2008 State of the Sox

Sept. 30: White Sox 1, Twins 0

Torii Hunter created the enduring image of the Twins-Sox rivalry when he bowled over Jamie Burke at home plate in 2004.  He could've gone around Burke, as he had beaten the throw home.  Instead, he went right through him, giving the backup catcher a slight concussion.

Once again, the Twins once again went for the haymaker -- this time against A.J. Pierzynski.

It didn't work.

Mike Cuddyer doubled off John Danks to lead off the inning, and moved to third on a Delmon Young flyball for the first threat of the game.

Danks got ahead 0-2 on Brendan Harris, but Harris was able to put the bat on the ball, hitting a shallow flyball to center.  Cuddyer tested Griffey's arm by tagging, and Griffey made a perfect one-hop throw home with Cuddyer a few steps away.

Pierzysnki caught the hop and extended his arm for the tag, and Cuddyer aimed right for Pierzynski's shoulder.  They collided, with Pierzynski ending up on his back and Cuddyer tumbling over.

But Pierzynski held on.  And he showed the ball to Cuddyer to prove it.

Two innings later, Jim Thome brought the thunder with a titanic clout to the fan deck in center on a hanging 2-2 changeup from Nick Blackburn.  That was the Sox's knockout punch, and the Twins couldn't counter. 

For Thome, often criticized as hitting most of his homers when the team didn't need them, that one swing vindicated his efforts this season.  And for Danks, who hadn't received run support all year long, tonight had to be equally sweet.

On his first-ever start on three days' rest, Danks dominated -- although it didn't look that way when he began his night by walking Denard Span.

But a funny thing happened.  When Span ran, Alexi Casilla hit a soft liner right at Juan Uribe, who casually tossed to first for the double play.  The first attempt at piranha-ing the Sox blew up in their faces.

Danks didn't allow a hit until that Cuddyer double, and he pitched around that as well with help from Griffey.  He owned Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, forcing Mauer to try bunting his way on after Danks struck him out the first two times.  That didn't work, either.

Morneau, meanwhile, only saw eight pitches over three at-bats.  All were strikes. 

The M&M Boys never came to the plate for a fourth time.  Danks didn't allow it, getting Nick Punto to ground into a double play after a one-out walk in the eighth inning, his final frame of work.  Neither did Bobby Jenks, who struck out Jason Kubel (pinch-hitting for Carlos Gomez) and overpowered the final two hitters he faced.

And neither did Brian Anderson.  The much-maligned B.A. entered the game after Griffey doubled with one out in the seventh as a pinch runner, and it proved to be a wise choice by Ozzie Guillen.  With two outs, Jenks gave Casilla more fastball than he could handle, and he hit a weak flare to shallow center.

Anderson sprinted in, dived ... and came up with the catch.  Game over.  Regular season over, with the Sox as the champs.

To Tampa.

Record: 89-74 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 29: White Sox 8, Tigers 2

Freddy Garcia did the Sox a huge favor by throwing one more pitch after experiencing discomfort in his at-bat to Jermaine Dye.

Up until that point in the sixth inning, he did no favors to his former team.  He began the game with two walks, with the leadoff one to Orlando Cabrera coming around to score.  That was the only run the Sox could muster off him in the first five innings, with Garcia looking very much like the late 2006 version by using the splitter often.

But Garcia ran out of steam in the sixth inning, leading off with a walk to Dewayne Wise.  He threw one fastball to Dye, after which he tried stretching his shoulder.  He was done after throwing a follow-up breaking ball, but that was all the Sox needed from him.

Wise took off and stole second on Garcia, who allowed 40 stolen bases on 42 attempts in his last go-around with the Sox.  Garcia left the game, and the Sox were set -- though mostly because of the Tigers' inability to 1) throw strikes and 2) catch balls.

Wise managed to round the bases without a hit, as he ran the rest of the 180 feet thanks to wild pitches, two of three pitches Detroit catcher Dusty Ryan couldn't block.  Dye ended up walking, and after Bobby Seay struck out Jim Thome, he walked Paul Konerko intentionally and Ken Griffey Jr. unintentionally.

In came Gary Glover from the bullpen, and that set the stage for Alexei Ramirez.  It took all of one pitch -- an 89 m.p.h. changeup way up in the zone.  Ramirez uncoiled and sent the ball into the night sky, dropping his bat and skipping towards first with his arms extended and a Christmas Day smile.  With one swing, Ramirez created a world of breathing room, and every Sox fan could finally exhale.

Until that point, it had been a tense affair.  Gavin Floyd, on three days' rest, matched Garcia pitch-for-pitch, except he had thrown far more pitches.  Floyd was out of the zone a lot, but he also had his strikeout pitches, so he went into plenty of deep counts.  He managed to avoid hitting the wall in the fifth -- he allowed Detroit to tie the game at 1 on a Brandon Inge double, but he stranded runners on the corners by striking out Curtis Granderson and getting Gary Sheffield to ground to third.

He almost threw the game away the following inning.  He had two outs and Miguel Cabrera on second when Ryan Raburn hit a nubber in front of the plate.  Floyd fielded it, but his throw was wild, and the go-ahead run came around to score.  Floyd struck out Ryan to prevent further damage, and he received a consolation pat from Ozzie Guillen in the dugout.  Though it had ended on unfortunate terms, Floyd had pitched a terrific six innings, allowing just the two runs on 116 pitches.

