I hate when the White Sox aren't playing baseball.  The offseason is horrible, the postseason when they aren't in it is usually worthless to me.  I just hate it.  I'm not saying the teams in the postseason are worthless.  I just hate when the Sox aren't playing.  Which is one of the reasons I haven't blogged since the postseason started.  There's nothing really to talk about until Kenny Williams starts making some offseason moves.

This Year in Baseball Awards
I guess there are a few things I can talk about.  MLB.com has their "This Year in Baseball" awards up for voting.  A few of my Sox are up for some awards.  Matt Thornton is in the running for Setup Man of the Year.  Matt had an amazing season.  24 holds with a 2.74 ERA.  And 87 strikeouts.  Matt is pretty much awesome.  I'm glad we have him.  I never worried when Matt came in, although there were a few times when he slipped up.  He is human, so I don't expect perfection out of him.

Speaking of perfection, Mark Buehrle's perfecto is up for Performance of the Year.  As is Paul Konerko's game July 7 against Cleveland.  He went 3-for-4 in that game with three home runs (including a grand slam) and 7 RBIs.  While Paulie's accomplishment is completely awesome, I'd be veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery surprised if Buehrle doesn't win this.  And nothing against everyone else in that category, but perfection is more amazing than all these other performances.  Although aside from my Sox performances and Jonathan Sanchez's no-hitter, I think Chris Carpenter's performance is the coolest.  It was the October 1 game against the Nationals where he pitched five innings with no earned runs and hit a grand slam and batted in six runs.  When I think "pitcher," I don't think of one HITTING a grand slam.  So that's a cool performance.

The Sox also have a Play of the Year nominee.  I'm sure you can guess what it is.  Yeah, it's Dewayne Wise preserving perfection.  I'm still upset that I didn't get to watch or listen to the game live, but I saw numerous replays of "The Catch."  Honestly, who DIDN'T see replays of that?  It might be the best catch I've ever seen.  Sure, I'm probably biased, but come on.  How awesome was that catch?  I still get chills when I watch that.  He came off the bench RIGHT before that batter as a defensive replacement.  That was absolutely amazing.

The final Sox nominee is Gordon Beckham as Rookie of the Year.  I think by now you all know how much I adore Beckham.  He greatly exceeded my expectations.  When he was drafted, I had heard people say he was gonna be a great addition to the Sox and how they couldn't wait for him to climb through the minors and make it to the big leagues.  Little did we know that a year after he was drafted, he'd debut for the Sox.  And Gordon was better than people said he was.  He started off a little slow, but I think that was more due to nerves and the high expectations placed on him.  I was at the game against the Tigers where he got his first Major League hit.  I've been to games where the Sox have won.  I've been to games where the Sox have hit huge game-changing home runs.  But I've never personally been to a game where the crowd cheered SO LOUDLY for a hit.  Not only did Gordon come out and exceed the expectations I had for him based on others' opinions, he came out and, for a while, carried this team on his back.  He emerged as a leader, and I know he'll be a great addition to this squad for years to come.

Rookie of the Year
While the official Rookie of the Year award won't come out for a little while, Gordon Beckham has already been recognized twice as an amazing rookie.  The Sporting News and the MLB Players Association both named Beckham as Rookie of the Year/Outstanding AL Rookie.  The recognition from the MLBPA allowed Beckham to give a grant to the charity of his choice.  Beckham chose to split it between the National Parkinson Foundation and the Children's Hospital of Illinois.  He chose the National Parkinson Foundation because his father's stepfather has been suffering from the illness, and "it's a diseased that [he] would like to see get out of here."  He chose the Children's Hospital of Illinois partially because he respects Jim Thome, who has worked with the hospital for a while.  Beckham has said Thome has been a big inspiration to him, so he is trying to return some kindness shown to him by Thome.

I know I'm biased since I'm a Sox fan, but I really hope Beckham gets the Rookie of the Year award.  Considering he was in the minors for the first two months of the season, it's awesome that we had such a great rookie on our team.  Beckham was asked who he would vote for as Rookie of the Year, and his choice was his teammate Chris Getz.  Chris had a great season as well, and I think he was a bit overshadowed by Gordon coming up and being phenomenal.  Not only is Chris an excellent player, he's an amazingly nice guy.  I got his autograph at Field of Dreams at Woodfield at the beginning of the month.  Like, a few days after he had surgery for his sports hernia.  When I went into Field of Dreams about a week before the signing, I bought a couple of pictures for Chris to sign, and I found out that this was the first free signing they've ever had.  Yes, Chris Getz came out to Schaumburg and signed autographs for an hour and a half FOR FREE.  I'm so glad we have such wonderful players on our squad.  They give back to the community, they sign autographs at the mall for free.

SoxFest 2010
I'M GOING!!!!  I purposely set an alarm for 9:50am on Monday so I could be up and awake so I could buy SoxFest tickets when they went on sale at 10am.  :)  Rachel and I will be spending January 22-24 at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago, getting autographs, taking pictures of and with Sox players, listening to seminars, and having an all-around wonderful time.  I really hope I can afford this every year because when I went in 2008, it was literally one of the best weekends everrrrrrr.  Not just because it was the weekend AJ Pierzynski told me I was pretty.  Although that helped hahaha!

Final Musings
It's a Phillies-Yankees World Series.  I don't think I've ever been so bored with a World Series since I started actively watching in 2004.  Meh.  What can you do.  They outplayed everyone in their leagues, so here they are.

A lot of people I follow on Twitter are making a big deal about Nick Swisher being benched for Game Two tonight.  Why?  Do we think he's gonna pout and act like a whiny b*tch like he did when Ozzie benched him at the end of the 2008 season?  I'd bench him too cuz he's got a pretty crappy average for the postseason.  If Jerry Hairston can hit better, why keep him out of the lineup?

Speaking of Ozzie, he's doing the pre- and postgame shows on Fox for the World Series.  I love Ozzie.  Hence the reason I'm trying to watch all these shows.  :)

Albert Pujols says he wants to spend the rest of his career with the Cardinals.  I fail to see why this is surprising.  I can't see him in any other uniform but a Cards uniform.  Then again, I said the same thing about Brett Favre and the Packers and look how that turned out.

Speaking of Brett Favre, can we stop with the "Brett Returns to Lambeau" coverage?  I understand this is the first time he'll be back there and he's no longer a Packer, but STOP IT.  Every time I turn on ESPN it's Brett Favre this and Brett Favre that.  I'm sure Shannon enjoys the excessive Favre coverage, but it's way too much.  (UPDATE: Shannon does not like the Favre coverage.  She says, "I actually, surprisingly, do not like all the Favre coverage. It just makes me more nervous. And makes more people hate him.  Seriously, if they lose to the Pack..I will probably cry and be pissed and lose sleep..we don't want that.  Then ESPN will be replaying THAT over and over again. The loss and how Packers were right and blah blah.")

Apparently some Cleveland Browns fans are encouraging other Cleveland Browns fans to show up late for the November 16 Monday Night Football game against the Ravens in protest of how crappy the team has been playing.  Ummmm...wouldn't it be a bigger protest if you didn't show up at all?  Just eat the money you spent and just don't go.  I think that'll send a bigger message than coming in late.  Besides, they'll probably still only have one win by then.  Actually, let me rephrase that.  They BETTER still only have one win by then considering they play my Bears this week and have a bye next week.

