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What can you say that hasn't already been said about Javier Vazquez? He is what he is; an average pitcher who can't stand the heat in the kitchen.

I'd be lying if I said I expected anything better than 4.1 innings and 6 runs allowed from Vazquez, but there was a small part of me that knows that Vazquez can be a dominating pitcher at times, as he was in the first 4 innings of his last outing, or all 7 innings of the outing prior to the worst 4 consecutive starts of his career*. I hoped he would pitch well, better than expected, but I wasn't counting on it.

For that reason, and that reason alone, I don't feel too bad about the loss today. I was looking at this game as one that the Sox would be stealing if they were able to come out on top. And for about 10 minutes there, I thought they just might have a shot. But Vazquez gave the Sox 3 runs (earned on a two-out, two on Dewayne Wise HR) right back in the bottom half of the third.

I know there was considerable chatter in the gamethreads about Ken Griffey Jr.'s defense on Akinori Iwamura's triple in that inning, but I don't know if anyone gets to that ball. Junior was playing a bit shallow, by design, because of the moving-in-the-box type hitter at the plate, and I'd have to think that were Brian Anderson in the game, he might have been in even more. Junior played the ball as well as he can play it, and didn't even come close to making a play on the ball that hit at the base of the CF wall. Watching the replays, I think that ball was hit too hard, on too much of a line, to expect anyone to make that play. And this is coming from somebody who is always looking to point out Junior's defensive shortcomings.

* I went searching for a comparable stretch of games in Vazquez' past, but all I could come up with was a series of 4 straight games in which he allowed 5 runs earlier this season. Not surprisingly, Vazquez has had the two worst stretches of his career in the last 4 months on the south side.

If there was one bright spot for the Sox in their opening game loss, it had to be the pitching of Clayton Richard. In hindsight, he might have been an inspired choice for game one starter. But that's a move that I was admittedly against until I saw him pitch today, so it would be hypocritical of me chastise the organization for not having the balls (or foresight) to make that decision.

Unfortunately, Richard wasn't all that impressive out of the pen in relief of Vazquez late in the regular season. He was only alright, better than the other dreck littering the bullpen, which made the Sox decision an easy one. Vazquez would start game 1.

In the two biggest appearances of his career, his final start of the regular season in Yankee Stadium and the 3+ innings of playoff relief today, Richard has been very good. I suspect that the unusual left-handedness of those two clubs have something to do with his success, but Richard's two quality outings in high-stress situations for anyone, let alone a rookie who started the year in A-ball and outside the White Sox top 10 prospects, lie in stark contrast to the results of the $11+M proven veteran he relieved.

* * * * *

There were some ruffled feathers in the 7th inning, when Grant Balfour and Orlando Cabrera exchanged words following a ball well outside the strike zone on the first pitch of Cabrera's at-bat. It appears that Balfour, who relieved Shields with 1-out and the bases loaded*, got a little too excited for Cabrera's liking following a strikeout of Juan Uribe. Balfour said/yelled something, and Cabrera was not appreciative, kicking a cloud of dirt and chalk in Balfour's direction and, if my Associates Degree in lip reading is worth anyting, and it better be worth the 3 payments of $495 I paid, told Balfour "Fuck You!" Balfour responded by striking Cabrera out, and getting his Carlos Zambrano on as he left the field, almost having to be pushed into the dugout, as both managers found their way to the field.

* Great call by Maddon. Balfour is his best reliever, and arguably the nastiest reliever in baseball even though he essentially throws only one pitch. With Troy Percival being left off the playoff roster, most managers would probably have handed closer duties to Balfour without thinking twice. Balfour is exactly the type of pitcher you call upon in the 7th with the bases loaded, and Maddon's refusal to automatically stick the //obvious// choice into the closer's role allowed him to turn to Balfour in a much higher leverage situation.