Ramirez's slam turned what could've been a loss into Floyd's 17th win of the season.  The Sox scored two more insurance runs while Matt Thornton, Octavio Dotel, Scott Linebrink and D.J. Carrasco held the Tigers scoreless, and extending the season for one more day in the process.

Record: 88-74 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 28: White Sox 5, Indians 1

The White Sox live another day, and they have Mark Buehrle to thank for it.

Pitching on short rest, coming off his highest pitch count in 3 1/2 seasons and throwing against the team that beats him up, Buehrle pitched a complete game, though not in the glossary sense.

Buehrle threw strikes, he got ground balls, he defended his position and he quashed the running game for seven innings.  The offense gave him enough support, and Buehrle prevented anybody from the bullpen besides its top two relievers from making any appearances.

His only mistake was a slider that wasn't in enough on Jhonny Peralta, who blasted it over the left-field wall for a quick 1-0 lead.  But Paul Konerko got it right back with his fourth homer of the series, and thanks to bad Cleveland defense, they'd add on.

It was almost a flashback to the Nick Blackburn start when Juan Uribe hit a chopper to third with the bases loaded and one out.  Bryan Bullington had nothing, but it appeared they would let him off the look.  But Jamey Carroll booted it, leading to a run.  Dewayne Wise followed up with a sac fly to give the Sox a 3-1 lead.

Buehrle held the Indians in check thanks to the double-play ball.  He induced four of them on the day, including a nifty 1-6-3 started when Buehrle kicked the ball into his glove.  He also made a helluva play on a Peralta nubber, sliding to the ball and throwing to first on one knee.  Konerko made a brilliant pick, but first base umpire Mike Dimuro erroneously ruled him safe.

Of course, Ryan Garko followed  up with a single, but the corpse of Travis Hafner flew out to left to end the threat.  Buehrle ended up allowing just that one run over seven innings, scattering nine hits on 111 pitches.

The Sox gave him a little more support thanks to a big two-out single by Jermaine Dye.  He picked up Dewayne Wise after Wise failed to score Juan Uribe from third.  Uribe started the rally with a single, then went from first to third on a beautiful hit-and-run by Orlando Cabrera.

Wise popped up a squeeze bunt attempt, then grounded harmlessly to third.  Dye followed by hitting a bloop single over Peralta's head.  Matt Thornton and Bobby Jenks didn't make the margin any tighter.

Record: 87-74 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 27: Indians 12, White Sox 6

Sox pitching had already failed the team once when Javier Vazquez and a little bit of Clayton Richard gave up a six-run fifth inning to Cleveland for the second straight night.

It was far from done.  Every time the Sox tried to narrow the six-run deficit, the bullpen gave it right back.

First, Paul Konerko hit a solo shot in the seventh to make it a 7-2 game.  Lance Broadway, relieving Clayton Richard, gave up an RBI double to Ryan Garko in the top of the eighth.

In the bottom of the frame, the Sox rallied for four runs.  Juan Uribe started it with a liner off Brendan Donnelly, and Orlando Cabrera followed with a double just inside the right-field line and out of the range of Shin-Shoo Choo.  After a Jermaine Dye sac fly, Jim Thome slashed a single the other way off Rafael Perez, his first hit off the Indians lefty in 14 at-bats.

Konerko then connected with Jensen Lewis' first pitch to make it an 8-6 ballgame, giving the fans to be excited again.

Cheers turned to boos shortly after.  Scott Linebrink's night started with some bad luck -- an Asdrubal Cabrera single under Paul Konerko's glove -- and got worse.  He gave up a pair of singles for a three-run game.  Matt Thornton gave up two singles, leading to three more runs, and the Sox were right back where they started.  The game would end that way.

Nevertheless, Vazquez is most to blame for this one.  Outside of a Choo homer (that Jermaine Dye answered immediately), Vazquez cruised for the first four innings before hitting a wall in the fifth.  He loaded the bases with two singles and a walk, and Asdrubal Cabrera roped a fastball over the middle of the plate down the line to clear the bases.  A.J. Pierzynski voiced his displeasure.

His night would end two batters later, when Jamey Carroll followed an intentional walk to Grady Sizemore by throwing his bat at an outside pitch on a hit-and run, and doinking it into shallow left field for two more runs.

Record: 86-74 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 26: Indians 11, White Sox 8

Even by 2007 standards, the Sox bullpen's fifth inning meltdown was impressive.

After John Danks watched a 4-3 lead turn into a 5-4 deficit when he allowed the first four men to reach (including a three-strike four-pitch walk to Ben Francisco), D.J. Carrasco entered -- and things fell apart.

He walked Jhonny Peralta on four pitches to load the bases, then made it five in a row with a first-pitch ball to Ryan Garko.  When he finally found the plate with the next pitch, Garko blasted it over the center field wall -- just over the outstretched mitt of Brian Anderson -- for a grand slam.

Carrasco wasn't done.  He then got ahead of Kelly Shoppach 0-2 -- before hitting him with an uberslow breaking ball.  Ozzie had seen enough.

