SBNation.com User Blog: elgonzo4sox

Hey Sox fans: take the Cubs Pledge!

elgonzo4sox — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 15:51:25 -0000

Hey Sox fans: take the Cubs Pledge!

The geniuses at MasterCard have overlooked the fact that the city of Chicago actually has two MLB teams. They are even advertising their "Cubs Pledge" promotion on the Sox's flagship radio station 670 The Score.

So what will you do to enter this contest and take the Cubs Pledge?

I am going to make a video of me in my Sox garb and one of my kids in their Cubs "L" shirt booing while I cut up my MasterCard.

Minute Maid Park: where dreams come true

elgonzo4sox — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 05:22:55 -0000

White Sox fans should never forget the significance of Minute Maid Park and the Houston Astros. After all, two of the four most important games in the past fifty years were played there and against that team, including the most important "Sox Win!" of the past 90+ years. Crazies such as myself, who occasionally dust off the 2005 World Series DVDs (both to relive the glory and to remind ourselves what the White Sox actually look like when they are playing really good baseball) have a TV viewer's familiarity with the quirks and charms of Minute Maid. That desire to experience the setting of the Sox's greatest recent triumph, plus my quest to visit every MLB stadium, meant that someday I would make the journey to Houston.

A while back a business trip to Dallas arose on my schedule for the middle of this week. Initially I was bummed because there was no way to move it to the end of the week, which would have allowed me to attend the season opener against the Rangers in Arlington (another stadium I have yet to visit). Then I realized the Sox were playing a couple games in Houston during my trip. It's very easy to get between Dallas and Houston: Southwest has flights every hour, and even more often at the beginning and end of the business day. I could finish my afternoon meeting in Dallas and make it to Minute Maid for first pitch. If the meeting ended early or late, no problem - just hop on whatever plane is leaving next. What could possibly go wrong with this plan? Unfortunately, I had failed to account for the worst tornadoes to hit the Dallas area in thirty years.

Minute Maid Park with the roof closed: not quite as controversial a topic in April 2012 as it was in October 2005

What exactly is one supposed to do when one is bombing down the interstate at 75mph and the electronic billboards are displaying not ads but a public service announcement: "Severe Tornado Warning - Seek Shelter Immediately"? Pull onto the shoulder and park? Find an underpass? Exit, duck into a McDonalds or gas station, and crouch in a bathroom stall? I didn't see an obvious way to improve my survivability odds, and as I didn't want to decrease my odds of attending my first Sox game of the season, I kept on driving. The storms shut down Dallas's airports for several hours, and by the time Southwest resumed flying the game had started. I made it inside Minute Maid at the start of the seventh, with the Sox holding a comfortable 4-1 lead, after telling my taxi driver he'd get a nice tip if he ignored local traffic regulations.

The choo choo train that is supposedly fueled by oranges - but what fueled this train when the stadium was known as Enron Field? Bogus accounting statements?

It was well worth the hassles. Positive vibes washed over me from multiple sources upon entering Minute Maid Park: the joy of seeing firsthand the venue where the 2005 Sox won it all; the normal pleasure of walking into an MLB stadium for the first time after months of no baseball; the quirkiness of the stadium; and the fact that the Sox were ahead and went on to win the game 5-1. The first game of the season is always a time for hope and optimism, and Minute Maid Park brought out those feelings in me more than any other stadium I've been in as the visitors.

Tal's Hill: where home runs go to die, as the Tank discovered in the 8th inning

A lot has changed for both teams since 2005, when the White Sox and Astros were both at the top of their respective leagues. With the departure of Mark Buehrle, the Sox have but two remaining players from the World Series roster (Paulie and A.J.) and the Astros have but one (pitcher Wandy Rodriguez). There is considerable angst among many Sox fans over how the team has fallen off since 2005, with even Paulie commenting about this, but at least we haven't fallen as far or as fast as the Astros, who won only 56 games last year, the worst total in baseball and the worst in franchise history.

The section where Geoff Blum's Game 3-winning home run landed - but strangely there's no commemorative blue seat

The 2005 Killer B's are well represented at Minute Maid. Lance Berkman is still playing, of course, so there's no shrine erected in his honor, but his jersey is the most popular one I saw in the stands, even though he's now on his second team since leaving the Astros. (An aside: Berkman, like Paulie, is a smart professional hitter who pulled his weight in the 2005 series - it's his teammates that didn't - and he inflicted some serious pain on the Rangers in last year's World Series.)