Speaking of my Bears, they need to get their sh*t together.  Did you see that craptacular performance last week?  I mean, holy crap!  45-10 loss against the Bengals.  They need to shape up and fly right otherwise the city of Chicago will be angrier than they already are.  So Chicago Bears, can you PLEASE bear down this weekend?  Especially because Sunday is the 10th anniversary of Walter Payton's death.  Win it for Walter.  (Also, you should probably follow Payton's son Jarrett on Twitter.  He's a great guy, and when I was at the Bears Expo in May, he and his sister Brittney signed a copy of the book they wrote with their mom.  Thanks again, Jarrett!)
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Scott Merkin for his article on Beckham.
Photo credits: AP; AP; SunTimes.com; ESPN.com

The 2009 White Sox season is over.  The Sox finished the season at 79-83.  But like I did last year, I'm writing my end-of-the-season letter to the White Sox.  Enjoy, bloggers.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Dear 2009 White Sox,

My letter to you last season started off full of worries about players coming back and/or leaving the 2008 team.  But as we all know, 2008 was a pretty good season.  We made the playoffs, which is always a goal.  After losing in the ALDS, we all started prepping for the 2009 season.

At the end of October, Joe Crede and Juan Uribe filed for free agency.  I wanted Joe back.  I felt like this team needed him back, even though his back started causing problems that the team didn't really want to deal with.  But I knew there wouldn't be an offer made.  Partly because of the back problems, but mostly because of Joe's agent, Scott Boras.  Sox fans know how Jerry Reinsdorf feels about Boras, so it was unlikely Joe would come back.  Part of me was OK with Uribe leaving.  Not that I didn't appreciate what Juan did with this club, because I did.  But 2008 was only a so-so year for Juan.  Eventually in the off-season, Juan signed with the Giants.  The Giants are my NL team of choice, so I was happy to see a former player on my other favorite team.  But it was Joe's arrival in Minnesota that hurt my heart in ways I can't explain.  But I knew you would work through it, White Sox.

Also at the end of October, you declined the options of Ken Griffey, Jr. and Toby Hall.  I understood why you didn't keep Griffey.  I love him and I always have because he's a great guy.  One of the best in baseball.  While it would have been great to have him on the team again, I understand that there were other options we had.  I was disappointed that you didn't keep Toby.  He was such a great guy, and for a backup catcher, he wasn't bad at all.  But I always trust Kenny Williams, even if I don't understand the moves he makes.

With those four guys leaving, I was wondering what was gonna happen with this team.  Guys called up from the minors?  Signing free agents?  Then you announced you had signed Jayson Nix, a Minor Leaguer from the Rockies organization.  I wasn't sure what to make of this signing, but I went with it.  With Uribe and Crede gone, we needed some infielders.  And if Jayson couldn't cut it, he could stay in the minors.

Then Orlando Cabrera filed for free agency.  We offered him arbitration which he declined, so we got some draft picks in return.  That was cool considering I had made it known that I really wasn't a fan of Cabrera.  Yeah, he's a decent player, but his personality irritated me immensely.  I can deal with pr*cks and *ssholes; many consider my favorite player to be both of those.  But there was something about Cabrera that was more than that.  So I was glad he left.

In the middle of November, you sent Nick Swisher to the Yankees for Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez, and Jhonny Nunez.  The outfield was pretty much overfilled, so sending Swish away was probably best for both parties.  Swish was fun, yes.  But he kinda sucked in 2008, and there was no way of knowing whether he would bounce back or keep sucking.  Turns out, he bounced back a bit, but I think you were better off without him.

You then announced that you signed Dayan Viciedo from Cuba and gave both Dewayne Wise and Wilson Betemit contracts.  And you also announced something that pleased me: Javy Vazquez was sent to the Braves with Boone Logan for Tyler Flowers, Brent Lillibridge, Jon Gilmore, and Santos Rodriguez.  I was never a Javy fan because he was good when you were bad, and he was bad when you were good.  I didn't want that anymore.  You also announced you signed Bartolo Colon to a one-year deal.  That confused me because I didn't hear good things about him since his Cy Young season.  But I still trusted Kenny.

The World Baseball Classic came around.  Several of you guys were invited.  Many of you turned down the invitation.  Matt Thornton went, and he was still highly effective.  Both John Danks and Carlos Quentin declined the invitation, stating their obligations were to the White Sox first.

Spring training was battle after battle for Sox players.  Second base, center field.  Eventually decisions were made, and the season began.  I wrote you guys an epic Opening Day blog.  It may be one of my favorite blogs I've written.  April and May worried me a little bit.  You guys didn't play suuuper well, and after two months, you had a 24-25 record.  But things couldn't stay bad for long, could they?  You brought back one of my favorites from the 2005 championship team: Scott Podsednik.  Pods brought a spark in May that we sorely needed.

In June and July, you went 29-25, but you stayed near the top of the division, fighting with the Tigers and Twins.  For a while, it looked like you could take the division.  In June, Gordon Beckham made his debut.  And one of the greatest days in my sporting life occurred on July 23 when Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game.  Dewayne Wise and that catch...wow.  But things started slumping after the perfecto.

You finished the season, August through October, 26-32.  This is when the bandwagon fan would have run screaming.  This is when new fans might stop watching games.  This was the beginning of the end.  But I stayed.  I stayed through all 162 games, no matter how excruciating they may have been.  Because you are my team, no matter what.  You may make me angry sometimes, but I always come back because there is always some point I can look to in the season that alleviates that anger.

I can look to highlights from early in the season.  Like April 13.  At 12:23pm CT, Jermaine Dye hit his 300th career home run.  At 12:26pm CT, Paul Konerko hit his 300th career home run.    This was the first time in Major League history that teammates reached a century mark of 300+ home runs in the same game.  How can I not look back at that and smile?  Later in the season, Jim Thome hit his 550th career home run.  Then we had rookies hitting homers.  Jayson Nix, Chris Getz, and Gordon Beckham each hit their first career home run.  Even Mark Buehrle hit his first career home run!

Then you brought back my Scottie Pods and brought up Gordon Beckham, both providing something that we needed.  Beckham has been in consideration for AL Rookie of the Year, and Pods brought back what we loved in 2005 with his wheels on the base paths.  Both of these guys proved to be incredibly valuable, and Pods was better than we expected.  Eventually you brought Freddy Garcia back, and he did better than expected as well.  The end of July marked the trade deadline.  Lo and behold, you come away with Jake Peavy.  After the deadline, you claimed Alex Rios off waivers.  Two additions to the team that will greatly help us in 2010.

I have to have an entire paragraph devoted to my favorite: AJ Pierzynski.  On April 29, he hit his 100th career home run, and he finished the season with a .300 batting average.  He is the first White Sox catcher to end the season with a .300-or-higher batting average.  AJ has truly gotten better this season, and although he'll be 33 in December, I don't see him on a decline for a while.  Congrats on a great season, AJ!

But my dearest White Sox, you provided me with the second greatest thing in Major League Baseball this season.  The greatest thing is a World Series championship.  While you fell short of that, you gave me July 23.  That was the second greatest day in my baseball life...second to October 26, 2005 when you won the World Series.  You gave me Mark Buehrle and his perfect game.  Unfortunately I didn't get to see it live because I was moving back to Chicago, but thanks to MLB.TV, I got to see the wonder that was a perfect game.  When I watched the game in a hotel room that night, I cried.  I was so happy to see Josh Fields hit a grand slam, I was so happy to see Dewayne Wise's catch, and I was so happy to see Mark and the team so happy.  That game was the highlight of a relatively mediocre season.

