Results tagged “whitesox”

While Sox fans didn't get another World Series trophy to polish and use to incur the jealousy of Cubs fans, one thing they can be thankful for is having one of the season's most memorable moments: Mark Buehrle's perfect game. (Aside: a moment within that moment has to be Wise's a-MAY-zing catch to maintain the perfect game.) And if you missed it the first time around, CSN is going to give you a chance to see it. On Thanksgiving night, after you've stuffed yourself with turkey, potatoes, and who knows what else, you can sit down and watch the replay of Buehrle's perfecto in its entirety, complete with post-game press conference. It'll all start at 7:00 p.m. on CSN. And, Cubs fans, you're not left out either. Early in the day - 12:30 p.m. - CSN will also replay the Cubs-Indians game from this season that featured a Cubs rally from a 7-0 deficit.

Maybe the entire season didn't quite play out how ace Mark Buehrle and the Chicago White Sox had wanted, but it wasn't too shabby for Buehrle. He finished the season with 33 starts, a 13-10 record with a 3.84 ERA, and one complete game. Of course, that one complete game was kind of a big deal: the Sox first perfect game since 1922. And now Buehrle has some nice hardware to add to his accomplishments, being awarded this year's A.L. Gold Glove for the pitcher position. He's the Sox first Gold Glover since Robin Ventura got one in 1998. While making only one error, Buehrle had 41 assists, good enough for a .982 fielding percentage.

The White Sox's AL Central rival Minnesota Twins are getting ready to move out of the HHH Metrodome and into the new Target Field, which boast such amenities as a view of the sky (they'll love that in April) and a field designed exclusively for baseball. A new commercial supposedly portrays the move, with movers unpacking a truck filled with bats, a World Series trophy and crate filled with Denard Span, Michael Cuddyer and a whole lot of foam peanuts. When a White Sox fan gets hauled off the truck, one of the movers exclaims, "Woah, Woah, Woah! Doesn't belong here..." before he gets tossed back on the truck. We Sox fans are tough so we can take the ribbing -- and the toss back into the truck. We just hope the Twins made sure to use lots of extra bubble wrap on Joe Crede, because he's extremely fragile. [via]

The White Sox continue to shuffle their lineup around. First, a day after the rumors first leaked about a trade sending Chris Getz and Josh Fields (plus some cash) to Kansas City, the trade has been confirmed. Sox general manager Ken Williams tells the Trib the newly acquired Mark Teahen will play third while Gordon Beckham will be shifted over to second base.

The 2009 Major League Baseball season has been over for about 12 hours and already reports are surfacing of some White Sox dealings. Per ESPN Chicago the NY Daily News is reporting that the Sox have sent infielders Chris Getz and Josh Fields to Kansas City in exchange for third basemen Mark Teahen. The Sox refused to comment on the story and Getz told ESPN, "I talked to some people with the team this morning. At this point, it's been characterized as a rumor."

• More trouble at Fenger High where five students were arrested today following a lunch-time brawl.
• Carolyn Towns is the last of the four Burr Oak suspects to be released on bail, leaving jail this afternoon.
• An Aurora man has been charged with filing a false police report, including creating three false suspects, after an incident this weekend.

In White Sox lore there are more than a few colorful characters: the Black Sox; Bill Veeck; Dick Allen; Minnie Minoso, the "Winning Ugly" Sox;Poppy Hidalgo, the 31-year-old batboy. Nothing short of massive drinking will prepare you for this.

  

No matter which team you prefer, you're either sad to see baseball go or glad the long, torturous 2009 season is done. Benjy will wrap up the season for both teams (and look ahead to 2010) later in the week, but for now, here's what went down yesterday.