The Crawford Boxes with hand-operated scoreboard: Berkman's favorite spot to land cheap home runs, but fortunately he didn't do so against us

There are shrines, however, for two other Killer B's: Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio. Bagwell's focuses on his 449 career home runs (a figure that Paulie will hopefully surpass before his current contract is up), but it was sad to see 2005 listed as his final year. Those pathetic World Series at bats in which he grimaced in pain and frustration as Sox pitchers blew it by him were the final at bats of his big league career.

Jeff Bagwell's shrine focuses on the positive

Craig Biggio lasted a couple more seasons after 2005, long enough to collect his 3000th hit. He was a hard-nosed (dare I say "grindy") player, and I think you have to respect a guy who grinds out 3000 hits over 20 seasons.

Craig Biggio kept on grinding even after 2005

It's not much of a stretch to posit that Minute Maid Park is a happier place for White Sox fans than for Astros fans these days. If you go to one of the Sox/Astros interleague games at Minute Maid this summer, I think you will find Astros fans to be a somewhat downtrodden bunch who accept and perhaps even welcome south siders. There is, after all, at least one food stand selling replica Chicago hot dogs (although "neon relish" must be a garish Texas version of sweet green relish).

To welcome Chicago fans, the Astros sell nearly authentic Chicago style hot dogs

Speaking of relish, Sox fans should be relishing the opportunity for our team to beat up on the Astros when they join the AL. After all, why should the Cubs and their fans have all the fun? Hey, maybe we can get the Pirates to transfer into our league (if not division) too. After the second game of this series ended in a tie, the Sox are still undefeated in Minute Maid. On the one hand nothing counts in spring training, and the real games with the Astros take place later this summer. On the other hand, maybe a successful visit to Minute Maid Park is just what the 2012 White Sox need to spur them on to another unexpectedly magical season.

Making the case for the 2011 White Sox

elgonzo4sox — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 04:37:40 -0000

With all the negativity surrounding the 2011 White Sox, who have definitely underperformed so far, I thought I'd focus on the positive and build the case that the 2011 White Sox will go forward from today (August 14) and win the AL Central. This requires that the future be better than the past but I believe it will be, for a variety of reasons.

1. Starting pitching now reaping the benefits of the six man rotation. The six man rotation has undoubtedly helped Mark Buehrle, who is having one of the best seasons of his career (18 consecutive starts with three earned runs or less), and Jake Peavy, who has pitched more innings (and reasonably effective ones) than almost anyone would have projected at the beginning of the year. The other benefit was supposed to be better overall health and performance down the stretch as compared to other team's staffs, and the Sox are indeed posting one of the lowest starter's ERAs in the league recently. Phil Humber may be fading, but Zach Stewart has stepped in admirably so far and Edwin Jackson has not been missed. While the Tigers and Indians attempted to patch the holes in their staffs with major trade deadline acquisitions, the White Sox staff keeps on rolling, posting quality starts.

2. Bullpen has settled into a good groove, and now has two "lights out" closers. After a rough start and a juggling of roles, the bullpen has become one of the best in the league. Sergio Santos and Chris Sale make hitters look absolutely foolish. Crain has been consistently good all year, and Ohman has actually been more than just a LOOGY. The league may finally have caught up somewhat to Matt Thornton, but he can still be effective in small doses. Frasor looks to be a decent addition, and the Sox actually felt confident enough to drop a reliever and use the roster position to bring up De Aza. With the starters going deep into starts the bullpen is not overused, and should outperform other teams' pens down the stretch.

3. Konerko will continue to carry the offense, even if he has to crawl around the bases to do so. After getting his well-deserved new three year contract this past winter, Paulie is having a second consecutive "contract year". His ability to hit to all fields and drive in runs has never been better or more consistent. Having to play on just one good leg hasn't hindered his production and it has inspired his teammates. Paulie obviously wants to win, and I expect the Captain will do everything he can down the stretch to help the Sox win.

