Cell's Bells

Yer Out!

2011-04-29T22:51:00.011-07:00

April has been a terrible month for the White Sox.

We've traded places with the Cleveland Indians as being the new cellar-dwellers of the AL Central (who'da seen THAT coming?), and now Ozzie has been suspended for-what else-something he said on Twitter.

As I've said before, Ozzie and Twitter are a match made in hell if you're Kenny Williams and the White Sox PR department.

What happened was that during the first inning of the Sox-Yankees game on Wednesday, Paul Konerko was called out on strikes, and Ozzie didn't like that. He thought the ref got the call wrong (he was right, by the way). Ozzie went out to argue the call, got into a fight with the ref, and promptly got tossed.

But that's only the beginning. After being tossed, in a bit of foreshadowing for what was to come from the MLB brass, Ozzie wrote on Twitter "This one going to cost me a lot money this is patetic" . He then took a shot at the ref who tossed him by writing "Today a tough guy show up a yankee stadium". I'm no mind-reader, but I'm willing to bet that it was this last tweet that got Ozzie suspended. Also, apparently, it's against the rules for a manager or player to go on social media during a game.

(Cartoon by Carl Skanberg)

Now Ozzie won't be gone from the game long-just 2 games will suffice-but he's gonna miss the first 2 games back home in Chicago against the Orioles. I've also read that he's been hit with a stiff fine too, but I don't know if it's true cuz I haven't seen any money amount listed.

Hopefully, May will be the start of a Sox turnaround.

Before I sign off for the night, let me just say that I was surprised to see Bartolo Colon still pitching. I thought he'd all but dropped off the map after the Sox let him go. Maybe the clubhouse buffet table in New York was too good to refuse.

Ahh, the memories of poking at the pitcher I lovingly used to call "Fatso".

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Implosion

2011-04-14T21:39:00.017-07:00

So I'm sure you've all heard by now, but the Sox blew it in the 10th last night in the last game against the A's.

AGAIN

This has been an incredibly grating series. Not only have the games been going into extra innings, but the reason they've been going into extra innings is because the bullpen's been giving out.

In the 9th, Ozzie went and visited the mound several times in the same inning (though to his credit, he did manage to manipulate a loophole to a rule in the baseball rule book that I'm pretty sure nobody knew was there), and changed the pitchers so frequently, he made Cardinals skipper Tony La Russa look like he knew his shit (he's (in)famous for changing his pitchers frequently). And at this point, I'm sure La Russa DOES know his shit better than Ozzie! And that's just shameful.

Over the last three games, our bullpen has been hemorrhaging runs like a hemophiliac with a missing limb. 5 runs were given up over the course of this 3-game series, and the Sox are up to their 6th blown save this year. We have no decent setup men, and our closer is nonexistent.

Naturally, Ozzie didn't take this situation too well(hopefully, the video shows up):

So now that our bullpen's falling apart, what do we do?

Well, Oz-n'-Coop better start working their current pitchers, or have Kenny send the scouts out to pay the minors a visit, cuz this can't go on any further. Even an idiot who knows nothing about baseball knows that you don't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning the World Series if you're bullpen is imploding!

You know something? In spite of his assery, I miss Bobby Jenks. At least he was a consistent closer (even though he was starting to fall off the cliff in 2010).

(Cartoon by Carl Skanberg)

Yep. Somewhere, that dustmop is watching his ex-team implode, and is laughing his ass off.

Yeah, yeah. Laugh on, you fat dustmop.

Tomorrow we're playing the Angels at home. Will things finally click for us in this series? Stay tuned!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Pierror

2011-04-12T22:28:00.012-07:00

The series with the A's would have been off to a kicker start on Monday, given how strong Mark Buehrle had been pitching (he had a no-hitter going till the 6th!), but none other than Juan "Pierror" Pierre had to bumble a catch and lose the game in extra innings. A's: 2, Sox: 1 in 10 innings.

Today, both the Sox and Pierre had a better game. In fact, Alexei "the Cuban Missile" Ramirez, knocked in a solo home run with 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat from the A's! Karma's a bitch, isn't it?!

Rumors have it that Ozzie's job is on the line. Personally, I don't see this rumor having any sort of backbone to it. Kenny would never let his most precious asset go away like that. In spite of his Harvard degree, canning Ozzie would forever net Kenny this title in Chicago:

Surely my GM is PR-savvy enough to know not to pull off such a move and not expect some sort of blowback.

Besides, if Ozzie got canned, Kenny should expect to feel the wrath of Oney Guillen, Ozzie's son. Oney is notorious for criticizing his dad's players, and more than once, it got his dad in trouble.

(Cartoon courtesy of Carl Skanberg, my favorite White Sox cartoonist)

But hey, should Ozzie become unemployed, it'll give him more time to teach Oney how to blast people effectively on Twitter.

Game 3's tomorrow! Sit back, relax, and strap it down; White Sox baseball is on its way in approximately 24 hours.

GO WHITE SOX!!!

**EDITORS NOTE: The nickname "Pierror" first appeared on "South Side Sox"

Ozzie Sleeps Tonight

2011-04-10T23:18:00.012-07:00

We won! Finally, we won that damn series against the Rays once and for all! Gavin Floyd and his Big Hairy Balls pitched well, giving up a run in the 6th, and Joe Maddon got ejected after arguing with the ref.

Maddon, I've got some advice for you: if you got a beef with a ref, leave that to the pros, like Bobby Cox!

In scanning the series summaries, I came across this hilarious article on CSN Chicago.

Mere hours after frustratingly suggesting that he blow the ballpark up rather than send out another pitcher to blow a save, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was eager to see how his team would respond to Friday’s disheartening turn of events.

Though I wouldn't go so far as to suggest blowing up the Cell in order to make my point, I do realize that this is Ozzie Guillen talking, and when he opens his mouth, you just never know whats gonna come out.

“There aren’t too many games I can’t sleep,” Guillen said. “I promised my wife, ‘Listen, I’m not going to drink too much anymore. The season just started.’ [So] I had one drink. [Losses are] part of the game.”

*GULP GULP GULP*

And while you're at it:

“If I’m going to come here with my down, ‘Look what happened last night’ [look], I’m going to suck all my team in,” Guillen said. “No. [Instead my attitude should be] ‘Hey, are we ready to fight today?’ If we lose today, we have to be ready to fight tomorrow. If we lose [while] fighting, I can sleep with that, I can live with that.”

Ok, but that's not the kicker.

So, how did Ozzie sleep last night?

“I slept like a baby: I woke up every two hours and started crying.”

*cymbal crash*

Ladies and germs, Ozzie Guillen.

So, looking ahead to next week, the A's are coming up. I smell a sweep!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Say-J

2011-04-09T21:15:00.009-07:00

We won! And we have my catcher AJ Pierzynski to thank for that!

Here's how the situation went down: In the bottom of the 7th, and the Sox had the bases loaded. Alex Rios was on 3rd, Paul Konerko was on 2nd, and my boy Carlos Quentin was on 1st, having been walked. AJ gets up to bat, and rips one out to the wall, avoiding the glove of Sam Fuld (who had an amazing catch earlier on in the game). The game, which had been tied 1-1 at that point, swung in favor of the Sox with Rios and Konerko coming in to score. The Sox managed to hold on to that lead for the rest of the game (even after Chris Sale gave up a solo shot to Felipe Lopez in the top of the 9th).

Pitcher Phil Humber got the call to start today. He did pretty good, giving up 1 run in the 1st, but only 4 hits and 4 K's over 6 innings. I'll say, if Peavy ever gets better, he's got some stiff competition from the new guy.

There was a bit of a scuffle in the 9th after Lopez hit his solo home run. He and AJ got into a jaw-off and had to be separated, but no fights broke out. Aw damn. It would have made my multitasking so much more interesting, as I was writing a paper and watching baseball at the same time.

Before I sign off, I mentioned earlier that Sam Fuld had an amazing catch in the game. Below, I've included it for your enjoyment. Though I don't like the Rays, I had to admire Fuld's scrappiness. He really hustled to get there, and his athleticism even elicited a borderline curse from Hawk!

**EDITOR'S NOTE: This video is from Tampa Bay. You won't get to hear Hawk yell "You gotta be bleepin' me!"**

Tomorrow's the final game of this series. Let's win this damn series once and for all!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Eaten Alive

2011-04-09T00:28:00.007-07:00

Unfortunately, we could not keep the momentum going from last night.

Today, my boys in black-and-white coughed it up in the 9th inning after Matt Thornton gave up 5 runs to give the Rays the game. You PUTZ! Don't ever let yourself be outshined by Rays closer, and MLB journeyman Kyle Farnsworth (who I detested even in my youth as a Cubs fan cuz he would choke on the mound all the time). Especially him, cuz he can't aim for shit.

I'm sure everyone and their cousin has heard by now that the lady himself, Manny Ramirez, will be retiring from baseball. What I don't know if he's leaving baseball immediately, or if he's waiting for the season to end before throwing in the towel once and for all, but it is confirmed that Manny will be leaving baseball. To him I say "good riddance!". You were good with the Red Sox, but if you hadn't started dicking around with Theo Epstein and the Red Sox' upper-management, perhaps the city of Boston would not be as bitter towards you as they are now. Also, you could have helped win them some more championships, and I would have a better impression of you. Also, using steroids damaged your reputation, as I now think of a set of DD boobs whenever I see you with your disgusting dreadlocks on TV.

The big question regarding Manny's retiring is what to make of his legacy. I say, his career followed the arc of a home run. He started off slow, shot to the top, stayed there, but had to come down and eventually crashed into somebody's beer and nachos. Getting caught with female pregnancy hormones in his system really did a number on his career, both as a player, and socially cuz it turned him into a national punchline.

Before I sign off on this post, I'd like to post a funny video I saw on Terez Owens. I could give a summary of the video, but then you wouldn't want to watch it. I want you to watch this video. It's not lifesaving, but it's funny nonetheless.

Tomorrow is game 3 against the Rays. Maybe we'll have better luck tomorrow.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Back to Business

2011-04-07T20:27:00.018-07:00

And with that, the 2011 season is in full-swing.

It's been a pretty good, no, a DAMN good start to the 2011 season for my boys in black-and-white. We won on Opening Day, giving the Indians a thorough throttling and winning our first series of the season.

Unfortunately, we also split with KC, but that's ok-new series, new start!

Today was the home opener, and Edwin Jackson gave a spectacular performance by going 8 innings, 13 Ks, and 1 walk. It was the highlight to a chilly, cloudy day in Chicago. The Rays, on the other hand, only managed 1 run in the 3rd inning, and after that, they were completely shut down by Jackson's devastating slider. And in a shocking twist of fate, the once mighty Rays are now 0-6. Suck on that, you ESPN snobs!

But perhaps the best news of all involves none other than my favorite player, the one and only Carlos Quentin. He's been on fire for the past few games, knocking in home runs and RBIs left and right.

I knew it! Carlos was just waiting to explode in productivity if given the right conditions! Now that he's healthy, he's unstoppable-just like in 2008 when I first saw him play. Also on a positive note-as far as I know, he hasn't been hit by a pitch yet!

If my boy keeps this up, he'll be an MVP, hands down. And who knows, if he becomes an MVP, maybe Kenny will finally sign him to that long-term contract.

(Cartoon courtesy of Carl Skanberg)

Tomorrow is day 2 of the series with the Gays. Expect another ass-whuppin', courtesy of John Danks-the Miracle Man.

On a more serious note, Adam "Ding Fries are Dunn" is still out, recovering from his appendectomy, but is expected to return soon-likely Friday. While I'm glad to know that Dunn is almost recovered, I'm a little concerned because we paid an arm and a leg for this crystal chandelier! I remember when my dad told me that we'd re-signed Dunn, and I proceeded to ask if Kenny had finally gone bonkers. As far as I was concerned, Adam Dunn was too old and too useless cuz he couldn't play anything else except DH, and we already had a whole slew of DHs. Anybody with any sliver of business sense knows that its unwise to invest in something that's spent to the point of no return.

*Sigh*

Tough as it may be sometimes, I trust my GM. And my manager, Ozzie, no matter how much of a headache he gives the PR Department.

In honor of my favorite player's hot start, here's a commercial from 2009, showing off his sweet hitting skills. Enjoy!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

A Match Made in Hell

2011-03-25T01:13:00.007-07:00

Opening Day is just around the corner-that means baseball 24/7, Es-pun pundits and their view from the nostrils of Derek Jeter and Manny Ramirez, and ever more outrageous Twitter comments from my crazy manager, Ozzie Guillen.

Ozzie and Twitter-a match made in Heaven (or Hell, if you're Kenny Williams and the White Sox PR department).

In this cartoon, I choose Hell.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Ding Fries are Dunn

2011-01-19T17:59:00.006-07:00

An original cartoon, inspired by a line in the following video, which was later parodied by "Family Guy":

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

News News News

2011-01-19T12:08:00.012-07:00

I'm baaacccckkkkkk!!!! Guess you know what my New Years resolution is gonna be (hint: it involves spending more time blogging about the Sox).

Oh what a chaotic year its been. We brought in the disgustingly-dreadlocked Manny Ramirez in the second half of the season, and he was meh. We also did rather substandard (though not as bad as KC, Detroit, and Cleveland. Those guys REALLYsucked balls!). If there is a good sign in the end of this season, its that we finished in second place as opposed to last (*ahem* KC). Also, the Twins got wiped out of the playoffs in the first round, so that was some comfort and joy to us beleaguered Sox fans.

The offseason has been a rather busy one by any standard. When GM Kenny sees a player he likes, he wastes no time in getting the said player to come and sign with the Sox.

Take Adam Dunn, our most high-profile signing this offseason. Though he is known for his tater-mashing [basically, he hits alot of home runs], I was not sure if signing him was a good idea because Dunn can't play. He used to be a first baseman, but now all he can do is DH. The Sox already had 3 DHs (does the term "musical DH" sound familiar?), so I questioned Kenny's wisdom in acquiring another one. How useful Dunn is to us this year remains to be seen.

We also got rid of that fat dustmop, Bobby Jenks.

From what I'd been able to gather about the Sox, Jenks was really starting to stink up the place. Plus, he and Ozzie were engaged in a bitch-fight, both in person and on Twitter. I don't blame Ozzie for wanting him out. My manager's got already a difficult job to do, and he doesn't need a smartass harping on him all the time. If Ozzie wanted to hear harpies, he's got his kid's Twitter feed to follow.

In a bit of joyous news, my beloved Carlos Quentin got re-signed by the Sox.

$5.05 million for one more year, just avoiding arbitration. Also, one more year of me seeing my favorite player on my favorite team.

Also re-signed: Miracle Man John Danks ($6 million) and Tony Pena ($1.6 million)

In a bit of non Sox-related news: MLB's favorite shit-on-a-stick, Milton Bradley got arrested on a felony charge.

Apparently, he threatened some woman out in CA. Last I checked, Bradley is scheduled to be in court on Feb. 8. Given Bradley's psychotic personality and colorful history in baseball, I'm pretty sure he's kissed his entire MLB career goodbye.

Before I sign off on today's post, I would like to have a final say about the recent tragedy that took place in my city of Tucson, AZ, in which a deranged, drug-addicted young man opened fire on a crowd of people who had gathered in a grocery store parking lot to meet a local congresswoman. 20 people were injured, including the congresswoman (Gabrielle Giffords), and six people died, including a nine-year old girl. I mention the nine-year old girl, named Christina Taylor Green, because she had a connection to baseball, the sport I love so much. As it turns out, her grandfather, Dallas Green, was a manager for the Philadelphia Phillies and led them to a World Series victory in 1980. Christina Green's father was a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the young girl herself played on the local Little League team out here in Tucson. What happened a week ago on Saturday was truly a tragic incident. May all those affected by this tragedy find ways to heal and overcome the pain from this incident.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

The Dugout: Won't Someone Think of the Hispanic Children

2010-08-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long break. So much has happened since my last post.

But in the meantime, Ozzie makes another appearance on The Dugout

The Dugout: Won't Someone Think of the Hispanic Children

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Crazy Ozzie Strikes Again

2010-05-27T17:39:00.007-07:00

Things have been bad on the Southside. REALLY bad. By the end of April, beginning of May, we were in last place. Though we've improved substantially over the course of the month, moving up to third place, we're still not where we should be.

Last night during a game in Cleveland, my crazy manager Ozzie Guillen and Mark Buehrle got into a spat with New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan's long-lost twin, ump Joe West. The spat let to BOTH manager and pitcher getting ejected. After the game, Ozzie had a few choice words for the portly ref.

There will most certainly be a fine from this. I can hear the dollar signs cha-chinging in Bud Selig's brain with this outburst from Ozzie.

Mark Buehrle wasn't too pleased with Joe West either. His comments were more civil than Ozzie's, however, saying that West should focus more on umping than promoting his latest country album (apparently, MLB doesn't pay their officiating staff enough money, so this one had to go out and moonlight as a country singer to make some extra cash).

But before he was tossed out of the game, Ozzie signed this ball for some Cleveland fan.

Side 1

Side 2

Message: "Bye bye Lebron, lol/When are you going to win anything in sports? Please."

Ladies and germs, Ozzie Guillen.

Go White Sox!!!
tamtam

The Dugout: Know Your Popular Culture

2010-05-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

Buerhle, Justin Beiber, and crazy Ozzie meet for a long-overdue edition of "The Dugout"

The Dugout: Know Your Popular Culture

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Stinkin' Indians

2010-04-08T23:39:00.013-07:00

We lost.

In extra innings.

How did we get there? Let's recap.

The game started out fairly well. BHB (Big Hairy Balls, in case you may have forgotten, nickname for pitcher Gavin Floyd) was facing the Indians' ace, Justin Masterson. BHB would go on to pitch for 6 innings, giving up 2 runs, 5 hits, 3 walks, and striking out 7 Indians. Not a bad way to start off your first game of the season. However, it was a no-decision.

But the hero of the game for my side was none other than my boy Carlos Quentin.

Carlos put most of the White Sox's points on the board with a drawn walk in the 4th to score Juan Pierre, and then later on, Carlos had his first HR of the season-a 2-run bombshell in the 7th to put the Sox up 3-2.

However, none of this was enough to stop the Indians. They tied in the 8th, and this sent the game into extra innings. In the 11th, the Indians scored 2 runs and won. JJ Putz got the loss, and was rightfully mobbed for it (actually, this is an old picture from his days in Seattle, but I just had to bring it out).

