2007 State of the Sox

May 31: Blue Jays 2, White Sox 0

At this rate, Mark Buehrle may no longer be under contract with the Sox by the time he achieves his 100th victory.  With this support, who knows if any dollar amount would be enough to bring him back.

Buehrle had better stuff than he did when he threw his no-hitter -- the Blue Jays just happened to take advantage of his two most hittable pitches, and that decided the game.  The only hits Buehrle allowed were solo homers to Aaron Hill and Frank Thomas.

Otherwise, Buehrle was magnificent.  He went the distance, threw only 91 pitches, and added another sub-two-hour game to his resume, with this one wrapping up in only 1:50.  Plus, he spared us from having to see a reliever.

The offense was no help, and Roy Halladay was the one to enjoy his 100th victory tonight.  Halladay pitched well, but at the same time, he just followed instructions.  Rob Mackowiak didn't see a ball outside; Joe Crede only saw sliders and two-seam fastballs low and away.  He hit his spots and took advantage of the Sox's impatience.

And the Sox weren't jumpy only at the plate, but on the bases, too.  Darin Erstad and A.J. Pierzynski were both caught stealing (Pierzynski on the hit-and-run), so if Halladay didn't erase them, the Sox erased themselves.  The Sox did pose a legitimate threat when they had runners on second and third with nobody out, but in typical Sox fashion, nobody scored.  Erstad couldn't hit the ball out of the infield and grounded into a fielder's choice.  His CS made it two outs, and Tadahito Iguchi grounded out to allow Halladay to escape unscathed.

That series of events was only the second-worst thing to happen to Erstad tonight.  He looks like he snapped something swinging at a low-and-inside sinker from Halladay, and collapsed like a sack of potatoes.  I'd be surprised if he weren't done for the year, based on how he went down.

Record: 24-25 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 30: Twins 7, White Sox 6

The details of this game are too painful to try to describe in narrative form, so I'll use bullet points instead:

• David Aardsma walked in the winning run with two outs on four pitches -- and none of them were close.
  
• Jon Garland blew a five-run lead, mainly due to five walks in six innings.  Sox pitchers walked eight overall.
  
• Paul Konerko's throwing error deflected off Jason Tyner and helped to set up the winning run, and it was a play he usually makes.  And I wonder if Juan Uribe would've thrown to first on the following infield single, instead of Alex Cintron's failing to get the force at second.
  
• The Sox built a 6-1 lead thanks to 10 hits off Scott Baker in three innings; then failed to register a single hit the rest of the game.

Here's the funny thing about this game -- for all the praise Ozzie Guillen heaps on Ron Gardenhire, all Ozzie had to do to give his team a better chance to win was to play copycat.

You see, with a tie game in the ninth inning, Gardenhire brought in his best reliver, closer Joe Nathan, in a non-save situation.  And although Tadahito Iguchi just missed hitting one out, Nathan retired the Sox 1-2-3.

In the bottom of the inning, Guillen could've turned to a rested Jenks.  His last action came five days ago -- a nine-pitch outing against the Devil Rays.  In fact, those were the only nine pitches Jenks had thrown in the last nine days, and while it was a non-save situation, it was the ideal usage of a top reliever.

Instead, Guillen tried to use his three most erratic relievers -- Mike MacDougal, Boone Logan and Aardsma -- to close out the game.  It didn't work, though Logan actually did his job by getting Justin Morneau to pop up with the bases loaded.  Sure, the players didn't execute, Ozzie didn't give them their best shot, either.

Record: 24-24 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 29: Twins 9, White Sox 2

Record: 24-23 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 28: Twins 10, White Sox 4

Dear White Sox hitters,

Thank you.

For one day, you managed to step up to the plate against Johan Santana and not soil yourselves.  Today's output of four runs -- a typical Torii Hunter catch at the wall prevented it from being five -- was completely acceptable and not at all embarrassing.  Santana hadn't allowed more than four earned runs in a game all year long, so this will hopefully serve as a confidence builder.

Think of it this way: Santana started a game against the Sox and didn't lower his ERA in the process.  It's a good feeling.

At first it looked a lot like Santana's first start -- a couple of baserunners early with no runs, followed by the pitching creating a three-run deficit.  I was about to leave you for dead, even after Luis Terrero's homer.  Solo shots are the only ways you guys have scored off Santana in recent years.

But then Paul Konerko went deep, and it raised my hopes.  At the very least, it was one Santana gift from being tied up.  I wasn't expecting the unthinkable -- a legitimate rally turning into a late-game lead, and by the three most important Sox.  Jim Thome walked, Jermaine Dye doubled, and Konerko drove them both in with a single to left.  The 3-4-5 combo strung together three consecutive good at-bats, and the Sox turned a 3-0 hole into a 4-3 lead.

If Jose Contreras pitched like he did against the Twins the last time around, that amount of offense would've been plenty.  But Contreras was throwing some weird stuff today.  His fastball was about right -- 91-93 m.p.h. -- but instead of going to his forkball, he was throwing this crazy-assed floater that almost looked like a knuckleball.  Actually, Charlie Haeger throws his knuckleball faster than Contreras threw this ... curve?  I guess it was a curve.

He left it up in the zone a lot, and better hitters would've probably beaten him around the park.  Instead, the Twins slapped him for 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings, which took Contreras 114 pitches to complete.  It reminded me of an El Duque outing, except El Duque resorted to junk because he didn't have much of a fastball.  I'm not sure what was up with the Count today, aside from the pitch count.

People may point to A.J. Pierzynski's alleged intent to spike Justin Morneau with the Twins rally -- ESPN's headline reads, "Twins' intensity level rises after Morneau appears to catch spikes" -- but if one double mixed upon a sea of Dome-aided singles is raising the intensity, then that's a pretty sad statement.

Boone Logan came on with the bases loaded to face Justin Morneau with the game tied 4-4, and forced him into a 3-2 groundout to keep the game tied.  Then David Aardsma got Torii Hunter way out in front of a slider, but with it being the Dome, his chopper went 30 feet in the air, and everybody was safe.  Aardsma made his pitch -- it was just horrible luck, and instead of a tie game, the Twins had a 5-4 lead.  Then Aardsma grooved a fastball to Mike Redmond one batter later, and then the ballgame was over.  It was maybe one of three balls the Twins hit with authority.

Dewon Day got roughed up in his first outing, but once again, he was Twinned to death, and the defense didn't help.  Tadahito Iguchi tried fielding a ball with his foot (it didn't work), and Pierzynski's throw to third on Torii Hunter's steal attempt sailed on him.  At least Day threw strikes, which is more than one can say about Mike MacDougal.

