Yesterday, as I was getting my smokes, I saw a little kid - maybe 3 years old - stop a policeman and ask for help finding his mommy. The young man had his mother’s cell phone number memorized (good work there mommy!) and the officer quickly got her on the phone and hung out with the young man until his, wildly frantic, mother arrived. Sometimes we forget how often the men and women in blue really do serve and protect us. Kudos to all on this one.
I also got to sit with a couple of Viet Nam vets who had taken pictures at the Wounded Warrior Run I’d participated in. They turned over almost 500 images so that we could assemble a more professional looking presentation. Seeing a pictorial representation of all the wounded vets, from WWII to Iraq, who were vociferously appreciative of the free food, a couple of snuck beers and the general bonhomie reminded me that people like me should do stuff like that more often. God knows those men and women have earned our respect and our help. A half a day out of my life meant the world to them. I strongly urge each and every one of you to take that half day when you can. You’ll feel great and they’ll feel even better.
Then the Bears played.
Oh well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.
A team with a wobbly offense decided to sit the main elements of tis offense because ... um, well, .... hold on, give me a minute here .... they didn’t need the experience? Seriously, that’s what the company line was before the game. They rephrased that by saying Todd Collins needed reps, but he could have gotten those in the 2nd and 3rd quarter just as well as he did in the 1st and 2nd. As I noted before, it’s nice of the Bears to get the season officially out of the way before it even begins. SEAN JENSEN at the Sun Times tries to point out the good while not hiding the bad.
The Bears’ offense—overwhelmed by a complex system and rattled by a shaky preseason—desperately needed some momentum heading into the Sept. 12 opener against the Detroit Lions.
A Fortune 500 company might roll out the red carpet for Dr. Phil or Anthony Robbins.
The Bears’ offense got the NFL equivalent: the Cleveland Browns’ defense.
With the exception of quarterback Jay Cutler, running back Matt Forte and center Olin Kreutz, the Bears’ first string played three series Thursday, scoring a touchdown, avoiding a three-and-out and generally keeping Todd Collins clean.
Many of the starters left the game with a 7-0 lead, just what the preseason doctor ordered.
‘’It’s nice to end the preseason on that note,’’ tight end Greg Olsen said, even though the Bears lost 13-10 on a 36-yard field goal by Phil Dawson as time expired.
The Bears finished the preseason winless for the first time since 1998, when they went 4-12 in the regular season.
‘’We would like to have won a few games—0-4 in the preseason, that doesn’t look good—but there’s a bigger picture,’’ Olsen said. ‘’The bigger picture is, we’ve had a good offseason, we’ve gotten a lot of work done.’’
But how much can be read into the performance?
Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said before training camp that the offensive line was the biggest question mark. About five weeks later, after shuffling the deck (moving Roberto Garza to left guard, Frank Omiyale to right tackle and inserting Lance Louis into the starting lineup), the line remains the team’s biggest question mark.
That they succeeded in Cleveland might be misleading. The Browns had the league’s second-worst defense in 2009. Subtract the team’s most productive pass rusher, Kamerion Wimbley—who, as an Oakland Raider, shredded the Bears for four sacks in the second preseason game—and the Browns’ pass rush has the bite of a grandfather with dentures.
Also subtract three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Shaun Rogers, who didn’t dress for the game.
The Browns’ starting front seven for the game combined for a whopping nine sacks last season, with Matt Roth leading the way with four. Overall, the Bears provided Collins a solid pocket and paved the way for Chester Taylor to gain 23 yards on only four carries.
But some things have to be taken with a grain of salt.
The game appeared to start so well. The offensive line didn’t give up a sack on the first series. No Brown was even close. But there was just one pass, and it was a screen that everyone in Cleveland Browns Stadium expected because it was third-and-forever.
And on such a play, the line is supposed to let defensive linemen penetrate into the backfield.
On the next series, the Bears provided Collins enough time to find Olsen wide open in the middle of the end zone from 15 yards out, but the drive covered only 19 yards because the defense recovered a botched snap.
The final drive ended with a fumbled snap on third-and-17 that the Browns recovered.
Before the game, Angelo admitted that the Bears have concerns but added that they’re trying to ‘’figure out who we are.’’
How much help do Chris Williams—who has had a rough preseason at left tackle—and Omiyale need? What can the team’s young receivers handle? And how reliable are the running backs as pass protectors?
‘’These are dress rehearsals, and you’re going to look good at some things and not good at other things,’’ Angelo said. ‘’The bottom line is, when this is all over with, we have to find out who we are, accept who we are, figure out the things we need to be, even though we might have wanted to be something else.’’
Angelo insisted they need to answer some of the questions now, as opposed to when the games start to count.
‘’We’ll just have to see,’’ he said. ‘’We’re having growing pains. That comes with change. We need to figure out who we are, and then adjust accordingly, and I have a lot of confidence in our coaches that they are going to do that.’’
And for all the revisionists who wonder why the Bears didn’t do more to address the offensive line (like trade for a proven veteran such as Logan Mankins), Angelo noted that the unit’s the ‘’toughest’’ to field given the hefty raises for players at every position. Besides, the Bears spent all their money on defensive end Julius Peppers.
‘’In the old days, when you had free agency, they would only pay the tackle,’’ Angelo said. ‘’They’re all making big money on the offensive line now.
‘’There’s a reason. It’s a supply-and-demand business. Offensive linemen are a premium, but it’s not like you have to have five all-stars at the position. You’ve got to get five guys who are good enough to play well together.’’
And the answer to that question will become clearer in the weeks ahead, when the games start to count and the opponents aren’t the Browns.
First off, congratulations to Sean for getting his first mention here at Jay The Joke. Something tells me that we’ll be seeing more of this talented young man. Feel free to click his name and let him know what you thought of his article.
Now, back on point. Every NFL defense just got served notice that, when they play the Bears, they should feel free to blitz on every play. They’ll spend so much time in the backfield the refs may make them change their uniform colors. On offense, every team now knows that 3rd and long really means automatic first down. Every team will be using the old Barry Sanders’ axiom against the Bears this year; “4 seconds left, 4th and 10, 99 yards to go ... it’s a running play.”
Our very own Big Star summed up the post game stuff so well, I have to share his thoughts with you here.
I have to hand it to Lovie Smith.
He is the ultimate con artist.
Sam Rosen - “good things, bad things” bulls**t
Erik Kramer - “good things, bad things” bulls**t
Tom Waddle - “good things, bad things” bulls**t
Jerry Angelo - “good things, bad things” bulls**t
The Players - “good things, bad things” bulls**t
Those post game press conferences over the years have certainly paid off for Smith.
This is what we get to look forward to....
