Chicago White Sox
Manny Ramirez is a little nuts, but it is funny
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 | Chicago White Sox | No Comments
Manny Ramirez is now on the Chicago White Sox and here is his first presser, man Manny is crazy.
Huge Weekend for Chicago MLB Baseball Teams — Cubs & White Sox Both Sweep Weekend Series
Monday, April 26th, 2010 | Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, MLB, Sports | No Comments
WOW — what a great weekend for both Chicago MLB baseball teams. Both the Cubs and White Sox pulled off weekend sweeps to get back on track after a slow start to the 2010 MLB schedule.
The Cubs outscored the Brewers 25-4 in their 3-game weekend series at Miller Park in Milwaukee. The Cubs bats finally came to life and the pitching was just as impressive. Kosuke Fukudome and Tyler Colvin each hit 2 home runs in the series and Ryan Theriot racked up 9 hits in the series (with 14 hits in his last 5 games) to raise his batting average to .329. Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly and Randy Wells picked up the wins and Carlos Zambrano made his 1st appearance out of the bullpen in Saturday’s win (although he did give up an earned run).
The Cubs are now 9-10. They trail the 1st place St. Louis Cardinals by 2 and one half 5 games in the National League Central Division and open up a 7-game homestand against the Washington Nationals and the Arizona Diamondbacks. If Carlos Silva and the Cubs win tonight at Wrigley Field, the Cubs will be back at .500 with a 10-10 record.
The White Sox, meanwhile, took 3 straight games from the Seattle Mariners on home runs in their final at-bat in each game at U.S. Cellular Field over the weekend. In Friday’s 7-6 win, Andruw Jones’ 2nd home run of the game on his birthday gave the Sox the walk-off win in the bottom of the 9th inning. Saturday’s win was even more thrilling. After Bobby Jenks surrendered 2 runs in the top of the 9th inning in a 2-2 tie, the Sox found themselves in a big hole. But with one out, Paul Konerko hit his 6th home run of the season to get the Sox within 1. Then with 2 outs, Carlos Quentin walked to set up Alex Rios’ game-winning, walk-off home run to deep left field that gave the White Sox the 5-4. Paul Konerko followed up his Saturday performance with another big home run in the bottom of the 8th inning that broke a 2-2. 3 straight days – 3 straight game-winning home runs for the White Sox in their last at-bat. Incredible!
The White Sox are now 8-11. They trail the 1st place Minnesota Twins by 5 games in the American League Central Division and start a 6-game road trip against the Rangers in Texas and the Yankees in New York.
These 2 teams are far from being playoff teams right now, but more games like this and we could be seeing a “Red Line Series” in Chicago very very soon…
Barry Zito Retaliates Against Prince Fielder in Spring Training Game
Sunday, March 7th, 2010 | Chicago White Sox, MLB, Sports | No Comments
Gotta love the game of baseball — Barry Zito plunked Prince Fielder on his 1st pitch thrown to the big lefty in Wednesday’s Cactus league game between the San Francisco Giants and Milwaukee Brewers. It looks like the Giants have been waiting about 6 months to get Fielder back for his antics when Fielder stroked a walk-off home run to give the Brewers a come-from-behind win against the Giants on September 6, 2009. Too funny. As Fielder neared home plate after the homer, he pretended to knock down his teammates and his teammates all fell backwards like bowling pins as if Fielder had just fired an ace. The Brewers and their fans thought it was hysterical, but the Giants thought it was completely inappropriate.
The Giants had to wait 6 months to get Fielder back, but Zito took care of business on the 1st pitch thrown to the slugger. It landed right in the middle of Fielder’s back and he took it in stride, walking down to 1st base without any reaction at all. Good thing that these guys understand how the game is played.
The only better retaliation story I’ve heard is this one – courtesy of ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian. White Sox pitcher Ed Farmer gave up a grand slam home run to Wayne Gross who took his time running around the bases during his home run trot. Farmer was a reliever at the time and did not have an opportunity to face Gross again for 3 long years. But the kicker is – it was during a live batting practice session during spring training when the 2 players were teammates!!! Farmer got to pitch to Gross during the batting practice session and he promptly plunked Gross to get him back for running too slowly during his home run trot 3 years prior. Now that is holding a grudge…
Maybe baseball really isn’t just for the weak…
Chicago Sports Teams – Downright Bad – Cubs, White Sox, Bears, Bulls…
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 | Chicago 2016 Olympics, Chicago Bears, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, Rio de Janeiro, Sports | 1 Comment
WOW – it has been a rough year for Chicago sports teams. The Bears and Bulls are just continuing the downward trend for Chicago sports teams. Throw in the fact that the City lost out on the bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics this past October, and you wonder why they even field teams in the “Second City.”