Get it? Blood and Putz!

*ducks as head of lettuce comes flying out of computer screen*

*missed by rotten tomatoes*

*bottle of salad dressing*

**Dammit! Where did all these rotten vegetables come from?!**

Anyway...

Despite losing their opening series for the 5th straight time in a row, the fellas at my favorite recap site South Side Sox had a MS Paint face-off. Here are some of their works. Link to site to see the rest will be provided at the end of the exhibit.

First up: Andruw Jones

Nice...

Next: JD 2010

Sorry JD-I couldn't resist. You're unemployed and sitting at home while we're all playing baseball. If you wanted to keep playing, you shoulda took up that offer from the Cubs...

Batting third: BA and Southpaw

I know, it's gay, but BA was fun while he was here in Chicago. The bars on Rush St. in Chicago loved it when he came. Your patronage will be missed (your playing, not so much!)

Hitting cleanup: a MODEST BHB pic of Gavin Floyd

Not bad, eh?

Finally: Steve Stone "Pony"

DO NOT BE ALARMED BY THIS DISTURBING PHOTO!! Steve Stone is a broadcaster for the Chicago White Sox, right alongside the famous Hawk Harrelson.

For more fun MS paint pix of the White Sox, go HERE

That's all for tonight folks!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Poop n' Peavy

2010-04-07T22:10:00.001-07:00

Well, after an unexpected off-day (you just try following a Midwest team from a completely different region! Blackouts, rain delays, scheduling hiccups, and other stuff will throw you off!) our newly slimmed down diva pitcher Jake Peavy got the call to start today.

The result: a no-decision for Peavy, but the Sox lost 5-3. Instead, setup man Randy Williams gets the loss while Cleveland's Fausto Carmona gets the win.

According to my boys at South Side Sox, Peavy had had a fairly good day. He pitched 5 full innings with 7 hits, three runs, and 5 Ks.

As Peavy's numbers prelude, the Sox were outhit a mind-boggling 10-2. Chicago's lone 2 hits were a single by A.J Pierzynski, and a 2-run HR by Paulie, following a walk by my boy, Carlos Quentin.

I should make that picture of CQ the wallpaper on my phone, lol :D.

As for the rest of the staff, our favorite Frenchman, Juan Pierre, stole 2 bases in the 1st inning, Alex Rios has been "meh" so far (yes, I know it's early in the season, but still-he struck out when he could have scored!), and Paulie was the player of the game with his HR and a sac-fly that put the Sox up 1-0 in the first.

Fausto Carmona had his stuff today, unfortunately.

Better luck tomorrow, I guess.

Speaking of tomorrow-Gavin Floyd gets the call to start! He'll be facing Justin Masterson. This should be a good one!

And in other Sox news, President Obama made headlines recently when he couldn't name a single White Sox player that he liked. Talk about an epic FAIL.

Instead of admitting he had no favorite player on a team he claimed to be a fan of, Bamster pulled a Grandpa-at-Thanksgiving and went into a rambling diatribe. Mr. President-have you no wit? At the very least, you could have said Mark Buerhle, and no one would have thought twice about it! Now your gaffe will live in cyber history forever (thank GOD for Youtube!)

To end tonight's post, I include another priceless quote from my crazy manager, Ozzie Guillen: "Goo luck to my guys for a great summer and all the venezuelan player even the ones I hate to death" (Posted on 4/5 at 5:38 AM).

Ozzie Guillen and Twitter-a match made in heaven (or hell if you're Kenny Williams).

Good night everyone!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Opening Day

2010-04-05T19:56:00.001-07:00

Sorry I've neglected this blog for so long! But with today being Opening Day, I had to post at least a few words!

We kicked off the season, at home, against the Cleveland Indians. Mark Buerhle was our starter. Unfortunately, the game aired on ESPN 2, out of my region, and while I was in class (THANK YOU CABLE TV!! *sarcasm*).

Fortunately, there is the recap! And with recap comes highlights!

Only today, the first day of a new season, Mark Buerhle made the play of the year. In the 5th inning, Buerhle knocked the ball with his foot, chased it past the 1st base line, and managed to swipe it and hike it, almost, between his legs to a barehanded Paul Konerko at first base to get the runner out.

Here is the video. It's incredible!

Thank God that Mark Buehrle is on our team. Maybe he should consider a second career as an infielder (or a football center) after this play!

In other news, my boy Carlos Quentin made it to base his 1st 3 at-bats, Gordon Beckham was swiping bases left and right (well, left technically cuz that's where 3rd base is!), JJ Putz did setup and Matt Thornton closed out.

End result: Sox win 6-0 over the Indians.

What a way to kick off the 2010 season!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

The Dugout: Chicago White Sox Spring Training 2010

2010-04-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

You knew it was coming! And here it is!

The Dugout: Chicago White Sox Spring Training 2010

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Start of Spring Training

2010-02-26T18:53:00.000-07:00

I would have posted this last Sunday, but my computer had an epic meltdown and is now in the shop, getting fixed.

From my little desert lair, I officially kick off White Sox Spring Training.

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

Ozzie on Twitter

2010-02-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

Guess what?! Our favorite manager is now on Twitter!! Now, people get to hear more memorable quotes from my crazy manager. Ozzie hasn't been completely technologically isolated to this point, (he writes a bi-weekly column in Spanish on whitesox.com) but this is his first official social networking site.

So now that Ozzie's on twitter, let's take a peek at what he's said so far (or at least what Ozzie Jr. and Oney have been writing in place of their dad when he's too busy swearing at the press to post):

2/23/10: finally I am on this twitter thing it's about time!
2/23/10: what I saw on the field today was a lot of grass...
2/23/10: 3 day of Spring Training and im already boreddddddd
2/23/10: going to eat in half hour why dye no have a job ? (my personal favorite)
2/23/10: Iam tired from bad very bad golf
2/24/10 (last update as of this posting): Un saludo a mi gente latina gracias por el apoyo especial a mi pais venezuela pero no sabia que me traia dolres de cabeza con la gente (rough translation: Greetings to my fellow Latinos thanks for this special opportunity to my country of Venezuela but I don't know why these people give me a headache)

I guess it's him-the poor grammar says a great deal.

To Oney and Ozzie Jr: If you're reading this, for the love of God, DO NOT edit your dad's profanity-laced comments!! They make for good page-fillers on a slow news day, and bring me a little taste of home since I am a transplant, like many of my fellow Chicagoans.

Stay tuned for more colorful quotes from my manager in the months to come.

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

Spring Fever

2010-02-19T17:06:00.001-07:00

With Spring Training just around the corner, we still have a few things to take care of before the season starts.

For 1 thing, we have new positions for some of our favorite players! Gordy Beckham will be moving from 3rd to 2nd base, and my beloved Carlos Quentin (who has recovered from plantar faciitis, a sore knee, a sore back, and his infamous wrist injury from 2008, and looks ready to go) will no longer be relegated to left field. Now, my boy will be manning right field. As for our favorite dustmop, Bobby Jenks, he appears to be satisfied and healthy for the upcoming season.

Oy, I am just bursting with excitement at the prospect of seeing all my favorite players again!

Speaking of players, looks like Johnny Damon will not be joining the White Sox this year. According to whitesox.com, Kenny has withdrawn his offer, a reported 1-yr, $6 million contract, from the devil himself, Scott Boras. Kenny says he's waiting for the price of Damon to go down before he reconsiders courting Damon, but it's known that Kenny and Boras aren't exactly on good terms. The two have had issues in the past (and since Boras is the devilish king of sports agents, it's a wonder how not every GM has a target painted on Boras' back), but they appear to be reconciling.

That's all for tonight! More to come as the info becomes available!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Fat Tuesday Fill-up

2010-02-16T11:28:00.001-07:00

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone! I hope that the grocery stores out here have paczkis (they're these Polish doughnuts that go on sale on Fat Tuesday), but since I'm in the desert and there are no Polish people out here, I doubt it (plenty of Mexicans though, but not that there's anything wrong with that. Wonder what they have for Fat Tuesday fare...). Normally, I don't eat doughnuts, but I'll put aside my diet restrictions for these. As a transplant, the loss of local culture is something I must frequently cope with.

So lets see, Omar Vizquel gets to wear Luis Aparacio's old number 11. It was brought out of retirement just for him. There wasn't a whole lot made about this story, but then again, what's the big deal about it?

Here's a big story! JD might be retiring! Frank Thomas, who I vaguely recall from my youth, has recently retired (or something like that. He's been outta baseball for a long time) and had a conversation with JD. JD told Frank that if the right offer doesn't come along, he will retire. With Spring Training around the corner and JD still has no prospects, retirement might actually not be a bad idea. Although JD is just 36, he's had a good career.

But thats not to say that JD's had a miserable offseason, waiting for a contract to come along. He rejected a 1-yr, $3.3 million offer from the Cubs, but the Atlanta Braves are still interested in his services. With pitchers and catchers reporting to Camelback Ranch next week for Spring Training, time is running out.

And this is your Fat Tuesday fill-up!

Happy Mardi Gras everyone!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Unsteady Freddy

2010-02-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

Check out this video of one of out starting pitchers, Freddy Garcia, at Soxfest, saying some not-so-nice words for the rival Cubs.

According to Deadspin, where I found this video, Freddy was just a weeee bit sloshed when the infamous "F*CK the Cubs, muthaf*cker!!" phrase was uttered.

Wait, Kenny, you mean this raging alcoholic is our replacement for Jose Contreras?! Though his age is uncertain, Jose kept somewhat of a low profile. Freddy, on the other hand, has had multiple run-ins with the law (including one infamous incident in Venezuela where he beat up his wife).

This is gonna be a long season...

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Jim Thome is a Twin

2010-01-29T20:29:00.000-07:00

There's a headline not many people in White Sox Nation ever thought they'd see.

The story is true. Jim Thome is indeed a Minnesota Twin. They signed him for 1 year, $1.6 million.

In response to this unsettling bit of news, my favorite cartoonist, Carl Skanberg came up with this cartoon (the shirtless guy is a Chicago Blackhawks hockey player named Jonathan Toews who got in trouble for a DUI).

**Image courtesy of Carl Skanberg**

If it's any consolation, we in White Sox Nation can rest a little easier with the knowledge that Thome hasn't got much left in the tank.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Thome or not Thome

2010-01-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

So in the course of this busy offseason, we have aquired Omar Vizquel-a 43 yr old wonderboy, avoided arbitration with that fat dustmop Bobby Jenks (although he reportedly slimmed down alot since the end of the season, so now I might have to just call him a dustmop. Wonder if Bartolo "Fatso" Colon took any hints too) and my boy Carlos Quentin. JD might be going to the Cubs (NOO!!), and we officially have no DH now that Thome is gone.

But this gaping hole at DH is precisely the topic for today's post.

"Big League Stew" says that Ozzie intends to use a rotation of Vizquel, Mark Kotsay, and newcomer Andruw Jones in the DH slot. The reason for this, according to the Sun Times, is that if needed, Vizquel, Kotsay, and Jones can pick up a glove and play defense. Thome will be 40 in August, and is clearly well past his playing days, but was our most productive hitter over the course of the mediocre 2009 season. Now that the Dodgers have released Thome, and no one has picked him up so far, big Jim just might come back to the AL central, but as a dreaded Twin or Tiger.

As a loyal White Sox fan, I would excore Kenny Williams to pick up Jim Thome. But reality says that even if we did pick him up, where would we put him? With the whole concept of a rotating DH, Thome might sit on the bench for days at a time, and then get grilled by the media for not playing. And as even the most dimwitted of economists knows, it's never a good idea to waste money on something that doesn't produce its value.

BLS speculates that because the Sox don't look like they want Thome back, we just may as well have traded away our shot at winning the AL Central. Of course, it's early in the season, so there is still the possibility that we'll be fine, provided Alex Rios, my boy, and Mark Teahan all have career seasons. If not, Kenny's got some explaining to do...

Yet in spite of all these concerns and unknowns, I trust Ozzie and Kenny. Don't forget, there's still Spring Training, so if our rotating DH doesn't work out as planned, it's still not too late to go after Thome!

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

The Dugout: Thome In Minnesota

2010-01-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

I know, it's been a while since my last post.

So much has happened since then, and I've been in White Sox hibernation for the past few months, but now that Spring Training is just around the corner, I promise I'll get back to business like a good journalist should.

I thought I'd start out my first entry of the new year with a piece from my favorite spoof site, The Dugout.

According to MLB fanhouse, the dreaded Minnestota Twins are looking to snag Jim Thome!

Here's The Dugout's take on it.

The Dugout: Thome In Minnesota

Enjoy!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Ozzie in Color

2009-10-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a bit of a shocker!

After coming back to the bunker from a long day in the labs, I turned on the ALCS (Angels currently ahead 7-6 in the top of the 8th), and sat down in front of my computer with a bag of popcorn to catch up on tonight's headlines when I came across this story on "big league stew".

It appears that Fox has hired my crazy manager Ozzie Guillen to do color commentary alongside Ma and Pa themselves, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. Though I don't mind Joe Buck, Tim McCarver can be a bit irritating. And now there's my crazy manager to add some actual life into the broadcasting!

This could prove to be an interesting experiment. Most of America has never heard my manager speak. His thick Spanish accent could cause some losses in translation for mainstream ears. Also, most people don't know how foul-mouthed my manager is. Those of us in Chicago, as well as some sports fans know, but not everyone is a sports fan and not everyone cares about my home city, so this could be the equivalent of a rude awakening for some fans. But I think this is a good thing-it would certainly bring the ratings up.

Either 'Duk (the writer of "big league stew") or one of his commenters said that as soon as the Series is underway, Ozzie will be making comments like "I wish I had Ryan Howard playing first base for me" and stuff like that which will translate into slights against the Sox. Well, if that's the case, it's the problem of a zealous sportswriter. Other than that, when the teams mess up on something, Ozzie might unleash one of his notorious tirades and say things that are not suitable for public consumption. Be prepared for alot of "bleeps" and "technical difficulties" that take place during a trademark Guillen tirade.

But I wish my manager the best. Maybe he's found himself a new post-season job that doesn't involve calling out players for their shortfalls.

Just fresh off the TV: Angels win game 5 of the ALCS 7-6 over the Yankees! Brian Fuentes, the Angel's closer bumped off the first 2 he faced in the 9th, but couldn't find the strike zone later on and loaded up the bases. Fortunately, he got the late Nick Swisher (wonder what Ozzie will say about him if the Yankees win on Saturday night and progress to the World Series) to pop up.

I'm rooting for the Angels. I'm sick of seeing the Yankees in the post-season.

Go Angels! 2 more games to go! If the Marlins could do it in 2003, so can you guys!

tamtam

Podsie-Pan's Dear John Letter

2009-10-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

Well, our season has thankfully come to an end. To be honest, I'd all but stopped watching baseball b/c school was getting more and more demanding, and the Sox started to suck so bad.

But at least the Twinkies blew up the Metrodome. We never had much luck up there in that infernal dome.

Now to the story of the day. Written by the authors at southside sox, is Scott Podsednik's "Dear John" letter. As we all know, the "Dear John" letter is a letter given by someone to their significant other, stating that the relationship didn't work out for various reasons.

Podsie, this one's for you.

Dear Scott --

I know we usually call you 'Scotty Pods' or 'Peter Pan' or some other cute nickname like that, but we didn't feel it was appropriate for a letter of such importance.

This is gonna be hard for us to say. I mean we really like you... even if you do get on our nerves with all your poor defensive routes and frustratingly inept baserunning blunders. But, well, we just don't want you to be one of our starting outfielders next year, and we could never picture a future for the White Sox with you in the DH role. It would be terrible if we let a little thing like a few million dollars, a few hundred at-bats and starting position come between us. We knew you would understand. You always do.

You've always been there for us, and we love you for that. Remember when Bobby blew the lead in game 2 and you bitchmade Brad Lidge? or just this season when we were feeling down, and didn't have a single outfielder who could field the ball and hold his own at the plate for any extended period of time? You were there for us, and it means the world to us. Really, it does. I don't think we could ever truly express what our time together has meant to us.

But there comes a time in every relationship when you have to look in the mirror and ask yourself 'Where is this going? Is there really any future for us?' Unfortunately, we just don't think of you that way. We're sorry. At this point in our relationship, we're just looking for different things. We want a championship contender and you want playing time and a place in our starting lineup; those two objectives would seem to be mutually exclusive.

You can still be our 4th outfielder. You really are the best 4th outfielder we've ever had, and we'd hate to lose that, especially over a silly thing like playing time.

Your stutter step will always make us smile. You're grindy and all the girls think you're cute. You should have no trouble finding yourself another team. But please know we will always be here, willing to give you a minor league contract and a non-roster invite.

Signed,

Your Biggest Fans

SouthSideSox

And in other news, the late Dewayne Wise opted for free agency. Don't expect him back next year. As for the late great Jim Thome, his dodgers are down 2 games to the Phillies (and getting ass-raped 11-0 by the Phillies last night didn't exactly help either). Though I'd like to see the Phillies kick the Yankees' asses in the World Series (despite my hopes that the Angels will hold out and at least take one game), I would prefer to see Jim Thome get to the World Series. The man is long overdue for a ring.

GOOD LUCK JIMMY!

tamtam

crucial updates

2009-10-03T17:04:00.000-07:00

hi everyone!

it's been a while since i've written last, but i've been busy with class.

so lets see, whats been going on in white sox nation...well, diva jake peavy finally got around to starting for us. he did good, but unfortunately, it was too little too late. yeah, my white sox are completely eliminated for any hopes of playoff contention. what a dismal season indeed.

but because its not over till its over, we can still have a decision over who can clinch the AL central. as of yesterday, it looks like detroit is gonna win the AL central. its a damn shame, but given our underperformance this year, the punishment is more than fitting for our lack of effort.

in a weekly post on my other site, more hardball, there came the stunning revelation about 2 weeks ago that my GM kenny williams had given not just himself, but also all the coaches on our staff, contract extensions. now, if we'd had a good year, i would be ok with it. but since we had a crappy year, white sox nation is looking at kenny like he's bonkers. earlier in the year, he threw jim thome and jose contreras under the bus (and out to the NL west), with paul konerko, JD, and the dustmop soon to follow. isn't it common sense that rewarding failure breeds more failure? someone better tell kenny that there's no bailout coming from obama, even though he and kenny are BFFs. besides, most of our coaches have been with us since 2005 and are past their expiration dates. some fresh blood wouldn't be a bad idea.

and in other news, obama has flown to copenhagen on our tab to appeal to attempt to bring the 2016 olympics to chicago, only to be bitch-slapped by the olympic committee and denied. though i am from chicago, i am quite overjoyed at our failure because it is no more than a giant payoff for the daley cronies and union thugs.

thats it for now.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now Finale

2009-09-22T09:04:00.001-07:00

the finale

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now Finale

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GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now, Part 7

2009-09-18T12:50:00.001-07:00

krazy kanye strikes again!

