MINNIE MINOSO GOOD GUY

Minnie Minoso Saturnino Orestes Armas Minoso Arrieta Born November 29, 1922, Havana, Cuba First Game: April 19, 1949 Final Game: October 5, 1980 Bat: Right Throw: Right Height: 5′ 10″ Weight: 175 Again took the El to the Cell last night, got a veggie burger, fries, some corn, a Mountain Dew, and some caramel corn. … Continue reading “MINNIE MINOSO GOOD GUY”

MinosoMinnie.jpg

Minnie Minoso Saturnino Orestes Armas Minoso Arrieta Born November 29, 1922, Havana, Cuba First Game: April 19, 1949 Final Game: October 5, 1980 Bat: Right Throw: Right Height: 5′ 10″ Weight: 175 Again took the El to the Cell last night, got a veggie burger, fries, some corn, a Mountain Dew, and some caramel corn. Then stepped up to the ticket window and bought over $450 worth of tickets for White Sox June home games, also going to see the Sox battle the Buccos in Pittsburgh. While I was in getting my tickets Jermaine Dye made two fantastic first inning catches, one took a homer away, later I actually saw Joe Crede imitate Brooks Robinson when he dove toward the line and fired to first to get his man. How about ARod for Crede (inside joke)? Wore my Mark Buehrle tee shirt, he got the win, but Bobby Jenks was lights out as he picked up Ozzie Guillen and the Sox shakey middle relief to save the game, striking out three of four batters. The White Sox hung on to win 3-2 and pick up the A’s sweep. Standing behind the last row behind the plate there are alot of distractions. BIG MIKE sez, “Why do you even bother coming to the game?” Well it’s all about the people, being a part of the crowd, and being a part of winning & exciting baseball. Over 40,000 Monday, 38,000 Tuesday, 38,000 Wednesday, all shiny happy people holding hands. Besides the hotties, Minnie Minoso walked by, and I gave him a nod. At 84 he’s still a great guy, his whole face smiles. The above picture of Minnie was of him many moons ago in the Cuban League. Also saw a guy I’d coached in little league baseball at Horner Park, about 30 years ago. Then I saw a guy who was in a fantasy baseball league with me about 10 years ago. The rain held off till we were riding the El home, then stopped when we reached our destination. Life is good! LET’S GO WHITE SOX!!!

5/9/06 Linescore of the Day: Scott Podsednik

1 for 1, 3 runs, 1 rbi, 4 BB, 1 SB Continuing on yesterday’s leadoff man theme, Sox OF Scott Podsednik did what was expected of him and more.  When the top man in the lineup is up five times and gets on base each time, it’s no surprise that the Sox won this game.  … Continue reading “5/9/06 Linescore of the Day: Scott Podsednik”

1 for 1, 3 runs, 1 rbi, 4 BB, 1 SB

Continuing on yesterday’s leadoff man theme, Sox OF Scott Podsednik did what was expected of him and more.  When the top man in the lineup is up five times and gets on base each time, it’s no surprise that the Sox won this game.  Of course, it helps when you have guys like Thome to drive him home (4 rbis). 

Ironically, Pod wasn’t the only player to walk 4 times yesterday.  Tribe SS Jhonny Peralta did so against the Royals. 

5/3/06 Linescore of the Day: Pablo Ozuna

2 for 2, 2B, HR, 2 runs, 1 rbi That’s Oz-un-a, as in Oz-un-a you put me in, Coach, we’ll win this one. (groan) Pablo Ozuna’s sense of timing is impeccable.  His first career homerun couldn’t have come at a better time.  That tied the Sox with the Mariners in the bottom of the ninth.  The … Continue reading “5/3/06 Linescore of the Day: Pablo Ozuna”

2 for 2, 2B, HR, 2 runs, 1 rbi

That’s Oz-un-a, as in Oz-un-a you put me in, Coach, we’ll win this one.

(groan)

Pablo Ozuna’s sense of timing is impeccable.  His first career homerun couldn’t have come at a better time.  That tied the Sox with the Mariners in the bottom of the ninth.  The double that came after was pretty timely, too.  Uribe singled him home for the winning run.

Pretty good work considering he didn’t enter until the ninth inning.

Fat Freddy Enjoyed the WBC a little too much

He seems to be saying “Yesss!  I scored a dime bag!” All kidding aside, White Sox pitcher Freddy Garcia was found to have violated International Baseball Amateur Federation anti-doping policy during his stint in the World Baseball Classic.  Marijuana was found in his urine. Fantasy owners of Garcia don’t need to worry yet.  IBAF rules … Continue reading “Fat Freddy Enjoyed the WBC a little too much”

He seems to be saying “Yesss!  I scored a dime bag!”