Despite the fact that the season was less than stellar, there are many positives I see for you, dear White Sox.  Jake Peavy will be here for several seasons.  As will Alex Rios.  Gordon Beckham and Chris Getz are phenomenal.  John Danks, Gavin Floyd, and Mark Buehrle are epic.  And today you picked up the options of Freddy Garcia and Matt Thornton.  Carlos Quentin is getting back on track after his bout with plantar fasciitis.  There are so many pieces in place that I know we'll be a threat for years to come.  I wonder what will happen with Jermaine Dye and Scott Podsednik in the offseason.  Lord knows I want them to come back, but Kenny Williams knows what is best for this team.  I trust him implicitly.

My White Sox, you give me a reason to look forward to the future, even after a season no one really enjoyed.  Opening Day 2010 is 181 days away.  While I won't dwell on how many days away it is because it makes the time pass more slowly, I know there are good things in store for you.  I know you'll make the appropriate moves to complete this team.

Thank you for the memories, and I can't wait to see what memories you'll have in store for me next year.

Always and forever a fan,
Jen
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Postseason Goodness
Today was the AL Central tiebreaker.  I don't need to recap...I'm sure you watched.  The Twins took it in 12 innings.  Meaning I can give you my divisional picks!  WOO!

NLDS: Colorado vs. Philadelphia
My heart says Colorado, but my head doesn't really know.  The Phillies are the defending champs, but that doesn't mean squat.  The Rockies have been hot as of late, so they could shock people who may possibly be counting them out.
Rockies in 5

NLDS: St. Louis vs. Los Angeles
My heart says St. Louis.  So does my head.  The Cards have done really well against the Dodgers this season.  Both teams have slumped a little in the final weeks of the season, but the Dodgers have slumped more, I think.
Cardinals in 4

ALDS: Red Sox vs. Angels
Honestly, I'm not a fan of either team.  Both teams are really good and play really well.  Since it could go either way, I think this series will take five games.
Angels in 5

ALDS: Twins vs. Yankees
You fought hard tonight, Twins.  But I think you're getting swept.  Sorry.
Yankees in 3

Photo credits: art.com; AP; Getty images; AP; unknown; Rachel Hassard on my camera

Earlier today, Mark linked to Diamondgirl55's blog on Twitter.  I'm a slacker to the max, and I always forget to actually comment on people's blogs.  Which means I forget to read them sometimes.  I feel bad.  I apologize.  I'll start again soon.  Back to the topic at hand.

Recently, Diamondgirl55 wrote a blog called "Major League Studlies ♥".  She mentioned that when she first started her blog, a guy commented on one of her entries that she was writing her blog to get male attention, how she doesn't know baseball, etc. etc.  It reminded me that I have to deal with this kind of thing offline all the time.  And I'm sure many of the female MLBloggers do too.  So I was inspired to write my own entry on the same topic.

I can talk baseball about as well as any man.  Actually, I can talk baseball and football about as well as any man.  I have a fan profile on ESPN because I did that Streak for the Cash thing for a while and then started fantasy baseball with some MLBloggers.  But I actually get on there and talk sports with a bunch of people.  Yeah, I've been hit on by a few pervs, but it comes with the territory.  But the people I talk to most often really know their sports.  And I can engage in a d*mn good conversation with them and hold my own.  I rattle off stats like no other.

I've been out at a bar with my friends or my dad and his friends or whatever, and sports will occasionally become a topic of conversation within the group or with other random people.  And there I am again, holding my own, making valid and factual arguments and backing them up with stats and general observations about the game as a whole.

My expertise is obviously White Sox baseball, but the fact that I can hold my own in a conversation about any team, any player, whatever means I know my sh*t.  The fact that I continually get put down because I'm a girl is ridiculous.

Diamondgirl also made another point that is so true.  The guy who commented on her blog said females only love baseball because of the tight uniforms and players.  She said it's not unprofessional to like what we look at.  She mentions cheerleaders and that guys stare at them too.



So why can't I sit there and stare at AJ Pierzynski, John Danks, Gordon Beckham, and other ridiculously hot baseball players?  If men can ogle cheerleaders and female athletes, why can't I drool over my boys?  I'm gonna continue with my chick comments, and if people don't like it, they can stop reading my blog.  But they'll miss out on some great baseball commentary.

The last thing that guy mentioned in Diamondgirl's blog was that females only learn baseball to get a guy's attention.  Which she promptly disputed.

When I go to a game, I always sit as close to the field as I can for a few reasons.  1) I can see the game better.  2) I want autographs.  3) Closer to the field = better pictures.  I could pay, like, $20 and get cheap seats, but I shell out more money so I can see my players better, not because I want male attention...unless it's from my players.  When I go to a game, I almost always wear the same thing: a jersey with either a Sox tee or black tank top under it, jeans, gym shoes, some makeup, and a Sox hat.  I wear makeup because I don't wanna look like crap if I get to talk to a player.  And it's not the same makeup I wear when I go to a club or something.  Foundation and concealer because I have acne, sometimes eyeliner, and mascara.  I don't wear it because I want some guy in the seats to hit on me.  I don't learn everything I can about my team and players because I'm looking for a boyfriend.  I don't learn about other teams and players because I want some guy to talk to me.  I learn it for me.  I learn it because I don't wanna sit in the stands like the stereotypical chick who's there for male attention.  I AM NOT THAT GIRL!

I love MLBlogs for many reasons.  One of them is the fact that most of the people here know I'm not that girl.  And they put up with my tendency to swoon over players because they know I know my sh*t.  I love you guys for that.  Seriously.  Don't ever change.

Final Musings
My friend Amy curled my hair with a straightener last night.  My hair is naturally stick straight.  Doesn't hold a curl with product in it, doesn't hold a curl without product in it.  It holds for, like, five minutes and falls flat.  But yesterday, it held!  I slept on it, woke up this morning...STILL CURLY!  I know how I'm curling my hair forever now.

I watched the Sox-Tigers game.  Hawk wasn't in the booth tonight, and it was weird for me.  Although Steve Stone and Mike Huff aren't bad.  I do miss Hawk because he amuses me.

I saw some White Sox tweets before the game about the Sox having an elimination number of one.  Technically true, but they were out of it when the Tigers won yesterday.  How you ask?  Well, I shall tell you.  Quoting gjdodger at WSI who put it incredibly simply, "Four of Detroit's games are against the Twins. If they lose all their games, Minnesota wins at least 83. The best the Sox can do is 82."

I've decided who I want to win the AL Central.  I have a strange reason for why I want this.  I want the Twins to win because they've had Joe Crede this season, and I adore Joe.

From regrets and failure I arise
To redefine all they expected of me

Sometimes I feel like I put too much of myself into this team.

There is so much talent on this roster.  We have at least two young pitchers who are ridiculously good at what they do.  We have a pitcher who threw not only a no-hitter in 2007 but a perfect game this season.  We have two players who have hit over 300 home runs, and up until the end of August, we had one that hit over 500.  Recently, we acquired the 2007 NL Cy Young winner.  We have the 2008 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up.  We have a rookie who is in serious contention for this year's award.  We have a player who would have won, in my opinion, the AL MVP award last year had he not broken his wrist.  And we have a catcher that's amazing at what he does that most everyone else hates.

But we've done very little with all that talent.

There was very little run support all season, and the team floundered more or less ever since Mark Buehrle's perfect game.  Gavin Floyd and John Danks have had so many wonderful outings that have been recorded as losses due to either no run support or a horrible bullpen outing.  Mark Buehrle has pitched well in several games after his perfecto, yet he was tagged with a loss.

Our bullpen has fluctuated so ridiculously all season that it worries me a bit.  DJ Carrasco has been awesome, Matt Thornton has been great, and Octavio Dotel has even been pretty good.  But Scott Linebrink and Tony Pena drive me to drink, and Bobby Jenks has been consistently worsening, and now he's out for the rest of the year with a torn calf muscle.  I have no idea what to do with this bullpen.