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now, Part 7

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tamtam

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now, Part 6

2009-09-15T15:00:00.001-07:00

manny proves his handiness in part 6 of this adventure

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now, Part 6

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tamtam

WE'RE NOT DEAD YET!!!

2009-09-13T22:18:00.001-07:00

it's been a while since i've actually written anything ABOUT the white sox! all i've been doing is posting links from the dugout because i'm too busy with school to watch baseball ;_;.

well, despite a few swept series and some recent wins, my boys in black and white are a full 6 games back of the tigers and still in 3rd place. we were up to 2nd place at one point, but then we blew it out our asses on a grueling road trip. but, we're not technically mathematically eliminated just yet. if the math geniuses at south side sox are right, we still have a chance to get to the post season. it's very slim and shrinking fast, but it's there and it's up to us to reach it.

all we have to do now is WIN!!! just WIN!! sweep anyone and everyone who comes our way, but find a way to win! otherwise, we'll just fall back into mediocrity, much like poor saleri in "amadeus". then, kenny's got alot of explaining to do.

our pitchers have to get better. so do our hitters and fielders cuz nobody can hit or catch anymore! john danks needs to find out what's wrong with his finger and get it fixed! mark buehrle, our lone ace, has lost his magic touch and has become mediocre once more. pretty boy gordon beckham hurt himself and is useless, and though my boy is still kicking, he's gotta pull himself together or else he is toast. carlos, superglue your bones together and wrap yourself up in bubblewrap between innings if you have to! also, i'd get rid of that fat dustmop bobby jenks. his arm has failed him this year. as for our new aquisition, diva jake peavy, this guy better prove to kenny and the rest of white sox nation that he's worth all the trouble it took to get him.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now, Part 5

2009-09-09T11:50:00.001-07:00

manny, you are utterly retarded!

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now, Part 5

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tamtam

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now, Part 4

2009-09-08T17:54:00.001-07:00

come along with manny and jim as they continue their journey to reunite the 1997 cleveland indians in LA!

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now, Part 4

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tamtam

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now, Part 3

2009-09-04T16:19:00.001-07:00

more fun with manny and jim

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now, Part 3

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tamtam

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now, Part 2

2009-09-03T20:04:00.001-07:00

more shenanigans from manny and jim thome!

featuring guest appearances from orel hersheiser and our favorite fatso, bartolo colon!

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now, Part 2

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tamtam

crazy ozzie

2009-09-02T18:46:00.001-07:00

here's a comic i drew a year ago, but only now do i have access to a scanner, so here it is. i drew it in honor of a chicago sports cartoonist named carl skanberg, of whose "palehose" comic series i am a fan of.

sorry if the last image is too small. it's the front page of the chicago tribune, with ozzie being quotes as saying "guillen: mariotti is a f@g!"

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now, Part 1

2009-09-02T11:49:00.001-07:00

manny and JI JIM THOME team up to win the world series!

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now, Part 1

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tamtam

bye bye jim and jose

2009-08-31T22:04:00.001-07:00

the things coming out of my manager, kenny williams' head are getting crazier and crazier! someone oughtta start my GM back on his anti-OCD pills!

first, he practically ripped up the system to get diva jake peavy (who's now on the DL with elbow problems-nice going kenny!), then he got alex rios and mark kotsay, now in perhaps the biggest shocker of the year, jose contreras gets traded to the rockies, and

JIM THOME

(if you read my "dugout" links that i post up here, that is how jim thome announces his arrival at the chatroom)

got traded to the los angeles dodgers! yes, you read that right! big jim thome has gone to LA. since LA is obviously gonna make the playoffs, big jim's chance of getting a world series ring before he retires is greater out there than back here in chi-town. what the dodgers plan to do with jim, since he's too old to really do anything, remains to be seen. i wasn't too surprised about contreras leaving, since he's pretty much done for, but i was shocked that jim would leave us.

in light of this shocking trade, i'd like to say thank you to jim and jose. though you've both seen better days, i'd like to thank you for your years of service and may you find success in your new cities of employment.

in a fitting tribute on southside sox, user madopal had this to say:

JI
JIM,
ARE YOU AWARE OF HOW YOUR ACTIONS INADVERTENTLY RUINED THE DAY OF RENOWNED OPERA SINGER ENRICO PALLAZZO

YOU WILL BE MIST, YOU BIG TATER.

and in reply, user boejouma replied:

IM AFRAID THE DAMAGE IS QUITE SEVERE
to all of our hearts

goodbye everyone. ps-sox lose yet again. we're now 6 games back. what a miserable season this turned out to be.

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

The Dugout: Always Look On The South Side Of Life

2009-08-31T14:01:00.001-07:00

psychology and the chicago white sox.

The Dugout: Always Look On The South Side Of Life

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tamtam

2010 pie

2009-08-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

fresh from southside sox. this little ditty (ripped off from "american pie") pretty much sums up our whole season

A long, long time ago...
I can still remember How spring training used to make me smile.
And I knew the boys had a chance
To make it to the Autumn Dance
And, maybe, stick around for a while.

But late August made me shiver
With every loss they delivered.
Bad news on the front page;
No more hope at this stage.
I laughed so hard I almost cried
When I read the dumb shit about pride,
Turned off the games and went outside
The day the season died.

So bye-bye, Count, Thome, and Dye.
See you later alligator,
We'll call up young and cheap guys.
Sign scrap heap fodder Kenny pulls out his backside
Saying, "this'll be the team that gets pie."
"this'll be the team that gets pie."

Did you think we'd rise above,
And did you have faith in Fields' glove,
Because Cora tells you so?
Do you believe who they put out,
Goggles, The Bridge, all those shut outs,
And poor Q! limping off the field real slow?

Well, there was the Colon experiment,
We all know how awesome that went.
Him and the Count just shat the bed,
How many innings will DJ get?

We called up a Georgia broncin buck
Tore the stitches off after initial suck,
But even He couldn't save this clusterfuck
The day the season died.

I started singin "Bye-bye, Count, Thome, and Dye."
See you later alligator,
We'll call up young and cheap guys.
Sign scrap heap fodder Kenny pulls out his backside
Saying, "this'll be the team that gets pie."
"this'll be the team that gets pie."

Now last year we got the Central crown
Stood to repeat since the rest are down,
But it just wasn't meant to be.
When you trot out Gobble, Broadway, and Nessie,
Plus Linebrink shits bricks for all to see,
At least there was perfection from Buehrle...

Oh, and then The Ace got knocked around,
After another seventeen sat down.
Danks' shakiness returned,
Was shutdown or got burned.
And while Floyd's been solid down the stretch,
There were points where he'd make you wretch,
Wise ensured legacy with The Catch.
But still, the season died.

We were singing, "Bye-bye, Count, Thome, and Dye."
See you later alligator,
We'll call up young and cheap guys.
Sign scrap heap fodder Kenny pulls out his backside
Saying, "this'll be the team that gets pie."
"this'll be the team that gets pie."

Defense melted in a summer swelter,
Bullpen giving up bombs; better seek shelter,
Just two back then falling fast.
Last games on dome's fake-ass grass
The old guys tried for one last gasp,
People shout to stop living in the past.

Now the trade deadline was taken shrewd,
We locked up Peavy and that Rios dude.
We want to go to The Dance,
Oh, but we screw up every chance!
'cause the facepalm lineups take the field;
Runners the pitching would always yield.
Errors galore, their fate was sealed.
The day the season died.

We were singing, "Bye-bye, Count, Thome, and Dye."
See you later alligator,
We'll call up young and cheap guys.
Sign scrap heap fodder Kenny pulls out his backside
Saying, "this'll be the team that gets pie."
"this'll be the team that gets pie."

Oh, for the day they were in first place,
Instead of Pods out there with bad breaks
With no time left to start again.
So come on: Pods be nimble, Pods be quick!
Pods picked off like a dumb prick
Cause the devil's gonna collect, my friend.

Oh, and Ozzie kept Alex in a cage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage.
No snowball's chance in hell
Could break the doghouse spell.
And as Sox fans argue into the night
About when Peavy's start is right,
The offense loses all its fight
The day the season died.

They were singing, "Bye-bye, Count, Thome, and Dye."
See you later alligator,
We'll call up young and cheap guys.
Sign scrap heap fodder Kenny pulls out his backside
Saying, "this'll be the team that gets pie."
"this'll be the team that gets pie."

Next year we'll get a healthy Q!,
A Savior with less defense miscues,
Some contracts will be turned away.
A shakeup in the lineup core
Can't play the same guys as years before,
No sense paying them for declining play.

And on the nets: commenters screamed,
The kittehs cried, dumb statements reamed.
The right rail was a joke and
"No subject lines" verboten.
And the one guy that I like most:
Sat at home, bored, career is toast.
Sign Frank so he ends as a Pale Hose
Now that the season's died.

And we'll be singing, "Bye-bye, Count, Thome, and Dye."
See you later alligator,
We'll call up young and cheap guys.
Sign scrap heap fodder Kenny pulls out his backside
Saying, "this'll be the team that gets pie."
"this'll be the team that gets pie."

We'll be singing, "Bye-bye, Count, Thome, and Dye."
See you later alligator,
We'll call up young and cheap guys.
Sign scrap heap fodder Kenny pulls out his backside
Saying, "this'll be the team that gets pie."
"this'll be the team that gets pie."

indeed, what a miserable season it was.
GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

The Dugout: Jim Passes Reggie

2009-08-22T12:55:00.001-07:00

our favorite chatman jim "wordupthome" thome surpasses reggie jackson on the home run list! more to come on this later!

in the meantime, enjoy the dugout

The Dugout: Jim Passes Reggie

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GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

why your stadium sucks-US cellular field edition

2009-08-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

here's an amusing article i found on deadspin. in a weekly segment called "why your stadium sucks", the writers review a different baseball team stadium and rip it to shreds. this week's victim was safeco field, but looking in the past entries dug up an entry about the cell!

so here it is: why US cellular field sucks.

Hard Cell: U.S. Cellular Field is the hideous ransom paid to the White Sox after they spent the late 1980s threatening to hie themselves to St. Petersburg. This was deemed a fate too awful to imagine — the franchise had been in Chicago since 1901, after all — even though it's in the natural order of things for cranky 80-year-old nuisances to slink off to some godforsaken spot in South Florida where they can be safely ignored. In any event, the taxpayers gave the White Sox their lame Royals Stadium ripoff, the last ballpark built before the retro craze and certainly the last time anyone thought the Royals a franchise worth imitating. In fairness, the stadium did feature several design innovations, chief among them the decision to place the farthest reaches of the upper decks somewhere near Aurora. No one much liked the place, which is why it has been in a constant state of self-mutilation from the moment the Sox snipped the ribbon. A vast five-stage overhaul began in 2001, when the stadium was 10 — 10 — years old. The White Sox: baseball's cutters.

Shining Armour: In 1989, as the White Sox mulled various stadium proposals, a Chicago architect named Philip Bess drew up plans for a ballpark in the spirit of what he called, in his book City Baseball Magic, "pragmatic idealism." The design of Armour Field was "governed by a concern that it be a genuinely urban building, constrained by its block, with an architectural presence, scale, and monumentality befitting its status as a public building," a true neighborhood ballpark. It was a wonderful proposal and looks even better today, after two decades of downtown baseball nostalgia palaces. "Camden Yards, Jacobs Field, and Pac-Bell are not 'neighborhood ballparks,' but rather 'downtown ballparks,'" he told one interviewer. "Many people in our culture have stopped thinking of cities as good and desirable places where people live as well as work, shop, and play. Instead, they think of cities as 'entertainment zones,' and of stadiums as 'anchors' for downtown entertainment zones. The goal has been to replace the tax revenues lost by the flight of middle class families from cities, to use public dollars to finance new ballparks in an effort to keep municipal services and governments afloat. But this seems to me a short-sighted solution. Better to make cities themselves livable again; and well designed smaller-scaled neighborhood ballparks can be a legitimate part of that strategy, and make money for team owners at the same time."

What happened next was everything Bess had sought to avoid. New Comiskey was thrown up in 1991, a suburban stadium dropped into an urban setting, uprooting 250 households, disrupting the street system, turning the old Comiskey Park into a parking lot and more or less gutting the old neighborhood of Armour Square. It's not clear if the White Sox ever seriously considered Bess' proposal. My guess is Jerry Reinsdorf took one look at a rendering and laughed himself out onto 35th Street. Bess never really had a chance, anyway. As Charles C. Euchner has written, the architect's proposal would've removed the buffer zone — a park — between black Armour Square and white Bridgeport, a politically influential neighborhood that has been home to five Chicago mayors, including the current one, Richard M. Daley. The Bridgeporters never would have allowed it, and so the ballpark that sprang up across from old Comiskey was, in many ways, a tribute to the characteristics of its surroundings: small-minded, hostile and all about clout. That, in Chicago, is a true neighborhood park.

The view from the stands (everything sic'd):

"'The Joan' (labeled by a few after the horrendous Joan Cusack ad campaign put together by US Cellular in 2004) features a lower section, box seating and a top tier which has rarely ever been filled. About two months ago I watched as a young man fingered his girlfriend in the left field seats. Both were wearing jean shorts. Classy. Worst physical issue with the park: The top tier was designed by the same deity who created Mt. Everest. As you climb the staircase into the stratosphere just keep your eyes on the prize ahead of you, otherwise you might start to feel nauseous. Which reminds me of this story about the steepness of the park ... Rangers V White Sox 2005: Garland is pitching for his life while a girl who just turned 21 is getting puh-lastered four rows behind me. Her screeching is almost unbearable but when the game is finished one man was brave enough to give her a high five only to deke her out at the last second, causing her to fall over thee rows of chairs and come crashing into our backs. The end result was a boobie prize. Her tit popped out and she left the stadium in tears. I masturbated for days. Oh yes, did I mention the jean shorts? If you ask nicely I will email you my set of jean shorts around US Cellular Field. Believe me ... you're going to want these." (Jim O.)

"It's the 2007 season, I'm a White Sox season ticket holder in the upper deck. It's a Sunday night game for ESPN, 3rd inning or so, and we let some people returning to their seats pass by our group. One of the passing fans accidentally dribbles a couple drops of beer on the middle aged woman in the row in front of her. The woman turns around, and chucks an entire full cup of Miller Lite on me. I know it's Miller Lite because I could taste it, that's how much it was. Not knowing what happened, I assumed I spilled my own on myself (notice the theme here...drinking). This woman the whole game is hammering down beers as if Prohibition goes into effect the next day. At the end of the game, the woman leaves her email address on her ticket and mentions she is sorry for throwing a beer at me and I should email her for her tickets to a game later in the season. The email address ended in '@uchicago.edu'. Noticing she is far too old to be a student at The University of Chicago, I researched the name and address via Google to see if she was faculty. Not only was she faculty, she was a dean of students. Only in Illinois would this bribe be acceptable, Blago would have been proud." (Mark M.)

"white sox fans know their baseball. and any good white sox fan knows that most of the fans are rarely intelligent enough to find their own seat. during a 2008 indians/sox game, my friend and i took our nosebleed seats behind first base. a mother and her two bratty kids were sitting around two rows behind me, and the young boy-i think-was screaming his head off like a little girl everytime something even somewhat interesting happened. finally, an annoyed couple in front of me got fed up. the boyfriend turns around and says, "hey kid, why don't you give that one a shot once your balls drop?" the mother looks as if she's just been shot. a random drunk, cut-off t-shirt-wearing redneck throws himself at the guy and my buddy and i are left to witness the aftermath. the sox got hammered and i stayed sober, staring at my ticket stub. how much did i pay to sit here again?" (Evan)

"It's 1991, a good year for the Sox, new stadium, exciting team. My dad gets field level seats down the 3rd base line. A foul ball comes our way and the guy in front of me catches it. Someone in a group of guys in the row behind us asks to see the ball because there is some sort of special insignia on it since it's the stadium's inaugural year. As soon as the ball is handed over, the guy behinds me throws it to his buddy standing in the aisle who promptly runs away with the ball. This obviously incites the gentleman who caught the ball in front of me and he starts swinging at the guy behind me. This fracas goes on with me in the middle for about a minute before my dad and security can break it up and escort the combatants away. Guess who got their ass kicked: ME, BECAUSE I'M SIX YEARS OLD. Stadium staff quickly whisk me into the bowels of stadium to apologize profusely and bandage up my bumps and bruises. I still think we could've parlayed the whole incident into something bigger and gotten free season tickets or a copy of Big Hurt Baseball for Super Nintendo, but all I got was a baseball and an ice cream, so it wasn't all bad." (Mark H.)

