PK's First Post: White Sox / Twins Series at Threat Level Orange

Hello BBS community. To piggyback off of the earlier statement of the other new addition to the writing staff, Pete, I would like to say that it is a real privilege to have the chance to contribute to this great forum for fans of Chicago sports that have meant so much to them over the years. I will be trying to put together some post as the season winds down on my favorite Chicago squad, the Chicago White Sox, with some Blackhawks thoughts thrown in as a “Johnny Comeback Lately” to our city’s hockey team.



I have always loved baseball, as a kid growing up it was the sport that shaped my childhood more so than any other and the game that I have grown most attached to now that I am nothing more than a washed-up, ex-athlete at the ripe old age of 26. However, each of those 26 years has been spent as an avid Chicago White Sox fan, something that is not always easy to do once you move out of the South Side community that embraces their team. This is a Cubs city, which I am ok with (but I am sure will be the topic of conversation for at least one post along the way here). I take solace in my team and look forward to each spring with “enthusiastic pessimism” that I think a lot of fellow Sox fans share with the start of each season. This season has not disappointed in providing its fair share of both those emotions. To the disappointment of seeing a lack of offensive production early in the season, only to bulldoze through June and July with a 25-5 record going into the all-star game, only to come back down to earth over the last 10 days dropping series to the O’s, Twin’s and Tigers. Which have all combined, brought us to this week’s 3-game set against those same Twin’s (a team that I have nothing but respect for from top to bottom, but a team that has caused me more frustration than an overly jealous girlfriend or when people dress their dogs in designer clothes).

I see this as being a big to moderately huge series for the Sox who currently sit 3 games back going into tonight’s game in MN. Here are a few things that I am interested in keeping an eye on over the next 3 games (both enthusiastically with some pessimism mixed in).

1. The probable starting pitchers do not include the name Freddy Garcia. This is good. Although I have been pleasantly surprised with the production we have gotten out of Sweaty Freddy, it looks like the season has begun to wear on him a bit. Instead, left-hander John Danks (12-8, 3.19 ERA) will pitch in the series opener for the White Sox against Twins right-hander Scott Baker (10-9, 4.76. In Game 2 on Wednesday, White Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd (8-9, 3.70 ERA) will face left-hander Francisco Liriano (11-7, 3.26). And in the series finale Thursday, White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle (11-9, 4.05) will face right-hander Carl Pavano (15-7, 3.27). I think that having 3 innings-eaters like Danks, Floyd and Buehrle going in the series is huge help, mainly to try to spell our bullpen after a much needed off-day Monday also. With Putz and Thornton logging a lot of time, Pena having been scored on in his last 5 appearances and Bobby Jenks with a nagging back the real bright spots have been the young guys in Santos and Chris Sale who the Sox brought up earlier this month. Helping to save those arms has been something Danks, Floyd and Buehrle have done well as of late. John Danks, who after Freddy Garcia's short outing Tuesday, went 8 quality innings giving up 1 run on six hits while striking out 7 and walking 2 in Wednesday's victory against the Tigers. Gavin Floyd, who had been one of the best in the majors over the last few months, needs to get back to that form and get some revenge agains the Twins who dealt him his worst start since June 2 in his last start (surrendering six earned runs in a 6-1 loss to the Twins, topped off by a 3-run homer to Jason Kubel, who has made a name as one of the biggest Sox killers, in the 7th – a pitch I don’t think he should have even thrown to the Twins left-handed hitter as he had already thrown 120+ pitches at that point and Sale was warm in the Sox bullpen). Buehrle, is 24-17 vs. the Twins which is his highest win-loss total vs. a team, is an innings-eater by trade and needs to avoid the occasional 4 to 5 runs in the first couple innings before settling down.
   
   
   
2. Although it is a small sample-set, I was happy to see Mark Teahen having good at bats with his return to the line-up against the Tigers after is 2 ½ months on the DL with a fractured finger. After not signing Jim Thome (who I will never speak ill of even if he hits 35 homers against the Sox in their remaining 2 series with the Twins because of the respect I have for him), the Sox not picking up a big left-handed bat at the trade deadline or to this point and Mark Kotsay having a rough go of it and not really being a DH the Sox need a little pop from the left side this series against Baker and Pavano. I am not saying that Teahen is the same as Thome, Dunn or Fielder in terms of left-handed pop, but he doesn’t need to be one of those guys with a month and a half left. He needs to get consistent at bats, give some guys some rest with his versatility in the field and maybe breathe some life into a team their own manager said didn’t look like they came to play on Sunday against the Tigers.
   