Even a Cubs fan such as myself has to hand it to the White Sox: this "Well, if we can't be in the playoffs so we might as well completely screw up the playoff picture for someone else" attitude is pretty addictive. The White Sox downed Detroit 5-1 last night, forcing the Tigers into a tie with the Minnesota Twins heading into the last day of the season. Adding a little fun to the festivities, if the Twins and Tigers finished tied, the Twins host a playoff which will have to be played Tuesday because of the Vikings-Packers Monday Night Football game at the Metrodome. Anything that messes even the slightest bit with Bud Selig is totally awesome with us. Okay, but there was a game last night, too. Freddy Garcia looked sharp, pitching seven-plus innings, striking out seven, and giving up only a single run. Carlos Quentin had a two-run homer and Alex Rios also had a great night, knocking in three runs. The Sox wrap up 2009 against the Tigers today at 12:05 p.m. (WGN).

  

Peavy Shuts Down Detroit, Gives Sox Hope For 2010

  

Both the Cubs and Sox played doubleheaders yesterday. One team fared much better than the other.

Ryan Dempster hurled the third shutout of his career, striking out six and allowing only five Pittsburgh hits to help propel the Cubs past the Pirates by a 6-0 final. On the downside, the Cubs were officially eliminated from playoff contention when the Rockies defeated the Brewers, not that the Cubs' chances were all that good during the last month. The Cubs jumped out to an early lead with three first inning runs and Derek Lee helped put the game well out of reach with a two run single in the fourth inning. The Cubs also got offensive help from Might Micah Hoffpauir and Jeff Baker, who had two RBIs each. The Cubs and Bucs play two today in a twi-night doubleheader to make up a mid-August rain-out. Game one starts at 1:05 p.m. this afternoon (WGN) and game two starts at 7:05 p.m. (CSN+).

The White Sox got a sterling pitching effort from John Danks who pitched a complete game as the Sox toppled the Indians 6-1 last night in Cleveland. Danks, pitching his first career complete game, struck out seven, allowed three hits, and gave up only one run via a Shin-Soo Choo solo homer in the seventh. Said Danks of his gem, "To go out there and get deep in the game, it feels good. I'm going to go out there and throw one more time against Detroit and hopefully it means something. Hopefully, the race isn't determined yet and it means something." Danks also benefited from some great run support. The Sox loaded the bases and brought in three runs in the second inning, including RBI singles from Brent Lillibridge and Gordon Beckham, who continues making his case for AL Rookie of the Year. Beckham added to that RBI total with a two-run double in the ninth, finishing the night with three RBIs. The division foes face off again tonight at 6:05 p.m. (CSN).

It was a roller coaster weekend for the Sox but they came away winners over Detroit Sunday 8-4 and took two of three from the Tigers as the team closed out the home part of its 2009 schedule. Rookie Daniel Hudson, making his second career start, got his first Big League win, pitching six strong innings. Carlos Quentin was the offensive star for the Sox, driving in four runs including an RBI double in the second and a key three-run homer in the eighth. Podsednik, Kotsay, Beckham, and Dye all contributed RBIs in the winning effort as well. Matt Thornton struggled for the Sox bullpen, giving up two runs in the ninth, but eventually shut the door to clinch the victory. The Sox head over to Cleveland for a three-game series starting tonight at 6:05 p.m. (WCIU).

The Cubs won for the third straight game and for the sixth time in seven games since sending Milton Bradley packing for the year as they tripped up the Giants 6-2. Earlier this week, we said the Cubs' playoffs hopes were done. Even though the Cardinals (finally) clinched the NL Central, the Cubs do still have slim hopes of sneaking into the playoffs, 5.5 games back of Colorado in the Wild Card with 8 games left, though they'll still have to get through the Giants (which they will with a series sweep), Florida, a streaking Atlanta, and the aforementioned Rockies. Playoffs or not, the Cubs looked good yesterday, starter Tom Gorzelanny allowing only one run over five innings and the bullpen giving up only a solo homer in the seventh. The offense did their part, too, as Jake Fox and Geovany Soto had two RBIs each and Aramis Ramirez added a homer to the tally. The Cubs go for the sweep today at 3:05 p.m. (WGN).