Record: 24-22 | Box score | Play-by-play

Week in a Box: May 21-27

Player of the Week:  Jim Thome.  It's good to have the big guy back, and I'm sure the improving Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye feel the same way.

Player of the Weak:  Tadahito Iguchi.  The offensive surge happened without any contributions from the Emperor, but he began to pick it up by the end of the week.

Pitcher of the Week:  John Danks.  It's nice to see him survive without his best stuff. 

Pitcher of the Weak:  Mark Buehrle.  That intentional HBP will go down as one of the dumbest decisions of the season.  Fortunately his offense bailed him out.

Fireman of the Week:  Bobby Jenks.  Pitched beautifully in a non-save situation against the Devil Rays and ended up picking up the win.

Gas Can of the Week:  Mike MacDougal.  Awful, awful, awful.

Super Sub of the Week:  Luis Terrero.  Had two excellent starts and one bad one; his 442-foot homer was a sight to behold.

Super Scrub of the Week:  Nobody.  Everybody on the bench did what Ozzie Guillen should expect from them.

Gold Glove:  Darin Erstad.  His diving stab at first against the Devil Rays saved the lead.

Hands of Stone:  Rob Mackowiak.  His spaz attack in left on a routine line drive was downright ugly.

May 26: Devil Rays 11, White Sox 5

Don't ask me. I was golfing.

Record: 24-21 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 25: White Sox 5, Devil Rays 4

The bullpen prevented Mark Buehrle from gaining his 100th career victory the last time around.  This time, he has nobody to blame but himself.

Staked to a 4-1 lead with a runner on second and two outs in the seventh, Buehrle went recklessly hard inside against the slumping Brendan Harris, eventually hitting the Rays' shortstop.  Please note that James Shields had already plunked two White Sox.

The HBP brought Elijah Dukes to the plate, and Dukes cranked a bad changeup over the left-field fence to tie the game.  Ozzie Guillen had visited Buehrle just before Dukes' AB, but returned to the dugout without taking action.

Then again, Mike MacDougal entered the game next, and considering MacDougal continued to struggle, no positive outcome could be guaranteed.  MacDougal fell behind 3-0 to the first two batters he faced (single and a popout the results), and ended up intentionally walking the other after Carl Crawford stole second.  He left to a chorus of boos, but fortunately Matt Thornton cleaned up his mess -- with the help of Crawford.

Crawford thought he had Thornton figured out after a couple pitches, and tried to steal third before Thornton had delivered a pitch.  But Thornton checked second one more time, saw Crawford wasn't there, and fired the ball to Joe Crede in time for out No. 2.  Thornton and Bobby Jenks -- good call by Ozzie using him in a non-save situation -- would set the stage for Crede in the bottom of the ninth.

The Sox had the bases loaded with one out after two walks and a single, but the situation was reminiscent of one earlier in the game.  With one out, the sacks packed and Crede at the plate, he hit a flyball pretty well to right field.  Delmon Young caught it, threw a strike home to Dioner Navarro, who blocked the plate and stopped Jim Thome short.  Navarro should've been knocked on his back, but with the Sox needing Thome in as many games as possible, they had the wrong guy running home.

Fortunately in the ninth, Tadahito Iguchi stood on third, and Crede hit his flyball to left and deeper.  The ballgame was ovah.

This game had a few other strange developments:

• Luis Terrero hit the longest homer of the season, a three-run bomb that nearly reached the concourse straightaway left.  Even more peculiar: Juan Uribe preceded it with a 10-pitch walk that started out with Uribe down 0-2.
• The Sox turned a 1-6-2-5 double play when Buehrle snagged a comebacker, looked Crawford back to third and fired to second.  Crawford forgot that Uribe has an arm, and tried to score after Buehrle's throw.  Uribe fired home, Crawford tried backtracking, but was eventually tagged out by Crede.  This event was preceded by a nice lunging play by Darin Erstad that Paul Konerko wouldn't have made.  He didn't record an out, but it saved a run.
  
• Rob Mackowiak made a great running catch in left on the second play of the game. 
  

Record: 24-20 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 23: Athletics 4, White Sox 0

Chad Gaudin held the White Sox in check during his first start against them April 10.  He thoroughly dominated the Sox this time around, and thus the Sox's three-game winning streak -- and offensive surge -- came to a crashing halt.  Fortunately they'll have an off day tomorrow to lick their wounds.

Sox hitters couldn't do anything right against Gaudin the first seven innings.  Twice the leadoff hitter reached with a base hit, and twice they were quickly erased -- Darin Erstad with a double play in the first inning, and Jermaine Dye when he was thrown out easily trying to stretch a single into a double.  Otherwise, the Sox didn't make a peep, and Gaudin faced the minimum through six.

Only when Jim Thome walked with two outs in the seventh did Gaudin ruin his shot for 27 up, 27 down (though not in order).  He did benefit from consecutive sliding/diving catches, but aside from that, it was all him.

When the Sox finally did pose a threat in the eighth, they couldn't finish the job.  Back-to-back singles by A.J. Pierzynski and Juan Uribe put runners on first and second, but Pierzynski went back to tag up instead of standing halfway on Rob Mackowiak's deep flyball to right that bounced off the fence.  After seeing Nick Swisher mistime his jump, Pierzynski could only make it to third.

Still, they had the bases loaded with one out.  But this is when the thin Sox bench -- hidden by surprising performances in three straight games -- began to show its weakness.  Pablo Ozuna came in to hit for Alex Cintron and promptly tapped back to Jay Marshall, who went home for one.  Darin Erstad, facing a lefty designed to get lefties out, did the usual 4-3, and that was that.

I probably would've batted Luis Terrero instead of Ozuna for Cintron, and then bat Ozuna for Erstad, but each option is pretty sad.

Meanwhile, Jon Garland wasn't as sharp as he was in previous starts, but as it would turn out, he lost the game in the first thanks to some miscommunication in the infield.  With a normal defensive alignment, Swisher hit a insignificant grounder to the shortstop with a runner on first.  But with the infield skewed to the right and Uribe covering second, there was confusion about whether Cintron or Uribe would get it.  As it turns out, nobody did, and the non-error error would help the A's score their first run.

Otherwise, Oakland dinked Garland to death.  Hiram Bocachica's nail-in-the-coffin homer in the seventh was the only extra-base hit Garland allowed all night.  The nine other hits off Garland were mainly of the "where they ain't" variety, and the Sox made some nice defensive plays to keep that number from growing. 

Tadahito Iguchi made a nice 4-3 double play by snaring a liner and later made a nice running catch towards the right-field line, and Garland added to his Gold Glove case by handling bunts with excellent range to his left and right.  The latter was a diving catch of a popped-up bunt just outside the chalk on the third-base line.