All kidding aside, White Sox pitcher Freddy Garcia was found to have violated International Baseball Amateur Federation anti-doping policy during his stint in the World Baseball Classic.  Marijuana was found in his urine.

Fantasy owners of Garcia don’t need to worry yet.  IBAF rules don’t apply in MLB.  Don’t hold your breath though.

However, violators of the rules can be suspended for two years from IBAF competition.

Comeback Win for Cubs.. and where are those Darned Sox?

Watched the Cubs game this afternoon… for 8 1/2 innings.  Comcast Sports Network went kaput with the Cardinals up in the ninth and one out.  When ”Technical Difficulties… Please Stand By” flashed on the screen, I rushed to the stereo and tuned in just in time to listen to the Cubs win.  Michael Barrett proved why … Continue reading “Comeback Win for Cubs.. and where are those Darned Sox?”

Watched the Cubs game this afternoon… for 8 1/2 innings.  Comcast Sports Network went kaput with the Cardinals up in the ninth and one out.  When ”Technical Difficulties… Please Stand By” flashed on the screen, I rushed to the stereo and tuned in just in time to listen to the Cubs win. 

Michael Barrett proved why he won the Silver Slugger by coming through with a timely pinch hit homer in the seventh to tie the game.  Ironically, it was other Silver Slugger from the Cubs, Derrek Lee, who hit the game winning homer.

Every win for the Cubs is nice but wins against the Cardinals are doubly important.  Tomorrow is Sean Marshall’s MLB debut against the Cards.  I’m very interested in seeing how he does.  Hopefully, he learned a thing or two from his last start in spring training when he got rocked by the Pads.  A friend went to that game and got this shot of him warming up before the game.

45.gif

Meanwhile, the Sox have lost 4 in a row.  Including two against KC.  This may have been the year I should have bet a $1/game Cubs vs. Sox against Teddy Ballgame.  Not last year.  Maybe it’s not too late.

I know it’s early in the season but who would have thought that the two unbeaten teams left would be Detroit and Milwaukee?  Not I. 

 

 

DANGER KENNY WILLIAMS

The wheels on the White Sox wagon came off last night in Kansas City. The hapless Royals starter Jeremy Affeldt surrendered five runs before KC even stepped to the plate, it was 6-0 going into the bottom of the 3rd. Then it happened, Pablo Ozuna (an infielder misplaying in the outfield) misjudged a fly ball … Continue reading “DANGER KENNY WILLIAMS”

The wheels on the White Sox wagon came off last night in Kansas City. The hapless Royals starter Jeremy Affeldt surrendered five runs before KC even stepped to the plate, it was 6-0 going into the bottom of the 3rd. Then it happened, Pablo Ozuna (an infielder misplaying in the outfield) misjudged a fly ball that fell in front of him for a double(?), it was an error if there ever was one. Ozuna also misplayed another flyout into another double later in the game when he went back to the wall, feeling for the wall, which wasn’t even close to, as the ball landed in the middle of the WARNING track. It was too much for the White Sox & Jon Garland to put up with as the All Star starter from 2005 gave up nine earned(?) runs in 5 1/3 innings. Matt Thornton came on, was throwing hard, but he let up a couple of runs himself to make the final unlucky 11-7 Bad Guys.

KC hadn’t won a ballgame this year. This White Sox team has some needs that won’t go away. Ignoring them will not help. In 2005 Chicago won the close games with pitching and solid defense, which is why the 2006 team is losing the close ones. Brian Anderson is hardly adequate in CF, Jermaine Dye & Scott Podsednik have been hurt. The only other guy who can play OF is Rob Mackowiak. As illustrated last night Pablo Ozuna can’t play outfield. And while Brandon McCarthy & Neal Cotts have been throwing well out of the pen, gone are Dustin Hermanson, Luis Vizcaino, & Damaso Marte. The only other relievers are Matt “I throw it hard, it gets hit harder” Thornton, Boone “Look at me I’m a big leaguer, who was that?” Logan, & Bobby “He’s too fat for me” Jenks.

I’m a die hard White Sox fan who knows a good team when I see one. Kenny Williams seems to always find a way to get the missing pieces. So I’m not jumping off the band wagon, but something needs to be done, NOW! Surely a 162 game schedule is a marathon, not a sprint, but the Sox were at the top from start to finish last year and need to wake up before it’s too late.

