Happy New Year, Blogosphere! I hope you all had an enjoyable New Year celebration. As you may recall, I went to San Antonio for my aunt Kim's wedding. I love San Antonio, and I'm highly considering a move to Texas when I'm financially able to. The hard part would be leaving my family, my friends, and my White Sox. But I might be able to do it. Anyway here's the link to the Facebook album of pictures:
Yay Wedding!Back on the 21st, Scott Reifert asked us on Twitter to send him our Top 10 White Sox moments from the past decade. He's posting his moments every day, leading up to the new year. I sent him mine, but I figured why just tell Scott and any mutual followers? Why not share them with all of you? So I will.
I can only give my Top 10 moments from when I started watching baseball on the regular. So from the end of 2004. Meaning my moments are all from 2005 through the present. Here we go!
Number TenJoe Crede's return to the South Side as a Minnesota Twin.
If you've ever read my blog, you know how much I love and adore Joe Crede. He was part of the Three Stooges in 2005 (Joe, Row, and Po), and I've adored him since I started watching baseball regularly in August 2004. I watched him come through in clutch situations. I watched him make amazing plays at third base. I watched him help my Sox to a World Series title in 2005. I also watched as his back began to give him problems. And I watched the White Sox let him go after the 2008 season.
As much as it hurt me, I knew someone would give Joe a place to play. What I never expected was Joe going to a division rival. Joe going to the Twins is different than Chris Getz and Josh Fields going to the Royals. The Sox traded Chris and Josh to KC. We didn't trade Joe to the Twins. Joe going to the Twins was like Johnny Damon going from the Red Sox to the Yankees. It just wasn't right. So I was dreading Joe's return to Chicago.
Luckily it was early in the season, so I didn't have to think about it for too long. On April 10, 2009, Joe Crede was the first Twins batter up in the second inning and was greeted with Air Supply's "All Out of Love" over the speakers. When I saw Joe at third in the bottom of the first, I was sniffly because it hurt to see him wearing the Twins uniform. But as soon as the camera showed him in the batter's box with that song playing, I lost it completely. I was in my apartment in San Diego, watching on MLB.TV, bawling like a baby. And on a 2-0 pitch from Jose Contreras, Joe Crede launched a homer to left field. Through my tears, I was laughing because it was fitting. And as soon as I heard Sox fans booing him as he rounded the bases, my tears stopped and I yelled at my computer, "WE DO NOT BOO JOE CREDE, EVEN IF WE HATE WHAT HE JUST DID!!!" Maybe it was just me not booing. But I can't boo most of the former Sox players I watched, especially when they're in my top five favorite players.
Number NineMark Buehrle's No-Hitter in 2007
April 18, 2007 is one of the best sporting days of my life. I was a junior in college, and I was still highly bitter over Super Bowl XLI two months earlier. My Bears lost to the Indianapolis Colts. To be completely honest, it's December of 2009 and I'm still bitter. But baseball soothes the savage Jen, and I was looking for my White Sox to go back to the postseason.
The Sox performed pretty well in 2006 but sadly missed the playoffs. So 2007 was another year and I hoped they were going back. I would be sadly disappointed, but let's not dwell on that.
Looking back at the box score brings back some memories. Darin Erstad was in center that night. Tadahito Iguchi was at second, Joe Crede was at third, Rob Mackowiak and subsequently Brian Anderson were in left, and Juan Uribe was at short. This was also back in the day when Sammy Sosa was still playing and Mark Teixeira wasn't earning 40 billion dollars as a Yankee.
The Sox hit very well that night. Jim Thome hit two home runs, and Jermaine Dye hit a grand slam. Rob Mackowiak and Tadahito Iguchi each stole a base that night as well. But the star of the game was Mark Buehrle.
Mark was dealing that night. Batter after batter after batter was retired until Mark walked Sammy Sosa in the fifth inning. However, he promptly picked him off and faced the minimum number of batters that night.
Number EightDewayne Wise's Perfect CatchIn case April 18, 2007 wasn't enough for me, Mark Buehrle delivered again. But in order for Mark to deliver, he needed a little help. That came in the glove of Dewayne Wise.

