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An unhappy Robin Ventura speaks to the press after today’s 8-3 loss.
After an RBI single by Adam Dunn and a two-run homer by Paul Konerko within the first three innings, it looked like the White Sox would be in good shape with a 3-0 lead. Unfortunately it was all the Sox could come up with as Dunn would finish the game with a fly out and two walks. While Konerko would finish with two strikeouts, and the Sox would only get two base runners for the remainder of the game.
Tampa Bay on the other hand got plenty of production from their lineup. The top five hitters in their batting order finished the game hitting a combined 6-for-12 with 5 RBI’s, and putting Sox pitchers Dylan Axelrod and Nate Jones out of their misery. Not helping matters was the Sox pitching staff as a whole walking six batters, combined with a crucial fielding error by Alex Rios in the top of the eighth inning.
The White Sox as a team today finished the game batting 6-for-26 with 12 strikeouts and stranding five base runners. The Rays as a team went 10-for-35 with two home runs, and with six of their eight total runs coming in the last four innings. Despite a six inning, three run, and three strikeout game by Dylan Axelrod, Nate Jones wound up taking the loss for the White Sox when he gave up three runs with game tied at three in the top of the sixth inning.
Being down 6-3 in the eighth inning is still a reasonable deficit. Especially when Matt Thornton and Jesse Crain relieved Jones and didn’t allow a single base runner in between them. But with the Sox offense going 0-for-5 in the final two innings, and with the Rays able to get two more insurance runs in the top of the ninth off of Sox reliever Duente Heath, this one was pretty much over.
The 22,677 fans started leaving U.S. Cellular Field after Heath had given up those runs with nobody out. Overall it was just another bad day at the office for the South Siders. After the game a frustrated Robin Ventura told the media “We had it early on but we let it get away from us. We stopped hitting, and it eventually caught up to our pitching staff.”
When asked if the string of injuries on this roster have played a part in the teams recent slump Ventura said, “Injuries are gonna happen. We can’t worry about who’s not here. We can only worry about who’s here and who’s available and that is what we have to work with.” It must be noted that the White Sox do have some good news on the injury front in the case of pitcher John Danks.
It was announced that Danks would make his first rehab start of 2013 on May 2nd for the White Sox AA team the Birmingham Barons. However, there is still no timetable as to when Danks will return to the Sox rotation. But for the moment, the White Sox have now lost back-to-back games and are 3-6 in their last nine. They are currently being outscored 31-24 in this stretch.
It only continues to get difficult as the Sox will hit the road for an eight game road trip in which they’ll pay visits to the Rangers, Royals, and the Mets before returning home to begin a three game set with Anaheim on May 10th. Here is the box score from today’s game:
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There was some rain that moved through the Chicago area earlier this morning but it looks like we will get the game in today. The White Sox are wrapping up their four game series with the Tampa Bay Rays this afternoon. The Sox have been on an up and down roller coaster lately as they are 3-5 in their last eight games.
Overall the “Good Guys” are 10-13 on the season and they currently sit fourth in the American League Central Division. They are 3.5 games behind the first place Kansas City Royals. The reason for this unbalanced season is their lack of offense at times. During this eight game stretch the Sox have been outscored 23-21.
Adam Dunn has struggled at the plate this year as he is only batting .134 with just five home runs and 10 runs batted in. He has also struck out 30 times in 2013. Paul Konerko has also had his rough patches as he is only hitting .232 with three home runs, 12 RBI’s, and just a .229 on base percentage.
Other players have also had tough times in the batters box including Tyler Flowers, Jeff Keppinger, and Alejandro De Aza. The lack of hitting at times has put a great deal of stress on this White Sox pitching staff. Another issue that has been a thorn in the side of the South Siders is injuries.
Second baseman Gordan Beckham is still out with a wrist injury, outfielder Dayan Viciedo is out with an oblique strain, infielder Jeff Keppinger is day-to-day with back spasms, and it was just announced within the last couple of hours that pitcher Gavin Floyd is going on the 15-day disabled list because of a strain in his right flexor muscle.