Or so he thought.  He brought in Mike MacDougal, and he hit the first guy he faced.  He then fell behind 3-0 to Josh Barfield, but ended up coming back to freeze him with an outside-corner fastball for the ... first out of the inning.  Of course MacDougal retired the next two as well, and the Sox had lost the game right then and there at 9-4.

It wasted a pretty nice day by the White Sox offense.  They roared back from an early 2-0 hole (due in part to Orlando Cabrera fumbling what should've been a double-play ball) when Paul Konerko led off the second with a homer.  A.J. Pierzynski added a two-run shot, and a Ken Griffey-like nubber drove in another run to make it a 4-2 game, and a lead Danks couldn't hold.

They continued to chip away after the deficit, with Jermaine Dye hitting his first homer of September to narrow the lead to 9-6.  And after MacDougal walked the bases loaded in the sixth and Ehren Wassermann walked in a run -- and Horacio Ramirez allowed another run with a wild pitch -- the Sox weren't done.  Paul Konerko drove in a run with a double, and Dewayne Wise added a pinch-hit single to make it a three-run ballgame.

That also brought Jermaine Dye to the plate, but he'd fly out weakly to right to end the last Sox thread.

Record: 86-73 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 25: Twins 7, White Sox 6 (10 innings)

Record: 86-72 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 24: Twins 3, White Sox 2

If only the umpire correctly ruled Carlos Gomez out when Mark Buehrle picked him off second base.

If only Buehrle didn't have the yips in the first three inning, instead attacking the strike zone like in the last four.

If only Juan Uribe could've gotten the runner home from third with less than two outs.

If only Dewayne Wise could've come up with one measly hit with runners on base.

If only Gomez hadn't managed to run down A.J. Pierzynski's smoked liner off Joe Nathan with one out in the ninth.

If only the Sox had the same quality of at-bats off the other Twins relievers as they did off Nathan.

If only.

Record: 86-71 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 23: Twins 9, White Sox 3

Ken Griffey Jr. didn't provide a lot of confidence when he managed to score the game's first run by grounding into a 4-6-3 double play with nobody out in the top of the second inning.

Neither did Javier Vazquez when he started the bottom of the frame by walking Justin Morneau on four pitches, then hanging a changeup to Jason Kubel for a quick 2-1 lead.

We had reasons for apprehension, because that was the ballgame right there, with the only alterations various Sox sprinklings of suck.

General Soreness ushered in the blowout when he turned an out into a triple by ... well, being old and slow.  Any of the other Sox center field options would've made the play; Soreness dove, missed, and after Jermaine Dye was two steps too slow on a shallow fly, the rout was on.

Vazquez only lasted four innings, and if you had to divvy up the score, you could say it was Vazquez 3, Defense 2, White Sox 1 when he left.  He pitched well enough to retire the first three batters, but instead only had one out to show for it.  Nevertheless, that doesn't excuse him from allowing a Carlos Gomez single when he was ahead 0-2, nor his indecision on Nick Punto's squeeze bunt that resulted in nobody out.

Clayton Richard didn't provide any relief, although he looked like Dennis Eckersley in his prime compared to Boone Logan, who gave up Kubel's second homer, then Delmon Young's one pitch later.

The Sox only threatened once, when Griffey led off the fifth with a walk.  Alexei Ramirez got an infield single, and three batters later, Orlando Cabrera slashed a single.  But it was hit too hard, and Soreness had to stop at third.  A.J. Pierzynski came to the plate as the tying run, but only could manage a well-struck grounder to short.

Of course, General Soreness hit his second homer with a seven-run deficit and two outs in the bottom of the ninth.  At that point, that was the worst thing that could happen.

Record: 86-70 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 21: White Sox 3, Royals 0

John Danks won his first game in more than a month, maybe because he lasted through the seventh inning for once.

Danks got an early slight lead, went toe-to-toe with Brandon Duckworth, and then went a little longer after Duckworth was out for his 11th win of the season, helping maintain a 2 1/2-game lead as the Sox head to Minnesota Tuesday.

Unlike his last time out against Detroit, Danks didn't receive a ton of run support.  Dewayne Wise provided an early lead by singling, going from first to third on Jermaine Dye's hard-hit single to left, then scoring on Jim Thome's "sac fly."  It was really a popup to deep short, but Wise caught Mike Aviles drifting away from home and beat the throw home for a 1-0 lead before Danks took the mound.

Brandon Duckworth retired 12 Sox at one time though, but Danks kept pace.  After allowing runners in scoring position the first two innings, Danks retired 11 in a row himself, holding the Royals down long enough before Paul Konerko provided more support with a big two-run blast that capped off the scoring.

Danks ran into a little bit of trouble in his troublesome inning, with Alex Gordon doubling with one out to try to get the Royals back in the game.  But Danks shut the door, getting a weak groundout by Esteban German and a wormburner off the bat of John Buck that Alexei Ramirez snagged for the final out.

Ramirez's hands, however, prevented Danks from going deeper.  Starting the eighth, Alexei turned himself around on a shallow, shanked fly, and the ball clanked off his mitt.  Danks would have to give the ball to the bullpen after all, but it actually delivered.