"As a Cubs fan I can honestly say I would rather drown in a cesspool of smelly, creepy Cardinals and Brewers fans than spend 3 hours around Southsiders. Everything is about the Cubs. Everything. Especially when 'it's not about the Cubs.' They are most insecure, vindictive, petty sports fans I've ever been around. And that's counting hockey fans." (Drew)

"As a life long Sox fan, I'd say the easiest way to describe the Cell experience is to compare with that other Chicago team. Wrigley is old and falling apart. The Cell is new and full of modern amenities and a growing forest of bronze statues. Wrigley always seems packed. The Cell always seems half empty. Attendance was awful before the World Series and while it's gotten better, you can almost always get tickets on the same day as a game you want to see. Though you will pay like you're going to see a top ten team instead of a team that's come in 1st in the division four times since the Cell opened. Wrigley sits near one of the main centers of the gay community in Chicago. The Cell sits near some fairly harsh neighborhoods. And the fans... At the Cell our drunks aren't content to sit and look pretty while texting on their Blackberries and talking on the phone like the drunks at Wrigley. No, our fans rush out and beat the crap out of a Kansas City Royals first base coach. Our fans attack a first base umpire. At least once a month it seems like some asshat is delaying a game by running out on the field. If the Steve Bartman incident had happened at the Cell, he would have been torn to pieces and his head put on a pike over the front gate. In general, the fans are a reflection of Ozzie Guillen - foul mouthed, abrasive and a bit nasty at times but uniquely Chicago. Of course the best part about going to a game at US Cellular Field (besides wondering if you might get to see someone stabbed in the crowd or attacked on the field)? Not having to listen to the biggest homer announcer in all of baseball." (Sarah P.)
"I love the White Sox, but there too many fucking statues in and around the joint. The statue depicting DeWayne Wise's catch during Buehrle's perfect game is already being molded in Hawk's basement." (DomChota)

"We've all heard stories about the Vertigo Seats..consider this- When the Bears were rebuilding Soldier's Field- the most logical thing was to have them play at 'Sox Park' during the construction year ( After all the tax payers did pay for this place, and its in Chicago ). What did the Bears do? They avoided Sox Park like the plague & they shipped the Bears 2.5 hours South to The University of Illinois for every 'Home' game. Nothing like that "home feel" when you are being shipped to the middle of Illinois on a Saturday!" (Neal J.)

"First off, Sox fans, it's U-S C-e-l-l-u-l-a-r F-i-e-l-d. Not 'Cominsky Park,' not 'Cominsky's Field.' Not even Comiskey Park like the old days, but at least I can put up with that. Southside "Chicaaaahgoins" do tend to add an 's' on everything, but mostly to grocery stores for some reason. Jewel becomes The Jewels. Meier becomes Meier's. Soldier Field becomes Soldier's Field, but I digress. There seems to be a rule that no one can attend a Sox game unless their name is Tony, Tina, Vinny, Pauly, Lisa, or Marie. It's like a god damn Soprano's episode 'over dere.' It's AWESOME people watching, though. Tons of wife beater tanks and quarts upon quarts of hair spray which reminds me of my 1987 8th grade Jr. High yearbook. Just don't light a match. Lot's of green Southside Irish pride Sox hats to go 'round and the attitude to go with it. US Cellular is filled with anyone who has ever started a sentence with, 'Like I says' and 'Know what I'm sayin.' (No I don't, because you haven't started anything nearly resembling a sentence yet) They pull up in their Trans-AMs ready to raise hell. The park itself is a train wreck. An improved train wreck, but still a train wreck. They really missed the mark, as The Cell was one of the first of the new breed of ballparks in the 90's. Builders had to do a re-work on the upper deck steps well after many games played, because too many of you clumbsy 'yooz guyz' fell on their craniums with two beers in their hands. (They really tripped over their gold rope chains, in reality)The upper deck was way too steep. Ingenious planning. I miss the old days of Disco Demolition already at the old park. If you want decent food and cold beer go right ahead. If you want to fear for your life because of the shiteous neighborhood and lack of security be my guest. Leave your suburb SUV's at home and pull up in your IROC-Z or Fiero and you'll be just fine. You may get a fist bump or a shout out by one of the guys from youtube's 'My New Haircut.' See also: William Ligue Jr." (Craig H.)

"For some background, this was my first time to Chicago and the South Side so I had no idea what to expect. As I'm walking off the L with a buddy who made the trip, the first thing you notice is the smell. It literally smells like garbage as you're walking in. Why? Who knows, but WTF. Secondly, is the bathroom fight that took place. The bathrooms in the outfield have the urinals and stalls in a row next to each other with very little room to form a line. This causes confusion about who's next in line as no one knows if there's on singular line or a line for each stall. So, this sketchy gentleman, complete with the ratty shirt and cocked hat takes a place in front of a couple of us but directly in one of the stalls. He also has a shit-eating grin on his face like he pulled a fast one. Anyway, a stall opens up and he goes for it. Well, the gentleman directly in front of me also makes a play for the stall. They soon put their arms in front of each other as they angle for the open stall. Shoving ensues, yelling is abound but shit-eater wins. Well, would'nt you know, the stall next to him opens up and his adversary takes it. For some reason, he decided to talk shit to the shit-eater about the stall which took all of 30 seconds out of his life. Shit eater then steps it up and starts using insults you'd expect from drunk trailer trash: bitch, pussy, cocksucker, etc. The other man doesnt let up either and returns the favor. Shit-eater then reaches over the wall and starts punching the guy as they both spill out of their respective stalls.. All of this in front of children using the urinals who were almost collateral damage. Thank God a security guard decided to take a leak or else an actual fight might have taken place." (Michael M.)

"I used to attend games at the Cell often. Then I found a job." (Ryan S.)

my gripe about the cell was that there was no roof. the one day i went, it was sunny and i suffered a massive sunburn that made me sick. if i can't handle being out there for a game, i don't know how the players do it! i guess that takes experiance and practice, but that was my 1 gripe about the cell. the food didn't bother me too much and the drinks were ok. the stadium's other features (like the open-air shower for the kiddies) weren't bad, but it's that damn sun!

and in other news, the sox once again cannot sweep an opposing team. today, they lose by a final score of 3-2 in favor of oakland. unfortunately, john danks was the starting pitcher, and i guess he just didn't have his stuff today. hopefully, our next series against KC will bring better results.

but in happy news, my boy carlos quentin may not need surgery on his left foot in the offseason! this is good cuz my boy cannot afford to miss any more worktime! my little crystal chandelier is getting better :).

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

crucial updates

2009-08-14T23:08:00.000-07:00

despite my long absence, there are some crucial updates to be made:

1. i have been granted an opportunity to contribute to a popular baseball blog. the editors of "more hardball", gm_carson and burton, have invited me to contribute articles to their blog. since theirs is an all-around baseball blog, i can't do the in-depth analysis of my white sox that i normally engage in over here at cell's bells. however, i can contribute some of my more quirky items, like "the dugout" (which hasn't been working since i've returned from vacation), and random quotes by my loudmouth manager ozzie, the latter of which should prove useful talking materials.

my point is, do not fear that i will abandon cell's bells. i will continue to post enteries here, but now you can catch me elsewhere.

2. the entire reason for this blog's existance: THE WHITE SOX!!! i've all but neglected them!

things have not been well for my boys in black-and-white as of late. they played well against the angels while i was in CA, but upon arriving home, things just dropped off. though john danks pitched the game of his career against seattle on tuesday, and got the win, but they split the series with the mariners. today, they played the As. contreras was due to pitch today, and did, but blew a 6-run lead. last i checked the As and sox were tied at 7 in the bottom of the 8th. since mark kotsay used to play for the As, i wonder if they gave him a happy homecoming.

in light of jose contreras' return to rock-bottom, i wonder when diva jake peavy is due to begin pitching for us...

thats all for now. i returned an hour ago from the dodgers-diamondbacks game here in AZ. d-backs won and dan haren pitched very well. so well, he had the balls to hit andre ethier with manny ramirez coming up in the 7th. both men got out. the snakes lit up starter clayton kershaw in the 2nd, putting on 4 straight runs. if they'd scored 2 more, the taco bells down here in AZ would have given away 3 free tacos with the purchase of a large drink and showing your ticket stub. but alas it was not to be. you could smell the tacos, but the taco bell was closed :(.

as for that diva manny, chase field got especially noisy when he came up to bat. i booed, LA fans cheered. its a damn shame manny had to get busted for taking HCG, cuz i really think he would have looked nice with the boobs he aquired from using that hormone. it would work well with his disgusting dreadlocks.

and despite the obnoxiousness of dodger fans, todays game was a reminder as to why i love baseball so much. there was great pitching, spectacular catches, a defense that knew what it was doing, steals that required balls of steel to pull off, a charged atmosphere, and the fans behaved themselves for the most part.

thats all for tonight.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Checking in With Barry

2009-08-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

since im still in a vacation-mood, i thought i'd post this amusing article from the back page of "sports illustrated". this piece was written by chris ballard.

TO: Baseball fans and media
FROM: Barry Bonds

Remember me? Dude who gave you 762 free souvenirs and never once got thanked? Dude who embarrassed National League pitchers for two decades, put up the most ridiculous numbers in baseball history and won seven MVP awards? Time was, you respected me. Some of you even loved me.

Until you hated me. So I didn't smile and sign every little kid's T-shirt. So I ignored a teammate or two. So I blew off reporters—hey, they were just going to make stuff up anyway. And yeah, so I took some of the Clear. O.K., maybe I took enough to put a horse in a coma, but what's the difference? Point is, I could play the game. Play it like no one else. Ever.

None of that mattered, though. You called me a cheater and said it all had to go—the respect, the records, even the chance to play. Come on, two years ago I put up a 1.045 OPS. You're telling me no team could have used that kind of talent last season? Know how many hitters have an OPS that high right now? (Yeah, you bet I keep up.) That's right: one. Your boy Albert Pujols—or as my friends call him, the Last Great Clean Hope (Until He Isn't). But me? I sat and waited for a phone call that never came, unless it was my lawyers wanting to talk about that annoying perjury case.

Teams thought I'd be a p.r. nightmare. A locker room problem. That I was old and grumpy and couldn't field. Hell, Adam Dunn is young and grumpy and can't field, and the Nationals signed him for 10 mil a year. But no, I was the Great Steroid Pariah. Yeah, you're damn right I know what that word means.

So I have to ask: What do you think of me now? Come on, let's go down the list together of all the big names linked to performance-enhancing drugs: McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, A-Rod, Manny and now Big Papi. You people love Big Papi. Can't get enough of him. But wasn't it obvious his numbers were bogus? Dude used to be a scrub. Then at 27 he suddenly turns into Reggie freaking Jackson? He went from hitting 20 home runs a season to 54! But none of you noticed because you were all talking about my hat size, and besides, David Ortiz didn't look like a user. He was too goofy, too soft and—let's be honest—too fat. It was like saying Santa Claus was on the juice.

So how are you going to treat Papi now? Will you boo him and throw syringes on the field like you did to me? Are you going to sic Pedro Gomez on him? Because if so, can you get on that sooner rather than later? The guy's still camping out on my porch. I'm not joking. I can see him through the curtains right now.

While we're at it, just what price has Manny paid? Let's see: a 50-game suspension and then ... what? More love from you guys. Just last week some joker from a Long Beach paper went on about how great Manny was because when he approached Manny for an interview and mentioned Armenian food, Manny said the two of them should go out for Armenian sometime and gave him his number. Hello! I love Armenian food. Are you telling me all it takes to change your opinion is sharing some tas kebab? Are you people really that shallow?

Wait, don't answer that. Go on hating me. It's cool. I still have my trial, and I need to finish patching things up with my wife now that we're no longer getting a divorce—despite that big-mouth girlfriend of mine. And of course I need time to work on my Hall of Fame acceptance speech—that is, if I decide you all deserve to hear one.

And think about this: Only seven of the 104 names on that master list of juicers have come out. That means there are nearly one hundred still to drop, and that's just from that one round of testing six years ago. Jose Canseco says there's a 95% chance anyone who played in the last 20 years was using something, and even though he's a total nut job who I'd probably hit in the face with a bat if I saw him in a back alley, dude does seem to know what he's talking about when it comes to cheating.

So here's what I'm asking. As each new name comes out and you guys all care less and forgive quicker because you just want to move on already, think about me for a second. You know, the guy you singled out among an invisible crowd of hundreds of players, the guy who took all your anger for all those years and never let it break him. And ask yourself this: What if I'd been a nice guy? What if I'd smiled at the crowds and had a cute nickname like Big Bappi and took all of you out for Armenian food? And what if you just found out I'd been on the juice—well, what would you think of me then? Would I still be public enemy No. 1? Or would you feel different? Because I'm thinking you would.

I'm thinking that right about now you're feeling bad about how you treated me. I'm thinking maybe you'd like to apologize.

Not that I care, of course. No, not at all.

and in final business notes, my boys have added yet another player to their seemingly endless aquisitions of players: rightfielder alex rios from toronto. looks like this is it for JD. goodbye buddy, you've served your time well.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

The Dugout: Jokes and Jokes, Month of July Edition

2009-08-01T10:41:00.001-07:00

bobby cox and charlie manual play abbot and costello with this comedic exchange!

The Dugout: Jokes and Jokes, Month of July Edition

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BOOYAH!!!

2009-08-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

yet another busy week in white sox nation!

first the trade deadline was this week, and in a shocking twist, my gm kenny williams picked up journeyman mark kotsay, AND san diego diva jake peavy! yes, you read that right! jake peavy has come to the white sox! it took 3 different tries, a bunch of minor-league players, and 1 pissed off pitcher before that diva finally agreed to come. now comes the performance-peavy has to prove that for all the trouble it took to get him here, he's not a bust. if peavy turns out to be a bust, then kenny's got alot to answer for.

my dad was telling me that the reason peavy came over was so that kenny could get rid of jermaine "JD" dye. but in last night's game, i saw JD sitting in the dugout next to ozzie. i guess that rumor was false. but still, you can never have enough aces.

speaking of last night's game, my sox had the game of the week by ass-raping the yankees 10-5. in a strange twist of the lineup, dj "tabasco" carrasco got the call to start instead of gavin floyd (who's pitching tomorrow). john danks started thursday and won, so yesterday would have been BHB. anyway, carrasco got off to a bit of a rough start by giving up 3 runs to the yankees in the 1st. but in a happy turn of events, the sox roared back, putting up 1 run in the 1st, 2 in the 2nd, 2 more in the 5th, and after the yankees tied it up in the 5th, my boys in black-and-white unleashed a torrent of runs in the 7th-tacking on 5 more.

indeed, the 7th inning was what sealed the yankees doom. ozzie ordered a double steal in which jayson nix stole home and chris getz stole 2nd. then, we just lit up the pitcher, hitting small ball but piling on the runs. posada, the yankees' nail-painting catcher, couldn't catch anything that came his way from the infield. as a joke, my brother told me that i should play for the yankees, since i would make a better catcher then posada, and i'm relatively inexperianced.

has my boy carlos been on a hot streak or what? he hit a home run in MN, and hit another home run yesterday. my boy also hit some RBI doubles, and caught the game-sealing popout.

dustmop bobby jenks was nowhere to be seen. my dad told me that he's been out sick, so linebrink closed the game out in place of him.

my dad told me that raping the yankees like this was the best thing to do, cuz the yankees spent so much money to get all these guys, and most of them have been ok-not the best, just ok. it's more of a revenge thing. it appears that it's a birthright for almost anyone born outside of new york to hate the yankees. that whole AL east is so overrated.

tomorrow i'm heading off to california with my uncle and brother! my uncle promised to take us to LA for vacation, so we're going tomorrow and staying for a week. i'm really looking forward to this trip, but i won't be able to write for a week cuz im not bringing my computer. its just too much of a hassle to crate along.

bye everyone! i'll write when i get back from LA!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

good-bye BA

2009-07-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

has this been a busy weekend in the white sox nation!

first, we almost get swept by the tigers-no thanks to our once-untouchable closer bobby jenks. that fat dustmop blew TWO saves in the series! 1 is already bad enough, but TWO?! what is wrong with that guy? my dad speculates that jenks is hurt, but he's trying to play through the pain. well if jenks really truly is hurt, take him out and put d'oh-tel in as the closer, for now.

second, and here's the bombshell, kenny williams makes a shocking trade. in comes journeyman mark kotsay, out goes none other than the ladies' man himself, brian "BA" anderson. one of the bloggers on my widget hoped that the red sox can fix up BA where the white sox couldn't-including teaching him to be more patient at the plate.

good-bye, BA. you've served your time here in chicago well. you will be missed on rush street (well, maybe carlos can fill in for you over there. i hear he's a big ladies' man too), if not by the fans themselves. hope the "honey's" in boston are just as nice as the "honey's" over here.

as for mark kotsay-i say, welcome to chicago. i hope that your stay here is pleasant, and productive.

this is kind of off-the-wall, but if my memory serves me right, kotsay used to be one of the religious ballplayers. basically, he used to cross himself before going up to bat. he's not the only one-a bunch of other ballplayers are like that (on my boys in black-and-white, its aj, carlos, and pitchers carrasco, d'oh-tel, and another one who's name i can't think of right now). i know for sure that he used to cross himself before batting when he played in oakland, but whether he kept that up, i don't know. the TV networks aren't too keen on showing religious players in the act. my whole point with this is that certain player have certain at-bat (or, in the case of pitchers, before their first pitch) quirks that i notice and remember. some are unique (like nomar's glove routine, and papi ortiz's spitting clap), and some are distinctive (like players crossing themselves). but when some of them fall off my radar for a while, and then resurface, i have to wonder if anything's changed. in case you're wondering, i don't have a problem with religious ballplayers. i believe that their job as ballplayers takes precident over anything they do.

good night everyone. im going to bed.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

The Dugout: A Perfect Game

2009-07-25T15:25:00.001-07:00

jim thome makes a racket of himself, yet again.

The Dugout: A Perfect Game

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GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

mark of excellence

2009-07-23T21:33:00.000-07:00

unfortunately, i missed today's game.

it was on cable, and it was a damn shame that i missed this game today because not only has my boy come back from rehab, but mark buehrle pitched a complete game shutout-the first of this year, against the rays. of all the games to miss, its the one where one of my boys makes national headlines for something GOOD!!! as for the last complete game shutout, it was last year when carlos zambrano had the game of the year (and his career) with a no-hit shutout against the astros. buehrle's job today was a fine way to end this productive series against the rays, since we took 3/4. now that we're a whole team again, and in second place (just 2 games behind detroit!), i think we're on the right track to the postseason.

but on a final note, mark buehrle has someone to thank for helping him pitch the game of his career today-dewayne wise. for if it hadn't been for wise's 9th inning home-run robbing catch, buehrle might not have made national headlines for his feat. looks like somebody is owed a dinner.

final score was 5-0 in favor of the sox.

and speaking of detroit, our next series is against them. we play them for 2 games. now we've finally got a chance to actually gain some ground!

in honor of mark buehrle's spectacular performance today, you will see that i've completely changed my blog's layout to something with a little more visual appeal that before. after a few, rather minor technical difficulties (namely, my widgets getting deleted-which included followers and my link list!), all is back to normal.

enjoy!