The White Sox are the walking wounded at the moment and they are depending on some younger players to fill those voids in the meantime. As for the Rays, they are 11-13 this year. But they did manage to snap the White Sox three-game winning streak last night. The 10-4 victory gives them the chance to even up the series at two games a piece today.
Evan Longoria, James Loney, and Ben Zobrist have been the big pieces to the Rays offense this season. They combined for five RBI’s and five scored runs in last night’s victory. Manager Joe Maddon will be leaning on these three men again today. Both teams will have a chance for success this afternoon as they will be sending winless pitchers to the mound when the game starts just after 1pm.
Dylan Axelrod will get the nod for the Sox as he is 0-1 on the year with a 3.80 earned run average. The Rays will counter with David Price who is 0-2 with a 5.52 ERA. If the Sox can score some runs and take advantage of a lackluster pitcher in Price they can be successful today.
Here are today’s starting lineups:
Tampa Bay:
1. CF #8 Desmond Jennings
2. RF #20 Matt Joyce
3. SS #17 Ben Zobrist
4. 3B #3 Evan Longoria
5. 1B #21 James Loney
6. 2B #19 Ryan Roberts
7. DH #2 Kelly Johnson
8. C #59 Jose Lobaton
9. LF #1 Sean Rodriguez
Pitcher: #14 David Price LHP
White Sox:
1. LF #30 Alejandro De Aza
2. 2B #1 Tyler Greene
3. RF #51 Alex Rios
4. DH #14 Paul Konerko
5. 1B #32 Adam Dunn
6. SS #10 Alexei Ramirez
7. 3B #12 Conor Gillaspie
8. C #21 Tyler Flowers
9. CF #28 Dewayne Wise
Pitcher: #33 Dylan Axelrod RHP
This game will be decided by who can score the most runs. You can get game updates from me on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports
The White Sox celebrate their opening day victory.
Opening Day in Major League Baseball always has the bells and whistles. Today the national anthem was sung by one of Chicago’s prominent media families, Phil Ponce and his sons Anthony and Dan. It was followed up by former White Sox and Royals outfielder Bo Jackson throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
Afterwards Jackson jokingly told the media: “I’ll give you 100-1 odds that my team is gonna win today. You can quote me on that.” If anyone bet money on those odds they are probably a rich person now. Jackson played for the White Sox from 1991-1993 and won a division title with the franchise.
As for the game……
What happens when you get very little offense but a solid pitching effort? You get a White Sox victory. It wasn’t pretty, then again it never is when it comes to the South Siders. The Sox have always had a reputation for “Winning Ugly”, and today was no different. Despite the winter-esque weather today, 39,012 managed to show up to sellout U.S. Cellular Field.
The fans would go home happy thanks to a marvelous effort from starting pitcher Chris Sale. In 7.2 innings, he allowed 7 hits but no runs, no walks, and he had six strikeouts. He threw a total of 103 pitches, 72 of which were strikes. The White Sox bullpen held it down and did the rest.
Nate Jones was first in relief, he didn’t officially pitch an inning but he walked a batter and threw a wild pitch. Matt Thornton only faced one batter but did strike him out. Addison Reed got his first save of the 2013 season in one inning of play. He did walk a batter but did get a strikeout to end the game.
The only run of the day came in the bottom of the 5th inning thanks to a solo home run by White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers. The Sox did get eight hits today but stranded eight base runners. Alex Rios, Adam Dunn, and Paul Konerko finished a combined 2-11 with 3 strikeouts. Rios got the only two hits out of the three.
He also had the only stolen base of the day for the White Sox. Lead-off man Alejandro De Aza also had a rough day as he went 0-4 and struck out twice. Alexei Ramirez had two singles, Gordon Beckham, Jeff Keppinger, and Dayan Viciedo had combined for the rest of the teams hits.