At the beginning of the season, it looked like this team was stacked with talent.  They played relatively well, then faltered a bit.  Then they brought up Gordon Beckham, and this team got hot again.  They played so well before they fell apart completely.  I was hopeful for this team.  I thought they could go far and be a great team.  But something didn't mesh, and everything fell apart.

But then I realize it could be worse.

(Note: this is where I potentially bash your team...sorry.)

I could be a Washington Nationals fan.  They currently have the worst record in baseball at 52-99.  The last time they were in the postseason was 1981.  (I wasn't alive yet.)  They've never won a World Series.  And it looks like they're investing all their hope in Stephen Strasburg.  Good luck, kid.

I could be a Pittsburgh Pirates fan.  This season, they set the record for most consecutive losing seasons in all of sports with 17.  They haven't won a World Series since 1979.  The last time they were in the postseason was 1992.  (I was six.)  They traded away some good players this season, so I don't even know what's happening with them next year.

I could be a San Diego Padres fan.  (Well, I sort of am.)  Their owners (I think) are going through a divorce, so this team is all kinds of messed up.  They traded Jake Peavy, their ace pitcher, to the Chicago White Sox (thank you!).  They've never won a World Series, but at least they had a recent postseason appearance when they made it to the 2006 NLDS.  They have Adrian Gonzalez, so at least there's that.  Once this divorce is over, I think they'll be better off.

I could be a San Francisco Giants fan.  (Well, I am a Giants fan.)  The city itself has never won a World Series, but the last title for the franchise was in 1954 when they were still in New York.  Their last postseason appearance was at least in this decade.  They made the 2003 NLDS, and that's about it.

I could be a Kansas City Royals fan.  Last World Series title was in 1985.  Their last postseason appearance?  Also 1985.  The only positive I see with that team is Zack Greinke unless he flounders atrociously next year.

I could be a Cleveland Indians fan.  Their last World Series title was in 1948, but they did make the 2007 postseason.  They lost a bunch of players to injuries this season, and I don't know what bright spots they have.  Well, Grady Sizemore is a bright spot when he's healthy.  I hate facing him.

After all this, I think of many people I know.  I think of my family.  Because it could be worse.  I could be a Chicago Cubs fan.  Their last World Series title was in 1908.  They were swept out of the postseason the last two seasons.  They haven't even been to the World Series since 1945.  They have to deal with players like Alfonso Soriano and Milton Bradley.

But I would NEVER be a Cubs fan.  Because I hate most of their fans.  Is my hatred of those Cubs fans excessive?  Maybe.  But I only hate the ones who consistently treat me like sh*t because I'm a Sox fan.  And the ones who go to Wrigley and basically turn it into a frat boy infested bar that happens to have live baseball in the middle of it.  And the ones that assume I know absolutely nothing about baseball because I'm a girl.  (Actually, that last one goes for all baseball fans, but it happens more often with Cubs fans because I live in Chicago.)  So I hate most of them.  Don't get me wrong; I know some awesome Cubs fans.  In fact, I'm related to some of them.  But unfortunately, the Cubs have more than a few bad apples spoiling the bunch.  The good apples are few and far between.

When I think of how many ups and downs the White Sox have had, it hurts my heart a little.  OK, more than a little.  It hurts a lot.  But then I think about 2010 and know we have a lot of pieces in place.  And then I read stories like this one.  The White Sox helped a young fan's wish come true, and her brother is a frequent poster at WSI, so he attested to how happy this made her.  We have a bunch of great guys in Chicago.  They do a lot of great things for people in this city, and I wouldn't change them for the world.

And yes, I'm jealous that she got to touch AJ's hair.  ;)

Photo credits: Getty images; AP; AP; Ron Vesely, White Sox

Semi-regular blogging returns!  Commenting will as well.  I can tell you're excited.  :)

Halfway to St. Patrick's Day
Final: 11-0 Royals

Friday night was Halfway to St. Patrick's Day at the Sox game.  So Rachel and I went.  Of course.  And because we're so full of awesome, we wore the exact same outfit.  :)  Our green Beckham t-shirts with the same long-sleeved white Sox shirt underneath.  And dark jeans.  We were adorable, no lie.  :)

In addition to Halfway to St. Patrick's Day, it was also the first White Sox Tweet-Up.  We got a free t-shirt that said "@whitesox, @whitesox.  Go go @whitesox." like the awesome Sox song.  :)  We got to meet some people from Twitter, and we enjoyed free food and drinks before the game.  It was pretty sweet.  Ron Kittle was there too, and I got a picture with him.  Awesome!  In addition to the free shirt, we got to put our names in for a raffle.  There were some signed pictures and a couple signed baseballs.  I was lucky enough to get a signed Gordon Beckham picture!  YAY!!!  Considering I, like, never win anything, this was awesome.  But poor Rachel hahaha.  EVERYONE around us won something except Rachel.  She was sad.

So after the Tweet-Up, we went to our AWESOME seats.  Section 137, row 13, seats 9 and 10.  That section is behind the Sox dugout, and it starts at row five.  So teeeeeeechnically, we were 8 rows up.  And really close to home plate.  Sweeeeeeeeet.  Stub Hub for the win, baby.  And Rachel for getting the tickets.  Yay.  There's a whole photo album of pictures from that night, and here's the link.  Rachel took all the pictures, and I stole them hahaha!

We have videos too!  And here they are!







OK, so the actual game.  It was a giant trainwreck.  We lost to the Royals.  Not only did we lose to the Royals, we were beaten like a rented mule.  11-0.  Yes, zero runs.  Zero.  How many hits did we get?  THREE.  In Ozzie's press conference afterwards, he said we got two.  Two of the hits were infield singles, and he said those count as half a hit.  Hahaha I love Ozzie.

I honestly don't even know what else to say about the game.  I mean, I had to "enjoy" that game sober because the margarita man never ever ever came down to our section.  I had to get up and get my own, which was weird.  So I only had one.  Hence that last video.  Oh, and Vince Vaughn was in the next section over.  People were getting kinda obnoxious about getting his autograph.  Just let the guy enjoy the game.  And let me enjoy the game too because you're not transparent.  I can't see through you.  Go sit down.  Thanks.

It's Peavy Time
Final: 13-3 White Sox

I missed watching the first few innings of Jake's debut because I was driving home from Burr Ridge.  Which isn't relatively close.  But I listened to the game on the radio, so I heard Jake's start.

It was worth the wait.

Peavy pitched five innings.  He gave up three earned runs on three hits, one of which was a solo homer to Billy Butler in the third.  He walked two and struck out five, and he threw 47 of his 73 pitches for strikes.  He did well, and I can't wait until his next start on Friday night against the Tigers.

From what I read, his location wasn't perfect, but considering he hasn't pitched in a Major League game since June, it wasn't bad.  His fastball reached 94mph and stayed in the 92-93mph range through his outing.  And apparently his slider was killer.  Good times, good times.

Per Scott Reifert's Twitter (@InsideTheSox), I have a Peavy quote.  And I'm so glad to hear it.  "The fans were great. That's fun. I'm proud to be a Chicago White Sox. They're going to have every bit of me that I can give."

You Must Be Joking
Final: 2-1 Royals

I didn't watch this game.  I was flipping between the Bengals-Packers game and the Vikings-Lions game.  But I got scoring alerts.  And I read Twitter.  And I know the only Sox RBI was an AJ Pierzynski single that scored Scott Podsednik.  Really, guys?  I don't even know what else to say (mostly because I didn't watch the game).