If there's one redeeming thing that came from this game, it was the 2 2/3 scoreless innings thrown by Matt Thornton and David Aardsma, the first time the bullpen didn't allow a run since May 17.

Record: 23-20 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 22: White Sox 10, Athletics 4

In the White Sox's first 39 games, they hadn't scored 10 runs in a single outing.  Suddenly, they've done it twice in three days, and tonight's outburst was long overdue for John Danks.  The rookie lefty, buoyed by a large early cushion, managed to win his third consecutive decision despite having his least impressive stuff this season.

Sox hitters didn't think much of Oakland starter Colby Lewis, scoring all their runs off him over the first four innings.  Jim Thome kept the first alive with a two-out single through the shift, his first hit since returning from the DL.  Jermaine Dye followed with his fourth homer in six games to give the Sox a quick 2-0 lead.

Thome was just getting started.  He'd drive in two with a double the following inning, and then belted a bomb into the seats in right to cap a 3-for-3, five RBI night.  He also drew a walk in his other plate appearance.

Sox hitters trashed Lewis for 12 hits in 3 1/3 innings.  Alex Cintron continued to build momentum with a two-run double, one of two hits on the night.  Darin Erstad also scored two runs out of the leadoff spot while adding an RBI single.  Once again, Tadahito Iguchi found himself hitless, and tonight he was the only regular without a base hit.

The surge in production was a welcome sight to Danks, who was off on his location all night.  His line -- 6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K -- doesn't tell the whole story.  He got behind a lot of batters, didn't seem to have his curveball, and gave up a lot of hard-hit balls.

The defense helped him out of early trouble -- Paul Konerko caught a rocket shot and turned it into an inning-ending 3-6 double play, and Iguchi snared a liner up the middle with two on and nobody out, and flipped it to second to reduce the threat.

And in a way, even Pablo Ozuna and Erstad helped Danks out with their errors.  Ozuna actually had two misplays, but only one of them counted as an error when he failed to pick a rather routine ground ball.  But that and Erstad's bobble would make two of Danks' runs unearned, and helped to lower his ERA to 3.76 with no other negative consequence.

There were a couple of lowlights -- the Sox only managed one hit off Oakland reliever Lenny DiNardo in 4 2/3 innings, and it's hard to tell if it was due to settling in after a big early lead, or the fact that DiNardo throws with his left hand.  Andy Sisco also had another disappointing outing, allowing three straight Athletics to reach (and one to score) after getting the first two outs in the ninth.

Record: 23-19 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 21: White Sox 8, Athletics 5

If bad luck has victimized the White Sox as much as bad approaches, perhaps tonight is the start of evening out the former category.

Everything the Sox did offensively worked, starting with the lineup card.  With Juan Uribe attending to his ailing mother in the hospital, Joe Crede nursing a stiff back and Scott Podsednik still out, Ozzie Guillen had to field a lineup with Pablo Ozuna, Alex Cintron and Rob Mackowiak filling in the left side.

They all held up their end of the bargain, and with the regulars starting to come around, the Sox offense rolled.

Some highlights:

• The Sox were 2-for-2 in hit-and-runs -- Cintron got Mackowiak to third with a single to right, and Paul Konerko singled to left with Luis Terrero running, and both led to runs.
  
• Pablo Ozuna laid down a sac bunt with runners on first and second with nobody out, and Mackowiak followed with a single to drive in two.
• Cintron and Darin Erstad each had two-out RBI singles; Erstad's came after Mackowiak and Cintron each struck out with the bases loaded.
• Erstad and Ozuna each beat out weak grounders for infield singles.

Konerko had three hits, and A.J. Pierzynski drove in two.  Only Tadahito Iguchi and Jim Thome (in his first start since coming back from the rib injury) finished without a hit.

If only the defense could've been as consistent.  Jose Contreras had to pitch out of some jams, and he was largely successful thanks to a season-high eight strikeouts.  Mackowiak freaked out on a liner to him that would've ended the first, but Contreras got out of the inning unscathed.  He'd do the same in the fourth inning when Jermaine Dye misread and pulled up short on a Jack Cust liner, contuining a streak of suspect defending.  Luis Terrero, who filled in for Dye when he got ejected arguing a strike three, ended the game by catching a ball hit the same way.

Nick Swisher did all the damage Contreras suffered with one swing, a bases-clearing double in the fifth that was the fourth straight hit off Contreras; the Count dusted himself off and wouldn't allow Swisher to score.  He also drove in the other two runs off Boone Logan to turn the game into a save situation, which Bobby Jenks would close out, but only after he allowed the tying run to come to the plate with nobody out.

Mike MacDougal entered the game with an opportunity to get some work in a low-leverage situation but faltered again.  Part of it was due to Ozuna, who didn't trust himself when he caught a chopper with his foot on third, when a force-out would've ended the inning.  He fired to first, the throw was late, and the ump didn't see the force at third.  Then again, MacDougal has no excuse for walking two batters with a five-run lead in the first place.

The Sox bullpen was wild overall, walking four in 2 2/3 innings; Contreras only issued one free pass in the first 6 1/3 frames.

Record: 22-19 | Box score | Play-by-play

Week in a Box: May 14-20

Player of the Week: A.J. Pierzynski.  The grand slam against the Cubs made my vacation.

Player of the Weak: Juan Uribe.  Going 2-for-22 with 12 strikeouts makes this an easy choice.

Pitcher of the Week: John Danks and Jose Contreras.  Both came up with big wins against the Yankees -- Garland pitched better, but I'm giving Danks rookie points.

Pitcher of the Weak: Javier Vazquez.  A little flat against the Cubs.

Fireman of the Week: Bobby Jenks.  Got the job done in both his outings, and quietly has lowered his ERA to a quality level in the process.

Gas Can of the Week:  David Aardsma and Mike MacDougal.  Both were putrid against the Cubs.

Super Sub of the Week:  Rob Mackowiak.  He had four big RBI as his bat began to heat up.

Super Scrub of the Week: Toby Hall.  His first start was a rough one.

Gold Glove: Nobody.  Even the usual standards had rough weeks.

Hands of Stone: Toby Hall.  Not a good first impression with two errors in his debut.

May 20: White Sox 10, Cubs 6

Sixty-two degrees my ass.

With temperatures topping out at 47 degrees (I'd only brought shorts), a steady, cold wind at 15 m.p.h. blowing in and Nick Masset making his first major-league start against Carlos Zambrano, it seemed that the chips were stacked against me from the very start.

But this is why they play the games. The offense exploded to crack double-digits in runs for the first time this season, supporting Masset's solid start well enough to help the Sox to salvage the first crosstown series' finale.