A. “This is just pre-season. Lots of football left to be played.”
B. “This is just the first game of the season. Lots of football left to be played.”
C. “This is just the first half of the season. Lots of football left to be played.”
D. “Things didn’t go the way I expected. We are a lot better football team than that. Lots of football left to be played.”
E. “I’m really excited about next season. Right now we are a lot better football than what we showed. We will work on things for next year.”
And so on....
Are the fans really that stupid about what is really going on here?
The alibis over the years:
A. Injuries
B. Quarterback
C. Defensive Coordinator
D. Offensive Coordinator
E. THIS SEASON - ADJUSTING TO THE NEW OFFENSE
Agh.
Yessiree Bob, yesterday was a day full of rainbows and unicorns. A day of happy puppies, cute kittens and laughing children. It was kind of day where ugly people hooked up with hot dates, even the married ones found that their spouses looked better. If you walked into your local watering hole you were greeted with a free flagon of your favorite libation. Simply put, it was a good day.
Even finding out that Jay Cutler is being inexplicably benched tonight did nothing to darken the day. As has been noted up here before, any NFL caliber QB can lay on his back and say “ouch” after every play. They don’t need a potential Hall of Famer for that.
So, with my mind singing songs of sunshine and happiness, I bring you today’s blog.
Yesterday the Cubs did something they haven’t been able to do all year. They won a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. As CARRIE MUSKAT reports, as long as there is some sort of ceremony before the game, the Cubs win. So, here’s hoping they have a lot more numbers to retire and statues to move.
Mike Quade hasn’t gotten around to decorating the manager’s office at Wrigley Field, but he does seem pretty comfortable there.
The Cubs improved to 6-3 under Quade with a 5-3 win Wednesday over the pesky Pirates. Koyie Hill, Kosuke Fukudome and Tyler Colvin each hit RBI doubles as Chicago won the series. However, the Pirates can celebrate winning the season series in decisive fashion with a 10-5 mark.
“We beat them up [Monday] and they beat us up [Tuesday], and it was fun to win a series,” Colvin said. “They’ve handled us pretty well this season, and it was good to win a series this season.”
Quade didn’t ask for any roster help now that teams can go beyond the standard 25-man count, but he will be happy to see Carlos Silva come back after starter Tom Gorzelanny injured his left hand when he was hit by a line drive.
Gorzelanny had a 1-0 lead after Hill’s RBI double in the second and had given up two hits over 2 1/3 innings before facing Jose Tabata in the third. The Pirates left fielder lined the ball right at the pitcher, and he deflected it with his left hand, then fell to his knees on the mound.
He was pulled and taken for X-rays, which were inconclusive but did show no displacement. Gorzelanny will have additional tests on Thursday.
“I thought it hit him in the head,” said Pittsburgh’s Neil Walker. “Fortunately—I guess fortunately—it caught his hand. Tom is a real good friend of mine, so I hope he’s doing OK.”
Silva, sidelined since Aug. 2 because of an abnormal heart rate, was to make his second rehab outing Wednesday for Class A Peoria.
Rookie Thomas Diamond (1-3) replaced Gorzelanny in the third and served up a solo homer to Walker to tie the game. Diamond did give up the Pirates’ other run but was credited with his first Major League win and first Major League beer shower.
“It’s always nice to get the first one,” said Diamond, who has been working on a cutter. “I wish it had happened a little sooner.”
Starlin Castro, in the race for the batting title, singled with one out in the Chicago third and scored on Fukudome’s double. One out later, Fukudome tallied on Colvin’s double to make it 3-1. Castro notched his 34th multi-hit game with another single in the fifth, and is batting .375 in his last 11 games.
Andrew McCutchen hit an RBI double in the Pirates’ fifth to close to 3-2, but Castro was hit by a pitch to open the seventh, Fukudome doubled and Micah Hoffpauir and Jeff Baker each hit RBI singles.
The Pirates had two on and two outs in the eighth when Quade called on closer Carlos Marmol. He walked pinch-hitter Delwyn Young and was ahead, 0-2, against McCutchen but walked him to force in a run.
Everybody contributed. Rookie Darwin Barney made an acrobatic throw to get Tabata at second in the fifth. Hill, starting in place of injured Geovany Soto, has hit safely in four straight games and nearly had his second homer in as many games in the seventh. More at-bats equals more success.
“That’s for anybody,” Hill said. “My sister would be a better baseball player if she practiced every day and played every day. My job is to catch when Geo needs a day off and they ask me to play.
“Your bench is going to play better when they get more at-bats. Just because the manager doesn’t get you more at-bats doesn’t mean he’s doing a bad job. That’s your role. You get an opportunity and you make the most of it, then you go home, hug your family and you’re happy you’re a baseball player.”
Quade is smiling. He did have fans keeping score busy as he made three double-switches in the game.
“I might have set a National League record for two-for-ones, which you don’t want to do,” he said.
In his new office, he has put a photo of his female Rottweiler on the wall—“The pup always comes with me,” Quade said—and has more space for his laptop, but that’s it. He’s been busy getting all the statistics organized the way he wants since taking over for Lou Piniella on Aug. 23.
“I look at Lou when he was here and Dusty [Baker] and [Tony] La Russa and all the veteran managers around, and a lot of it becomes second nature,” Quade said. “You’ve been doing this for so long, and you have a lot of the same players and it’s like recall. At game speed, this is stuff you like to have in hand.”
On Thursday, he’ll host some of his coaches, family and friends for dinner and some college football. Quade will cook. He’s quite the gourmand.
“Everything’s been pretty good so far,” Quade said. “I’m making adjustments and learning on the fly, too. We’ll give it some time and see how things shake out. As long as I’m getting after it and getting myself back into this thing, that’s the main thing.”
I wish I could get an invite to that buffet. I may not be a Cubs’ fan but I do love good food. Nevertheless, in Quade’s 10 game tenure the Cubs are 6-4. If they had played at that clip all season they would have finished with a 100 win record. Sadly, that will be denied them this year. Still, they are now 22.5 games ahead of Pittsburgh and a mere 5.5 games behind the Brew Crew. There’s plenty of baseball yet to be played, so here’s hoping the Cubs can keep things interesting.
On the Southside, the Sox took the field against their arch-nemeses, the Tribe. They also tried to keep their unbeaten streak, since acquiring Manny Ramirez, alive. As ANTHONY CASTROVINCE reports, they managed to pull out a win in spite of themselves.
The White Sox aren’t paying Manny Ramirez simply to stand on deck.
But if this is what happens every time he’s on deck in a clutch situation, then sign them up.
Just as he was Tuesday night, Ramirez was on deck Wednesday afternoon when one of his new teammates hit the game-sealing, three-run homer.