The Rest of the Season
Today starts a three-game set with the Twins, our last of the season.  We're sending out Daniel Hudson tonight (since Gavin Floyd's start is being skipped because of his hip), John Danks tomorrow (I wanna go to this game not only because I adore John Danks but also because it's country music night...too bad I can't afford tickets), and Mark Buehrle on Wednesday.  The Twins are sending out Nick Blackburn, Jeff Manship, and Brian Duensing.

We're 3.5 games behind the Twins, and 6.5 behind the Tigers.  We COULD gain some ground in this division since it seems like no one really wants to win it, but part of me doesn't think it'll happen.  It's not that I don't believe in my team.  I know they have the talent to be a great team, but the talent seems to be hiding right now.  That seems to be the story with most of the teams in this division.  They have the talent, but the talent decides to play hide-and-seek.

In addition to this three-game set with the Twins, we have another six games against the Tigers, three this weekend at home and three the last weekend of the regular season in Detroit.  We also play Cleveland for three games the 28th through 30th.  I don't know what's gonna happen.  In these last twelve games, we're either gonna suck massively or we're gonna play super spoiler.  There's no in between.  Technically, there's still a chance that we win the division.  But I think that would require a twelve-game sweep and an epic meltdown from both the Tigers and Twins. Possible, yes.  Probable, no.

I may be one of those crazy White Sox fans, but I'm not giving up until there is an E in the "Elimination Number" column on MLB.com.  My liver may not be pleased, my mental stability may be in jeopardy, but these are my White Sox.  These are my boys.  They may drive me crazy, but I love them.  I can't turn on them.  I can't bail on the season until there's no mathematical way they can win the division.

Final Musings
Apparently Joe Crede is done for the season and is having another back surgery.  I can't say I'm surprised since he had problems when he was with the Sox.  But I hope he can come back and play next season.  I love Joe Crede.  I will always love Joe Crede.  I don't want his career to end this way.  It makes me sad.

The Bears beat the Steelers yesterday.  I watched part of the game, but I was outside in my neighbor's backyard for most of it.  I did come in to see the last, like, 30 seconds with the Robbie Gould field goal to win it and the lost fumble by the Steelers to ice that win.  Bear down, Chicago Bears!!!

It's starting to get chilly in Chicago.  Which makes me happy because I get to wear cute sweaters.  I love sweaters.

Photo credits: mouthpiecesports.com, nothingbutballs.com
Video credits: Rachel Hassard

Now that you've had some time to digest my last blog, here's the good stuff.  Here's my game recaps and my review of Angels Stadium.

But before I begin, I forgot to mention that my dad and I got lost in the ghetto of not one but two cities.  First it was Santa Ana, then it was Anaheim.  It wasn't scary, but you could tell that wasn't a place you wanted to be.  OK, now baseball.

Friday's Game
Final: 7-1 Angels

I told you I left a note at Nick Adenhart's memorial, so we can skip directly to me going to BP.  I was hoping for some autographs, so I headed over to the right field corner.  I'm glad I did.  I didn't get any autographs, but about 10 feet in front of me for about 45 minutes or so was John Danks.  You all know how much I adore John Danks.  So to have him RIGHT THERE tossing a ball with Mark Buehrle was phenomenal for me.  Honestly, I could barely breathe.  I had to delete the first couple pictures off my camera of him because I was shaking so badly from sheer excitement that the pictures were RIDICULOUSLY blurry.  But I stopped shaking and took some great pictures.  I learned something about my favorite Sox pitcher Friday night: he is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much hotter in person than on TV.  I mean, he's ridiculously gorgeous in general, but he's way better in person.  Watching him throw the ball around on Friday got me super stoked for Saturday since he pitched that game.  And it made me hope that he comes to SoxFest this year.  So since I have no idea if players actually read my blog, I'll put this out there anyway: John, please come to SoxFest this year.  You're my favorite, and I really want your autograph and a picture with you.  It'd make me super happy.  Thanks in advance!

After watching most of the pitchers tossing the ball around, I moved over to left field when BP started.  Partly because John moved over there and I wasn't done with my pictures, but partly because homers were being hit over there.  And Carlos Quentin was over there too.  A few homers bounced near me, but none were close enough for me to snag.  It made me kinda sad.  One of these days I'll snag one with my glove, and I'll tell you all about it.  :)

BP ended, and I made my way over to my seats.  My dad was wandering somewhere, so I had to be giddy over the seats by myself.  I'm sure many of you have watched Angels games.  You know in right field how they have the out-of-town scoreboard, an Angels A, and an ad for the Angels Foundation and Carl's Jr.?  I was in the front row of section 237, which is RIGHT above the point in the A.  It was pretty awesome.  I gave my dad camera duty so I could catch a home run ball (that was never hit to me), and he only took one picture during the game.  It was of Jermaine Dye since he was directly in front of us.  I'm not too sad I didn't get a lot of pics during that game because 1) they lost, and 2) I'd only have good outfield pictures.

The game itself was not pretty.  Gavin Floyd didn't have his stuff, and the only run the Sox scored was on a Jayson Nix solo homer to left.  In five innings, Gavin gave up five runs, two walks, and six hits.  DJ Carrasco came on in relief and pitched two innings, only allowing one hit.  I would have preferred it if he stayed in for the eighth inning, but Ozzie put in Scott Linebrink, and I actually sunk into my seat and put my glove on my face.  I always get scared when Linebrink comes in.  I WANT to believe he won't blow up, but he usually does.  Friday was no exception, as he came in and walked one, gave up three hits, and allowed two runs, both earned.  The one walk was intentional to Kendry Morales.

The game was a little disappointing, I admit.  But the atmosphere was a new experience for me.  I've never been in the minority at a Sox game, as this was the first time I was seeing them away from US Cellular Field.  Luckily the majority of the fan base was really nice.  There were many people who are still bitter over Game Two of the 2005 ALCS where Doug Eddings awarded AJ first base on a dropped third strike call.  And they made it known every time he was at bat.  The boos were always loud, no matter if it was his first at-bat or his last at-bat.  And that amused me to no end, so I was always laughing when he was announced at the plate.  There were a few people around me who yelled to hit Pierzynski in the head, AJ's a jack*ss, and similar insults.  But the one I didn't understand was one directed at me personally when my dad was gone.  Some guy a few rows behind me yelled "Hey Pierzynski girl in the front.  AJ deserves to die."  I know this was at me, as I was the only girl in front of him that was 1) a Sox fan, and 2) wearing a Pierzynski jersey.  Now, I understand you may still be angry over that call that happened four freaking years ago, but you're gonna hurl a death threat about a player at me?  There was one other thing yelled at me and the Sox fans behind me that confused me: "Chicago as a city in general sucks."  Really?  Have you been there?  I happen to like my city, thanks.

After the game, my dad and I headed over to the sports bar next to our hotel.  Which by the way was across the street (more or less) from the stadium.  Yay no parking charges!  There were a bunch of Sox fans there, and I got a thumbs up from one of them.  Good times.

Saturday's Game
Final: 4-3 White Sox in 10

Saturday's game was on Fox.  I have yet to check and see if I was on TV.  I might have been because I was in the row directly behind the camera well on the first base side.  Good times.

We got there early again, but alas, there was no BP.  But I did meet a couple of girls who were Sox fans.  I talked to them for, like, an hour before the game while we were waiting to see if we could get some autographs.  Dewayne Wise came out and signed, but I was too far away from him as he didn't leave the field.  I know I can throw a ball and pen to him for him to sign, but I knew I'd never be able to catch them when he threw them back.  However, one person asked for Brent Lillibridge's autograph.  I was the second.  He was really nice about it, so thank you, Brent.