While I was busy watching the Bears snatch defeat from the jaws of victory at a balmy Soldier Field, Dewayne Wise, Paul Konerko and John Danks filled the White Sox highlight reel, as the Sox took the rubber match in Kansas City. More importantly, they maintained their 2.5 game lead over the Twins as they head for a season-deciding 3-game set in the Humpdome on Tuesday.

The working margin is extremely important, as the Sox have struggled in domes this season (2-12, including 1-5 against Minnesota) and traditionally have folded in September against the Twins. [Looking it up, that appears to be a Jerry Manuel era trait. Ozzie Guillen's Sox have fared much better in late season matchups with the Twins (13-9 after Aug 31st).]

The White Sox Magic Number sits at 5, which means that 2 wins in Minnesota essentially eliminates the Twins; since they'd have to win out and have the Sox lose out just to force a 1-game playoff. 1 win in Minnesota lowers the Magic Number to 3, and makes for an uncomfortable final weekend; but a final weekend that probably comes out in the Sox favor. Essentially, the Sox are just looking to avoid a sweep. Though, I'd prefer 2 out of 3 just to get this thing finished.

After the Rain Comes a Rainbow

Record rain fell on Chicago Saturday, postponing the White Sox scheduled doubleheader with the Tigers. Rain fell all afternoon and night on Friday, postponing that scheduled game to after the end of the "regular season." Rain fell all morning and into the early afternoon on Sunday, delaying the start of game one of the doubleheader by 3 hours and 11 minutes. According to head groundskeeper Roger Bossard, US Cellular Field saw about 9.5 inches of rain during the 50 hour span when the ACE hardware tarp saw more TV time than actual players. To his credit, the playing condition of the field was not an issue even with the record-setting rains.

The sun never came out; there wasn't any parting of the clouds, or a rainbow straddling the stadium; but there was baseball to be played. And after two days cooped up in flooded northern Chicagoland, that was good enough for me. With the Twins dropping a game to the faltering Orioles, the Sox had an opportunity to take advantage and pick up the 1.5 games they lost in their last doubleheader effort. And take advantage they did.

Vazquez Victorious, Verlander Vanquished

The White Sox have an incredible record against Justin Verlander. For some reason, they just seem to have the Detroit ace's number. But for the first half of the opening game, it looked like Verlander might have the Sox number on this night. Thankfully, Javier Vazquez was there to match him pitch-for-pitch.

The offense seemed content to help Verlander out in the early going, making an inning's worth of outs on the basepaths. Juan Uribe singled home Ken Griffey Jr. after he hit a double off the wall to put the Sox on the board after 5. That might have been enough for Vazquez, who altered his side-session schedule to be ready to go on short rest Saturday, but the offense didn't stop there. Alexei Ramirez added a solo-shot. And in the 8th, after Vazquez had been lifted, the Sox strung together a 2-run, 2-out rally.

That 4-0 lead headed to the ninth gave Ozzie Guillen some flexibility. I thought it would be a good time to turn to Scott Linebrink for some easy late-inning work to continue to ease him back into higher leverage situations. But Guillen decided to turn to Bobby Jenks, who has been getting hit around lately. The two runs he allowed were essentially meaningless, but he still brought the tying run to the plate for the second straight time in a non-save situation.

Wise, Thornton Rescue Wobbly Pen

John Danks was originally scheduled to pitch on Friday. In fact, his start was pushed to Sunday because he had gotten warmed up Friday when it still appeared as if the game would be played. So Ozzie had to keep an eye on the 23-year old southpaw who has seemed to tire over the last month. Danks showed no ill-effects from the impromptu side-session, and probably would have gone deeper into the game if not for the lingering concerns about his workload and a seemingly comfortable 7-0 lead. That lead would prove to be much more precarious than it seemed when Danks left the game and especially after ESPN cut the Carlos Zambrano no-hitter.