On Tuesday, it was A.J. Pierzynski. This time, the blast came off the bat of Paul Konerko, who, in guiding the White Sox to a 6-4 victory to cap a three-game sweep of the Indians at Progressive Field, provided a reminder that the South Siders weren’t exactly bereft of a big bat before Manny came aboard.
“We’ve been scoring runs and having good at-bats since June 1,” said Konerko, who has 33 homers and 98 RBIs. “Not to take anything away from Manny’s day or what he’s going to do, but our offense has been good for a while, if you check the numbers.”
The only number that truly matters to the White Sox right now is 3 1/2—the number of games they trailed the Twins in the AL Central standings after this win. The Twins were set to face the Tigers on Wednesday night.
As for the White Sox, they boarded their flight to Boston knowing they had done what they intended against the last-place Indians. Though the late innings were an adventure in all three games, they came out on top each time.
“We’ve got to do our part,” Konerko said. “If [the Twins] stumble or somebody beats them, great. But we can’t expect them to lose games. We have to take care of what we’re going to do with our games.”
Before Konerko’s eighth-inning heroics, the visitors didn’t appear on track to win this one. Even with Manny in the lineup, they were confounded at the plate by September callup Carlos Carrasco, and they lost starter Freddy Garcia to lower back stiffness after just four innings.
Garcia, by all accounts, should be fine to make his next start. But this start didn’t go his way.
Though Alex Rios’ solo shot in the first gave Garcia an early run of support, the White Sox weren’t heard from again at the plate until the eighth. Carrasco set down 19 of the next 23 batters he faced.
Garcia, meanwhile, gave up an RBI single to Asdrubal Cabrera to tie the game in the third. In the fourth, Jayson Nix singled and moved to second on a stolen-base attempt on which shortstop Alexei Ramirez was charged with a fielding error. Jordan Brown’s ensuing single brought Nix home to make it 2-1.
That was Garcia’s final inning, and the Indians extended their lead in the fifth against reliever Tony Pena. Chris Gimenez led off with a double and moved to third on a Michael Brantley single. Cabrera grounded into a double play, but Gimenez scored from third. And after Shin-Soo Choo doubled and Travis Hafner was intentionally walked, Alexei Ramirez’s throwing error on a Nix single allowed Choo to score to make it 4-1.
It looked bleak, but White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said he sensed confidence in his dugout.
“We just needed to get people on base,” Guillen said. “As soon as we have people on base, it’s a different ballgame. Because anybody in the lineup—except maybe two guys, [Omar] Vizquel and Juan [Pierre]—can hit the ball out of the ballpark.”
But first, it was a solo shot that gave the White Sox their first signs of life in several innings. With one out, Alexei Ramirez atoned for his defensive woes with a homer to the left-field porch to cut the deficit down to 4-2.
When Pierre drew a walk, Carrasco’s day was done. After left-hander Rafael Perez retired pinch-hitter Carlos Quentin for the inning’s second out, in came Justin Germano. Rios drew a walk to put two aboard, and Konerko, with Manny looming on deck, pounded Germano’s 1-1 changeup to the left-field bleachers to make it 5-4.
“Ideally, [the pitch] would have been down and on the outer half,” Germano said. “It kind of had that two-seam action and came back over too much.”
How much of an impact did Manny’s presence have on Germano that situation? It was as debatable here as it was Tuesday night. But considering Konerko’s MVP-type season, let’s not get too carried away with talk of the Manny Effect.
“I’ve had Carlos behind me most of the year,” Konerko said. “If you check the numbers, he’s a pretty good run-producer, especially with guys on base.”
The White Sox had more guys on base and took advantage to extend the lead in the ninth. Alexei Ramirez made it 6-4 when his sacrifice fly off Jensen Lewis scored Mark Teahen.
That run proved important, because rookie lefty Chris Sale, in his first save opportunity, labored a bit in the bottom of the inning, walking Gimenez and Brantley in succession with one out.
“It got a little shaky out there,” Sale said. “I lost the fastball for a hitter or so. But [catcher Ramon] Castro came out there and said, ‘I’m not going to say anything to you, just giving you some time. Let’s do this.’ After that, I said, ‘OK, let’s do this, we need the sweep.’”
Sale and the White Sox got the sweep, because Sale got Cabrera to ground into a fielder’s choice (Teahen’s off-target throw to first after stepping on third prevented a double play), then struck out Choo to reward Guillen’s trust.
“I was a little nervous,” Guillen admitted, “because we put this kid in a spot he was never in. He handled it pretty good. This kid has a good chance to be great. His presence on the mound is very positive.”
And things are pretty positive in the White Sox clubhouse right now. They took care of business against a division foe and have a new weapon in tow in the form of Manny, who has made the on-deck circle his lucky spot.
So, the Cubs and Sox both had pitchers go down early in the game (Gorzy, hand & Garcia, back) and both teams managed to win anyway. Oddly enough, that’s a good sign. Also a good sign was watching Manny walk around the field prior to the game and signing autographs for kids and glad handing anyone wearing Sox gear. No word on whether or not he remembered how to speak English before his impromptu meet and greet.
With both teams off today and me not getting an invite to Quade’s house, I guess I’ll check out the Bears game tonight. Or maybe I can find a Law & Order marathon.
The Bears appear to be in mid-season form. As ELLIOTT HARRIS reports, Cutler was all over his connection opportunities the other night.
Jay Cutler is making headlines for his play—off the field. Website PerezHilton.com posted Tuesday: ‘’Sources reveal exclusively to PerezHilton.com that Kristin Cavallari and Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler were all over each other, ‘kissing and acting all in love’ last night at the Angels and Kings lounge in Chicago.’’ For the football-absorbed, she’s a reality television personality.
I’m not sure that that’s exactly what Lovie had in mind when he said he hoped that Cutler and his receivers hooked up better. Then again, nothing else seems to be working, so who knows? Throw some lipstick and a sun dress on Hester and you’re good to go.
After all, Cavallari (pictured here) has already had her, obligatory for D-list celebs, lipstick lesbian moment with Paris Hilton, so I see no reason why Jay shouldn’t match her effort.
I just don’t want to see it on You Tube.
No. Really. Don’t send me the link.
Speaking of uncomfortable visuals, the Cubs went back to normal against the Pirates yesterday. One day after welcoming Quade home with a curse busting victory over the Pirates, things went back to the way they were as the Cubs suffered an embarrassing loss at the hands of one of the wort teams in the history of major league baseball. Our old pal, and recipe aficionado, CARRIE MUSKAT reports, this was every shade of ugly you can imagine.