4. Ozzie and Kenny are *finally* managing like they want to win every game. One of the hardest things for fans to accept is that Sox management has not been managing every single game as though it is a must-win Game 163. That mentality wouldn't work over the course of a 162 game season for many reasons, one of them being that few star players can play 162 consecutive games. But now that the Sox are into the home stretch of the season, with ground to be made up, both Kenny and Ozzie are focused on winning each and every game. Kenny brought up De Aza and Ozzie has played him to put pressure on Rios, and Rios is responding (I believe). Dunn is becoming the Invisible Man (see below), and Lillibridge has become the World's Tiniest First Baseman (who would have predicted this at the beginning of the year?). Whatever it takes to win, it now appears that Ozzie and Kenny will do it. Maybe it's my imagination, but I think the Sox have been playing with more intensity over the past week (especially on defense, but also on offense), so I think it is showing up in both the effort and the results.

5. Dunn is done. Or, more accurately, the Sox's attempt to get Adam Dunn going by relentlessly inserting him into the lineup in the 3-4-5 position and suffering the consequences appears to be over. Dunn has been sitting versus lefties and now some righties, and batting 7th when he does make an appearance. Ozzie has a history of forgetting about players whom he doesn't think can help win high pressure games in the pennant drive (think Nick Swisher in 2008, or Javier Vazquez), and it looks like Dunn may finally have earned his way into that particular doghouse of Ozzie's. Ozzie's final message to Dunn for the 2011 season might have been the one voiced this week when Ozzie told Dunn to show up in better shape for Spring Training 2012. Any replacement-level substitute for Dunn in the lineup is an improvement, and the Sox are getting that and more from Lillibridge and De Aza. And the Tank should be here on September 1.

6. The Sox can indeed go 4-2 versus the Tigers. The Sox sit four games behind the Tigers, with six head-to-head games left. If the Sox go 5-1 versus the Tigers, they'll make up the four game deficit right there. I think 4-2 is more realistic, which would leave the Sox two games behind the Tigers. The Sox would only need to pick up two (to tie) or three (to win) other games across the other 36 non-Tigers games left on their schedule, which is doable. How do I know the Sox can go 4-2 versus the Tigers? It's exactly what the Sox's record is in the last six games versus the Tigers. The Sox aren't scared of Justin Verlander - he's no Bruce Chen.

7. The rest of the schedule is favorable. After the miserable 4-18 stretch that left them with a 11-22 record at the beginning of the season, the Sox are 49-38 since, a decent .563 winning percentage. Continuing at that .563 clip over the remaining 42 games would leave the Sox with a 84-78 record. I think the Sox can do better than .563 down the stretch because of the reasons mentioned above. The Sox have lots of games left against the Indians (6-1 record so far this season) and the Twins, whose mystery they may finally have solved (3-0 sweep in Minneapolis a week ago). The Sox have one more west coast road trip, but with only two games against the Angels and three in Seattle, that projects as a winnable trip for our road warriors. If the Sox can finally do well in front of the home crowd (2-1 on this homestand so far), the Sox should gain the ground that they need to overtake first the Indians (this week) and eventually the Tigers.

I won't guarantee the Sox will win the AL Central this year, but I think there is a very strong case that they will. The Sox are still the last team from the AL Central to win a playoff game (in 2008 versus the Rays), and they definitely have a strong chance to do so again in 2011.

Dunn: It's a swing thing

elgonzo4sox — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:28:11 -0000

Physics was one of my favorite subjects ("Physics is Phun!"). I believe the physics of Adam Dunn's swing are a huge contributor to his problems. The solutions are easy (see below) if Dunn were a kid or instructable, but since he is a veteran with many prior seasons of success, I don't know if Dunn's problems can be fixed. The Sox are not trying the solutions you'd use with a kid or a minor leaguer.

Dunn has possibly the longest swing in the major leagues, measuring the total distance traveled by the end of his bat from the start of his swing through the hitting zone (follow through doesn't matter because once the bat leaves the hitting zone nothing more can happen). He's very tall, has long arms, stands away from the plate (unlike Q), uses a long bat, holds it at the knob, and swings with full arm extension. He starts with the bat way back and swings in a huge on-plane arc.

Dunn's swing is properly termed a "long" swing. Some people mistakenly say Dunn's bat is slow, because it takes him so long to get his bat from the starting position through the hitting zone (and yes, this is indeed a huge problem for Dunn). However, "bat speed" refers to the speed of the bat as measured when it is in the hitting zone. Dunn's bat speed is plenty high when it is in the hitting zone, which is why he can hit 450 foot home runs if/when he actually makes contact.

Dunn also waggles the bat downward (below horizontal) at the start of the swing, a "signature" move that is nearly as bad as Rios's hands-held-low stance, because it means they have to get the bat out of this poor position when they start their swings, which also takes time. Dunn and Rios would say their signature moves are for their comfort and timing purposes, but I would say that moving out of those positions determines the start of their swing, so they've lengthened their swings.

