The Latest Leaders for June have been released, and I made the list at Number 23.  While I fell quite a bit, thank you guys for stopping by, despite the sporadic blogging and the name change.  Without your readership, this blog goes nowhere.  And if you haven't yet, please check out the last entry (linked here for ease), give me your ideas, and pass the entry on.

Soxy Goodness
The White Sox are on fire.  It's a fire I hope they don't put out any time soon.  The offense is finally clicking, and the defense has been committing less errors.  While six games is a small sample size for defensive errors, and three of them were committed in one game, the Sox have cut down on them a bit.

Despite the fact that we haven't committed errors since Sunday, I'm still concerned that Gordon Beckham and Alexei Ramirez will make some more.  Regarding Beckham's errors, I'm kind of OK with them.  It's like half of me is fine with them because he has never played third base.  He was called up from the minors and thrust into a position he's never played.  While at Georgia, he was a shortstop.  At Double-A Birmingham, he was a shortstop.  When he was called up to Triple-A Charlotte on May 27, he was switched to third base and was called up to the majors a week later.  I actually expect a few errors from him since he played third base for a week before being expected to play it in the majors.  Of course I'd like to see less of them, but since he's only been playing third for a little more than a month, I can cut him a liiiiiittle slack.

Alexei Ramirez, however, does not get any slack from me.  In 2008, his rookie season, Ramirez played four positions.  He played third base in one game and did not commit an error.  He played in the outfield in 11 games and committed one error.  He played shortstop in 16 games and committed one error.  He spent most of the season playing second base where he committed 11 errors.  So in all of 2008, Ramirez committed 13 errors for a .963 fielding percentage.  At shortstop this season, he's already committed 10 errors.  If we had a first baseman that WASN'T Paul Konerko, I think Ramirez would have 10-20 more errors.  Some of these errors are incredibly bad judgment calls.  They bounce in the dirt in front of Konerko, they're over Konerko's head.  They're cocky throws, and they're never good.

And of course, after I write that they haven't had an error since Sunday, Jayson Nix commits an error.  Was it a BS call?  Maybe.  I still can't tell for sure.  But it didn't lead to any runs, which is awesome.

In addition to this awesome seven-game win streak (since we won tonight), Sox starting pitching has been stellar.  In Monday's 6-3 win over Cleveland, Gavin Floyd pitched 7 2/3 innings.  He walked two, gave up five hits, and struck out five.  He didn't give up any runs.  The three runs came on a solo homer and a two-run homer given up by Matt Thornton and Octavio Dotel.  Floyd threw 95 pitches, 59 of them for strikes.  He was fantastic.  Tuesday's game was rain shortened and lasted 6 2/3 innings.  The Sox won 11-4, and Clayton Richard started for the Sox and lasted the whole six innings, giving up four earned runs on four hits.  But he struck out six batters and only walked one.  While that wasn't his greatest performance again, he's been getting better.  He's definitely improving, but it's not vastly improving.  He has a 3-1 record, which isn't horrible.  While I hope he won't have a season like John Danks's first season with the Sox where he went something like 6-12, it's possible that he could have a bad first season as a starter and come back and do what Danks did last season.

Wednesday's starter, Jose Contreras, completed the sweep in a 6-2 win.  Contreras pitched a strong eight innings, striking out eight, walking one, and giving up two runs on five hits.  He threw 110 pitches, and 74 of them were for strikes.  SEVENTY-FOUR!  That's awesome considering he was horrible in his first several starts.  Thursday the Sox started a four-game series in Kansas City.  Mark Buehrle started that game and went 8 1/3 innings.  He struck out one, walked none, and gave up one run on six hits in a 4-1 Sox win.  I'm guessing most Sox fans weren't very surprised by the win considering it was Buehrle pitching.  He's an amazing pitcher, and if Jermaine Dye and/or Paul Konerko are not selected by Joe Maddon as part of the AL All-Star team, I suspect Buehrle will be our representative, and he soooo deserves it.  Friday's starter was my favorite pitcher, John Danks.  He pitched 7 1/3 innings with five strikeouts and five hits.  And he didn't give up a run.  Danks has gotten back on track after having a little bit of difficulty early on.  He threw 105 pitches, 72 for strikes.  Starting pitching has been absolutely wonderful.  WONDERFUL!

And then there's the offense.  Gordon Beckham deserves so much praise, it's unreal.  Monday, he went 3-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs.  He was caught stealing for the third time this season, but he did pick up his first career stolen base.  Tuesday, he went 3-for-4, scoring two runs and batting in two as well.  He also hit his second home run in that rain-shortened game.  Still on Wednesday, he went 2-for-4, with a run scored and a run batted in.  Thursday he didn't have a hit, but Friday he had one hit and scored a run.  A week ago (June 25th), Beckham was hitting .172 after being called up on June 3.  Today, his average has soared to .264.  He has raised his average almost 100 points in a week.  I'm sure his confidence has been boosted, and I know the team loves it, especially since they're all hitting well now too.

Monday on offense, the Sox had seven hits and stole three bases.  Nice change of pace from being caught stealing and not hitting anything.  Tuesday they had 17 hits.  And that was only in 6 2/3 innings.  Konerko hit a two-run homer in the first, Beckham hit a solo homer, and Josh Fields hit a solo homer.  Everyone had at least one hit, which is usually a rarity.  Jermaine Dye and Beckham each had three hits, while Jayson Nix, AJ Pierzynski, Brian Anderson, and Chris Getz each had two.  And in case I haven't beaten this into your head already, that was only through 6 2/3 innings when the game was called in teh top of the seventh.  Wednesday the Sox racked up 13 hits.  All of the starters except Anderson had at least one hit, and Alexei Ramirez went 3-for-4 before being pulled with an injured finger that has kept him out of the lineup since then.  Ramon Castro hit a three-run homer with his only hit of the night.  Thursday only brought nine hits, but one of those was a solo homer by Jayson Nix.  He and Konerko both had two hits that game.  And in Friday's game, the Sox muscled out 12 hits, including a solo homer by AJ Pierzynski.  He and Scott Podsednik each went 3-for-4.  Offensively, the Sox are waking up and clicking.  And they're doing it at a great time, as they are 2.5 games out of first in the AL Central.

In non-game related news, Carlos Quentin is scheduled to start his rehab stint on Saturday.  He's been out on the disabled list since May 25 with plantar fasciitis.  Ozzie says on Saturday he'll play three innings, the next game he'll play five innings, the next game he'll DH, and then Charlotte has a day off.  He also said Carlos's biggest test will be running, considering this was a foot injury.  While I'm incredibly happy that Quentin will be rehabbing and coming back soon, I want him to be careful.  I know he has an amazing work ethic and will push himself to get back quickly.  However, I want him to do exactly what the doctors and trainers tell him to.  Because the Sox have a great amount of momentum right now, and they'll need him for the long haul.  I don't need him reinjuring himself because he pushed a little too hard.  Take it slow please, Carlos.

Non-Sox Stuff
I've been blogging for about seven months now.  And in these seven months I've learned some things:

1. I love writing.  Well, I already knew that, but MLBlogs has reaffirmed that.
2. The community here is incredibly amazing.
3. I've "met" some amazing people who have changed the way I look at baseball.  I had to put that in quotes since I've only actually met three of you.  When I started my blog, I was only a fan of the White Sox and the Giants.  I was one of those people who could never ever like any other team in my division, I couldn't like the Yankees or Red Sox, and I couldn't care less about the National League minus the Giants.  It's because of all the blogs I read that I actually take an interest in these other teams and have even come to like some of them.  Apparently, I really like the NL West since three of my five favorite teams are in that division.  And look!  I even have five favorite teams!
4. I've decided that any time MLBloggers get together, it's gotta be a great time.  When I met Kaybee and Hyun Young at the Padres FanFest, I had a blast.  And I'm gonna stop by their seats at the Padres-Rockies game in two weeks and say hi.  Because they're awesome!  And Thursday I went to the Padres-Astros game and hung out with Kylie since she was in town.  And we had a blast too!  And we've all heard how much fun several bloggers had with Tom when he was traveling the country.  So I think when any of us actually get together, a good time will be had by all, despite any age difference.  (I had to throw that in there considering I haven't met up with a blogger who can legally drink with me yet.  It'll happen...trust me.  Hahaha!)
5. Not only are the people in this community amazing, they're also incredibly supportive.  As evidenced by the fact that my blog's name is no longer "A Diatribe from a Law Student," I had some difficulties in my personal life that I decided to share with you guys.  And everyone who commented on those two blogs about being kicked out of law school and my dog being put down really helped me out.  And there's been a huge outpouring of support for Tom since he had to temporarily suspend Baseball Across America.  Kaybee even organized a support group for him.  I've never seen such a huge amount of support as runs through this community.  We're here for each other through the big things (like Tom's journey and my academic issues), and we're here for the small things (like losing a favorite player through free agency or trades).  We're supportive of people we've never met, and I haven't seen that anywhere else.
   