In 34 innings over five starts prior to Tuesday’s game, Ryan Dempster had given up five earned runs. The Pirates nearly matched that in the first inning.
One day after losing by 12 to the Cubs, the Pirates romped 14-7. Neal Walker had four hits and drove in four runs and Garrett Jones knocked in three, both hitting two-run homers, to power Pittsburgh—which now leads the season series against Chicago, 10-4.
“You don’t see Dempster throw like that very often,” Pittsburgh’s Jeff Karstens said. “He usually does a good job of getting guys to chase his pitch, but we laid off and were able to make some good adjustments.”
But Dempster (12-9) couldn’t. He gave up seven runs over three innings, his shortest outing of the year, and took the loss. It was the right-hander’s briefest stint since a 2 1/3-innings start on June 27, 2008, against the White Sox—when he gave up eight runs on seven hits.
Dempster was unbeaten in August, posting a 4-0 mark and 1.31 ERA in his previous five starts. He’s ready to turn the calendar.
“That wasn’t a good job, a good performance by me,” Dempster said. “We should’ve won that game. We scored seven runs but it’s hard when your starting pitcher, being me, puts us in a hole and it’s 7-0. That’s a lot to overcome. I didn’t execute pitches, didn’t get ahead of hitters. No explanation, I just didn’t get it done.”
The loss was just the third in eight games for Cubs manager Mike Quade, who took over for Lou Piniella on Aug. 23. He’d relished the 14 runs in his home debut on Monday but on Tuesday found himself pulling his starter after three innings.
“You’re so used to seeing [Dempster] get through a tough situation like that, and he just couldn’t tonight,” Quade said. “You just turn the page and look forward to his next start.”
Karstens (3-10) picked up the win, his first since June 19. He held the Cubs to two runs, both coming on Koyie Hill’s first homer since May 29, 2009, with one on and one out in the fifth. No, Hill didn’t get the ball as a souvenir.
“Even some of the guys on the other team were telling me ‘Good job,’” Hill said. “I told [Ryan] Doumit, I had one more homer than a dead man—and I was happy to lead my family in homers, which is saying a lot because I have [a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old] little girls with pretty good hands, so I’ll take it.”
Apparently, the Pirates wanted revenge after Monday’s lopsided loss to the Cubs. Jose Tabata walked with one out in the first, reached third on Walker’s single and scored on Jones’ groundout. Pedro Alvarez hit an RBI double, Doumit was hit by a pitch, and both scored on Ronny Cedeno’s double to make it 4-0.
Dempster actually had a chance to get out of the inning earlier with Jones’ potential double-play ball, a comebacker, but he couldn’t turn two.
“You’ve got to put that behind you right away and go out there and make pitches,” Dempster said. “I didn’t do a very good job making quality pitches tonight. I was prepared and I was ready but I didn’t execute. When you don’t execute, you get bad results.”
Tabata added an RBI triple with one out in the second and Andrew McCutchen made it 7-0 with a two-run single with two outs in the third. At that point, Dempster had thrown 70 pitches. And that was it.
Jones hit his 20th homer in the fourth and Walker launched his eighth into the center-field juniper bushes in the sixth, both off Marcos Mateo.
The Cubs gave the fans who stuck around something to cheer about in a five-run eighth. Starlin Castro hit an RBI single, pinch-hitter Micah Hoffpauir hit an RBI double and scored on Xavier Nady’s single, and Alfonso Soriano hit an RBI single to close the gap.
“I’m thrilled they keep playing, but I expect that,” Quade said.
So far, the Cubs players have responded well to Quade.
“There’s been a lot of communication and a lot of positive things coming out of every game,” Dempster said. “Even in our losses and tough times, he’s been very supportive and it’s been a lot of fun. We’ve been having a good time playing for him.”
“We all respected Lou and everything he brought, and everything he did for the game,” said Hill. “But Quade’s done a great job. We’ve always enjoyed being around him. He’s a baseball guy first, a personable guy, a good communicator. I think it’s been a good transition.”
There are now 29 games remaining in what has been a long season.
“The job’s still the same,” Dempster said. “You come to work and try to do your job the best you can. It doesn’t say in your contract, ‘I’ll try as hard as I can as long as we’re in it.’ You try as hard as you can every day.”
I felt bad for Demp. A victory last night would have given him his 100th for his career. It would have also marked the fist time in his career that he’d won 5 in a row. While he was magnanimous in accepting the blame for the loss, the truth is the defense did him no favors. Watching players wave at ground balls as they went by and other players trotting to miss catchable fly balls combined with lackadaisical throws around the horn, Dempster’s lucky that the score wasn’t 20 to nothing in the 3rd when Quade mercifully pulled him.
On the Southside, the Sox welcomed Manny Ramirez, let him sit because he was “tired” and then busted him out as a pinch-hitter late in the game. But, last night wasn’t about Mannywood or its attenuate weirdness, nope, it was all about Edwin Jackson who the Sox got for the stretch run and who had his throwing mechanics corrected by Don Cooper before his first Pale Hose start. ANTHONY CASTROVINCE got to enjoy another night in Cleveland (gee, how did Merkin miss that thrill?) as the Sox survived their bullpen once again.
Manny Ramirez was on-deck, ready to deliver the kind of game-changing hit the White Sox acquired him for.
But it was A.J. Pierzynski at the plate with two on and one out in the ninth, and Manny’s services were quickly rendered unnecessary.
Pierzynski ripped a three-run homer to right off Frank Herrmann, delivering the big blow to back up a strong effort from Edwin Jackson in a 4-3 win over the Indians at Progressive Field.
Manager Ozzie Guillen had said Ramirez’s mere presence could have an impact on opposing pitchers. He was quickly proven right.
“I told [Ramirez], ‘I finally got some protection,’” Pierzynski joked. “He got a standing ovation just for going out on deck, which is awesome.”
But the guy the Sox thought was really worthy of an ovation was Jackson, another recent acquisition whose impact on the Sox has been immediate.
Though unable to preserve all of a three-run lead afforded him in the ninth, Jackson worked overtime to try to nail down another important win. His 129-pitch effort fell one out short of a complete game but was impressive, all the same. And it was particularly beneficial to a Sox team that is currently battered and short-staffed in the bullpen.
“As a starter, you want to go as long as you can anyway,” said Jackson, who is now 3-0 with a 1.47 ERA in five starts for the Sox. “Regardless of if the bullpen is fresh or beat up, you want to be on the field as long as you can, until you can’t go any longer. That’s the mind frame I’ve been going out with.”
For six innings, Jackson was nearly untouchable. Unfortunately for both him and the Sox, so was Tribe starter Justin Masterson.
