Jermaine Dye homers White Sox to victory

No witty entry title for today, and probably not for the foreseeable future either. Since the entry title is the first thing scanned by search engines, I'm going to make sure I use words that are more likely to turn up on searches. Not a big deal, I know, but "Jermaine Dye homers White Sox to victory" is more likely to bring in other Sox fans to the site than the "Win, or Dye trying" line I had started with.

Let's get right to the game notes:

• Freddy Garcia was erratic again today. Early in the game he seemed to be throwing his fastball, though not at the velocity we had seen in his previous two outings. As the game went on, however, he seem to rely on the fastball less, often falling behind in the count.

  While at the game I couldn't figure out why Garcia was pulled. Neal Cotts was up in the pen well in advance of him getting the hook, indicating to me that the decision was made before the game to give Garcia the early hook. So it came as a surprise to me when I heard on the radio that Freddy came out because of a hamstring issue.

  Cotts was excellent in relief. He and Dustin Hermanson are the only Sox pitchers not to have allowed a HR. I say this knowing full well that I have jinxed them both and they will promptly serve up dongs in their next appearances. -- Kevin Walker hasn't allowed a HR either, but I don't consider him a Sox pitcher. Maybe if he manages to stick with the club through the weekend I might, but I highly doubt that will happen.

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• The last two days we've won on the shoulders of key performances by the likes of Timo Perez, Joe Crede, Neal Cotts, and Jermaine Dye. These are probably the 4 biggest targets for fans looking to vent their rage. When you have these guys contributing positively, it's no surprise that we're winning baseball games.
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• I wonder what Jeff Brantley would have said about Ozzie bringing in Damaso Marte to face a string of four left handers in the 8th inning. As for Ozzie, he doesn't care.
  "I just laugh because people get paid to do their job, and I do my job the best I can to win games," Guillen said Tuesday, one day after Brantley questioned a series of moves Guillen made that led to the tying and go-ahead runs in the top of the ninth inning.

  Brantley had described Guillen's moves as "straight bullpen mismanagement."

  "That's why they're sitting behind the desk, and I'm here managing," Guillen said. "That's all I can tell you."

  Guillen's main gripe with Brantley was that his moves were consistent with what he has done the first two months of this season.

  I was at the game with my brother, a much more casual fan than I. After Marte had given up the tying run for the second straight day, he turned to me and asked why Ozzie was so stupid to put Marte back in there after what he did the day before. I simply explained that it was the right decision. He had four lefties coming up, and only one of them hit the ball hard. More often than not, that match up is going to play out in your favor. It didn't on Tuesday night. You've just got to live with it. Had Ozzie brought Hermanson out there for the 8th, and he given up the tying run, there would have been even more second-guessing. I understand that Ozzie's pretty much in a no win situation. Somebody's always going to be second guessing him. It just comes with the territory.
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• While I'm still on the bullpen, I have to admit that I was wrong about Cliff Politte. I saw no real need to tear up his old contract and have him sign a new 2-year deal this past off season. You'll remember he was shutdown in September of last season, and had an emergency appendectomy. As of right now, this looks like a brilliant move. He's been absolutely nails this year. The amazing thing is, the tougher the spot you put him in, the better he has performed.
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• All in all, it was a great night at the ball park. The hot dogs were great. The beer was cold. And most important of all, I walked out happy from a White Sox Winner.
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• Lesson: Don't rely on ESPN to actually have accurate information. Dorkboy is all confused. The official Sox website lists capacity at 40,615. Myth: Cubs fans don't care about the Sox.
  
  Another ESPN screw up. Can you spot it?
  
  I'm not complaining. After all, I make my fair share of mistakes. You just can't count on anyone these days.