The Sox held a 3-2 lead when Carlos Zambrano retired the first two hitters, bringing up Juan Uribe, hitting before Mike MacDougal.  MacDougal had retired the only batter he faced with runners on the corners to preserve the one-run lead, after Andy Sisco threw two wild pitches with Derrek Lee once again pinch-hitting to provide another scare.

But a funny thing happened -- Zambrano hit Uribe on the forearm with his first pitch, and that little pebble started a rockslide that resulted in seven runs, the biggest inning the Sox have enjoyed all year.

Jim Thome came to the plate for his first plate appearance since returning from the DL, providing a Willis Reed-like vibe, and in a Thome-like fashion, he walked.  Darin Erstad hit an opposite-field flare, driving in Thome and getting the run back.

Tadahito Iguchi walked to load the bases, setting the table for A.J. Pierzynski -- and for the lefty, Lou Piniella called upon Neal Cotts to face him.  Fortunately for the Sox, Cotts reverted to his 2006 form and failed to take advantage of the matchup, and Pierzynski drilled the second pitch into the wind and into the basket in right-center.  A healthy mix of boos and cheers erupted as A.J. rounded the bases to give the Sox a 8-2 lead.

Rob Mackowiak would give the Sox the magic 10-spot with a two-run single, capping a seven-run seventh in which all runs were scored with two outs.

It would hold up to give Masset a win in his first major-league start.  It looked scary at the start, as Masset walked two batters with one coming around to score on a single to give the Cubs a quick 1-0 lead.  Masset quickly settled down after that, facing the minimum the next four innings.  Aramis Ramirez was the only Cub to reach, and his single was erased with a Michael Barrett 6-4-3 double play.

David Aardsma struggled for the second straight outing, giving up four runs when he could've finished up the game, but Bobby Jenks eventually closed the door with a nifty 4-6-3 putout.

Record: 21-19 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 19: Cubs 11, White Sox 6

I hate Boone Logan.

I hate Boone Logan, because he puts up great numbers in Class AAA, but when he pitches in the big leagues, he locks up like a Pentium 386 trying to run Windows Vista. I haven't watched Logan pitch for the Charlotte Knights, so it's difficult for me to say what the difference is. Maybe he's afraid of the strike zone. Maybe it's that Class AAA hitters chase his breaking balls out of the zone while major league hitters, such as Derek Lee on Saturday, don't. Maybe it's just that I'm still ticked off that I forgot to take the seat off my bike when I parked it this morning, and it was stolen. I guess the thieves in Logan Square are as opportunistic as major league hitters.

That's not to say that Logan was solely at fault for the eighth-inning meltdown that led to Saturday's 11-6 loss to the Cubs. David Aardsma had a poor outing, failing to locate his pitches and paying the price for it (as my fantasy team did). But Logan has no business being on the roster, just as last year. Logan was overpromoted last year, both when he was placed on the Opening Day 25-man roster and when he was demoted to Charlotte. I don't just think it's the leap in general from the minors to the big leagues that plagues Logan. This is a pitcher who spent three years in rookie ball, with only a brief stop in high Class A Winston-Salem, before going right to the big leagues last season. Should we be surprised that he lacks poise? Should we be surprised that he is afriad to challenge big league hitters? Should we be surprised that he allows inherited runners to score as if that were the point of relief pitching? Matt Thornton and Mike MacDougal (Since when did he become a junkballer? I fear that he is injured.) are worse, actually, but at least I've seen them strand some runners before. It's probably just my perception, but it sure feels like Logan never strands an inherited runner.

I thought Javier Vázquez threw well. Michael Barrett's home run was a high fly to right that had the benefit of the wind blowing out. Jason Marquis's home run, while embarassing because it's a pitcher, was wind-aided, too, although Marquis hit his ball a lot harder than Barrett did.

The White Sox continue to be largely impotent on offense. It took them four innings to figure out Marquis, whom they flogged last season when he pitched for the Cardinals. We'll have to hope that the home runs by Joe Crede and Paul Konerko turn out to be signs of a turnaround for the two of them. Jermaine Dye and Tadahito Iguchi are showing even more signs that they've turned the corner. Both had doubles Saturday, and Iguchi went 3-for-4 on the day to go along with four hits in his previous three games. Putting Juan Uribe in the No. 2 hole has long been a solution in search of a problem. Manager Ozzie Guillén continues to say that he likes Iguchi batting farther down in the order so that he doesn't have to give up at-bats. A more elegant way to avoid that problem is to stop giving up at-bats and outs, such as the one Guillén gave up in the seventh inning. He had Uribe bunt with Darin Erstad at first on a gift infield single thanks to poor defense from Cubs pitcher Will Ohman. With the wind blowing out at Wrigley Field, playing for one run was even sillier than usual. But I suppose that Guillén feels like he has to "do something" with the Sox not hitting much these days. I'd rather have him arguing with Mike North.

Record: 20-19 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 18: Cubs 6, White Sox 3

Mike MacDougal is having the same issues as the White Sox offense -- every time it seems like he might start to put it together, he gives another reason to keep doubting.

As it turned out, both continued to disappoint, and it cost Mark Buehrle his 100th career win.  And the frustrating thing is it started with a two-out walk to Henry Blanco.

Buehrle admitted in the post-game show it was wrong to walk Blanco, since even if he gets a hold of it, it's a 3-2 game.  But MacDougal's paid to get one out when the Sox need it, and instead he gave up a game-tying triple to Angel Pagan.  His problems were only starting.

Toby Hall, playing in his first game of the year, allowed a passed ball on a catchable low and away slider to give the Cubs a lead, and then the Cubs helped the Sox beat themselves to death the following inning.  An array of choppers and flare singles forced the Sox to make bad throws -- including a throwing error by Hall -- and they bled the Sox for three more runs to make a comeback impossible.

MacDougal gave up five hits in two-thirds of an inning to take the loss, but two of the three runs he allowed were unearned.

Aside from a mistake fastball that Michael Barrett sent into the stands, Mark Buehrle didn't make many mistakes.  He pitched around a leadoff Aramis Ramirez double in the fourth, and left runners on the corners in the sixth.  In the latter situation, the Cubs should've made it a 2-2 game.

I was a little surprised Angel Pagan didn't try to score on a medium-range flyball to right when he was on third with one out.  Yes, Jermaine Dye has an above-average arm, but I can't remember the last time a Sox outfielder threw out a runner at home.  Either it's a bad throw, it hits the pitcher's mound, or the catcher can't snare it and apply the tag.  Nevertheless, Pagan held up, and Buehrle got a grounder to get out of the inning.

He didn't get much help from the offense, this time stymied by Ted Lilly. Granted, he's not a Garden Variety Mediocre Lefty, but the Sox entered the game with a history of hitting him hard.  These Sox can't do it -- they had only six hits, and walked twice as opposed to 10 strikeouts.