A pitcher’s duel erupted, and even when trouble loomed—such as when right fielder Carlos Quentin made both a fielding and throwing error to allow Jayson Nix to reach second to open the second, or when Lou Marson doubled and moved to third on a groundout in the third—Jackson didn’t blink.
“Jackson was very impressive,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “He’s got a tremendous arm and he did a fantastic job. “
Masterson, meanwhile, allowed just three hits through seven innings.
Somebody had to score at some point, and the Indians finally did it against Jackson in the seventh. Shelley Duncan led off the inning with a lined shot onto the left-field porch to give the Tribe the 1-0 lead. It didn’t even appear to be a bad pitch by Jackson. It was a slider low in the zone that Duncan was able to punch out.
Jackson, however, didn’t seem affected by the blast one bit. After it cleared the fence, he quickly gathered himself to retire the Tribe’s Nos. 7-9 hitters in succession and end the inning.
At that point, it was up to the Chicago hitters to bail Jackson out of a jam. They did so immediately in the eighth. Mark Kotsay drew a leadoff walk, the first issued by Masterson all night. And after Alexei Ramirez moved pinch-runner Brent Lillibridge over with a sac bunt, Mark Teahen came through with a single to center. Lillibridge motored home and slid in ahead of the throw from Michael Brantley.
Just like that, it was a tie game. And Jackson remained in it to pitch perhaps his most impressive inning yet, mowing through the top of the order by striking out the side in the eighth.
“I think Jackson, besides pitching tremendous game, helped us regroup for the next couple days [in the bullpen],” Guillen said. “It was huge. I never like to take a chance when a starter throws that many pitches. But in the meanwhile, we need help in the bullpen, and he did it.”
In the ninth, it looked as though the Sox would need the help of Manny’s bat. Though Guillen was leery of using Ramirez at all after the quirky slugger made the cross-country trip to join his new teammates, Ramirez, at the start of the inning, was in the Sox dugout, getting loose and swinging a bat. And after reliever Joe Smith walked Alex Rios to open the inning and Quentin with one out, Ramirez stepped to the on-deck circle.
The Indians made a pitching change, bringing in Herrmann to relieve Smith. Ramirez was on-deck to bat for Lillibridge, but it was Pierzynski’s turn in the order. He fouled off the first-pitch fastball, then deposited Herrmann’s slider into the right-field seats to put this one away.
“It’s been so long since I hit a home run,” said Pierzynski, who last homered July 9, “I kinda forgot what to do.”
Manny didn’t forget what home-run hitters do. As Pierzynski circled the bases, the 4-1 lead in tow, Ramirez retreated to the dugout, doling out high-fives to his new teammates as if he had hit the blast. While he didn’t deliver the homer, he did deliver the scare.
“I’m not going to say A.J. hit a home run because of Manny,” said Guillen, “because that’s unpredictable. But when you see Manny’s presence, whoever is going to hit in front of Manny is going to look at better pitches.”
It was the Sox receiving a scare in the ninth, when Jackson gave up singles to Nix and Trevor Crowe, then, with two out, gave up a two-run single to Jason Donald. Closer Bobby Jenks was summoned to try to get the final out, and pinch-hitter Matt LaPorta reached on a single to make it especially dicey.
But Jenks got Brantley to ground back to the mound to end the game and preserve the win for Jackson, who might not have arrived with Manny’s flair but has definitely given the Sox a lift.
“Edwin Jackson was the story,” Pierzynski said. “We really needed that in the bullpen. For him to go out and pitch like that was amazing.”
So, Jackson, who was washed up in Arizona is now a Cy Young candidate with the Sox. That seems about right to me.
In summation, the Bears are showing that they’re playahs, but not really players. The Cubs are back to normal with the Pirates despite the best efforts of Super-Quade and the Sox are, once again, finding ways to win.
I had to go to the store yesterday and pick up some food. Yes, I know, how do I handle the thrills? Anyway, this lady walks up to me and asks if I like baseball. I admit that I do. She then wanders into a 10 minute monologue about why she hates baseball. Somewhere after her insertion of Barack Obama and space aliens into the spiel, I excused myself and paid for my meager groceries. As I was leaving the store I realized that she was following me and still talking. Before I could motion for security a young man walked up to her and said “Mom, it’s okay. Some people just like baseball.”
She shut up and I left.
Yep. That was different.
The Cubs tried to do things differently yesterday as well. First off they set up a peanut free zone where people could watch the game without having their lives threatened. All for just $50.00 per person. They also retired Andre Dawson’s number before the game and then took the field against the dreaded Pirates. But this is the Quade era and the Pirates don’t seem as dreaded anymore. As CARRIE MUSKAT reports, the Cubs did something different this time by actually quashing the Pittsburgh curse.
Mike Quade celebrated his homecoming with a win.
Carlos Zambrano belted a two-run homer to help himself, Aramis Ramirez drove in four runs and Starlin Castro had three hits to power an 18-hit attack as the Cubs posted a 14-2 victory on Monday over the Pirates.
“Pick your guy,” Quade said. “Zambrano settles down, takes care of business early in the game, we put a few runs on the board, and everybody’s happy. That’s a formula we like to see every evening. It was important to get off to a good start here, and they did a good job.”
The Cubs had averaged 2.58 runs in the 12 previous games against the Pirates, and had beaten Pittsburgh only three times. It was a different story on Monday. Chicago now is 5-2 since Quade, the third-base coach, took over one week ago for Lou Piniella. Monday was “Q’s” first game at Wrigley in the home whites.
“I guess it’s an Opening Night,” Quade said earlier on Monday, then admitted that at some point during the game he would stop to soak it all in.
“I try to take a minute every game, even at third base, to go, ‘My gosh, how lucky am I?’—whether it’s the rooftops or whatever, that brings stuff back to you,” said Quade, who grew up in the Chicago area as a Cubs fan. “You want to keep some perspective. There will be a really nice glow until the first pitch is made and then we have to get after it.”
When was that moment Monday?
“During the anthem,” Quade said. “When you’re at third base, you have lots of moments. When the place is packed on a Sunday afternoon and somebody’s here, and the roof tops are full, that’s different. Tonight, it was the anthem.
“It’s not just about being here, but it’s about where I’ve been—and I’ve been [darn] near everywhere—and this is a pretty good place to end up now.”
The Cubs made him feel right at home. Castro doubled with one out in the first and scored on birthday boy Marlon Byrd’s single, and Byrd tallied two batters later on Alfonso Soriano’s double to make it 2-0.
Zambrano got some help from his defense, too. Garrett Jones singled to lead off the Pirates’ fourth and tried to stretch his hit into a double, but right fielder Tyler Colvin threw a perfect strike to second for the out. It was an appropriate play on “Andre Dawson Day.” The Hall of Fame outfielder, who was honored before the game, would regularly make throws like that when he patrolled right field for the Cubs.
