caulfield12

Except Gordon, Alexei and Dayan hardly walk...so really low OBP's. Not unlike Crede.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Sep 3, 2012 -> 03:01 PM) That's how 2005 worked for the Sox. Someone forgot to tell Iguchi, Uribe, Dye and Pods that they are suppose to roll over against the Twins. But eventually they buy into it. That would also depend which 3 are batting for the Tigers in the 8th. I haven't seen anyone lately do a good job of keeping Fielder or Cabrera off the bases past the 7th. any why couldn't Delmon Young save that choke job for last night? Ozzie's fault! Cue robo-post Greg Ozzie defense.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 3, 2012 -> 03:01 PM) Sox bullpen pitched 10 innings this last sweep and gave up 3 runs. Most of those innings were "blowout" innings, where the game wasn't really in doubt. After the Young ball against Thornton with the bases loaded Friday night...and Saturday's no show...well, let's just say you'd rather see your bullpen hold a tie game at even or hold a one run lead in the 7th/8th than record good stats in games the Sox had little chance to win on those occasions. Of course, the offense has to show up and put a little pressure on the opponents too.

That article isn't so biased, actually. Points out that our television viewership has increased, more families attend Sox games (theoretically leading to more 2nd/3rd generation fans)... There's not such a HUGE disparity in the numbers as one would have thought...less than 10% for college graduates, etc. To boost excitement and attendance, the Sox are offering aggressive ticket discounts for the upcoming 10-game home stand, which includes what likely will be a playoff-critical, four-game series with the Detroit Tigers. Tickets are priced as low as $7 for upper deck seats and $18 for lower-level reserved seats. Gee, great Brooks....finally. But I guess it's better late than never. Maybe they didn't want the embarassment of NUMEROUS empty seats for a first place team playing home games in September. And it's a bit hard to fault fans after all those consecutive losses to DET. All Sox fans are discouraged, to an extent. But the real fans will be out there again tonight. Every day is a new day in baseball, that's the beauty of a 162 game season.

Just goes to show you kids like Esmil Rogers can show up from the NL, have no prior history against the Tiggers, and go out and put goose-eggs on the scoreboard. Kid has an 8+ ERA for the Rockies and they gave him away for cash considerations. Do we have anyone you would trust with a 1 run lead in the 8th inning to get 3 outs against DET? I don't think so...MAYBE, just MAYBE, Myers. But trust? No way.

Please, better bullpen management. That would be nice. No more Myers ending games needlessly. Clutch hitting with RISP. Someone besides DeAza and Wise looking hitterish. Middle of the line-up actually wakes up, and YOUK decides to start playing well again since we're at USCF, where he's a monster. Healthy Sale and Q. Floyd to come back and pitch like an ace, not like the bed wetter. Same with Liriano, next time out.

Good old fashioned home cooking for the Sox tonight. Thank god we're back off the road and STILL in first place, at least temporarily.

Was the actual bet just that the Indians wouldn't beat the Tigers? Or Sox would lose and Tigers would win? Just goes to show you he wasn't around at the end of 2005, 2008, 2009, etc. Teams with nothing to play for almost always gives contending teams fits because they're so loose and relaxed...and lots of younger players trying to make an impression on their new manager. And, the Indians had that early season history of owning Detroit. I think it was something like 6-1 or 7-1 in their first 7-8 games before the wheels came off. Betting baseball is almost always a sucker bet...unless you picked the Tigers yesterday, and that wouldn't have paid you hardly anything at all.

Great play by Chicago boy Kipnis saves the White Sox... Would have been bases loaded, 2 outs.

Wow....that pitch had a TON of movement bearing inside there. Wish Jones could throw that type of FB, or Reed.

Drilled Boesch with 0-2 count, 1st and 2nd, one out. DP saves them, double scores 2 for Tiggers walk off win.

Choo misplayed that, should have held him at 1B. One out, no advance on aggressive Young swinging bunt. Boesch now.

Just perfect. Not. Fielder with leadoff double.

Grounder right at Fielder, he came down the line and tagged Kipnis....then Lillibridge somehow got caught in no man's land between 3rd and home and quickly got tagged out in a rundown. He was running on contact...and became indecisive and left himself out to dry instead of going home right away or going right back to 3rd.

Dadgummit. Now the Tigers have all the momentum back for a 9th inning rally again. Crap. Lilly was never a particularly SMART baserunner in the Jose Valentin/AJ mold. Lots of silly, careless errors out there mentally. Still continuing as a trend, it seems.

Looks like the same Tigers team that couldn't beat the Indians at all the first three series or so of the season.

LOL at Coke running in like Usain Bolt/Yohan Blake.

YAY. Lillibridge. Strange season when he's making plays to help us down the stretch...at a position he might be a legit candidate to play on the Sox if we can't bring YOUK back. I guess not unlike Jayson Nix. So you'll see Sipp against Fielder, then Smith for final 2 outs, one would guess.

Crowd seems really dead or maybe they're just anxious/freaking out because the same type of thing happened last time they were in first?

Rogers was just given away by the Rockies, 8+ ERA this year, for cash considerations...but has been great with Indians, SO FAR.

I would guess you mean Mario Impemba or Rod Allen, probably Mario. He actually did the minor league games for my hometown Quad City River Bandits to earn his stripes...worked his way up. This is going to be the key inning for CLE, heart of the line-up will be up against Pestano. Great pitching from Indians so far. Esmiel Rogers for CLE? I'm guessing Perez is out?

DET announcers complaining about Sanchez' performance with them this year....leaving way too many balls up in the zone, control/command, etc.

Fathom will also be calling his agent...and asking for a cameo appearance with Minka Kelly and/or Derek Jeter. GREG: Just win, baby!!! Ozzie Guillen, DeWeezy and anyone from the 2005 team rock! Bring back Mark Buehrle and Bill Self! Applebee's is better than Chili's and TGIF's combined. Parking prices suck! White Sox can't beat the Royals!

It's too early to start writing epilogues on the season, but we should all be proud of how they've fought so hard and been so resilient all season long in the face of adversity. Yes, some will say no moral victories, we're choking, KW should be fired, the whole roster should be blown up in the offseason, etc., but it's still amazing they've come so far with all the injuries and the terribly young and inconsistent bullpen. Crain and Thornton were the two most important veteran pieces down there and they've both been pretty big disappointments this season. Other than Gordon Beckham, Morel and those bitter about Viciedo not making the All-Star team and being Top 10 in the MVP race, it's been a fun year to follow, and the White Sox haven't given up in the face of similar situations, like the previous sweep. Peavy, Dunn and Rios all rebounded from near-death experiences in terms of their career arcs, and Jose Quintana has been one of the more pleasant stories of the entire season. Picking up YOUK, Myers and Liriano at least gave us a fighting chance these last 30 games. We still have the easiest schedule in the American League, but we're going to have to beat the Royals and yes, the Tigers AT HOME, to win this thing. Whenever you think all hope is lost, just remember the last 2-3 weeks of the 2008 season, when we were in a similar situation vis a vis a similarly dominant historical foe, the Twins. All hope is not YET lost.

Liriano's ERA with the Sox is 4.54. Nothing great, but he's still improved on his season averages with the Twins since joining us. Better than regressing, like Greinke did for awhile. Of course, many would now argue the Angels' chances for the post-season are about the same as the Sox.