ChicagoSportsBlogs : Non Compete

I fully expected Frank Thomas to hit his 500th home run against the White Sox. That's how down I am on the Sox this season. Why not? Is it so far fetched to believe that the man who was the face of the organization for most of my lifetime would come back to the Cell and crack a dinger off of Matt Thorton? I don't think so. Thankfully, Big Frank did what any true Sox fan would be proud of, regardless of The Big Hurt's affiliation with the Blue Jays this season - he hit it off the Twins. That's justice. It was Frank's 50th home run against the Twins in his career. (the most he has hit off of any other team he has faced) I opened the Trib today and saw the list of teams that Frank has punished in his lifetime and was smiling ear to ear. Frank's top 3 victims were the Twins, Indians, and the Tigers. You have to love that Sox fans. Regardless of the bad times we experienced because Frank was a tad salty to the media (on occasion - too frequent actually), he will forever be a White Sox player. I guess he'll also be salty for awhile too...he did get tossed from the game in the 9th inning for arguing balls and strikes. Good ole Frank - he knows the strike zone better than anyone. Take that walk big guy!

Anyway - I wanted to get something posted this morning to say Congrats to the Big Hurt. I look forward to his Hall of Fame induction in the coming years.

GO SOX

I had a beautifully crafted piece of prose describing my predictions on the Bulls' draft this year but I threw it out because I can summarize its point in one sentence:

Don't draft that clown. I'm not the only one with that horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Obviously, I didn't get my wish. MJ thinks the Joakim Noah pick was a good one. He name drops Tyson Chandler, Chris Mihm, and the movie Dumb and Dumber in his post. You tell me, even out of context, those aren't the types of things you expect to read in an article about how GREAT the Bulls did in the draft. Far from it. I could sit here all day and complain about how this guy is paper-thin, has a weak shot, and looked completely gassed a few times during the tournament this past March after firing his fist in the air 3 consecutive times. That's great. Just what we need. I'm going to go off and see how many people are drawing comparisons to the last "colorful" player the Bulls had on the roster: Dennis Rodman. Wait, here is one. (read the comments from stresdog).

Look at the sportingnews.com's assessment (from the link above)

Joakim Noah will be successful in this league because of all of his passion and enthusiasm and the way he plays with a lot of energy.

Right. Passion and Enthusiasm. Sounds like he's at least a perfect for Bozo Buckets.

Stop the presses! The Sox won again last night! That brings it to 3 games in a row against the D-Rays. The Sox head into the series finale throwing Javi Vazquez against Scott Kazmir. Could the Sox actually get a series sweep here, on the road no less? I'm crossing my fingers that Javi can match Buehrle's performance from last night. Speaking of Buehrle, it seems that the trade rumors were all bogus, thanks in part to Kenny Williams. I stumbled across this awesome blog mlbtradrumors.com which details all the shennanigans that have been going on before the trade deadline. Check it out. The write ups are short and sheet and it seems to be aggregating all the rumors from across all of blogdome. Which is nice, because I hate going to ESPN to find out what's supposedly going to happen only to see they want money to get access to their better content. Clearly, they must thing free content like mine sucks...

They may have a point.

I've got more bitching and moaning to do about this team but you're going to have to be patient as I've got some deals cooking that are eating up my time as of late....

Stay tuned.

GO SOX!

There wasn't much good that came out of the Sox/Cubs series this past weekend if you are a Sox fan. The starting pitching from Buehrle, Vasquez and Contreras was actually pretty good, but the Cubs was better. Pods was back in the lineup for the Sox and actually scored off his first at bat. He stole a base, we moved him over, and he eventually touched home plate. Get em on, get em over, get em in, right? Wrong. It only happened once. While the Sox were getting out-pitched, out-scored, and eventually out managed (squeeze bunt in the 8th on Saturday? Nice. It was Ozzie ball done right!) the Cubs were watching Soriano prove why he was worth all the money they could muster. Every freakin penny.

I'm so disgusted right now that I really can't write much more than this: Time to blow up the White Sox.

One of the biggest problems I have with the Crosstown Classic is the utter uselessness of the series. I can't think of a single reason why this White Sox v. Cubs series is beneficial to anyone but the hot dog and beer vendors at the ballpark. I can list for you here, a rehearsed list of reasons people use to disagree. Here goes:

1. It's good for the city.

2. It brings out the best in both teams! Lighten up! It's fun! It's as if they were playing in our dream world series! (A Chicago only World Series)

3. Slingshot Theory - (aka catapult theory) Which states that winning the series against the opposite side of town will slingshot you back into contention.

That last one is the one everyone I know, whether they wear blue or black are anxious for this series at the Cell to start today. The White Sox come into this series playing the worst baseball I have seen in the past decade. They're hurt AND injured (there is a difference). They also have had absolutely no talent come up from the minors that could help get over the hump. When the struggles first began on the Southside we all thought that the Sox were going to be ok. They were holding their own when they were only 4 games back. Now, it's in the double digits and the Tigers are getting hotter and hotter.