I took 200 pictures during this game.  The majority are either John Danks pitching, Sox players on first base, or Sox players in the dugout.  They're pretty much amazing, and I love my camera.  And I loved my seat.  I was close enough to hear some of the players talking to fans behind the dugout.  I was close enough to hear Ozzie arguing with the first base umpire.  And I was close enough to hear AJ drop the F-bomb after popping out with runners in scoring position.  I may be completely weird, but I loved the F-bomb.  I love when my players show emotion over their plays, so I loved that AJ showed he was p*ssed.

This game was soooooooo much better than Friday's game.  Gordon Beckham launched a solo shot in the first inning to get the Sox on the board.  Then, in the third inning, Scott Podsednik hit an inside-the-park home run.  I would have taken pictures of that, but I was too busy yelling in my seat, "PODS.  PODS.  OMG.  Triple...no.  ****.  OMG.  He's not gonna...OMG he is.  SCOTTIE HAS WHEELS!  SCOTTIE HAS WHEELS!"  (OK, that's not word-for-word, but it was close.  And I did in fact yell "Scottie has wheels" twice.)  That was completely amazing.  After that play, Beckham singled, and eventually that inning, Mark Kotsay reached first on an error by Bobby Abreu.  That scored Beckham, but Kotsay was thrown out trying to advance to second to end the inning.

John Danks pitched six beautiful innings.  He allowed six hits and two walks, but he didn't give up any runs.  It was pretty awesome.  Octavio Dotel came on in the seventh.  Usually I'm ridiculously nervous when he comes in, but I was rather calm.  He came in and only allowed one hit, which didn't score.  Matt Thornton came on in the eighth, and I was pretty sure we were gonna get a shutout.  But something happened to my Matty, and he gave up four hits and two earned runs in 1/3 of an inning.  What was terrifying for me was Bobby Jenks coming in with only one out in the eighth.  Luckily Bobby threw one pitch and it ended the inning with a double play.  Bobby was back in the ninth, but he blew the save.  The Sox luckily scored in the tenth, and we won.  Hooray!

Oh, and this is my favorite picture I took all weekend long.  I shouldn't have to explain why.
Angels Stadium
I understand why ESPN gave them the best rating of all MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL stadiums.  This place is incredibly beautiful, and prices were relatively reasonable.  I got a huge Pepsi on Friday night for $5.50.  I have no idea how many ounces it was, but it lasted me most of the game.  And if my dad was willing to go back over and over and over for bloody Marys and margaritas on Saturday, those prices have to be reasonable too.

I didn't eat anything there on Friday since I was still full from my crappy Mexican lunch.  (Note: do NOT go to Taco Rosa in Irvine.  Really bad food for what they're charging.  And their margaritas are crap too.)  And I was too excited about my seats on Saturday to actually remember to eat.  So when I come back eventually with Rachel, I'll remember to try some stadium food.

Final Musings
As promised, I have links to my Facebook albums.  Here's the link for general Anaheim area pics and Friday's game, and here's the link for Saturday's game.  The titles are great, I know.  :)

The Chicago Bears may drive me to drink more than the Sox did this season.  If you didn't see that atrocious, crap-filled spectacle on Sunday Night Football, consider yourself lucky.  Jay Cutler did his best Rex Grossman impression, and we lost Brian Urlacher for the season with a dislocated wrist.  For those of you who have no idea how much I love Brian Urlacher, let's put it this way: for my heart, losing Brian Urlacher for the season is the football equivalent of losing AJ Pierzynski for the season.  I ADORE Brian Urlacher.

Yes, it's been a while, I know.  Regular blogging will return soon.  I know I say that all the time.  I wrote most of this blog while on the plane to LA on Friday.  I'm totally stoked.  I finished packing at 1:30am and went to bed.  Good times, I know.  I was gonna get up at 5:30am to shower and get ready to leave, but my body decided that 4am was a much better time.  Luckily I got a bit of a nap on the plane.  That was helpful.

When I woke up from my nap on the plane, I had a brilliant idea.  I was going to Angels Stadium for two games.  I couldn't go and leave without putting something on Nick Adenhart's memorial.  So on a day when our nation was remembering the thousands of lives lost at the hands of terrorists eight years ago, I remembered the young man whose life was lost at the hands of one individual five months ago.  Here's my letter:

Dear Nick,
I have never cried so much over a person I've never met or heard of until the day you died.  When I saw pictures of the accident scene, I was physically ill and cried harder.  You didn't deserve that.  I cried when I saw your agent, coaches, and teammates cry.  I cried for you because you were the same age as me.  I cried because such a promising career was tragically cut short.  I wish I could have seen you pitch.  I hope your family and friends find comfort in knowing the entire baseball world still misses you.  Stay our Angel, Nick.
Love,
Jen Jezierski
White Sox fan

Strangely, writing that out and then retyping it here still gets me choked up.  But talking about 9/11 doesn't.  Maybe it's because Adenhart's death is still so recent.  Maybe it's because we've talked about 9/11, al Qaida, and the war so much more.  Maybe I've become immune to it.  Don't get me wrong.  I'll NEVER forget that day and what I was doing (waking up to go to school since it was, like, 6am in San Francisco).  And I'll NEVER stop remembering all the men and women who have died to prevent this from happening again.  But it seems liken we've been a little desensitized by the media.

OK, that's the end of my somewhat political commentary.  I'll leave that to Jeff and Allen since they do it better than I do.  On to baseball.

The White Sox spiraled a little further into the abyss since I last updated.  They lost two of three in Minnesota, although they won their very last game in the Metrodome.  But then they switched it on for a bit.  They won the makeup game with the Cubs.  Rachel and I and her uncle Jim drove past Wrigley after the game playing Sox-related music because we're horrible people...at least Rachel and I are.  :)  But it was fun.  Then Boston came to town.  The week prior, we lost three of four in Boston.  This week?  We WON three of four.  Mark Kotsay absolutely beat up his former team.  It was pretty much amazing.  That series was followed by a two-game set with Oakland.  We lost the first game, and we would have won the second game in nine innings, but Tony Pena came on and messed that up.  In the 13th, Alexei Ramirez singled and my favorite, my love, my AJ Pierzynski hit an RBI-double to win the game.  Thanks, AJ.  It's like you knew I didn't want to fly into LA with that chip on my shoulder.

I'll give you game recaps from my two games in tomorrow's blog.  Yes, two blogs in a row!  I'll have pictures that I want to share, so I HAVE to blog again tomorrow.  :)  Unfortunately, I'll be missing Mark Buehrle vs. Scott Kazmir.  Which happens to be the same pitching matchup as July 23.  You all know what happened that day.  And when I get home, I'll get the Bears-Packers game on Sunday Night Football.  On that note, BEAR DOWN CHICAGO BEARS!!!

Final Musings
If you read Kylie's blog (which you should if you don't), you'll know she has a pair of pants which have been dubbed The Pants.  They're purple and have the Rockies logo on them.  Well, the Sox have a pair like it.  So guess who bought them on Thursday and brought them with her to LA and dubbed them (with Kylie's help) The Pants The Second or TPTS for short?  :)

I named my car!  I didn't get a lot of suggestions, and I've been calling it The Beast for a long time, so that's what stuck: The Beast.

I've never flown out of the Orange County airport.  My dad says it's an experience.  I'll let you know in tomorrow's blog.

Sorry for the lack of pictures.  I'm on my dad's laptop cuz it's smaller than mine, so I have no pictures to add today.

I know it's been a while since I've posted.  But with school starting up and whatnot, I didn't really have time to post anything.  School update, then baseball.  I promise.