I suppose there were a couple bright points -- Juan Uribe stopped striking out long enough to hit a sacrifice fly, and Darin Erstad hit a two-run double punctuated by a Mackowiakian flailing attempt by Alfonso Soriano.  Hall had two hits in his debut, already surpassing Gustavo Molina's season total, and Jermaine Dye also appears to be heating up.  The rest, sadly, is the same old story.

Record: 20-18 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 17: White Sox 4, Yankees 1

Despite only scoring 10 runs across three games, the Sox managed to eke out a series win against the Yankees thanks to Jon Garland and Jermaine Dye.

Jermaine had his best game of the year, hitting a homer, a double and a sac fly and driving in four runs -- and shockingly enough, they all came against a pitcher the Sox had never seen in Matt DeSalvo. The Yankees rookie only lasted 3 1/3 innings, giving up six of the seven hits the Sox had on the day and all four runs.

The Sox could've scored more against DeSalvo when they had runners on first and second and nobody out, but Juan Uribe blew a bunt attempt and then struck out, and Ryan Sweeney followed up with a 4-6-3 double play.  Uribe struck out four times on the day.

Pablo Ozuna showed what a good bunt means when he got one down, getting Tadahito Iguchi and Darin Erstad to second and third after a double and catcher's intereference.  Two batters later,Dye hit a sacrifice fly for the Sox's fourth run.  Sure, they only got one run, but it's better than the zeroes they've been putting up.

New York's bullpen promptly shut down Chicago for the remainder of the game, but it was enough thanks to another quality start for Garland, his fifth straight.  Despite not having his best control -- he walked four -- he stayed out of most jams.  The only Yankees run came in Garland's last inning, when he gave up an RBI double to Doug Mientkiewicz.  He pitched around the other jams he was in, including a double play ball from Hideki Matsui with runners on first and second and one out, on which Uribe made a nice play.

Mike MacDougal worked his first 1-2-3 inning since April 19, and Bobby Jenks also retired the side in order for his 13th save.

Record: 20-17 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 16: Yankees 8, White Sox 1

In how many ways was this game ugly?

1) The Yankees won this game with unearned runs alone.  Juan Uribe committed the only error of the game when he couldn't handle Derek Jeter's grounder that, while hit hard, was also hit right at him.  Then Darin Erstad froze on a line drive and made a Mackowiakian flailing attempt at it as it sailed over his head.

2) Jose Contreras pitched well for the most part, but he couldn't finish the seventh inning.  He'd held the game to a one-run deficit and had two outs when Bobby Abreu came to the plate.  Abreu had struck out three times, but Contreras hung a forkball and Abreu singled to make the lead even more insurmountable.

3) Pablo Ozuna, perhaps thinking Johnny Damon was in center instead of Melky Cabrera, was thrown out at third trying to advance on a single with two outs.  Fortunately, Erstad scored ahead of him.

4) Erstad ran into the fence when he couldn't run down a liner to the right-center gap.  It was a ball he couldn't have caught, but the crash looked bad.

5) Gustavo Molina arguably showed more emotion after getting his first major-league hit than Jermaine Dye did when he drove in the game-winning run in Game 4 of the World Series.

6) The Sox offense didn't make Chien-Ming Wang sweat.

7) After Boone Logan pitched an effective 1 1/3 innings, Andy Sisco faltered in his second straight no-pressure, mop-up appearance, giving up two solo home runs and four runs overall in the ninth inning.

Record: 19-17 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 16: White Sox 5, Yankees 3

In bullet points, since I'm watching the night game while writing this:

• John Danks took advantage of the Yankees' patience by throwing a lot of first pitch strikes and pushing them back against the ropes a little.  The Yankees adjusted and started hitting the ball harder their second time around, but he managed to strand two with Alex Rodriguez at the plate.  Overall, he pitched economically enough to give him a shot at pitching well on short rest the next time around.
• The offense took a better approach, hitting more line drives.  The swings seemed shorter and more efficient -- I'm thinking Joe Crede's RBI single and Jermaine Dye's double.  Darin Erstad also did a nice job of taking a 3-1 pitch for an RBI single.
• Good call by Ozzie by letting Matt Thornton and David Aardsma close it out, and a nicer job by Thornton going four up, four down with two strikeouts.  He looks like he's back into midseason form.
• Melky Cabrera prevented the Sox from scoring two runs by robbing Juan Uribe of a profundo!, and nearly saved a third when he almost threw out Rob Mackowiak on a decently deep sacrifice fly.  It reminded me of the throw he made to gun down Joe Crede at the plate last year at Yankee Stadium.

Record: 19-16 | Box score | Play-by-play

Week in a Box: May 7-13

Player of the Week: Juan Uribe.  He, Ryan Sweeney and A.J. Pierzynski are the only hitters with a plan right now.

Player of the Weak: Tadahito Iguchi.  There are a lot of people who can join him, but he looks the worst aesthetically.

Pitcher of the Week: John Danks and Jose Contreras.  Contreras had the shutout, but you can't deny the kid after his first win.

Pitcher of the Weak: Mark Buehrle.  It happens.

Fireman of the Week: Matt Thornton.  The starters made it really easy for the relievers, but his fastball's starting to pop.

Gas Can of the Week:  Nick Masset.  Ugh.

Super Sub of the Week:  Ryan Sweeney.  I think he counts as a sub, even though he's earning almost all the playing time.

Super Scrub of the Week: Rob Mackowiak.  He has plenty of company, but he has the highest expectations.

Gold Glove: Juan Uribe.

Hands of Stone: Tadahito Iguchi.

May 13: Royals 11, White Sox 1

In terms of excitement, this game didn't exactly compare to the history-making Mother's Day game of 2006.  There's no way to dress it up: This one just plain sucked.  Under different circumstances, it would get the dog.

This time, Jorge De La Rosa stood in as the Garden-Variety Mediocre Lefty to shut the Sox down completely.  The South Siders scored their only run via a bases loaded walk, which tied the game at 1.  The problem was that Joe Crede earned that free pass with one out, and yet that's all they got.  Tadahito Iguchi struck out looking, and Ryan Sweeney popped out to end the threat.

It's the third straight game in which the Sox needed the Royals to give them a run instead of earning it themselves.  If they only managed a solo homer, they could've had the matching set.

Javier Vazquez didn't look sharp -- his command was shaky early on, and led to a lot of pitches.  After he gave up a three-run homer to Mark Teahen, the game was over.  On one hand, it's disappointing, because the Royals were the one team Vazquez thoroughly dominated last year (18 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 21 K in 28 IP).  On the other, Vazquez isn't going to win a game when the offense only gives him three hits of support, so even an above-average start doesn't really mean anything.