With the White Sox having been eliminated from the playoff race Thursday night, there was nothing left for them to do except play spoiler in the AL Central. And that's what they did Friday night as Jake Peavy threw lights out and Gordon Beckham provided the offense as the Sox beat the Tigers 2-0. The win put the Tigers lead over the Twins at a meager two games. As for Peavy, he struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, giving Sox fans a reason to be optimistic for 2010. Said Peavy of another outing for the Sox, "It was fun tonight. I was able to make some pitches when I needed to, getting out of some jams, and the boys played well behind me for a hard-fought ballgame on both sides." Gordon Beckham's two-run homer in the sixth was the only offense for either team. The two teams continue their weekend series tonight at 6:05 p.m. (CSN).

Jeff Samardzija hit his first major league homer last night but also allowed two as the Brewers prevented a Cubs sweep with a 3-2 win over Chicago. Samardzija threw five innings, allowing all three runs on that pair of homers. The Cubs couldn't muster much in the way of offense besides his homer and a Bobby Scales RBI. It's now off to the west coast for the Cubs, where they start a four game series with the San Francisco Giants tonight at 9:15 p.m. (CSN).

The White Sox fell once more to the rival Minnesota Twins, this time by a score of 8-6, and fell even further behind as any slim playoff hopes are now fading fast, eight games back of Detroit with only 11 to play. John Danks had a rough outing, responsible for seven of Minnesota's runs over six innings pitched. The Sox did their best to keep pace with the Twins, including homers from Alex Rios, Gordon Beckham, and Paul Konerko, but even six runs wasn't enough to stop Minnesota, who have won 8 of their last 10. Meanwhile, the Sox are 3-7 over their last 10, not the way they wanted to finish the '09 season. The Sox see the last of the Twins for '09 tonight at 7:11 p.m. (CSN+).

Over a year ago, we posted about an article in the "Sporting News" which theorized that the infamous "Black Sox" scandal -- the 1919 White Sox were accused of throwing the World Series -- was inspired by the Cubs having done so themselves the year before. A fascinating new wrinkle to the already extensive Chicago baseball lore. The author of that article, Sean Deveney, continued his research and has now written The Original Curse, which digs deeper into what may be the true reason for the Cubs' century of futility.

The slim playoff hopes for the White Sox just got much slimmer after last night's 7-0 trouncing at the hands of the Minnesota Twins. The Sox are now seven games back of Detroit with only 11 games remaining. After the game, Ozzie acknowledge the uphill climb the Sox face: You do the math, we're still in it. But I don't think physically and mentally we're in. You can put all the math and say, 'If we lose here, if we win here, we have a chance because we're not out.' But we look at the ballclub day-in and day-out. You start to put doubts in your mind [about] if this thing is for real." Daniel Hudson, making his first career big league start, pitched five innings, allowing three runs before the bullpen gave way to four more. Not that it mattered, though: the Sox couldn't muster a single run. It was the 13th time this season the Sox have been shut out, which leads the AL. The Sox give it another go against the Twins tonight at 7:11 p.m. (WCIU).

   

Cubs Finally Beat The Cards

A day after being shellacked 11-0 by the Kansas City Royals, the White Sox finally got a start out of there high-profile trade acquisition and exploded for 13 runs of their own to blow out the Royals 13-3. Jake Peavy, making his first start for the Sox and coming off a rehab stint, pitched good enough, giving up three runs over five innings. It wasn't a mind-blowing performance, but it was effective enough and White Sox fans can breath a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, the offense exploded for the Pale Hose, led by Carlos Quentin's fifth inning grand slam, which broke a 3-3 tie. The Sox exploded again in the eighth for six runs while the bullpen shut down the Royals offense. Said Peavy of his first performance in Sox black, "I did some things well, and I did some things not so well. I have a long way to go to be where I want to be...I'm used to having more arm strength and having a little more giddy-up. It will all come in time. I'm not so sure how it will come along this year, because I'm so far behind, but it felt good to get out there and compete." The teams close out the series today at 1:05 p.m. (CSN) before the Sox start a crucial six game, seven day stretch against the Twins and Tigers - believe it or not, the Sox are still in striking distance, 5.5 games back of the Tigers.