School Update
I got readmitted and I got some classes.  Monday was the first day of classes, and all was going well.  Until Citibank decided my debt-to-income ratio was too high.  And my dad's credit rating (almost 700) was too low to support my debt.  So they refused to give me a student loan.  So Sunday morning, I dropped out of Loyola.  When I met with the dean on the 17th, she asked me why I wasn't getting a master's in journalism.  I was unaware you could do that without having a bachelor's in journalism.  Apparently you can.  So that's what I was gonna do after this year since all the master's programs start in the fall, and I have to take the GRE.  Well, now I have no school to worry about, and I can devote more time to studying for the GRE.  And I'll be working full-time for a year, once I get a job.  I was gonna apply the stuff I was learning in school and change my format again, but we'll see what I decide to do now that I'm not in school anymore.  I'm keeping my textbooks, so maybe I'll read some stuff and possibly change things up a bit.

Sox Rant
The last time I posted, the Sox were getting ready for a rubber match with the Mariners (which they lost).  This team has slowly but surely been underperforming.  And it makes me a combination of incredibly sad and incredibly angry.

There is a boatload of talent on this team.  But no one seems to be doing anything with their talent.  AJ Pierzynski has the highest batting average on the team at .315.  He's performing...well.  I felt the need to put the ellipses because there are times when he comes up to bat with runners in scoring position and he can't advance them or bring them home.  But for the most part, AJ is doing what he's supposed to do.  He even threw out a baserunner tonight.

The Sox had a...crappy...record in August.  11-17.  Since Mark Buehrle's perfect game, they have a 13-23 record.  This is looking to be another 2007-esque end.  In 2007, the White Sox had several amazing individual accomplishments.  Mark Buehrle threw a no-hitter against the Rangers.  Jim Thome hit his 500th home run.  Bobby Jenks tied the record for consecutive batters retired.  The team as a whole was pretty bad, finishing at 72-90.  This season is looking to be more of the same.  Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game against the Rays.  He also set a new record for consecutive batters retired.  Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko hit their 300th home runs...in the same game...back-to-back.  Yet this team as a whole is grossly underperforming in the second half.

We acquired two (expensive) players who are supposed to be awesome.  There is no timetable for Jake Peavy's return after he was hit in the elbow in a rehab start.  His elbow is structurally sound (thank you for that phrasing, Scott Merkin), but it's still sore.  We traded young players, good players for him in order to help us now, but if he can't throw, he can't help us.  Alex Rios is supposed to be a good player, but he hasn't really done much since joining the White Sox.  I'm all for giving him a chance, but we got him because we want to win, and we want to win now.  We're not doing that.  He's not hitting much of anything.

Our bullpen is even crapping on themselves.  They have been a huge plus for a significant portion of the season, but now Ozzie is putting in people like Scott Linebrink and Tony Pena, and balls just seem to launch out of the park with runners in scoring position when they come out.  We can't put Matt Thornton and DJ Carrasco out every night.  We'll wear them out.  Bobby Jenks is getting almost no work because the Sox are never in a save situation for him.

I know this team can win games.  They've done it.  They have been able to hang with the big boys.  They've beaten the big boys.  Why are they falling apart now, when it's so close to the end?  We're six games behind Detroit, and two and a half behind Minnesota.  Thirteen back in the wild card.  It's still possible to win the division.  Highly unlikely, but still possible.  All I ask is for this team to try.  When I watch some of them, it doesn't look like they're trying.  It hurts to see them falter when I know how talented they are.  I know they can win.  I believe they can win.  But when they don't try, why should I keep believing?  AJ Pierzynski, Joe Crede, and Aaron Rowand were the driving force behind adopting "Don't Stop Believing" as the unofficial theme song in 2005.  I still sing that song when I know the Sox are doing well and I believe in them.  But when you don't give me a reason to believe, why should I keep doing it?

I will never abandon this team.  They are forever inked to me (literally, with that tattoo on my ankle).  But I'm allowed to criticize them.  I'm allowed to give up on the season.  I haven't yet, but they're pushing me to the edge.  I don't know what to do with them anymore.  I don't want to watch them lose.  I don't want to suffer.  But at the same time, they're like a drug: very addicting and hard to quite, despite the wear and tear on my body.

I Cried
Jim Thome is no longer a member of the White Sox.  He was traded to the Dodgers in exchange for cash and infielder Justin Fuller.  I don't think I can adequately express how upset I am that Jim is gone.  He is one of the greats, and he deserves a ring.  This goes against the Giants fan in me, but if the Dodgers make it to the World Series, I want them to win it so Jim gets his ring.  He is so classy, he is so humble.  He is everything a baseball player should be.  I wish him the best.  Writing this paragraph has been hard because it's not easy to type when your eyes are full of tears.  I wish we could have gotten you a ring, Jimmy.  Thank you so much for the last four seasons on the Southside.  Thank you for launching that bomb in Game 163.  I'll miss you, Mr. Incredible.

Jose Contreras is also no longer a White Sox.  He was traded to the Rockies in exchange for cash and pitcher Brandon Hynick.  While I'll always be incredibly thankful for his performance in 2005, Jose hasn't been on top of his game since he ruptured his Achilles last August.  He had some good moments, but most of this season hasn't been good for him.  I hope Colorado and the change of scenery is good for him because he can be a great pitcher.  Good luck, Jose.

Los Angeles
I am incredibly excited.  My dad is taking me to Anaheim to see the Sox play the Angels next month.  JOY AND HAPPINESS!!!  Sooooooo excited!  I've never seen the Sox play out of town, so I'm super excited about this.  We're gonna see two games, and I was thinking if the Dodgers were in town, we could see them too.  But alas, that weekend they'll be up in San Francisco.  I wish the Giants were gonna be in LA that weekend cuz I'd get seats in center field so I can attempt to talk to Aaron Rowand.  But alas, it cannot be.  So I get two Sox games instead.  WOO!

True or false: it'll be easier for me to get Sox autographs since it's an away game.

I don't have an answer.  I need one before I get there.  So let me know if that's true or false.  If it's true, you can best believe I'll be sitting at that dugout with my baseballs asking kindly for AJ Pierzynski and John Danks and Gordon Beckham for their autographs for two days.  And everyone else I don't have, of course.  But mainly those three.  Yes, I do already have AJ's autograph, but if I can get the autograph, I'm gonna try for a picture too.  :)  If I get it, my profile picture will NEVER change.

Final Musing
I told you guys in my last entry, like, two weeks ago that I got a Trailblazer.  Here's the link for the photo album.  I need help naming it.  The only suggestions I've gotten thus far are "Bertha," "Pete Rose" (with the explanation "cuz, you know...Big Red Machine"), and "Gas Guzzler Eco-Unfriendly Big Red" (that one made me laugh).

Photo credits: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images; AP; unknown

Dear my blog:
I'm sorry I've been neglecting you.  I still love you, I promise.
Love,
Jen

Really, I'm gonna start blogging again consistently.  No, I'm serious.  I'm gonna do it.  But I'm still unpacking, and I'm dealing with Loyola and their BS (more on that in a minute).  AND AND AND!  I bought a Trailblazer!  I OWN MY OWN CAR!  :D

Quick Loyola update: I finally have access to enrollment, but I can't register for classes until I meet with the dean of the School of Communications.  And she can't meet with me until the 17th.  While that's cutting it REALLY close to when classes start, as long as I'm registered before classes start on the 24th, it'll be fine.

OK, on to why you actually read my blog: baseball.

