Archive for Mark Buehrle

Strong Finish Or Too Little, Too Late?

Posted in White Sox News with tags , , , , , , , , , , on October 26, 2009 by OneRunGame

Spoilers. Who has time for them? Who wants to even play them? Even worse, who wants to be in the position to BE the spoiler? Every year, in every division … some team always plays the role of the spoiler.

The White Sox played the role at the end of the season. In the last week of the season the White Sox trailed the Tigers and Twins. No hope of post-season and no hope of even finishing the season at .500. The Tigers had a three game lead with ONLY four games left….that’s almost a shoe-in right there. When the White Sox came to town for the final weekend of games – the Tigers needed only to win one game to lock up the division.

Thanks to Jake Peavy, the Sox took the first game. Oh and the Twins won their game, gaining ground and making everyone in Detroit nibble away at their fingernails like the Twins were doing in the standings.

Well, the story goes on that the Sox made life in Detroit very hard for the Tigers and the Twins tied them, won the one-game playoff – winning the Central Division and advancing to the playoffs only to get knocked out by the now, American League Champion Yankees. Don’t think for a second the Tigers will forget about the havoc the White Sox created for them when the 2010 campaign starts. Revenge.

Defeating Detroit the final weekend series was just a last ditch effort for the Sox to make some sense of a dismal season where expectations were high, but not met. A season that featured probably the biggest achievement in all of sports in 2009 – Mark Buerhle’s perfect game. For the Sox to beat Detroit, which led to Minnesota winning the division, did in fact give the White Sox some purpose. After all, it was still a division game and I applaud them for going out and competing against the team they trailed for much of the season.

While the 2010 season looks promising, on paper – led by arguably the strongest rotation in the Majors – the ’09 season looms on … with the World Series match-up now set. (See World Series post on here). Look at it this way Sox fans, you still have plenty of reasons to watch the World Series, you get hear Ozzie still talk 2009 baseball, as he was hired on as a pre & post game analyst. This should be interesting.

Watching former Sox players such as Nick Swisher make it to the World Series w/ the Yankees – a trade Kenny Williams highly believed was good for the White Sox, you still hate to see it. (hence, Kyle Orton 6-0 w/ Denver, Cedric Benson torching the Bears for a career high yardage – you get the picture) See how Juan Uribe single-handedly carried the Giants in September until they fell a few games short of playoff glory.

It seems to be a Chicago trait about former players …’ Leave Chicago – Become a Stud ‘. How’s that for a Monday headline for you? That’s an argument for a later time. And how Jim Thome fell a little short in his playoff attempt at a World Series try w/ the Dodgers, although he only got a couple of at-bats.

Sure, the White Sox finished strong and played the ‘Spoiler’ but it still doesn’t hide the fact that they fell short, well .. very short of their potential and goal … defending AL Central Champs.

Let me answer my own question … it was too little, too late.

 

 

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Inching Closer … ?

Posted in Major League Baseball News with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 11, 2009 by OneRunGame

Have you looked at the standings lately?

Just a week ago SOX fans were all talking BEAR football. So was I. (well, we still are). Twenty-one games remain on the ’09 slate, with the White Sox sitting six back. Hmmm. We are aware of the Sox having six left with Detroit, three here, three there to close the season. Could this be possible? How upset would you be? Sure, we’d be excited if they won their second consecutive division title … but what an emotional rollercoaster they’ve put us on all season! That horrible road trip to Boston, New York and Minnesota. (except for the last game) … Tough losses to Cleveland and Baltimore splashed in there … all the little games that slipped away in the last inning or two … and we’re STILL in it? Thank you White Sox … but don’t do this to us! 

