knightni

Nice escape job, Gavin!

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 14, 2012 -> 04:45 PM) According to the announcers, the scouting report is that this guy is going to throw strikes. Like Buehrle...?

ALEXEIIIIIIII!!!

By the way, there's a free Extra Innings preview this week on Comcast. Check your cable box if you have Digital Preferred.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 14, 2012 -> 03:52 PM) Vin Scully narrating a commercial for Jackie Robinson day, listing ballplayers by name and saying "Before...." leading up to Jackie. One of them is "Before Frank". Before Carl (Everett)... Before Jerry (Owens)... Before Dewayne (Wise)...

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?g...ew&c_id=cws Tigers (5-2) vs White Sox (4-2) Saturday 4/14, 4:10 PM ET at U.S. Cellular Field Radio: DET: 97.1 The Ticket CWS: WSCR 670, 97.5 ESPN Deportes TV: DET: FS-D CWS: CSN Tigers' Wilk ready for first Major League start Rookie lefty opposes White Sox right-hander Floyd By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com | 4/13/2012 6:00 PM ET It's never too early for a contingency plan. Detroit rookie Adam Wilk will make his first big league start Saturday against the White Sox, an opportunity born out of an injury to Doug Fister. Wilk, 24 years old, will be matched against veteran Gavin Floyd in a clash of division rivals. Friday's series opener saw Jake Peavy hold down the electric Detroit offense, and the White Sox pulled within a half-game of the first-place Tigers in the early standings with a 5-2 victory. Fister, who had been on turn to make this start, was placed on the disabled list with a strained left rib muscle. Wilk, an 11th-round selection in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, steadily moved through the ranks in the Minor Leagues and made five relief appearances for the Tigers last year. And now that he's making his first start for the Tigers, he thinks that he'll be able to savor the experience. "It helps that this isn't my first game and it isn't my first couple days up here in the Majors," he said. "Last time, I was here for a couple days and I got my first outing in on my third day, so now I'm coming up with some experience under my belt. I'm not so nervous like I was last year." The White Sox have won three straight games and have scored at least four runs in each of those victories, but Floyd will be hoping to rebound from a tough debut. Floyd pitched to a 4-7 record with a 5.66 ERA at home last season compared to an 8-6 record and a 3.41 mark on the road. Wilk went 24-12 with a 2.58 ERA in 60 career Minor League starts, and he's struck out (263) more than five times as many batters as he's walked (46). The southpaw threw five one-hit innings in his first start for Triple-A Toledo this season, priming him for a chance to step in for Fister. "It's special to come up either time. Obviously, last year was my debut and the first time I got up as a Major League player," said Wilk. "So that was a lot of fun for me, and that was a great time. This year it'll be a little bit more organized, obviously, because I have a start. So my mom's coming out so she can see me [pitch] for the first time. She's actually seen me in L.A. and Anaheim in uniform but I've never pitched there, so this is actually the first time she's seen me pitch professionally." Tigers: Jackson's homecoming streak ends The White Sox managed to keep Austin Jackson off the scoreboard for the first time this season, snapping the Tigers' longest streak in more than two decades. Detroit's lead off man had scored in each of his first six games, the best streak since Darrell Evans did it in eight games in 1986. Jackson made it to third base with one out in the eighth inning on Friday -- and he represented the tying run at the time -- but the threat was extinguished on a double play. The center fielder went hit-less in the series opener, but he's a career .306 (44-for-144) hitter against the White Sox. White Sox: Captain steering the ship Paul Konerko has been his usual steady presence in the middle of the lineup thus far, notching a hit in each of Chicago's first six games. Konerko delivered a key run-scoring single off Max Scherzer in the sixth inning on Friday, and he's batting .435 with six RBIs and four runs scored. Konerko has had at least two hits in four of his first six games, and he's four home runs away from No. 400 for his career. He'll break a tie with Joe Carter -- 51st all-time -- with his next home run, and he's 21 hits from tying Eddie Collins for the fourth-most hits in franchise history. Worth noting • Detroit and Chicago combined to strike out 25 times in the series opener, including four by White Sox DH Adam Dunn. • Konerko has started in 12 consecutive Opening Day games for Chicago, the second-longest active streak in baseball. • The Tigers will likely activate veteran utility man Brandon Inge (sore left groin) from his Minor League injury rehab stint in time for Saturday's game.

Option him to AAA, have the minor league instructors help him with his Samurai Swing.