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

The Dugout: Vote Of Confidence

2009-07-20T14:58:00.001-07:00

burton and gm_carson, this one's for you!

read it and laugh

The Dugout: Vote Of Confidence

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GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

birdie blowout

2009-07-18T16:25:00.000-07:00

hello! hope you've all enjoyed your all-star break, where once again, my AL dominated and won in a much-shorter matchup than last years 15-inning marathon. mark buehrle did well for the short time that he was on, and once again, the NL sees living proof as to why having a DH is a good thing.

my 1 gripe with the all-star game this year was having the president come to throw out the 1st pitch. there was just too much hoopla surrounding him. plus, our president talks too much. i dont happen to be a fan of president obama for various reasons. plus, he ripped off mark buehrle's signature fistpump after he strikes out someone to end a successful inning! cheating is not something to be celebrated!!

there were some surprises this year. for 1 thing, slub carlos zambrano did not make the all-star game roster (guess his temper tantrums have caught up with him)-a nobody named ted lilly represented the northsiders this year. manny wasn't there either, but we all know why that was the case. the east coast dominated again (red sox and yankees), and the sucky diamondbacks (who have the most awesome stadium in baseball) sent 2 players! also, in a shocking turn of events, the orioles didn't send nick markakis.

but speaking of the orioles, yesterday's game saw the orioles get BLOWN OUT!!! jim thome had a monster night by hitting 2 home runs-the first was a 3-run HR in the 5th, and in the 6th, he hit a grand slam. paul konerko also contributed with a home run in the 2nd, and although our defense gave up a few runs, and though we looked like we were gonna lose it after the orioles tied it in the 6th, we tacked on so many runs that there was nothing the orioles could do about it. the final score was a lopsided 12-8.

todays game was a much closer 4-3 in favor of the white sox. our ace mark buehrle was pitching, and the underrated jermaine dye (who should have accompanied mark buehrle to the allstar game this year) hit a 3-run homerun to put the sox ahead for the rest of the game.

in the meantime, my boy is slated to be back soon! just a few more games in charlotte, and he'll be good as new!

speaking of charlotte, there's still no news of bartolo colon! maybe he's still hiding from ozzie and mourning for michael jackson.

what a way to start off the 2nd half of the season!

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

all-star break

2009-07-13T18:14:00.000-07:00

*cartoon courtesy of carl skanberg*

since those damn twinkies took 2/3. since tomorrow is the 80th all-star game (to which our lone ace, mark buehrle, was voted), i figured that i'd close out the rollercoaster first half of the season with a bit of humor from the vault.

but in the meantime, me and all bloggers (official and amateur) of the white sox nation would like to extend our best wishes to mark buehrle for a successful outing tomorrow.

now, to the good stuff :)

"the dugout" is a website that i enjoy visiting frequently. basically, its a fake "chatroom" where MLB players are given wacky screen names and sportswriters with a sense of humor write fake IMs to total a hilarious read every time. unfortunately, the website will not allow me to post here on blogger, but i will post the links to my 2 favorite white sox's chat sessions so you can read them and laugh.

The White Sox's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Magic Shoes

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

Baseball teams fear 'haunted' Milwaukee hotel

2009-07-11T09:20:00.001-07:00

though this does not relate to the white sox, i've always had a love for ghost tales.

read it and laugh (or become informed on where not to go in milwaukee)

Baseball teams fear 'haunted' Milwaukee hotel

Shared via AddThis

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

bartolo's blues

2009-07-10T14:26:00.000-07:00

usually, i dont write about stories relating to the white sox here "cells bells" that were previously featured on other websites, as i like to keep my stories about my boys in black-and-white as close to my original perspective as possible. but today is an exception.

rick chandler over at "sports by brooks", a sports gossip site who's catchy headline caught my eye in the white sox widget on my page, has posted an unusual piece regarding the whereabouts of fat bartolo. according to the story, fatso is due to start pitching in charlotte tonight for rehab, but no one has been able to get in contact with him and he hasn't been seen in days!

what's ozzie's explanation for his employee's sudden disappearance?

“I worry about Colon because Colon was a big-time Michael Jackson fan,” Guillen said. “He might [watch] the TV and cry all day long. Maybe he is in L.A. at his funeral, because I can’t find him. When he gets to Charlotte, Oney (Guillen’s son) will call me to say he’s there.

“Nobody knows how big of a Jackson fan Colon was. I’m serious. He might be depressed a little bit.”

and there's no mention of fatso scarfing down a tub of haagen daaz as he watched the funeral extravaganza (see my other blog "the pen is mightier than the sword" for my final opinion on michael jackson) and mourned the loss of his idol.

that said, fatso's agent told reporters that his client would pitch tonight in charlotte, but this remains to be seen.

you can read the whole story here.

before i sign off this post, i must congratulate paul konerko for his monster night 2 days ago where he hit 3 home runs in 1 game against the indians. CONGRATULATIONS PAULIE!!! YOU'RE NOT WASHED UP JUST YET!!!!

also, my journalistic duty must report that we failed to sweep the indians a second time. today's pitcher, clayton richard, was rocked by the indians in the first few innings. the final score was 10-8 in favor of cleveland, but we took 2/3 so it was all good. our next series is saturday against the twins (or twinkies, as my dad likes to call them). starting pitchers will be john danks for us, and nick blackburn for them.

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

back again

2009-07-08T18:40:00.000-07:00

hi everyone!

i know i've fallen off the map for a while, but thats ok. im back now, and i'll try to write more frequently.

so much i've missed since my last entry. we swept cleveland in cleveland, split 2 of 4 with the royals, and according to south side sox, we're back to playing the indians. the last i checked, we won game 1 and are leading game 2 4-0.

and in other big news, my boy is almost back! he went 2-3 in charlotte, and that fatso is about ready to start rehab elsewhere.

sorry this is so short, but i gotta run!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

BIG Z to the sox?

2009-06-30T14:24:00.000-07:00

phil rogers of the chicago tribune is calling for the dismissal of carlos zambrano from the cubs! more on this in a bit.

last night's game was a must-win, and we won. our offense was awake and functioning, as gordon beckham hit a RBI single that scored a run in the 7th. BHB was spectacular, pitching 8 innings of 2-run baseball. tonight, clayton richard gets the call to start.

and now to the headline story of the day. yesterday, in the chicago tribune, writer phil rogers called for the dismissal of lone cubs ace carlos zambrano. the reason for this was a result of BIG Z's performance on sunday against my boys in black-and-white, where he gave up 3 runs and hit a batter. given BIG Z's tendancy to melt down easily (though not nearly as easily as fellow slub fucktard milton bradley), and the fact that this year, one of his tantrums resulted in a 6-game suspension, its easy to see why he could easily turn into an even bigger liability for the already-cursed black hole of baseball known as the cubs (the others, being fucktard bradley, inept closer carlos "marmol-ade" marmol, kosuke "can't swing a bat" fukudome, etc).

BUT, and here's where it gets interesting, BIG Z said in an interview that he wouldn't mind playing for the sox and revealed that he was a fan of the team. since he has a good ERA (please dont ask me to do any math) and a good work ethic (for the most part), if the cubs were to get rid of BIG Z (and send his contract with him), the sox could pick him up. that way, this basketcase can continue his career with the team he loves, and fight with fellow countryman ozzie guillen after a bad outing and not get suspended. plus, he can replace jose contreras since it appears that this year might be it for him. we could always use solid vets to balance out the massive youth movement in our bullpen.

more on this story as it becomes available.

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

win baby win

2009-06-28T18:28:00.001-07:00

for the 4th straight series, the sox have managed to win 2 out of 3 games. while we haven't swept anyone since may/early june, 2/3 is acceptible, for now. it shows that we're still not dead yet.

today's game (which i, shamefully, again did not watch because my brother dragged me out of the house to best buy to look for a computer case) was a thriller. it was john danks versus the 1 consistantly good player on the cubs, carlos zambrano. from the highlights at southside sox, alexei had a MVP moment when he hit a 2-run homerun in the 6th. what made this one special was that podsie, the leadoff man-for-now, got plunked by BIG Z (no warnings were issued). the sox had a good game, scoring both early and often. final score was a 6-0 blanking in favor of the white sox.

and in his traditional postgame interview, the ever-outrageous ozzie guillen had a few words to say about the recent (lack of) attendance at games:

So the Sox need the Cubs to help them draw fans? White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was asked why attendance was so low at the Sox-Dodgers series, and said: “Because our fans are not stupid like Cubs fans. They know we’re (expletive).”

Guillen said Cubs fans will go watch any game at Wrigley Field because “Wrigley Field is just a bar.”

quote courtesy of south side sox. i should write a book and just fill it with outrageous quotes by ozzie guillen.

our next series will be against the cleveland indians over in cleveland. tomorrow's starting pitchers will be BHB and carl "american idle" pavano.

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

the week in review

2009-06-27T14:49:00.000-07:00

dearest reader(s),

im so sorry that i haven't been able to write about my boys in black-and-white. its just that this week, i started working at a greek nursing home (currently, its just volunteering, but that could soon change since my supervisor told me about a program that pays you for volunteering). i work everyday for about 4 hours, just babysitting old people. its not too bad, i just help the aides with activities and shuffling the farts around. my only problem is that i dont speak greek, and while i've picked up a few words (they call me "kuklamu", which means "doll"-or "sweetheart", and i also learned "ela" which means "come"), im largely clueless as to what is being said when greek is spoken.

consequently, i havent been able to watch baseball AT ALL this week. but since tonight's game is on cable, and i dont work today, i will do a recap of the week.

last weekend and into monday, the detroit tigers came to town. and with them, former sock and communist shemale magglio ordonez (at least thats what the sports gossip forums say) returned to face his old manager whom he disputed with at the end of his season with the sox. magglio also got a haircut (finally), but the sox won that series.

on tuesday, the dodgers came to chicago for 3 games. after dropping game 1 to the dodgers, the sox managed to win the last 2. game 2 was a blowout, and game three was much closer, but it was a last-minute victory for the sox after jim thome (who's been on a hot streak) hit an RBI to win it. aside from beating the best team in baseball, ozzie guillen blew some steam at the team for their lackluster offense in his usual postgame press conference.

yesterday, the cubs came to the cell. the newly-revamped jose contreras was pitching and although he gave up 3 runs, he had 8Ks-which is pretty good any day. the sox almost came back to win it in the 8th, but the cubs pitchers shut them down.

and in other news, the fucktard milton bradley is in trouble-again. after popping out in the 6th, bradley threw a terrible tantrum in the dugout-throwing his helmet and destroying a water cooler (perhaps channeling zambrano and dempster's reactions to bad outings), prompting equally-hotheaded manager, lou pinella to send him home. though i dont care for the cubs 1 way or another, me and just about every sports reporter in the city thinks it was a bad idea for the cubs to sign this douchebag. looks like it's gonna be another lackluster year for this guy.

to the west coast: manny is almost ready to return. he would have returned on wednesday, but a storm delayed the game, and subsequently his return. in the words of conan o'brian, "manny will now soon be the first player to hit for the menstrual cycle" (get it-he used female fertility drugs...)

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

happy father's day!

2009-06-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

hi everyone!

first of all, to all few guys who read my blog at this end of the internet, i want to wish you a very happy father's day!

hoo-boy! have we been busy! the crosstown classic was split after game 1 was rained out. john danks DID, however, pitch the next day against ryan "the canadian" dempster of the cubs. danks did a spectacular job-8 innings of scoreless baseball. dempster, on the other hand, gave up 2 runs and the cubs bullpen gave up 2 MORE runs later on. scott linebrink, who's been struggling lately, gave up 1 run in the 9th, but matt thornton finished it for us. final score: sox-4, cubs-1.

game 3 was on cable. gavin floyd and his BHB was pitching against the mighty carlos zambrano of the cubs. BHB did pretty well (zambrano, not so much), and the sox led for most of the game, but in the 9th, derek lee of the cubs hit a home run to win it.

things haven't been well since then. after the cubs, it was off to cincinnati to play the reds. jose contreras faced off bronson arroyo. contreras did ok, but the bullpen blew it. we lost 3-4.

yesterday, however, it was better. clayton richard faced some fella named johnny cueto. we did much better and won 10-8.

today, mark buehrle faces off against danny harang (also known as "harangutang", get it...?). when i checked the score, it was 2-0 sox in the top of the 1st.

and in other news, those damn cubs are doing better and better. they've beat the indians twice already, including former players mark derosa and kerry wood. both victories were also come-from-behinds, normally in the 9th (and often won in extra innings). on our side, fat bartolo's on the DL. knee problems listed, but i think ozzie needed a legitimate reason to bench him. as you all know, fatso's been having some problems throwing the ball in the strike zone.

happy father's day!
GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

whats next?

2009-06-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

the sox win the series against the brewers in a 5-4 thrilla'. since the game was on cable, i went to south side sox for the recap. apparantly, we came back in the 9th. mark buehrle was pitching and did ok. is it just me or does it seem that when the sox are on the road, they have a better playing record? think about this for a second: in that road trip 3-or-so weeks ago, we won every series against every team we faced. but when we came home, the team tanked! now, we get called up to milwaukee, and win that series up there! im sure im not the only one in white sox nation who's noticing this trend. it seems that 2007 is coming back with a vengance.

but on a more positive note, today is game 1 of my favorite rivalry: cubs vs. white sox. and yes, this game is on cable too. this sucks cuz on the cubs, big bad carlos zambrano is pitching and he's the 1 player on the cubs who's actually GOOD at his job! i personally dont mind watching the cubs, but only if zambrano's pitching. otherwise that team sucks.

for us, it's john danks getting the call. i think this game is at wrigley field too.

here's a random tidbit: today at macy's in downtown chicago, my boy carlos was slated to make an appearance. if you spent over $75 for father's day, you got an autographed picture of my boy. but, if you didnt have money to spend (like ME!!), you could have gone for autographs. i would have really liked to go just to get an autograph from my boy, and maybe ask him how his foot was feeling (news outta herm schnider-the white sox trainer-says that carlos won't be back till the all-star break, if not later. torn tendon in the foot is the standing diagnosis). but unfortunately, i cant drive in chicago (mainly cuz i cant parallel park, but the traffic makes me very nervous), and i dont wanna pay for parking (it costs like $20 to park ANYWHERE in chicago now!).

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

big wins

2009-06-13T20:01:00.000-07:00

hallo everybody!

this picture above might seem really random, but this creepy fella is mr. sardonicus. he's the main character in a 1950s horror flick of the same title. i just saw the movie tonight on a local tv station. i was actually horrified when i saw his face for the first time, and it takes alot to freak me out. the movie's plot plays on the idea of the role of psychology in perception.

and now to business: last night's game was finally over, but at a terrible score: 7-2 in favor of the brewers. after d'oh-tel, dj "tabasco" carrasco came on, and gave up 3 more runs, to put the brewers ahead 6-2 at that point. after tabasco, aaron "jew-jitzu" poreda made his major league debut.

poreda actually didnt do too bad compared with his predicessors. poreda had 2 Ks and gave up only 1 run. he's got a bright major league future.

today's game was on fox, which im ashamed to admit, but i didnt watch the whole game. i was busy all day and only until 5 or so did i sit down to watch. jose contreras, the new miracle man, was starting today, and pitched 8 innings of spectacular, no-hit baseball. manny parra got the call for the brewers, and lasted a mere 1.5 innings. he gave up 6 runs in the 2nd. i think the sox scored their final run in the 6th. when i turned the game on, it was 7-0 in the 8th. scott linebrink was then called up to close the game, but he gave up 1 run. final score was 7-1 in favor of the white sox.

tomorrow is game 3, but it'll be on cable. i also have to go to the airport to pick up my parents and brother, who are coming back from AZ (my brother had orientation at school), but later on, i'll be going to a concert at ravinia. it'll be fun.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

up and down

2009-06-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

hello!

our homestand was absolutely miserable. after contreras got us our win, we dropped the next 2 games to the tigers. 1 of those games, as it fell, was an extra-inning affair (we lost it in, i think, the 15th). it would have been worse if we'd lost yesterday, but through some miracle, we managed to win. what happened was that gavin floyd and his BHB got the call to start. BHB pitched pretty well, and by time he'd left in the 8th, the score was 3-1 in favor of the white sox. scott linebrink did setup and bobby jenks (who's been struggling lately) was called in to close. with 2 outs, he gives up a 2-run homerun to curtis granderson in the top of the 9th.

yeah, not cool.

come the bottom of the 9th, tigers closer joel zumaya was called up to finish this game and take it into extra innings. from his first pitch, the white sox had grabbed him by the balls and didnt let go till the game was over. zoomie loaded up the bases (his first pitch was a double by BA), and it was none other than podsie-pan who brought in the winning run on a single. podsie, who is notorious for not coming through in the clutch, raised his batting average a little bit by bringing in BA. the final score was 4-3 in favor of the white sox.

today, my boys went north to milwaukee, otherwise known as beer city, to play the brewers. thought the game is currently in progress with the sox winning 2-0 in the top of the 6th (runs scored in the 2nd by alexei and aj, respectively), it has been a strange game. in the first inning, podsie-pan got caught too far off the bag by jeff suppan, the pitcher who has no range of motion. but aside from that, it must be a full moon or something cuz the officiating crew seems more than a little lost. in the 4th inning, podsie stole 2nd, but was called out cuz he went off the bag. on the replay, it didnt look like that was the case (at least as far as i could tell). also, in the 3rd, there was another controversial call. one of the milwaukee players, i dont remember his name, tried to lay a bunt, and it landed in the dirt right in front of the plate. i thought it was fair, cuz for what little official rules i know about MLB, i know that in the infield, anywhere between the white lines, its fair. it would have been a double play, but the refs ruled it foul. naturally, i screamed at the tv screen that the refs needed their eyes checked.

breaking news! clayton richard was pulled in the bottom of the 6th after overthrowing josh fields to land beer city's own beloved tattooed fatass, prince fielder, at 1st. pidgeon-toed octavio d'oh-tel comes in to pitch, and gives up a double to milwaukee's corey hart. fielder scores (who knew that fatass could run so fast!). milwaukee leads 2-1. hey, there's a reason we in chicago call him "d'oh-tel".

speaking of "d'oh!", guess who's getting walked just now? yep, jason kendall. i know the fine folks at "more hardball" recently dedicated an entry to this fella.

breaking news! hart scores after pitcher jeff suppan singles. it was supposed to be a popup, but alexei and podsie had a chicago cubs moment where the ball dropped between them (the cubs are famous for this). kendall just scored after mcgehee singles. brewers lead 3-2.

will this inning ever end?

finally its over. i'll be back later once the game is over for any final thoughts.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

the million dollar win

2009-06-09T18:28:00.000-07:00

hidey-ho!! (*yelled in a mr. hankey voice*)

looks like jose contreras has taken the 1st step towards redeeming himself in the eyes of sox fans. after a month in the minors, jose had to pass the ultimate test: did it pay off.

for now, yes it did. jose's forkball was sharp, his pitches were on target, and the offense actually woke up. if jose can get more wins, i will bestow upon him the title of the new "miracle man". normally, i refer to john danks as "the miracle man" because of his stellar career last year, but i think this year jose contreras (provided that he stays on the good path) is a far better contender for that title, especially since it appears that he's resurrecting his end-of-the-road career.

today, detroit's own lardass trainwreck, dontrelle willis got the call to start. not only has his career been mediocre, but as i commented once on "more hardball" about dontrelle: his weight did him in. i remember dontrelle when he was with the marlins, and he was a skinny little twig. now, he's so fat that he can barely lift his leg up during the windup!

but weight aside, according to the guys at south side sox, dontrelle's been having a good game so far. last i checked, the game was tied 1-1. as for our starter, it was our lone ace mark buerhle.

and in other news, the sox called up aaron "jew-jitzu" poreda (not a "south park" insult! aaron poreda really is jewish! nickname inspired by the photo below). poreda was so happy that on his facebook status, he posted "This is the biggest day of my life... I'm goin to Chicago, the big leagues, and I ain't never goin back!!!!!". i wouldn't be so brash about not going back to the minors if i were you, but thats ok.

come on boys! lets gain some ground!