The last time I updated, the Sox just landed Jake Peavy at the trade deadline.  I read somewhere that the deal was finalized with 23 seconds left before the deadline.  That's pretty much awesome.  Peavy is making his first rehab start in Charlotte on Thursday.  I wish I could be in Charlotte for that game.  I mean, minor league tickets are TOTALLY in my budget, and I'd love to see Peavy pitch without spending a fortune at a Sox game.  Unfortunately, South Carolina isn't next to Illinois, so I'll have to wait to see him.  But if I can get tickets to his first game in Chicago...oh man, I'm SO there.

Now, I could go into detail about all the games since my last post, but that's just annoying.  When I last updated, the Sox had taken the first two games against the Yankees.  By the end of the series, the Sox won three of the four games.  Not too bad if I do say so myself.  Then the Angels came to town, and the Sox took two of the three games.  Are we ever gonna sweep again?  You know, it'd be nice.  The final three games of that homestand were against the Indians.

I'm sure you're well aware that the Indians have basically gotten rid of their whole team, so I was rather hopeful for a sweep (sorry Indians fans).  But either the Sox play like absolute crap against bad teams (sorry again), or the Indians play like the freaking Yankees against us.  Maybe it's a combination of both.  But the Sox lost two of the three games.  They've played two of three games with Seattle, and so far they split the two.  I'll cover tonight's game in a bit.

I've noticed something with the Sox that I was discussing with a friend on my Facebook-esque ESPN profile: there is no in between with this team.  And my friend put it even better: "all or nothing...either they work hard and get the point on the board or they just fail massively as a team, and you're left wondering if they were even attempting to try."

Sometimes I wonder why I watch them when I know they're bound to either give me a heart attack on their way to a win or break my heart by losing to a craptastic team.  But despite the fact that they make me want to punch myself repeatedly, they're my boys.  They will always be my boys, and even if they turn into the Washington Nationals (sorry Nats fans), I'll still torment myself and watch them plummet into the abyss.

On a different note, during the Saturday game of the Cleveland series, White Sox batters were getting plunked like they had a gigantic target on them.  And Ozzie Guillen has had enough.  While he doesn't think the Cleveland pitchers were intentionally hitting our players, he basically sent a message to the rest of the league: hit our players and we'll retaliate.  Was it smart to come out and say it like that?  Probably not.  But Ozzie's not the type to care if he gets in trouble for speaking his mind.

So you know how you can vote for the clutch player of the month on MLB.com?  Well, the July winner is "perfect."  Yes, MLB.com voters got it right when they picked Mark "Mr. Perfect" Buehrle as the recipient.  July 23, 2009 is one of the greatest days in my sports life, and I'll never forget Mark Buehrle for providing me with two amazing sports days and contributing to the third (October 26, 2005: World Series; April 18, 2007: Mark's no-hitter; July 23, 2009: Mark's perfect game).  He'll probably go down as the greatest Sox pitcher I've ever watched (since I've only been watching since August 2004 when I moved back to Chicago for school).  He starts tomorrow's game against the Mariners, so I'm hoping he can bounce back from the last couple starts he's had.  They haven't been super good.

I mentioned earlier that I bought a Trailblazer.  Things happen in such a short amount of time that sometimes it boggles my mind.  My dad and I left the house to go buy my car.  We got there around 6:45, and after we test drove it, we had to wait for a few minutes while our salesman got some paperwork for us.  So I checked Twitter.  In the roughly hour I had been gone, the White Sox announced they had claimed Alex Rios off waivers.  The Sox didn't have to give up any players, which surprised Kenny Williams since he thought he'd have to work out a trade, but the Sox have to cover the rest of his huge contract.  It runs through 2014, so it seems we're OK for a few years in the outfield with Rios and pitching with Peavy.

My guess is there are some people who worry about the playing time in the outfield now that we have yet another everyday outfielder.  While I would LOVE to see a Carlos Quentin-Scott Podsednik-Jermaine Dye outfield every day because I love them, I know Rios is a great player and a great addition to the outfield.  And now that he'll be a White Sox for several years, I have to learn to love him too.  :)  And since he can play all three outfield positions, it'll give our outfielders more chances to stay rested and healthy for the playoff push we're gonna be making (because I said so).  Although it sounds like Jermaine Dye is a little bit wary because it might affect whether the Sox bring him back next season.  Dye has a $12 million option for next season, but he wants to finish his career here.  JD is a great guy and a great player.  And I'd love to have him stay here until he's done.

Before I get into a game recap because this one made me want to punch myself repeatedly until the ninth inning, I have a fun story for you.  I've finally heard of someone getting a ticket for jaywalking.  Kenny Williams was given a $56 ticket for crossing illegally in front of Safeco Field on Monday.  I've honestly never heard of anyone ACTUALLY getting a ticket for that, so it's hilarious to me.

John Danks started for the Sox tonight.  His last couple of starts have been a bit shaky, but tonight he was absolutely brilliant.  He gave up only one run on seven hits and struck out eight.  He was fantastic.  I know I rave about John since he's my favorite pitcher, but he really was fantastic tonight.  He pitched eight innings and threw only 98 pitches, 69 for strikes.  This was his first start ever against the Mariners, and it looked like it'd go down as a loss since the Sox only managed to get two hits and seven walks in eight innings.  Sounds like they'd be OK with the walks, but they grounded into three double plays, which is so not conducive to winning a game.

But then the ninth inning happened.  David Aardsma came on to close.  Aardsma was on the Sox in 2007 and was absolutely horrible.  But this season with Seattle, he's been very very very good.  Coming in tonight, he had only blown two saves and only gave up one home run.  After tonight, three blown saves and two home runs.  The ninth was so happy that I have to recreate it for you.  Or at least try and give you a visualization of what I was doing in my room watching the game.

Batter One: Paul Konerko.  Paulie flied out to center field.  But he was thiiiiiiiiiiiiis close to tying the game at one with a home run.  Because I feared for this team, I began hurling obscenities at my TV.  I was close to actually throwing things at it, but it's a brand new TV.  AJ Pierzynski was the next batter.  I was still scared for the team, even though I love and adore AJ.  But Aardsma eased my heart a little and walked AJ.  YAY AJ!  Ozzie sent in Dewayne Wise to pinch run for AJ since we all know D-Wise is WAY faster than AJ.  Sorry, boo.  I love you and always will, but you're kinda slow.  Carlos Quentin was up, and while I had faith he could hit something to get him on base, I still had that "oh crap he's gonna ground into a double play and we're gonna lose" feeling in the back of my mind.  But Carlos singled!  YAY SINGLES FOR CARLOS!  That was only the third hit of the game for the Sox, so as soon as he hit it, I posted this on Twitter:

Another hit! WOW! I'm amazed. I think Alexei needs to hit a freaking BOMB right now. Please.

So what did Alexei do?  He came up and HIT A FREAKING BOMB!  Sox up 3-1 with one out!  WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  I don't have the talent to call the shot ever, so I felt like freaking Nostradamus right there.  Chris Getz then popped out to third, but Scottie Pods singled to center.  More threatening Sox!  And with that, Aardsma was pulled.  Shawn Kelley replaced him to face Gordon Beckham, and Pods proceeded to steal second before Gordon lined out to right.  Bobby Jenks came on for the save, and John Danks got his win!  YAY WIN!

So that's my wrap up.  I hope you enjoyed it.  When I have a Facebook album of my Trailblazer, I'll share it with you.  I need to name my baby still.  All cars need a name.  :)  I'm still amused that the first car I ever named was Tom's.  But Rockies Roadster is still a DAMN good name!  And for now, I bid you adieu since it's about 3am right now, and I'm effing tired.

Photo credits: AP; geekdetails.files.wordpress.com; AP; allposters.com; AP; AP