So the week that saw several strong, damaging storms, a 10+ game win streak for the left for dead White Sox, wonderful Lillie's 11th birthday and the start of dismantling the Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks because of the salary cap winds up with The Crossroads Guitar Festival.  As June has been, there are storms forecasted for this afternoon and tonight.  Argh. 

Guitars and Lightning don't mix.  We have the sunscreen and emergency ponchos so we're prepared for any weather event.

The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup last week.  The parade has come and gone.  They were at Wrigley Field tonight to throw out the first pitch and sing the 7th Inning Stretch.  Tomorrow they will be on the Tonight Show.

That leaves us with baseball until football starts in August.  Baseball has been pretty depressing so far.  The White Sox had won four straight games until tonight.  Both pitchers had no hitters going into the 6th inning.  Gavin Floyd lost his in the bottom of the 6th, Ted Lily in the top of the 9th.  I was sure it was going to be the first game neither team would win but the Cubs somehow got one run to salvage the final game of the series.

It is no coincidence that the winner of the combined series receives a trinket called The BP Cup.  That would make the less losing of two losing teams receiving a trophy from a loser company that is destroying the environment in the Gulf of Mexico.

It's all so sad.

Updates have been slow in coming.  Between work and recording, I'm not taking the time necessary to keep the blog up to date.  The recording is coming a long well.  I expect to be on schedule for my Year project as the backing tracks for the April song are coming a long nicely.

April started off great.  Weather in the 80s and baseball has started.  Opening day for the beloved White Sox was a thing to behold.  Mark Buehrle threw seven shutout innings and made a play for the ages.  Then games two and three of the series against the Indians took place. 

Sadly, the White Sox have a good hitting lineup, great starting pitching but the all too familiar tune of failed relief pitching.  They lost the last two.  There are 159 games left to get things straightened out but I'd like it to be done long before that.

I love baseball.  I love watching and playing (when my body was much younger) football.  The Bears are my favorite team but I no longer have the same passion for football that I do America's Pastime.  There is such a strategy to baseball that no other sport has.  Most other sports are more physical but baseball is more cerebral.  It's about averages and statistics.

There is no sport that is more relaxing and then exciting than baseball.  A low scoring pitcher's dual can be just as exciting as a high scoring game.  The tension and adulation when the closer comes in the bottom of the ninth inning is like no other feeling.

And in the cold northern states, there is nothing that warms us up and reminds us that the warm weather is not that far away like the first news reports from Spring Training and hearing the words "Pitchers and Catchers reported today".

In 2005 when the Chicago White Sox won the World Series, it was the capper to an amazing season.  They played strong and had a 15 game division lead heading into then end of the season.  The Cleveland Indians got hot and cut the lead to one and a half games before the White Sox finished the season with a sweep of the Tigers and Indians.  Little did we know this was a harbinger of things to come.

The first series saw the White Sox sweep the defending World Series champion Red Sox.  Then came the ALCS.  They were in danger of heading out to California down two games to none when AJ Pierzynski and the famous dropped third strike allowed them to win game two and start a streak of complete games by all their starters en route to their first World Series since 1959.

The Houston Astros dropped four straight and all Chicago sports fans felt what it was like to have a World Series in town, the first since 1917. 

That brings us to 2010, five years after that amazing season.  The White Sox have a great pitching staff with the return of Mark Buehrle, John Danks and Gavin Floyd, as well as the what will hopefully be a 100% healthy Jake Peavy.  The only question mark is DH as there is no one power hitter in the position.  Instead, Ozzie is going to conduct a platoon system that will hopefully work out.  Gone are Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Scott Podsednik.  Welcome Andrue Jones, Omar Vizquel, Mark Teahen, Alex Rios (we hardly got to know him last year), Juan Pierre and now word of a possible Johnny Damon signing.

Baseball is back and all is right with the world.

The White Sox are picking up players off the scrap heap at a pace equaled only by the unveiling of another of Tiger Wood's ladies.  the latest is Juan Pierre from the Dodgers for two players to be named latter.