It’s always good when your team gets the victory. I know it’s only the first day, but if the big bats in the White Sox lineup can’t get things going it will create some problems down the line. But for now, let’s enjoy this victory.
Both teams will get to rest tomorrow but the series does resume from U.S. Cellular Field on Wednesday. The starting pitchers have yet to be announced. Here is the box score from today’s game:
With today being April Fools Day, Mother Nature must be playing a joke on us because it is only 35 degrees here in Chicago today. 35 degrees is the minimum temperature that Major League Baseball allows games to be played in. So let’s just hope and pray that it doesn’t get any colder here at U.S. Cellular Field.
The White Sox still have a bitter taste in their mouths after last season’s August/September collapse which ultimately cost them a trip to the playoffs. They hope not to make the same mistakes in 2013, but they will do it with some new additions to the roster. Kevin Youkilis is no longer the third baseman here on the South Side.
Long-time utility man Jeff Keppinger will man the hot corner this season, last year the right hander suited up for Tampa Bay. Also gone is fan favorite catcher A.J. Pierzynski. Of course A.J. wasn’t always a favorite with his teammates, but today is a new day. Tyler Flowers who spent years either as the backup or in AAA, will finally get his chance to be the full-time starter.
The biggest surprise is that Paul Konerko is still wearing a White Sox uniform. The only question is how much longer will be still be a good guy in black?
There are some other new faces as well, mostly younger players. But most of the core players from 2012 are still on the roster. Today they open the season against the Kansas City Royals. Even though the Royals finished in third place with a below .500 record last season, they gave the White Sox problems all year. They were also instrumental in keeping the Sox out of the postseason.
They come into this year with a blended mix of season veterans and hungry young players. Today everyone is 0-0 with a chance to start fresh and erase the bad memories of 2012. Robin Ventura is in his 2nd season as the White Sox manager. He is glad to finally come home to start the season after a lengthy winter in Arizona. If only the weather could reflect how he feels.
Kansas City is headed by Ned Yost who is in his fourth season as the Royals skipper. He is hoping to get his team above the .500 mark and to become a division contender. Today’s pitching match up will be interesting to say the least. The South Siders will send Chris Sale to the hill this afternoon.
Sale was one of the better pitchers on Robin Ventura’s staff last year. He finished the 2012 campaign with 17 wins, 8 losses, and an earned run average of 3.05. He also had 192 strikeouts to just 51 walks. If he can keep up that consistency this year, the Sox should be in good shape.
Kansas City will counter with 31-year-old right hander James Shields. This is his first year in a Royals uniform as he played in Tampa Bay from 2006-2012. Last year he sported a 15-10 record with a 3.52 ERA.
Here are the rest of the lineups for both teams.
Kansas City:
1. #4 Alex Gordon LF
2. #2 Alcides Escobar SS
3. #16 Billy Butler DH
4. #8 Mike Moustakas 3B
5. #13 Salvador Perez C
6. #35 Eric Hosmer 1B
7. #6 Lorenzo Cain CF
8. #21 Jeff Francoeur RF
9. #17 Chris Getz 2B {Former White Sox player}
1. #30 Alejandro De Aza CF
2. #7 Jeff Keppinger 3B
3. #51 Alex Rios RF
4. #32 Adam Dunn DH
5.#14 Paul Konerko 1B
6. #24 Dayan Viciedo LF
7. #10 Alexei Ramirez SS
8. #21 Tyler Flowers C
9.# 15 Gordon Beckham 2B
You can follow me on Twitter for game update @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports
After yesterday’s big victory over the Detroit Tigers, the White Sox now begin a road trip that could make or break their playoff hopes. Tonight the Sox begin a six game road trip in Kansas City.
When the South Siders last met the Royals a couple of weeks ago, they came to U.S. Cellular Field and took two out of three games from the Sox.
Overall, the Good Guys In Black are just 5-10 against K.C. this year. The third place Royals who are 14 games below the .500 mark, are licking their chops today.
