Meat Loaf

Regular readers know that one of The Update's favorite expressions is "meat loaf." It means to win two out of three games from an opponent and comes from Meat Loaf's song "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad." Well, it turns out that we're not the only ones who like that phrase. Mark Gonzalez, who covers the Sox for The Tribune, wrote in his online column today that he wished he'd been there to hear "Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon, one of the best people in the game, say, 'It's always good to 'Meat Loaf' the world champions,' after the Devil Rays took two out of three (which ain't bad) from the Sox. " A tip of the Sox Update hat to Mark and Joe, but not Meat Loaf, who penned that awful song. Hey, two out of three ain't bad.

Ludacris/Ludicrous

Ludacris, aka Luda, aka Chris Bridges, was the musical guest on Leno last night. What's that got to do with the White Sox, you ask? Well, he was sporting a Sox hat while singing "Money Maker." "And isn't it ironic, don't you think?" (Wait, the rules say you can't use an Alanis Morissette song lyric while talking about a rapper.) At a time when the franchise is a real "Money Maker" -- almost three million in attendance and a new endorsement deal with 7-11 that requires night games at The Cell to start at 7:11 p.m. -- the Sox appear to be driven by a desire to save money rather than to improve the on-field product for another run at a World Series. Trading Freddy Garcia for Gavin "Floyd the Barber" and "Chevy Gio" Gonzalez to avoid having to pay big bucks to re-sign Garcia is one thing; shipping Jon Garland to Houston for nobody special is another. Thank God, one of the Astros failed his physical or it appears that deal would have happened too. There's only one word that can describe dismembering the Sox rotation: Ludicrous.

Do the Freddy!

Joining Freddie and the Dreamers and Chubby Checker, the White Sox yesterday did the Freddy: They traded Freddy Garcia to the Phillies for pitchers Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez. It appears Kenny Williams is looking at salary, age, and signability, as Garcia is significantly more expensive, older, and harder to sign in the future than the two acquisitions. My question is can the new guys pitch? There's not much of a Major League resume to suggest that Floyd can -- he was 4-3 with a 7.29 ERA in 11 starts in 2006 -- and no MLB resume for Gonzalez -- former Sox property traded to the Phils in the Jim Thome deal. Williams likes their potential and says that Floyd will compete with BMac for the fifth spot in the rotation. I'm not sure how I want that to come out. If BMac wins, then how good was this trade? If Floyd wins, then we've still got the problem of what to do with BMac. I figured that we'd get an outfielder/leadoff man if we gave up one of our front-line pitchers. That hole still needs to be filled. All of which suggests that Kenny isn't done yet. If Mark Buehrle or Javier Vazquez is on your holiday gift list, you might want to hold off buying that present a little longer. They might not be here by the time those holidays roll around.