Q & A with Ozzie

MLB.com had a Q & A with Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.  When I read these kind of things, I wonder to what extent does it have to be approved by team and league management.  That said, I thought it was thoroughly Ozzie and therefore interesting. Some excerpts: MLB.com: Kenny Williams? Guillen: Crazy. He hired me … Continue reading “Q & A with Ozzie”

MLB.com had a Q & A with Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.  When I read these kind of things, I wonder to what extent does it have to be approved by team and league management.  That said, I thought it was thoroughly Ozzie and therefore interesting.

Some excerpts:

MLB.com: Kenny Williams?

Guillen: Crazy. He hired me as a manager. Kenny is a guy who also is underrated. Anything he does since he got the job is because he’s trying to win. You look around at the players Kenny brings here and the trades he made, he just wants to win. Kenny and myself will both tell you the truth, whether you like it or not, and I think I can live with that.

This man did a lot of things in his power to get this ballclub better.

MLB.com: How about Frank Thomas?

Guillen: He’s the best player ever to play for the White Sox. That’s it. He was one of the best hitters I’ve ever been around. People don’t appreciate him in Chicago, and maybe that’s his fault. But he did a lot of good things for the city.

and this one I particularly liked:

MLB.com: Final question for you: Where is Ozzie Guillen going to be 10 years from now?

Guillen: Managing the White Sox.

Yeah, I’m a Cub fan but I gotta say I like Ozzie’s style. 

Senor Waited Long Enough

They say sometimes older people wait until important events like holidays to occur before they pass on.  It’s almost like they are holding on that much longer so they can experience them. You gotta wonder if this was true with Al Lopez and this year’s World Series.  Lopez, the oldest member of the Hall of Fame, … Continue reading “Senor Waited Long Enough”

They say sometimes older people wait until important events like holidays to occur before they pass on.  It’s almost like they are holding on that much longer so they can experience them.

You gotta wonder if this was true with Al Lopez and this year’s World Series.  Lopez, the oldest member of the Hall of Fame, died on Sunday because of complications of a heart attack. 

Lopez who one week ago was known as the manager of last Chicago White Sox World Series winner in 1959.  That was the year of the Go-Go Sox.  In addition, he led the Indians to the World Series Championship in 1954.  That was the only year between ’49-’58 that the Yankees did not win the AL pennant. 

Lopez_Al.jpg

I had the honor of being in Cooperstown when Lopez was inducted.  Yes, I was there to see Ernie Banks but Lopez’ accomplishments were not lost on me and I’ve always appreciated his efforts more because of it.  Lopez is probably one of the more under-rated managers of all time.  Considering he managed at the same time as the tough New York Yankees, he fared pretty well.  In addition to his two first place finishes, he placed second ten times.

alLop1.jpg

Lopez lived a full life at 96.  I’m sure wherever he is, he’s glad it was long enough to see the Sox win it all.

 

WHITE SOX IN THE WORLD SERIES – GAME #3

This game was a little different right from the get-go. Of course there was contraversy, the Astros wanted the roof closed on their Juice Box Field, but MLB intervened and forced Houston to play baseball outdoors. Originally the retractable roof was designed to keep games from being called on rain or to keep the fans … Continue reading “WHITE SOX IN THE WORLD SERIES – GAME #3”