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

turds

2009-06-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

boy oh boy, have we been bad.

we dropped the series to the A's after winning the 1st game (they won 3 our of 4), got swept by the indians (in 2 of those games we were shut out), and today we dropped the 1st game of a double-header to the detroit tigers with jose "can't win" contreras coming up to pitch in game 2!

yesterday, ozzie was telling the press that the sox offense had run out of bullets by the 3rd inning. while the game was on cable, the lowlights showed that my boys were pretty lackluster. i mean, fat bartolo gave up like 4 solo homeruns (some back-to-back) over the course of 6 innings.

as for the miracle arrival of gordon beckham (who's 9th inning error cost us the lead today), he's been about as effective as a beta-player in the dvd-age (my dad had a beta-im too young to know what it is!) going something like 0-22 in 6 games. this blows!

and in other news, my boy may be getting back soon! reports from south side sox say that carlos is almost ready to return! he'll have to go through some minor league stints cuz he's been outta baseball for a while, recouperating from plantar fasciitis. if beckham couldnt spark the team resurrection, maybe my boy will.

thats all from my end of the blogosphere!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

shplits!

2009-06-03T14:19:00.000-07:00

hi-yo!

first off, happy 30th birthday to my good friend burton over at "more hardball", and probably the only person who will willingly sit and read through my ramblings :).

looks like we're back to being the same old team as before. on monday we came back to chicago and in a last minute move, ozzie switched starters. normally, fatso had been scheduled to pitch monday, but allegedly came down with food poisoning after eating some bad guacamole (so say the guys at south side sox). its still a little murky as to why fatso got pulled, but anyway, gavin floyd and his BHB got the call to serve instead. BHB pitched a good game and jim thome hit a 2-run home run in the later innings to further increase our lead. our final score on monday was 11-5.

yesterday, however, was a different story. fatso was pitching and looks like the guacamole was still hanging on him cuz he gave up a run in the 1st, and then 3 runs in the 4th. our offense was shuttered by the a's pitcher, vincent mazz-somethingorother (dont know his last name and dont feel like looking it up). we were blanked 5-0.

tonight's the final game of the series. clayton richard gets the call to start, and i'll be watching this game cuz its at 7 pm on WCIU. maybe this time we can actually win a series at home!!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

royal flush

2009-05-31T17:59:00.000-07:00

hey hey!!

the white sox topped off a rewarding roadtrip by sweeping, yes-SWEEPING, the kansas city royals. the first game was on friday, and we ass-raped the royals 11-7. unfortunately, this game was on cable, and therefore i did not catch it.

the next game was yesterday. for this game, it was mark buehrle who got the call to start. also for this game, MLB had the teams bring out the throwback uniforms. let me just say that the old royals uniforms (then called "monarchs") looked pretty freakin' gay. i mean, it was like something right out of "the natural" or "field of dreams". the royals' hats looked like someone had put a bowl on your head and glued a dark, straight bill to it. at least the sox had dark uniforms with white pinstripes. dark colors will always be fashionable.

but enough about the crappy uniforms and onto a more serious matter, such as BASEBALL!!! the sox had a good game. they were leading 3-1 at 1 point, but then buehrle gave up a 2-run home run to tie the game at 3. luckly, jim thome hit an RBI double in the 9th that put us up 5-3. bobby jenks and that dustmop beard of his came out and got the save for us. take note, however, that i did not watch the game in its entirity. my mom made me go walking with her (something about me needing "exercise"), so i missed most of the game, but i caught the end!

today's game i was sure to catch in its entirity. it was a monster pitching matchup: john danks the miracle man vs. the lone royals ace, zack "grienkydinks" greinke. however, the pitching on both sides was less than spectacular on both sides. grienkydinks gave up 1 run in the 1st, and blew a 4-1 lead. miracle man, on the other hand, couldn't find the strike zone and had to rely on the offense to make up for his lack of control. the score would have been much higher, but our defense did a good job of getting the ball to where it needed to be FAST. alexei ramirez, who earlier in the game lost a ball in the sun and further extended a bad inning, made up for his error by catching everything that went his way. paulie also was looking young as he scooped a ball up outta the dirt to catch a royals runner by a hair. after miracle man was relieved of duty, pidgeon-toed octavio d'oh-tel took over for the next 2 innings, setting the tone for matt thornton and scott linebrink. grienkydinks continued to pitch until the 7th, even though he'd gone over the 100 pitches mark. i remarked to my dad that because grienke was the ace, the royals were gonna keep him in there until his arm fell off. we finally took the lead in the 9th after royals reliever juan cruz failed to keep our guys' bats in check. BA, who came in on a pinch-run, made the most awesome slide home. he just dove into home plate, missing the catchers glove, and might have gone head-over-heels if he kept sliding long enough. we sweep the royals with a final score of 7-4. grienke did not get his win; mission accomplished.

tomorrow, that fat tub-o-lard bartolo colon gets the start against the A's. fatso's last game was pretty impressive, and while the A's have my former fan-flame nomar garciaparra (i loved him in boston) on the team, this should be an easy series. nomar's too old to do any serious damage, and as far as i can tell, the A's are nothing to write home about. plus, its the start of a 12-game homestand for us. can you smell another sweep? or is all those burgers that fatso's swiping from the buffet table?

whatever, tubby. just get us our damn win tomorrow!

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

sweep?

2009-05-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

well, we all hope. but the last i checked, the angels were winning 3-1 in the 7th.

as of last night, we have guaranteed our winning of this series!! fat bartolo pitched spectacularly and jayson nix came up with 2 solo home runs. the score would have been alot more cuz we had the bases loaded twice, but failed to hit the grand slam.

for most of the game, it was a pitchers duel between fatso and joe saunders, the angels starter. then in the 4th inning, we got on the board with an RBI and jayson nix's 1st solo to put us up 2-0. but in the 6th, the angels got a solo run of their own off the bat of torii hunter. finally, after 6 and 2/3 innings, fatso was pulled and matt thornton came in to finish the job. we scored 2 more runs-one of which was another home run by jayson nix, and the angels got another run in of their own before scott linebrink came in to get the save for us. our normal closer, bobby jenks, is out with the flu.

there were tons of spectacular defensive plays on both teams. alexei showed us once again what an amazingly athletic man he is, and old man paulie konerko managed to get a ball outta the dirt just in time to catch a speedy angels hitter. as for the angels, mike napoli made some pretty good blocks behind the plate. the final score was a more reasonable 4-2 in favor of the white sox.

today, gavin floyd and his BHB got the call to start. he did ok till the 7th, when he gave up 2 runs. i just checked the final score and its angels 3, sox 1. jered weaver was the angels winning pitcher.

update on carlos~its plantar faciitis that crippled him on monday, not a hamstring as i first reported. this is painful, so if he wants to play, he better get those cortisone shots ready.

and in other news, the chicago slubs (what i call the cubs now) ace carlos zambrano got suspended after bumping the ump and went ballistic in the dugout. what happened was that zambrano threw a wild pitch that went off of catcher geo soto's glove. soto recovered just in time to throw the ball to zambrano at home plate to catch nyjer morgan and keep him from scoring, but the ref ruled him safe. zambrano, notorious for his hot temper, got into an arguement with the ref and bumped him (it was more like a brush-up then a full-out bump). after getting tossed, zambrano went into the dugout and trashed the gatorade dispenser (which earlier in the week, fellow slub pitcher ryan "the canadian" dempster also trashed after a bad outing. i wonder whose idea it was to put that damn thing in the dugout in the 1st place cuz its obviously becoming a magnet for angry pitchers!) with a bat. he was finally stopped by lou pinella who pulled the bat out of ballistic zambrano's hands.

thats all for tonite! tomorrow its off to KC to play the royals!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

pound for pound

2009-05-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

hi-ho, hi-ho, its off to work i go...well, until i can actually find a real job, i'll consider this my source of employment. well, journalism is technically a career, regardless of what you write about. any shmo who is literate and has access to a computer or any other means of distributing their work can be a journalist, and never once set foot in journalism school.

oh boy did we give the angels a POUNDING last night! my boy hit a double that brought in 2 runs in the first, we scored another run after that, and when i looked at the score yesterday, we were up 13-3 in the 5th. miracle man got the start and pitched a great game. i forget who the angels starter was (i think it was john lackey), but he got shelled. sucked to be him last night. the final score was 17-3. BOO-YAH!!! :D

but despite our lopsided victory, there came some bad news. yup, it involves none other than my boy, carlos jose quentin. oh boy, what now? might you ask. well, its his hamstring. after hitting that 2-run RBI, he pulled his hammie running into 2nd base and had to be helped off the field. this latest injury is compounded on top of plantar fascitis (sp?) in his left foot (basically, the tendon in your heel is damaged or strained. it makes walking painful. my mom had it and it took her 6 mos. to heal). i swear! my carlos has become a crystal chandelier!! poke him, he blows out his shoulder; pat him on the back, and he falls to pieces like that liquid nitrogen drenched quicksilver terminator in "terminator 2: judgement day". i say, when he's not playing, wrap him up in bubble wrap and store him in the closet till he gets better. theres no telling when my boy will be back, so therefore i wish him to get well soon.

tonite, that fat tub-o-lard bartolo colon gets the call to start. fatso is 2-4 as of now, and i have no idea what his ERA is (probably over 5 by now). BA will be playing in carlos' spot and the game is at 9 tonight on WCIU. it sucks playing on the west coast cuz the time difference means that games start later and end later for us in the midwest. i dont think i'll be able to watch the whole game, but i'll hold out for as long as i can before my mom has to drag me kicking and screaming to bed. hopefully tonite, we'll win. dont care how we do it, but we have to win.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

*editors note*-ladies and germs (well, germs mostly), once again, ive made a mistake. in our whuppin of the angels, i incorrectly listed the starting pitcher's name for the angels as john lackey. last night's starting pitcher was in fact ervin santana. tonight's starting pitcher is joe saunders. also fatolo's ERA is 4.23, not nearly as high as i first thought. my most sincere apologies for this mistake.

rollin' rollin' rollin'

2009-05-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

hallo! hope your memorial day weekend is/was awesome!

we've won our second series! unfortunately, a sweep against the pirates was not in the cards for us. our lone ace mark buehrle was out on the mound for us, and while the game was on comcast (i dont have cable, remember!), by all accounts, buerhle pitched a great game. unfortunately, bobby jenks and his dustmop beard blew the lead and gave up a 2-run hr to give the pirates the win. final score was 4-3.

tomorrow, we head out to LA to play the angels. i dont think they're as intimidating as last yr., but vlad guerrero is always a force to be reckoned with.

in other news, BA hit a home run, alexei is on his way back, and my boy is still having problems at the plate. real mixed bag, eh?

speaking of "eh", here in my home city of chicago, the city's gone crazy cuz the local hockey team, the blackhawks, are close to going to the stanley cup. now i know this has nothing to do with the white sox, but since the sox game wasnt on, i got my sunday sports fill watching the blackhawks get pummled by the red wings 2-0. i dont particularly care much for hockey (i love to play it-well, floor hockey cuz i cant skate, but watching it is kinda boring), but it was better then watching those pathetic losers on the north side known as the cubs! plus, my uncle came to take me, my brother, and my dad to see "terminator salvation", so i was out all day (i think the 1st terminator was the best 1. nobody beats ah-nuld as the cold killing machine)

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

roller coaster

2009-05-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

hi-yo!

WE WON OUR FIRST SERIES IN A LONG TIME!!! tuesday, mark buehrle got us our win, and wednesday, john danks the miracle man got us the second win. that game was a thriller. though we didnt wake up till the 4th, we piled on 7 runs, 4 of which came from a grand slam off the bat of jd. miracle man held up pretty strong till the 6th inning when he ran outta gas and the great octavius d'oh-tel came on to get the job done. after 2 more pitchers (scott linebrink and matt thornton), the great bobby jenks came on to get the save-and didnt throw at anybody, unfortunately. we won big, 7-4.

yesterday, that fat tub-o-lard bartolo colon got the call. he performed...miserably. he gave up 1 earned run but was pulled out in the 2nd after getting shelled by the twins (i didnt watch the game cuz i was out all day). our lone run came in on an rbi double that brought in BA. the final was a miserable ass-raping 20-1 in favor of the twins. im thinking fatso should probably be restricted to bullpen duty cuz by all accounts, he made the royals kyle farnsworth look like an ace, and that guy has real issues between his ears (there was a popular joke about farnsy when he was with the cubs that he could throw 90 mph, but every time he wound up to throw, his brain would get scrambled from the heat of his throw-hence explaining why he sucked)! anyway, gavin floyd and his BHB are scheduled to pitch tonite against the pirates. since everyone knows the pirates suck, this should be a sweep.

burtie, gm-carson, i know you two blog about the pirates on 'we should be gms'-make sure you cover this series thorouoghly, and leave no blade of grass unturned (not exactly the word i was looking for, but it works).

no word yet on my boy carlos! hope his heel's feeling better.

btw, i should probably add my 2 cents about the whole peavy debaucle. by now, the entire sports blogosphere has digested that jake peavy said no to the white sox trade cuz he didnt wanna uproot his family. thats fine, i understand, but what has me raising my eyebrows about this trade was once peavy got here, would he be as good in chicago as he was in san diego? but i guess thats a risk you take with all trades. however, despite our bullpen troubles, i think it was best for everyone if peavy stayed where he was. the time to get him was in the offseason, but kenny wasnt quick enough.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

rebound?

2009-05-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

hi everyone!

im back after a slight absence-mainly due to traveling. if possible, i would have been blogging on the plane, but i get my internet from a wireless piece, and you cant have that stuff active on the plane, so i just was stuck doing crossword puzzles from the AZ republic (also known as "the desert pravda") that my mom bought, and wordsearches the whole uncomfortable flight. tuesday i flew back to chicago and today i've been dragged everywhere with my mom in search of employment (none of which have produced any results, at least as of yet).

but happily, now that i've gotten used to a different timezone once again, i can keep closer tabs on the white sox! tonite at 7 on WCIU (a local chicago tv station), we're playing the twins!

you dont need to read my last posts to know that we've been bad. toronto swept us out into the street, and ozzie is about ready to kill someone. lucky for us, we came back to the cell, and beat the twins in the home opener. you also dont need me to tell you that tonite's game is absolutely essentially a must-win. although technically all games are must wins, this 1 is particularly important. if we are to salvage this trainwreck of a 1st-half, WE HAVE TO START WINNING!!!! ozzie's behavior, the coaches best efforts (even they've been lousy), and even fellow bloggers like steve rosenbloom (and myself) cannot emphasize enough the importance of winning. if ozzie trashing kenny's office (hasnt happened, just saying-although i wouldnt rule out the possibility of this occurring in the future, given our manager's volitile temper) is what jump-starts the team into a winning streak, so be it (even if kenny and the rest of the white sox front office will have to start conducting operations from a bunker and the team is gonna have to put up with a pretty hefty remodeling bill). or, to take the less destructive route, how about trading some players (i hear pedro martinez is looking for a job), firing some coaches (greg walker-your time has come), and bringing up some of the youngsters from the minors, like beckham? that would certainly make better sense than just destroying every office in the cell.

enough rambling. looks like the jetlag still hasnt worn off yet.

in short, fire the coaches, and lets start over again. in the meantime, we just snapped a 5-game losing streak; lets turn it into a winning streak.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

you make me sick!

2009-05-17T11:18:00.000-07:00

hallo!!

sorry im late in posting, but it took me 2 days to move outta college, i was sick 1 day, and my mom and grandma have been dragging me everywhere with them, so the precious time i can spend in front of my computer is decidedly more rare. also, no further word on employment, so perhaps there is some hope of closely following the sox this summer. maybe i can get paid for doing this, only id have to find a sponsor...

oh boy, where to start. the sox are bad. REALLY bad!! jd got suspended for hitting the ref with his helmet (it wasnt on purpose!!), my boy is hurt with a sore heel and out for another few days, maybe a week (no surprise there, crystal chandelier), the fat tub-o-lard got pulled for a stomach ailment yesterday (here's a tip: STOP EATING!!! if you watch what you eat, you wont be sick), and we're on the verge of getting swept-in canada of all places. the bottom has just fallen out and there doesnt appear to be any end in sight. the last score i checked said that the sox were down by 2 in the top of the 5th.

this whole week has been stressful on my health. finals and waiting for the grades are 1 thing, moving out has been hard on me cuz of all the crap i had to pack up and whoever designed my building was a complete idiot cuz he didnt include an elevator-and wherever there's ladies, there should be an elevator cuz you cant always find a reliable strong guy to help carry heavy things for you, so i had to carry my shit down 3 flights of stairs to my uncle's truck. and to top things off, my boys in black-and-white have been driving me insane with their ineptitude and inability to score!!! YAAAARRRGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

but on a happy note, finals are over and i have the summer to detox and regain my health. also, BA is almost ready to play-he'll be back on tuesday. hope he plays well so after the game, he and my boy can go honey-hoppin' at the bars on rush street :D.

id like to sign off with an amusing tidbit by our rambunctious manager ozzie. a few days ago, i think it was friday, i came across an amusing quote by our crazy ozzie. i dont remember exactly how the quote went, but ozzie was saying that he'd switch the saturday lineup to include harold baines, joey cora, and any other coach he could find in place of the players "so that maybe now we can score some [bleeping] runs". now, most of the coaches, like harold, were playing before i was born, but harold doesnt look to be THAT old or outta baseball THAT long, so maybe he's still got some stuff left in the tank. of course ozzie was joking, but for a yung'un like me who until a few years ago didnt even know who harold baines was, it would have been a fascinating experiment.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

im back!