Boone Logan had a putrid outing, and yet Nick Masset topped him.  They had the opportunity to finish the last three innings under minimal pressure and with Ozzie having no inclinations to go matchup-crazy, and they couldn't finish the job.  Logan at least finished an inning, though a run crossed the plate.  But after he struggled at the start of the eighth, Masset came in and couldn't find the strike zone.  And when he did throw strikes, they couldn't have been any more hittable.

Masset gave up three walks and three hits in two-thirds of an inning, throwing only 10 of 27 pitches for strikes.  Actually, Masset only recorded one out on his own -- he needed a Luis Terrero to throw Tony Pena Jr. out at third on a single to get the other.   He had three other chances to finish the inning, but he couldn't get the job done.  So Ozzie had to call in Andy Sisco to finish the game, and even he gave up an RBI single before closing the five-run eighth.

With an 0-for-3 day, Gustavo Molina is now 0-for-16 in his major-league career.  At least he saved a run, turning a wild pitch into an out when he tracked down a pitch that got away from him, spun and fired to Vazquez in time to get Pena out at the plate.  Juan Uribe also had a couple of nice plays in the hole, getting the opportunity to showcase his arm.  The second one finally made the Royals stop scoring runs.

Record: 18-16 | Box score

May 12: White Sox 5, Royals 4

Down to their last out with nobody on, the Sox showed some uncharacteristic fight and managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.  Of course, it also helps that the Royals are experts at executing the opposite.

After Joakim Soria struck out Ryan Sweeney looking, it appeared that the toughest part of his task was over.  He managed to retire Sweeney, who reached in all three of his first three plate appearances, and coming up was Darin Erstad, hitless in his last 14 at-bats.

Sure enough, Erstad kept the inning alive with a single, and then Juan Uribe, the other Sox who can hit, doubled off the very top of the wall in right-center to tie up the game.

The Sox would win it in the next inning, when Paul Konerko led off with a walk, and a pinch-running Luis Terrero advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Jermaine Dye's single.  Dye had two hits, and came around to score with his other single.

Up until that point, the Sox showed what yesterday would've looked like had Jon Garland not been so sharp.  Mark Buehrle, trying for his 100th career win, pitched decently aside from a rough fourth inning, when he gave up four runs on four hits, capped by John Buck's two-run homer. 

The Royals did a nice job of adjusting to Buehrle, who went through the order the first time with relative ease.  The only jam before that point came in the first when Buehrle picked off Esteban German, but Paul Konerko's throw hit German in the back to give him a second life.  He ended the inning stranding runners on the corners.

The White Sox offense, on the other hand, scored their first two runs in the same fashion as yesterday -- a solo homer by Uribe, and the other via a Royals error.  Darin Erstad even hit a double-play ball with the bases loaded, but this time, the Royals turned it.

Sweeney broke the streak when he hit his first major-league homer to narrow it to 4-3.

Ozzie Guillen went matchup crazy, throwing six relievers at the Royals, but all the moves worked.  Mike MacDougal provided the biggest scare when he threw two straight pitches to the backstop to put a runner on third with less than two outs, but got a grounder and a strikeout to keep the game tied.

Record: 18-15 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 11: White Sox 2, Royals 1

Jon Garland nearly gave the Sox their first back-to-back shutouts since 1994, but more on that later.

What's important to note about this game is that with less than two outs and a runner on third, our designated hitter...

...bunted.

Yup.  This is what happens when Pablo Ozuna starts at DH.  In a position where the only job is to swing the bat, Ozuna chose not to.  The result was a pop-out to first, and the Royals kept the game a two-run deficit.

But that's not the worst part.  Ozuna actually failed to provide an insurance run twice.  In the eighth inning, Ozuna was on third when Paul Konerko came to the plate and hit a medium-range flyball to right.  Mark Teahan has a very good arm out in right field, but even with a perfect throw, Ozuna could've gotten to the plate in time.  Instead, Teahan threw Ozuna out at home.

The problem was that Ozuna slid right into John Buck's foot, about five feet in front of the plate.  A semi-creative slide  -- say, a hook slide or an angled head-first dive, gives the Sox a 3-0 lead.  Instead, Ozuna went for the regular old slide, right on the chalk, right into Buck.  It nearlystopped Ozuna in his tracks, and gave Buck plenty of time to place the tag.

The lack of a run nearly cost the Sox, because Jon Garland, who pitched 8 1/3 brilliant innings, gave up a leadoff ground-rule double to Esteban German in the ninth, giving the Royals three shots to tie the game.  After a pop-out, Mark Grudzielanek cut the lead in half with an RBI double, but Matt Thornton would blow away Teahan, and Bobby Jenks would get a lineout off the bat of Sox killer Mike Sweeney right at Joe Crede to end the game.

Garland did what he's been doing -- getting ahead in the count and getting bad contact in place of strikeouts.  He only fanned three Royals, but the moment that best symbolizes his start was a 1-0 pitch to Sweeney.  Sweeney began to swing, as the ball looked to be right down the middle of the plate.  But as he swung, the ball nearly hit his hands, and Sweeney had to arch his back to get out of the way of the pitch as his bat came through the zone and fouled it off.  He's getting some nasty movement on that two-seamer, as evidenced by the 15 groundouts.

Fortunately Garland was on his game, because the Sox offense had met its standards, too.  While the Sox only scored two runs, it's sadder because only one was legit -- A.J. Pierzynski's homer off lefty Odalis Perez into the Bullpen Sports Bar.  The other came on what should've been an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play from Darin Erstad, but Tony Pena Jr. pulled a Tony Graffanino and made the toss to second before the ball got to his mitt.  It rolled into left field, and Juan Uribe crossed the plate.

Record: 17-15 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 10: White Sox 3, Twins 0

Sometimes first impressions can be deceiving.

Listening to today's game at work, I groaned when hearing Jose Contreras begin his outing by walking the .234-hitting Nick Punto on five pitches.  But two batters later, Punto was erased when Torii Hunter smoked the ball over Jose Contreras' head on a hit-and-run... only to be caught by Tadahito Iguchi, who was covering the bag for the steal attempt.  Iguchi threw to Paul Konerko for the 4-3 double play, and the Sox were out of the inning.

Contreras got a lot of help from his defense, because he gave up his share of hard-hit balls.  Pablo Ozuna made a couple of great plays at third, giving Joe Crede the day off.  While he mishandled a short hop Crede gets nine out of 10 times (it was an error, but the generous Twins scorers gave Mike Redmond a hit), he redeemed himself later.  He erased Jason Kubel after a leadoff double when he tried getting to third on a grounder to the left.  Ozuna handled it and dove to tag Kubel for the out.  The Secret Weapon also made a great diving stab and throw later on.

