Sunday, August 8, 2010

51

Jerry Reinsdorf needs to pay me to go to White Sox games.  Friday night, I worked late and didn't make the trip to Baltimore, and the Sox lost 2-1, despite a brilliant effort by John Danks.  Sunday, I was playing golf in the morning and the round went long, so I decided to watch on TV, and the Sox lost 4-3.  But Saturday, I drove up to Charm City with Bob Shapiro, sat relatively close to the Sox dugout, and cheered the Sox on to a 4-2 come-from-behind win over the O's.

Gavin Floyd pitched a beauty: seven innings, six hits, two runs. A.J. Pierzynski doubled down the right field line to tie the game at 2-2 in the seventh. Alex Rios singled up the middle to drive in the go-ahead run in the eighth. Matt Thornton and J.J. Putz each tossed an inning of no-hit, no-run relief to preserve the victory for Floyd. As far as we know, Bobby Jenks was available, but Ozzie chose not to use him to close the game. Putz did a nice job of it, but what does this mean for the future? If you don’t use Jenks as the closer, does he lose confidence and therefore the ability to pitch altogether? If you do use him as a closer, can he get the job done? Inquiring minds want to know.

Going into the series, we liked the idea of playing the worst team in baseball. Unfortunately, since Buck Showalter took over as manager this past week, the Orioles haven’t been playing like it. We’ve got one more chance to beat the O’s on Monday night – and no, I won’t be able to make that game since my wife is flying in that evening from Chicago. The Sox will just have to win without my personal mojo – unless, of course, Reinsdorf hires me as a good-luck charm.

The Twins, who visit the Cell later this week, trimmed the Sox’s lead to a half game. But the good news is the Good Guys are still in first, where they’ve been since July 11. Hang on to your hats, this is going to get even more interesting this week. Go Sox!

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