Ozzie decided to take out Carlos Quentin, move Scott Podsednik from center to left, and put Dewayne Wise in center in the top of the ninth inning. Dewayne came out and made the greatest play I have ever seen. Taking away all my team bias, that's still the greatest play I have ever seen.
Gabe Kapler came up to bat. On a 2-2 pitch, he hits the ball to deep center field. The ball looks like it's out of the park, breaking up the perfect game. However, Dewayne runs to his right, watching the ball and knowing the distance between him and the wall. He times his jump perfectly, catches the ball, bobbles it, and secures it in his throwing hand to record the first out, preserving perfection.
I love Scott Podsednik, I really do. However, I don't think Scottie could have made that play. I don't know who else could have made that play. Thankfully, Dewayne was there to help Mark make history. Mark became only the sixth player to throw a perfect game and a no-hitter.
Number SevenMichael Barrett Punching AJ PierzynskiUsually when I hear about this incident, it's a Cubs fan making fun of the fact that AJ got punched. That's what everyone remembers: AJ getting punched. I actually remember this incident a little differently.

This is what happened: AJ was at third base, Joe Crede was at second, Juan Uribe was at first, and Brian Anderson was up to bat. Brian hit a sacrifice fly to Matt Murton in left field, and AJ came home to score. Murton threw the ball to catcher Michael Barrett, blocking the plate, and AJ ran him over. AJ smacked home plate, got up, and Barrett punched him in the jaw.
That's usually where people stop remembering the incident other than the bases emptied and play stopped for about 15 minutes. But I remember a little more. I remember Scott Podsednik tackling Barrett to the ground. Full on tackled him. Little Pods TACKLED Michael Barrett. That was totally sweet. I also remember Brian Anderson punching John Mabry. I have no idea why. But they punched each other and were ejected as well.
This wasn't a season changing incident or anything. But it's part of my top ten because it solidified AJ as a complete bad*ss to me. And remembering Pods tackling Barrett makes me laugh like no other.
Number SixPaul Konerko's World Series Grand Slam
The 2005 World Series were the greatest four games that season. Since I'm a Sox fan, that should have been obvious. But in Game Two, I was a little nervous. The Astros were up 4-2 in the middle of the seventh inning. Joe Crede popped out to third, Juan Uribe doubled to center, and Scott Podsednik struck out. Two out, one on. Dan Wheeler, who relieved Andy Pettitte, walked Tadahito Iguchi and then hit Jermaine Dye. Chad Qualls replaced Dan Wheeler, and on the first pitch he threw, Paul Konerko hit a grand slam to left field, putting the Sox up 6-4.
Paulie was the hero. He said it was the second best feeling of the week (he became a father that week as well). His grand slam was the 18th in World Series history, and the lead gave Sox fans something to cheer about. Until Bobby Jenks blew the save. Then the heroics went to...
Number FiveScott Podsednik's World Series Walkoff Homer...Scott Podsednik. How many home runs did Scott Podsednik hit during the regular season in 2005?

Bobby Jenks didn't perform very well in the ninth inning of Game Two. He gave up a single to Jeff Bagwell, struck out Jason Lane, and walked Chris Burke. Brad Ausmus grounded out to advance the runners, and pinch hitter Jose Vizcaino singled home both runners, tying the game. Neal Cotts replaced Bobby and retired Mike Lamb for the last out of the inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Sox needed one run to win it. Juan Uribe flied out to center, so it was up to Scottie Pods. On a 2-1 pitch, Scottie...Scottie my Pods hits a walkoff homer to right center. He hit a beautiful walkoff home run. Sox win 7-6.
And to answer that question, Scottie hit zero home runs in the regular season. That walkoff was his second of the postseason.
Number FourAJ Pierzynski's Dropped Third StrikeYou expected only ONE AJ-related moment? Ha! You must not read my blog very often. :)

