Triple-header

After getting rained out in Kansas City last night, the White Sox are playing a double-header tonight and then a day game tomorrow. They might as well play a triple-header. There will be little rest to be had, and the Sox really need to win all three games.

Edwin Jackson threw seven pitches last night before the game was delayed and later postponed, yet he probably will not be pitching either game tonight, if the radio reports I've been hearing are true. That's too bad. He has been the Sox' best starter over the last two weeks (or at least sharing the honor with Mark Buehrle), and with the bullpen suddenly in a shambles and other starters having poor outings, seeing him take the mound last night was a welcome sight.

The Sox ended a four-game losing streak and avoided a series sweep in Minnesota Thursday in the strongest possible way, with an 11-0 trouncing, led by Buehrle and Paul Konerko, who was 5-for-5. After things seemed pretty dire after the first two losses in Minnesota Tuesday and Wednesday, that route gave us reason to believe again.

The Sox are back (?)

The White Sox have won seven of nine games behind improved pitching and some lively hitting from Carlos Quentin and others. Good signs of things to come? Maybe...

The Sox pitching staff was impressive against the Cubs over the weekend, but the Cubs have been pretty woeful of late. This week, they beat up Pittsburgh, but everybody does that (well, except for the Cubs).

More promising is that CQ has been pounding the ball recently, and while Gordon Beckham continues to disappoint and Mark Teahen is injured, it's Quentin's role in the line-up that is most significant for the Sox in taking more advantage of stellar seasons thus far from Alex Rios and Paul Konerko. If the meat of the line-up is getting on base and driving in runs, that should be enough for Sox pitchers like Mark Buehrle and Gavin Floyd, each of whom looked good in their last outing. And, amazingly, Freddy Garcia is still vexing everyone.

Unfortunately, Jake Peavy continues to be a source of stress, annoyance and disappointment. The dreaded "shoulder problems" issue has come up, for now only pushing back a start, but we'll see. Peavy actually has tried hard through a tough season to contribute to team unity and motivation, but the Sox need his arm, not his coaching abilities.

Meanwhile, a winning streak and some good vibes could go a long way toward mitigating the supposed tension between GM Kenny Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen. There have been almost daily reports about how the two don't need to get along to win, or that they actually do get along--whatever... Just win, baby.

Scenes from a soggy, sorry game

Mark Buehrle didn't make it out of the 6th inning Tuesday night, coughing up a 4-1 lead in what eventually became a 9-6 loss for the White Sox. It was an occasionally rainy, painfully slow night. Among other things, it made me wonder whatever became of Buehrle's off-season efforts to strengthen his shoulder for better performance into the late innings. Buehrle actually has pitched 8 innings three times this year, but hasn't made it past the 4th inning in three other games.

Buehrle has had an amazing run with the Sox, with a World Series championship, a perfect game and a no-hitter to his name, so maybe that's why so many people cheered for him as he was pulled and walked toward the dugout, but I had to agree with the lady sitting behind me and Mrs. SBW at the game last night, who responded to the cheers with "Don't applaud him! He wasn't any good tonight!" Nope, he sure wasn't.

Some fans may prefer to blame the Sox line-up or Peavy alone for the Sox' fairly pitiful season, but Buehrle thus far has been pretty bad in what was shaping up to be a pivotal season for him. If it's true the Sox hold two aces, both of them have failed (Let's not even bring up Gavin Floyd, who as I write this is already losing 5-2 tonight in the 2nd inning).

I have to believe that the Sox are perilously close to backing up the truck, regardless of what the GM may say publicly. It may be almost imperceptible, but the line-up actually has been picking up steam of late (Witness Gordon Beckham's two hits and two RBIs last night). Now, for the Sox to turn their season around, Buehrle and Peavy both need to get going.

Above are a couple photos from last night's pre-game activities, taken from the Scout seats, where Mrs. SBW and I took in the game. The Missus felt a lost evening was at least partially saved by sightings of three celebs--Joe Mantegna, who threw out a first pitch, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, who seemed like he was riding the well-coiffed Mantegna's coattails, and Steve Dahl (not pictured).