Both MLB teams allowed August collapses to dictate disappointing finishes in 2009. The White Sox (79-83; .488 winning percentage) finished 7.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central Division, while the Cubs (83-78; .516 winning percentage) finished 7.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the American League Central Division. Obviously neither team qualified for the playoffs.
While the Bears and Bulls had promising starts to their respective seasons, things have quickly turned for the worse for each team.
The Bears started off by winning 3 of their first 4 games, but a current 4-game losing streak has the Bears sitting at 4-7. With games against the Vikings, Ravens and Packers (teams with winning records) still on the schedule, a 6-10 finish looks like a best-case scenario. A Bears loss to either the Rams (1 win) or Lions (2 wins) could end up costing Head Coach Lovie Smith his job. While the defense has been pretty awful all season long, the biggest disappointments come on the offensive side of the ball. During the off-season preceding the season, the Bears traded 2 1st round draft picks and then-starting QB Kyle Orton to acquire “franchise player” Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos. Cutler has been a huge enigma in 2009 – while he has thrown for 2671 yards and 16 TD’s and completed over 62% of his passes, he has also thrown a league-high 20 interceptions. His 74.4 passer rating is well below his career 83.9 passer rating. Coupled with Matt Forte’s sophomore slump (1,238 yards rushing with 8 TD’s in 2008 v. 543 yards rushing with 3 TD’s in 2009), it looks like the Bears have a lot of work to do if they want to turn this thing around.
The same could be said for the Bulls. The Bulls started the season with a 6-4 record through their 1st 10 games. But their annual “Circus Road Trip” away from the United Center proved costly. They lost the last 5 games of the trip and now sit at a dismal 6-9. Kirk Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas are both injured, and Derrick Rose is still trying to get back to his top form after dealing with an ankle injury during the pre-season which limited his play. There are a few bright spots for the Bulls. #1 – the Eastern Conference is just awful – even at 3 games under .500 the Bulls would still qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today. #2 – Luol Deng (18.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game) and Joakim Noah (11.5 points and 12.1 rebounds per game) have looked great early on. #3 – the Bulls are set up well salary-cap-wise for the 2010 free agent feeding frenzy – which will include the likes of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Amari Stoudamire and Chris Bosh.
Sorry Chicago sports fans – looks like you better root real hard for the Blackhawks to win the Stanley Cup in 2010…
White Sox pick up a old guy
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 | Chicago White Sox, MLB | No Comments
CHICAGO — The number 13 universally has been considered unlucky, from omitted hotel floors representing that sum to athletes avoiding it on their respective jerseys.
In the White Sox organization, it apparently stands as a guarded treasure.
That fact became apparent on Monday, as the White Sox officially introduced Omar Vizquel as the newest member of their Major League team. In a signing first reported at the end of last week, when free agency officially began, the 42-year-old Vizquel agreed to a one-year, $1.375 million deal to serve as the South Siders’ primary utility infielder.
Just one problem exists in this deal, which figures to stand as a boon for the White Sox playoff cause. Vizquel wears jersey No. 13 and so does White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, which means Vizquel won’t be wearing No. 13 in Chicago.
“Omar is not going to have enough money to pay for the number,” said Guillen with a laugh, discussing the Vizquel signing during a late afternoon conference call. “I already collect watches. I have two cars, and the car I really want, I don’t think he’s going to buy.”
Source: Chicago White Sox
Kenny Williams – Genius with Jake Peavy Signing for Chicago White Sox
Sunday, October 4th, 2009 | Chicago White Sox, General, Jake Peavy, MLB, Sports | No Comments
When Chicago White White Sox GM Kenny Williams traded for the injured Jake Peavy in July, it was partly for 2009, but mostly for 2010. While the White Sox were still in the thick of the AL Central race with the Detroit Tigers, Williams knew that the acquisition of Peavy would reap benefits for the next few years on the south side of Chicago. We’re already seeing signs of how good/healthy Peavy is, and this could go down as one of the best off-season moves for the 2010 MLB schedule even though it took place in July 2009.
Peavy is 3-0 in 3 starts with the White Sox in 2009. In 20 innings of work, Peavy has given up just 3 ER, 11 hits and 6 walks. He has 18 K’s to go along with a sparkling 1.35 ERA and 0.85 WHIP. Peavy pitched 8 scoreless innings against the 1st place Tigers on Friday night in Detroit. Peavy threw just 106 pitches, striking out 5 and giving up just 2 hits and 2 walks during his outing. With more outings like that in 2010, Williams will be looking like a genius and the White Sox could find themselves at the top of the AL Central with a talented, young pitching staff…
2 Chicago MLB Teams, 2 Double-Headers, 4 Meaningless Games – What a Joke!
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 | Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, General, MLB, Mark Buerhle, Sports | No Comments
It is a sad day for the 2 Chicago baseball teams. Both Chicago baseball teams – the Cubs and the White Sox – have already been officially eliminated from the 2009 MLB playoffs. But because of rain outs, each team is playing a meaningless double-header today. Painful…
The 82-74 Cubs (7.5 games behind the Cardinals for 1st place in the NL Central) take on the 59-97 Pirates at Wrigley Field. Ted Lilly (12-8) pitches in the opener, while Carlos Zambrano (9-6) pitches in the night cap. Why are they even playing these games – the almighty dollar!