Part of it was Ozzie Guillen's decision to go with the only two relievers worth anything right now.  Matt Thornton got two outs with a fielder's choice and a flyout, and Bobby Jenks worked a four-out save in which he looked dominant.  Two grounders, two strikeouts, two out of three.

Record: 86-69 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 20: Royals 5, White Sox 2

Jermaine Dye came extremely close to hitting his first home run of the month, one that would've tied the game while giving Joakim Soria a rare blown save.

Instead, it landed in Mark Teahan's mitt just short of the wall in left.  Too little, too late for the Sox, who were stymied by Kyle Davies for seven innings until Alexei Ramirez ruined the shutout bid with his second homer in as many games.

Davies outpitched Gavin Floyd handily.  Floyd, who followed Mark Buehrle in throwing on short rest, gave up three homers, including an inside-the-park job to David DeJesus.  The ball richocheted off the right field wall a split-second before Dye did, and the ball bounded away for an easy round-tripper.

Record: 85-69 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 19: White Sox 9, Royals 4

When Alexei Ramirez strolled to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth inning, I had begun to have a flashback to Wednesday's Yankees game.  Except the pitcher wasn't Phil Hughes -- it was Brian Bannister.

Bannister had thrown 24 pitches in the inning prior to Ramirez's at-bat.  Ramirez worked it up to 32 with four foul balls after a 2-2 count, none of them hit particularly hard.  It seemed that, just like in Wednesday's game, the Sox were determined to rack up the opponent's pitch count without, you know, actually scoring a run.

Ramirez himself had prevented the Sox from scoring a run earlier in the game.  In the second, Cabrera shot one to the gap with Ramirez in motion from first.  Jeff Cox made a wise choice waving him home even though Jose Guillen had cut it off, but it appeared Ramirez missed the plate on his slide to keep the game scoreless.

But Ramirez atoned, turning on one and crushing it 342 feet, just inside the left-field foul pole, for a grand slam.  In one moment, the Sox went from struggling for one run to pouring it on.

Credit A.J. Pierzynski with a quality at-bat in front of Ramirez.  Like Alexei, A.J. had to battle from a 2-2 count, fouling off three pitches with a full count for a nine-pitch walk.  Between the two of them, they made Bannister throw 18 pitches, and it amounted to four runs.

Funnier yet, the Sox kept scoring with two outs.  Nick Swisher fell behind 1-2, took a pitch, fouled another off, then stroked a solid single up the middle.  Juan Uribe fell behind 0-2, fouled one off, then dumped a blooper just inside the right field line.  Swisher scored on a wild pitch, and Orlando Cabrera scored Uribe with a single for a 6-0 lead.

Mark Buehrle, starting on short rest, might've been a bit rusty from the long inning.  He needed a pickoff for the first out after a Mike Aviles singled, which became even bigger when Buehrle gave up a rocket single to Guillen, hit Ryan Shealy and allowed a three-run Mark Teahan homer to cut the game in half.

Jim Thome, however, hit his 33rd homer over the wall in right-center the following half-inning, and the Royal threat was vanquished.  Dewayne Wise added two solo homers for good luck.

Record: 85-68 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 18: Yankees 9, White Sox 2

He had given up a couple homers to Bobby Abreu already, but it became evident how little Javier Vazquez had in the fourth inning.

He walked Robinson Cano – who hadn’t drawn a walk in 94 plate appearances entering the game.

Then he did the same to Jose Molina – who had only walked once in 68 plate appearances.

Four pitches later, Brett Gardner – the proud owner of a .248 on-base percentage – drew a free pass.

Derek Jeter sealed Vazquez’s exit when he hit a weak dribbler to short, which Orlando Cabrera couldn’t field in time.  Horacio Ramirez came in, and the game got out of hand from there, thanks in large part to an inexplicable through-the-wickets error by Alexei Ramirez.

The Sox, meanwhile, scored a whopping two runs – the second was courtesy of Paul Konerko, who hit a solo homer in the ninth inning down 9-1.

Orlando Cabrera had a nice game for the second straight night, giving the Sox a one-run lead when he doubled to lead off the game against Mike Mussina, advanced to third on an A.J. Pierzynski single and scored when Paul Konerko managed to avoid grounding into a double play.

But after Ken Griffey Jr. walked to load the bases, Ramirez grounded out to second, and that was the last time they sniffed the lead.

At the very least, the blowout allowed a couple things to happen in a low-pressure situation:

• Octavio Dotel struck out the side in his inning of work.
• D.J. Carrasco also set down the side 1-2-3 on nine pitches, seven for strikes.
• Jason Bourgeois collected his first major-league hit, a double to left.
  

Record: 84-68 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 17: Yankees 5, White Sox 1

I twittered a fair amount, but here are a few particulars:

• The Sox made Phil Hughes throw 32 pitches in the first inning and failed to score.  They had the leadoff runner reach four times, and he only scored once.
• Alexei Ramirez blew a sac bunt when they tried to play smallball.
• Clayton Richard went six miracle innings, but Ozzie left him out there too long.
• Then again, Scott Linebrink allowed the game to be blown open in the eighth.