I don't remember how I found MLBlogs last December, but I'm so thankful I did.  It's been one of the most positive things in my life over the past seven months.  And until such time as it is literally impossible for me to blog, I'll be here.

Final Shoutout

Congrats to Sue of Rants, Raves, and Random Thoughts!

I know I said in my last post that I'm gonna blog after the end of each series until I'm done moving and back from my family reunion in Missouri and my week or so in Michigan.  But I've been thinking about my baseball goal of visiting every ballpark before I die.

Bloggers, I need your opinions.  You all have a favorite team.  Some of you have two, maybe even three.  And most of you have been to a game or two or thirty.  So this is where your opinion comes in.

I want to make the most of my visit to each city.  While baseball is gonna be my main focus, I don't wanna just go to a game and leave.  So while I obviously want to hear your opinions on where to sit, what to eat, etc. while at the game in your city, I wanna know what else I should check out: the touristy things and the not-so-touristy things.  And of course I wanna know which areas to avoid.  I don't want your city to get a bad rep on my blog because I got attacked there.  :)  I know a lot of you gave Tom of Rocky Mountain Way info about these places, and I'll check out what you told him too.

And remember I'll be on a budget since I'm a college student.  I won't even start this journey until sometime next season, but I want to hear it all from you.  And I wanna start compiling this all early so I can figure out where to begin.  So pass this entry on to people who don't normally comment on my blog.  I want to hear from everyone.  From Yankees fans to Cardinals fans to Royals fans to Nationals fans.  I want to hear from everyone!

I've been to US Cellular Field (obviously), Wrigley Field, AT&T Park, McAfee Coliseum, and PETCO Park, but I still want to hear about those places too.  I know there are things I haven't experienced at these places, so tell me what I'm missing!

Thanks, guys!  You all rock, and I can't wait until I get to experience all of the things your cities and stadia have to offer.  This will be one of the greatest things I've ever done, I think.  While it won't be nearly as awesome as Tom's journey, it'll still be awesome.  Especially if I get to hang out with some of MLBlogs' finest people.  :)

And don't forget about the caption contest from my last entry.  I like what I've gotten so far, so give these guys a run for their money.  :)
Photo credit: AP

Now that I'm getting into the swing of packing up my life into boxes, I think until the middle of August or so, I'm gonna do one blog per series.  And each one is gonna have a caption contest.  So you'll have, like, three days to comment and caption my entries.  It'll be a great time, I promise.  So here's the Crosstown Classic Part Two recap blog!

Sox-Cubs Game One
Final: 5-4 Cubs
Oh no bueno...

This wasn't the prettiest game for the South Siders.  Jose Contreras was the starting pitcher, and he did relatively well for six innings.  He only gave up two runs in the fourth which came off a two-run homer by Jake Fox.  However, when he got to the seventh inning, things started to unravel.

After getting Micah Hoffpauir to strike out swinging, Fox singled to let.  Unfortunately, Mike Fontenot reached on a fielding error by Paul Konerko.  It was his first error in 118 games, and he wasn't able to make the backhanded grab.  It wasn't a horrible play, but it allowed Geovany Soto to hit a three-run homer.  Had Fontenot not reached, that would have been a two-run homer, and the Sox would have had a better chance for a comeback.

Offensively, the Sox were decent.  Jermaine Dye homered to put the Sox up 1-0 after the first.  Jim Thome tied the game at two with a solo homer to left, but the Sox wouldn't score again until the eighth.  That was a rather interesting inning.

Carlos Marmol came on in relief of Randy Wells.  He walked Gordon Beckham and got Scott Podsednik to fly out to center.  Alexei Ramirez walked, and Dye singled.  Thome doubled, scoring Beckham and Ramirez.  The Cubs lead was cut 5-4.  Marmol intentionally walked Konerko, loading the bases, and Ozzie sent for a pinch hitter: AJ Pierzynski.  Jayson Nix came out to pinch run for Thome, and after Pierzynski was announced as the pinch hitter, Lou Piniella called on Sean Marshall to replace Marmol.  And on Marshall's first pitch, Pierzynski grounded into a double play, ending the inning.  The Sox went on to lose with that score: 5-4.

It wasn't a great game, but it wasn't horrible.  Contreras pitched pretty well until the seventh.  It's great to see him returning to the Jose Contreras that he used to be.  However, I hope his back is OK.  He had some back spasms in the sixth but pitched through it and was deemed to be OK to continue.  Hopefully this isn't a setback for him at all.

Sox-Cubs Game Two
Final: 8-7 Sox
Beckham, Podsednik, WOW!

This game was such a see-saw event.  Sox winning, Cubs winning, tie game.  It was frustrating, it was wonderful, and it was back to frustrating before ending wonderfully.

Scott Podsednik had himself a day yesterday.  He went 4-for-5 yesterday and was a triple short of the cycle.  He led off the first with a double and moved into third on a sac bunt by Alexei Ramirez.  He came home on a double by Jermaine Dye, and after one inning, the Sox were up 1-0.  In the second he singled to right and drove in a run, but he was caught stealing second.  He made it to the bag safely, but he overslid and his foot came off when Blanco made the tag.  In the bottom of the fifth after Dewayne Wise flied out to left, Podsednik homered to right.  Then in the sixth he singled to left and drove in Wise.  Finally in the eighth he flied out to center.  Scottie had a GREAT game.

In the Podsednik paragraph, I recapped the scoring for the first inning.  The Sox scored again in the second, also recapped in the Pods paragraph.  The Cubs tied the game at two in the top of the third.  Andres Blanco singled to Gordon Beckham and moved into third on a throwing error by Beckham.  Ryan Theriot singled to center, scoring Blanco, and Milton Bradley reached on a fielding error by Ramirez.  Derrek Lee singled to left, scoring Theriot.

The Cubs scored again in the fifth inning.  Alfonso Soriano singled to right, and Theriot walked.  For whatever reason, Mark Buehrle was going to throw to first to pick off Theriot, but no one was covering the bag, so Buehrle was charged with a balk, moving Soriano to third and Theriot to second.  Bradley lined out to short, but Derrek Lee hit a sac fly to center, allowing Soriano to score, putting the Cubs up 3-2.

The Sox scored three runs in the fifth.  The first was Podsednik's homer.  Ramirez singled to right, and Dye popped out to first.  Then Jim Thome walked and Paul Konerko was hit by a pitch on the Sox logo of his batting helmet.  With the bases loaded and two out, AJ Pierzynski came up to bat and singled to right, scoring Ramirez and Thome.  Chris Getz flied out to right to end the inning with a score of 5-3 Sox.

The Cubs came right back in the sixth and scored three runs.  After getting two outs, Buehrle walked Fukudome.  Blanco singled to left, and Ozzie pulled Buehrle and brought in DJ Carrasco.  He gave up a double to score Fukudome and Blanco.  Theriot singled to center, scoring Soriano.  Cubs lead 6-5.  Oh but the Sox would not be outdone.  Beckham led off the inning by striking out, but Wise tripled to center and Podsednik drove him in.  At inning's end, the score was tied, 6-6.

More scoring plays occurred in the eighth inning.  Ryan Freel reached on yet another error by Alexei Ramirez.  He's made entirely too many, and Konerko has saved him from at least a dozen more because he's amazing.  Fukudome singled to right, and Blanco grounded out to short, scoring Freel.  Cubs lead, 7-6.  The Sox would not be outdone.  Oh no.  They scored a run in the bottom of the eighth.  Beckham singled to third and moved to second on a sac bunt by Wise.  Podsednik flied out, but Ramirez singled and drove home Beckham.  The score was tied, 7-7.

It came down to the ninth inning.  Bobby Jenks came on in a tie game.  If you've read this blog in the past, you know that I love Bobby.  But tie games are not his forte.  Which is why he's a closer.  But he pitched a perfect inning, getting Lee to strike out swining, getting Jake Fox to fly out to center, and getting Soto called out on strikes.  The score is still tied, 7-7.