Here you have Mark Buehrle. Throws a perfect game, thrusting us into a first place tie with the Tigers. Then we go into Detroit with all kinds of momentum, only to lose three of four. We’ve been on the outside looking in ever since. Granted, Detroit haven’t exactly ran away with the division. The mere fact that the White Sox are ONLY six games out, still in striking distance with several games to play against the division leader … doesn’t that make you a little … ticked? 
I don’t say that meaning I wish they were out of it, not at all. But the ups & downs of a season sure make me feel like I was in the dugout for each and every win and loss. I work in professional baseball as an announcer, and after a long homestand, yeah – you do feel a bit worn down. We all know the Sox have a team to win and compete right now. In my mind, they’ve lost a little muscle by trading Jim Thome to the Dodgers – but they’re still good and versatile. 
If we can get Jake Peavy healthy  and in good form and be only three or four games out by the time we go head to head with Detroit and get Alex Rios to figure out that hitting the baseball gives the Sox an advantage … folks, October baseball might be in our forecasts again. Kansas City just swept the Tigers and the White Sox are headed back to L.A. where they have played pretty well for the most part. Six games out and in third place is not where you want to be, but it could be worse. 
I’m with Kenny Williams on this one, this would be a disappointing season if we did not make and do well in the playoffs. We’ll certainly see where the next couple of weeks lead us. 

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What Do We Have Left …?

Posted in Major League Baseball News with tags , , , , , , , , , , on September 7, 2009 by OneRunGame

What do YOU the fan look to get out of the final 20-some-odd games remaining this season?

Maybe you haven’t been to a game yet this year. You’ve waited all summer and now you need to get to one….? Perhaps you have a birthday coming up and you thought attending a late-September game on your hey-day would make perfect sense … because after all, the Sox were “supposed” to be in the thick of things and repeat as division champs. Why not? 

Let’s not focus on the fact that the Sox have all but eliminated themselves from the playoff hunt. (8 games out w/ 23 or 24 games remaining… you do the math. I am not happy about it either). Let’s take a look at the brighter side of things. Like the match-up on Labor Day. Hey, you still get to see two aces, Josh Beckett and Mark Buehrle duke it out. It’s not like the Sox won’t play competitive baseball the final month of the season. 
You never know what form of epic-Cubs or Mets type of collapse the Tigers might encounter. Aside from many misfortunes on the field this year defensively, or on the basepaths, and whatever falters the bullpen has had … it just might not be the Sox’ year. 
They looked the best they have all season in this recent, brief four-game winning streak. We the fans should appreciate that. Great pitching, error-free defense, timely hitting – and FINALLY making Joe Nathan feel miserable . Isn’t that what we’ve been waiting for all year? The unfortunate truth, they gained absolutely no ground on the Tigers. If you win, and the guy in front of you wins … what else can you do? The Brewers in 2008 did the best thing they could do to win by bringing in C.C Sabbathia … making it to the playoffs … but being eliminated in the first round. ‘ Hey, you tried! ‘. It depends on what your level of success and failure is. Looking back, I am positive the Milwaukee fans are grateful to have made the playoffs after an un-Godly, horrifying absence. 
There are two things I remember (and fans will probably remember only two things) about the 2007 season. Know what they are? First, Mark Buehrle’s no-hitter in mid-April. I mean, that was awesome. Secondly, on Sept. 16th – Jim Thome’s 500th career HR. (I was there).I look back now and hold no grudges that they were horrible that year. I look back and enjoy … now those are key moments in White Sox history. 
Already this year, we’ve had a roster that looks like the sole of someone’s running shoe. Wilson Betemit – Triple-A’d, Brent Lillibridge – up/down, Brian Anderson – wah wah, “I’ve had every opportunity in the universe to hit the little white baseball, but I’m too cocky to try “… gone. We’ve seen some young players on this team flourish and develop, all the while, still being in contention for a division. Kenny’s plan has worked, believe it or not. Let’s not forget about the perfect game…. OK – most teams in the cellar every year (Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Washington to name a few) do not get those kind of memories to look back on. So let’s not get so worked up now that the season may be over in a playoff sense. 
Acquiring Alex Rios off waivers from Toronto, (albeit his average is awful) a good pickup for this year … a great one for 2010. Jake Peavy, a nail-biter for this year … a manicure for next year. Give the guy a winter to do nothing but rest his elbow… and the Sox have a good foundation to build on with the pieces in place. I won’t get into roster analysis on my first blog. I had every intention of making this one short. Ooops. 
What do we have left? Well, the final month will tell us. Take a look at some of your favorite Sox players now, because they may not be here next year. 
Get to the ballpark if you can and see for yourself and have fun!  
Go Sox …

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