Hawk & DJ's baseball blog

The win in the series finale yesterday was actually the kind of game Ozzie Guillen wanted to see from his team - solid defense, solid starting pitching, and good timely hitting.  You had Rob Mackowiak step up with a big home run for a little cushion, plus Joe Crede stepped up with a big RBI to get the run home after the Sox were unable to get the runner over.

We've been pointing out this even though this team has been scoring 5 or 6 runs a game, that's not necessarily White Sox baseball. It was covering up for some of the little things that were missing that this team normally does well. We've got to have that solid pitching, do the little things, and then get that timely hitting.  The Sox did all of them on Sunday and that bodes well going into Cleveland.

DJ

Posted by at 4:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Jon Garland had a great game yesterday in Toronto - the type of game that may not look great in the box score, but was really something nonetheless. 6 innings, 5 runs,  7 hits doesn't sound like much, but against this team up here, it was a fine outing.

He did a terrific job on the Toronto right-handed power in Rios and Wells, just pounding them on the inside.  There's a possibility this could put Jon right back on the right track - a good confident outing that he can build on.

Hawk

Posted by at 4:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

In a long season there are going to be nights like last night where you just get your butt kicked. The Blue Jays were all over everything Freddy Garcia had to offer. Either they are extremely hot or they studied tendencies for situations because they sat on his fastball in a big way and followed that through for everyone who threw for us.

Baseball is a game of adjustments and now it is up to our guys to go out and show that they can take it to the Jays while keeping their hitters off balance. Jose Contreras is probably just the guy for that role.

DJ

Posted by at 7:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Chicago has won 7 of their last 10 games at Rogers Centre.

* The Blue Jays haven’t lost a series at home since the first week of the season, when they dropped two out of three to Tampa Bay .

* Toronto leads the majors with a .299 team batting average, and has hit even better in night games (.315).

* Freddy Garcia has six consecutive quality starts, going 5-0 with a 2.55 ERA in those contests.

* Ted Lilly’s 7.36 career ERA versus the White Sox (in seven starts) is his highest against any American League team.

* Tadahito Iguchi is hitting just .218 (17-for-78) in road games this year, compared to .388 (33-for-85) at home.

* Joe Crede has slumped over his last nine games, hitting .161 (5-for-31) with no HR and 2 RBI.

Posted by at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What else can you say about Pablo Ozuna? In the situation he was in last night (2 outs, runners on 1st and 3rd), he is every bit as dangerous as anyone else in our lineup because he combines his ability to bunt with being a pretty decent hitter.

Eric Chavez was playing in at third, so he just adjusted and pushed the ball down the first base line for the winner. That's just great baseball and great execution by Pablo, which is why he is such an exciting player for us.

Hawk

Posted by at 2:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

*It was nice to see the White Sox turn the tables on Oakland last night.  Since 2001, the A's have definitely had the upper hand, going 34-12 against the Sox.

*Among current major leaguers, Frank Thomas ranks 11th in batting average (.305), 3rd in on-base % (.425), 7th in slugging % (.565), and 4th in fewest at-bats per RBI (4.76).

*The A's are still doing their thing drawing walks (6th in MLB), but the rest of their offense is sputtering.  They are 27th in average (.246) , 22nd in on-base % (.327), and 24th in runs per game(4.52).

*Jermaine Dye has haunted his old club, hitting .317 against them.

*Center field continues to be a sore offensive spot for the Sox with the slot hitting at a .174 clip, by far the worst in the majors.  Rob Mackowiak is hitting .190 (8/42) when in CF, but .342 (13/38) as a pinch-hitter.

Posted by at 2:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

*Oakland has won four games in a row against the White Sox, outscoring them 30-13 in that span.

* In 10 career starts against the White Sox, Barry Zito is 7-2 with a 3.18 ERA.

* Frank Thomas will be facing his former team for the first time. He is Chicago's all-time leader in home runs (448) and RBIs (1465).

