I actually took contemporaneous notes during interesting points of the game today in order to refresh my recollection when the beer haze wore off. I planned to share those thoughts and others regarding Bob Geren's pitching staff management from the point of view of A's fans, the woman behind me who was full of nuggets like "I almost wore sandals today but I didn't think about it," questionable calls from the umpiring crew, and today's old-timey 1929 motif. After much contemplation, I've decided I really don't have much to say other than

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Quick trip from SF to Oakland. Cold Sierra. Twenty-two ounce Corona. Two-run first. Twenty-two ounce Corona. Four- run second. Twenty-two ounce Corona. Brat with peppers, onions, and mustard. Outfielders forget how to catch, A's score five. Twenty-two ounce Corona. A's take lead, prophesy fulfilled. Much cursing. Smithwick's. Thorndog and Dotel filthy. Che! Bobby makes it interesting. A White Sox winner. Pick up rhythm in ten hours for some BHB. The end.

since our faithful associate editor is busy with schoolwork (trust me, i laughed as incredulously as i'm sure you are right now), i'm posting the surely much anticipated "what the f$#k have you been listening to in the last week?!?" thread.

i saw a LOT of great funky and bluegrassy music at a festival outside of yosemite thursday-sunday. if any of you are still in chicago and dig some rippin' progressive bluegrass, you should check out cornmeal at the vic the saturday after thanksgiving. they play lots of originals, as well as funk up some classic covers from the likes of pink floyd, santana, bob marley, and the bee gees. they have tons of shows available for free (and legal) download on archive.org (if you make it over that way, i'd suggest their halloween show from last week, their big meadow set from early july, and the sets from this past weekend at the festival mentioned above).

i''ve also been bouncing some "southern rock opera" by the drive-by truckers, continuing to hit the new deerhunter record a lot, and returning to my old g n' r roots.

what about all y'all? and what about chris getz?

i have two tickets in section 110, row 18 for sunday's game that i'm not going to be able to use if any folks out here, or any others just want to be gay by the bay for a day, are interested.

pitching matchup is javy vazquez v. gio gonzalez. the seventy-five word minimum for a fanpost is utterly annoying.

did you hear the one about the guy with two left feet and no thumbs? anybody? bueller?

Brent Brookhouse's comments on the gamethread earlier today reminded me just how much my (and many other Sox fans') expectations have risen since the World Series win. A winning reocrd alone is no longer considered successful; it's (at least) playoffs or a crappy, wasted season.

Then I thought of work, and how dangerous it can be to do your job at a very high level for any period of time, lest the boss think that's how you will perform from then on.

I guess my point is that we may have unreasonable expectations for the White Sox, but if we do, it's all their fault.

Let the guessing begin!

I can't read anymore about the Cabrera/Willis trade or Jones to LA. So I started checking out some sites to see if any knuckleheads actually try to argue for a Heisman pick other than Tebow for a reason other than, "well, golly gee, he's only a southmore [phonetic]." Lo and behold, there are many idiot writers out there.

If the BCS isn't doing enough to delegitimize college football, a McFadden or Colt Brennan Heisman will put the icing on the cake for me.

Alright, bitches, I'm finally in the Bay Area. Those of you in SSS land who are out here, where in the hell do you watch Sox and Bears games? And where do you drink in the East Bay?

One-line diaries are prohibited on South Side Sox. Give your diary a bit more thought, then give it another shot. If you have nothing to add to your proposed diary, then it probably belongs as a comment under another appropriate thread.

Now the games become really interesting as the White Sox see how low they can go in an effort to score Pedro Alvarez or some other amateur with a modicum of talent in the 2008 draft.

So here is your chance to watch the Tiggers and the Sox on Thursday afternoon @ 1:05. I have two tickets in the third row behind the Sox 'pen (think of the possibilities with Day, Bukvich, and others just feet away). Face is $34 apiece ($68/pair) but I'll pass both on to some brave Sox fan for $30.

Um, go Sox?

90% sure I'll have an extra free ticket to Thursday afternoon's game if anyone is interested. Had a late cancellation and everybody else is too chicken to brave the cold. What do people expect? It's freaking April in Chicago. And the 300 character rule gets me again. And again. And again. And again. And again.

Just wanted to hear what all the SSS faithful--optimists, pessimists, and drunks alike--have in store for Opening Day.

Will everybody be able to watch or listen?

If so, where will you take in the game?

With whom will you watch or listen?

Will you be drinking?

Will C.C. pitch?

Will B.A. get an at-bat?

Will either Pods or Erstud make it unscathed through the entire game?

Who will win, and what will the final score be?

