White Sox Sweep First DoubleHeader Since '01

Its a good idea. Dotel’s fastball is just too flat now. That 1st half movement is gone. And JRE aside he scares the hell out of everyone now. Nevertheless huge wins yesterday. And despite all the drama huge props for Javy and Danks.

HUGE. Let’s keep it rolling.

that was a huge, huge win. i’m concerned about the bullpen, but what can ozzie do? that thornton trade looks better and better each time he takes the mound. did ozzie drag the bp under the bus during post-game interviews?

I am heavily invested in a 21 person/team football pool with a weekly payout of $100 and a massive $3200 payout to distribute to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at the end of year. With action on the Steelers (god damnit another meaningless Romeo Crennel FG to cover the spread) I was only glancing in at the Sox after they went up 7-0.

I turned back in time to see Thames hit that shot and then back again in time to see Wise hit his. I’m glad I wasn’t around for the in between parts.

Does this stagger to the finish really surprise anyone? I just want to see some more baseball, I have no expectations of the Sox doing anything in the playoffs, but to lead the division for the stretch they have and lose it at the end would be bitter indeed.

Danks was great and got out after only 6 innings. I guess that’s both a positive and a negative. Oh well, great day for the Sox!

if he doesn’t do anything else, his performance in the two games yesterday was big.

like i said during the first game, i could almost like wise if he could just play defense. it’s pretty hard to argue, however, with the 6.8 VORP he’s put up in just 91 PAs.

Didn’t have time to post/watch yesterday.

PS What is this “SoxMachine” site of which you (generic "you") are speaking? I must click on it one of these days.

Hey Hey Rerun!

Colin?

//insert joke about it being 10:20 a.m. and colin most certainly not being up yet

Looking at the 4 game set, this guys is the best we’ll face. Then we get Petitte, Hughes of his 9.00 ERA and Pavano with his 5+ ERA. Going to the game tonight, hope Buerhle tosses another gem and we can spread our lead. Plus, Minny gets Cliff Lee, so we got that going for us, which is nice.

Paul Konerko (7 DXL)
It’s taking a bit longer than any of us expected to get Konerko back on the field. The Sox have taken the long view and been very conservative with him. He’s expected to return on Monday weather permitting, but even then, sources tell me that the Sox are planning on giving him more offdays, especially if they’re able to clinch a playoff spot. Konerko shouldn’t have any problems playing with the knee in terms of risking further damage. The concern is how the knee will respond to playing—the possible onset of any swelling or pain—and whether the bracing he’ll need will limit his mobility. The knee will likely not need off-season surgery; MCLs are not normally repaired since there are adequate secondary stabilizers in most cases.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=8076

Matchup: White Sox (83-65) at Yankees (79-70), 7:05 p.m. ET
Probable Starters: Mark Buehrle (192 2/3 IP, 4.53 RA, 1.33 WHIP, 123 K) vs. Alfredo Aceves (14, 1.29, 0.86, 9)
Pythagorean Record: Chicago, 83-65 (747 RS, 655 RA); New York, 78-71 (719 RS, 686 RA)
Hit List Rankings: Chicago, #6; New York, #10
Prospectus: New York welcomes the White Sox into Yankee Stadium for the final time tonight, the start of the second-to-last series that will ever played in the venerable old ballpark. Even though the Yankees won’t be sending the House that Ruth Built out with any playoff games, they have managed to summon the old legends during this final homestand. Derek Jeter went 3-for-4 in yesterday’s victory over the Rays to tie Lou Gehrig for the most hits at Yankee Stadium, 1,269 in all, although he still stands 191 hits behind the Iron Horse for the all-time franchise mark. Alex Rodriguez contributed to Sunday’s win as well, hitting a grand slam, the 17th of his career. Only Manny Ramirez has more among active players, with 20; Gehrig owns the all-time mark, with 23. The long ball was the 34th of the season for A-Rod, and one more will give him a 12th season with 35 or more, moving the third baseman into a tie with Babe Ruth for the most 35-plus homer campaigns in history (as the Baseball-Reference Stat of the Day recently uncovered). Rodriguez’s slam also gave him exactly 100 runs and 100 RBI on the season, the 11th straight year he has reached those marks. He now has 12 such campaigns overall, which ties him with Babe Ruth for the second most all-time behind—care to take a guess?—Gehrig, who scored and drove in 100 or more in 13 seasons.

Thirteen seasons is also the magic number for the Yankees’ streak of playoff appearances which will come to an end this year. Chicago, meanwhile, went a long way towards advancing for the first time since its 2005 title run with yesterday’s sweep of a doubleheader against the Tigers combined with the Twins’ loss, which put the Pale Hose 1½ games ahead in the AL Central with 14 games left. Tonight’s game starts the critical stretch for Chicago, as it plays 10 in a row on the road, the final three of which will be in Minnesota.

…for pure entertainment value, that might’ve been the game of the season. An act two plot point that will drive us into the 3rd act.

How?

because if so that sucks for the Astros

Jesus that sounds awful. I mean, U.S. Cellular still doesn’t sound that great, but Target Field? Way to go Twins.

THE CLOSER HE GETS TO A PENNANT, THE SANER OZZIE GETS

“Players have to learn you can be frustrated and upset, but you can’t do some things. You’re always going to lose that battle.”
—White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen

“You hurt the ballclub, but you have to move on. We played two games without him and won one.”
—Guillen

“I have nothing to lose. Everybody I put in the eighth has been getting hit, so why not put the guy that should be there.”
—Guillen

“Well, it’s not the best thing in the world when we have a doubleheader. I don’t remember having a happy face after we leave after a doubleheader.”
—Guillen

“Are we going to miss this guy? Of course. But if I feel sorry for everyone, I’ll lose the respect of the players.”
—Guillen on Joe Crede’s injury. (Mark Gonzales, Chicago Sun-Times)

DON’T LET THEM TELL YOU WHAT TO DO OZZIE

“When they sent me to the crazy guy—what is that? This guy told me I was crazy, I need anger management. Shut the f*ck up. You don’t know, you don’t know my life. You went to f*cking Harvard, and you’re gonna spend time talking to Ozzie Guillen, who got eighth grade? You should feel embarrassed. You know what? How many employees you got in your office? Let’s trade f*cking jobs for a week to see who handle it better. Just because I called one guy that?”
—Ozzie Guillen, on being sent to anger management therapy.

“My wife say every year, ‘Look at those players, they take care of themselves better than you do. Every year, they get bigger and stronger. You out of shape through spring training.’ She say, ‘Why you don’t take care of yourself like they do? They no drink, they no do anything.’ Now, I get the last laugh. I’m normal, I’m healthy, I’m happy. I no have to deal with that shit. I no have to answer anybody’s questions. I tell my players, ‘You get caught with that shit, don’t tell me. I’m not gonna (expletive) protect you, I’m gonna throw you under the train.”
—Guillen

“I got Cubs fans who are friends. I say (expletive) you. The Cubs fans, they’re cocky. They’ve been (expletive) for a lot of years, but they’re cocky. They let you know they’re number one in town. But I got a lot of friends with the Cubs. Lou Piniella, I love that man. That’s my goal—manage that many years. The best thing that happened to (expletive) Chicago is Lou Piniella and Ozzie Guillen in the same (expletive) town. (Expletive) the boring-(expletive) guys every day. Some people have to be politically correct, some people have to be (expletive) up. That’s Lou Piniella and Ozzie Guillen.”
—Guillen (The Sporting News)

2.) Anyone see Griffey take BA by the ears and shake his head a little in the dugout? That was cute.
(Thanks batting coach, General!)