In Game Two of the ALCS agains the Angels, the teams were tied in the bottom of the ninth. AJ Pierzynski was up to bat, and there were two outs. If you read my blog, you know how much I hate extra innings. And on a full count, AJ swung and missed. The Angels started jogging back to their dugout, but AJ ran to first base. When he got there, Doug Eddings ruled him safe, stating that Angels catcher Josh Paul dropped the strike and didn't tag AJ out.
Mike Scioscia came out to argue. Angels players were p*ssed. And AJ was still standing on first base. Once everything was sorted out and the call stood, Ozzie replaced AJ with pinch runner Pablo Ozuna. Joe Crede came up to bat, and Ozuna promptly stole second base. Joe then hit a single and Ozuna came home to score the winning run, tying the series at 1 game apiece.
I'm inclined to believe it was this incident that made people REALLY hate AJ. But honestly, it's just smart baserunning, AJ didn't know if the ball was dropped. Eddings didn't call him out. Josh Paul didn't tag him. So what do you do? You run to first.
Number ThreeThe Blackout Game
While games in the playoffs are memorable, sometimes the ones that get you there are even more memorable. Take Game 163, for example.
For Padres fans, Rockies fans, Twins fans, and Tigers fans, Game 163 is not the same game. In 2007, the Rockies beat the Padres in a Game 163, which eventually led the Rockies to the World Series against the Red Sox. In 2009, the Twins beat the Tigers in epic fashion in a Game 163, only to be swept by the eventual World Series champion Yankees. But for White Sox fans, Game 163 has been more commonly called the Blackout Game.
In 2009, the rules for determining where a tie-breaker game were changed, probably because of the 2008 Game 163. The Twins had beaten the White Sox more during the season, yet the game was played in Chicago because the Sox won a coin toss. Which led to the loving nickname of the Blackout Game.
White Sox PR put the word out to Sox fans to show up wearing black. Nothing but black. And they listened. The entire stadium, including standing room was decked out in black for a night game. White towels were given out to fans, and I personally feel that made the atmosphere even more intimidating. Seeing white towels on this huge screen of fans clad in black looked absolutely brilliant on TV. And it was one h*ll of a game.
It became very apparent that this would be a pitchers' duel, and boy was it. Both John Danks and Nick Blackburn pitched brilliantly. They got out of jams, they threw strikeouts, and it was epic. The only mistake either pitcher made was Blackburn allowed a solo home run to Jim Thome, which was the only run of the game for a White Sox victory. Thome's home run was one play I remember vividly. The other one involved...well, you should know.

Michael Cuddyer was on third base. There was one out. {Twins player} came up and hit a fly ball to center, where Ken Griffey Jr. made the second out. Cuddyer tried to run on Griffey's arm. Which he soon learned at the plate wasn't such a great idea. Griffey threw perfectly to catcher AJ Pierzynski, who caught the ball, made the tag, and was bowled over at the plate by Cuddyer. He was called out, inning over, still no score. I have a huge picture of that play which I'm having AJ sign at SoxFest. I need to find a way to meet Cuddyer and have him sign it, as that was one awesome play by everyone involved.
John Danks pitched through the eighth inning, and that was probably the best game I've ever seen him pitch. It was fabulous, and I wish I was watching it with Sox fans rather than alone in my apartment. Although I did call Rachel right after Brian Anderson made a diving catch for the last out. And I was in sobbing hysterics because I was so happy. It was such an amazing game.
Number TwoMark Buehrle's Perfect Game

I didn't actually see this game until it recorded on my DVR at Thanksgiving. Because I was in Nevada or something, moving from San Diego back to Chicago. Then all of a sudden I was bombarded with text messages and tweets about a Mark Buehrle perfect game.
I was sitting in my brother's Navigator with my jaw in my lap, tears streaming down my face. Tears for two reasons: 1) Mark Buehrle threw a PERFECT GAME! PERFECT!!! 2) I MISSED IT!!! Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!
My brother is not a sports fan. He likes drag racing. That's it. He didn't understand how hard this was to do. He didn't understand how epic this was. How amazingly wonderful this was. And I couldn't figure out a way to explain how monumental this event I missed was.

I still haven't figured out a way to explain it to a non-sports fan. How do you tell someone who doesn't know or care about baseball how important it is that my pitcher did something that has only been done eighteen times before? How do you explain that in addition to throwing a perfect game, Mark Buehrle was only the sixth player to throw a no-hitter AND a perfect game?
How do you explain how monumental 27 up, 27 down with no walks and no errors is? I still can't do it. But the perfect game is still on my DVR until I figure out how to work my DVR burner. Then I can show this epic game to my children. Hopefully by then I can explain effectively how amazing that game was.
Number OneOctober 26, 2005
I was a sophomore at Loyola in the fall of 2005. I lived with two theatre majors, Claire and Elyse, who were both juniors and basically BFFs. Elyse didn't care too much for sports. Claire is a Cubs fan. Because it was baseball awesomeness, Claire and I watched the postseason. Well, I watched it for my Sox.
Claire celebrated with me when my Sox swept the Red Sox in the ALDS. And she celebrated with me when the Sox beat the Angels in the ALCS. When it came time for the World Series, Claire watched with me. And Elyse did too. We watched Game One and cheered. We watched Game Two with Paulie's slam and Scottie's walkoff homer. We watched the epically long Game Three, even though we all had to be up incredibly early for class the next day. And we watched the 1-0 White Sox win in Game Four.
When I heard, "Palmeiro, over the head of Jenks...Uribe charges, throws...OUT! And the White Sox have won the World Series!" I started to cry. While jumping around like a kid on Christmas morning. And there were my two roommates, celebrating this with me. Even though neither was a Sox fan.

