Special K, Big Z and The AL

If Kenny Williams had played baseball the way he runs his organization, the guy would have been a lock for the Hall of Fame. Alright.. let's just say he would have played more than seven seasons. Over the past decade, the White Sox GM has been as busy as any GM in baseball, investing in no namers such as Tadahito Iguchi, Alexei Ramirez and fellow Stanford alum Carlos Quentin---just to name a few. Oh..and he brought the first World Series title to Chicago in nearly a century. If you think a World Series ring would be enough to hush the critics, think again. And Williams would be the first to tell you he is his own harshest critic.

I would have to imagine that the past two weeks have been particularly exasperating for the 45 year-old Williams. It was two weeks ago that San Diego Padre starter Jake Peavy snubbed the White Sox in a potential trade that would have brought him to the American League. Peavy's agent Barry Axelrod recently issued a statement that Peavy has nothing against the White Sox and that his preference right now is to stay in San Diego. "That being said, he didn't say he didn't want to be on the White Sox. What he said was, 'Right now, all things considered, it is better for me and my family to stay in San Diego than it is to accept a deal to the White Sox. " Axelrod then reiterated Peavy's desire to stay in the National League. "Among the factors that are important to Jake are that he go to a competitive team that is going to remain competitive, or at least have a chance to remain competitive," Axelrod said. "He has a strong preference that it would be a National League team, and we have stated that from the beginning." Far be it from me to judge a Major League pitcher based on his desire to stay within the National League, but let me begin with the most obvious observation: seven of the ten league leaders in batting average are from the American League. Eight of the ten league leaders in hits are from the AL. In addition, eight of the ten league leaders in strike outs are from the National League. Simply put: the NL has nothing on the AL. Since 1970 the American League has won 22 out of 37 World Series'. During that same time, the AL has registered 21 victories in the All-Star game. Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen was asked by reporters earlier this week what his thoughts were on Roy Oswalt admitting he had no interest in being traded to the South Side. "Believe me, if I was a pitcher in the National League, I would think twice [before] coming to the American League because now you'd find out how to really pitch," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Every lineup in the American League is loaded." Wiliams backed up his manager by adding "That doesn't make them fearful or anything other than maybe smart," Williams said. "This is a tough league."

BTW: The balloon heads over at wrigleyville23.com recently posted a piece entitled Does Anyone Want To Pitch On South Side? Answer: Carlos Zambrano

When Chicago Sun-Times reporter Chris De Luca asked Carlos Zambrano if he would pitch for any other team other than the Cubs:

”Well, if I do,” Zambrano added in a hushed voice, ”I want it to be in a White Sox uniform.”

Imminent Panic

The Facts: The White Sox will begin a three game set with the Cleveland Indians tomorrow night at Jacobs Field. That's the good news. The White Sox are two games below .500, 30 games into the 2009 season and are looking for some acceleration. With the Indians' offensive woes, the Cleveland series just may provide that opportunity. With right hander Jose Contreras heading to the minors to work on some mechanical issues, Clayton Richard will come out of the 'pen on Wednesday afternoon in Cleveland. Brian Anderson and Dewayne Wise are still on the shelf recuperating, both fighting for the same job.

Breaking It Down: This division reminds me of my childhood home. You never knew what was going to happen next, and nothing really surprised you. Many "experts" had the Royals positioned for first place and "they" will continue to speculate as long as Greinke is pitching well. Don't count on it. The Royals cannot handle winning games very much longer and Greinke is a nervous breakdown waiting to happen. Sure, the kid changes speeds as good as anybody, but Minnesota, Detroit and Chicago will not allow Kansas City to sit on top of that division much longer.

30 Games from now? For the White Sox, it's going to get worse before it gets any better. Contreras will eventually take the mound again and will get a no decision his first game back. Paul Konerko will fall into his early summer slump, while Thome finally gets into the swing of things. Alexei Ramirez will start warming up with the weather, but don't look for a breakout until Ozzie brings Alexei back to second base. 60 games into the season, look for Detroit to be at the top of the A.L. Central.
Prediction: 28-32

Flirting With Perfection

Story Line: White Sox hurler Mark Buehrle tosses eight innings of one-hit, shutout baseball against the Detroit Tigers. Mark retired the first 19 Tiger batters before Placido Polanco took a 0-2 offering from Buehrle down the left field line for a double in the seventh inning. Following Polanco's double, Buehrle walked the next two batters to load up the bases. Mark went on to retire the next Tigers batter and get an inning ending fly out to center field. Bobby Jenks came into a non-save situation in the ninth and surrendered back-to-back singles to start the inning. He went on to retire the next three batters, including striking out former Sox right fielder Magglio Ordonez to end the game.

