We're Screwed

It was bad enough losing Quentin. The frail, single game lead that the Sox hold heading into tonight's game is as strong as Paulie's twisted knee. What a fucking turn of events this year has been for the White Sox. Starting the year out with low expectations from everyone outside of the clubhouse, to claiming first place in May and fighting back and forth with the Twins for the past month.

"No...not like this." I believe those were the words of switch as she watched Apok (aka Quentin) suddenly dropped by Cypher in the Matrix. She, like Paulie fell immediately thereafter. The problem is this isn't the Matrix (or is it???)

No, it's not. We don't have a Nemo. We have Clay fucking Dick pitching. I just realized I spent the last 5 minutes staring at the screen thinking about the season. The Blow-Up Doll incident. The Cuban Missile starting a crisis around the league. The trade for the old man in center. The game in Detroit where JD hit the go ahead run in the 9th. Yelling at Swish from bleachers in center.

It's been a fun ride this season to watch the Sox materialize out of nowhere. But to have abruptly taken away just like that is what really sucks. If they played themselves out of it, I would have still been pissed but at least they had the components that got them there.

Now? Fuck, even Chris Getz just broke his wrist. This team couldn't stay out of harms way right now even if it tried. Next to go will be Dye from a slip in the shower, followed by Thome who gets his nuts shattered by a slider that runs in on him.

Sure, they could still possibly hang on (no, not really) and win the central division. But who fucking cares about central title? Congrats kid, here's a fucking Chinese finger trap for all these shitty tickets you spent 20 dollars to get.

It's worthless. What mattered was they had the firepower offensive to make up for a shitty start from Vazquez in an ALDS game, or a blown hold from Dotel in a pivotal game seven. They had the fight this year that wasn't even evident at the start of the '07 season. Swisher and Cabrera gave this team the boost it needed to get somewhere, and for the most part they did that. While I would have liked to seen Swisher hit for better average, he's had a decent BABIP.

Cabrera despite all his bitching about the official scoring of his errors/hits played a great shortstop. He, like Swisher, started off very slowly at the plate, but managed to use July and August to boost his batting average.

And the pitching. Danks. Floyd. Linebrink (before the issues). Everyone contributed to make the staff turn it around, and the bullpen was and has been one of the best in the league.

While I will still continue to watch every game until the end of the season, my excitement is deflated, defeated and de..fuck it.

Sunday feels like a long way away.

So...Anyone Want The A.L. Central?

With the Twins losing 9 of their last 12 (including last night's sweep by the Jays), and the Sox having lost 5 of their last 7, you have to wonder which of these two bumbling front runners is actually going to come away with the division title.

The Sox are starting a 10 game homestand with the Halos, followed by the Blue Jays in for 4, then Detroit for a weekend series. After that, it's 10 on the road, with the final 3 in what will most likely be the decisive 3 game series in Minnesota that decides the title.

While I'm glad the Sox have a game and half lead at this point, I get the general feeling from other Sox fans I've talked to that we all suspect no October baseball for the Pale Hose, and here's why:

CARLOS QUENTIN'S WRIST IS HURT: Of all the things bad that could/may happen, this is up there. Quentin is 2-14 in his past four games in which he played with no homers or RBI's. Granted a four game stretch of such numbers is not all that cautionary, but it may be an indicator of his wrist pain. Paul Konerko had a hand injury in May, and went 24 games before hitting a long one again.

Dye has been having a sensational year, Thome has been Thome, and Paulie is back to hitting again, but this team has been all Quentin all year, and can't afford to lose him for a long stretch during this 24-game period.

DANKS' TANK IS RUNNING LOW: My fear documented here.

THE SOX DON'T DO WELL AGAINST CONTENDERS THIS YEAR: Good point by whitesox.com beat writer Scott Merkin:

Since June 20 - the start of a three-game Cubs Interleague sweep at Wrigley Field - the White Sox have a 1-4-1 series record in matchups against current playoff-bound teams.

They followed the Wrigley sweep with a three-game whitewash of their own at U.S. Cellular Field of the National League Central leaders. There also were three losses in four games at the Metrodome, from July 28-31, a home loss to the Rays and a loss at Fenway Park last weekend. The Red Sox and the White Sox split a four-game set in Chicago from Aug. 8-11.

Happy 1st Birthday

My, how time flies when you're either drunk or pissed off at Juan Uribe. Today is Chicago Bulls' first birthday, and I couldn't think of anyone better to toast to it other than the official woman of the 'Bull, and the only person to have have his own sidetab for a couple months which we sometimes kept up with (notice he's staring at the cake. That was not by accident).

We already gave our blogger circle jerk to everyone when we recently hit 50,000, so no need for that. Thanks to all who read this site, and try to understand my terrible use of grammar. So with that said, enjoy Modern Love by David Bowie.

The City of Big Shoulders and Tired Arms

HOG Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders:

These were the words penned by Carl Sandberg in the poem "Chicago" 92 years ago. If they were reflecting the current state of Chicago today, it might read something more like this:

Owner of Moo and Oink,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Old Autos,
Players with nagging injuries and sore arms;
Stormy, husky, brawling, (and whatever other adjectives that the Sun-Times likes to describe the weather on any particular day. Today? WAN)
City of Big Shoulders..which might need further examining.

Despite both teams leading or owning a piece of their Central division leads, it's ominous times on both the north and south side. Zambrano heading to the othropedist today. Quentin sitting out with a sore hand. Harden capable of breaking at any moment. Danks looking like Big Brown down the stretch at the Belmont.

Yes, it's not looking good right now. While the Sox have "something missing" according to Ozzie on a cut this morning on Mully and Hanley, the Cubs aren't looking that much better. Sure, they have the best record in the MLB thus far, but that doesn't mean they couldn't have an epic choke like the Mets last year, holding a 7 game lead over the Phillies on September 12th before not making the play-offs.