   
   
3. Lastly, the Sox need a shot in the arm by taking 2 of 3 in this series to start getting on a little bit of a run. Over their last 10 the Sox are 3-7 while the Twins are 8-2, winning 7 of their last 8 games. It would be nice for the Sox to get a little bit of swagger back with upcoming series against the Yankees, 1 more set with the Twins and ending their season with series against Oakland, LAAAAA and Boston (teams the Sox have had their struggles against). Twins finish up against the rest of the AL Central which they have killed this year (31-17) and could probably stand to be cooled down a bit by dropping a series at home against the Sox.
   

I will try to end each post with a different quote from the biggest homer announcer in baseball, Ken “Hawk” Harrelson, starting with an appropriate one for the series that kicks off tonight – “Time to cinch it up and hunker down!"

Bulls links, and even some rare White Sox links

Don't the Bulls already have a project at the 4? That we've been developing for the last few years and hoping his offensive game comes around?! Well if 1 is good, 2 must be better ...

From TrueHoop -

The Bulls have a project in James Johnson. He's capable of moving the ball, looks like a competent defender, but I don't think he's realized what kind of offensive player he is, wants to be, or the Bulls want him to be. He's 12 for his last 43 shots from the field, though he's managed 24 free throw attempts over that span.

Reinsdorf speaks on BG -

From Ben Gordon's exit, to Ben Wallace's short and costly stay, to Pau Gasol's bypass of the Bulls on the way to L.A., Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf weighed in on numerous subjects Monday.

Reinsdorf, also the White Sox owner who allowed he might have bought the Cubs had the timing been different in 1981, sat down with Bulls beat reporters from the Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, and Daily Herald for an hour of free-wheeling conversation at the United Center.

Question: What do you think of Ben Gordon's signing as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons?

Answer: Actually, we made a decision a year ago not to commit long term to Ben. We tried, and he turned it down. Then, near the end, [now GM] Gar Forman and John [Paxson] decided it probably wasn't a good idea to make a long-term decision. We wanted to see what other options might develop. So we withdrew the offer [six years, $54 million] we had on the table. Ben ultimately said he would take it, but it was too late.

Now, fast forward to the end of the year, we have [John] Salmons and we have a hell of a three-guard rotation with [Kirk] Hinrich and Derrick [Rose]. Ben wasn't going to get a whole lot of playing time. [It] was going to be diminished. So Ben really no longer fit. Ben's a terrific player. But Ben needs minutes. He would not have been happy with the minutes he was going to get.

Q: What about letting Gordon go and getting nothing in return given he was the third overall pick in the 2004 draft?

A: You can't just look at a player by himself. You've got to look at what his departure enables you to do in other ways. You do have to have [salary] cap flexibility in this league. It's not like baseball where, if you have the money, you can do whatever you want. The cap really constrains you. So you're constantly looking at your roster to see maybe two or three years out.

...

Q: Would you ever exceed the luxury-tax threshold?

A: I don't mind [paying] the tax if it's an intelligent expenditure. I don't care what the tax would be; if we had a guy who was going to put us over the top and put us in the Finals, I'd pay the tax. I wouldn't hesitate.

Q: Does it take three All-Stars to contend for a championship? MJ was the last Bulls All-Star in 1998.

A: We have Derrick [Rose]. He clearly shows the potential to be an All-Star. A healthy Luol is going to become an All-Star. Boston showed three stars helps you a great deal. The Bulls championships, we really had two stars. Maybe we had three stars in Michael Jordan himself. But it's still a team game. If you have the right role players and play the game properly, you can win. But with three All-Stars, it makes it a lot easier.

Boozer rumors -

Among the more intriguing rumors that surfaced on Monday was a three-team deal reported by Bulls.com that would send Shane Battier and Carl Landry from the Houston Rockets to Utah, Boozer to Chicago, Jerome James and Tyrus Thomas from the Bulls and Kyrylo Fesenko from the Jazz to the Rockets.

The Bulls have shown interest in acquiring Boozer in recent weeks as a way to clear cap space in order to pursue a big-ticket free agent in 2010.

Previous rumored deals involving Chicago had the team shipping off combo guard Kirk Hinrich to another team. That scenario is something the Bulls have become more reluctant to make a reality. Since the departure of Ben Gordon to Detroit, trading Hinrich as well would leave them with little depth in their backcourt.

Craig Hodges (one of my favorite former-Bulls) thinks he was black-balled -

Craig Hodges is one of two players to have won the NBA's annual three-point shooting contest three times. The other is Larry Bird.

Hodges, a Park Forest native, also has two championship rings courtesy of his 3½-year stint with the Bulls. He has another coming as shooting coach for the champion Los Angeles Lakers, whom he has served since 2005.

Between those highs were some gut-wrenching lows. The 1978 Rich East graduate's career ended at age 32, when he was released by the Bulls and never signed with another team -- despite the fact he connected on 40 percent of his three-point attempts in his 10-year career.

Hodges remains convinced he was blackballed from the NBA after showing up at the Bulls' White House celebration in 1992 wearing a dashiki and handing President George H.W. Bush a letter asking him to address injustices in the black community.

