interesting delve into the dynamics between the sox and cubs. more of a historical or cultural analysis.

Way back when, the Cubs certainly didn't want the company. In 1901, they sued Charles Comiskey to enjoin him from moving his minor league team, the St. Paul Saints, to Chicago to join the fledgling American League. The Cubs' maneuver failed, but they did make a couple of demands: Comiskey's team couldn't have "Chicago" in its name, and, at least in a sanctioned capacity, the team wasn't allowed to play any games above 35th Street. In a withering rejoinder of sorts, Comiskey called his club the "White Stockings," which once upon a time was what the Cubs were before they were the Cubs, and played his earliest games at old South Side Park, on 39th and Wentworth, just four blocks south of the line of demarcation. So there.

White Sox left-hander Clayton Richard got the start for the U.S. team. A big 6'6", 240-pound southpaw, Richard lives on his sinker. It's a tough pitch to hit hard, especially coming from a downhill plane, and it also allows Richard to induce plenty of ground balls. That ground ball tendency was evident when Richard allowed three grounders in the first, though one of them was a single. The World team eventually scored a run in the inning thanks to an error by shortstop Jason Donald, a stolen base by Elvis Andrus, and a fielder's choice by Pablo Sandoval.

Richard was posting a combined 2.44 ERA and 82/20 K/BB in 121 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A before the game. He hit 91 MPH with his sinker at one point in the contest, but he was more consistently in the upper 80s to 90. He's already 24 and doesn't have much upside, but if Richard can keep limiting walks and homers, he could be a No. 3 starter if everything breaks right. He's more likely to be an innings eater, but he's a solid, underrated prospect.

I've been playing a lot of lately. The game has cards from 1907 & 2007 and you are randomly given 40 cards to start. You create a 25 man roster and slowly build your team with your winnings (by using the auction system or buying more packs).

PS> Matt Thornton is dominant on my team.

The White Sox traveling party originally thought reliever D.J. Carrasco was out of options and would be subject to being placed on waivers if he was taken off the 25-man roster to make room for Bobby Jenks.

But it turns out Carrasco, who pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run relief Friday night at Texas, has one option left. It's a pleasant development for the Sox, who probably will decide if Carrasco or Adam Russell will be optioned to Triple-A Charlotte to make room for Jenks.

Russell pitched well until Sunday at Texas, and Carrasco showed he might be better suited for the long relief role with his experience as he spent parts of three major-league seasons with Kansas City before pitching in Japan.

But the Sox won't make a decision until they're convinced Jenks has recovered from tightness in his left scapula.

In-Game Tactical Fun: While there's something of a tom-tom beat to get Juan Uribe into somebody else's uniform, I like the way keeping him works out in terms of being a roster space-saver with in-game tactical utility. Uribe is sort of a platoon option to Alexei Ramirez at second, but he is also Orlando Cabrera's backup at short, which allows Ozzie some tactical flexibility at two lineup slots. (He had even more flexibility when the team had Pablo Ozuna around, but the decision to keep Wise and a 12th pitcher after Konerko came off of the DL got Ozuna designated for assignment.

In-System Solutions: If Alexei Ramirez's bat goes slack, the Sox have options at this one position down at Charlotte: Chris Getz (.303/.361/.452, which translates to a peak in the .270s in EqA) and Danny Richar (bouncing back from a slow start and hitting a tasty .280/.364/.488 against RHPs). In case Loaiza isn't the answer and one of the rotation regulars goes down, it's going to be a bit tough, because it isn't like the most experienced guys are doing all that well in Charlotte—Tomo Ohka's been tateriffic with 19 allowed in 92 2/3 (yes, one-nine with a -teen at the end), Lance Broadway's not a great answer, and Jack Egbert's had a rough time of it before his current 14-inning scoreless streak. As a result, it might be a matter of Clayton Richard or nobody. Richard's interesting on a couple of levels—he was briefly quarterbacking at Michigan before focusing on baseball, but it's much more germane that he's a big-bodied lefty with a nifty sinker. He's also in his first season above High-A, having pitching his way through the Southern League in two months, but he's rattled off six straight quality starts in his first work at Triple-A since earning the promotion. Given how desperately bare the cupboard looked in February, it's actually sort of a happy surprise that the Sox have even this many options.

