The Two Faces of White Sox Baseball: Game 131 Thoughts

Sox win 12-9! *Sigh of relief*

-Today we got to see a bunch of good things from our Sox and a lot of bad things as well. Everytime we did something good, something bad was sure to follow. (I'll try to keep the chronology of the game in tact)

Good - Mr. MVP, Jermaine Dye, followed up his Player of the Week award with a three-run shot. It was an omen of things to come, lots and lots of runs.

Bad - The D-Rays ran at will on us. They stole 4 bases and had they not been hitting so well and needed to manufacture runs, I'm sure they would have ran even more.

Good - Every Sox hitter, save for Uribe, got a hit. Crede had 4, AJ had 2, and Gload had 2.

Bad - Freddy decided his lead was too large, and stopped pitching well. Giving up 2 of his 5 runs in the third.

Good - The Sox stole some bases of their own; one each for Pods and Gooch. I liked both steals; they were at appropriate times.

Bad - Freddy continued to give up runs. It wasn't a big game, so you can't blame him. (Those sarcasm detectors should be going beserk right now).

UGLY - Joey Cora waved Paulie home on a routine double in the 6th. Paulie, predictably, was out by a mile. The only way he would have been safe would be if Baldelli air-mailed the throw, but considering how much time he had, that would have been VERY unlikely.

Good - Ozzie gave the ball to Neal Cotts with a 6 run lead. Even Neal couldn't blow that lead right?

Bad - He tried his hardest. Giving up 2 runs in a third of an inning of work.

Good - Ozzie yanked him promptly.

Bad - Ozzie then gave the ball to Riske, who proceeded to give up 2 runs with out recording an out.

Good- Matt Thornton came on and showed us all he's a freakin' fireman. Thank you Seattle, thank you. Matt Thornton is now '05 Neal Cotts. Neal Cotts is now a blend of Damaso Marte and 'o6 Cliff Politte.

Bad - Bobby Jenks is in the game. On a night that we score 12 runs, I never want to see the closer wasted.

Good - Bobby takes care of business, cuz he's a mad mother shut-your-mouth. Jenks gave the Sox the lead in the Wild Card standings and put himself atop the list for saves.

Onto the awards...

Bad Ozzie Move of the Day - Going to Riske after Cotts. I think we all had a bad feeling when Riske came in.

Good Ozzie Move of the Day - I like the other personnel moves he made today. I like the lineup with Gload and BA in the lineup, and I like going to Cotts with a huge lead. Neal needs confidence and that's the perfect opportunity for him.

Play of the Game - With 1 out in the eighth, runners on second and third with one out, and the Sox clinging to a 11-8 lead, Thornton got Upton to ground out to Uribe. Yes a run scored, but that out stopped the momentum and let everyone breathe a little easier.

Big Ups of the Night - To the offense, especially JD and Pods. Pods had himself a nice game reaching base 3 times, scoring twice, and even driving in a run.

Sox Player of the Game - I give it to Joe Clutch. 4 hits, 2 RBI's and a nice double.





Joe Crede (13)





Sox Record: 77-54... 1/2 up in the WC standings!