2009-05-12T20:06:00.000-07:00

hi everyone! specifically to gm-carson and burton, my 2 associates at more hardball, since they're the only two people who actually bother to visit my blog regularly.

i just finished my finals and in the midst of packing up to leave this dingy dormroom for the summer, i thought id take a moment to post my regular rambling opinion-heavy analysis of the white sox.

i checked up on the score yesterday when gavin floyd and his BHB got to face carl "american idle" pavano. we got womped 9-4. as per custom, i was cruising the boards at south side sox for any notable analysis, and 1 user (i believe it was 'the cheat') colloquially referanced an older article about gavin floyd in which the writer, phil rogers of the chicago tribune's sports dept., wrote that gavin floyd had managed to go 12 games without "looking like a doody". fast forward to this year, and gavin floyd has managed to look like a doody in 5 of his last 7 starts.

today, clayton richard got the call to start. after enough pressure (though i wouldnt be surprised if a few threats probably worked their way in there amongst the angry emails and letters-NONE OF WHICH I SENT!!) ozzie and kenny finally demoted jose contreras. only instead of dumping him in the minors, the sox desginated him for bullpen duty. clayton richard is contreras' replacement. he had a good day, but in the 5th, he started to lose it, so dj "tabasco" carrasco-1 of our more effective setup men-came out and got the win for the sox. the great bobby jenks, who was fined a mind boggling $750 for throwing at ian kinsler's ass, came out to get the save (note to bobby-you might wanna shut up about throwing at batters. vito corleone put it best when he told sonny "never let anyone outside the family know what you're thinking").

as for any other notable highlights, jim thome hit 2 2-run home runs, and our offense finally woke up with corky miller (or "q!orky" as the SSS'ers refer to him-q! was derived from none other than my boy carlos) hitting some singles. gaahhh, i hope 'corky' isnt corky's real name. i mean, of all the names to name your kid, why that. anyway, back to the subject at hand-must remember to write coherantly!-im almost afraid to wish that this win's momentum should carry us to victory tomorrow cuz whenever i say that, we get blown out badly. so, i'll say instead "good luck boys!!"

in other news, perhaps the biggest crush is that my boy is out with a sore heel. he won't be back till friday. one of the commenters on southside sox remarked that he saw my boy with a half-smile on his face and assumed that he was on some heavy-duty painkillers. to that, another poster replied that he'd been laid. DAMMIT! shouldn'ta wrote that! bad images forming in my head. YAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

thats all for tonite folks!!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

pain in the ass

2009-05-09T23:02:00.001-07:00

before i write my daily white sox post-game analysis, id like to give a big hearty HOORAAAYYYY!!! for my fellow sports-blogger associates gm-carson and burton over at more hardball. they've been gone for a week and just when i thought they'd abandoned more hardball, they came back and posted a new entry (they said it was technical problems). well its about damn time you guys came back! i was starting to think you'd forgotten about kicking baseball's top stories squarely in the nuts! (aside from whats going on with the phillies)

and now, to business.

SOX WIN!! SOX WIN!! the miracle man john danks got right back in form with a career high 10ks and 1 run on 4 hits.

my boy carlos had a pretty good day too. he drove in 1 run on an RBI-double, hit a second double, and scored twice-1st when jd hit a double that brought my boy home, and the second time was when paulie hit a sac-fly that sent my boy nearly plastering the rangers catcher jerrod 'salty' saltalamacchia at home plate (though my boy had to retouch home plate cuz the ref wasnt paying attention when he slid home the 1st time around). he also got hit by a pitch-yet again. i tell ya, either he should have a special uniform with a target painted on it or change his stance cuz there are better ways to take 1 for the team, most of which do not include being a masochist!!

aside from my boy, our game was shaky. we had the lead twice, and then we lost it. but the rangers were only able to tie the score, never get ahead.

but the highlight of the game was at the end when the great bobby jenks came on to get the save. after striking out the 1st 2 batters, bobby let his 1st pitch fly at ian kinsler's ass. he wasnt hit, but the ref came out to warn bobby, and hawk (our announcer) almost had a heart attack in the booth because he was so mad and yelling at the ref. as i was cruising the forums at southside sox for any other postgame analysis, i duely noted that someone wrote in regards to bobby's beaning that "they better get the diffribullators (sp?) ready in the broadcast booth!" because hawk was so pissed. but hawk wasnt alone; i and the rest of white sox nation were equally angry and thought that the ref was being harsh cuz pitchers are typically warned when they intentionally bean batters. even ozzie came out to argue (it was his 2nd time out to argue with the refs. the 1st arguement was about my boy's slide home), and since i saw this ref had a short fuse, i thought for sure ozzie was gonna get tossed. but thankfully everyone's temper was in control, and nobody got tossed.

tomorrow, that fat tub-o-lard bartolo colon gets the call to start. the rangers starter is vicente padilla, and i hear he's pretty good. but today's win should give us the momentum to win this series-especially since we have a more mediocre pitcher on the mound then jose contreras!

ibis, get the air fresheners ready and stock up on laundry detergent. this could be a long one.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

0-5

2009-05-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

that sad number you see in the title is now officially jose contreras' record. he may as well have played his last start in the majors. if he's not demoted within the next week, kenny williams should expect to be swamped with angry emails and letters from fans who want contreras' sorry ass outta the bullpen. its time for this man to go.

ibis guillen can do a fresh load of laundry for ozzie tonight. the momentum from our big win last night had completely turned around. last night, we were doin the kicking. tonight, we were on the recieving end of the abuse.

tomorrow, game 3 will be broadcast on WGN at 5 my time. the miracle man john danks gets the call to start.

in other news, i had my economics final today. i think it went well. my next finals are thankfully my last ones, and they're on tuesday.

OH!! i almost forgot!! here's a correction from yesterday's post! yesterday, when diva manny got busted for hcg, i made a mistake in describing the drug's function. as im sure you all have heard by now, its a female fertility hormone, not a testosterone enhancer like i'd said previously. well, i guess it could be classified as a testosterone enhancer cuz its typically given to men to restore their natural testosterone production after they're done taking steroids. but in this light, for the sake of decency, i'll hold off on the cheesy jokes that manny will start growing boobs and get a period within the next month or so (although i wont be surprised if he has developed either up to this point-he certainly acts hormonal!!!), or the snide jokes about manny not being able to get it up in the sack. being the honest blogger-journalist that i am, if i make a mistake, i'll actually take the steps to correct it.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

streaking

2009-05-07T18:58:00.000-07:00

hey hey!

last night's game was rained out. no surprise there-the sox are a magnet for rain delays and games getting called cuz of bad weather (i think we lead MLB in the number of games called due to bad weather).

but today, it appears that an extra day was all we needed to retool and get back in the swing of things. mark buehrle got the call to start tonight, and as im seeing on whitesox.com, its in the 9th and the sox are ahead 6-0. mark buehrle is set to pitch his 1st complete game of the season :).

actually, scratch that last line. this just cleared the wireless and that the great bobby jenks has come on the get the save.

steve rosenbloom, a chicago sports writer who writes satirical columns about chicago sports, wrote that since ozzie guillen came to chicago, when the team is in a slump (especially early in the season), we have become accustomed to raging expletive-filled tirades directed at players, coaches, the media, whatever unfortunate soul happens to get caught in ozzie's way. but this year, rosenbloom wrote that ozzie lobbed a verbal handgrenade into the locker room-the stage has been set, but the pin and handle havent been pulled off yet and thus no explosion. the guys at south side sox have been speculating that ozzie has gone soft-looks like mariotti finally had a muzzle put on our crazy manager (a chicago sportswriter who was infamously called a "fag" in a tirade by ozzie).

breaking news! sox win 6-0!! THE LOSING STREAK IS OVER!!!! let the winning streak begin :).

now for something not-white sox related. its been spread and digested allover the news and blogosphere that manny ramirez, LA's diva has been suspended for 50 games for popping positive on a drug test. the substance: hcg, a testosterone enhancer. of course, i wasnt surprised cuz im a natural cynic and figured manny was secretly juicing but found a way to beat the test. looking back on it, it could be a factor in explaining why the dodgers didnt sign manny to a long-term deal. manny claims that he got the stuff from a doctor for a "personal health issue", but as rythm on south side sox humorously commented:

I have a few guesses as to this "personal health issue"
1) he was prescribed medical marajuana

2) he was having problems in the sack, and the boner pills tested positive for something

given that hcg is a testosterone enhancer, the latter doesnt sound all that far off.

sox win, gotta get back to studying. economics final tomorrow, and my calc/bio final on tuesday. wish me luck!!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

down 4

2009-05-06T11:10:00.000-07:00

urgh!

i didnt follow the end of the game cuz i had to go to bed. but, the sox lost, and now we're in a depressing 4th place. i hope ozzie isnt going tazmanian devil on the locker room, but the verbal tirades are still ok.

tonight we play the tigers at the cell. game is at 5 my time, but its not gonna be broadcast on WGN. WCIU, a local chicago tv station, will be carrying the game.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

extra innings

2009-05-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

hi yo!

game's in extra innings-both teams tied up at 7 in the 10th. we fought the royals tooth-and-nail to get the lead, though we eventually gave it up >:[. aj had a good game-he hit a couple RBIs and my boy hit a buncha singles, 1 of which earned him an RBI, and he stole 2nd! i didnt think my boy was THAT quick!

jd's back! he hit a 2-run HR in the 2nd. as i said earlier, we had an early lead but gave it up. later on, its back to the cell to play the tigers.

good night! happy cinco de mayo carlos, dj, and any other sox players of mexican descent, as well as the general public! hope you guys didnt do too much drinking! though this has nothing to do with the white sox, since i go to school in AZ and there's alotta mexicans down here, my school hired a mariachi band to play on the lawn during the noontime lunch hour. i thought it was actually kinda amusing, seeing these guys in matching mariachi outfits wailing off-key songs in spanish. it reminded me of a scene in "the naked gun: the smell of fear" where frank, ed, nordberg, and dr. meinheimer are trying to sneak into a reception at a posh DC-area hotel, but get busted on stage cuz they dressed up as mariachi singers to sneak in undercover. when they get busted, the group starts singing off-key quasi-spanish songs.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

3's a charm

2009-05-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

3 days, 3 losses. will the losing ever end?! ibis guillen (that would be the wife of our crazy manager, ozzie) better have an entire closet full of clean clothes for ozzie by time he comes home from this painful roadtrip! (see here if you have no idea what im talking about)

our fat tub-o-lard bartolo colon got the call to start tonight. much like his last start, bartolo became fartolo-coughing up 3 runs over the course of 7 innings; 1 in the 2nd and 2 in the 3rd, the latter being earned. HOWEVER! tubby did get 7Ks before his time was up and the pitch count was too high. despite his 3 runs, fartolo kept the damage to a minimum. too bad i cant say the same for our other players.

unfortunately, the sox couldnt capitalize on anything. we hardly hit-podsie pan had, according to southside sox, 2/3 of the white sox hits for the whole game; we couldnt steal; and the final score was 3-0 in favor of the royals at kauffman stadium.

but thats not to say the game was completely bad! i saw on the white sox website that my boy carlos made a spectacular sliding catch to pop-out david dejesus. if only my boy was hitting homeruns, my fingers would be happily jumping over and landing on the keyboard of my laptop :D.

final game is tomorrow at 5 my time, but its on comcast chicago, so i cant see it. maybe we could finally break the slump and at least split the series! then its off to detroit to play the tigers for 2 games.

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

dink dunk donk danks

2009-05-03T22:16:00.000-07:00

another day, another loss.

john danks the miracle man again didnt have his stuff. in the 1st inning, he gave up a solo-homerun to speedy ian kinsler. the bleeding didnt stop there. the miracle man pooped out 3 more runs over the course of 6 innings. d'oh-tel temporarily stemmed the bleeding, but dj carrasco-an otherwise effective setup man-shat out 1 more run.

the sox had plenty of opportunities to score. many times there were runners in scoring position, and at 1 pt in the 3rd, the sox had the bases loaded with my boy carlos up at bat. after a long at-bat, my boy...struck out. yeah... my boy wasnt too happy about that.

the sox did manage to get 1 run. it came on some base hits, one of which brought alexei home. sorry-the skeletons in the pic below are supposed to be dancing the can-can. 'dancing alexei' courtesy of southside sox.

there was a plethora of pain down in arlington. during my boy's at-bat, the 1st baseman went over the edge of the seats chasing down a foul ball and landed flat on his ass. but before that, in the 1st inning, josh fields got hit on the hand, and when the trainers took his glove off, the impact was swollen and ready to bruise. fields did play for the rest of the game, but he won't be playing tomorrow against KC (and on that note, jd won't be playing either). then, in either the 3rd or 4th inning, the TX pitcher threw a pitch that the batter fouled off, but it flew into the safety net behind home plate and scared the fan so much that he threw his popcorn box into the air, spilling the kernals all over the seat (and the announcer colloquially remarked that the pitcher "scared the hell outta him"). the final painful moment was in the 6th when the TX 1st baseman (yeah, him again) had to stretch to get the ball on a bounce. by stretch, i mean STEEERRRREEETTCHHH!!!! into a split. looks like somebody's gonna be a little sore tomorrow >:].

tomorrow my boys go up to KC to play the royals. the game won't be televised down here, but that fat tub-o-lard bartolo colon is due to start. good luck fatso!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

rain rain go away, part II

2009-05-02T23:03:00.000-07:00

yes, even the most diligent of persons make mistakes from time to time (ichiro...you and your mental signals know what im talking about!!).

turns out, i spoke too soon about the game being called over. the game resumed in the bottom of the 5th. in the 6th, jd got plunked on the arm and left the game. lilly-bridge took his place. the rangers loaded up the bases and my dad's twin aj pierzynski (i kid you not-a younger version of my dad would be almost identical to aj pierzynski) hits his 7th career grand slam.

sox 5, rangers 9. in the 6th we got another run in before another rain delay was called. this was a much shorter delay, but neither team scored anymore runs after the 7th.

final score-sox: 6, rangers: 9. not as bad but its still a loss. and as i bitched about earlier, ozzie and kenny should start filing the paperwork to send the newly-svelte jose contreras down to the minors.

all other info is the same.

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

rain rain go away

2009-05-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

yep, yet another rain delay. the game's been delayed three times already! it seems that my boys in black-and-white are a magnet for bad weather!

as for the game itself, it was horrible! the sox took the lead in the 2nd on a sac-fly from alexei which brought that old gasbag paulie home-who knew grandpa could run so fast! after that, it all fell apart. the rangers scored 3 runs in the 3rd, and 6 runs in the 4th when the game got called again. the score at the last rain delay was 9-1 in favor of the rangers. i think after the 5th, the game was officially called. never mind-WGN's 9:00 news crew just said they're goin back out to arlington to finish the game. wait, they're still in rain delay and its indefininate. i guess thats my cue that its unofficially over.

ozzie, kenny this one's for you: GET CUNT-RERAS OUTTA HERE!!!! he has absolutely no control whatsoever (i saw 2 wild pitches during the actual game) and when given a lead, he cant keep it!! once BA and dewayne wise get better, send podsie-pan AND contreras down to charlotte. this turd is turning into a giant drain on the team! best way to treat the disease is to get to the cause or one of the causes.

jose, this one's for you.

next game is tomorrow on es-pun at 5 my time. hopefully there's better weather tomorrow.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

the return of podsie-pan

2009-05-01T20:25:00.000-07:00

scotty 'podsie-pan' podsednik can pretty much follow one of gen. douglas macarthur's most famous quotes: "people of chicago, i have returned".

yeah, thats right, podsie-pan, the once-speedy-catalyist-now-putzy-crunk who was on our '05 world series roster and has been bouncing around the majors (and most recently the minors), came back.

he had a good game, and the sox got their game-winning run off of him. though i dont get comcast here in AZ, i read on the white sox website that podsie-pan got balked, and then scored on chris getz' 1st career triple. sox win 4-3. originally, the sox were down 3-0 against the rangers up till the 7th when jolly jim thome hit a 3-run RBI to tie the game.

tomorrow's game is on WGN at 5:00 my time. hope we have a good game like today!

GO WHITE SOX!!
tamtam

back-2-back

2009-04-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

SOX WIN!!! SOX WIN!!! we took the lead early on an aj pierzynski solo homerun, and almost lost it early after gavin floyd and his BHB gave up 3 runs in the 4th. however, we roared back to tie the game up in the 7th with some small-ball, meaning that speedy little alexei is getting back in the groove by hitting some singles and stealing some bases.

but in the 7th, we broke it wide open when my boy carlos hit his 8th homerun to break the 3-3 tie (you shoulda heard me screaming and cheering. i coulda broke some windows!), then right after that, jd comes up and hits a solo homerun himself!! we managed to get another run in the 8th before walking out with a 6-3 victory.

on a more somber note, BA left the game in the 8th with a sore oblique. general soreness jerry owens replaced him for the remainder of the game. looks like someone cant go honey-hoppin' tonight!

tomorrow my boys are going down to texas to play the rangers. hopefully my boy carlos won't be hoppin' on hamilton for this trip! tomorrow is also my dad's birthday, but there wont be a game for him to watch. i also wont be able to send him anything cuz i've got a monsterously busy day tomorrow with a math test, a bio presentation, and other shit.

the next televised game is saturday on WGN, and then sunday on ESPN.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

split!