The Cubs have a different reason for their struggles. They hate each other. So much so that they traded away Michael Barrett to San Diego after he basically got his ass kicked by Zambrano. This team has bad chemistry. They aren't the Yankees of old who used to fight in the dugout. Lou isn't Billy Martin. I can prove it. ESPN is making a freaking movie about those Yanks. If you were to make a movie about the Cubs season this year I would have to say it would be Driving Miss Daisy. A sorry tale of a man who knows he is driving a hearse. That would be Pinella.

That's why this Sox/Cubs series is important to both sides of the city this year. It could be the spark that gets their engines roaring. You'll hear a lot about how this has happened before in past Crosstown Classics. That seems so long ago, I can't remember the last time it mattered. (2003? 1998? 2005? Oh fuhgettabout it) Here's hoping I am wrong. Deep down White Sox fans know that beating up on the Cubs this weekend may be the last chance they have before being forced to write off the season officially. Erstad will be back and we've heard grumblings that Pods might make an appearance too. The Sox will eventually get healthy, and their bats will heat up but it won't matter in late August.

The Cubs have a different set of issues. With the Tribune company sold, all the money they would like to spend on an impact player is locked up. The Trib says don't guarantee future salaries until we sell this pig off. Besides, they still need to sign Zambrano, right? I mean, why trade away an admittedly below average catcher with experience if you're not going to sign Zambrano? This series is going to seal the fate for a lot of current Chicago ball players. Most of the changes are going to happen on the Southside. History is on my side with that prediction. So is Kenny Williams. The Cubs won't be movers or shakers. Instead they will be forced to man up in the league's worst division with what I consider pretty darn good ballplayers.

To wrap it all up, if this series isn't about bragging rights amongst below average baseball teams and their fans then it could be about something recently mentioned by the press: The Ken Griffey Jr. Lottery.

I've been MIA for awhile. Let me explain why. Things have been super hectic at work. When I started this site, I was bored and had a lot to say about sports in Chicago. I always had time to blog between lunch breaks, or early in the morning before anyone would come into the office. That has changed. I still have a lot to say about sports in Chicago, but now I'm responsible for giving people their reviews, mentoring developers, and even writing some code. Things are just way busier. To make matters worse, life threw me a curve ball. I looked around and realized that I needed some new challenges. I decided to go back to school. My grad school work isn't terribly difficult (yet), but it is definitely time consuming. I'll give you an example. I missed Buehrle's no hitter because I was in class taking a test. That's not good times kids, but it had to be done. I remember getting the text message from my friend Sara. I was proud to be a Sox fan that night. I was pissed I missed it, but proud nonetheless. That's your background on why I've been missing. I know you've heard this all before, but I'm going to make a stronger effort. I'm almost ready for the upgrade to the new version of the site, and I've got some feelers out there for some new writers. So, to my 2 loyal readers I want to say thanks for sticking it out this long. To the rest of you, you're about to miss some of the good stuff. Speaking of good stuff, I'm doing a multi-part series starting this week. It's called Why the White Sox won't win the division. Yes, I understand that I'm giving off some negative vibes here but you've got to read some of this stuff after taking a step back to realize that we're just not playing very good baseball on the Southside.

The first part of this series is about Joe Crede. Let's get his stats out of the way before we dig into his overall impact on the Sox.

The first line is Joe's stats from last year. Clearly, it was a great year. 94 RBI and 30 home runs with a .283 batting average. Those are the numbers everyone expected Joe Crede to provide the ballclub on a consistent basis. The second line is what Joe left us with before his season ending back surgery. Clearly his slump wasn't unique this season. The whole team has been struggling at the plate this year. But we aren't focusing on the entire team in this post. We're going to focus on Joe Crede and his decision not to go for surgery in the off season. Further, we're going to figure out if Kenny Williams missed a great opportunity to trade Joe Crede before the season began.

I started this series with Joe Crede because he is a fan favorite. Technically, he has become  a fan favorite. I know this first hand because Crede is my wife's favorite ball player on the team. She isn't alone. Most of the female Sox fans I know are in love with Joe Crede. This always causes me to mutter under my breath when I see a guy wearing a Crede jersey at the ballpark. I don't know why, but I've never thought Crede was really worth a jersey. His 2005 playoff performance, followed by a career year at the plate in 2006 has forced me to rethink my position on this subject. Not having his glove at the hot corner has cost us games.

I know the stats don't support this generalization because the Sox haven't been able to score runs. This is the reason most people give as to why the Sox are stinking the place up like an alley filled with garbage on a hot July day. That might be true, but you need to dig deeper. Joe Crede should be a Gold Glove third baseman. He's good enough to win a Gold Glove and combining this with his surge at the plate last year for a winning team and you've got magic. The problem with Crede missing in our lineup is that we've got nothing but butchers playing 3rd base. Ozuna was a complete and utter waste of time at the hot corner. He rushed his throws, charged when he didn't have to, and just couldn't keep the ball in front of his body. I hated Ozuna at third. Mackowiak, and Cintron aren't every day players and that leaves us with Fields who comes with a big-rep from the minors. Frankly, Mackowiak hasn't played 3rd in God knows how long. The only reason I mention him is because Kenny Williams supposedly signed him so that we had a backup third baseman for when Crede went down with an injury.