They would love nothing more than to destroy the White Sox playoff aspirations this year. The Sox are aware that the Royals have nothing to lose.
They are also aware that the Royals are out to play spoiler to give their season some sense of purpose. The White Sox need to be on their P’s and Q’s for the next three games.
The South Siders can only go as far as their pitching will take them. Gavin Floyd will take the hill tonight, but how effective will he be considering he’s still healing from his recent injury?
If Jose Quintana’s struggles yesterday are any indication of the difficult road that lies ahead, then the Sox have their work cut out for them.
The bullpen has stood it’s ground over the last few games but they can’t be perfect every day. The Royals will bring all of their firepower against the Sox.
The Sox need to win at least two of the three games against K.C. to stay ahead of Detroit. After Kansas City the Sox head out to Anaheim for three games to take on the Angels.
The Sox are 6-5 when playing in the pacific time zone this year and scoring an average of four runs in those games. Those six victories were not easy and historically, the Sox have had difficulty when playing out west.
Robin Ventura’s squad finishes the season next week with a seven game home stand. Home is where the heart is but the Sox need to take care of business on the road first.
The magic number to clinch the American League Central Division title stands at 14.
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Well the big story of the night is our beloved Chicago Bulls. They soundly defeated the Orlando Magic on their home turf by a final score of 85-59. Although Magic Center Dwight Howard still had a double-double, the Bulls were able to keep his numbers low with just 12 points and 18 rebounds. The Bulls defense was just overwhelming tonight.
The rest of Orlando’s starters only scored a total of 27 points, while Orlando’s bench players {which include former Bulls Guard Chris Duhon} only scored a combined 13 points. I wonder if “Superman” regrets not getting traded after this loss. The Bulls have now won 4 in a row without both Derrick Rose and Richard Hamilton.
Rose is still day to day with a pulled groin, and Hamilton is still day to day with that separated shoulder. There is no timetable set for their returns, but with back to back games against the Toronto Raptors coming up, the Bulls are in no rush to bring them back unless they are %100. Plus the Bulls have proven they can win without them.
Even more good news for the Bulls is that tonight’s victory has given Head Coach Tom Thibideau his 100th career victory as a head coach. He is also the fastest coach to accomplish this feat. I see red and perhaps a championship.
After all, they did embarrass the Miami Heat last week. We got a lot of hockey news to cover. The Blackhawks ride a 3 game winning streak into Columbus tomorrow night to take on the division rival Blue Jackets. Johnathan Toews and Niklas Hjalmarsson are still questionable, but the Blackhawks are confident that they can beat Columbus without them.
After defeating Lake Erie and Toronto over the weekend, the Wolves are off for the next couple of days before finishing their three game road trip against believe or not, Lake Erie. The Wolves are 7-1 during the month of March and because of their amazing play they have moved up to 3rd in the AHL’s Western Conference playoff picture.
The Wolves are still a ways away from clinching a playoff spot, but they are on the right track. And there is the Chicago Express. Of course as I reported on Sautrday night, their 4 game winning streak was broken by the Trenton Titans. Well the Express had a rematch with the Titans on Sunday night. However instead of starting a new winning streak, their losing streak is now 2 in a row.
They lost once again to the Titans 5-4 in overtime. The Express are now finished with non-division games and will only play division games for the remainder of the season. But all hope is not lost, thanks to the Cincinnati Cyclones losing 2 in a row of their own over the weekend the Express managed to gain a point. And because of that point they are now tied with Cincinnati for the final playoff spot in the ECHL’s Eastern Conference.
The Express are off tomorrow but will go head to head with Cincinnati on Wednesday. The Express have a chance to take that #8 spot, and have their own destiny in their hands. After Wednesday, they play a home-and-home series with the Kalamazoo Wings on Friday and Saturday. And then on Sunday afternoon the Toledo Walleye come calling to the Sears Centre, face off is at 4pm.