Bottom of the ninth.  Tie game.  It's go time for the White Sox.  Sean Marshall comes on to replace Carlos Marmol.  Thome flied out to left.  One out.  Konerko singled to left and was replaced by pinch runner Josh Fields.  Pierzynski grounded to third, moving Fields to second.  Two out.  Pinch hitter Jayson Nix came in to replace Getz, and Jose Ascanio replaced Marshall and proceeded to walk Nix.  Still two out.  Up comes Beckham.  On one pitch, he singled to right, scoring Fields.  And that was a White Sox walk-off for our rookie.

Sox-Cubs Game Three
Final: 6-0 Sox
Danks for playing!

If you read my blog with any regularity, you know that my favorite Sox pitcher is John Danks.  He got the start today against Carlos Zambrano.  Big Z.  The best pitcher the Cubs have.  And what did Danks do today?  Outpitched him.  Danks pitched seven innings of four-hit baseball.  He walked four and struck out five on the way to his sixth win of the season.  While there were times when he wasn't throwing his greatest, he pitched well enough to get the win and the shutout.

The Sox scored first in the third inning.  Scott Podsednik was hit by a pitch, and Alexei Ramirez came up to bat and hit his 10th home run of the season.  They also scored in the bottom of the fourth.  AJ Pierzynski singled to center.  After Chris Getz flied out to center, Gordon Beckham singled to right, moving Pierzynski to third.  Dewayne Wise then singled to second, scoring Pierzynski.

The Sox scored another two runs in the sixth.  That inning was interesting, to say the least.  Getz doubled to right and moved to third on a sac bunt by Beckham.  During Wise's at-bat, Zambrano threw a really bad pitchout (seriously...look at the screenshot of it), resulting in Getz stealing home.  The pitch immediately following, Zambrano hit Wise.  Was it on purpose?  I think so, but maybe I'm partial because I'm a Sox fan who doesn't like Zambrano.  Either way, Wise got the base.  During Podsednik's at-bat, Wise stole second.  Zambrano walked Podsednik, and much to his chagrin, Lou came out and replaced him with David Patton.  Ramirez then came up and singled, loading the bases.  Jermaine Dye popped up to Ryan Theriot, and the infield fly rule was called.  I might not be completely clear yet on when that's in effect, but since Theriot was never in a position to make the play at home, why was the infield fly rule called?  Either way, Dye was out and Wise scored.  To end the inning, Thome struck out swinging.  For added insurance, Dye hit a solo home run in the eighth inning, making the final score 6-0 Sox.

More Sadness
Billy Mays died this morning.  Condolences to his family.  Who will yell at me to buy unnecessary household items now?  Vince, the ShamWow guy, isn't as cool.

Final Shoutout

Congrats to Jordan of Up in Section 360!

Here's your next picture to caption!  Gordon Beckham (left) and Jim Thome (right) after Beckham drove in the winning run Saturday for his first career walk-off hit.  Have fun, and make the caption good!

Before I recap the entire Dodgers series, I need to mention this.  I was watching the rubber match of the Sox-Dodgers series today, and Hawk mentioned it was AJ Pierzynski's mom's birthday today.  So happy birthday to Mary Jane Harrelson!  Sorry if I misspelled any part of her name, but I went with what sounded correct from Hawk.

White Sox-Dodgers Game One
Final: 5-2 Dodgers
Oh my Danks.

Unfortunately, I missed watching this game, as I was at the San Diego County Fair with my friend Lora and her cousins.  But looking at the box score and Gameday, it looks like John Danks pitched wonderfully.  He gave up three earned runs on three hits.  Two of those runs were scored on a James Loney two-run homer in the second inning.  Matt Thornton gave up the other two runs in the eighth, and the Sox managed to score another run in the bottom of the ninth for a 5-2 loss.

There wasn't much in the way of offense.  The Sox only got four hits off Hiroki Kuroda.  One of them was a solo shot from Paul Konerko in the second inning.  Alexei Ramirez got one hit and Jermaine Dye got two hits.  This wasn't the greatest offensive showing for the White Sox, and John Danks pitched better than the rest of the Sox played.

White Sox-Dodgers Game Two
Final: 10-7 White Sox
Home run happy!!!

Apparently it was sweltering in Chicago.  And the Sox played some hot baseball.  Gavin Floyd went six innings, giving up three runs, but only one was earned due to errors from Gordon Beckham and Alexei Ramirez.  Relief pitching was...OK.  DJ Carrasco gave up a run in the seventh, but the Sox lead was so great by then that, at that point, no one was really worried.  However, Jimmy Gobble came on in the eighth and lasted 2/3 of an inning, giving up three runs on a Matt Kemp three-run homer.  Then he nailed Juan Pierre, and after a look of absolute disgust from AJ Pierzynski, Ozzie came out and replaced him with Octavio Dotel.  Bobby Jenks came in for the save, and the Sox won it.

Offensively, oh my goodness.  The Sox were on fire!  Absolutely on FIRE!  In the first inning, the Sox got on the board with a solo shot from Alexei Ramirez.  They scored another two runs in the third inning.  Ramirez walked, and Jermaine Dye came up next and hit a two-run homer, his sixteenth of the season.  Two more runs were scored in the fourth.  Jayson Nix walked to lead off the inning, and Gordon Beckham flied out.  During Josh Fields's at-bat, Dodgers starter Randy Wolf threw a wild pitch, and Nix moved into second.  Then Fields slammed a two-run home run.  Fields has been in an offensive slump, and it was awesome to see him hammer that homer.

But the Sox didn't stop scoring.  No, not these guys.  A 5-3 lead wasn't enough.  They exploded in the fifth inning and scored another five runs.  FIVE MORE RUNS!  Dye popped out to lead off the inning, but Paul Konerko hit a solo home run to put the Sox up 6-3.  AJ Pierzynski singled to second, and surprisingly he had two infield hits in this game.  That's pretty big because that NEVER happens to him.  Awesome job, AJ.  :)  Brian Anderson then singled to left, and Pierzynski moved to second.  Up comes Jayson Nix who hits a three-run homer to left.  After Gordon Beckham struck out swinging, Josh Fields came up to bat.  And, well, he became my hero that night by hitting his second home run of the game, putting the Sox up 10-3.  The Sox won the game with a final of 10-7.  The six home runs hit in the game were the most since June 8, 2004, when the Sox played the Phillies.  

White Sox-Dodgers Game Three
Final: 6-5 White Sox in 13 innings
This...was a long game.

The White Sox wore the 1959 jerseys today.  Why you ask?  Well, the 1959 World Series was between the White Sox and the Dodgers, so they paid homage to a White Sox team that did something great.

Clayton Richard started for the Sox today.  He didn't pitch super horribly, but it certainly wasn't his best.  In 4.1 innings, he gave up four runs on six hits.  He was relieved by DJ Carrasco who pitched 2.2 innings, giving up three hits and one run that was unearned.  Scott Linebrink, Matt Thornton, Bobby Jenks, Octavio Dotel, and Aaron Poreda each came in and gave up no runs or hits.  Linebrink walked one, as did Jenks.  Dotel pitched two innings, and because Poreda was the last to pitch, he was credited with his first Major League win.

The Sox didn't get on the board until the fifth inning.  Paul Konerko led off with a solo home run, which ended the no-hitter Dodgers' starter Chad Billingsley was throwing.  Later in the inning, Josh Fields walked and immediately after, Dewayne Wise tripled, scoring Fields.  The Sox were still down 4-2, however.

My favorite play of the game, other than the winning run scoring, came in the sixth inning.  Alexei Ramirez flied out to left, but Jermaine Dye walked right after.  Jim Thome then walked, and Dye moved to third on a passed ball by Brad Ausmus.  Konerko struck out swinging, and my boo AJ Pierzynski came to bat.  He proceeded to smack a three-run homer to right, giving the Sox a 5-4 lead.  Chris Getz then struck out swinging.  On the way to commercial break, a camera focused in on AJ, who wished his mom a happy birthday.  That was probably the most adorable thing I've seen on a White Sox broadcast in years.

