Toothless Piranhas

Story Line: With the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox both coming off series sweeps at the hands of the opposition, one of the two teams were sure to snap their losing streak. With Mark Buehrle throwing for the Sox (6-1) and Scott Baker (1-5) tossing for the Twins, the odds certainly favored the Sox. The Sox pulled off a 6-2 win in front of 26, 696 on a beautiful night at U.S Cellular Field.

Same Old, Same Old: Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye both went deep for the Sox in Tuesday night's victory over the Twins. Unfortunately, the Sox rarely win games and do not hit the long ball. The Sox rank 19th in the Majors with 38 home runs. Since 2002 among major league clubs, the Sox finished in the top 10 in home runs each season, and led the league three different times.

On The Mark : Mark Buehrle continued to solidify his position as club pitching ace with two earned runs allowed in seven innings of work. The White Sox are 7-1 with Buehrle on the mound, as opposed to 9-21 when he isn't pitching.

Mark On Mark: "I owned them," Buehrle joked. "Obviously, we face them a lot of times. It seems like it goes back and forth. … Obviously I’m on one of those stretches now. Tonight was one of those games where I probably missed more spots tonight than I have in a lot of starts and I got lucky with them."

From The Mouth Of Gardie: "A little frustrating right now. We had a little meeting after the game and talked about trying to invent the game. They’re coming up with things. We’re trying to invent stuff. You can’t just do that in a game. You have to play the game," Gardenhire said. "It’s getting a little quiet on the bench and that’s not acceptable. We’re all about nine innings and getting after it. So we had a little bit of a talk about that."

My Two Cents: With only four victories in their past 16 games, it's hard to get excited over one lone victory. However, anytime you beat a division opponent, it can't be a bad thing. The Central is a weak division and it will probably take only 85 victories to win it. If the Sox can get some momentum going in the early summer months, they can avoid the dog fights we're so accustomed of seeing come mid September.

Up Next: Tonight 7:11 PM CST, MIN: Liriano (2-4) 5.21 ERA, CHW: Danks (2-3) 4.82 ERA

Same Old Story

Just In: Behind Gavin Floyd (2-3), The White Sox dropped the opener in Cleveland tonight by a score of 9-4. Floyd was tagged for eight runs and 11 hits over five innings. Jimmy Gobble, who was brought up from Charlotte earlier in the day, replaced Floyd in the sixth, allowing one run on two hits in one inning of work.

Off The Hook: Carl Pavano (3-3) won his third straight outing with the help of his breaking ball. Pavano scattered 10 hits on four runs over 6 1/3. Pavano was masterful in getting his breaking ball to work for him, as Sox bats were fishing most of the night.

Need a Hit? Getting hits did not seem to be an issue for the Sox tonight, as they cracked out a dozen. Getting hits when they needed them was another issue. The Sox stranded 16 baserunners with four in scoring position. Konerko (.307), Thome (.212), Pierzynski (.301) and Fields (.255) all had multi-hit games.

Next Up: Cleveland-Tomorrow 6:05 CST Jacobs Field

Paying Off?

This is Part 1 of a four part series on the 2009 White Sox payroll. Check out what your favorite player is getting paid for the 2009 season, and if they are earning their take based on the numbers 25 games into the season.

Mark Buehrle 2009 salary $14,000,000

ERA 3.30 W-L 4-0 SO 19
Buehrle is getting paid $86,419 per game, $28, 806 per hour, $9,602 each inning pitched

Jim Thome 2009 salary $13,000,000

BA .214 HR 4 RBI 14
Thome is batting just .185 against right-handers and a solid .375 against lefties.

In 71 at bats, Thome has struck out 39% of the time.

Thome is taking in $80,246 per game. $26,748 per hour or $20,061 per at bat (9 inning game)

Paul Konerko 2009 salary $12,000,000

BA .302 HR 3 RBI 18

Konerko has been the Sox most solid contributor at the plate. In 99 plate appearances, Paulie has only K'd 13.1 % of the time. $74,074 per game, $24,691 per hour.

Carlos Quentin 2009 salary $550,000

BA .253 HR 8 RBI 17

Quentin got off to a hot start this year, but his recent struggles have many suggesting his wrist is causing him problems at the plate. Quentin will be signing a new contract next year and big money is waiting for him. Quentin earns $3395 per game or $377 per inning.

Jermaine Dye 2009 salary $11,500,000

BA .292 HR 7 RBI 15

Dye has traditionally always hit better off of righties and this year has been no exception. Dye is batting .342 against right-handers, while hitting .235 against southpaws. Dye cashes in $70,987 per game, $23,662 per hour.