With the exception of Matt Thornton, the bullpen has provided no relief lately. In addition to Jenks troubles which I touched on above; the lightning has escaped DJ Carrasco's bottle; Octavio Dotel has allowed 8 homers, including the game-tying grand slam Sunday night, since the All-Star break; Linebrink is understandably rusty, and probably not 100% after spending 2 months on the DL; Ehren Wasserman has sprinkled brief outings of effectiveness in between long periods of awful. I think it says a lot about the shape of the White Sox pen that Mike MacDougal, who spent nearly the entire season wasting away in Charlotte, might be the best available right-hander right now. So, when the Sox managed to blow a 7-run lead over the span of about 25 minutes, it's hard (read: impossible, to those who possess critical thinking ability) to blame Ozzie for the blowup.

As quickly as the Sox lead disappeared at the hands of a grand slam allowed by their bullpen, it was given back by a grand slam off the bat of Dewayne Wise off an equally bad Tigers pen (read: Kyle Farnsworth). Wise, who drove in a key insurance run while starting in LF of the first game, earned himself some more playing time in Konerko's absence with his day of work, culminating in his pinch-hit, eventual game-winning slam and curtain call.

The two victories, which lowered the White Sox Magic Number to 13 and increased their division lead over the Twins to 1.5 games, were the spoonful of sugar to wash down the medicine that is the alarmingly shaky bullpen. The Sox will need to rely heavily on the pen down the stretch, as they eventually plan on throwing some starters on short rest. It goes without saying that the pen can not continue to pitch this poorly if the Sox have hopes of holding off the Twins in the final 13 or 14 games (if necessary).

Meta (Moron Prevention)

We get it. The bullpen blew a lead. Therefore, Ozzie is an idiot. You have AOL--don't they all--and you seem to think it's your god-given right to use it as an avenue to vent your misdirected rage.

Thanks to an influx of, how do I say this nicely--ah, fuck, who cares about being nice--short-bus riding mouth-breathers, who think that the ability to complete the registration process and string together 75 words gives them poetic license to infect this site with their own special blend of ill-informed stupidity, I've implemented a 24-hour waiting period for all new posters. This obviously won't effect any of the regular users here, but it should help curb the mongoloids who wish to misdirect their anger towards Ozzie and other troll-types.

When Paul Konerko fell to the ground clutching his knee in the 5th inning, I thought the season was over. I thought he was lost for next season as well. I looked bad. He didn't want to put any weight on his right leg as he was helped off the field.

It was announced during the game that Konerko had a less serious MCL strain as opposed to the ACL tear which we feared. Still, depending on the severity of the strain, and judging by the way he walked off the field it wasn't as "mild" as it's being classified, Konerko could be lost for the season.

Ozzie Guillen didn't even want to talk about Konerko in his post-game press conference, joking that the trainers should have to come out and face the media. He concluded his session by stating that Konerko was "week-to-week" and instructed media not to ask him about Konerko tomorrow because he was "week-to-week."

Nick Swisher figures to be the Sox first baseman in Konerko's absence, with Brian Anderson, DeWayne Wise and (ugh) Jerry Owens, picking up the slack in the outfield. Unfortunately, they figure to see most of thier time in LF because, as we all know, CF is the easiest of the outfield positions to play.

One thing I hate when browsing my feed reader is seeing nothing but apologies for lack of posting, so you won't find that here. I'll offer no apology for being too busy enjoying a wedding or a gorgeous holiday weekend. But the Sox, and the rest of the AL Central, haven't sat still in my absence, so rather than a game recap, I thought I'd just give a brief roundup on the last couple of weeks.

Jenks' Back Issues

Bobby Jenks hasn't pitched since June 28th, went for an MRI on his upper back, and although he was given a thumbs up, he might not be available for the first-half closing road trip. He wasn't exactly in top form over the last month, with just one 1-2-3 inning in his last 12 outings. And while the bullpen has hasn't been spectacular in Jenks' absence, with Scott Linebrink struggling, in particular, I'm not in any hurry for him to come back.