That would have been the winning run, but unfortunately the Dodgers scored in the top of the seventh.  Juan Pierre singled to lead off the inning, but Carrasco picked him off.  Russell Martin would have been the second error, but Ramirez made his seventh error of the season.  Martin eventually came around to score and tied the game.  Konerko has saved Ramirez at least 12 errors this season.  Unfortunately for Ramirez, this throw was so off the mark that it was impossible for Konerko to save him this time.  Ramirez had another error, his eighth, in the tenth that could have been dangerous, but luckily Jenks got out of it.

No one really threatened until the bottom of the thirteenth.  Jeff Weaver had come on in the twelfth in relief and remained in the game.  Konerko singled to center and was replaced by pinch runner Gordon Beckham.  Pierzynski singled, and Weaver intentionally walked Chris Getz.  Fields lined out to center, and Wise flied out to center.  Suddenly it went from bases loaded with no outs to bases loaded with two outs.  Luckily Scott Podsednik came up and singled to center, scoring Beckham.  THANK YOU, PODS!

Sadness
Sending out my thoughts to the families of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson, who have all passed since my last entry.  May they be comforted in their times of grief, and may those three rest in peace.

Final Shoutout
Another caption contest!  Hooray!  Go ahead and caption away!  Paul Konerko on the left and Scott Podsednik on the right if you need their names.  Have fun!
Photo credits: all AP

So I haven't really been commenting on a lot of your blogs lately.  But since I have absolutely nothing to do for the next month other than pack up my apartment, take joy in the fact that I'll be commenting a lot again.  Hooray!  Today is a White Sox off-day, which I absolutely hate, so I have to decide which game to follow more closely tonight at 10:05pm ET: the Rockies and Angels or the Giants and A's.  The Giants are my NL team of choice as you may recall, so I'm leaning that way.  But we'll see.  And now for game recaps.  Hooray again!

Civil Rights Game
Final: 10-8 White Sox
This game was so up-and-down that I swear I had 15 heart attacks.  The White Sox did not play fundamental baseball in any way, shape, or form.  It was absolutely disgusting, actually.  Considering the Sox made four errors and could have been charged with another two, I'm seriously surprised they won this game.

Clayton Richard was pulled after three innings where he did not pitch well at all.  He allowed five runs over those three innings, two in the first and three in the third.

In the first, he allowed a lead-off single to Willy Taveras.  After Jerry Hairston Jr. flied out to Scott Podsednik, Richard walked Brandon Phillips.  The next play was just...I have no words.  So I'll let Gameday summarize:

With Jonny Gomes batting, Willy Taveras steals third base, Willy Taveras scores.  Brandon Phillips scores.  Brandon Phillips steals second base.  Throwing error by catcher A. Pierzynski.

No, I have no idea why it's in that order.  No, I have no idea why he's A. Pierzynski rather than AJ Pierzynski since Gameday never abbreviates.  Luckily that was the only damage done that inning, and neither of those runs were earned because of AJ's throwing error.

The third inning was a bit of a mess too.  To lead off the inning, Richard allowed a bunt single to Taveras who advanced to third on a throwing error by Richard.  Taveras scored on a sac fly to left by Jerry Hairston, and Brandon Phillips singled on a line drive to left.  Phillips stole second, and Jonny Gomes proceeded to hit a two-run homer to left.  This was Richard's last inning, and in the fourth DJ Carrasco entered the game.  DJ pitched two hitless innings, only allowing two walks.

Octavio Dotel came in for more relief in the sixth and did not allow a run.  He returned in the seventh and allowed a walk to Hairston and a single to Phillips before he was pulled for Matt Thornton.  Thornton gave up a single to Wilkin Castillo who advanced to second on an error by Brian Anderson.  That error allowed Jerry Hairston to score and Brandon Phillips to advance to third.  Thornton allowed another single, this time to Ramon Hernandez and Phillips scored.  After that, the Sox ended the inning without more runs scoring.  The Reds' final run of this game came in the bottom of the ninth off Bobby Jenks.  He gave up a solo shot to Jay Bruce.

Despite the defensive woes, the Sox won this game.  In the top of the fourth, the Sox scored three runs.  After Paul Konerko grounded out to lead off the inning, Brian Anderson and Chris Getz both singled.  Up came Gordon Beckham.  Quick note: I was watching this game on the MLB Network rather than on my computer, and during all this, Harold Reynolds and Victor Rojas were talking to Hank Aaron in the booth.  In the middle of talking to Aaron, Gordon Beckham hits his first Major League home run to left field.

The Sox tied the game in the fifth inning.  To lead it off, Scott Podsednik homered to right field.  After that, Alexei Ramirez singled and was caught stealing during Pierzynski's at-bat.  And what did AJ do after that?  He hit a solo shot to right center.  And the game was tied at five.

The Sox put more runs on the board in the sixth inning.  Shocking, I know.  After Beckham grounded out to lead off the inning, Dewayne Wise doubled to center.  Jermaine Dye came in to pinch hit for Carrasco and flied out to left field.  Daniel Ray Herrera then walked Podsednik, and Dusty Baker decided to change pitchers.  He brought in former White Sox Nick Masset, and on his first pitch of the night, Alexei Ramirez hit a three-run shot to left field.

The Sox added two more runs in the eighth inning.  Arthur Rhodes came on in relief of Masset and immediately walked Beckham.  Wise hit a sac bunt, but because of an error by Rhodes, both Beckham and Wise were safe.  Jim Thome came on to pinch hit for Thornton and struck out swinging.  Podsednik came on and singled, scoring Beckham, and after a pitching change, Ramirez doubled to left, scoring Wise.  And the Sox won the game 10-8.

I really liked the offensive outburst in this game, but those four errors are completely unacceptable.  It's fundamental baseball, guys.  While I really have no room to talk since I s*ck at basically every sport out there, these guys are getting paid to play a sport.  I know there are bound to be errors every now and then, but four in one game?  That is completely inexcusable.  Hopefully we'll see less of them in the coming games.

White Sox-Reds Game Three
Final: 4-1 White Sox

Hey, look at that.  The Sox won another series.  Hooray!  Are they playing good baseball (minus the four-error game) or is everyone else playing bad baseball?  I don't know, and frankly I don't care right now.  Because winning games will, I think, get them to play good baseball if they aren't already.

Mark Buehrle started for the Sox on Sunday.  Buehrle is so full of awesome, it's amazing.  He didn't allow a run in his seven innings of pitching.  He gave up five hits and a walk while striking out three.  Mark Buehrle, you are amazing.

The lone Reds run came in the eighth inning off none other than Scott Linebrink.  He gave up one run, which was earned, and walked one.  The single was to Chris Dickerson who proceeded to steal second during Jerry Hairston's at-bat.  He walked Hairston.  Here's where Sox fans probably got nervous.  I mean, I did.  Brandon Phillips was next to bat, and he's pretty good.  During that at-bat, Linebrink threw a wild pitch and Dickerson moved in to third.  Phillips hit a sac fly to right, and Phillips scored.  Then Linebrink hit Jonny Gomes with a pitch, moving Hairston to second.  Luckily he got out of it by getting Ramon Hernandez to line into a double play, with Hairston being doubled off at second.  Bobby Jenks came on for the ninth and pitched a perfect inning, picking up his 17th save.

Sox hitting looked pretty good in this game as well.  Scott Podsednik singled to lead off the game, and Alexei Ramirez singled immediately after.  Hitting in the three-spot again was AJ Pierzynski who singled to center, scoring Podsednik.  Paul Konerko grounded into a double play, but Ramirez was able to score since he moved into third on AJ's single.

The Sox added another run in the fifth inning.  Podsednik singled to lead off the inning.  Ramirez lined out and Pierzynski grounded out, but Podsednik was able to move to second on AJ's ground out.  Up came Paul Konerko.  He singled to second, and Podsednik scored.  That was Konerko's 1000th career RBI, so congrats to you, Paulie!  The Sox added one more run in the ninth.  Beckham walked, and Wise doubled him in, making the final score 4-1 Sox.

The Sox saw the Mark Buehrle we all know and love.  His pitching dominated, and he got the win, his first since May 19.  And hey, no errors for the Sox either.  I like that idea, so let's keep rolling with that, guys.