Since the World Series ended in November, that makes Mark Teahen, Omar Visquel, Mark Kotsay (resigned), Aundrew Jones, JJ Putz and now Juan Pierre.  At least Kenny Williams is keeping active but it feels like the proverbial throwing doodie against the wall to see what sticks. 

I guess they don't have teh money for the big name players like Matsui so they have to dust off the tried and, for teh Sox, sometimes true see if they have anything left in the tank method of free agency.  They played exciting ball for most of the summer last season.  Maybe they will do the same for a full 162 games this season.

Catchers and pitchers report February 23rd.

What a season it was for Mark Buehrle.  Consistently the ace of the White Sox, the season started well enough.  By season's end, he was achieved accomplishments that he likely had hoped for but didn't expect to.

It started on June 14th in a game again the Brewers in Miller Park.  Buehrle received a no decision on the mound but it was at the plate he made news that game.  In the third inning, he hit the first home run of his career.

On July 14th, he was the lone White Sox player in the All Star game in St. Louis.  This was the fourth appearance of his career.

Going strong for the rest of June and July, Buehrle threw the second no-hitter and first perfect game of his career against the Tampa Rays.  This was the 18th perfect game in baseball history.  He followed that with another perfect five innings against the Twins in the Metrodome, setting a major league record 45 straight hitters retired. 

Buehrle led all American League pitchers in 2009 with eight pickoffs, 55 total chances and 41 assists and tied for the AL lead by assisting with five double plays while committing just one error.

Earlier in the off season, Buehrle won the 2009 Fielding Bible Award, given to just one player at each position in either league.  The award is voted on by a panel of 10 experts and takes into account a pitcher's ability to field his position as well as hold base runners.

While the team faltered and fell out of the playoff race towards the end of the season, the individual accolades for Mark Buehrle came to a peak as he was awarded a Gold Glove for the first time in his career.  He joins Jim Kaat in becoming the second White Sox pitcher to win the award and the first White Sox to win since Robin Ventura in 1998.

Congrats to Mark Buehrle on another great achievement in a storied career.  May it bring you a well deserved stop at Cooperstown in the end.

Last season, the White Sox won three straight games to finish the season and take the American League Central.  They made the playoffs but lost the first round to the eventual American League Champion Devil Rays.

This year has been different.  There have been Ups (Mark Buerhle's Perfect Game followed by his consecutive outs record) and Downs (many, many errors and Buerhle's futility after the perfect game).  The team is very young and it shows. 

There are question marks going into next season.  What will they do with the outfield?  Will they re-sign Jermain Dye?  Scott Podsednick?  And which Alex Rios will show up?

The pitching staff looks strong and will get stronger with a healthy Jake Peavy.  Who will be their fifth starter?  Barolo Colon was a real mistake.  He's long gone.  The bull pen was a really problem.  Outside of Matt Thornton, there was not confidence in Scott Linebrink.  And a closer?  Bobby Jenks was inconsistent and was injured at the end of the season.

There is cause for excitement with the 2010 White Sox.  Fortunately, we have the Bears and the Blackhawks to get us to Spring Training in February.

The White Sox claimed two-time All-Star Alex Rios on waivers today.  The Blue Jays placed him on waivers last week.  The Sox now find themselves with four starting outfielders and must assume the remainder of his contract which is due to be close to $60 million from 2010 to 2014. 

So this must mean that either Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome or Scott Podsednik will not be around next season.  Or maybe they are getting ready for an extended outage of Carlos Quentin due to the foot injury that has side lined him most of this season.

I really don't know what their thinking is other than to win this season.  They have Jake Peavy starting his first rehab assignment tomorrow.  Now they acquire Rios.  We'll likely hear from Kenny Williams tomorrow when it is official.

Of course the Sox couldn't sweep the Yankees.  Mr. Perfect couldn't do it.  Still 3 of 4 against the Eastern Division leaders is just fine.

I know I'm likely jinxing them, but the White Sox are one win away from sweeping the Yankees.  And Mr. Perfect, Mark Buehrle, goes tomorrow for the Sox.

Today's game was my prettier than the weather as the Sox bombed the Bombers 14-4.  Nice.  This comes after a 10-5 win yesterday and 3-2 walk off RBI by Dwayne Wise on Thursday.  Nice, Nice.