Viciedo

Winner: Alejandro De Aza (6 points) - knightni, dielac.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 13, 2012 -> 09:08 AM) Bob Nightengale ‏ @BNightengale The physicals and medical reports were exchanged 2 days ago. Johnny Damon is an #Indians player #mlb Buster Olney ‏ @Buster_ESPN Johnny Damon will get $1.25 million in base salary, $1.4 million in performance bonuses, from the Indians. He's working his way around the A.L. Royals Athletics Red Sox Yankees Tigers Rays Indians

QUOTE (Markbilliards @ Apr 13, 2012 -> 07:20 PM) Remember when we had Mike Myers and he came out to the Austin Powers theme? I loved that. The Halloween Theme might have been more funny.

Oops. Looks like you un-did it.

Fixed your embed. Just turn html on and it'll work every time.

QUOTE (Dungus @ Apr 13, 2012 -> 05:21 PM) Great team win today. Viciedo and Ramirez with great D. I may have to eat Crow on my prediction. Welcome to Soxtalk! Please resize your signature picture to a smaller size. Thanks!

Salvaje Santiago does it again!

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?g...ew&c_id=cws Tigers (5-1) vs. White Sox (3-2) Peavy set for home opener vs. Tigers By Evan Drellich / MLB.com | 4/11/2012 4:46 PM ET Jake Peavy's task in the White Sox home opener on Friday at 1:10 p.m. CT is to keep in check a Tigers team that, until Wednesday, had not lost. "I'm excited to throw the home opener," the veteran right-hander said. "To be in front of our fans against a Detroit team -- who knows -- coming in, might not even have a loss yet." The Tigers were finally stopped Wednesday, when the Rays scored four runs in the ninth to win, 4-2. Still, Detroit (4-1), widely viewed as the class of the American League Central, brings in a potent lineup. In his career, Peavy is 2-2 with a 3.77 ERA in five starts against the Tigers. "The challenge is always fun versus a team like that," said Peavy, whose White Sox are 3-2 after a 10-6 win over Cleveland on Wednesday. "I promise you this: that Detroit team is outstanding, but I got a pretty good handle on facing a good team there in Texas [in my first start of the season]. That lineup is outstanding as well. It's good to get your feet wet. It's good to get in a big-time atmosphere and worry about honing in on your focus and making pitches." The White Sox have an off-day on Thursday, while the Tigers finish up a three-game series with the Rays in Detroit. Right-hander Max Scherzer gets the start for Detroit on Friday. Scherzer let up just four runs in 29 innings against Chicago last season, but also lost to the White Sox twice. Scherzer's been battling illness, but he still plans to make his start. "I am going to pitch Friday," Scherzer said Wednesday morning. "Being sick doesn't get you injured. If something could hurt my arm, I would be smart about it. But I didn't work hard all my life to get here and then miss a start because I was sick." Scherzer was hit hard by the Red Sox on Sunday in his first start, lasting 2 2/3 innings and allowing seven runs. Peavy gave up three runs in six innings to the Rangers on Saturday in his first outing. "It will be a lot of excitement, but the bottom line is channeling that energy and adrenalin you have in the right direction -- making pitches," Peavy said. "[Try] not getting caught up in anything. You worry about throwing down and away to Miguel Cabrera and [Prince] Fielder and these guys, and keeping Austin Jackson off base before they hit." Tigers: Jackson off to hot start • Jackson went 1-for-4 on Wednesday, with a run scored and a strikeout. He's 10-for-20 to start the season. "He's seeing the ball real good right now, and he's putting a good swing on it," manager Jim Leyland said. "That's what he's doing. There's not a lot of rocket science to it. If you chase bad balls and you swing at bad balls outside the strike zone, you miss them. He's battling his tail off and he's fouling off some tough pitches, and then when they make a mistake, he's hit it. He's been fantastic." • Brandon Inge (left hamstring) is expected to start at second base for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens again on Thursday, at home against Louisville. White Sox: Flowers has long layoff Tuesday's postponement kept backup catcher Tyler Flowers out of his second start, and he's doing what he can to be ready whenever called on. Manager Robin Ventura likes to use bench players perhaps more than most managers. "Where I'm at, I have a pretty good chance if it does continue to be a week at a time, and I don't think it will be," Flowers said. "If it does happen to be, I feel like I'm in a good spot. ... [Hitting coach Jeff] Manto is really working with me on some stuff, keeping it as simple as we can to have a fighting chance in the box. I feel really good where I'm at." Worth noting Paul Konerko's first-inning double off Justin Masterson on Wednesday gave him 3,529 career total bases, moving him past Luke Appling for sole possession of second most in White Sox history.

