Most of you probably remember Mark Buehrle’s perfect game from Friday, which was probably pretty boring through the first few innings, but anyway…Last night Buehrle picked up where he left off, retiring the first 17 batters he faced before coughing up five runs to the Minnesota Twins and picking up a loss.
The Twins scored all five of their runs in Buehrle’s final two-thirds of an inning to pick up their third straight victory and move into a tie with the White Sox for second place in the American League Central, two games back of the division-leading Tigers.
“We’ve faced this guy so many times and we’ve watched him pitch so many times,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “It’s a race track out there, and all we were saying in the dugout is, ‘Slow down. You’ve got to slow him down a little bit, because once he gets on a roll like that, he can mow right through you.’” via.
On the bright side, Buehrle just saved himself 25 bottles’ worth of Crown Royal XR. It’s tough to throw a no-hitter in a ballpark that uses two-ply Hefty bags for its outfield walls. Actually, I don’t know if that’s true. I just felt like taking a little dig at the Metrodome. The Twins’ win puts them in a second-place tie with the Sox. And then this is when some guy driving a Camaro drives up and screams, “Second place is the first loser!” That’s nice, Camaro guy. Now pull out your abacus so I can calculate which loser you are. Oh, you don’t have an abacus? Then I guess these empty cans of PBR in your passenger seat will do.
White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle faced 27 batters this afternoon and retired all of them. Buehrle threw the second no-hitter of his career against the Rays, winning today in Chicago, 5-0. The perfect game was saved in the ninth when Gabe Kapler led off with a deep drive to left-center, forcing Dewayne Wise to make a leaping catch to preserve the game for Buehrle and rob Kapler of a home run.
Video’s after the jump. If it doesn’t give you goosebumps, then I’m not sure we could be friends anymore. Read the rest of this entry »
The President of the United States supposedly upset the MLB brass by wearing a Chicago White Sox jacket when throwing the first pitch at the All-Star Game last weekend. And all I can say is that whatever pisses off stodgy, white baseball owners is good for America.
[Obama senior advisor David] Axelrod said he had a long talk with Obama before the game because some Major League Baseball executives weren’t happy about the decision.
“There was a big controversy,” he said. “I think Major League Baseball wanted him to wear the All-Star jacket, and he was intent on wearing his White Sox jacket. He prevailed in that. The thing I will say about him — I’ll give him this — he’s not a Cub-hater. He will allow that he wants the Cubs to do well. It’s just that between the two of them, he prefers the White Sox. via.
I think most fans appreciated the fact that Barack Obama stuck with his team, whether or not those people were Sox fans themselves. Now if we could just do something about those jeans. via.
Look, I’m not a big fan of the “[Hispanic player/coach] MOWS MY LAWN” shirts; they’re long on ethnic stereotyping and short on Teh Funny (and that’s coming from a guy that did this post on KSK last year). But when White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen found someone selling “OZZIE MOWS WRIGLEY FIELD” shirts in front of 1060 West Addison on his way to work (the Sox play the Cubs in Wrigley today), he made a statement of his own. From Mark Gonzales at the Trib’s Hardball blog:
Guillen bought a T-shirt and wore it in the clubhouse. “I might cut lawns but I don’t stand in the rain selling T-shirts,” Guillen said, laughing.
It’s a refreshing attitude to have, if not a counter-productive one. I would have loved to see the look on the vendor’s face when that transaction went down, assuming the guy would have been smart enough to recognize Guillen without his landscaping gear. Hey, that was totally uncalled for! Oh, wait…I wrote that.
|as first seen on Amy K. Nelson’s Twitter feed. The “K” stands for “baseball.”|
So the White Sox are trying to sell this commemorative hat that has Barack Obama’s name and campaign logo on it. Sounds great, but how am I supposed to eat dinner on it?
The club has developed two prototype designs of its club hat with Obama marks on the side and back. The hats have been approved by MLB Properties.[...]
The White Sox enjoy a special relationship with the newly inaugurated president due to his roots in south Chicago. Should the hat happen as intended, proceeds from its sale would be donated to charities, likely ones that provide services near U.S. Cellular Field.
The team needs approval from the president before it can start selling the caps.
I’m not a big fan of a private entity proclaiming such a happy association with a sitting president. Unless it’s a big oil company. Or a multinational defense contractor. Those are relationships that I can live with. But baseball? Why don’t you make me put on a Russian uniform and ice skate across Red Square while you’re at it? At least in Moscow they still kill hookers for sport. It’s days like this that make me really miss the Cold War.
[SBJ, via Sun-Times Blog]
What to watch for in this weekend’s biggest match-ups. Home team in ALL CAPS. Power rankings return next week.
SUNS over Heat (tonight) — What’s hotter, suns or actual heat? Well, “heat” is pretty non-specific. I’ll take Shaq’s current team over his previous one.
Cranberry Sauce over CRANBERRY JELLY — I like the stuff molded in the shape of the can, too, but whole berries and orange zest make a better condiment on the day-after sandwich.
Steelers over PATRIOTS — Okay, okay: I’m willing to concede that Matt Cassel might be good. But I think the Pats’ defense has too many holes to stop Pittsburgh. Also, if Sunday is the day God decides to destroy New England with a horrific natural disaster, I’m cool with that.
Mashed Potatoes over STUFFING — Stuffing is just BREAD! Tasty bread, yes, but just bread. Don’t fill up on that when there’s the majesty of mashed potatoes right there. Actually, you know what? Fill up on stuffing. More potatoes for me.
REDSKINS over Giants –After a string of dominating wins over tough opponents, are the Giants due for a letdown? Well, no, probably not. But picking upsets makes me feel brave, and the ‘Skins cheerleaders affect my decision-making ability.
Enjoy the weekend, everyone. Have safe travels, and I’ll see you back here on Monday.