The Count made his outfielders run some laps, too, but by the end of the day, Contreras had his first shutout of the season, allowing only five hits and a walk on 98 pitches.  And while he allowed two to reach leading off the eighth, he rebounded for a 1-2-3 inning in the ninth, thankfully never bringing the tying run into the conversation.

Ozzie Guillen's offense proved to be just enough, and the running game played a big part.  After Ozuna singled with one out in the first, he stole second and came home via an A.J. Pierzynski single to give Contreras a quick 1-0 lead.

The Sox added two more in the fifth, once again ignited by the stolen base when Rob Mackowiak swiped second after leading off the inning with a HBP.  He'd get to third on Iguchi's groundout, and score on a nice piece of two-strike hitting by Ryan Sweeney.  Sweeney went down 1-2, fouled off a tough changeup, took two close two-seam fastballs before driving a changeup into right field for an RBI.

More two-strike hitting followed:  Juan Uribe took a 0-2 pitch to right to put runners on first and second, and two batters later, Ozuna also slashed a 0-2 pitch to right to score Sweeney, barely safe on a brilliant tag.  Mike Cuddyer, who already owns six assists from right field on the season, made a great throw, but Redmond was slow on the tag, and Sweeney's foot crossed the plate before Redmond's mitt tagged his backside.

Ed Farmer gave props to Pierzynski for giving direction to Sweeney as he came into home.

Record: 16-15 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 9: White Sox 6, Twins 3

So this is what happens when John Danks gets support.

Bolstered by a four-run lead before he ever took the mound, the rookie lefty went out and pitched his finest outing of his young career, and earned his first major-league win in the process.

Mixing all his pitches well, Danks got through the first four innings without allowing a hit -- with the help of a diving catch by Darin Erstad -- though Mike Cuddyer could've been called out on his infield single leading off the fifth.  Slowing it down on the DVR, and it looked like his foot didn't touch.  But Mike Redmond made it a moot point regardless when he led off the sixth with a legitimate single.

While he only used 86 pitches, Danks appeared to be laboring towards the end of the seventh, not finishing his pitches and leaving them up and away.  It didn't look like physical fatigue; more like he was tightening up, knowing that with one more out, he could get back to the bench with a six-run lead and only two innings ago.  But after a couple walks, he grooved a fastball to Jeff Cirillo, who singled to center to deny Danks that glory.

Instead, Ozzie went to the bullpen, probably rightly so, and replaced him with Mike MacDougal.  MacDougal, unfortunately, is snakebitten right now.  In previous outings, he struggled with his control and issued too many free passes.  This time, he did exactly what he was supposed to do -- get hitters to beat the ball into the ground -- but they found holes.  And when a grounder didn't find a hole, Juan Uribe threw the ball away. 

MacDougal then walked Mike Cuddyer to put runners on the corners and bring up yesterday's hero, Justin Morneau, as the tying run.

I figured Ozzie would call in Bobby Jenks, since Morneau is 0-for-10 lifetime off Jenks with five strikeouts.  Instead, he brought in Boone Logan, and instantly brought me flashbacks of the Travis Hafner debacle last year.  Logan proved himself worthy, however, when he made Morneau look silly on three straight breaking pitches.

The relief was shortlived, since Jenks then entered to work the ninth and walked the first two batters he faced to once again have the tying run at the plate.  Then he flipped the switch and retired the next three hitters on eight pitches, all of them strikes, and resulting in two strikeouts.

The victory could've been a lot easier considering the Sox jumped on Ramon Ortiz, for four first-inning runs.  Darin Erstad led it off with a single, and Pablo Ozuna followed up another base hit off Nick Punto's glove.  Jermaine Dye invoked the infield fly rule, but Paul Konerko actually picked him up for once with a double down the left field line.  And when Joe Crede popped up, Uribe picked him up with a bases-loaded walk -- on a 3-2 pitch, too!  Then Ryan Sweeney hit a two-run, broken-bat single to left to make it a quick 4-0 lead.

Rob Mackowiak and Crede added RBI singles later, but Hunter thwarted the Sox's best chance to truly blow open the game when he made a beautiful over-the-shoulder catch on Juan Uribe's line drive to straightaway center, holding onto the ball as he crashed into the base of the baggie fence.

Record: 15-15 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 8: Twins 7, White Sox 4 (10 innings)

Just what Ozzie Guillen and the White Sox need: another reason to think the Twins are dreamy.

The Sox looked like they had this one wrapped up with a three-run lead in the eighth inning and a dominant outing by Javier Vazquez, and instead the Sox burn five relievers and still let the Twins win in the most triumphant of fashions -- with Justin Morneau hitting a three-run, walk-off homer.

This one hurts, because after flailing away helplessly at Boof Bonser's assortment of pitches, the Sox finally figured out how to take what was given to them.  With the game 1-1 in the sixth (solo shots by Morneau and Joe Crede provided the only scoring), the Sox put together a scrappy rally started off with a leadoff double by Darin Erstad, who would score when Bonser threw away going to third on a bad bunt attempt by Pablo Ozuna.

It looked like that one run would be all the Sox would take when Jermaine Dye struck out a second time (he looked terrible against Bonser) and Paul Konerko grounded out.  But the Sox took shorter swings with two outs, and A.J. Pierzynski, Crede and Iguchi poked three consecutive line drives over the infield to stretch the lead to 4-1.

But Mike MacDougal, once again off with his locations, gave up a cheap infield single and two legitimate hits before leaving with no outs, and the runs would trickle in on a groundout induced by Matt Thornton, and a single by Torii Hunter, who extended his hitting streak to 22 games.

The Sox's offense was spent after that, while the Twins would rally in the 10th after a leadoff double by Luis Castillo that fit -- or didn't, I couldn't tell -- just inside the third-base line.  Nick Masset looked like he could get out of it when he served up the game-winning shot to Morneau.

It wasted a tremendous outing by Javier Vazquez, whose only mistake was a get-me-over 2-0 fastball to Morneau for the first run of the game.  After battling through the first two innings, for which he needed 40 pitches, he got through the next five on 67.  I would've sent him out for the eighth because he faced the minimum in the two previous innings, and he showed the ability to pitch into the 110s last year.

Record: 14-15 | Box score | Play-by-play

Week in a Box: April 30 - May 6

Player of the Week: A.J. Pierzynski.  Gotta love the heroics against the Angels.

Player of the Weak:  Paul Konerko/Jermaine Dye/Joe Crede.  They're equally uninspiring.

Pitcher of the Week: Jon Garland.  Stopper Jon rides again.

Pitcher of the Weak: Jose Contreras.  More so for his fielding.