DeAza

Winner: A.J. Pierzynski (14 points) - BigEdWalsh.

I still believe that an edited version (shorten the intro) of AC/DC's For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) would make an excellent closer's song.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?g...mp;mode=preview White Sox (2-2) vs Indians (1-3) Wednesday 4/11, 12:05 PM ET at Progressive Field Radio: CWS: WSCR 670, 97.5 ESPN Deportes CLE: WTAM 1100 TV: CWS: CSN CLE: STO Mound aces square off for White Sox, Indians Danks, Masterson match up in series finale at Progressive Field By Zack Meisel / MLB.com | 4/10/2012 9:00 PM ET Runs have come few and far between for the Indians and White Sox in the early going. They don't figure to come more frequently on Wednesday, when both clubs will send their ace to the mound. Justin Masterson and John Danks will start Wednesday's matinee for Cleveland and Chicago, respectively, despite Tuesday's contest being postponed because of inclement weather. Jeanmar Gomez, who would have pitched Tuesday, will instead make his season debut on Saturday. The White Sox will skip Philip Humber's turn in the rotation altogether. He won't toe the rubber until Monday. The White Sox will have their hands full with Masterson, who allowed just one run on two hits in eight innings in an Opening Day start against Toronto. The right-hander posted a 1.61 ERA in four starts spanning 28 innings against Chicago last season. "He did everything you want in an ace," Indians closer Chris Perez said about Masterson's Opening Day masterpiece. "He dominated them, obviously. Two hits in eight innings with 10 strikeouts. I mean, that's awesome." Danks and Masterson squared off in a game last April, the only time Danks faced the Tribe in 2011. Despite holding Cleveland to two runs in six innings while striking out eight, Danks took the loss. That day, Masterson was a touch better, yielding just one run in seven innings. Danks also suffered a tough-luck loss in his first performance of 2012. He tossed a quality start against the Rangers, but came up short after surrendering three runs in six innings. "He's a very good pitcher," Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler said. "That's why he's their Opening Day pitcher." White Sox: Sale passes first test as a starter • Southpaw Chris Sale stymied the Indians for 6 2/3 innings on Monday in his first Major League start. Sale earned the win in Chicago's 4-2 victory after holding Cleveland to one run on three hits. "I felt great," Sale said. "I felt strong the entire time." Sale made 79 appearances out of Chicago's bullpen over the previous two years. "Regardless of whether he pitches out of the 'pen or he starts," Tribe manager Manny Acta said, "if he's healthy, and he throws the ball around the plate, he's going to be tough on a lot of people." • Chicago's bullpen has stifled its competition so far this season. Through 9 2/3 innings, the White Sox 'pen has surrendered just one run, on a ninth-inning homer in Monday's 4-2 win against Cleveland. "It definitely is a very positive group we have out there," lefty Matt Thornton said. "We are willing to do anything it takes to win games." What makes the group's success even more impressive is its youth. Rookies Nate Jones and Addison Reed have held their own, as has first-year closer Hector Santiago. Santiago, a 24-year-old rookie, came out of nowhere to win the closer's job. The left-hander yielded just one run in 11 spring innings. "Hector went from probably the long guy coming into Spring Training to the closer," Thornton said. "That's how good of a spring he had. ... His stuff is pretty awesome. He's a unique pitcher who is fun to watch." Indians: Santana inks contract extension • Two days after hitting a pair of home runs on his 26th birthday, Tribe catcher Carlos Santana signed a five-year contract extension. The deal includes a club option for the 2017 season. "It's the best birthday of my life," Santana said. Santana hit .239 last season with 27 home runs, 35 doubles and 79 RBIs. Through four games this season, he is batting .250 (4-for-16) with two homers and four RBIs. "From now on forward, he just needs to continue to thrive to be the best, regardless of the deal, and not look back," Acta said. "He's got the potential to be a very good player." Santana's deal comes less than a week after the organization gave All-Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera a two-year extension. "This is my second home," Santana said. "I would love to spend my whole career in Cleveland." Worth noting • The Indians will embark on their first road trip of the season on Friday with a three-game set at Kansas City. The team will then play at Seattle and Oakland. • The White Sox return to Cleveland on May 7-9 and again Oct. 1-3.

Any possible way that we can get back to talking about pets?

It's snowing a little here too. I'm looking at "Humber Gomez" up there and seeing "Hunger Games." Damn media exposure.