Just how bad has it gotten for the White Sox? The 7 hits and 3 runs they put up against Santana on Tuesday are both high water marks in their last 11 meetings. In the White Sox last 81 innings against Santana, they have scored only 2 runs that didn't come via the homerun. Heck, I started writing this entry as soon as Jason Freakin' Bartlett hit his first HR of the year on a ball that literally bounced off the top of the wall.
Such is life for the White Sox right now, making nameless Jasons who've spent their whole career in the minors look like All-Stars.
Once again, a Sox starter had a 'big inning' late in a close ball game. It was the third straight time Contreras have been scored on late in a close one.
The two batters preceding the Bartlett at bat reached on bloop and a close call at 1st -- a call that Hawk will no doubt be harping on in the final minutes of the game -- The call at first should not be what is harped on, however. The focus should be squarely on the battery of Jose Contreras and Sandy Alomar and their pitch selection in that at bat to Bartlett. It appeared that Alomar called for a high forkball on an 0-2 count. Contreras didn't shake him off and hung one. He hung it so bad, Alomar came completely out of his crouch thinking the ball was well out of the zone.
I believe this marks the fourth straight game in which the Sox have failed to have a hit with runners in scoring position. -- Update [2006-7-25 23:10:24 by The Cheat]: I'm reminded that Tadahito Iguchi hit a HR on sunday with a man on second. Still, the White Sox last RBI single was in the 4th inning on Saturday when AJ Pierzynski cut the Sox deficit from 5-1 to 5-2 in an 10-3 loss.
A note on the servers: I'm aware of the problem, and am assured that the Powers That Be are doing everything in their power to get more server capacity. I think the rapid growth of the network and the increased traffic thanks to the trade deadline has caught everyone a little off guard.