Anybody here like hockey who would be interested in splitting two Blackhawks season tickets between four or five people? I'd like to get 100 level tickets but don't really want to go to 40-some games, or really even 22 for that matter. Let me know if you or somebody you know might be interested. I think it would likely end up being about $135/game for the seats, so around $1400 for 10 or 11 games.                                                                

There has been pently of talk around here lately about Ozuna and the missing pixie dust, but I still could not believe just how bad it's been the last couple of months until I looked at the numbers:

April: .500 AVG (8-16), .556 OBP, .625 SLG, 1.181 OPS

May: .353 AVG (12-34), .405 OBP, .588 SLG, .994 OPS

June: .474 AVG (18-38), .487 OBP, .474 SLG, .961 OBP
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July: .087 AVG (2-23), .125 OBP, .130 SLG, .255 OPS

August: .000 AVG (0-9), .000 OBP, .000 SLG, .000 OPS

So, since July 1, Pablo is a frigid 2-32 with a double and a walk. In that time, he has scored ZERO runs.

Couple that with his very "adventurous" fielding style in left (which was excusable when he was getting on base like Barry Bonds), and something has to be done.

Additionally, if Pods (a cool 5-30 himself this August with 7 K's) doesn't get going with the stick (we all know by now that he can't field, don't we? I shudder at the fact that the Brewers actually stuck him in center field), I think I'd rather just start Mack in left regularly.  

I have 2 tickets in the third row of Section 157 available for Monday and Thursday's Royals game. Will sell for face. $46 a pair. Have tickets in hand downtown. Just can't go to 10 games in 10 days without getting fired and don't want them to go to waste. I really hate this 300 character minimum rule.

The newest issue of Baseball America includes the mag's annual survey of "the game's outstanding individual skills." American League managers recognized Thome for his power (number 2 behind Big Sloppy), Jenks for his heat (number 3 behind Zumaya and Zoolander), Buehrle for his pickoff move (number 2 behind The Gambler), and the Gooch's defense at second base (number 2 behind Minny's Castillo).

The only thing more shocking to me than kudos for Tad's defense (the arm is there and he has flair for the dramatic, but sometimes the range is just bad) was the absence of Joe Crede's name from the top 3 defensive third basemen in the American League. I'll admit that Joey has booted some routine plays this season, but he saved a ton of runs with diving stops and strong throws both to his left and right.

I simply cannot accept that Boston's Mike Lowell, Oakland's Eric Chavez, and DETROIT'S BRANDON INGE (?!?) are all better defensive third basemen than Joe Crede right now. Maybe the Sox are actually turing into baseball's version of the Raiders.

There are five teams in the American League playing under .500 ball. Four of them (BAL, TB, CLE, and KC) aren't even close. Seattle is the fifth. Here is how each of the AL's four "best" teams have fared against the league's five bottom dwellers:

DET
v. BAL (1-1)
v. TB (5-2)
v. CLE (9-4)
v. KC (11-1)
v. SEA (5-1)
------------
Total 31-9 for a winning percentage of .775

NYY
v. BAL (4-2)
v. TB (8-3)
v. CLE (4-3)
v. KC (5-1)
v. SEA (2-1)
------------
Total 23-10 for a winning percentage of .697

BOS
v. BAL (8-1)
v. TB (8-6)
v. CLE (3-3)
v. KC (3-0)
v. SEA (4-3)
------------
Total 26-13 for a winning percentage of .667

WHITE SOX
v. BAL (5-2)
v. TB (1-2)
v. CLE (5-7)
v. KC (8-4)
v. SEA (3-2)
------------
Total 22-17 for a winning percentage of .564

The Tigers, Yankees, and Red Sox have beaten the teams they absolutely should be beating on a far more regular basis than the White Sox.

The White Sox are 8.5 games back of Detroit and 4 games back of the Red Sox in these games with nearly the same sample size.

They have one less win than the Yankees in games against the bottom five, despite the fact that the Yankees have played six less games against the less-than-stellar teams in the AL.

Winning a few more of these games thus far would have made the remaining schedule a little less daunting. From here on out, the team needs to win the games it should and do a little better than average against the upper echelon AL teams.

I'm not advocating a deal by KW, but there was some confusion in a thread yesterday about yesterday's trade "deadline."

Read more here.

I asked a question in a thread a day or so ago regarding whether anybody in the Sox organization has ever actually explained why Freddy has turned into a junkballer. Nobody responded, and I still want answers. I suspect that it has something to do with an extended dead arm period that the Chief is fighting through. It surely isn't because he was losing effectiveness as the old "power" Freddy. Here is the troubling equation for this year:

(Highest on-base percentage allowed since 2000 + highest slugging percentage allowed in his career= highest OPS allowed in his career) + highest batting average against in his career + lowest K/9 innings of his career = lowest pitch per start since '00 and highest ERA in his career.

...courtesy of Reifert's Blog.