Fireman of the Week: Bobby Jenks.  His fastball's hitting 95, and his other pitches are there.

Gas Can of the Week: Mike MacDougal.  His control was all over the place.

Super Sub of the Week: Luis Terrero.  He homered in his first at-bat.  That's gotta count for something.

Super Scrub of the Week: Pablo Ozuna.  The Secret Weapon is Scudriffic.

Gold Glove: Joe Crede.

Hands of Stone: Darin Erstad.  If only for the iconic image.

May 6: White Sox 4, Angels 3 (10 innings)

God bless A.J. Pierzynski. 

The guy still can't get a day off -- Gustavo Molina lasted only two at-bats and still doesn't have a major-league hit -- and he delivers not once, but twice.  Greeted with a chorus of boos, Pierzynski homered over the right field wall to tie the game, then drove in the game-winning run with a blooped, opposite-field jam shot to drive in the go-ahead run.

There's a reason I sponsor his Baseball-Reference.com page. 

Somehow, some way, A.J. helped the Sox take two of three games from the Angels despite looking absolutely listless for the first six innings against Bartolo Colon.  It was the typical Sox attack -- a lot of weak contact, and squandering the few chances they had.  Ryan Sweeney got to third with one out after turning what should've been a pop-out to short into a double, and moving over on Molina's 4-3.  Darin Erstad couldn't cash him in after popping out, and Pablo Ozuna grounded out to end the threat.

Sweeney would eventually get the Sox on the board with an RBI groundout, and had a nice day overall.  He scored the go-ahead run in the 10th with a two-out double down the right field line, and has looked confident with his reads in left field.  He also made a great effort trying to rob Robb Quinlan of a homer.

Robbbbbbb was a thorn in Mark Buehrle's side all day, and pretty posed the only problems the lefty faced all day.  He was involved in all three runs, driving in Vladimir Guerrero with a double, scoring on a subsequent single, and then the aforementioned solo homer.  Otherwise, Buehrle pitched more solid baseball, although he only lasted six innings thanks to some control issues in the middle innings.

Fortunately, the bullpen picked him up with four scoreless innings.  It's hard to say enough about David Aardsma, who threw two scoreless to keep the Sox in it.  Likewise, ThornDougal got the job done in the ninth, working around an early scare when Mike MacDougal walked Chone Figgins.  But he and Matt Thornton would get the next four Angels to beat the ball into the ground to get out of the jam.

Bobby Jenks also put two runners on in the 10th, but struck out the side for save No. 10.

Record: 14-14 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 5: White Sox 6, Angels 3

Six runs, none of them by the homer, a couple of them with two outs, giving Jon Garland enough support for his first win -- where have these guys been?

The much-maligned came through, as Paul Konerko and Joe Crede had RBI singles, and Alex Cintron delivered a run-scoring double.  The strangest part is that they managed to look their best against the Angels' No. 1 starter.  Go figure.

The Sox did receive their fair share of help from the Angels, who played pretty sloppy ball by committing three errors and misplaying a few more balls that a stricter scorer may have held against them.  Nevertheless, the Sox played error-free ball on their own, capped by a few nice grabs of hard-hit balls by Crede and Jermaine Dye.

Garland ran into trouble a couple times, at one point spoiling an early 3-0 lead when he allowed the leadoff man to score in two consecutive innings.  Aside from pitching around Vladimir Guerrero in the second, Garland got the first hitter out and let his defense take care of the rest.  He struck out his only batter to lead off the game, and used only 83 pitches over seven innings and a batter.

Ozzie Guillen may have left Garland in one batter too long, when Orlando Cabrera, who's had plenty of success off Garland in his career, led off the inning with a single.  But Matt Thornton struck out the only batter he faced and Mike MacDougal recorded a pair of groundouts to end the threat.  Did I light a fire under them with my post a couple days ago?  I'm going to go ahead and say "definitely."

Bobby Jenks recorded the save with a 1-2-3 ninth.

You could tell Ozzie Guillen made a concerted effort to shake up the offense by sending runners.  Pablo Ozuna and Joe Crede show up in the box score for their stolen base and caught stealing, respectively, but runners were moving throughout the game with two outs.  Even Konerko got the green light.

Record: 13-14 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 4: Angels 5, White Sox 1

If tonight's game were a movie, it'd be The Royal Tenenbaums -- stuffed with quality dark humor good enough for genuine laughs in the beginning, and just downright depressing in the second half.

The first few innings for the Sox played out as a comedy of errors.  I chuckled when Jose Contreras gave up four runs in the first two innings, including a throwing error on what should've been a 1-4-3 double play.  I snorted when Rob Mackowiak bounced back to Kelvim Escobar with runners on second and third with one out, extending the non-homer run drought to 39 innings.

Darin Erstad was a one-man show in his return to Anaheim, losing a routine flyball in the twilight for a double that led to two runs, and then sliding past the bag when the start of a possible 5-4-3 triple play pulled Erick Aybar off the bag, ensuring that the Angels would at least get two outs.

But Jermaine Dye ruined everything when he doubled off the left field wall to drive in the only run.  After that, the Sox resumed their streak of flat-out boring performances.  Dye's double was the only extra-base hit.  Sox pitchers paid zero attention to baserunners, allowing non-burners like Casey Kotchman and Mike Napoli to steal bases easily.  The only time A.J. Pierzynski had a chance, he gunned down Vladimir Guerrero. 

By the time Scot Shields retired three of the last six hitters with backwards Ks, the game had sucked all the life out of me.  Just like the movie.

But hey, Ryan Sweeney had his first hit of the season.  That's kinda cool, I guess.

Record:  12-14 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 2: Mariners 3, White Sox 2

I'll give this game the effort it deserves:

*John Danks threw a quality start but took another loss, giving up two solo homers in the process.

*Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko went deep.  That was the offense.

Record: 12-13 | Box score | Play-by-play

May 1: Mariners 5, White Sox 2

New month, same garbage.  This was pretty much a reprise of the last game against the Angels, right down to the score, so I'll keep it short.

The Sox scored both runs via the homer, but this time it was two solo shots -- Luis Terrero, like Darin Erstad, homered in his first at-bat in a Sox uniform, and A.J. Pierzynski knocked one off the right-field foul pole.  Otherwise, another lefty (Jarrod Washburn, not starting against Mark Buehrle for once) shut them down.  Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko went 0-for-8 with three strikeouts, two looking.

Javier Vazquez pitched well enough to win, but didn't.  The Mariners used a dink hit to their advantage when they finally took the lead.

The bullpen couldn't keep it a one-run game, with Matt Thornton and Mike MacDougal doing the damage this time.

Record: 12-12 | Box score | Play-by-play