* Jermaine Dye is 1-for-10 in his last three games with one RBI and four strikeouts.

* The White Sox have 243 runs this season, the second most in baseball.

* Jon Garland has lost each of his last two home starts against the A’s.

* In his last three games Nick Swisher has gone 1-for-12 with five strikeouts.

Posted by at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday's 2nd inning scuffle was still the topic of conversation at U.S. Cellular Field before today's game with all parties in agreement that it was time to move on.  Dan Roan had the scoop during today's White Sox Warmup.

AJ Pierzynski Talks With Dan Roan Before Sunday's Game

Dan Roan Talks With Michael Barrett Before Sunday's Game

Ozzie Guillen & Dusty Baker Talk Before Sunday's Game

Posted by at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

U.S. Cellular Field has been the sight of plenty of smiles for White Sox fans so far this weekend.  The World Champs have had their way with the Cubs, providing lots of enjoyment for Sox fans..  We were able to take a few snapshots of two glorious days on the South Side.

Posted by at 5:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Watch and listen to postgame from Saturday's fight-fest.  AJ Pierzynski and Ozzie Guillen discuss the Sox take on things.

Sox Roll With The Punches, Beat Cubs

From the Cubs, Michael Barrett and Dusty Baker talked about the incident after the game.

Posted by at 4:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Recently we were talking about stealing signs and the notion that somehow it isn't ethical.  Oh yes it is.  It's part of the game and always has been. It happens all the time and leads to lots of intriguing situations.

You get a runner to second base and you'll see the catcher putting down multiple signs because they don't want the runner to relay to the hitter what pitch is coming.  That's not unethical to do.  If your opponent chooses to make things that easy by not using a bunch of signs, go ahead and take advantage of it.

Any edge that a pitcher or batter can have, believe me, they will try to take advantage of it. It's funny as far as hitters go, some of them don't want to know what's coming. They feel it doesn't help them.

It was pretty clear Sunday night in the first inning that the Twins knew what was coming from Mark Buehrle. So who's fault is that? Mark had to make some adjustments, which he did and then went on to win the ballgame. I've talked before about how successful Jose Contreras has been since he quit tipping his pitches.

Your bench coaches are always watching trying to pick up a pattern or decipher a sign, plus make sure your stuff isn't being picked up.  It's the game within the game and that's the way it should be.

DJ

Posted by at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

*The White Sox-Cubs interleague rivalry has been close and heated with the Sox leading 25-23 since interleague games started in 1997. Both teams have won 7 one-run games.  The Sox lead in total runs 228-227 and have outhomered the Cubs 64-60 in those games.

*Greg Maddux has had the most success of any starting pitcher in interleague play with 35 starts (tied with Mike Mussina for the MLB lead).  He leads the majors with 19 IL wins and 234.1 innings logged.

*Maddux' opponent, Mark Buehrle, has been very formidable at U.S. Cellular Field, going 41-18 there since 2002.  Buehrle is 5-0 in his last 8 interleague starts since beating the Cubs on June 21, 2003.

*The Cubs are only 3-7 vs. left-handed starters this year and have hit only .162 off them since Derrek Lee went down.

*Michael Barrett hit 4 HRs with 18 RBIs in the first three weeks of the season but since April 21, Barrett has only 1 HR and 1 RBI.

*Jim Thome's 46 HRs are the most in the history of interleague play.

*Once again this year, the White Sox are winning the close games.  They led baseball last year going 61-34 in games decided by 1 or 2 runs.  This year, they are tied for 3rd in MLB at 11-5.

Posted by at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

U.S. Cellular Field has lots of great spots to check out in the course of a ballgame.  The Bullpen Sports Bar offers the chance for a unique view of the game, the opportunity to look at other games on TV, and an all-around cool spot to see in the ballpark..  Check out the Bullpen Sports Bar as stop #1 on our season-long photo journey around U.S. Cellular Field.