I know hindsight is 20/20 but I'm starting to wonder why we didn't try to trade Crede in the offseason. We all know that Williams was going to give Fields a shot next year. We also know that Crede's agent is a complete pain in the ass. The simple rule of buy low and sell high is not lost on Williams. He has earned a reputation as a shrewd GM in the past. There have been cases in the past where Williams has pawned off hurt players. Anyone remember the deal with the Blue Jays? It makes you wonder, how bad was the medical evidence on Joe Crede these past few years? Clearly, it was bad enough that we didn't even attempt to trick anyone into taking him off our hands even with career numbers.

The bottom line is that Crede was a great third baseman. He was defensively one of the best in the league and if you believe his numbers from last year weren't a fluke, his bat is sorely missed from our line up. (when healthy of course) He was clutch in the playoffs in 2005 and he provided some much needed pop in the bottom half of our line up. IF (big if) Crede would have at least had the fluid drained from his back during the offseason I'd like to think he would have been back in time to save us from our crappy start this season. I tend to believe that while Crede isn't the leader of this ballclub, seeing him get off to a hot start at the beginning of the season would have pushed the rest of the guys through their rough spots. Crede was the consistent one in our line up. He eventually because healthy enough last season to provide some power, but its the consistency that we are going to miss. Josh Fields has some big shoes to fill.

It took eight tries, but the White Sox finally got Mark Buehrle his 100th career victory. Deep down I am hoping this victory gets the Sox back on track. They have been playing some pathetic baseball these past few weeks. Things have completely come undone for the bullpen. The two 30 year old journey men, Prinz and Bukovich have been terrible. Thorton, who was once considered our most stable arm in the pen can't seem to throw strikes any more. Everytime Logan comes to the plate it is as if he wants to bring world peace to the game by spotting the opposing batter 2 balls. No need for competition fellas, lets just have fun! Here is a palm ball. I'm throwing it right down the middle! I'm only half kidding. The Sox bullpen is so bad, you wonder if they forgot this is the Major Leagues! They're pitching like they're at a company softball game. Ozzie knows it too.

 Speaking of Ozzie, anyone notice that he was cursing the stadium full of fans booing the bullpen? The only way it stopped was when someone (Logan) finally found the strike zone. These guys were trying to blow another buehrle jem, nay, a GREAT game by Mark in which even Konerko contributed, by walking the bases full. Ozzie was shown on the tube mouthing 'fucking people...' At least that's what I would be saying if I knew I had a  bunch of head cases coming out of the bullpen. You can't fault us for booing Ozzie. You told us they had to throw strikes. So throw strikes.

I wrote the following on the train as I was coming home from yesterday's White Sox/Yankees game. Sorry for the delayed post, but I haven't worked out the kinks to email posting yet. Enjoy

I almost skipped this game because it was raining all day. I did not want to sit around at the Cell for another 2 hours while they decide if its worth their time to play ball. That's what happened  to me the last time I went to a Sox v. Yankees game. Tonight's game was interesting. I got there late so I missed the first run the Yanks scored against Garland. I am was told that Iguchi had an error that led to the run scoring. Garland was throwing a lot of pitches tonight so I was concerned to see him come back out in the 9th to face the bottom of the Yanks' order. He was already close to 100 pitches by that point in the game. I guess that is to be expected when your bullpen is struggling. In case you didn't hear by now, Boone Logan is still on the team. That bulletin was for MacDougal and AArdsma. They were just sent down. I feel for them both. Sure I do. Say hello to Cliff Floyd fellas! Hope you enjoyed  the bus ride! Remember, riding on the bus is better than being thrown under it! Ask Thorton about being thrown under a bus. Tonight, Ozzie let Garland go deep into the game, and at the first sign of a mistake he came running out of the dugout motioning for Thorton. Not Jenks. Thorton. It was the 9th. Exactly what was he thinking?

Thorton was trotting to the mound to a chorus of boo's left over from the bashing Ozzie got when he went to pull Garland. So that's booing, roaring cheers and a standing O, and then more booing for Thorton. I haven't seen Sox fans boo this loud in years. Come to think of it...I can't remember the last time we boo'd someone that much.

You can't blame me. The Sox have been a pretty good ballclub these past few years. Expectations are high for this team. No one cares about the injuries to Pods, Ozuna, Thome,  or the loss of Freddy any more. It is way too late in the season to look back. We're actually stuck loking up at the rest of the contenders in this division and I don't like it.

White Sox fans are starting to get distracted with more and more stories about trades. You surely have heard the ones about JD to New York for Abreu? Someone tell me how that move helps this team. We need a bullpen. Kenny should forget about trading anyone this year. I know that pains him, but the value of his players' stock is at a collective all time low. I'm not quite sure what it will take to fix whats wrong with this team, but for now I'd take a sweep of the Yankees.

GO SOX