Record: 84-67 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 16: White Sox 6, Yankees 2

Briefly:

• With the bases loaded, Gavin Floyd struck out Jason Giambi with a succession of 3-2 pitches, finally fanning him with a slider.  He went seven innings, throwing 116 pitches, and gave the Sox everything they needed.
• The Sox only homered once, a solo shot by Alexei Ramirez.
• Brian Anderson started off a three-run inning with a walk; Juan Uribe drove in a run with a walk.
• Uribe had a perfect day at the plate, going 3-for-3.
• Paul Konerko and Ken Griffey Jr. each had two-hit games.

Record: 84-66 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 15: Yankees 4, White Sox 2

As far as White Sox losses go, this one was fairly typical.

Mark Buehrle pitched a fine six innings, with the only flaw being that he didn't last long enough.  Part of it was due to his defense:

*Jermaine Dye misread a fly in the corner, scaling the wall in foul territory thinking it was going into the seats, then reaching back and watching it fall behind him on the chalk for a double.

*Nick Swisher botched a rundown after Buehrle picked off Brett Gardner, throwing the ball into Gardner's back to extend the inning.

But Buehrle managed to pitch around both errors and finished with a quality start.  His only mistake was a 3-1 fastball that caought too much of the plate for Xavier Nady, who hammered it over the dead center fence for a quick 2-0 lead.

Dewayne Wise followed up an Orlando Cabrera walk with a blast to right to tie the game, and from then on it was a battle of the bullpens -- a game they would invariably lose.

At least the Sox made it quick.  Ehren Wassermann came in and walked leadoff man Nady after getting ahead 0-2, and after a Gardner sac bunt, he exited for Horacio Ramirez.  Wilson Betemit belted a ground-rule double to break the tie, and Johnny Damon slapped a single through the right side for the winning margin.

The Sox made their first two outs off Mariano Rivera in the ninth on three pitches, which was indicative of the lack of fight they had tonight.  Hitters No. 4-8 went a combined 1-for-18, with Alexei Ramirez's seeing-eye single through the middle the only hit.

Record: 83-66 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 14: White Sox 11, Tigers 7 (Game 2)

Four incredible things about Dewayne Wise’s game-winning home run:

No. 1:  It was of the pinch-hit variety, as he replaced Brian Anderson to face Kyle Farnsworth.

No. 2:  It was the second grand slam of the inning, as Marcus Thames hit one in the top half of Octavio Dotel.  Dotel is Chicago Farnsworth at this point.

No. 3:  Anderson had homered earlier in the game.  Two homers and six RBI out of the No. 2 spot?  I’ll take it.

No. 4:  It came with two outs, which is typically when the Sox struggle.

It shouldn’t have even been necessary, but as we all saw…

… John Danks just doesn’t know how to win.

Record: 83-65 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 14: White Sox 4, Tigers 2 (Game 1)

Javier Vazquez was supposed to start on short rest.  Let’s be glad he didn’t.

Vazquez looked every bit the ace of 7 2/3 innings, completely disabling the Tigers while reaching a milestone in the process.  One of his eight strikeouts was K No. 2,000.

He only ran into trouble once, when Placido Polanco led off the third with a double.  But Vazquez pitched around it, striking out Magglio Ordonez with a solo curve and sawing off Miguel Cabrera for two outs.  He did make a bad pitch to Gary Sheffield, but he happened to murder the ball directly at Juan Uribe, who caught it for out No. 3.

Vazquez got a bit of everything for once – good luck, good defense and good enough offense, despite making three outs on the bases in botched stealing attempts.  Even when Uribe made a bad play behind him, failing to catch a windblown pop-up over the mound, he turned it into an out.  Matt Joyce had rounded first a little too generously, and Uribe fired a strike to Alexei Ramirez, who both did a nice job covering first and blocking the base to apply the tag.

He should’ve completed eight innings, but the umpire didn’t give him what appeared to be a strike on a 3-2 pitch, walking Dusty Ryan to bring the tying run, Curtis Granderson, to the plate.  Ozzie Guillen called for Matt Thornton, who struck out Granderson to preserve the lead.

It might have been a different story if the Sox didn’t score two insurance runs in the eighth, given Bobby Jenks’ continued struggles.  He gave up a bomb to Magglio Ordonez, then brought the tying run to the plate before getting a double play to end the game.

Fortunately, the Sox had a 4-0 lead instead of a 2-0 lead with a rally started by an Orlando Cabrera two-out single.  Dewayne Wise roped one to  right field, and Jeff Cox made a good send to get Cabrera home, with Wise reaching third.  He’d score on Jermaine Dye’s double to right-center.

That broke open what was a pitchers’ duel for most of the game.  Justin Verlander held the Sox in check for the most part, aside from a two-out RBI single by Juan Uribe and Alexei Ramirez’s 17th home run of the season.  Part of the damage was self-inflicted.  Ramirez and Uribe were thrown out trying to steal second, while Cabrera was caught leaving second early on Verlander with one out, after Dewayne Wise laid down his second successful bunt.

Record: 82-65 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 11: Blue Jays 6, White Sox 4

In the course of one half-inning, this game transformed from a pitcher's duel into a blowout.  Gavin Floyd went from throwing a shutout to losing a quality start.