Posted by at 1:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

*The Devil Rays have held their own at home against the Sox over the last 3 years, winning 8 of 14.

*Jon Garland's start this year (2-2, 6.75 ERA with an opponents batting average of .333) doesn't come close to last year (7-0, 2.39 ERA, .221 OBA).

*The third inning continues to be magic for the Sox.  They have outscored their opponents by 29 runs in that inning so far this year, tops in the AL for any inning.  The Devil Rays are at the bottom of third, having been outscored by 15 runs during that frame this year.

*Jim Thome has 5 homers in his last 7 game against Tampa.  He is also hitting .321 for his career against the Devil Rays.

*Look for Sox hitters to be a bit selective tonight.  Among active pitchers with 180 career innings, Seth McClung has the 3rd highest walks per 9 innings average at 5.43.

Posted by at 8:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Like DJ, I was impressed by the Sox comeback win in Minnesota Sunday night and I will always point back to manager Ozzie Guillen.

With pitchers, he is as good if not better than any manager that I have ever seen. He gives them every chance to succeed and every chance to get better.  You just can't believe what a difference that trust and confidences makes. We saw the results of that with a World Championship last year.

Hawk

Posted by at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

*The Sox will be looking for their 5th straight win over Tampa Bay.

*Brandon McCarthy makes his first start of the season after 12 relief appearances.  McCarthy made 10 starts in 2005, but struggled in his only start against the Devil Rays, giving up 5 runs, 8 hits, and 2 homers in 3 innings.

*The Devil Rays are 6-1 in Scott Kazmir's last 7 starts. In his last 3 starts he is 3-0 with an ERA of 0.92.

*The White Sox are 19-5 against right-handed starters this year.

*Tampa Bay has been held to 3 runs or less in 8 of their last 9 games.

*Jim Thome leads the American League with 38 RBIs.

Posted by at 9:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

That was a wild first inning for Mark Buehrle and the Sox last night - the first time in over 100 years a pitcher gave up 7 runs in the first and hung around to get the win.

When I saw it take place, I thought if they can hold them right there at 7-3, the Sox still have a chance to come back and win this game for Mark.  One thing I never doubted was that Ozzie would leave him out there.  If there's one thing Ozzie has established as a manager, it's that as long as his pitcher goes back out there after an inning like that and shut them down, he will leave them out there as long as they want to be.

The starters don't have to be looking back to see if someone is warming up. Ozzie has shown tremendous faith in them and it shows on night's like last night.

DJ

Posted by at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I get asked all the time who is my favorite guy to watch on the Sox and really, the beauty of this team is that I can answer honestly, all of them. We've got so many different personalities out there.

I love to watch Uribe - he is one of the most exciting players in the league. I love to watch Crede play defense. I love to watch Konerko, Thome, and Dye hit.  I love to watch Pods run.  And I especially love to watch A.J. because I never know what the hell he is going to do.

I love to watch our pitchers go out there and try to outdo each other, especially after somebody had a big game the night before.  That's why this is such a great team to watch.

Hawk

Posted by at 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

*Batters on both sides had better be ready to swing the lumber.  These are the two stingiest pitching staffs in major league baseball as far as giving up walks. The Twins average 2.17 walks per 9 innings with the White Sox right behind at 2.59.

*Jim Thome has always thrived on Twins pitching.  Only Reggie Jackson (51) and Frank Thomas (45) have more homers off the Twins since they moved in 1960 than Thome's 44.  Thome's 14 homers and 36 RBIs lead the American League and represent his fastest start ever.

*Torii Hunter's move to the cleanup spot has paid dividends.  He has shown the most improvement in baseball from April to May, going from .189 to .429 this month.

*It's no secret that when Bobby Jenks throws strikes, he is almost unhittable. His walks per 9 innings are down to 1.8 this year (from 3.4 last year and 5.3/5.4 his last two years in the minors).