The first and most obvious reason is that I want a 100% healthy Jenks, not 85% or 95%, but 100%. And if that means a trip to the DL, so be it. (Remember we suffered through a 2006 season when seemingly everyone in the rotation could have used a break, and we know how that turned out.) Another reason is Matt Thornton, who has allowed just 12 hits while striking out 24 in his last 21 appearances.

Thornton would be my choice to close out games right now. I don't but much into the theory that there are guys who can pitch in high leverage 8th innings situations but can't hack it in the 9th, but it remove two guys who haven't exactly had success in their brief stints as closers. Linebrink has actually expressed a desire to stay out of that role. I've probably put too much time writing about this already, so I'll just stop now.

The Konerko Kwandry

In addition the Jenks/bullpen mess, Paul Konerko could be coming off the DL any day now. While conventional wisdom seems to be that his return will hasten the trade of Juan Uribe, I'd bet that the Sox would just as soon put Bobby on the DL and avoid rushed decision if Jenks is out much longer. Jenks will be eligible to be back after the All-Star break, giving the Sox extra time to make there roster decisions.

If Jenks returns to bullpen duty as usual, the roster crunch could get more complicated, which is another reason I don't think they should rush him back. Either Pablo Ozuna or Dewayne Wise could be DFAd, because nobody will bother to claim them, or Brian Anderson could be optioned, or Uribe could be gone to the Dodgers or Orioles.

As poorly as Uribe has played over the last two plus seasons, I have a hard time believing the Sox are a better team without him on the bench. Uribe, a quality glove man, is Sox best backup at 3 positions, even though he's only used at two of them, and offers some unusual pop for a bench middle-infield bat. And removing him from the roster would leave Ozuna as the primary backup at 2B, 3B, and I assume SS. Chris Getz, who has seen time at short in Charlotte this season, is only a phone call away, but that seems like a really thin infield, pun intended, if Uribe's no longer around.

All-Star Selections

Individually, I can understand why each player on the Sox Major League best pitching staff was left off the roster, but it's hard to figure out how that happens. The staff has combined for the lowest ERA in baseball while playing in a high run-scoring environment. How does everyone get left at home?

There's still the opportunity for the Sox to add one more with Jermaine Dye on the 32nd man ballot, but I think his road will be tougher than Scott Podsednik and AJ Pierzynski in front of him. In those elections, the Sox were able to Get Out The Vote thanks in large part to home series during the balloting. This meant a constant reminder in the form of a backstop graphic, and a stream of interviews in the booth and shots of teammates voting in the dugout. Those efforts will be considerably harder while on the road. So even though JD's only real competition is Jason Giambi, I don't expect him to make it.

Those Pesky Twins

I'm not a scoreboard watcher. I'm of the mind that if you take care of the opponents on your schedule, you won't have to worry about the rest of the division. Still, it's hard to ignore a 16-2 run.

The Twins started by beating up on the NL Central, and have continued to do the same this week sagainst the AL Central also-rans. I think it goes without saying that the Twins aren't going to continue to lose only 2 games every 3 weeks, but they're not be taken lightly. It's going to take more than 90 wins to take the division now. The good news is that 91 wins is 20 games over, and the Sox sit at 14 over right now.

The Sox have a soft schedule until they travel to Detroit and Minnesota in late July, which gives them another opportunity to gain some breathing room, and possibly creep towards that 20-over number. Maybe I'll start worrying about the nightly division standings then, but I doubt it.

The White Sox were one out away from losing yet another well pitched game thanks to the usual script; lack of hitting with RISP and an amzingly effective reliever giving up an inopportune extra-inning homer. And I was one out away from skipping this recap. A guy can't take a 5-day break, during which the Sox run off 5 in a row, including a sweep of the Cubs, and not expect to hear shit when the first thing he writes about is another late-inning loss.

Thankfully, we don't have to suffer that fate. Alexei Ramirez made sure of that.