NL All-Star Voting Update/Rant
Really, baseball fans?  Do I HAVE to keep ranting about the NL outfield position?  I'll let you check out Emily's post about why Brad Hawpe should be there because I'm sure you remember my thoughts on how awesome he is.  But can someone explain to me why on Earth Manny Ramirez got an additional 162,707 votes this week?  Please.  I'd LOVE a logical explanation as to why a guy who this year has played only 27 games and has been on a 50-game suspension for using a banned substance is still getting votes.  Other than the popularity contest explanation because I know that's all the All-Star Game really is.  Yes, he was good in those 27 games, but he was SUSPENDED FOR VIOLATING THE DRUG POLICY!  There is absolutely no reason for Manny Ramirez to be in sixth place in voting.  None.  Just because he's been really good in past seasons doesn't mean he should be voted in now.

Final Shoutout

Congrats to Rays Renegade!

Pardon my brief two-day hiatus.  Here's the recap for the second Crosstown Classic game and the first of three games with the Reds.  I'll be back Sunday for the recaps for the second and third games with the Reds.  Holla!

Crosstown Classic Game Two
Final: 6-5 Cubs

The White Sox had this game won.  Until the eighth inning.

It took until the sixth inning for anyone to score on either side.  In the sixth, Brian Anderson singled, and Jermaine Dye scored with two outs, putting the Sox up 1-0.  The Cubs immediately came back in the bottom of the sixth.  Derrek Lee grounded into a force out, and Ryan Theriot scored.  In the top of the seventh, Alexei Ramirez smacked a two-run homer off Carlos Zambrano, his second home run in as many days.  In the eighth, Chris Getz doubled to right, scoring Paul Konerko, and Gordon Beckham singled to right, scoring Getz.  Sox led 5-1.

In the bottom of the eighth, Ozzie Guillen decided to pull Gavin Floyd.  Floyd had given up one run on four hits and had thrown 90 pitches.  Maybe it was time to pull him.  In the seventh, Matt Thornton and Scott Linebrink had been warming up, just in case.  So after pulling Floyd, Linebrink entered the game.  I'd actually prefer Thornton in because it's a very rare occasion when he gives up a run.  But in this scenario, one run wouldn't be bad.  And that's usually all he gives up.

The bottom of the eighth is full of nightmares so bad that I can't even describe them myself.  I'll let Gameday do it for me.  That's how you know it's bad.

• Pitcher Change: Scott Linebrink replaces Gavin Floyd, batting ninth.

• Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Micah Hoffpauir replaces Sean Marshall.

• Micah Hoffpauir reaches on fielding error by second baseman Chris Getz.  None out.

• Alfonso Soriano singles on a ground ball to center fielder Brian Anderson.  Micah Hoffpauir to second.  None out.

• Coaching visit to mound.

• Ryan Theriot pops out to second baseman Chris Getz on the infield fly rule.  One out.

• Milton Bradley strikes out swinging.  Two out.

• Derrek Lee homers on a fly ball to right field.  Micah Hoffpauir scores.  Alfonso Soriano scores.  Two out.

• Geovany Soto homers on a fly ball to left center field.  Two out.

• Pitcher Change: Matt Thornton replaces Scott Linebrink, batting ninth.

• Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Jake Fox replaces Mike Fontenot.

• Jake Fox flies out to center fielder Brian Anderson.  Three out.

Yes, Scott Linebrink allowed a three-run homer followed by a solo homer, so the Sox and Cubs were tied.  But because of that error by Getz, none of those runs were earned.  And in the bottom of the ninth, Matt Thornton allowed the walk-off single to Alfonso Soriano.

Since the game, Ozzie has said Linebrink will remain in the set-up man slot.  I'd prefer it if he didn't.  This isn't the first time Linebrink has blown a game for us, and I'm sure it won't be the last.  If I didn't have to see Linebrink again all season, I think I'd be OK with that.  After all, I did bench him on my fantasy team in the middle of that performance on Thursday.  Just on principle.

White Sox at Reds
Final: 4-3 Reds

It looked to me like the White Sox were in control of this game for a little while, but of course, I have a tendency to be wrong a lot when it comes to the White Sox this season.

The Sox started off pretty well.  In the fourth, Bronson Arroyo walked Ramon Castro.  Chris Getz was the next batter and launched his first careeer home run to right field.  It was awesome to see Getz all smiles when he returned to the dugout.  This is the third time this season that a White Sox player has hit his first Major League home run.  Getz joins Jayson Nix and Mark Buehrle on that list, and Gordon Beckham looks to join them at some point this season.  The one other Sox run came in the top of the ninth when Paul Konerko hit a 425-foot bomb off Francisco Cordero.  That was Konerko's 999th career RBI and his 300th home run in a White Sox uniform.

Jose Contreras didn't really pitch a bad game at all.  He threw 63 of his 100 pitches for strikes.  Late in the game, Ozzie said he could tell Contreras was starting to get fatigued in the heat and humidity.  He managed to get through it, despite giving up a home run to Brandon Phillips in the sixth.  That was really what gave control of the game to the Reds, according to Scott Merkin.  Despite being tagged with the loss, it is obvious that the stint in the Minors has really helped Contreras with his control and his strength.  He's throwing the ball better...a LOT better.

Civil Rights Game
Tonight's game against the Reds is the Civil Rights Game.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET.  The White Sox will be sending Clayton Richard to the mound, and he has said that it is an awesome feeling to pitch in front of people such as Muhammad Ali, Hank Aaron, and Bill Cosby, who all received an award at Major League Baseball's Beacon Awards Luncheon this afternoon.

Many Sox fans are probably disappointed to hear that Jermaine Dye will not be playing tonight.  He has a sore calf, and you know it has to be bad for him NOT to play in this game.  Dye has said on numerous occasions how important this game is to him.  And I'm sure Sox fans are also disappointed to hear that Barack Obama will not be throwing out the first pitch.  Due to the election conflict in Iran, Obama has chosen to miss this event.  It's great to know that while baseball and his White Sox are still important, Obama has his priorities in order.  I know the White Sox are always going to have that invitation open to him.  (Yes, I'm aware this game is in Cincinnati.)

As part of the Civil Rights Game festivities, there was a roundtable panel that discussed civil rights.  Check out Mark Newman's article, linked here, for a great recap of the discussion.

Final Shoutout
Today's final shoutout goes to the people who are renting my apartment.  Why do they get the shoutout?  Because I don't have to pay rent past July 23 since my landlord found new tenants.  Yessssss!  Always a good thing when you're paying $1240 a month for a studio apartment in the Gaslamp Quarter of downtown San Diego.

I'm still looking for more captions before I decide on a winner for my Crosstown Caption.  Here's the picture one more time.  So what are Ozzie and Lou REALLY thinking?
Photo credits: daylife.com, zimbio.com, allposters.com, AP

There was no rain, and the White Sox and Cubs played today!  All riiiiiiight!  More on that in the substantive sections of today's blog.  I have a moving date officially now.  I'll be back in Chicago for good by July 25.  Because I've enjoyed PETCO Park so much the past year, I have to get ONE more game in before I leave.  And I already told Kaybee and Hyun Young that I'd be at the game July 18, so that's still my game.  You still coming with me, Tommy?  That's your chance for a free game from me.  :)  Now for some White Sox baseball.

Crosstown Classic Facts
Entering today's game, I learned some interesting things about the Crosstown Classic:

• The White Sox have won 33 games; the Cubs have won 33 games.

• The White Sox have scored 323 runs; the Cubs have scored 322 runs.

• The White Sox are 19-14 at home; the Cubs are 19-14 at home.

Let's play some Chicago baseball!

Crosstown Classic Game One
Final: 4-1 White Sox

The John Danks I know and love pitched today.  Not the Danks that worries me when he allows 2473 runs.  But the one that throws nine strikeouts and doesn't allow a run until the eighth inning.  Today Danks threw 99 pitches in seven innings.

It wasn't completely smooth sailing for Danks.  In the bottom of the second, Derrek Lee hit a single to lead off the inning.  Geovany Soto reached base after Gordon Beckham committed his second error of the season after missing a ground ball to third.  However, Danks was able to induce a double play by getting Reed Johnson to ground to third.  To end the inning, he got Mike Fontenot to ground out to first.

In the bottom of the fourth, Danks was in another shaky situation.  Ryan Theriot singled to third.  Next up was Milton Bradley who singled to Scott Podsednik.  Podsednik threw to Beckham at third but was cut off by Alexei Ramirez.  Podsednik's throw to third appeared to be right on the mark, so he probably would have gotten the out at third.  However, it seemed that Ramirez thought Bradley was going to try for second.  Luckily Danks got Derrek Lee to fly out to Brian Anderson, and Theriot did not advance in to home.  Soto then struck out swinging and Johnson grounded into a force out to end the threat.