Roberson waived -

The Chicago Bulls have waived guard Anthony Roberson.

Roberson played in just six regular-season games with the Bulls after being acquired in a four-player trade with the New York Knicks on Feb. 19.

The 6-2, 195-pound Roberson played overseas during the 2007-08 season after stints with the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors.

Roberson attended the University of Florida.

Ozzie a racist? -

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said he received several e-mails Monday accusing him of being a racist after backup outfielder Brian Anderson was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte to make room for Carlos Quentin.

Guillen replied that he wouldn't have stuck with Anderson as long as he had if he didn't like the White Sox's 2006 Opening Day center fielder.

"If I don't like one player, believe me, he'll be out of here in a hurry because I've got the power," Guillen said. "If I told Kenny [Williams], 'This guy's no good for the ballclub,' Kenny would do everything he can to get him out of here.

"If people don't think we like Brian, yes, we do. Brian didn't produce the way we thought he would. For four years in a row, we gave him a shot to be the every-day center fielder, and that didn't work. If Brian showed us he can come out here and do the job, he'd be our center fielder."

Anderson's locker was cleaned out before the clubhouse was open to the media.

Guillen said Dewayne Wise was chosen to stay over Anderson because "we can use Wise a little bit more."

Wise, who is left-handed and out of minor-league options, is batting .196, compared with Anderson's .238 mark in 65 games.

Quentin returns and Sox 1 game out of first -

Carlos Quentin rejoined a White Sox offense that didn't skip a beat Monday night.

Leadoff batter Scott Podsednik reached base safely four times and scored twice, and Paul Konerko hit a three-run home run in the third inning to increase his RBI total to 64, two more than he had in 2008.

But for all the hoopla over Quentin's return after missing 45 games because of plantar fasciitis in his left foot, the Sox showed improvement in two areas to preserve a 4-3 victory over defending American League champion Tampa Bay before a sellout crowd of 39,024 at U.S. Cellular Field.

First, catcher A.J. Pierzynski threw out two potential base stealers, including Jason Bartlett at third base for the second out in the eighth inning.

"We had a party after the game," deadpanned manager Ozzie Guillen, taking note that opponents had stolen 55 bases in 59 attempts with Pierzynski behind the plate before Monday.

Second, the bullpen had allowed 22 earned runs in their last 29 2/3 innings entering Monday night's game.

Matt Thornton, however, struck out Evan Longoria on a slider with the tying and go-ahead runs on base to preserve a one-run lead in the eighth, and closer Bobby Jenks struck out Bartlett on a 3-2 slider with the bases loaded to end the game.

As a result, the Sox moved one game behind AL Central leader Detroit.

Thome wins player of the week -

Chicago White Sox designated hitter Jim Thome was named the American League player of the week for the period ending July 19.

The 38-year-old Thome set a club record with 14 RBIs in a three-game span after the All-Star break against the Baltimore Orioles. He went 5-for-10 with a double, two home runs and had a career-best seven-RBI game Friday night.

More White Sox ...

News on Jenks.


Contreras demoted to work on his stuff

After clearing waivers, the White Sox sent veteran right-hander Jose Contreras to the minor leagues to work through struggles with his command, ESPNChicago.com reports.

Sources close to the situation told ESPNChicago.com that Contreras was the one who suggested he be sent to the minors instead of being relegated to the bullpen.

In the meantime, the White Sox have called up left-handed pitcher Jimmy Gobble from Triple-A Charlotte to plug into the bullpen. Left-handed pitcher Clayton Richard will start Tuesday night's game in Cleveland and become the temporary replacement for Contreras.

Contreras had to clear waivers, which meant all 29 teams had 48 hours to claim him and his $8 million-plus contract that remains from his $11 million salary.

In particular, Contreras will work on his split-fingered pitch, which he has not been able to command against left-handed hitters this season.

Ozzie not happy about the White Sox offense -

On a day when a pitcher such as Texas Rangers starter Vicente Padilla has his sinker working, hitters can't expect to do too much. And the White Sox hitters didn't Sunday.

It's when they haven't hit against lesser-caliber pitchers that the team has seen real problems, captain Paul Konerko said.

''You could be swinging well against a guy like today, and it's a tough day,'' he said after Rangers defeated the Sox 7-1. ''But too many days we do it against guys who aren't throwing well.''

The Sox got one hit off Padilla (2-2) through seven innings and two hits for the game. They fell to 2-6 in their last eight games and 2-2 on their homestand.

''A very no-life day. That's what it looked like to me,'' manager Ozzie Guillen said. ''I know when you're struggling it's not easy to get pumped up and smile and enjoy this game. Padilla pitched well, but at the same time, I didn't see any life.''

Today starts a match-up with the Indians.