The Cuban Missle, Slash, Necktie (whichever you prefer) put the Sox on his back, driving in all of their runs in the first 2:40 of the game. He put the Sox up in the second with a well struck sacrifice fly to center field, but his biggest shot was obviously the 2-out 10th inning HR off Indians closer Joe Borowski. Ramirez leaned on a fastball and hit a towering flyball to left field that barely cleared the fence to knot the game at 2 and save the Sox out of what looked like certain defeat.

Dewayne Wise followed with a pinch-hit single, a first-pitch stolen base, and scored the winning run on Orlando Cabrera's single, perhaps solidifying his roster spot as the Sox are reportedly shopping Juan Uribe (for some reason).

The heroics of Ramirez, Wise and Cabrera wouldn't have been necessary if the Sox could have put something together against Cliff Lee in his 8 innings of work, or if Matt Thornton, who has been incredible this year (save two 10th inning homeruns) didn't give up a bomb to Casey Blake. But Lee got a couple of double plays and escaped the Sox greatest threat having yielded just one run.

John Danks Doesn't Know How to Win

John Danks continues to lower his ERA. He now sits at a 3rd best in the AL at 2.50, yet he has only 5 wins to show for it. His 8 innings were a season high, and 8 strikeouts matched a career high. I can't help but think a veteran would have gone 9 and have at least 10 victories by now. Maybe we can trade Danks at the deadline.

Ozzie's Pen Management

Adam Russell got his first major league win by recording the final out of the 10th. There was some teeth nashing in the gamethread about Ozzie's decision to go with Thornton over Jenks to start the 10th, and truth be told, I would have been right at the forefront of that criticism if this was last year. But Thornton is having an amazing season, and I have no problem using him in that situation. It just didn't work out like Ozzie had hoped. Calling on Russell with two runners on in extra-innings of a 1-run game, however, seemed like a crazy decision. But this time Ozzie looked like a genius as Russell struck out the lone batter he faced to give the Sox a chance at a comeback.

Mark Buehrle worked quickly, his defense made some great plays behind him, and the offense looked like it had a plan against Derek Lowe to give the White Sox their first road victory in June.

The Sox road woes started with well-pitched games lost on walk-off homers thanks in large part to the lack of clutch hitting, and only got worse as they got completely pantsed in the weekend games at Wrigley. So, it was a nice surprise to see the Sox hitters have a solid plan of attack early against Lowe. The first three batters loaded the bases with hits back up the middle as Lowe tried to establish his sinker. Lowe limited the damage by striking out Jermaine Dye, who got his revenge with an 8th inning HR, on a series of sliders, allowing a sac-fly to Nick Swisher and throwing the ball anywhere near the plate to Pablo Ozuna. Even though the Sox only scored 1 in the first, it was nice to see the run come from having a concrete plan against an opposing starter.

* * * * *

Last week when I mockingly asked what's wrong with Mark Buehrle, I was not so subtly referring to the improved defense behind him. Buehrle is the Sox most defense-dependent starter, and he didn't have much support in his first handful of starts this season, as demonstrated by this BABIP chart below.

Tuesday night, however, the Sox played impeccable defense, turning 3 double plays, one of which was spectacular, and turning a couple of hard hit balls (along with nearly all of the softly hit ones) into outs. Buehrle took advantage of an occasionally wide strike zone to help record his 1000th career strikeout and to notch his third game (first victory) of the year in 2:10 or less.

• Orlando Cabrera had himself a night. He scored the game's first run, then drove in the Sox second run with a clutch 2-out hit following a Buehrle sacrifice. And even though he was credited with his 3rd error of the season (perhaps unjustly), he had a fine day in the field as well.
• Cabrera's fine play at SS was overshadowed the amazing double play courtesy of Alexei Ramirez, who ranged into short center field to make a sliding grab of a ducksnort then wheeling around to catch Matt Kemp roaming too far off first base (video).
• Dewayne Wise should expect to keep playing after a 3-4 night. He fell only a HR short of the cycle, and though he might not be spectacular at anything, it's nice to actually have a credible threat off the bench. A bench of Hall, Uribe, Wise, and Anderson isn't bad at all. Ozuna, on the other hand...