“Everybody contributed to a nice win,” Zambrano said. “When we play as a team, we can do some damage.”
The Cubs sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth and scored seven runs. Koyie Hill hit a RBI single, Jeff Baker hit a two-run double, and Byrd added an RBI double to chase Paul Maholm (7-13). Ramirez greeted Sean Gallagher with a two-run single and then scored on Xavier Nady’s double. The last time the Cubs scored seven runs in an inning was Sept. 8, 2009, in Pittsburgh.
Maholm said he couldn’t get ahead of hitters.
“[I wasn’t able to throw] my sinker like I can,” he said. “It goes back to being able to do that, and establish down and away, and not missing over the middle. I know what it is. I need to fix it.”
Quade and pitching coach Larry Rothschild considered taking Zambrano out a little earlier because of his pitch count but knew better.
“I think he wanted the at-bat, to be honest with you,” Quade said.
Chicago sent nine batters to the plate in the fifth, and scored on Zambrano’s home run, his first of the season—21st of his career—and Ramirez’s two-run double. Ramirez now is 12-for-19 with two homers and 11 RBIs in his last five games.
Since returning to the rotation on Aug. 9, Zambrano (6-6) is 3-0 with a 1.84 ERA in five starts. On Monday, he gave up four hits, walked four and struck out seven over 5 1/3 innings. He credits his success to a more consistent arm slot and being on top of the ball with better movement on his pitches.
“He looked real good tonight—four-seamer, two-seamer, his slider was breaking late,” Byrd said. “You didn’t know if it was coming at you 94 [mph] straight or 92 with sink.”
Zambrano had gone home to Venezuela after his last start because his 11-year-old nephew was ill. He called his brother on Monday and got encouraging news.
“My nephew is getting better every day,” Zambrano said. “It’s a miracle. He’s not out of intensive care yet, but he’s doing much better compared to four, five days ago when he was diagnosed with a five percent chance of getting out of what he has alive.”
Both he and Quade can celebrate. With the 14 runs, Quade now holds the Cubs’ modern-day record for most runs scored in a home managerial debut. The new Cubs manager had a few family and friends among the crowd of 29,538. He’s managed in the Minors, including four years with the Cubs’ Triple-A Iowa team. This was different.
“To be honest, I wish I was playing for somebody doing what I’m doing, because I’ve always wanted to play here,” Quade said. “Did I think it would come to this? I had always hoped I would someday manage at this level. This is more than my mind can handle.”
Well, here’s hoping his head doesn’t explode. One thing is for certain, Quade is managing as though the team is in the hunt. Your first clue that things were going to be different with him was when he asked Baker to bunt. That is something he’s never done at the pro level. And, judging by the result, it’s easy to see why. Even so, it’s clear that business as usual will not be tolerated under Quade. Whether or not he gets the Cubs’ job next year I’m hoping he does end up coaching at the major league level.
On the Southside, the Sox faced the dreaded Tribe without their new, dread-locked, designated hitter. No worries, he’ll be in the lineup tonight. Nevertheless I’m not sure how much help he could have provided last night unless he can pitch as well. To be polite, this was a VERY sloppy game. MLB.com’s newest scribe, ANTHONY CASTROVINCE seems pretty sure the Sox won, but he’s not as sure as to how.
Manny Ramirez will arrive to try to help out the White Sox on Tuesday. In the meantime, it was Brent Lillibridge, of all people, delivering the game-changing homer Monday night.
After Bobby Jenks blew a three-run lead in the ninth, in part because of a Lillibridge throwing error, the Sox needed a savior against the Indians. Turns out it was Lillibridge, who redeemed himself with the two-out, 11th-inning solo shot that sparked a four-run outburst in a 10-6 win at Progressive Field that took four hours, 11 minutes to complete.
Not bad from the guy who is an option to be optioned out when Ramirez joins the roster.
“This was a long game,” said Lillibridge, who was in the game because of the bruised right hand suffered by Gordon Beckham on a hit by pitch in the seventh. “To just beat on them in the 11th was big.”
This is a big 10-game trip for the Sox, and Manny’s arrival only adds to the intrigue.
Trailing the Twins, who were idle Monday, by four games in the American League Central standings, the White Sox might not publicly state that this is a make-or-break swing through Cleveland, Boston and Detroit. But with the Twins playing in the comforts of home this week and the schedule hitting its home stretch, this is obviously no time for the Sox to continue the road woes that have hampered their second half.
So this was, indeed, a big win. Even if it was an ugly win.
“I felt like I was in Tucson,” said Ozzie Guillen, referencing the rough-around-the-edges atmosphere of Spring Training. “I felt like I was in Electric Park. It was a very bad game. Thank God we won it.”
Early on, the win seemed all but ensured. The Sox wasted no time ripping into Tribe starter Mitch Talbot, who had dominated to the tune of a 3-0 record and 1.75 ERA in three previous starts against them this season.
Paul Konerko’s double to center scored a pair in the first. In the second, Alexei Ramirez’s leadoff single set up an RBI double from Mark Kotsay. Beckham followed with a single to put runners on the corners, and Juan Pierre was hit by a pitch to load them up. With two out, Alex Rios punched a single to right that scored a pair to make it 5-0.
“I didn’t feel that they hit a lot of balls hard,” Talbot said. “They just kind of found some holes. They hit them where our defense wasn’t.”
As a result, Mark Buehrle had a nice cushion to work with against a struggling Tribe lineup. And he needed it. In the fourth, he gave up a leadoff double to Travis Hafner, then hung a 3-2 fastball to former Sox utilityman Jayson Nix, who lifted it into the left-field bleachers for a two-run shot. In the fifth, Hafner’s one-out double to right scored Asdrubal Cabrera and made it 5-3.
Suddenly, Buehrle’s cushion didn’t seem quite so cushy. Fortunately for Buehrle, Rios’ two-out solo shot off reliever Justin Germano in the sixth provided a little more breathing room.
Not enough breathing room, however. The Indians put two on with two out against Sergio Santos, and Guillen summoned Jenks for the four-out save opportunity. Jenks had just pitched 1 2/3 innings against the Yankees a day earlier, so Guillen, working with an injury-depleted bullpen, is riding his closer hard.
“Going out and throwing 30-40 pitches the last couple days, that’s not easy for him,” Guillen said of Jenks. “But he fights. He fights his way through it.”
The fight initially went Jenks’ way, as he struck out Cabrera to get out of that jam. But he still had three outs to get in the ninth, and it proved to be an uphill battle.