What Buehrle had to say: "I feel so lucky. It's an honor to pitch in the major leagues. It's a kid's game and I try to have as much fun as I can, win or lose. A lot of people would love to be doing what I'm doing, and I appreciate every minute of it."

Overheard by Tigers manager Jim Leyland: "In, out, cut the ball, jam guys, tail away, change up on them -- that's the art of pitching. He just carved us up, made it look easy."

BTW: A.J. Pierzinski hit a three run home run in the first inning. It was Pierzinski's third homer in his last six games. He has 101 career homers. Jason Nix hit his first home run of the season in the fourth inning. Nix is taking over for Alexei Ramirez at shortstop, while the young Cuban gathers his thoughts.

Hard, raw stats: In his last six games, Pierzynski is batting .542 with three homers and seven RBIs, lifting his average from .220 to .313.

What I think: This was just the kind of game the pitching staff needed. Buehrle is unquestionably the ace of the staff and this kind of outing shows why. Hopefully, some of Buehrle's confidence will spill over into some the young guns and aging veterans.

Next Up: Texas (15-12) at Chicago (12-14), 7:11 p.m. Jose Contreras (0-5) Matt Harrison (2-2)

Cuban Missile Crisis. Over?

Alexei Ramirez isn't known for working counts. Ramirez got a free pass only 18 times in some 46o at bats last season. So when the "Cuban Missile" found himself with a 3-2 count and the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth of last night's game, one thing was for certain: strikeout or putout. Batting only .167 coming into the game, the chance Ramirez was going to hit safely in that situation was slim and none. The result: Ramirez took a 3-2 "get me over" pitch from Shawn Camp into the left field bullpen. It was Ramirez's fifth grand slam of his young career.
Giving the Sox a comfortable 8-2 edge was perhaps a side note for Sox manager Ozzie Guillen who is hopeful that his sophomore shortstop may be ending his early season woes. "As soon as the game was over, I saw him and talked to him about the game," Guillen said. "I was excited for him. Hopefully this is a corner he is going to turn."
Both Brent Lilibridge and Jerry Owens provided stellar defensive plays to back up Mark Buehrle (3-0) who provided his third quality start of the season. "You're going to run into some of that once in a while. But if they don't make those plays, it's a different ballgame all the way around," said Toronto manager Cito Gaston. Jose Contreras (0-3)looks for his first win of the season today when he takes the mound at 1:05. Contreras is looking for his win at U.S. Cellular since June of last year when he defeated the Cubs.

Loose Sox: Sox second baseman Chris Getz was 86'd from last night's lineup due to a sore finger. Getz will return to the lineup against Seattle on Monday.
Monday's game against Seattle is a Value Monday at U.S. Cellular Field. All tickets at the Sox box office are half-off the day of game. Game Time: 7:11 pm.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Ramirez reached five career grand slams in the second-quickest amount of time in Major League Baseball history at 152 games, trailing only Rudy York's total of 139.

Canadian Bacon

If you're a "glass half-full" type of person, last night's 14-0 White Sox defeat at the hands of the Blue Jays may not be such a bad thing. That is of course if you're looking at a "half-full glass." After all, there are still 146 games to play in the season. Truth be told, the 27,103 that were on hand last night at U.S. Cellular will most likely admit that the glass is looking pretty empty at this point.
Gavin Floyd (2-2) worked only 4 1/3 innings, allowing five earned runs. It was Floyd's shortest outing since August 5, 2008 against Detroit. Floyd's command of the plate was his biggest obstacle of the evening. Gavin walked five and threw two wild pitches in his four plus innings of work. Jack Egbert worked just 1 2/3 innings of relief and struggled considerably. In just less than two innings, Egbert was charged with six runs on seven hits.
In spite of a two touchdown defeat by Toronto, one of the biggest 'jaw droppers' of last night's game was the play of Alexei Ramirez. Ramirez, who is hitting .167 this season, committed two errors on the evening and looked completely defeated at times. "When you take your glove to the plate and you take the bat to the field, you are not going to have much success in this game,"manager Ozzie Guillen said. "I don't like what I [saw] today, not because of the error, I'm making it clear, I [didn't] like his attitude today. He was kind of head down and feeling sorry for himself."
The one bright spot for the White Sox has been the young talent of second baseman Chris Getz. In 12 games played this season, Getz is hitting a team high .340 with a OBP of .396. Mark Buhrele takes the mound this evening.

Loose Sox: Following being hit by a pitch on the wrist Thursday evening, Carlos Quentin will not need X-rays at this point.
Jack Egbert was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte following Friday's humiliation. Lance Broadway was recalled and will rejoin the team Saturday.
Sunday's game at 1:05 will be Kid's Day- Dia Del Nino at 'The Cell.' Tickets for kids 12 and under will be only $1 with a paid adult admission. Tickets must be purchased at the park on the day of the game.