And then in the bottom of said inning, the Sox offense turned a laugher into a ballgame.

They still ended up on the losing side, as B.J. Ryan struck out Orlando Cabrera with the tying runs on base, but they may have gained a moral victory by climbing back into a game that appeared to be well in hand.

Floyd and Shaun Marcum both posted zeroes through seven innings, but the Jays finally got to Floyd in the eighth.  After a leadoff double and a sac bunt put a runner on third, Floyd made the mistake of throwing Marco Scutaro a first-pitch fastball, which he ripped to right for the game's first run.

Two singles loaded the bases, and in came Matt Thornton to put out the fire.  He came back from a 3-1 count to strike out Adam Lind with A.J. Pierzynski catching the foul tip, but Lyle Overbay took a knee-high fastball over the plate and sent it back through the middle for a 3-0 lead.

Ehren Wassermann didn't fare any better, giving up two ropes to left.  The inning only ended because Scott Rolen rounded the bag too generously, and Alexei Ramirez threw him out at first for a 7-4-3 putout.

Down 6-0, the offense finally responded.  Juan Uribe and Cabrera finally got Marcum out of the game with a pair of singles, and after Brian Anderson nearly left the yard with a warning-track flyout to right, Jermaine Dye got the ball past Alex Rios for a two-run double.  Jim Thome then homered to left-center to cut the lead to 6-4.

A clutch bases-loaded strikeout by Boone Logan kept the lead at two as the Sox headed into the last half of the ninth, and Pierzynski got things started when Ryan hit him with a pitch.  A pair of strikeouts brought Uribe to the plate, and he hit a hard grounder that went through Rolen's wickets to extend the inning.

Unfortunately, Cabrera, who had hit the ball hard all night with only a single to show for it, couldn't make contact.

Record: 81-65 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 10: White Sox 6, Blue Jays 5

When it's September and the opponent has a 10-game winning streak, even a four-run lead isn't safe.

Bobby Jenks found that out when he entered a 6-2 ballgame and after starting it off with a strikeout, found himself with the tying run on third and Alexis Rios at the plate.

Fortunately, he struck out Rios -- with a lot of help from Rios.  After starting him off with a first-pitch slider, he threw the next three out of the zone, and Rios swung at two of them to end the game.

It sealed a huge win for the White Sox, not only because they maintained sole possession of first place, but because they knocked off the Blue Jays' ace to boot.

Mark Buehrle bested Roy Halladay with 7 1/3 terrific innings in which he pretty much disabled their offense.  He got some help in the first inning, when Nick Swisher made a beautiful flop to start a 3-6 double play for the first two outs, and Jermaine Dye gunned down a greedy Vernon Wells for the third out when he tried stretching a single into a double.

They didn't threaten after that, with only one runner reaching scoring position from the second inning on -- and was after a two-out single put runners on first and second in the fifth.  Buehrle got out of that inning unscathed, and the only run scored on him was thanks to Octavio Dotel's gopher ball.

Meanwhile, the Sox actually gave Buehrle a lead -- and in an even more improbable turn of events, added to it.

A.J. Pierzynski delievered two of the evening's biggest hits: a two-out RBI single in the first, and a two-run double in the sixth after Jeff Cox correctly held Jim Thome on an Alexei Ramirez double to put runners on second and third with nobody out.

But the Sox might not have won it without similarly large contributions from their fifth and sixth outfielders.  Jerry Owens laid down a perfect squeeze bunt -- going down on one knee to follow the curve -- for a 5-0 lead in the sixth.  Two innings later, Brian Anderson lined one over the head of John McDonald for a two-out RBI single.  That drove home Nick Swisher, who had doubled following strikeouts in his first three at-bats.

Record: 81-64 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 9: Blue Jays 8, White Sox 2 (Game 2)

After Paul Konerko fell to the ground after cutting off a throw home and starting a rundown in the fifth, the game went to pot rather quickly.

Konerko was able to catch Alex Rios between first and second after an RBI single gave the Blue Jays a 4-2 lead, but he crumpled to the turf as he stopped to get rid of the ball, clutching his knee.  Rios was out, but so was Konerko, who was carried off the field.

His run-saving work went to waste, as D.J. Carrasco gave up a single immediately afterward for a 5-2 lead.

Then the White Sox, which had shown signs of life early in grabbing a 2-1 lead off Jesse Litsch courtesy of a two-run Jermaine Dye double, struck out in their next four at-bats as Toronto pitching stifled them the rest of the night.

Clayton Richard once again hit a wall in the fifth inning, walking the leadoff man on four pitches before giving up a two-run shot to Scott Rolen with his first offering, a batting-practice fastball.  That would be the last time the Sox would even sniff the lead.

Record: 80-64 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 9: Blue Jays 3, White Sox 1 (Game 1)

Javier Vazquez pitched well, but A.J. Burnett pitched even better.

The White Sox offense couldn't execute if their lives depended on it.

And on top of it, Ozzie Guillen did not have his best game managing.

Burnett had a no-hitter through five innings and the Sox only mustered two hits on the day, foiling six strong innings by Vazquez.  Unfortunately, a Lyle Overbay doubled with two outs in the sixth would provide all the runs the Blue Jays would need...