Carlos Quentin, John Danks, Alexei Ramirez and others’ performances have provided Sox fans everywhere with pleasant surprises, and on the flip side, we have Paul Konerko and Jim Thome. I guess that should read Paul Konerko and early-season Jim Thome. Plain and simple, the Sox’ big, old, old sluggers have struggled so far this season. Paul Konerko has been derailed by injuries. He had a hand injury and then strained his oblique. I will cut him some slack for now since he has been hurt. I’m not jumping on the DFA Paulie bandwagon as so many reactionary fans have, but that’s a topic for another post. This one is about Jim Thome who recently has been turning things around.

The easiest and quickest way to see that Thome is doing better is to take a peak at his split stats: ...

by Josh Kalk
July 15, 2008

Here is a familiar situation: Your team is up by a run in the seventh inning and the manager goes to the bullpen for the seventh inning/middle reliever. You cringe a little, but after a strikeout, pop-up and easy ground ball, it's on to the eighth on nine pitches with the lead intact. You wonder if the manager might let the same guy go back out, but, invariably, the setup man is called upon.

If that move backfires, and the manager is asked about it later, he probably will mutter something about bullpen roles or relievers not built to go multiple innings or not wanting the reliever to cool down in the dugout and then have to crank it up again.

These are mostly valid concerns. Some old-school guys might say that back in the day Goose Gossage was routinely asked to go multiple innings to preserve a game and we are babying our pitchers today. While it is true about Gossage and others of his day, when they entered the game in the seventh they knew going in that they were there to finish the game and could to pace themselves.

Late inning relievers now are asked to put everything they have into every pitch and generally come out of the game after they have thrown an inning or less. The real question is how a current reliever's stuff is affected if he has to sit while his team bats. Is the manager in our example correct to go automatically with the setup man, or could the seventh-inning guy pitch the eighth if he worked quickly in the seventh? ...

hat-tip Tango

wilder mentioned.

During the off-seaons of 2005 and 2008, the White Sox organization signed infielders from abroad for small amounts with little to no fanfare. In the first case, the White Sox signed Tadahtio Iguchi out of Japan on a 2-year $4.95 million contract with a team option for $3.25 million; in the latter case, they signed Alexei Ramirez out of Cuba on a 4-year $4.75 million contract. Both players earned the starting job at second base during their first season with the Sox, and both players more than earned their contracts. Here’s a small look at Tadahito followed by an in-depth look at Alexei. ...

If you are like most and wondering why the surprising A's, still in contention, would wave the white flag and trade Rich Harden for a pair of marginal outfield prospects, a pitcher and a catcher hitting around the Mendoza Line in Class A, check these guys out:

Lefty Gio Gonzalez, a key piece in the Nick Swisher trade ...
Righty Trevor Cahill, 20, their top homegrown pitching prospect ...
And righty Brett Anderson, 20, a key piece in the Dan Haren trade.
As if they needed any more young pitching, the A's have already had a stacked young rotation. They are enjoying breakthroughs of Pitch-22 (good enough to start, once too valuable in relief) Justin Duchscherer and Haren trade chips Greg Smith, 24, and Dana Eveland, 24 -- a new-wave Big Three if you will.

Minor League stats
Interested in seeing how your favorite prospects are performing in the minor leagues? You can find a player's stats on his page or you can sort stats for Triple-A and Double-A by clicking here.
That terrific trio above appears to be well on its way to setting them up well in the long term with the next wave.

Gonzalez is the closest, having the most minor league experience and proving dominant of late in Triple-A. In the past month, he has posted strikeout totals of 13, 12, seven (twice) in four of his past four starts. He has allowed just two earned runs in the past 21 innings, striking out 27.

For the season, Gonzalez is merely 6-6 with a humble 4.56 ERA, but he has a .239 batting-average against and 110 strikeouts in 102 2/3 innings. The 49 walks are alarming, but after the Harden deal, Gonzalez went out and posted six one-hit innings Wednesday night, fanning seven and walking just one.