Posted by at 6:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

* The White Sox have won six straight against the Twins, including a three-game series sweep of Minnesota in April, in which Chicago outscored Minnesota 23-6 in the series.

* The White Sox have won nine of their last 12 road games.

* Joe Crede is hitting .385 with three home runs and nine RBI in his last 10 games.

* The Twins have won four of their last five games.

* After hitting just .189 in April, Torii Hunter is hitting a robust .459 (17-for-37) in May.

* Johan Santana has won three consecutive starts, while striking out 30 in 22 innings.

Posted by at 2:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

One of the things I knew Ozzie would not let happen is for this team to be satisfied with winning it all last year. He took things easy in the beginning of spring training, but as the season got closer, made it very clear that things needed to be picked up a notch.

This ballclub is a reflection of his personality.  They don't rest on their past successes against the Angels.  Instead they just keep coming after them. With our starting pitchers, they want to outdo each other every time out.

Hawk

Posted by at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

*With last night's win, the Sox have now taken 8 straight games from the Angels, dating back to Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS.  In those games, the Sox have hit .324 with runners in scoring position and have doubled the Angels offensive output, scoring 46 runs to only 20 for the Halos.

*The Sox did some damage even after their sweep in Anaheim.  Since then, the Angels are an American League worst 2-10.

*Since Joe Crede came off the DL last September 10, the Sox are 44-18.  In those games, Crede has batted. 333 with 17 homers and 50 RBIs.

*Orlando Cabrerra has had success against Garland, going 9/19 off Jon.

*Ervin Santana struggles on the road. In his 12 career road starts, he is 3-6, with a 7.32 ERA.

Posted by at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The White Sox championship ring not only is a sight to see, but it's sleek design actually makes it wearable, unlike some of the other oversized rocks of recent World Series winners. 

Now, the Sox are making it possible for fans to have a chance to own the exact same ring the players and front office.  The team is raffling off three authentic World Series rings, complete with the winners last name personalized with the last name of each winner.

A maximum of 100,000 raffle tickets will be sold with all proceeds going to the Chicago White Sox Charities. Each ticket is $20 and can be purchased at U.S. Cellular Field or online at www.whitesox.com. The raffle begins this Friday, April 14 and closes on July 31. Sox ring numbers: *Mrs. Jerry Reinsdorf designed the rings. She also designed all six Bulls Championship rings. *432 rings and 163 pendants were made for White Sox players, staff, and employees. *There is only one version of the 2005 World Series Championship ring. *Josten's of Princeton, IL produced the rings. *The rings and pendants are made of 14-karat yellow gold with a 14-karat white gold insert and a White Sox logo crest on a black onyx base stone. *Each ring and pendant contains 95 brilliant diamonds of various sizes equalling over two carats.

Posted by at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

*The White Sox have owned the Royals at home.  Since the beginning of 2004, the Sox are 20-4 at U.S. Cellular Field against Kansas City.

*Mark Buehrle likes to see the Royals, too.  In the last five year, he has the most wins of any starting pitcher against KC, going 13-6.  Jon Garland is next in that category with 12 wins over the same time span.

*Paul Konerko sports a .385 lifetime average against lefthander Mark Redman. Paulie has dinged Redman for 4 home runs in their meetings.

*Jim Thome is setting a new standard for home run frequency with the White Sox.  His current pace of a homer every 7.46 at bats would easily surpass Frank Thomas' season mark of one every 10.5 ABs.

*Say what you want about small ball, but the Sox are 19-4 when hitting a homer and only 2-5 when they don't.

Posted by at 6:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What can you say about Jose?  Thirteen regular season wins in a row.  We've become so accustomed to sending Jose out there and almost assuming we're going to walk away with a victory. The only question is will there be enough offense for him and Jim Thome took care of that yesterday.

He had dominating stuff again.  How great must it be to know your stuff is so good that all you need is a few runs, then get them early in the game?  Add that to our defense which continues to be solid behind him and it is all good.