And I will be in the press box for that contest so keep your browser locked on Q101.com for my live reports. In college hoops, the DePaul Lady Blue Demons fell to the mighty Tennessee Lady Volunteers 63-48. Their hopes of finally reaching the lady’s Sweet 16 were dashed on their home court at Allstate Arena. Pat Summit proves to be the better coach once again.
On the men’s side, Illinois State had a date on the west coast with Stanford in the 2nd round of the 2012 NIT. But it would wind up being the last game of the season for ISU as they fell 92-88 in Palo Alto. Despite having three players scoring 20 points in the game, the Redbirds just did not have enough firepower to keep up with the Cardinal. But the Redbird nation does have something to look forward to for next season.
In soccer, the Chicago Fire will have most of the week off before facing Philadelphia on Saturday. The Fire just came off a 1-1 tie with Montreal in their 2012 regular season opener over the weekend. The Fire hope to gain their first victory of the 2012 season this weekend.
The only big NFL story of the day is that former Colts Quarterback Peyton Manning has signed with the Denver Broncos. And as a result, the Broncos are looking to trade Tim Tebow. Despite the progress Tebow has made, Broncos Vice President John Elway felt that the Broncos needed a veteran signal caller now instead of building for the future.
And with that in mind the Broncos offered Manning a contract reportedly worth $95 million. Hopefully the Broncos have made the right decision.
As for Arena Football, the Rush continue to practice in preparation for game #2 on the 2012 season. The Orlando Predators fly into Allstate Arena on Thursday night with kickoff at 7:30pm. Rush Quarterback Russ Michna and Linebacker Kelvin Morris won player of the week awards last week, both men are looking to add to their accolades.
And with the AFL’s labor dispute now in the past, the Rush will no longer have distractions and can focus on football. I will be covering the Rush game this Thursday night, so keep it here on Q101 for my reports from Allstate Arena. As for the other indoor football team in town, the Chicago Slaughter will take their 1-2 record into Cedar Rapids on Friday night.
And finally, in Spring Training the Cubs beat Seattle 12-7 and the White Sox lose to Cincinnati 1-0 in the Cactus League. If you plan on attending the Rush game on Thursday and/or the Express game on Sunday. Don’t be afraid to say hi if you see me making my way through the arenas.
You can follow me on Twitter: @GabeSalgado82 Hashtag: #Q101Sports
A 51-year-old man accused of breaking into White Sox general manager Kenny Williams’ Chicago home was arrested after police found him wearing Williams’ clothes and his 2005 World series ring, authorities said.
Williams told NBC5 that the burglar drank his beer, ate frozen pizza, surfed the internet and kicked his shoes off on the bed. He even defrosted a lobster. Wayne L. Field III, of the 900 block of West Lawrence Ave. is charged with residential burglary after allegedly entering the home and taking several articles of clothing, a set of keys and jewelry, police said.
NBC5 reported the victim was Kenny Williams and that Field was found by police wearing Williams’ clothes and his World Series ring.
READ MORE HERE
Source: http://www.suntimes.com/news/9002390-418/man-breaks-into-kenny-williams-downtown-home-defrosts-lobster.html
Last week the White Sox filled their managerial void by hiring former Sox 3rd baseman Robin Ventura to replace Ozzie Guillen. Now, some Sox fans were disappointed by General Manager Kenny Williams’ decision to hire Ventura when guys like Terry Francona are available, especially since Ventura has no prior experience as a manager. Ventura had been employed with the White Sox in their Player Development Department since 2010. He had been working with the Sox minor league players.
Ventura was one of the most talented players the South Siders have ever had. But he has not proven himself as a coach or manager. And after the departure of Ozzie Guillen, Sox fans were hoping for a proven manager with a winning track record. It seems obvious that the White Sox front office did not want to spend top dollar for a manager, something that has angered the south side faithful. And while Kenny Williams and Owner Jerry Reinsdorf deny it, Sox fans believe that the organization has raised the white flag and is planning to rebuild.