...because the Sox failed three separate times attempting to sacrifice bunt, with A.J. Pierzynski botching two of them in the sixth and eighth innings.  Pierzynski would make up for it slightly by coming around to score the first time, getting to second on an error and third on a wild pitch before heading home on Jim Thome's sacrifice fly for the only run.

He wouldn't be so lucky in the eighth, as he cost the Sox an out after Orlando Cabrera led the inning off with a walk.  And Alexei Ramirez added insult to injury, failing to bunt before striking out in the ninth after Paul Konerko and Ken Griffey Jr. walked to lead off the inning.

Ozzie didn't help matters when he took out Matt Thornton, who struck out the only two batters he faced, in favor of Mike MacDougal, who allowed another run to score after two outs and nobody on for a key insurance run.

Record: 80-63 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 7: Angels 3, White Sox 2

Nick Swisher brought this game to a fitting end when he struck out with a runner in scoring position without taking the bat off his shoulder.  He watched as Francisco Rodriguez struck him out with a slider and three changeups, with one change missing low.

The Sox were befuddled by the strike zone all game long, in part due to Eric Cooper's strike zone, which Hawk Harrelson had equated to a war crime by the end of the afternoon.  Aside from solo homers by Paul Konerko and Toby Hall, Joe Saunders and the Angels bullpen rendered the Sox offense virtually toothless.

It ruined a return to form -- or a couple different returns to forms -- for John Danks, who pitched well through the first five innings but fell apart in the sixth as his changeups began to rise.  He worked his way out of some tough jams with well-located off-speed pitches, but hit a wall against the heart of the Angels order.  Mark Teixeira, Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter all exploited the right-center gap with one out in the sixth, and that was the end of Danks' day.

The worse half of the bullpen was sent into action after the 15-inning affair Saturday and did an admirable job, though Horacio Ramirez was tagged with the loss after giving up a single and double starting the eighth.  Ehren Wassermann prevented Guerrero from doing damage when he grounded out to third, but after an intentional walk to Hunter, Jermaine Dye caught a deep fly in foul territory by Garrett Anderson, which allowed the winning run to score.  He might've been better served letting it drop.

Record: 80-62 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 6: White Sox 7, Angels 6 (15 innings)

A bushel of congratulations is in order for one James Thome, the brawny batsman for the Chicago White Stockings, who ended to-night's prolonged affair with a clout of titanic proportions.

With one man retired in the 15th frame, the Gentleman Masher saw an unimpressive offering from Los Angeles hurler Justin Speier and struck a mighty blow for the local nine, ending a three-hour, 54-minute affair in which fans saw an abundance of clever pitching and clumsy offensive execution.

Mr. Thome was greeted at the plate by a jubilant gang of Stockings, who pursued him jauntily across the diamond with merriment abound, laughing gaily all the while.

Up until Mr. Thome launched that base ball into the night sky, his stick work had been underwhelming.  After the Stockings thwarted Francisco Rodriguez's quest for his 55th saving the inning prior, the Peorian giant strolled into the batsman's box with base runners on the first and third bags with not a single out against Scot Shields, who promptly sat down the Peorian on three neat hurlings.

Paul Konerko followed by batting one weakly to third for a fielder's choice, and Ken Griffey Jr.'s line drive could not escape the grasp of Torii Hunter's leather in center field, resulting in plethoric dismay from the rooters.

The innings that followed showcased splendid relief pitching from both squadrons, with Mike MacDougal, Matt Thornton, Horacio Ramirez and Ehren Wassermann posting goose eggs for the South Side nine, and Shields and Jason Bulger acing the opposition for the visiting ball club, with many a swings yielding zero contact or offering chances for fielders that were accepted promptly.

In fact, the pitching from both teams' bullpen stood in noted contrast to the decidedly mediocre efforts turned in by starting hurlers Gavin Floyd and John Lackey.  Mr. Floyd surrendered three home runs, including Chone Figgins' maiden clout and consecutive home runs by Juan Rivers and Mike Napoli, which put the Stockings in a 5-2 shortage.

Mr. Konerko responded in the bottom of the sixth inning with a tremendous sock with the bases empty to trim the Cherubs' advantage to two, and Nick Swisher must have fancied Mr. Konerko's feat, for he followed an uncommon Alexei Ramirez bases on balls and swatted an offering from Mr. Lackey into the seats himself to knot the game at 5.

Both squads found their firemen not up to the task.  Bobby Jenks served up a pitch bound for the left field seats, which Brandon Wood was all too delighted to send on his way.

However, Francisco Rodriguez, much like his counterpart, faltered himself.   He granted an introductory single to Alexei Ramirez, who would advance to third when Mr. Swisher mimicked his predecessor once more with a single of his own.  Dewayne Wise, rising from the dugout, delivered an essential sacrificial fly to right that knotted up the game once again.

Record: 80-61 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 5: White Sox 10, Angels 2

Coming off a disappointing road trip and even worse news about Carlos Quentin, this is the kind of victory the Sox needed to put the bad news behind him.

Granted, it came against Dustin Moseley, who didn't have a breaking ball he couldn't hang, but the Sox took him up on his offer and sent him packing after four outs.