By the time the third of those outs arrived, the lead was gone. Jenks walked leadoff man Shin-Soo Choo, who moved to second on defensive indifference. Shelley Duncan’s single drove Choo home, and Hafner’s third double of the game put two runners in scoring position. Luis Valbuena sent a chopper to Lillibridge, as Duncan motored home, and Lillibridge’s throw to first was errant, allowing Hafner to score the tying run.
“It was an in-between play, whether I should have thrown it or not,” Lillibridge said. “I think that’s still worth taking a chance on and being aggressive. It was just a barehand, awkward throw. I was just trying to get Bobby an out. It was a rough inning.”
Jenks got out of it without giving up the winning run, and to extras it went. The Sox tried to put it away against Chris Perez in the 10th. But they didn’t take advantage of having Pierre, who reached on a leadoff single and moved to second on a wild pitch, at second with none out. Nor did they take advantage of a bases-loaded opportunity with two out. A.J. Pierzynski popped out to end the inning.
Scott Linebrink got the momentum swinging back in the Sox’s favor by pitching a perfect 10th. And just when it seemed the Sox would go scoreless against Rafael Perez in the 11th, Lillibridge connected on a 1-2 slider and launched it into the bleachers. It was just his second homer of the season for Lillibridge, who was 2-for-26 coming into the night, and it was a big one.
“I know everything’s there,” Lillibridge said. “It was just a matter of continuing to swing it out and keep doing what I’m doing. It was a relief to at least get that one run.”
But the Sox weren’t done. They built off that blast. Pierre walked, and Omar Vizquel doubled him home. Rios followed with an RBI double of his own, and Konerko singled him home to make it 10-6.
That lead proved to be safe in Linebrink’s hands. His 1-2-3 11th capped a victory that had its ugly side but ended up all right.
“We won the game,” Lillibridge said. “And tomorrow will be a very interesting day.”
After Beckham got hit he was sent to see an X-ray tech supplied by the Indians. The tech, whimsical pixie that he is, told Beckham his wrist was broken. He quickly corrected that to a “mild bruise” but you can imagine that Beckham wasn’t laughing.
One thing is for certain now, the post game interviews of Ozzie and Manny should be must-see TV. After all, when Boston won the World Series he invited the entire city over to his house for drinks. God knows what he’d do here if the Sox win it all.
Did you ever see that commercial with the little kids who get pizza after every game, even when they lose? Somehow I think the same motivational techniques are being used for Chicago’s professional baseball teams. While the “just do your best” philosophy works wonders with children, fans expect just a touch more out of their pro teams. Yet, somehow, this season has seen more than it’s fair share of “well, they tried...” press releases.
How about this instead”? “Well, we won ...” Could we try that one on for size?
Pretty please?
CARRIE MUSKAT takes a look at the little league team on the Northside.
There’s something you should know about new Cubs manager Mike Quade. He’s a little greedy.
Winning four out of six on the road trip wasn’t good enough, even though it was the team’s best of the season.
“We’ve gotten some big hits on this road trip and needed a couple more,” Quade said after Sunday’s 7-5 loss to the Reds. “The kids played and it was a good road trip, today not withstanding, because I am a greedy guy.”
Kosuke Fukudome hit a game-tying two-run homer in the top of the eighth but also made an error in the Reds’ eighth that led to Cincinnati’s victory over Chicago.
With one out in the bottom of the frame and the game tied at 5, Chris Heisey singled and reached third on Ramon Hernandez’s single to right. Fukudome fired to third to get Heisey, but his throw was off the mark and Heisey scored on the error. Pinch-hitter Jonny Gomes added a RBI single.
“I did the best I could to throw to third base,” Fukudome said. “It may be my mistake, but if I’m afraid of throwing, there’s nothing I can do.”
Chicago third baseman Aramis Ramirez said the throw was difficult for him to handle.
“I tried to keep it in front of me, but it was a tough hop,” Ramirez said. “I tried to block the ball and at least get a glove on it, but I couldn’t do it.”
“That to me is baseball,” Quade said of Fukudome’s throw. “It’s not like he fired it into the first row. There’s always stuff in games like this that you need to clean up and to that end, we’ll work to clean things up.
“The overall tenor for me was that we battled back, we set the tables so often and didn’t score,” Quade said. “I would rather take that out of this and head home and try to find a way to beat Pittsburgh.”
It was the Reds’ 37th come-from-behind win, and they closed the season series against the Cubs at 12-4.
Quade will put on the home whites Monday night for his first game at Wrigley Field as the Cubs manager. He’ll have the tough assignment of beating the Pirates (the Cubs are 3-9 so far) and finding enough tickets for family and friends.
“I look forward to every day,” Quade said, “but [Monday] will be something special. Opening Day, when I first got the job with Lou [Piniella] was special.”
That was in 2007, and Quade was the third-base coach. Now, he leads the team home after its first winning road trip since July 5-11 against Arizona and Los Angeles. Quade has brought some energy to the Cubs, although it could simply be because he moves in fast-forward.
“We’ve taken it upon ourselves [to finish strong],” Cubs rookie reliever James Russell said. “We would’ve liked to have done it for Lou and it just didn’t work out.”
Rookie Casey Coleman tried on Sunday. He gave up eight hits, including Jay Bruce’s go-ahead home run, his 17th, in the sixth. The right-hander did not get a decision.
“It’s always good to face a team like that,” Coleman said. “I tried to attack the zone like I did last time. I gave up one run [each inning] and against a tough team like that, those runs can come back to hurt you.”
The Cubs stranded 10 in the game and missed an opportunity in the first when they loaded the bases with one out. Cincinnati starter Travis Wood struck out Xavier Nady and got Alfonso Soriano to fly out to end the inning. In the Reds’ first, Drew Stubbs doubled, advanced on a sacrifice and scored on Joey Votto’s groundout, RBI No. 93 for the first baseman.
Coleman was on first with two outs in the second and moved up on Jeff Baker’s single before scoring on Starlin Castro’s bloop single. Baker rounded second and was caught in a brief rundown for the third out.
The Reds opened a 2-1 lead on Hernandez’s one-out RBI single in the second. Scott Rolen added a sacrifice fly in the third.
But the Cubs tied the game at 3 in the fifth. Marlon Byrd doubled to lead off, and one out later, Nady singled. Soriano hit a RBI double to score Byrd, and Nady tallied on Geovany Soto’s groundout. Cincinnati then took a 4-3 lead on Bruce’s solo shot in the sixth off a changeup from Coleman.
“It was a good piece of hitting,” Coleman said. “The ball was up in the zone a little bit, and he made me pay.”