The 76-81 White Sox (8 games behind the Tigers for 1st place in the AL Central) take on the 64-92 Indians at Jacobs Field. Carlos Torres (1-1) pitches in Game 1 of the traditional double-header while White Sox ace Mark Buerhle (12-10) pitches in Game 2. Meanwhile, the Indians just fired manager Eric Wedge after 7 years managing the Indians. Not sure why they are playing both games since there is no separate admission for each game like at Wrigley Field.
Get your TV sets tuned in early today – Cubs and Pirates have already started in Chicago with the pesky Pirates out to a 4-0 lead over the lovable losers at the Friendly Confines…
Peavy finally in Chicago
Saturday, August 1st, 2009 | Chicago White Sox, MLB, Sports | 1 Comment
Jake Peavy has finally arrived Chicago, the White Sox originally had talks with Peavy back in May but that fell apart fast. Peavy who had a no-trade clause waved it to get the deal done with Chicago and the Sox gave up five players in the deal. Two of which are young pitchers that could have some good futures in front of them. Peavy 28, is 6-6 with a 3.97 ERA in 13 starts with the Padres this year but is on the DL since June 13 with a strained tendon in his right ankle. This could mean that Peavy won’t be of much help for the White Sox this season since he is not expected back until the end of August. The way it looks the Sox are not going to move things along to fast since they want him 100% for next season. ” I was shocked,” Ozzie Guillen said “We got better and now we got one guy we wanted for a long time”. Peavy is making $11 million this years and has a salary of $15 million in 2010, $16 million in 2011, and $17 million in 2012.
I think Ozzie Guillen tried to insult Cubs fans
Monday, June 29th, 2009 | Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, MLB | No Comments
Its that time of the year the Cubs and White Sox series is coming to an end and both of these teams do not have much to be proud of this seasons. As always the series is good for some great insults from both sides and this year was no different. Lou Piniella started off with taking a swipe at the jump in attendance when the Cubs travel down to the south side. He noted that there were 20,000 more fans at the park this weekend and not even the Dodgers that visited the weekend before could bring in numbers like this. Ozzie shot back with
“Because our fans are not stupid like Cubs fans, Guillen said. “They know wer’re {expletive}.
Gullen said Cubs fans will watch any game at Wrigley Field because “Wrigley Field is just a bar.”
This was funny because its kind of true, but I’m not 100% sure if he also didn’t insults White Sox fans. Oh man you got to love Chicago baseball.
Chicago Sports Teams Back on Top of the World (or at least close to it)
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 | Chicago Bears, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Monday night, giving the Blackhawks the 4-2 series win. The series win was the 1st for the Blackhawks franchise in 13 years. After looking out of sync in 2 road losses in Calgary, the Blackhawks bounced back with a decisive 5-1 win over the Flames on Saturday night at the United Center. Five different Blackhawks skaters scored goals – . The Blackhawks kept up that same trend in Monday’s series-ending 4-1 win. 4 more Blackhawks scored goals in that victory – Patrick Kane, Adam Burish, Brian Campbell and Dustin Byfuglien. Game MVP honors had to go to Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin who was under constant pressure all night long. The Flames took 16 shots alone in the 1st period – matching the game total for the Blackhawks. But Khabibulin was up to the challenge – saving 43 of 44 shots to propel the Blackhawks to the next round.
The Blackhawks will take on the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference Semifinals later this week.
With the Blackhawks advancing in the playoffs, the Chicago sports scene is at it highest peak in years. Let’s take a quick look at the other 4 major sports teams in the city of Chicago:
MLB:
The Chicago Cubs are the 2-time defending NL Central Division Champs. Granted, they haven’t won a single playoff game in the last 2 years, but what does the post-season mean anyway – THIS IS OUR YEAR!
The Chicago White Sox are the defending AL Central Division Champs, and recently won the World Series in 2005.
NFL: The Chicago Bears have sucked the last 2 years, but at least they have a franchise quarterback in Jay Cutler. They lost in the 2007 Super Bowl to Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.
NBA: The Chicago Bulls have a super star point guard in Derrick Rose and have split the 1st 4 games of their 1st playoff series with the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics.
Chicago is clearly a great place to be right now – we’re selling Bulls playoffs ticket, Blackhawks playoffs tickets, Cubs tickets, White Sox tickets and Bears tickets on our site, so head to the Chicago Sports Page of our website soon before it’s too late to catch your favorite Chicago sports team.