2009-04-28T23:30:00.000-07:00

as i grimly predicted in my earlier post, the sox lost in game 2 by a final score 9-1. john danks the miracle man was outta juice, and the offense was nonexistant.

tomorrow's game is on WGN (at least thats what it says on the televised game printout that i have pinned on the bulletin board on my desk. i've highlighted all the days that WGN or ESPN carry a game). it'll be at 11:00 am my time, so i'll have to get up bright and early for this (actually, since its a weekday, i dont wake up later than 9:30. i may be a lazy bum, but i save my sleep-all-morning routine for the weekends). gavin floyd and his big hairy balls (or BHB) gets the start tomorrow. maybe we can win this series, since its obvious that we cant sweep!

1 down, 1 to go

2009-04-28T18:30:00.001-07:00

good news! that fat tub-o-lard bartolo colon got us a victory in game 1!

unfortunately, john danks the miracle man ran outta juice early cuz the sox are down 5-0 last time i looked.

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

rain delay, part II

2009-04-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

as usual, the white sox got rained out again last night. i tell you, with all this rain, my home city will turn into an underwater city like atlantis within a few days! michigan and indiana are gonna get all the crap that manages to float across the lake and settle on their shores. my dad called me on sunday to tell me that with all the rain, the weather was perfect for "just ducks and submarines!"

today at 2 my time on WGN, it will be the 1st game of the doubleheader. chris jakubauskas will pitch game 1, but it will be against that fat tub-o-lard bartolo colon. john danks the miracle man gets game 2.

in the meantime, lets enjoy this rain delay by watching dick allen juggle baseballs and smoke a cigarette at the same time (take THAT jim leyland!)

wild wild west

2009-04-27T12:01:00.001-07:00

as usual, jose contreras did not get his win. HOWEVER, kenny and ozzie may want to hold off on demoting him for now. by all accounts, contreras pitched a good game, but scott linebrink, another no-name pitcher on our staff, lost it and made contreras' outing a no-decision.

tonite, the mariners pay a visit to the cell. this means that our old friend griffey is back in town!! i remember seeing griffey play last year. he wasnt bad, but he's clearly getting old. i guess returning to your old team is a nice way to end your career. the sports hernia had a really funny post about griffey's famous backwards hat. you can read it here. the mariners are in 1st place with a 12-7 record, and our miracle man john danks is set to take on their pitcher, chris jakubauskas (sp? thats a heluva name). expect a good game.

unfortunately, the game is broadcast on a local chicago tv station tonight, so i cant watch the game. however, wednesday's game is on WGN, so i can catch at least 1 game. im at the mercy of the cable company. if you're wondering why i dont get mlb.tv, its because its too expensive, and if the guys at south side sox are right, theres alotta kinks that still need to be worked out.

thats all for today!
GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

ass-kicking alexei ramirez

2009-04-25T20:37:00.001-07:00

hooray!!! we finally got ourselves a win!!!

after suffering a 15-min rain delay, the blue jays jumped on mark buerhle early and were up by 2 in the 2nd. however, my boys came back to tie the game at 2. by the 5th inning, we got the bases loaded and the current infield stinker, alexei ramirez, comes up to bat. since his batting avg was a measly 0.145, and he's been swinging at everything, its another quick out, right?

WRONG!!!

just like casey at bat (or those other baseball stories), lo and behold, the lowly alexei hits a grand slam that put the sox ahead 6-2. it was his 1st home run of the season, and his 5th career grand slam. my boys in black and white managed to get 4 more runs in before the game was over, a final score of 10-2 in favor of us.

now that the series is tied 1-1, its up to the newly-svelte, but outta control jose contreras to give us the win. if he fails again, ozzie and kenny should really seriously start making plans to send this albatross down to the minors. its either that or push into retirement cuz he's clearly lost his pitcher's touch. tomorrow's game wont be broadcast over wgn, but in a way, im dreading that game's outcome, given jose's very poor start and frightening record.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

blowout, day 2

2009-04-24T22:52:00.000-07:00

as of now, im hungry, outta money (i kid you not, my wallet is empty and my school card is down to its last dollars, but my money doesnt arrive till friday. looks like a week of soup for me), dirty, and sitting in the dark in front of my computer, having my corneas bored outta my eyes. my roommate's gone for the weekend, so ive got this dingy dormroom to myself for the weekend.

today, we suffered our second blowout. 14-0. that was the ass-raping score my white sox suffered at the hands of those damn canadians, the toronto blue jays. well, maybe i shouldnt curse canada cuz obama might chase me outta this country and up north to canada. anyway, that aside, alexei really needs to get his act together. not only is his batting average below 1 (or maybe right around 1, im too lazy to look it up), but he dropped like 5 balls today!! if thats not utterly pathetic, i dont know what is. WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU, ALEXEI?!!!! gavin floyd, the man with big hairy balls (at least thats the name that the guys at south side sox bestowed on him. note: ive never seen gavin's balls, nor do i ever want to. let me make that clear!!), lost his balls tonight-perhaps castration would be a better word to describe his performance. he couldnt get his slider down and his control was off. and to make things worse, our hitters couldnt hit!! we got into bases-loaded situations at least 2xs, and we couldnt score on either one. tomorrow's game is on wgn, so i'll get to watch it :). hopefully tomorrow wont be as pathetic as today's game.

but on the bright side, my boy carlos is back!! his hand is ok! since the man is a crystal chandelier (thats what we in chicago call injury-prone athletes), everytime he goes out on the field, doctors and the insurance company shit their pants over the amount of paperwork they'll have to fill out. we all know hospital visits aren't cheap. i hope his brand-new lovely wifey isnt worrying herself to ulcers over whether or not her glass hubby is gonna break apart as he's up at bat. to paraphrase a comment left on south side sox, when carlos isnt playing, he should be kept in bubblewrap and stored in one of the cell's many storage units to prevent injury. maybe the rival cubs could take a hint from carlos when it comes to dealing with that diva headcase milton bradley-specifically the bubblewrap and storage part. well, that duck over there, i didnt have a funny bubblewrap pic, but you get my point anyway. i hope...

thats all for tonite!!

GO WHITE SOX!!!

the one and only, tamtam

white house colon blow

2009-04-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

hey-yo!

sorry im so late in posting! on monday, the sox paid president obama a visit. normally, id be spilling my right-wing guts about how much i disagree with obama and his policies, but that subject's reserved for my other blog, the pen is mightier than the sword. anyway, by all accounts, the visit went well. kenny the gm presented the president with a customized 'obama' white sox jersey, and the "nervous and sweaty" octavius d'oh-tel (who else but octavio dotel, our pidegon-toed setup man who cant keep the ball in the park) asked the president for a hug, and got one. im not making this up. d'oh-tel asked for a hug. he said it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

looks like the visit to the white house put a jinx on the sox. they dropped their 1st game after contreras stank up the field like rotting fish. and speaking of contreras, i bet im not the only sox fan who's calling for kenny and ozzie to DO something about him!! contreras is 0-3 and has an ERA of at least 10.00. now, im not too good at math, but even a half-wit like myself knows that an ERA over 3 is cause for alarm. i say, throw him into the minors until he gets his act together.

yesterday's game was pretty good. we hit homeruns, RBIs, and tried to run the bases efficiantly. but today, it all came crashing down. aside from that fat tub-o-lard bartolo colon losing his shit on the mound, my boys in black and white committed 1 error, got overpowered by the lowly adam eaton, and (rightfully) got creamed 10-7. when i looked at the standings, we're tied with the lowly royals for, get this, 2ND PLACE!! chain-smoking marlboro man jim leyland's tigers are in 1st.

but that wasnt the worst news. during today's game, my boy carlos got hit on the hand with a pitch. he was taken out early, and the diagnosis was apparantly a bruise. no x-rays were taken (so i read). get well soon baby! we dont need another repeat of the end of last season!

thats all for tonight. even though my computer clock says its 9:35 pm, i feel like im about to doze off. normally im up till the late hours of the night blogging or doing actual work, and it looks like my life of sleeplessness is catching up with me. that or sitting in the dark facing my computer screen is beginning to bore the corneas clean outta my eyes.

GO WHITE SOX!!! get well soon baby q <3

tamtam

happy easter!

2009-04-19T22:18:00.000-07:00

as an orthodox christian, today is my easter. and to top off this happy holiday, the white sox win their 1st series of the year against the rays by a blowout score of 12-2. the sox won today and my boy carlos took the lead in the AL homerun column with his 7th homerun of the year. my boy is on FIRE!!!!! also, aj had a good day after hitting his 1st homerun.

happy easter everyone!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

still kickin'

2009-04-18T21:50:00.001-07:00

hey-yo!!

i've been a little busy for the past couple days. the tea party on wed was hot and crowded. you can read my account of it here.

though we've had some bumps along the way, the white sox are still alive and kicking!! my boys paulie, carlos, jd, and lilibridge (or as the guys at south side sox lovingly call him "lilly-bridge") have been hitting homers and getting the job done. though they lost the series in detroit, they've come out pretty strong against tampa. they took game 1 and won today, but that fat tub-o-lard bartolo colon lost it for us on fri. and i thought he was on the rebound!!

now, on a totally non-white sox related matter, how bout them yankees? they SUCK!!! every team thats played them has been shelling them badly. hell, even little nicky swisher was brought in to pitch an inning cuz the bullpen got shelled-and nicky was the only pitcher who didnt give up a run. With regards to the latest blowout, i heard that the fans were chanting "WE WANT SWISHER!!" looks like nicky got it made out there in NY. too bad he wasnt this good during his time with us.

good night!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

rainout, ozzie spills his guts, and guess who's back!

2009-04-14T19:04:00.000-07:00

hey-yo!!

today's game in detroit was rained out. that sucked cuz our miracle man was due to start. but tomorrow the newly-svelte jose contreras is due to take the mound. hope he has a better game tomorrow. this trip for us in detroit has been pretty good so far. paulie and jd went back-to-back for record-setting home runs, my boy q hit 2 home runs in the same game, and buerhle got his groove back.

so to fill out this rain-delay, i came across a funny Q&A segment featuring none other than ozzie guillen, our crazy manager.

in this Q&A, ozzie revealed that he would like to interview fidel castro, hugo chavez (who's regime he is currently displeased with), and barack obama. ozzie also is very superstitious: when the team is on a winning streak, he doesnt change his clothes (including underwear), and after a 10-gm winning streak, he claims "my locker doesnt smell too good". i gets thats a good way of picking who he wants to talk to in the media on a given day: interview ozzie by his locker and the ones left standing get to give the interview XD. other than being disgustingly dirty when the team is on a winning streak (i'll bet there are times his wife just wishes the team would lose so she can wash ozzie's clothes and send him off to bed/work smelling CLEAN!!), ozzie reveals that he dreams about shakira and considers sox fans the smarter chicago baseball fans ("sox fans actually care about baseball...cubs fans only go to get drunk."). the Q&A, conducted by es-pun's jim caple, can be viewed in its entirity here.

finally, a story which broke this morning, and has been thoroughly digested by people all over the sports blogosphere (well, specifically at south side sox). scott podsednik, known affectionately as 'podsie-pan' (see here for clarification-its old, but its perfect timing too!), went from being a speedy catalyst to being a putzy crunk, and bounced around the majors for a few years. since his fielding has declined considerably since his time with us, the sox signed podsie-pan to a minor league deal. i guess they'll bring him up when general soreness jerry owens, brought up when ba starts to suck, goes down with another sore groin. basically, podsie-pan is now the backup to the backup to the backup.

thats all for tonite!! im going to a tea party tomorrow here in tucson, so i may or may not be able to catch all of the sox game on wgn. but if i miss, the next televised game is on saturday. thank god for south side sox to break things down for me when i cant catch the games.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

resurrection

2009-04-12T21:23:00.001-07:00

after today's win, all i can say is that the white sox have resurrected their season. from looking like they were gonna end up at rock bottom to establishing a strong effort to get back on top

since today is easter (for my non-orthodox christian friends and readers-ours comes next week), i thought id put up my spin on our new team rebirth.

this is an orthodox christian icon that depicts jesus raising the dead. i thought it worked perfectly for our situation, so i spliced the saints heads in with the heads of jd, my boy carlos as jesus cuz he got the team going, bobby, jolly jim, ozzie, ba, d'oh-tel, jeff marquez (don't worry-he's in hell along with ozzie :)), paulie, aj, john danks the miracle man, and finally that fat tub-o-lard bartolo. i originally had that fat tub-o-lard bartolo up as jesus, but the more i thought about it, the more my boy carlos made sense as the resurrector. since i know the orthodox church is gonna go after me for this, let me just put my disclaimer up:

ATTENTION BISHOPS, PRIESTS, AND WHOMEVER THIS MATTER MAY CONCERN: THIS IMAGE IS NOT MEANT TO MOCK ORTHODOXY. IT IS PURELY FOR ENTERTAINMENT!!! AS A DEVOUT ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN, I'M NOT MOCKING ANYTHING ABOUT MY FAITH!!

that said, i hope you all had a happy easter and GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

sox win!

2009-04-11T23:53:00.000-07:00

well, waddaya know? who would have guessed that my boy, the slumping carlos quentin would have started a resurrection of the chicago white sox? he hit his 2nd home run today! looks like i got gloomy too soon. and as for that fat tub-o-lard bartolo colon, he had a great game-6 shutout innings. the bullpen also held up very well, with d'oh-tel (thats the southside sox nickname for octavio dotel-1 of our setup pitchers) holding steady for 2 innings, and matt thornton and his outta control arm (see here for clarification. its kinda old, but its still pretty funny. comic courtesy of carl skanberg) getting the save. after avenging yesterday's humiliating loss to the twins, im very happy to report that we won 8-0 and are telling the rest of the AL Central: WE'RE NOT DEAD YET!!!

you'll also notice some changes to my profile. im proud to say that since im getting a stronger foothold on blogger, i want to redo my blogger template and make it more appealing. however, its not gonna be anytime soon as i haven't got the slightest knowledge of HTML coding. can anyone recommend a free template software that just works for blogger? it can be anything-but it must be free and it must be easy to use cuz i havent the slightest idea how to read HTML or do any coding.

GO WHITE SOX!!! lets win this series!
tamtam

another day, another game down the toilet

2009-04-10T23:53:00.000-07:00

im sitting here, at my desk, in front of my computer, in my dingy dormroom at the unholy hour of 11:54 pm, surrounded by unwashed dishes, garbage, and empty cans of red bull, coffee cups, and cigarette butts (just kidding-i hate red bull and coffee, and i sure as hell dont smoke). what am i doing in this condition this late at night?

im thinking about my white sox. frankly, they're making me quite depressed.

i dont know what is wrong with them?! they cant hit, they cant pitch-the bullpen was a complete joke, giving up 7 runs in the 7th inning. the final score was an ass-raping 12-5 in favor of the twins. i'd hate to be a journalist interviewing ozzie right about now-every word that comes out of his mouth is liable to be a curse word, and i'll bet he's taken to going tasmanian devil on his office or in the locker room. i know its early, i know that april is usually a sleepy time for stats, but this is utterly pathetic!! i'd hate to think it, but by going svelte-i think contreras (our pitcher) has lost his control or velocity. he gave up a few runs over the course of his 5-innings pitched.

as for any highlights, looks like my boy carlos is getting back in the swing of things-no pun intended. he hit a solo HR in the bottom of the 7th. maybe his new wrist hasnt killed his power after all (or at least not a whole lot). paulie also hit a home run in the 3rd that gave the sox the lead (which they squandered).

thats the scoop from this end of the blogosphere. tomorrow the game is on fox. i might be able to catch the game, but if the game is as pathetic at today's, im turning it off. lets hope tomorrow's game is better than today's.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

WTF IS WRONG WITH THE SOX??!!!!

2009-04-09T14:20:00.001-07:00

ok, i know its early in the season but i, and alot of fellow sox fans are more than a little worried. we had a great opening day (jolly jim shelling that POS farnsworth was great!), but everything since then has gone downhill! for 1 thing, our pitchers have been good (yesterday was gold gavin and today was the miracle man john danks), but they've had absolutely NO RUN SUPPORT!!!! q cant hit (but he was hit by a pitch last night and almost charged the mound), dewayne wise can't hit-or leadoff for that matter either, alexei can't hit, paulie's power's gone down alot, and because of it we dropped the 2nd game of the series. it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out that unless the sox pick up the slack and start hitting, we'll wind up at the bottom of the AL central!! we have a chance tomorrow with the twins coming to town (and we get to see our old friend joe crede-who unfortunately jumped ship and signed with the twins during the offseason). my advice to ozzie and don cooper (he's the pitching coach): DONT FUCK THIS UP!!! its bad enough the sox dropped 2 games to the dogbreath royals, but to get womped by the rival twins is absolutely humiliating!

yesterday, i got to see my 1st televised sox game of the season. i got to hear hawk and stoney for the 1st time this season. for my non-chicago readers, last year and for many past years, hawk harrelson had been calling the sox games on tv along with his friend 'dj' darren jackson. i always liked the 2 of them-they sounded good together. perhaps its cuz stoney (that would be steve stone-an ex cub but called sox games on the radio for a long time) is new and i never heard him call a game till now, but as i was watching the game, i was thinking "wow, it's not the same without dj". when the long balls would fly, hawk and dj would both yell out "STEERECH!!" and if it cleared the wall, hawk would yell "you can put it on the board..." and both would yell at the same time "YES!". i really miss that (both hawk and dj, AND the HOME RUNS!!!). stoney's too quiet, or he's a bit of a smartass in a subtle way ("no runs dont mean a thing"). i'll only listen and put up with smartasses if they're angry and yelling (the prime examples are of talkshow hosts mark levin and michael savage).

lets hope tomorrow brings a more engaging baseball game. but dammit! its not televised >:[. i hate you mlb.com *angry growling and smoke comes drifting up from my ears*.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

sox win!

2009-04-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

YAAAYYYY!!!!

sox win!! i couldnt watch the game cuz it wasnt broadcast down here in the desert wasteland known as tucson, and i had class, but i did do periodical checks of the score. after being down 2-1 and according to the guys at south side sox, mark buerhle got into a jam that would have made you shit your pants and send hawk jumping out of the broadcast booth (hawk is our tv announcer). luckly for us, jolly jim thome hit a 3-run HR that put my boys up 4-2 in the 8th. that was big cuz it led us to victory. a good start to the season :).

now, if only carl skanburg would get back to drawing his famous 'palehose' cartoons. one commemorating the start to our season wouldn't be a bad idea :).

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam