Saturday, August 05, 2006

Hell Freezes Over, Javy Pitches Brilliantly: Game 108 Thoughts

And that's a White Sox winner 7-1!

-(Forgive me but I'm about to wax poetic on Javy) Vazquez was unbelievable today. He was absolutely dealing. He had no-hit stuff; it was probably his sharpest outing since that early season game against the Royals. Through the first 2 innings, he had 6 strike outs. He K'ed 13 total for the game, which according to the Cheat, ties Contreras and Johann Santanna for the highest number by an AL pitcher.

-Javy had a no-hitter going into the fifth, before throwing a high changeup to Troy Glaus which resulted in a solo shot. Overbay, the next batter, hit a hard single and it looked as though Javy was ready for his blow up inning. BUT Javy then proceeded to strike out three of the four other batters he faced that inning. He overcame what DJ dubbed "the 6th inning curse" and retired the side in order. In the eighth he struck out the side.

-Vazquez gave up just two hits, two walks, and one run. Riske pitched a shaky inning of relief to close out the game.

-The Sox racked up 7 runs today, none of which came via the longball. JD did miss a homer literally by an inch. The ball hit the top of the wall and catapulted against the foam and back into play.

-The Jays first two pitchers were all over the place. Rosario and McGowan combined to throw six walks and both pitchers were hit hard. Rosario was hit so hard in the first inning that he started pitching out of the stretch in the second. McGowan, who was originally scheduled to start for the Jays, was lit up to the tune of 4 runs in 2 2/3 innings.

-It wasn't all gravy for the Sox though. The game was littered with poor base running by our guys. In the first, Pods walked and eventually found his way onto third following a wild pitch and a SB. Gooch then hit a grounder to Glaus; Pods inexplicably went home and got himself caught in a pickle. I'm just glad that that run didn't come back to bite us in the ass. Later in the inning, Thome was doubled off after a Dye liner. I don't know if it was a hit and run. In the second, BA was caught stealing second. In the third, Gooch was picked off by the catcher Zaun, but the ump blew the call. We ended up scoring two runs that inning.

-Thank goodness for the blown call, it allowed for the funniest moment of the game. I just started laughing out loud watching Paulie chug along the bases, scoring from first on JD's triple. First off, he looks silly holding his gloves in his hands. It makes me think of little kids that have their mittens attached to their coats. I was surprised Paulie made it all the way around. He looked like he was going to run out of gas. I thought he was going to collapse like that tri-athlete on the Gatorade commerical.

-Another piece of bad news was when Joe Crede left with an injury. He swung at a low pitch and came up lame. I think he may have tweaked back a bit. Hopefully it's not serious; we all know the troubles he's had in the past.

-I think after his performance today, Pods is now the most reviled Sox player. (although that could change as soon as Javy or Freddy pitches). Pods had another miserable day at the plate. He went 0-4 with 2 K's, but at least he had a nice running catch in the outfield.

-Quote of the day by DJ (This isn't an exact quote, but it's pretty accurate)

"When you're a pitcher facing a line up like this you just gotta think what am I supposed to do against a nine legged octopus?"

-Big Ups of the Day to 3-4-5 hitters. They combined for 6 hits, 4 BB's, 3 R's, and 6 RBI's.

Sox Player of the Game




Javier Vazquez (2)






Sox Record:65-43

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