Drove straight from the airport to Waupaca with one
thing on my mind, the Crosstown Classic between the
World Champion Chicago White Sox and the hapless
Chicago Cubs. Flipped on WGN at the cottage just as
the game started, the Sox were up 3-0 after 1/2 inning
of play, but the Cubs responded with two in the bottom
of the frame. Juan Uribe drove in three more runs,
after knocking in two in the first, to make it five
for the day. Jon Garland settled down after a shaky
first inning to hang on to a 6-2 win over Cub rookie
Sean Marshall.
The 2nd game was a nooner on FOX. CLou-less Piniella
was announcing the game for Fox. Lou stated Joe Crede
shortened his swing in the offseason and it was really
paying dividends this year, when in reality Crede’s
hot streak started in last year’s playoffs/World
Series and has carried into this season. There was a
popfly double that landed between the Cubs
thirdbaseman Aramis Ramirez and leftfielder Phil
Nevin, granted it was a play the shortstop is normally
involved in, but for the Jim Thome shift. Both
announcers said the ball fell between Ronny Cedeno &
Nevin, the director even showed a split screen of
Cedeno & Nevin. Then Fox chose Aramis Ramirez as the
Player of the Game, he ended up making the last out of
the game for the Cubbies. Ross Gload, Fox showed he
was 0-8 as a pinch hitter even though he was in the
game on a double switch, was the last batter that
stood between Ryan Dempster and the Cubs evening up
this series at a game apiece. But when Gload’s
dribbler eluded Dempster, then Dye walked, and up
stepped A.J. Pierzynski. The game was on the line,
but Fox insisted on bringing up how Michael Barrett
had apologized, just as A.J. Pie launched one out on
Sheffield Avenue for a three run home run. It turned
the game from a 6-5 loss to a 8-5 win, as Bobby Jenks
shutdown the Cubs in the bottom of the 9th.
Sunday, Bloody Sunday! Settled in to watch a pitching
battle between aces Mark Buehrle & Carlos Zambrano.
Felt really confident as the Sox tallied twice in the
first off tightly wound Zambrano, but the Cubbies
jumped all over Buehrle for seven in their half of the
first. Buehrle got a win earlier in the year when he
allowed seven first inning runs, but not today as the
Cubs belted him with four more and went on to win this
one 15-11. Cliff Politte allowed four runs in two
innings, as he’s looked horrible since coming off the
DL.