With that being said, there is still a chance that former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona could still come to Chicago. The Cubs have not yet decided if they will keep current Manager Mike Quade. And with the Cubs seeking a new general manager, there’s a good chance that changes will be made within the Cubs dugout. In my last article, I had mentioned what Terry Francona brings to the table: http://q101.com/2011/10/is-terry-chicago-bound/
Any team would be lucky to have Terry Francona under contract. But after the disaster that was the 2011 season, the Cubs would be a perfect fit for Francona. I also touched on this in my previous article. So there is still hope that Terry Francona could still end up managing in Chicago. But in the meantime, Mr. Francona will be in the broadcast booth for Fox’s coverage of the American League Championship Series.
You can follow me anytime on Twitter @GabeSalgado82, you can also friend me on Facebook athttp://www.facebook.com/GabeSalgado82 you can even find me on Myspace athttp://www.myspace.com/gws1182. And I hope you had a chance to check out the latest film from Deb Renner: www.composedthemovie.com
Look, Q101.com realizes it has more shirtless men on our site than The Pride Parade's Flickr account...but this one was TOO good to pass up!
Ozzie Guillen is out as White Sox Manager, Mike Quade’s future is in doubt as the Cubs make changes in their front office, so why not bring in a manager that has 2 world series rings? Terry Francona managed the Philadelphia Phillies from 1997-2000 and the Boston Red Sox from 2004-2011. His best years were in Boston, and during his time there he broke the Red Sox Curse of the bambino by winning the World Series in both 2004 and 2007. His record as a manager stands at 744 wins, 552 losses, with a winning percentage of .574
His postseason record alone stands at 28 wins, 17 losses, a .622 winning percentage, and the 2 aforementioned world series championships. Both the Cubs and White Sox would be ideal fits for Francona, and here’s how: Both teams will {hopefully} pay top dollar to get him in their clubhouse. The fans on both sides of Chicago tend to idolize winning managers. After the success of Ozzie Guillen, the White Sox could really use another successful, big name manager to re-establish a winning tradition.
The White Sox haven’t had a 700 win manager in their dugout since Paul Richards back in 1976 back at Old Comiskey Park. They last won the World Series in 2005, so bringing in Francona would be a historic move in some regard. Lou Piniella was the Cubs most recent 700+ win manager. However he was unable to bring a world series title to Chicago, the Cubs last won it all in 1908. And since Francona broke Boston’s curse, perhaps he can be the man to finally break the Curse of the Billy Goat.
Aside from winning, Francona is also known for maintaining solid pitching staffs. As the Red Sox manager, Boston had one of the best pitching staffs in baseball. With the Cubs needing an overhaul with their pitching, and the White Sox possibly needing to replace both Mark Buehrlie and Jake Peavy, Terry Francona is the man for Chicago. Francona also has a reputation for having multiple .300 hitters in his lineups every year.
This year alone he had David Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Jose Iglesias, and Adrian Gonzalez all batting with an average of .300 or better. Terry Francona could help Adam Dunn get back to his game as a solid hitter, and improve the White Sox batting overall. In 2011, only Reed Johnson, Aramis Ramirez, Starlin Castro, and Carlos Zambrano were .300 hitters for the Cubs. Ramirez and Zambrano will not be back in 2012 and are rumored to be heading to Miami to join Ozzie Guillen with the Florida Marlins.
But with Alfonso Soriano and Marlon Byrd still on the payroll {for now}, and with Starlin Castro as the face of the franchise, Francona will still have something to work with should he join the Cubs. So either team would be a win win situation for Terry Francona. And one way or another, Chicago will have a winning and possibly championship contending baseball team in 2012. So let the bidding wars begin for Terry Francona’s services!
By Q101.com Blogga Gabe Salgado
You can follow me anytime on Twitter @GabeSalgado82, you can also friend me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GabeSalgado82 you can even find me (really) on Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/gws1182. Gabe: And I would like to give a shout out to my homegirl Deb Renner, check out her latest movie: www.composedthemovie.com
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