretty bang-up job. Unfortunately, they just got a little banged up, too.

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    May 2, 2011 · 10:37 am

    Focusing on the good stuff, Day Two. Or: Why not talk about Brent Lillibridge some more?

    So, again, busy weekend at work = no time for Keleigh to watch the game yesterday.

    But, I caught the highlights and the lowlights and read the recaps and I’m choosing to believe that there was some real good in there. Not enough, yet, but enough that I don’t have to wear my imaginoscope to find it.

    It’s been a long time since we’ve had a late-inning spurt of scoring and it was nice to see Adam Dunn finally come through in the clutch.

    Also nice to see, was Brent Lillibridge making the most of a starting appearance. I mean we know that he can pull of near-[miracles] on defense. And, last night he reminded us that he can play offense, too. Not only does he have the highest OBP on the roster and only Juan Pierre has stolen more bases than he has (having played 11 more games), he’s hit 3 home runs this year.

    Like [this one].

    Focusing on the good, people. Focusing on the good.

    Go, White Sox!

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    April 30, 2011 · 6:39 pm

    It’s only April for one more day. Or: Is it time to panic yet?

    panic button.jpg So, I guess that being stuck at work and only catching bits and pieces of the action on Gameday was probably an advantage last night.

    I can’t believe that the entire AL Central is standing on its head and it’s like the whole division is topsy-turvy.

    I think that I have no idea what to think anymore and I have no idea what is going on.

    The White Sox have one day to lose get their butts in gear before I officially fire up the panic button. We only have so long to rely on things getting better and the longer it takes, the more discouraged I am going to get. They have one more day to drop balls and flub plays and chase wild pitches and just generally look like they have no idea what they’re doing while I am still going to forgive them.

    After today, all bets are off.

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    April 29, 2011 · 12:16 pm

    Home again, home again. Or: April is almost over.

    homesweethome.jpg Back home again.

    It was a long road trip and, to be honest, there were times where it seemed like it was never going to end and it just seemed to be stretching on forever.

    But, the Sox are finally done and are set to take on the Orioles at the cell.

    So, back home @ The Cell.

    And, hey, the team we are playing is last in their division compared to the ChiSox, who are actually not last in their division.

    That could almost be mistaken for providing a glimmer of hope.

    However:
    1. The Orioles still have a better W/L record than we do.

    2. They are last in the AL East. That is really self-explanatory.

    3. We are only 4th because Minnesota is doing worse than we are. Not because we are a comparitively better team (however, we are still staying close to them).

    4. Their probable pitcher tonight might have a higher ERA than ours, but he’s actually managed to win a game this season. And, in order to score, the ChiSox have to actually earn some runs.

    So, really, I’m still waiting for something to light a fire under the butts of this team. Because I want to have something to get excited about.

    And, there’s only one more day in April and there’s less and less baseball left to play. So, any time the boys want to show us what they *should* be capable of, I’d love to see it.

    Come on, boys. Let’s try to start his homestand off on the right foot.

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    April 24, 2011 · 11:20 pm

    New town… Will anything change? Or: And, the road trip continues.

    So, one of the blessings of having easter dinner with a house full of people that are Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Pirates fans, is that – since I lost the fight for the remote – I didn’t have to watch the sweep that took place in Detroit today. I read a little bit about it online (as much as I could stand to) and, ugh.

    The downside was all of the teasing that I had to endure about the White Sox and their rather abysmal season.

    Well, you win some, you lose some.

    So, the road trip continues tomorrow and, I really hope that things get better.

    However, I’m worried that we’re going to end up seeing more of the same.

    devil hates us.JPG

    [image links to the original location at http://macleodcartoons.blogspot.com%5D

    This was originally posted by a Red Sox fan after a loss to the Yankees, but I think the sentiment applies and I really hope that it is not prophetic.

    Happy Easter, y’all.

    I hope things look brighter for the Sox tomorrow. It is still April and – even though it takes more and more effort every day – I can still be glass half full for at least a few more days.

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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.

    omarcollage.jpg

    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 18, 2011 · 9:20 pm

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

    Hrmph.

    charlie-sigh.jpg

    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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