The White Sox traded for Cy Young Award winning pitcher, Jake Peavy today. That overshadowed the biggest sporting news day in Chicago every year, the start of Bears Training Camp.
Update: I had the video embedded but took it out because I hate autostart videos.
Mark Buehrle continued his perfect streak last night and set a MLB record of retiring 45 straight batters. But sloppy fielding and a serious meltdown cost the White Sox the game. Top top it off, they lost tonight to be swept by the Twinkies. Argh!!!
It's a great day to be a White Sox fan as Mark Buehrle pitches the 18th perfect game in Major League Baseball history.
Update: The last two videos were removed. Here's a fan shot video of Dewayne Wise's catch from the upper deck. Very cool.
We are in the midst of the weather system that dropped as much as 52 inches of snow on areas near Denver on Friday. It is thankfully in the form of rain here. I spent yesterday pounding out the damage from my run in with the John Deere tractor on Christmas Eve. I still wish nothing but the very worst on the owners of the company behind the equipment that damaged my sweet little Corolla. I was able to pound a great deal of the damage out but it is still pretty messed up.
The sports teams around Chicago are doing quite well. The White Sox took three of four from the defending AL Champion Tampa (Don't Call Us Devil) Rays. The Cubs were rained out tonight but took two of three from the hated Cardinals. And the most exciting is the playoff performance of the Bulls and the Blackhawks. The Bulls took the first game on the road from the Boston Celtics and the Blackhawks head to Calgary for tomorrows game up two games to none.
To top it off, Jay Cutler of the Bears has been all over town dancing, throwing out first pitches and dropping first pucks.
These are exciting times in Chicago.
And so the White Sox season comes to an end. They just couldn't get on base so two solo home runs by Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko were about all the offense they could muster. It was a fun season for the fans but only the most delusional would expect more than a first round exit.
Overall, it was a great season. The play-in game last week was the White Sox playoff victory. The loss of Carlos Quentin and the inconsistent hitting or the middle of the order was just too much to overcome. For a team to advance through the playoffs, it takes a number of things coming together, luck, health and hot play. The Sox has the first one the final game of the season, the makeup game and the tie-breaker. The had neither in the ALDS, while the Sun Rays had all three.
And what more can be said about the fans. The three games the team urged the fans to wear black for the "Black Out" they did great. They were very vocal and stood behind the team until the very end.
Good Job White Sox. Catchers and Pitchers report in four months.
The Bears took the sting out of the baseball weekend, maybe, but the White Sox showed how a team is supposed to play a big game. They were relaxed and played a very solid game. The big news is that they were able to drive in runs without hitting a home run.
Game four tomorrow at 4pm.
Go Sox Go!!!
Game two to the Rays. The White Sox should have completely blown the game wide open in the first inning with bases loaded and no outs. They did score two runs but that would be it. The Rays, as they are now known, were held in check until the 5th inning when they scored two to take the lead 3-2. Then in the 8th they scored three more.
The Sox stranded 12 runners over the course of the game and should have scored much more than the two runs. Sadly, over the last month of the season that was common for the team.
So tomorrow is the rest day. Next game Sunday 3pm. John Danks hopes to keep the Sox season going. Otherwise, it's off to the golf course.
Late evening update but game one between the Sox and Rays is over. Sox did okay considering they had their worst pitcher, Javier Vasquez, start the game. He pitched as expected, which is bad. The Sox went up 3-1 and what does he do? Instantly lets the Rays back in the game and gives them an extra go ahead run. Man I do not trust Vasquez. At least not to do well. I do trust him to do poorly.
Game two tomorrow. Here's hoping it will go better.
What a game. An incredible pitcher's duel. The talking heads at TBS said it was the only one run tie-breaker in MLB history. And it was such a game of chess. Right before the final out, Ozzie waved the fielders in to guard against a bloop and what do you know... Brian Anderson dives for the final out that would have been a hit.
Go White Sox!!! Both Chicago Teams in the playoffs. This is a great season for baseball in Chicago.
After a three hour rain delay, the White Sox took it out on the Tiger's relievers in the sixth inning on their way to a 8-2 win in the 162nd game of the season. Now they play the Minnesota Twins in a one game playoff at the Cell tomorrow night at 6:30 CST.
My guess is the playing surface will be watered down plenty tonight to keep it good and muddy. That will slow down the Twin's speedsters, right? This whole thing could have been avoided if the White Sox had won one more game down the stretch instead of making it interesting. I'll take my interest in the post season, please. Hold on to the division lead when you have it is the best idea yet.
That being said, way to go Alexi Ramirez on setting the Rookie Grand Slam record with four.
Go White Sox.
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