mlb_WHITE-SOX.gif

This game was a little different right from the get-go. Of course there was contraversy, the Astros wanted the roof closed on their Juice Box Field, but MLB intervened and forced Houston to play baseball outdoors. Originally the retractable roof was designed to keep games from being called on rain or to keep the fans comfortable during extremely hot weather. But now the Stros want the roof closed because they play better indoors. Anyway, on to baseball. The GREAT Roy Oswalt was on the bump for Houston, while the White Sox had Jon Garland going for them. The Astros jumped out in the first inning when Craig Biggio leadoff with a double to left, Willy Taveras bunted him to third, and scored on a Lance Berkman single. Mr. Ugly Adam Everett opened the 3rd inning with a single, the Sox pitched out, and caught Everett dead. But Juan Uribe’s throw to first nailed Adam allowing him to return to first base safely. Oswalt bunted him up where he scored on a Biggio single to right moments later. Garland struckout Taveras for what should have been the 3rd out of the inning, no runs should have scored. But the inning was still alive. Berkman sent Biggio to third on a base knock to right. Morgan Ensberg put the Stros up 3-0 when he singled to left scoring Biggio. In the 4th inning Jason Lane leadoff with a homer. But wait a minute, replays showed the ball should not have been ruled a homer as it did not clear the yellow line as was originally reported. So the White Sox trailed 4-0 through four innings against the best pitcher in the NL. Seriously though there was no whining about the umpire’s ruling at Robby T’s house, Sox fans have too much class. Besides that, this game was FAR from over! Joe Crede opened the 5th inning taking Oswalt over the rightfield fence. Uribe singled to left, but then Garland couldn’t bunt & struckout. Scott Podsednik singled to right. With runners on 1st & 2nd Tadahito Iguchi scored Juan with a single up the middle. Jermaine Dye worked the count before lining a single to center plating Podsednik. The 2nd out was finally recorded when Paul Konerko flied to Taveras. A.J. Pierzynski doubled home two, putting the Sox up 5-4. Aaron Rowand walked on a 3-2 count, Crede was drilled with a pitch loading the bases. Uribe flied to right ending the inning. All the talk about Oswalt taking the game to Brad Lidge was just talk as Roy threw about 50 pitches in the 5th and was at about 100 for the game. Unheralded Jon Garland turned the lead over to Cliff Politte after allowing two earned runs over seven innings of work. Politte got Taveras & Berkman before Ensberg walked on a full count. Neal Cotts was brought on, but was soon out of there after walking Mike Lamb. Eric Bruntlett came in to run for Lamb. Jason Lane doubled down the leftfield line off Dustin Hermanson scoring Ensberg, tying the game at five. The White Sox caught a HUGE break when Lane’s double hit off the a part of the stands down the line rather than rattling around the left field corner, another run definately would have scored. There were alot of opportunities to win the game for both teams even though the Sox relievers only allowed one hit (Lane’s double), they walked ten and hit a batter. Ozzie Guillen’s well laid out plans for bullpen use in this game drastically changed when Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez had to leave after walking four guys in a little over one inning of work. Chad Qualls pitched brilliantly out of Houston’s pen, working three shutout innings, before giving way to Ezequiel Astacio. I know I’ve called Adam Everett the Ugly Man, but Astacio raises ugly to a whole new level. Ezequiel even makes Seal look pretty, and Seal can sing & I’m sure Seal can pitch better than Astacio. Kim T (Robby T’s daughter) said, “We shouldn’t make fun of the really ugly man.” I told her she’d be in the confessional, telling the priest about making fun of the ugly man, and then he’d say, “Oh, you mean Astacio! He’s even uglier than Everett! He even makes Seal look pretty!” Jose Vizcaino stayed in the game at 2B after pinch-hitting in the bottom of the 13th with Ezequiel Astacio coming in to Craig Biggio’s spot in the batting order. Jermaine Dye led off with a single to right, but was erased on a brilliant doubleplay started by a diving Ensberg who fired a strike to Vizcaino. Paul Konerko’s speed was no match for Jose’s strong arm, Vizcaino avoided a hard sliding Dye to get Paulie at first, Konerko really scorched that ball. It was starting to look like this game would never end, when Geoff Blum lined a 2-0 pitch into the RF seats. Blum was the only guy picked up by GM Kenny Williams at the trading deadline to help the Sox in their stretch run. Everybody was pretty much letdown, thinking we could have gotten Griffey Junior, and ended up with journeyman Geoff Blum. Blum wasn’t all that pleased himself with the deal, his wife had just given birth to triplets in May. The Sox continued with a two out rally that resulted in an insurance run. Aaron Rowand topped a two strike pitch to third on which a hard charging Ensberg had no play, then Crede’s slow grounder was allowed to roll foul, which it didn’t, and Joe was on first after the ball hit third base, Uribe walked on a 3-2 pitch, and then Astacio walked Chris Widger forcing in a run. Wandy Rodriguez was brought on to K Podsednik to end the inning. Going into the bottom of the 14th the Good Guys had a two run lead. But Damaso Marte was still in the game, with no other relievers available. Damaso Marte was terrible throughout the latter part of this season and he was the guy brought in to face the Red Sox in the Divisional Series and loaded the bases before El Duque’s magic act. We even joked about having to be at the games to keep Marte off the field. And that the only reason Damaso made the post season roster was because he speaks Spanish, or that he has naked pictures of Ozzie Guillen. This time though Marte seemed more focused and dtermined, or was it just that he was benefitting from facing NL hitters? Mark Buehrle, Sunday’s starter, was warming up, just in case. When Juan Uribe made his 2nd error of the game putting runners at the corners with two out Ozzie Guillen made the move to bring on Buehrle for the save. Adam Everett popped to Uribe to end the game. It was the longest game in World Series history. The win put the Good Guys up 3-0 with one win to go. LET’S GO WHITE SOX!!!