As we look ahead to the final 3 weeks of the season, the White Sox will have 13 games at home, and 11 on the road if you include today. Their second to last series of the year will be a 3-game set in Minnesota which the Sox do not want to be the deciding factor.

The Cubs will spend 16 of their final 23 on the road, two more 3 games sets against Milwaukee (1 in Chicago, other in Milwaukee).

The city with big shoulders and tired arms is accompanied with nervous thoughts, habitual chain smoking and lots of muttered cursing today.

What About Ben?

By StalkingEA

Here we are, a little more than a month from the start of training camp, and there is still no resolution in sight for Ben Gordon. In case you've been under a rock this off-season, Ben is a restricted free agent, which means the Bulls have the right to match any tender offer that another team signs him to. No other teams have offered him a contract.

Gordon wants to be the highest-paid Bull, since he is the led the Bulls in scoring over the last three seasons. That would put him in the $13 million range. The Bulls have $8 million in cap space, and have offered him a 1 year qualifying offer of about $6.4 million, which he won't even consider.

So now what? Ben is obviously not happy with the way the Bulls are handling this, but what leverage does he have? Does he go play in Europe, like Josh Childress did? OK, but that might help the Bulls by clearing part of the log jam at guard, and keeping some cap space free. Does he sit out a season? Not likely, as that would lower what he could get in a contract in the highly competitive NBA. Do the Bulls work out a sign and trade? Now you're talking!

OK, so they sign Ben to a contract he's happy with and then trade him to a team that can afford to pay him. Great! But wait, there's a reason that hasn't happened yet. Who's going to take him and give the Bulls some value in return? Memphis can afford to pay Ben, but what do they have that the Bulls want? Marc Gasol? Not gonna happen. On to the next possibility:

Andrei Kirilenko is Utah's most logical bargaining chip, and Chicago might be interested in him, although he plays a lot like Deng and Nocioni. It's possible the Bulls might feel they were duplicating talent by adding Kirilenko.

This is a pretty interesting article. The writer goes on to say that both teams would probably have to add more pieces to make a deal work, but I don't think the Bulls want to get into a major trade here. Besides, he's right, AK-47 plays the same position as Deng and Nocioni, and Coach Vinny already has a juggling act at guard.

What the Bulls need is to find a team with a big man, a center. The problem is, they just aren't out there. Zach Randolph is available from the Knicks, but his contract is enormous and he doesn't play defense. The previously mentioned Grizzlies have Darko Milicic, but they'd have to package more with him. I just don't see any deals out there that the Bulls would make.

I see Gordon signing maybe a 2 or 3 year deal for around $7.5 - 8 million per, just because he doesn't have another option. This will be a significant raise, but not enough to keep him happy. Look for the Bulls to then try to trade him during the season, when some other team realizes they need a scoring punch. I like Ben, he's been a quality player for the Bulls. I just wish there was a good way to keep him happy. I'll root for him as long as he plays here, and I'll wish him well if he goes. Just not if he plays against the Bulls.

Do Yourself A Favor: Fill Up Your Gas Tanks ASAP

If you enjoyed paying $4.20 in the suburbs, and close to $5 a gallon in the city, go ahead and wait til Wednesday when Hurricane Gustav fucks up most of the US refineries to fill up your car. If you perfer to pay $3.85/$4.40-50, then my prescription for you today other then get drunk is fill up your gas tank as soon as you get the chance. It looks as though Gustav will get to around a category 3 or 4 when it makes landfall, and while there will be a spike in gas prices, I just watched a report on CNN Money that says the oil rigs in the Gulf are now better prepared to handle stronger winds then before. Even still, I'm saving you some money so trust me!

In other programming notes, Noce will have a preview in the case of Sox v. Sox, and I'll follow that up with your usual weekend send off.

The MLB Is Starting To Catch Onto This Whole Blogging Thing

The MLB is unveiling their new postseason ad campaign today, notes Tim Arango of the NY Times.

One of the first commercials aired? The Lovable Losers' 100 years of ineptitude boiled down to 30 seconds. Look, Cubs fans! More about your personal anguish that you didn't already know! The MLB is not fooling around with one of sports' biggest fan bases and the story lines unfolding, as Bud Selig and cronies dish out $65 million for this year, the largest amount spent ads thus far in MLB history.

I guess with the nightmare that both the Red Sox and the Yankees potentially not in the playoffs, the MLB better start hyping what they got up right away.

And to whom are they hyping October baseball? Why, those pesky bloggers!:

This year M.L.B. and its playoff and World Series broadcast partners, Fox and TBS, decided to showcase a different aspect of life on the Internet: blogging, which will be a common thread in the 20 or so advertisements.

“Blogging is kind of the high currency in the interactive space right now" said Tim Brosnan, the league’s executive vice president for business.”

Ok, so let's start off with the good news: NO MORE DANE COOK!

{starts the happy dance}

And the bad news? Lots and Lots of Frank Caliendo, Bill Engvall, and other Fox/TBS stars.

{sits back down, smile quickly fades}

The MLB will be the first of the major sports to tailor specifically to the growing blogfrica sphere, and I think it will be interesting to see what David Stern and Roger Goodell do in the coming future with their advertising. I would imagine the NBA stepping up to do something similar to the MLB before the NFL would. Goodell could get Gilbert Godfried in a rat suit and say playoffs start Saturday, and the ad would probably be considered a classic.

The ad campaign in my opinion sounds pretty interesting, as they will fit the ads to what happens in September.

Way to go, MLB! Thanks for acknowledging us out on your lawn. I can't wait to blog about your blogging commercials while sipping hot coco in mom's basement.