In the bottom of the seventh, Danks allowed a single to Aaron Miles, and Ozzie replaced him with Scott Linebrink.  Linebrink threw a pitch to pinch hitter Jake Fox that looked like it was going to be a two-run home run, but Brian Anderson made a leaping catch at the ivy for the out, and Miles advanced to third.  Alfonso Soriano grounded out to short, and Miles scored.  That was the only run of the game for the Cubs, and it was charged to Danks since he gave up the single to Miles.

The Sox offense performed nicely today to back up Danks's stellar pitching.  In the top of the first with one out, Alexei Ramirez got the White Sox on the board with a solo home run into the basket in left field.  In the second inning, Brian Anderson singled to right, with neither Aaron Miles nor Milton Bradley able to get to the ball.  The next batter was Chris Getz, and he hit a broken-bat triple into the right field corner, scoring Brian Anderson.

The Sox didn't score again until the top of the seventh, but the plays that lead up to the score were fun for Sox fans to watch.  Ryan Dempster was pulled after giving up back-to-back walks to Chris Getz and Gordon Beckham.  Angel Guzman pitched to John Danks, and he grounded into a force out.  I believe he was going for the sacrifice bunt, but that didn't quite work out.  Getz advanced to third, Beckham was out at second, and Danks was safe at first.  Scott Podsednik came up and laid down a beautiful bunt single, scoring Getz.  Ramirez grounded into a double play to end the inning.

The top of the eighth saw the last Sox run scored.  Jermaine Dye walked and was replaced by pinch runner Dewayne Wise.  Paul Konerko, who is two RBIs shy of 1000 for his career, singled to right, moving Wise to third.  AJ Pierzynski hit a sacrifice fly to left, and Wise scored while Konerko advanced to second on Soriano's throwing error.

Tomorrow sees the end of the series at Wrigley Field, with Gavin Floyd facing Carlos Zambrano.  The makeup date for yesterday's postponed game has not been set yet.  Suggestions have floated around for how to handle that.  I have heard a day-night doubleheader for tomorrow, a day-night doubleheader next Sunday with the day game played at US Cellular as the finale of the three-game set there and the night game played at Wrigley Field, and the most likely scenario (I think) is the game will be made up either September 3 or September 10 when the Sox and Cubs have mutual off-days.  The only other off-day they have in common is July 15, which is the day after the All-Star Game.  I have a feeling we'll see the end of the series in September.  At that point in time, both teams could be in contention for the playoffs.  Meaning there would be extra incentive to see the opposition lose.

Ryan Dempster
I made an assumption about Ryan Dempster that I shouldn't have.  I thought he was a punk because of anger he took out on a Gatorade machine and other reasons I put in the back of my mind and couldn't remember.  I would like to issue an apology to Ryan (even though I doubt he reads my blog) because I was unaware of his situation.

Dempster's daughter Riley was born prematurely on April 1 and was diagnosed with a rare form of DiGeorge Syndrome.  In her case, she's missing part of a chromosome that affects her natural swallowing reflex.  She has been in an incubator her entire two months of life and the only outside she's seen has been during transportation to and from hospitals and ambulances.  This past Monday, doctors injected her secretion glands with Botox in order to try and help her swallow her food.

Obviously this is stressful for Dempster and his family, and a person can only take so much.  Since I don't follow the Cubs and I don't ever recall seeing anything about this on the MLB.com homepage, I was unaware of his family situation.  Because I jumped to a conclusion about Dempster that is incorrect, I feel that I owe him an apology.  I sincerely hope that Riley gets all the help she needs so she can go on to live a normal life and have a great childhood.  I wish the Dempster family all the best during this difficult time for them.


Final Shoutout
Today's recipient is Elizabeth of The Future Blog of the Red Sox.  From what I got out of her Twitter post yesterday, if the Red Sox lose this series against the Marlins, she has to wear a Yankees cap on the first day of school.  And because I would never even think about accepting a bet like that with a Twins/Indians/Tigers/Royals/Cubs fan, she gets my shoutout.  Good luck, Elizabeth!

And you lucky people get another caption contest.  What are Ozzie Guillen and Lou Piniella REALLY thinking?  May the best caption win!
Photo credits: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images, AP, Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images, anjelicasboudoir.com, AP

Kinda short entry today.  Here's hoping tomorrow will bring a longer entry with a game recap.  That'd be nice.

Crosstown Classic Game One
No recap today.  Sadness.  Because it was raining all day (or so I've heard), the Sox-Cubs game has been postponed.  I've heard rumors on Twitter that the makeup date might be in September.  That's a REALLY long time, but someone is BOUND to sell their tickets, and if I can afford it, I'll be snatching those up ASAP.  Instead of a Danks-Zambrano matchup tomorrow, it will be Danks-Dempster.  Thursday will be Floyd-Zambrano.  So stay tuned for my commentary.

AL All-Star Voting
As I'm sure you're aware, the AL ASG voting was updated today.  And I have some commentary again.  Like you expected differently.  :)

First Base
Where's Paul Konerko?  After all the stats I spew and all the reasons I've given for him to be there, he's not even in the top five?  And of course the top two are from the Red Sox and Yankees.  I'm not saying they don't deserve it, but I still want some variety.  I know the Yankees have the payroll to shell out money for star players, but that doesn't mean the AL All-Star team needs to be comprised of Yankees.  And while the Red Sox also have a lot of talent, I still want the variety!  Paul Konerko has always been a great player, but he's rarely rewarded with this kind of honor.  So think about moving Paulie up a bit.

Third Base
The White Sox don't have a deserving third baseman (sorry Josh Fields.  I love you, but come on).  So I'm perfectly fine with Evan Longoria leading the category by a huge margin.  But I don't think A-Rod should be in second.  Yes, he's talented.  But with the admission that he took steroids in the past, I don't think he should get this kind of honor.  I still don't think he's sorry about it.  So can we vote for someone else?

Shortstop
Yes, Derek Jeter is talented.  But his production has declined with his age.  I think it's time to give someone else a chance.  It'd be nice for Jason Bartlett to get a chance (he's currently in second, way behind Jeter).  Jeter's not the guy he once was, and that's to be expected since he's getting older.  There are many other guys who deserve the recognition this year.

Outfield
Jason Bay, I'm fine with.  He definitely deserves that spot.  But Josh Hamilton this year?  Hasn't he been sidelined with some injuries?  How has he earned it this year?  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Josh Hamilton.  He's a great player.  But he hasn't done much this year because of injuries.  And like I asked with first base, where's Jermaine Dye?  I've spewed stats, I've spewed intangibles.  And he's still not in the top 15.  The outfield at least has a mixture of deserving players.  But the glaring omission is Jermaine Dye.

Second Base and Catcher
No problem with Ian Kinsler getting the nod.  He deserves it.  And as much as I hate to say this, Joe Mauer totally deserves the starting catcher spot.

Summary
VOTE PAUL KONERKO!  VOTE JERMAINE DYE!

White Sox DVD
Since I'm sure most of you don't obsessively check WhiteSox.com like I do, you've probably missed this little gem.  It's a review of a White Sox DVD.  I must say that the review is INCREDIBLY well-written.  Maybe I'm a bit biased.  After all, I was the one who wrote it.  So check it out if you get the chance!  Thanks again to Mark for letting me write this!

Sammy Sosa
All I'll say about this is that I'm not surprised.  I doubt anyone really is surprised, even if they say they are.  It's like asking me to be surprised that the sun rises in the east.

Final Shoutout

Congrats to Julia of Julia's Rants for the winning caption!

Hooray for a gigantic entry!  I've got Interleague wishes, Crosstown Classic previews, and NL ASG voting commentary.  I'll be back tomorrow night with my first Crosstown Classic recap and AL ASG voting commentary.  I know you can't wait.

The Next Interleague Series
What is the plural of "series"?  I need to Google that.  Right now.  Google tells me the plural of series is series.  OK.  That answers my question.  Now to the actual topic.