DJ

Posted by at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

* The White Sox have won the last four meetings, holding the Royals to just two total runs in those contests.

* Kansas City looks to win consecutive games for just the third time this season.

* The Royals have scored just one run in each of their last three games, and have just seven home runs in their last 18 games overall.

* Royals’ pitcher Scott Elarton is 0-6 in his last eight starts, including 0-3 vs. the White Sox.

* Chicago has won its last 10 home games, tying a franchise record. The White Sox last won 10 in a row at home from May 21 to June 10, 1996

* The Sox Jim Thome, who hit his 11^th home run yesterday, is batting .447 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs in his last 15 games vs. the Royals.

* Chicago pitcher Jon Garland has won his last four home starts vs. the Royals.

Posted by at 1:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One interesting question we were talking about before last night's game centered around Ichiro Suzuki - is he a great hitter and what defines a great hitter?

Yes, he certainly has the stats, averaging 226 hits in his five big league seasons. The notion of hitting has certainly changed since I started, when you heard much more talk about the "cheap hits" and "nubbers" that are really the staple of Ichiro's game.  His strategy is to put the ball in play and use his legs to get on base. He's really something to watch with the way he moves around the batter's box.  Hawk noted that he uses more space there than the rest of the league combined.

The other side will argue that for as high as his average is with runners in scoring position, he's never even driven in 70 runs with all those hits.  That definition of a great hitter means more than just getting on base.

I probably side with Ichiro on this one, since to me he has a plan and carries it out each year.  It's one of those arguments that make our game so much fun.

DJ

Posted by at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

You hear a lot this time of year about the guys who get off to slow starts, but there's a similar mindset to guys who get off to a great start.  The funny thing about getting hot early in the year is you want it to stay that way as long as possible, even though you know you're not going to be a .360 hitter all year. You can get a little selfish, thinking "hey, I want to keep it up there" even though you realize it's not going to happen.

You flip that - let's say you get off to a slow start and you're not happy with that, either. (Hitters are never satisfied I guess.) When you get hot then, you get mad it didn't happen earlier.

Either way, for the most part, you end up in your range.  Hitters just like to be consistent, from Day 1 to the end of the year. That's what they search for.

DJ

Posted by at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

*The Mariners have not enjoyed their recent trips to the Windy City. In their last four visits, the Sox lead in wins (10-2), runs (4.6-3.2), and homers (24-8).

*Jim Thome and Paul Konerko might be licking their lips tonight.  Gil Meche has allowed the major league's highest batting average to the 3-4 hitters at .538.

*The White Sox wanted to improve their offense in 2006 and are right on track so far.  After hitting .262 as a team last year, they are currently at .285.

*AJ Pierzynski is working on a 138 game errorless streak - longest in the majors' for a catcher.

Posted by at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

One big thing that's happening with our club, beyond the fact that they're hitting and pitching well, on this streak is that they are getting into a defensive rhythm.  We saw Jermaine Dye on Friday night make some terrific plays and Brian Anderson has been doing a great job in center field.   He's made a number of tough catches look very easy.

If this club gets into that rhythm on defense like they were last year, especially in the post-season, to go with the same on offense and pitching, we are going to win this thing again.

Hawk

Posted by at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

* The White Sox have won 7 straight road games against Cleveland.

*Cleveland’s first basemen are hitting .387 with 8 homers and 30 RBIs this year.

* Javier Vazquez will be seeking his third straight win. In his last two starts he has an ERA of 1.29 and is holding his opponents to a .140 batting average. 

* The Indians’ starting pitchers have a 7.56 ERA in their last 11 games.

* Chicago has six different players with at least 10 RBI this season.

* Victor Martinez had three doubles on Sunday, extending his streak of successfully reaching base to a major league-best 40 games, dating back to Sept. 17.

* Following their 1-4 start, the White Sox have won 16 of their last 19 games and own the best record in baseball.

Posted by at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)