Ken Griffey Jr. delievered in the first inning after Paul Konerko received a gift bounce on the seam of the infield.  A chopper that should've bounded well foul instead spun back inside third based, and A.J. Pierzynski beat the ball there to load the bases with two outs.  Griffey drove a single through th e middle for a quick 2-0 lead.

Juan Uribe hit the first of two two-run homers as the second batter in the second, and the rout was on.  Moseley departed three batters later (an out and two singles) having only retired four of the 12 batters he faced.

Mark Buehrle might have had to work harder than he liked, but managed to throw six shutout innings, allowing only five baserunners while striking out seven.  He had his good curve working, and while he ran into trouble a couple times, he managed to strand runners in scoring position in both the second and third innings to allow the cushion to build.

While it was ultimately a laugher, it wasn't without its weird wrinkles.  Bad baserunning benefited the Sox when Jim Thome and Paul Konerko (who went 3-for-3 with a solo homer, double and a walk) advanced a base on an infield fly because the Angels didn't tag either of them.  Later on, Dewayne Wise hit himself in the groin with a chopper off the plate, and he needed roughly a minute to compose himself.

Scott Linebrink made his first appearance since July 22 and worked a scoreless inning, though neither his control nor velocity were there.  He walked the first man he faced on four pitches, and threw only five of 15 pitches for strikes, but Alexei Ramirez and Juan Uribe combined to turn a slick double play to thwart any attempt at a rally.

Record: 79-61 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 3: White Sox 4, Indians 2

It took 23 innings, but the White Sox finally gained their first lead of the series in the fifth inning off Jeremy Sowers.  And Sox pitching made it hold up.

Nick Swisher's solo shot put the first run on the board, and Orlando Cabrera's two-out double, one batter after Toby Hall grounded out on a hit-and-run that would've been a double play had Fields not been in motion, gave the Sox a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning.

Alexei Ramirez's 16th homer of the year stretched the lead to 4-0, and although Jhonny Peralta got the runs right back with a two-out double, the bullpen made it stick.

In relief of an effective Javier Vazquez (who held Cleveland hitless through the first 4 1/3 innings), Octavio Dotel came in for two outs, but left two on.  Matt Thornton cleaned up his mess, and when Easy Heat got in trouble in the eighth, Bobby Jenks bailed him out by getting a double play.

Jenks actually induced two twin killings, and recorded four outs on only seven pitches.  He then struck out Asdrubal Cabrera on three pitches to make it an even 10, as well as close it out for the five-out save.

Record: 78-61 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 2: Indians 9, White Sox 3

That's it.  Boone Logan is James Buchanan.

He entered a 5-3 ballgame with the bases loaded to face Shin-Shoo Choo in relief of Octavio Dotel.  Dotel pitched admirably, though he loaded the bases when Kelly Shoppach drew a tough walk after retiring the first two he faced.  But considering he had runners on first and second with nobody out thanks to D.J. Carrasco, he did his job.

Logan undid all that work by walking Choo on five pitches, none of which Choo swung at.  He then allowed back-to-back singles to Asdrubal Cabrera and Grady Sizemore, and a 5-3 game exploded into a 9-3 game.

It also undid some nice work by the White Sox offense to get back into another game in which John Danks struggled.  Danks needed 34 pitches to get through the second inning, which began with a leadoff walk and Victor Martinez's first homer of the year.  Falling behind plagued him all game long -- Franklin Gutierrez's two-out, two-run double in the fourth also came after Danks threw the first two pitches out of the strike zone.

But the Sox climbed back into it without the homer.  Jermaine Dye drew a one-out walk, and advanced to third by Jim Thome's rocket single off the left-field wall.  A wild pitch scored Dye, and Paul Konerko's single moved Thome to third, where he'd score on a Nick Swisher sac fly.

Alexei Ramirez's thespian skills loaded the bases -- he faked getting hit by a hand after a high and tight pitch hit his bat for a free base -- and Juan Uribe hit a rope off the wall for an RBI double that cut the lead to one.

Eric Wedge lifted Fausto Carmona for Rafael Betancourt, but Ozzie Guillen kept Jerry Owens in the game.  Owens, making his first start of the season, struck out on four pitches, and the Sox never threatened again.

Record: 77-61 | Box score | Play-by-play

Sept. 1: Indians 5, White Sox 0

Cliff Lee became the American League's first 20-game winner by throwing a five-hitter.  Two of those hits came in the first two at-bats of the game.

Orlando Cabrera and A.J. Pierzynski led off the game with singles, and Lee proceeded to retire the next 21 hitters before Paul Konerko singled with one out in the eighth.  The ninth was very much like the first -- two singles, followed by an inning-ending double play.

Meanwhile, Clayton Richard resumed looking like a rookie.  He only started half his 20 hitters out with first-pitch strikes, and committed his third error of the season, rushing a throw on Grady Sizemore's chopper to first and throwing way wide.  That error would result in a run.

The bullpen provided at least one bright spot, with Ehren Wassermann, Boone Logan and Mike MacDougal teaming up for three scoreless innings and sparing the Sox's more trustworthy relievers.  It was MacDougal's first appearance since April 26, and he retired the side in seven pitches, including a strikeout.

Record: 77-60 | Box score | Play-by-play