I'm making demands of many of the baseball teams.  Because I can do that in this blog.  Doesn't mean they're gonna listen, but I can still make my demands.  I went to the MLB scoreboard to see all the matchups for the next grouping of Interleague games.  So I'll make my demands, which are:

1. White Sox sweep the Cubs.  I'd prefer three perfect games, but I'll at least live with the sweep.  Tuesday, John Danks needs to beat the crap out of Carlos Zambrano.  Because one, I need a Sox win; two, I need Danks to get the win for fantasy reasons; and three, I HATE CARLOS ZAMBRANO!!!  Wednesday, Gavin Floyd needs to win because I need a Sox win and a Floyd win for fantasy purposes.  And Thursday, Jose Contreras needs a win because the Sox need one, and I think Ryan Dempster is a punk, so he needs the loss.

2. Cardinals sweep the Tigers. That's not too much to ask, I don't think.  Not only does it help my second-favorite National League team, but it helps the White Sox in the standings.  Tuesday needs to be a definite win because I have Adam Wainwright on my fantasy team, so I want that win.  And a sweep of the Tigers combined with a sweep of the Cubs puts the Sox closer to first in the division.  Which would be nice.

3. Pirates take two out of three from the Twins.  I need Nick Blackburn to get the win in the last game for fantasy reasons.  Otherwise I'd demand the sweep.  And this scenario would still put the Sox ahead of the Twins in the standings.

4. Giants sweep the Angels.  I'd like to think they could, but with Jonathan Sanchez in the middle of that three-game set, I dunno.  Zito can probably win tonight, and I'm pretty sure Lincecum can win on Wednesday.

5. Nationals sweep the Yankees.  I can dream, right?  Just because I think that'd be hilarious.  That would be a 36-27 team getting swept by a 16-45 team.  Oh please let it happen.

6. I'm a little torn for the Brewers-Indians series.  While I want the Brewers to sweep the Indians because the Indians are a division rival, I also want the Indians to win a game because, coupled with a Cardinals sweep, a 2-1 series for the Brewers puts the Cards in first by half a game (if I did my math right which would be a miracle).  So I think I'm gonna go with Brewers taking two of the three.

7. Rays-Rockies is a tough one for me too because I like both of those teams.  On my fantasy team, I have one starting pitcher for each of these teams.  But neither are playing in this series, as Scott Kazmir is on the DL and Jason Marquis isn't scheduled for this series.  So I have a dilemma.  Both need to move up in their divisions.  Both have been/are underdogs.  GAH!  This one's hard.  OK, I think I'm gonna go with the Rockies taking two of three cuz I still want the Rays to have at least one game, but the Rockies are further back than the Rays in their division.  I think that's a good compromise.  But the Rockies need to win the first game because I like that streak they have going.

8. Padres need to sweep the Mariners.  For no other reason than I'm back in San Diego and I don't want cranky people around me.  I deal with that enough in Chicago since there are two baseball teams.  And since I'm gonna be here for a little while longer, I want happy people around me.  So go Padres.

9. Diamondbacks need to sweep the Royals solely because the Royals are in my division.  No other reason.

10. A's sweep the Dodgers because I want the Giants to gain ground.  I'm pretty sure that won't happen, but like with the Nationals-Yankees series, a girl can dream.

11. I have no preference for the outcomes of the Blue Jays-Phillies series, Mets-Orioles series, Marlins-Red Sox series, or Astros-Rangers series.  So I don't care what happens there, really.  And there's one National League series between the Braves and Reds that I really don't care about either.  Just because I'm an American League girl, and I don't foresee either of those teams in the World Series.  No offense to fans of those teams.

Crosstown Classic Part One
I'm sure you can tell what I'll be doing for the next three days based on Number One in my list of demands.  Yes, I'll be parked in front of my computer/TV, watching the Sox-Cubs series.  I could watch all three games on WGN, but I'm not partial to listening to the Cubs announcers on Tuesday and Thursday.  I'd rather watch the game with Hawk and Stoney announcing on my computer than listen to Bob Brenley and Len Kaspar on my TV.  I get Hawk and Stoney on WGN on Wednesday, so that's a positive in my life.

I think Game One will set the tone for the three-game series.  John Danks is up against Carlos Zambrano.  I'm sure you can recall my feelings about John Danks, and as you can tell from my Interleague demands, I don't like Carlos Zambrano.  Both of these guys are great pitchers, but their personalities are completely different.  Danks doesn't show a lot of emotion on the mound.  In fact, the last time I remember him showing emotion is when Michael Cuddyer tried to score during Game 163.  Ken Griffey Jr.'s throw to AJ Pierzynski was perfect, and the Twins didn't score.  He might have shown emotion in games since then, but I really don't remember.  Zambrano on the other hand...well, you know about him.  He throws temper tantrums, he beats up on innocent Gatorade machines.  He shows A LOT of emotion.

Game Two probably won't be as exciting for me.  While I love Gavin Floyd and I hope he kicks some Cubbie *ss, I don't really have an opinion on Cubs pitcher Randy Wells.  He's got a great ERA for his record (0-3, 2.55), so he obviously can pitch.  But it's obvious that the Cubs can't provide him with any kind of run support.  No offense to Wells, but I hope the Cubs continue that streak, at least until we're done facing him.

Game Three will be more exciting than Game Two but not as exciting as Game One.  Jose Contreras takes the mound for the Sox against Ryan Dempster.  This game will be more exciting for me because I think Ryan Dempster is a punk.  I don't remember why exactly, but I do.  He's not as big of a punk as Zambrano or Ted Lilly, but he's still a punk.  Therefore, the Sox need to raise his ERA drastically.  And Contreras needs more wins to make sure his confidence stays up.  The two games he's pitched so far since returning from Triple A have been wonderful.  He's got two wins and has lowered his ERA by about three points.

In addition to great pitching, the Sox need to score runs and lots of them.  Scott Podsednik will still be in left field since we don't know when Carlos Quentin will be back.  I hope his plantar fasciitis is getting better because we could really use his bat back in the lineup.  Back to Pods.  Pods needs to steal bases.  He's been REALLY good about getting on base, but he hasn't really had the opportunity to steal a lot of bases.  Alexei Ramirez needs to make sure he gets on base as well.  I don't care how he does it, as long as it gets done.  He has a lot of power in his bat, but he also has the capability to steal bases.  So steal away, gentlemen!

Jermaine Dye was kept out of the lineup on Sunday, so I don't foresee him sitting in this series.  JD has a lot of power and he's leading the team in home runs with 15.  While his .274 batting average isn't absolutely spectacular, it isn't bad either.  Paul Konerko has been getting on base a lot lately.  He leads the team in RBIs with 41, probably due to the fact that guys are getting on base before him.  In case you all have forgotten, I really encourage you to vote these two into the All-Star game.

Because I like when Cubs fans suffer (most of them), I would love for AJ Pierzynski to bat 1.000 in this series with several grand slams and home runs in general.  Cubs fans don't like him.  At all.  Yes, I know most fan bases don't like him, but the Cubs keep harping on that Michael Barrett incident at US Cellular Field in 2006.  AJ made a good play and a clean play.  Barrett got mad and sucker punched him.  But AJ, being a wall, barely stumbled, and Barrett proceeded to be tackled by little Scottie Pods.  Then the benches cleared.  It was amusing to say the least.  Anyway, when the Sox visited Wrigley a couple weeks later, AJ hit a walk-off homer, thus drawing more ire.  So AJ Pierzynski, if you read this (which at this point wouldn't surprise me since I write about him often enough), give the Cubs some hell.  :)

If Ozzie's smart, he'll start Brian Anderson in center over Dewayne Wise.  I know I've said this on several occasions, but D-Wise isn't a good player.  His skill level is best suited for the Minors, I think.  I'm sure he's a great guy, but Brian Anderson has busted his butt to keep that starting spot.  He'll probably move back to the bench when Quentin comes back, but until then, he'll keep working hard to keep his spot.  Anderson's batting average is .230, which isn't spectacular, but he's been getting a bit better lately.  It's better than Wise's .133 average.  Defensively, I don't think there's any contest on which one is better.  Yes, they both make mistakes, but I believe Anderson has made fewer than wise.  And I've only seen that one dive that put Wise on the DL.  Anderson's made several.

I'm not sure how much Ramon Castro will be playing since this is the Cubs series, but if he does, he needs to get that .167 average up.  I know four games isn't a lot to judge a guy, but he hit a homer Saturday (I believe) in Milwaukee.  So I see him getting better quickly, which is good out of our backup catcher.  I don't expect too much out of him, but some hits if he plays will be really helpful.