Chris Valaika added a RBI single in the seventh. But Fukudome tied the game with his home run, a two-run shot, in the eighth off Arthur Rhodes, driving in Soto, who doubled. It was Fukudome’s 12th homer, his second in as many games, and a personal high in the U.S.
The outfielder got a rare start against a lefty. Piniella stuck to more of a platoon.
“It doesn’t matter who the manager is,” Fukudome said. “The only thing I need to do is prepare myself for the game.”
The players are still getting to know Quade’s style. He asked Baker to bunt, and Baker hasn’t been asked to do that all season.
“Everybody’s trying to do their job,” Ramirez said. “Everybody knows Quade’s situation. They want to do a good job so they can consider him for next year. The young guys here are playing for their future. Even though we’re out of the race right now, but everybody has something to play for.”
Including Ramirez.
“We get paid to play,” he said. “The way I look at it, there’s [30] teams and only eight go to the playoffs. The other ones go home the same time we go home. We’ve got 30 plus games to go, just show up and play as hard as you can and try to win as many as you can.”
Yes they do, and they get paid more than just a couple of slices of bad pizza.
Things aren’t much better on the Southside. While the ceremony honoring Frank Thomas, and retiring his number, was very nice I don’t think it was supposed to be the highlight of the day. The Sox had a chance to win a series from the Yankees and didn’t quite do it. I am getting to believe that the team treats close games like the slow kid trying to master the alphabet; “gosh darn that “R”, why do they keep putting it where I can’t member it?” They try, they scrunch up their faces, loll their tongues out of their mouths and look very earnest. However, none of those things turn into hits. Or runs. Just a lot of wasted effort. SCOTT MERKIN also wonders why the Sox continually get stymied by rookie pitching.
The American League Central-leading Minnesota Twins lost four of their seven games played on the road during this past week, but watched their division advantage drop from 5 to just 4 1/2 games.
Meanwhile, the White Sox begin a 10-game road trip in Cleveland on Monday night, a potentially make-or-break journey also taking them to Boston and Detroit, coming on the heels of two straight losses to the Yankees (80-50) at U.S. Cellar Field. Even the excitement and emotion of Frank Thomas Day on Sunday, with his No. 35 being retired, couldn’t give the White Sox an extra push in their 2-1 loss before the ninth sellout of the season.
Their offense has produced double-digit hits in 12 of the past 15 contests and posted nine runs in each of the first two games against Major League Baseball’s best team. There’s also the little matter of a Manny Ramirez deal potentially being worked out with the Dodgers, a decision needing to be arrived upon by 11:30 a.m. CT on Tuesday.
So, with basically one month remaining in the 2010 regular season, this particular question is offered up to the White Sox fan base. Is your playoff cup still half-full or is it starting to lean toward half-empty?
“We’ve got to win,” White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham said. “We know what time it is and September is around the corner. We have to make a push and be all in for these last 32. Win or lose, put everything we got into the pot, and hopefully we come out ahead of the Twins.”
“You just have to focus on Cleveland,” said White Sox starter Gavin Floyd, who suffered the loss in Sunday’s series finale. “Anything could happen. Definitely I feel like we can still be in the game.”
Sunday’s setback becomes an especially tough one because the Twins (75-56) lost a seventh-inning lead against the woeful Mariners and were stopped short of completing a three-game sweep at Safeco Field. The White Sox (70-60) also punished A.J. Burnett on Friday night and stopped CC Sabathia’s streak of 16 straight quality starts on Saturday but couldn’t do much with rookie Ivan Nova (1-0) on Sunday.
It was of little surprise to Ozzie Guillen.
Prior to Sunday’s contest, the White Sox manager was asked if he knew anything about the hard-throwing right-hander.
“No, nothing,” Guillen responded. “But watch: We’ll be talking after the game how he shut us down.”
Guillen clearly has seen this show before. An unknown hurler takes to the mound, or some sort of unheralded rookie, and shuts down the White Sox offense. Nova followed that pattern perfectly, giving up one run on five hits over 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven and earning his first career victory.
“He had good stuff, so it doesn’t matter if it’s your first time facing him or not,” said Beckham, who doubled with two outs in the fifth and scored the White Sox lone run on Juan Pierre’s single. “He throws 95 or 96 and has two different breaking balls and a changeup. He was pretty good today.”
“That might the best pitcher they had in the last three days, to be honest with you,” said Guillen of Nova, who gave way to Boone Logan after 88 pitches. “This kid came out and threw the ball well. Sometimes you don’t know the guy and you wonder why he’s there, but he had a very good arm.”
Logan, Kerry Wood, Joba Chamberlain and the legendary Mariano Rivera (27th save) kept the White Sox from evening the score over the final 3 1/3 innings. But it’s not like they absolutely shut the door on the White Sox.
On the contrary—the White Sox had runners on base in each of the final four innings. In the sixth, Mark Teahen grounded out against Wood with the bases loaded. Paul Konerko reached on third baseman Eduardo Nunez’s error to start the eighth against Chamberlain and was promptly pinch-run for by Brent Lillibridge. But Lillibridge was caught stealing second by catcher Francisco Cervelli on the first pitch to Andruw Jones.
“I was ready,” said Cervelli of nailing Lillibridge. “It was the right throw at the right moment.”
Jones singled but was stranded at second when Alexei Ramirez grounded out to second baseman Robinson Cano. Floyd (9-11) gave up Marcus Thames’ home run leading off the second, his third blast in two games, and another single run in the third, but controlled the Yankees over 6 2/3 innings.
“There’s some different kinds of games in this [series],” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “A lot of runs scored the first two days, and this was a pitchers’ duel. In a park like this, where you have two clubs that can hit the ball out of the ballpark, you don’t expect three runs to be the total.”
“We scrapped and tried to get on base and had some chances,” Beckham said. “It doesn’t always work out. They didn’t score much either. It’s a shame we couldn’t have got a couple of more.”
A 3-3 homestand isn’t devastating for the White Sox, but it certainly doesn’t help their cause with so little time remaining. With 13 losses in their past 20 games, the team needs to turn its fortunes around quickly or that half-full playoff cup might flat out spill.
“If we play well, I think we can still control our fate because we do play Minnesota again-- if we play well against these others teams,” Konerko said. “But it’s getting to that point where going into September, you can’t expect them to fall on their face. They’re too good of a team. We know they’re not a team that’s just going to forget how to play the game.”
US Cellar Field? Methinks Scott is getting just as frustrated as the fans are.
The Sox now embark the road trip from hell. But, because they like to keep things entertaining, it appears that they will make that trip with Manny Ramirez who got booted out of a game in Colorado yesterday and now the Dodgers are just releasing his contract.
If nothing else, the Ozzie/Manny post game show should be fun.