A super long swing like Dunn's has only one benefit: when he connects solidly with the ball, the bat speed is great and the ball goes a long distance. It has multiple drawbacks, some obvious, some less so:

-- The most obvious drawback is the amount of time it takes to get Dunn's bat into the hitting zone. The longer this time, the earlier Dunn has to make the decision to swing at a pitch, and the earlier Dunn has to judge where the ball is going to be when the ball enters the hitting zone. The result: many more swings and misses, or swings and fouls, or swings and weirdly hit balls that spin wildly into the field of play - and far fewer balls that are hit solidly (one can argue that every time Dunn hits a ball solidly that it should go over the fence, so he's only hit 10 balls solidly so far this season).

-- This also creates a huge hole in Dunn's swing: he becomes very susceptible to pitchers with deceiving off-speed stuff, because Dunn has to decide very early to swing. Pitchers know this, and can easily set Dunn up, as CC Sabathia did three times last night, by striking Dunn out on outside sliders nearly in the dirt which Dunn missed by a foot because he had already decided to swing very early in the pitch.

-- Dunn's swing is also completely on-plane, which is good for generating bat speed but bad for adjusting to how the pitch is coming towards the plate - in fact he doesn't adjust at all. If the ball isn't where Dunn thought it was going to be when he started his swing, he has 0% chance of hitting it. Many, many other hitters are able to follow the ball to a certain degree and try to make contact - in fact this is exactly what good contact hitters do, sometimes by even throwing their bat at the ball if the hit-and-run is on - but they sacrifice bat speed to do this adjustment during the swing.

-- Dunn never varies his swing no matter what the count or the game situation. He doesn't shorten his swing with two strikes. He doesn't try to go to the opposite field when the shift is on. He swings one way, all the time, every time. The opposing pitcher and defense know this, and take advantage of it by putting on the shift and pitching to his weaknesses.

For connoisseurs of hitting, the contrast between Dunn and a good power/RBI hitter like Paulie is night and day. Dunn's swing is a simple-minded power swing that never varies. Paulie is a much smarter hitter with completely different mechanics and much better results. Paulie is often able to work the count into his favor by making better judgments on what pitches to swing at, which gets him into more hitter's fastball counts. If behind, Paulie adjusts his swing to try to go to the opposite field or take what the pitcher gives him. AJ also adjusts well to the count, the game situation and the pitch, and he able to get more hits because of his adjustments. Dunn neither adjusts for the count or the game situation (by changing the stance or swing he decides to use) or during the pitch (by changing the bat path during the swing to make better contact).

I coach kids, and the solutions to Dunn's problems are easy:

1. SHORTEN THE SWING. Get rid of the waggle. Try starting with the bat 1/4th of the way towards the plate from Dunn's current starting position and only move the bat forward, never backward. Stand closer to the plate and choke up, especially with two strikes. Don't swing for the fences. Watch the ball and move the bat to meet the ball as the ball comes towards the plate.

There's no way to turn Adam Dunn into Rod Carew, and these changes will decrease bat speed and power. Dunn doesn't need to do all of these, but he should try some of them to certain degrees. 320 foot home runs into the right field porch at Yankee Stadium count every bit as much as 450 foot ones and are actually better, since a shorter swing gives you a better chance of actually connecting and hitting the ball 320 feet instead of 450.

It's been four months, and if there have been any changes or adjustments to Dunn's swing, I haven't seen them.

2. REDUCE THE PRESSURE ON DUNN BY BATTING HIM LOWER IN THE LINEUP AND SITTING HIM AGAINST PITCHERS HE HAS TROUBLE WITH (i.e. lefties). When you're struggling, the added pressure of coming to the plate in key game situations with men on base and a skeptical crowd aggravates the hitter's struggles. No Little League, high school, college or even AAA manager would continue to bat Dunn in the cleanup position after four months of nearly constant struggles and no signs of improvement.

So why aren't the Sox doing any of this?

I think the Sox and Dunn are afraid to make any fundamental swing changes for fear of causing greater problems (which is hard to imagine) and for fear of losing Dunn's power. Instead the approach taken by Dunn and Greg Walker has been to try to tweak things (like balance) to try to get Dunn back to the ideal Adam Dunn simple-minded long power swing that worked in the past. It's been four months, and it hasn't worked yet. Every single pitcher in the AL knows Dunn is struggling, and they are taking advantage of it.