Podsednik LF
Iguchi 2B
Thome DH
Konerko 1B
Dye RF
Crede 3B
Uribe SS
Widger C
Anderson CF

On the bump: Sweaty Freddy looking for win #11.
As an aside, Reifert also explains that Ozzie only got to choose 3 All-Stars after the fans and players' votes. He ended up taking Konerko, Buehrle, and Jenks. Konerko is the only real first baseman the AL has and because somebody needs to play the field, ended up a more logical choice than Giambi or Hafner. I don't think anybody could question Jenks' selection. As far as Buehrle goes, before yesterday, I don't think anybody would have questioned that one either (sorry to you Skankees fans stumping for Mussina).

Warning: The observations expressed in this recap are based only on what I saw from left field without the benefit of seeing replays or being able to judge balls and strikes all that accurately. That being said, here's a recap of Game Number 73:

After a short and sweet top of the first, Jose struggled a bit with his location and never really got into a groove. The half glass empty in me couldn't help but feeling that consistently working from behind in the count  and putting leadoff guys on was going to come back and take a bite out of the Count. But seemingly inning after inning, Contreras and the Sox dodged bullets until the sticks put the hurt on Pettitte.

After a screaming double by JD with one out in the second, Crede drove in the first of seven two-out White Sox runs with a gapper to right-center. Then, the much maligned (by me and Larry on SSS, to name a few) Rob Mackowiak drove in the Sox's second run on an 0-2 pitch in his all-lefty matchup with Pettitte.

In a preview of things to come, Podsednik ripped a leadoff triple to right in the third. With Gooch, Thome, and PK licking their chops, it looked as though the Tuesday and Wednesday Sox offense was going to rear its beautiful head again. After a weak strikeout by the usually reliable Iguchi, the Sox were burned by the drawn in infield on a Thome grounder to first. PK couldn't get the job done with two outs, and a wasted opportunity had me a bit nervous.

If not scoring with a man on third and no outs was a problem, getting blanked after loading the bags, again with nobody down, would have resembled a natural disaster. But, with two strikes and two down, Scotty Pods, who I think at the time was hitting a robust .249 and had hit one homer, drove a Pettitte pitch DEEP into the right field seats for his first grand slam (video). Who couldn't help but have flashbacks of game 2 of the World Series?

Suddenly, a 2-0 lead with a teetering Contreras on the hill turned into a 6-0 semi-rout. The Count may have gotten a little too comfortable, though, giving up back-to-back two out jacks to Braves-killer Chris Burke and Lance "My man boobs are NOT as big as Phil Mickelson's" Berkman. Jose lasted another 2/3 before giving way to the old reliable, Neal Cotts, and the new reliable, David Riske.

Fortunately for Astros fans revived by the power surge in the top of the 5th, Pettitte didn't make it out for the bottom half of the frame. His replacement, Dave Borkowski, not to be confused with former Cubs loser Joe Borowski, mowed down the complacent Sox hitters for 3 1/3 before Crede touched him for a one-out single in the eighth. Joe Joe came home on yet another two-out hit, this time a double by Juan "Why does Farmer tell everybody I said I was going to go Profundo Tonight?!?" Uribe.

Emboldened by the three run lead, Bobby came out in the ninth and again mowed down the opposition in short order. White Sox winner. Eight in a row. Ten of eleven. And STILL a half game back.

Some things I liked about tonight:
Contreras battling and coming out with the W without having nearly his best stuff.

Cotts taking it right at Berkman and Lamb with a runner on second with one out in the seventh.

Riske making it through the 5-6-7 hitters in the eighth in FIVE pitches.

Bobby continuing the trend of throwing strikes and forcing guys to put his gas in play.

The two-out hitting with runners in scoring position reminded me of what championship teams do to win games they maybe shouldn't.

Pods. After inexplicably being picked off in the top of the first (I know, I know, Pettitte has the best move this side of Napoleon Dynamite, but still), number 22 tripled and went yard off the crafty Pettitte. With one swing of his turbocharged bat, Pods changed the entire complexion of the game.

The six through nine hitters, with six of the nine White Sox hits.

One thing I didn't like about tonight:
The almost always reliable Iguchi striking out three times, including once on three pitches with Pods on third with none out. Here's betting that if he plays tomorrow he shoots one into the gap in the bottom of the first.

Ten hours until I'm back to the ballpark. Garland is back. Count on it.

Holy scary lineup card, Batman.

Ozuna LF
Iguchi 2B
Thome DH
Kong 1B
JD RF
Cintron 3B
Widger C
Uribe SS
BA CF

The radio said they still don't think Crede's back is anything serious, but giving him an added day of rest--especially when it may be a wet field--doesn't sound like such a bad idea. And you knew AJ was going to get the day off. The boppers are going to have to hit today.

to tonight's game, if anybody is interested. Seat is in the third row in section 157, right behind the Sox pen in left. Let me know if you're interested and I can e-mail the ticket. Who doesn't want to see BA get maybe his last chance to make some noise before the Sox make an ill-fated move to ship him back to Charlotte.