Whoever starts at second, Chris Getz or Jayson Nix, needs to get hits too.  Getz is on my fantasy team, so it'd be nice if he started, but Nix is good, so either one is fine with me.  They're both pretty good offensively and defensively.  I feel like Nix would be better as a pinch hitter since the games are being played in a National League park, but Ozzie knows better than I do.  Getz has the ability to steal some bases, which would be great.  I don't know if Nix has that ability, but if he does, then let's get him on the basepaths too.

Third base.  Oh third base.  Lord knows I love and adore Josh Fields, but I'm worried about him.  He's batting .228 with 62 strikeouts.  He leads the team with strikeouts.  He started off so hot and so well, and now a lot of Sox fans are calling for his head.  Gordon Beckham has been starting a lot of games in Fields's place, and he's been doing pretty well.  It seems like the Josh Fields era may be coming to an end in Chicago.  I know he can be good, but there's just something wrong.  I wish I could fix him because he's a wonderful person whose baseball talent is hiding for some reason.  Don't get me wrong, I love Gordon Beckham.  He's one of my projects, and I'm so happy he made it to the bigs a year after he was drafted.  He'll be a great player too.  But I was very excited for the Josh Fields era.  Whoever Ozzie plays at third needs to start hitting well.  Beckham got his average up to .114 this weekend, but he needs to hit better now.  I think the initial nervousness of being called up with the added pressure of performing how many Sox fans expect him to is finally wearing off, and he'll start hitting better.  At least I can hope.

Jim Thome will pinch hit this weekend.  I know he will.  Thome just needs to do what he does best and that's hit.  I can't expect anything else from him since he'll have one at-bat in any game he comes in to.  So just get on base however you can, Jim.  Home runs are preferable, but do what you can.

NL All-Star Voting
I said in prior entries that I'm not really an expert on the NL All-Star voting.  But I'm making endorsements because some of these results are bogus.

First Base
Albert Pujols is going to be the starter.  He's amazing.  He deserves it.  But I'm not happy that Adrian Gonzalez is fourth.  Since I don't watch the NL as much as I should, I can't give accurate commentary, but if you're tied with Raul Ibanez and Albert Pujols for the most home runs in the National League, tied with Shane Victorino with the fourth most runs scored in the National League, and third in the National League with a .608 slugging percentage, I think you should be a bit higher on that list.  (FYI this picture was linked to Kaybee's blog on Google images.  MLBloggers are moving up in the world!)

Outfield
Why is Manny Ramirez still getting votes?  Are people stupider than I thought?  He cheated.  He's been suspended.  And people are STILL voting for him?  I can't really comment on the other players getting votes, but I'm still disturbed that Brad Hawpe of the Rockies isn't in the top 15.  He has the fifth best batting average in the NL with .337, he has the third most doubles with 21, he has the fifth most RBIs with 47, and he has the fourth best slugging percentage with .602.  WHERE IS BRAD HAWPE ON THIS LIST?!  Come on, people.  I know the All-Star Game is a popularity contest, but remember that stupid poster from, like, middle school: "what is popular is not always right; what is right is not always popular."  APPLY THIS TO ASG VOTING!  Manny may be popular, but he sure ain't right.  Brad Hawpe may not be popular, but he's right.

Second Base, Third Base, Shortstop, Catcher
I think Chase Utley deserves the starting spot for second.  Same with David Wright at third.  And Jimmy Rollins at short.  I'm fine with Yadi Molina for catcher, although I wish his brother Bengie was higher than fifth on that list.  I really like Bengie.

Summary
VOTE ADRIAN GONZALEZ!  VOTE BRAD HAWPE!  And if you want to, vote Bengie Molina too.  Cuz he's pretty awesome as well.

Final Shoutout
I need more captions before I can decide on a winner who gets a shoutout.  At the end of the shoutout is the picture again.  I've got two captions so far, and I like them both.  Let's see if anyone can top Julia or Kaybee.  :)

Today's shoutout goes to my fish, Ryba.  Don't laugh at me.  I left for Chicago on May 13, and I left him with an automatic feeder and a five-gallon tank of water.  When I got back on Saturday, a little more than half of the water had evaporated, but my fish was still alive and well.  So props to Ryba for being such a beast.  And in case you were wondering, Ryba means "fish" in Polish.  Yes, I named my fish "Fish."

Here's the picture again.  More captions, please!  I'm thinking of making a wall of these pictures with their captions when I move back to Chicago.  Or at least a section of wall with these pictures and their captions.  Which is why I need good ones.
Photo credits: unknown, butterfunk.com, sixfourthreeblog.files.wordpress.com, Wikipedia, daylife.com, unknown, unknown, daylife.com, Photobucket, unknown, msnbc.com, gearupforsports.com, kaybee.mlblogs.com, cahnlitigation.com, Rachel Hassard

I was thinking of recapping every game I've missed covering this past week, but I've decided against it because that will take for-freaking-ever.  Instead, I'll tell of my final visit to US Cellular Field this season (maybe), and I'll recap today's game because it was awesome.

Sox Game June 9
Final: 7-6 Tigers in 10 innings

Despite the fact that the Sox lost, it was still a great game.  At one point the Sox were down 6-3.  They came back to tie it up in the ninth and lost it in the 10th, much to my chagrin.  I went to the game with Rachel my love who needs to actually have a username on MLB.com rather than just her email address.  :)  But we went, we had margaritas (as you probably noticed because of the commentary in the video in my last entry), and we had a blast.  I'm hoping the links I'm posting to my Facebook pictures work for anyone who's not my friend yet on there.  If not, I'm sorry.  There are a lot of pictures that span two albums since I went a bit overboard with my AJ Pierzynski pictures again.

Here's the general album: CLICK ME!  And here's the AJ Pierzynski album: CLICK ME TOO!

OK, more game recap.  Brian Anderson hit a two-run homer that tied the game at 3.  But he also wasn't able to get to a ball that allowed three runs (as evidenced by the yelling in the video in the last entry).  Mark Buehrle pitched pretty well, despite what the score says.  And AJ.  Well, I guess Gerald Laird decided AJ was being a d*ck when he was walking past Dontrelle Willis on the mound.  AJ says that all they said was "hey" to each other, but Laird came running in from behind the plate, and the benches cleared.  No punches were thrown, but I like baseball fights, so I would have liked it if someone punched someone.  But it probably would have resulted in AJ getting ejected, so that would have made me ridiculously sad.  In the bottom of the ninth, the Sox had the bases loaded, and Paul Konerko hit a bases-clearing double to tie the game at 6 going into the tenth.  Unfortunately, Scott Linebrink gave up a lead-off homer, and the Sox were unable to score in the bottom.  My favorite part of the game other than the AJ controversy was Gordon Beckham, a late-addition to my project list, getting his first Major League hit in the second inning.  Congratulations, Gordon!!!

Sox-Brewers Game Three
Final: 5-4 Sox

I'm really not a fan of playing in National League parks.  Yes, I'm an American League girl who loves her DH.  But if my pitchers did what Mark Buehrle did in his first at-bat today, I'd be really happy.  On a 3-2 pitch from Braden Looper, Mark Buehrle launched his first career home run.  It.  Was.  AWESOME.  It was blatantly obvious that Mark was incredibly pleased as he rounded the bases with a huge smile on his face.

Despite the awesome home run, Buehrle didn't pitch like he usually does.  He fell behind in the count a lot, and he allowed three home runs in the game, two of them to Corey Hart.  Everyone is allowed a rough day, and today was one of Mark's.  I know he'll bounce back to the Buehrle I know and love.

The winning run came in the top of the ninth.  Trevor Hoffman came in during a tie game.  Which is unusual.  Which also made me mad since he's on my fantasy team.  To start off the inning, Gordon Beckham grounded out to third.  Then Jim Thome came in as Matt Thornton's pinch hitter.  He promptly walked and was replaced by pinch runner Clayton Richard.  Then Scott Podsednik singled to left, and Alexei Ramirez flied out to center.  There are two outs, and AJ Pierzynski comes to bat.  To me, it seems like whenever there are two outs and AJ comes to bat, he's the last out.  I hate having so little faith in my favorite player EVER when there are two outs, but I can't help it.  So I fully expected him to be the third out.  But on a 3-0 pitch, he singled to center, and Clayton Richard came around to score.  AJ with the clutch, two-out RBI.  :)  Love it.

Final Shoutout
Today's final shoutout is another caption contest.  And who do you get to caption?  Me.  Have fun.  Winner gets the next shoutout!
Photo Credits: Rachel Hassard