There's not a whole lot Sox fans can take away from last night's 11-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals. Nothing, in fact. No bright spots. Even Ozzie seems to have finally thrown up his hands, saying after the loss, "My motivational speech before the game, it didn't work at all...I wasted 25 minutes of my time to try to motivate those guys." The White Sox offense only manged three hits off of Royals pitcher Luke Hochaver, who pitched a complete game. Meanwhile, all four Sox pitchers who saw action gave up at least one run. Starter Mark Buehrle gave up the most - five runs over six innings. The Sox remain 6.5 games out of first with 14 games left (meanwhile, the Twins have closed the gap to 3 games). The Sox try to muster...something in an attempt to make one last run at first starting tonight at 6:05 p.m. (WGN).

The Mariners rallied from a 3-0 deficit to edge the White Sox 4-3 in 14 innings, a dramatic, tough-to-swallow loss for the Pale House. The Sox got runs in the first, third, and fifth innings to take an early 3-0 lead. John Danks gave the White Sox a fantastic outing, pitching eight innings, allowing only one run, and striking out three. But closer Bobby Jenks blew the game in the ninth, giving up two runs on a pair of solo homers in the ninth. The Sox bullpen held until the 14th when Ichiro got an RBI single off of Scott Linebrink to end the game. Afterward, Ozzie could only say:

For the Sox, on the outside of the playoffs and looking in, every game counts, which makes last night's 4-1 loss to Seattle tough to swallow, especially given a Detroit victory. Adding injury to insult was the exit of Gavin Floyd after only three innings of pitching due to a sore hip. Floyd gave up three runs to the Mariners before leaving. Meanwhile, the Sox offense was handcuffed by Mariners pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith, who surrendered only a home run to Gordon Beckham in the eighth. With the loss, the Sox find themselves still in third place and once more 6.5 games back of the division-leading Tigers. Said manager Ozzie Guillen after the game, "Every time we win, it's hope. Every time we lose, it's not a good day for us, no matter the score or how we lose, especially when teams we chase win." The Sox try to keep hope alive when they close out this road trip against Seattle today at 5:40 p.m. (CSN).

Sox fans rejoice: that big trade deadline get - ace pitcher Jake Peavy - will finally get a start in for the White Sox this Saturday against the Kansas City Royals. Peavy was 6-6 with a 3.97 ERA in San Diego but went 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA in four starts for the Sox Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte. [ESPN]

  

Cubs Out-slug Brewers

• Open their season on April 5th in Atlanta
• Open their home season on April 12th versus Milwaukee
• play the AL West in Interleague play, traveling to Texas (May 21-23) and Seattle (June 22-24) while they welcome Oakland (June 15-17) and Anaheim (June 18-20) to town.

Making themselves the definition of "too little, too late," the Cubs won for the sixth time in seven games last night as they shut down Milwaukee by a 2-0 final. Ryan Dempster pitched brilliantly, allowing only four hits over eight innings and shutting down the Brewers offense. Derek Lee cracked his 33rd homer of the year - a solo shot - in the fourth, giving the Cubs all the offense they would need for the night. A Fukudome sac fly in the eighth gave them a bit of padding which, let's face it, they need given the bullpen's shakiness this season. However, there was no shakiness from Carlos Marmol who converted his 10th straight save opportunity to clinch the win. The Cubs, however, still remain 9.5 games out of first place in their division and 6.5 games out of the Wild Card race with only 20 games remaining. The two teams dance again tonight at 7:05 p.m. (CSN).

Ted Lilly gave the Cubs another stellar outing as the Cubs took the final game of their weekend series with the Cincinnati Reds by a 5-2 final. Lilly struck out seven over six innings, scattering six hits and not allowing any runs. At the plate, the Cubs had a good day, led by Derek Lee, who hit a solo homer, and Andres Blanco who went 3-for-4 and knocked in two RBIs. The only shaky moment came in the ninth when reliever John Grabow gave up two runs in the ninth but still held on to secure the win. The Cubs now welcome the rival Brewers in for a four-game set, starting tonight at 7:05 p.m. (CSN).