I think the Sox are also afraid of the hit to Dunn's psyche if Ozzie were to bat him lower in the lineup. Yes confidence is very important in hitting and a necessary component of even being able to stand in a batter's box while Justin Verlander throws 100 mph fastballs within a foot of your torso. But I think Dunn has proven that he doesn't react well to pressure (all his prior success has been on second-tier NL teams with zero expectations for winning), so I would move to reduce the pressure and give him the opportunity to start building up some confidence by having some minor successes.

I wish the Sox and Dunn would change something. Right now I fear we're doomed for another month of Dunn's struggles until Viciedo finally comes up when the rosters expand, and then Ozzie will finally sit Dunn a little bit.

If there's one thing I learned in physics class it is this: you can't violate the laws of physics.

Rocky Mountain High

elgonzo4sox — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:31:44 -0000

I wasn't able to make it to any Sox games in Arizona, but I did manage to take advantage of interleague play against the Rockies to add another notch into my MLB stadium belt by visiting Coors Field for the rubber game of the Sox/Rockies series. Evidently a fair number of Sox fans had the same idea. Unlike the Seattle game I attended earlier this year, I would say 10% or more of the crowd was Sox fans, both travelers and Chicago expats. We made our presence known, and by the end had much to cheer for.

Coors Field entrance: more than vaguely reminiscent of other new MLB stadiums

Upon approaching the Coors Field home plate entrance one sees what I felt was a very sad sight. In a highly prominent location outside the gate, about where the Sox erected the 2005 World Series statue at The Cell, the Rockies have also erected a statue. But since they have no World Series win, and since they also have no prominent retired Rockies players, the status is a statue of an anonymous player entitled "The Player". That's what happens when you're an expansion franchise, I guess. Perhaps the Rockies will soon replace it with a Todd Helton statue. Today was Helton's 2000th MLB game, and Rockies fans and Sox fans alike gave him a standing ovation during the game.

Inscription should read: "This spot reserved for future Todd Helton statue"

Much of Coors Field feels like other recent "retro" stadiums - it reminded me a lot of San Francisco's AT&T Park without the incredible views and the bay. Coors Field most prominent architectural feature is the "Rockpile", a second deck of bleachers way out in dead center field. With the centerfield fence itself at 415 feet and then two seating decks with lots of rows in the second, I've heard the seats at the top of the Rockpile are some of the worst in any MLB stadium in terms of distance from home plate. I climbed up there (no specialized equipment is required but you may want an oxygen tank due to the thin mile-high air), and those seats seemed a little bit farther from home than the last row of Fenway's right centerfield bleachers (if you ever go to Fenway, don't sit in the bleachers - it will shatter your illusion of Fenway as a quaint small old stadium).

Plenty of mountains to climb in Colorado, including The Rockpile

I had heard rumors of rude Rockies fans, but I didn't encounter any problems whatsoever. Perhaps it was because I had so many of my Sox fan brethren around me at all times - Sox fans were everywhere. I even saw a few people that I call the "Lost Cubs fans". You've seen these people too: they show up at non-City Series Sox games in full Cubs regalia. I am not sure what these people are doing: did they buy a ticket for "Chicago vs. Colorado" only to discover that it is the Sox and not the Cubs? Do they even know or care that the Cubs aren't playing, or are they just there for the beer? As for the beer, there was indeed Coors and Coors Light, but also plenty of Budweiser taps. You would think that naming rights to the stadium would allow Coors to make sure no Bud is served, but there's plenty of Bud at Coors. The food at Coors was standard ballpark fare, and the brats couldn't measure up to the brats at The Cell.

"Is my team playing? Do I even care?"

As for the game, I was concerned when I saw the Sox's lineup, with no Konerko, no AJ and no Q, and Dunn not only in the game playing first, but batting third, up from the five hole. After Tulo beat Peavy in a long at bat for a three run homer in the bottom of the first, I told the people around me that it was going to take a long time for the Sox to make up those runs. It did indeed, but the wait was worth it in the end.

Do not expect scientifically accurate dinosaur reproductions in Colorado - the Field Museum has much better ones.