That memory is more vivid than the actual final out. While a World Series championship was the greatest thing that team could have ever given me, the moments I shared with my non-Sox fan roommates are just as special as that beautiful trophy.
Now I make everyone who needs a bottle opener listen to John Rooney's final out call. I get to relive that final out all the time. Hearing this never gets old: "A ground ball past Jenks up the middle of the infield. Uribe has it. He throws. OUT, OUT!!! A White Sox winner and a World Championship!!! The White Sox have won the World Series, and they're mobbing each other on the field!!!"
Thank you, 2005 White Sox, for bringing me a championship but also for bringing me a roomie love moment I'll never forget.
My Other Favorite Moments From the Past DecadeA top 20 list is way too long, so here are other favorite Sox moments from 2004 until the present.
- Jim Thome's 500th home run (September 16, 2007)
- Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye hitting their 300th home runs in consecutive at-bats (April 13, 2009)
- Bobby Jenks tying the record for consecutive batters retired and Mark Buehrle later passing it for the new record
- AJ's game-winning homer against the Dodgers in June 2005 in the awesome throwbacks
- Geoff Blum's game-winning homer in the 14th inning of Game 3 of the World Series
- Alexei Ramirez's grand slam to beat the Tigers to force the Blackout game (also his fourth grand slam, a new rookie record)
- Barack Obama wearing his Sox gear to throw out the first pitch at the All-Star Game in St. Louis
- Gordon Beckham's debut
- Jake Peavy joining the White Sox
- My first Sox game in 2006 against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
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Best and Worst of the DecadeBefore I left for San Antonio, I was linked to More Hardball's lists of the best and worst batters and pitchers of the decade. Some of these are not surprising. Others are. For the batters, they needed to have a minimum of 3000 plate appearances over the past ten years. Albert Pujols had the best batting average (.334), followed by Ichiro (.333) and Todd Helton (.331). Brandon Inge had the worst average (.236), Tony Bautista had a .244, and Brad Ausmus both Alex Gonzalezes and Nick Swisher had a .245.
But I'd rather talk about the amusing and/or surprising people on these lists. Or ones that I didn't expect. And any White Sox, current and former.

Now, I know Todd Helton is good, but I didn't know he hit 431 doubles this past decade, which leads all players. Jim Thome is second on the list of most home runs with 368. Nick Swisher sucked it up by recording the least number of hits with 639. Frank Thomas only hit two triples and Paul Konerko hit three. Having watched those two, I hope this isn't surprising. What's surprising is that Konerko actually hit THREE triples. How did that happen? I love Paulie, but what the hell happened that allowed him to hit three triples?
New White Sox member Juan Pierre hit the fewest home runs with 13, but he stole the most bases with 459. Good to know. Scott Podsednik had the third fewest RBIs with 249, and Jim Thome was tied for third with three stolen bases. I love Thome, but HE stole THREE bases?! How is this possible? I'm serious!
As far as pitching, Andy Pettitte has the most wins with 149, but I was surprised to see Jamie Moyer with the third most wins (140). I don't know why that surprises me, but it does. Mark Buehrle has the third most innings pitched with 2061, and former Sox Javier Vazquez has the second most strikeouts with 2163. Roy Halladay has the most complete games (47) and shutouts (14). Mariano Rivera has the most saves (397) and Pedro Martinez has the best ERA and WHIP, minimum 1000 innings with 3.01 and 1.036 respectively.
And for the worst pitching stats (in at least 250 games pitched)...
Barry Zito has 826 walks. Ted Lilly has 25 balks. That's just sad, especially considering the second-most balks is Randy Johnson with 12. Livan Hernandez has 124 losses, and Javier Vazquez has 116. These really are crappy stats. I mean, 25 balks?! Seriously?! Holy crap!
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On that note, Blogosphere, I will end my first entry of 2010. My hope is that I can continue blogging regularly enough to keep you coming back. It'll be better than the second half of the season, I know that much. It may not be every day like it was before, but we'll see. Until then, I bid y'all adieu. And happy New Year again!
Photo Credits: Rob Tringali, Getty Images; whitesoxpride.mlblogs.com; blogs.suntimes.com; unknown; Ron Vesely; unknown; unknown; Getty Images; unknown; AP; AP; unknown; Jed Jacobsohn, Getty Images; unknown, edited by Jen Jezierski; speakingofsports.org; Peter Jezierski, edited by Jen Jezierski