Taking a Halladay

It's quite difficult to locate something you never owned in the first place. That's why for Jose Contreras, finding his first victory of the season has been a bit daunting. In yesterday's 4-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, Contreras appeared to relocate something that has been eluding him this season: command. Contreras (0-3) worked seven innings in the no-decision, tying the most innings pitched by the Cuban right-hander since June of last season. Anyway you break it down, seven innings of three run ball is pretty impressive for a 38 year-old pitcher only seven months removed from a ruptured Achilles tendon. In spite of not registering a victory, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen appeared to be extremely satisfied with his senior hurler.
"Awesome job," Guillen said. "He was more aggressive, [threw] more strikes. He had more confidence today."
Veteran reliever Scott Linebrink was summoned to work the eighth inning of a 3-3 tie. The usually reliable Linebrink gave up a double to Vernon Wells who led off the inning. Former Cardinal Scott Rolen would then single home Wells for the go ahead and eventual winning run. The Blue Jays had entered Sunday's game with a league leading 120 runs scored. It would take an additional four runs by the end of Sunday's contest to best the White Sox.
The Sox got to Roy Halladay (4-1) early, but not often. And certainly not enough. The Sox scored three times before the fourth inning and then went into famine mode. Sox centerfielder Brian Anderson improved his batting average to .349 by tagging the Jays for three hits. Anderson is certainly making his case for full-time centerfielder during the absence of Dewayne Wise. Wise's timetable to return is uncertain, and as long as Anderson is producing, the uncertainty may mount. The Sox start a three game set against the AL West leading Seattle Marinerstonight at The Cell (7:05). The Sox will put John Danks (0.95) on the mound this evening while they look to bounce back from dropping two of three to Toronto. It's imperative the Sox finish the homestand .500, and they will certainly need to be more aggressive at the plate if that is to happen. "Seattle is a good team," Paul Konerko said. "But we just lost two of three and need to try to win at least two of three to make it a good homestand."

Those Stingless Rays

The only thing looking good for Devil Rays pitcher Matt Garza (1-1)Sunday afternoon was his sideburns. Matt Garza took the loss as the White Sox pummeled the Devil Rays 12-2 on Sunday. Garza allowed seven runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings, including a home run to A.J. Pierzynski in the second inning.
The pitching for the Southsiders was solid yet again, as Gavin Floyd (2-1) worked six scoreless innings. Sox manager Ozzie Guillen continues to feels confident with each Floyd start. "He's one of the top pitchers right now in the big leagues, and he continues to throw the ball well," Guillen said.
The pitching was only part of the days highlights. Brent Lilibridge, Chris Getz, Brian Anderson, Wilson Betemit, and Paul Konerko all contributed with timely hits. However, it was the power of the White Sox bats that again made it a difficult day for opposing pitchers. Carlos Quentin hit his third home run in as many games and Jim Thome followed with a solo shot of his own. The White Sox are now heading to Baltimore for a three game set before heading back home for a weekend series with the Blue Jays.
Loose Sox: Paul Konerko has nine RBIs over this last six games, including five in the past two games.
With Jim Thome's solo homer on Sunday, he is now four homers away from tying Mike Schmidt (548) for 13th place all-time.
SOX LEADER BOARD

Jermaine Dye
AVG .370

HR 4

RBI 9

Carlos Quentin
HR 7

OBP .426

RBI 13

Mr. CQ

It's quite apparent eleven games into the 2009 campaign who has some unfinished business from the 2008 season.
Carlos Quentin is certainly coming into his own. He already has six homers in just eleven games and is on pace to hit 95 this season. The 26 year old Stanford standout is just a half a year removed from wrist surgery. Carlos is showing "Tampa Bay Fans" exactly what they would have seen in last years ALDS had he got the chance. Through three games and 12 plate appearances in St. Pete, Quentin has four hits, three runs scored, two homers and three RBI's. One more game to go.
Quentin and Paul Konerko powered the Sox to an 8-3 victory over the Devil Rays on Saturday night. Konerko was extremely happy to see Scott Kazmir (2-1) on the hump for Tampa Bay. Paulie has seven hits and two homers in 15 at bats against the All-Star hurler. "We hit homers. That's us when we're going good," Konerko said. "We had a lot of people on base, but we're not a team that manufactures runs like some others. We've got guys that can hit some home runs and you have to do that once in a while in the American League."
Mark Buhrele (2-0) registered the win for the White Sox, striking out five and giving up eight hits in 6 2/3 innings. "He didn't have the best stuff today, but he's going to give you a chance every time," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. Gavin Floyd throws for the Sox on Sunday, completing the four game series in Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay counters with right hander Matt Garza. The Sox will have the day off Monday before travelling to Camden Yards to play three with the O's.

Loose Sox: Jermaine Dye knocked in his 1000 career RBI in the sixth inning of Saturday's game.

Recycler's Heaven

A death in the family is putting blog on hold until tomorrow evening. Your prayers for my family are welcomed. In the meantime, the White Sox dropped 12-5 to The Twinkies on Friday. Joe Crede returned to US Cellular for the first time not in a Sox uniform. Crede was acknowledged with a standing ovation and proceeded to take a Jose Contreas slider into the left field bullpen. Both Knonerko and Carlos Quentin homered for the first time this season.

This is a photo of thousands of empty Miller Lite cans in the old Comiskey Park.