I will avoid spoiling the good mood of the day, the game and this write-up by keeping my frustrations with Adam Dunn mostly to myself, except to point out that, through the Sox's first 6 innings, his bat had accounted for 5 of 18 Sox outs by lining into a double play, popping up, and grounding into a double play. At least he's actually making contact and hitting the ball into fair territory - that's a step forward. He even faced a lefty reliever and achieved the sole positive result he's showed us he can do versus a lefty on occasion: he walked. I would have pulled Dunn before the at bat, but fortunately Ozzie pulled him afterwards and that set in motion a chain of substitutions that eventually saw our three best current hitters (Paulie, AJ and Q) get into the game and the offense finally get into gear. Coincidence?

The Sox's offensive drought through the first six innings made the runs all the sweeter when they finally did come. (The Sox's sole run up to then, in the second, was more sour than sweet, since they should have scored more after Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook loaded the bases via two walks and a HBP and then threw a wild pitch). The Sox bullpen did its job while the Rockies didn't, and by the time the top of the tenth rolled around and the Sox loaded the bases, Rockies fans were silent while Sox fans were doing "Let's Go White Sox!" and especially "Paulie" chants. There was much high fiving when Pierre came through with his big hit, and Sox fans were standing and clapping for Sergio to close it out with two outs in the tenth. Rockies fans offered no resistance that I could detect - at that point they knew they were beat.

Your hero of the game: Juan Pierre!

On the drive back to the airport I amused myself by listening to the Rockies post-game show. The first Rockies fan caller said he had the answer to all the Rockies woes: "what the Rockies need is a smart slap hitter like Juan Pierre who really knows how to play the game of baseball!" Other callers complained about the Rockies players' lackadaisical attitudes and the team's inability to win one run and extra innings games (evidently the Rockies are one of the few teams worse than the Sox in extras). One caller demanded the head of Rockies hitting coach Carney Lansford and even pointed to the White Sox as a team that has gone onto greatness after replacing their hitting coach - then he corrected himself and said "Oh wait, that was Cleveland." Chris Rongey would have been amused.

In closing, a travel tip about the Denver International Airport: it's not in Denver. In fact, it's not even in Colorado. It's in Kansas. Be prepared for a long drive from the airport to re-enter civilization, let alone Denver city limits. If you arrive at night and, during the drive, start to wonder why you can't see any buildings and maybe start to think you're in the middle of nowhere, it's because you are. Keep driving. You have to drive because there is no commercial airplane service between the Denver International Airport and the city of Denver, although there should be.

Winless in Seattle (so far) – my trip to Safeco

elgonzo4sox — Sat, 07 May 2011 19:15:35 -0000

A classic Seattle scene: ferry docking in front of Qwest and Safeco, on a cloudy, drizzly day

Business had me in Seattle for the first time in many years Friday, so I took advantage of the Sox being in town to make another notch in my MLB stadium belt. Before I left Chicago I bought a seat for $45 plus fees on Stubhub about 20 rows behind the Sox dugout, slightly below face value as the Mariners appear to be headed for another season of mediocrity or worse.

It was, however, Ichiro bobblehead night...

Mariner fans queuing up in the rain three hours before first pitch for their Ichiro bobbleheads

It was, however, Ichiro bobblehead night, and that had giveaway-crazed Mariner fans lined up outside the gates in the Seattle drizzle more than three hours before first pitch. Maybe the Sox "promotion night" ticket plan will tap into a similar demographic and bring more fans into the Cell - I have no idea - but Ichiro night brought in a crowd of over 31,000 for a team averaging 18,000. As a baseball fan I appreciate Ichiro's accomplishments and longevity (and also that he was not a major factor in tonight's game, as it turned out), but I headed for a bar across the street instead of the blocks-long line. After watching the Twins light up Wakefield for a few innings on TV (which was not a good start to the baseball night - how come we draw King Felix tonight and the Twins get a subpar aging knuckleballer?), I waited for the line to dissipate, entered the stadium, and claimed my bobblehead. They had plenty.

Safeco is in an industrialized area of Seattle, but some of the nearby industry is BEER!

The Safeco roof was closed to keep out the drizzle, and it is an impressive piece of machinery, as it runs on tracks that stick out beyond the stadium building out in right field. It rarely rains hard in Seattle - it just drizzles nearly nonstop - and they may very well have played the game in the same conditions in the Cell - but it wouldn't have been pleasant to sit in for three hours. The stadium is on par with other recently constructed gems and feels like a more open version of Miller Park, since the roof does not seal off the stadium in left field and the marine fog can even roll in. The other main distinguishing feature of Safeco is the beer selection. For those of you who love sampling a wide variety of microbrews, there is no better place in the country than the Pacific Northwest, and the Mariners sell many local microbrews inside the park (at steep prices, unfortunately - $9 to $11 - although the higher alcohol content offsets that, for those of you who compute dollars-to-buzz ratios). The food selection is wider, higher-end and more expensive than the Cell. And gosh, the people are so friendly and polite. I was one of about 20 Sox garbed fans I saw, and I had my retort ready for any Mariners fans who started to give me guff: "You should be very happy your Mariners are playing the Sox right now".

Safeco's roof truly is an impressive piece of machinery

Since it was still well before first pitch and the visiting team takes batting practice last, I got to watch the Sox run through their BP routine. They bat in trios, starting with the "on base top of the order" guys (JP, Missile and Bacon on this night), then the "middle of the order power" guys (Q, Donkey and Kong), then the "we'd be higher up in the lineup if we were hitting better" guys (Rios, Teahen, Blastro), etc. The batters start with bunts and each time through the rotation try to hit the ball farther, until they are trying to spray home runs to all fields on their last few tries. The infielders field their positions and Joey Cora gives them extra ground balls in between BP pitches, and the pitchers who shag flies in the outfield generally goof around and try to make behind-their-back-over-their-head catches. Since I rarely see the Sox take BP, I watched intently and decided I would make my "pick to click" based on who was hitting it the best in BP. On this evening that would be Teahen, who must have hit 10 over the fence to all fields, especially the 326 foot porch in right, his pull field. Hmmm, I thought: Teahen's killing it, he's got the righty-lefty thing versus King Felix, and the right field stands are reachable - he's going to be our hero tonight! Naturally, as it turned out, he was 0 for 3 with two Ks.

Adam Dunn getting valuable hitting tips during BP from Greg Walker

Onto the game itself, which I thought would be a low-scoring Sox-fan-murderer as long as Humber was still on his game and did not do a Jeckyll-and-Hyde morphing a la EJax. Sure enough Humber was very good (we need to keep this guy in the rotation when Peavy comes back), and the Mariner bats were very quiet as per usual, with Humber's only problem being the sixth, when he walked Ichiro and gave up two doubles for two runs. Props to Q for tying it with a solo shot, but King Felix got the big outs when he needed to, and the game entered the eighth tied, which definitely was sudden-death next-team-that-scores-wins territory. The Sox used to know how to win games like this back in 2005, even on the road (does anyone remember Games 3 and 4 of the World Series?) but the recent track record is abysmal, and I braced myself for the worst, especially when Ozzie brought in our 0-2, 0 saves, 4 blown saves "closer", Matt Thornton, for a very high leverage appearance.

Phil Humber at the start of his strong performance, matching Feliz Hernandez for 7 innings

Was this loss due to trying to hard? Quite possibly. Ozzie tried hard to restore Thornton's confidence by bringing him in and letting him pitch two innings. Beckham definitely tried too hard, making a hugely demoralizing base running error in the eighth by starting towards home when the Missile grounded sharply to a drawn-in infield and the shortstop threw behind Beckham to pick him off third (didn't Kenny run Pods version 2 out of town and bring in JP because Pods cost the Sox a game in Safeco by also getting picked off third - or at least that became the prime example of Pods' poor baserunning?). And Thornton tried, but the results just weren't there once again - he gave up the game winning single (the third of the inning) to the Mariners' sub-.200 hitting ninth place hitter who came into the game in a 1 for 23 slump. Ozzie may believe that mental problems can be solved with beer and vodka, but I think there is something wrong with Thornton that a trip to the couch might help solve - certainly he's once again lost confidence.

Their King strikes out our King to end another threat, with Pierre on 2nd and Dunn on 1st

Rather than watch yet another mediocre team celebrate our ineptitude (I was also at Liriano's no hitter this week), I high-tailed it out of the stadium. Listening to Mariners' radio on the drive to the hotel, I was put off by all the "awesome win - aren't we great - we've turned our season around" talk, so I texted them a message which basically said "the Mariners are not so great, they beat a team in a profound slump that's inventing new ways to lose". The announcers read my text verbatim on the air, but not knowing who I was, they called me a pessimistic Nervous Nellie Mariners fan (these announcers would never be able to handle Chris Rongey's job). That, plus the other pleasures of the evening aside from the last two innings of the game, made my trip to Safeco ultimately satisfying.