Chicago White Sox - 2009 and beyond

[Dauis]

6/25/2009
Game #74 – Los Angeles (N) Dodgers [33-38] (R. Wolf 2-6, 5.75 ERA) at Chicago (A) White Sox [35-38] (B. Colon 3-8, 5.32 ERA)
Los Angeles (N) lineup: CF Pierre – 1B Loney – LF Ethier – DH Ramirez – RF Young – C Martin – SS Furcal – 2B Hudson – 3B Barmes
Chicago (A) lineup: 2B Getz – CF Ramirez – DH Dye – 1B Konerko – LF Anderson – 3B Fields – RF Wise – SS Lillibridge – C Pierzynski

Los Angeles (N) 4
Chicago (A) 2
W: R. Wolf (3-6) L: B. Colon (3-9) S: J. Broxton (9)
HR – LAN: O. Hudson (5)

Orlando Hudson hit a 3-run homer in the fifth, and that was pretty much it. Randy Wolf shut us down. He went 8 innings, gave up 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits and struck out 6. Dodgers first baseman James Loney will miss 3-4 weeks with a strained back muscle. This year he has hit .271 with 3 home runs.

GAMES PLAYED AT AMERICAN LEAGUE PARKS
San Diego 6
Seattle 11
W: M. Atkins (3-0) L: K. Correia (6-4)
HR – SDN: A. Gonzalez (14), K. Kouzmanoff (8) SEA: A. Beltre (18)

Chicago (N) 2
Detroit 11
W: J. Bonderman (2-1) L: S. Marshall (1-6)
HR – DET: B. Inge (12), M. Ordonez (10), C. Granderson (13)

Cincinnati 8
Toronto 5
W: J. Cueto (6-5) L: D. Purcey (9-4) S: J. Burton (1)
HR – CIN: J. Bruce (15) TOR: A. Rios (11), T. Snider (14)

Philadelphia 6
Tampa Bay 8
W: J. Nelson (4-0) L: J. Taschner (2-2) S: G. Balfour (18)
HR – PHI: J. Werth (18), C. Utley (17) TBA: C. Crawford (2), W. Aybar 2 (6)

GAMES PLAYED AT NATIONAL LEAGUE PARKS
St. Louis 2
New York (N) 1
W: J. Pineiro (7-2) L: B. Parnell (2-2) S: T. Miller (6)
HR – SLN: R. Ludwick (8)

Daniel Murphy of the Mets will be out 2 weeks with wrist tendinitis. This year he has hit .241 with 8 home runs, 25 RBIs and scored 27 runs.

Minnesota 4
Milwaukee 8
W: J. Julio (4-1) L: K. Slowey (2-10)
HR – MIL: B. Hall (10), R. Braun (8)

Justin Morneau suffered a hand contusion today and will be out the next 5 days. This year he is only hitting .234 with 9 home runs, 36 RBIs and 34 runs scored.

Kansas City 4
Houston 2
W: L. Hudson (6-5) L: B. Backe (1-1) S: D. Waechter (2)
HR – KCA: A. Gordon (11)

Texas 8
Arizona 3
W: K. Millwood (3-10) L: D. Davis (4-3)
HR – TEX: A. Jones (4), J. Saltalamacchia (7) ARI: F. Lopez (8)

Boston 3
Washington 4 (12)
W: J. Hanrahan (1-2) L: H. Okajima (2-5)

Cleveland 3
Pittsburgh 1
W: C. Lee (6-7) L: Z. Duke (6-8) S: K. Wood (20)
HR – CLE: G. Sizemore (11)

Baltimore 5
Florida 2
W: N. Blackburn (4-9) L: R. Nolasco (6-9) S: J. Walker (1)
HR – BAL: A. Jones (11)

New York (A) 7
Atlanta 5
W: B. Bruney (2-0) L: J. Campillo (1-1) S: D. Marte (3)

PERFORMANCES OF THE DAY
#1 – 2B Willy Aybar (TBA) 3 for 4, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 R
#2 – RF Magglio Ordonez (DET) 2 for 5, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 2 R
#3 – 2B Bill Hall (MIL) 2 for 4, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, R

[Dauis]

6/26/2009
Game #75 – Chicago (N) Cubs [39-33] (C. Zambrano 8-4, 4.31 ERA) at Chicago (A) White Sox [35-39] (J. Danks 6-4, 3.79 ERA)
Chicago (N) lineup: SS Theriot – 1B Lee – RF Bradley – C Soto – 3B Ramirez – LF Soriano – 2B Fontenot – DH Dubois – CF Matos
Chicago (A) lineup: 2B Getz – DH Thome – RF Dye – 1B Konerko – 3B Fields – LF Wise – CF Anderson – SS Lillibridge – C Pierzynski

Chicago (N) 7
Chicago (A) 5
W: C. Zambrano (9-4) L: J. Danks (6-5) S: C. Marmol (18)
HR – CHN: J. Dubois (2) CHA: D. Wise (10)

Sigh. Another game, another loss. The Cubs got on the board in the first when Lee doubled home Theriot. They put up four in the third on a 2-run double by Ramirez, a wild pitch, and an RBI single by Fontenot. We tried to chip away at the lead, scoring one in the third, one in the fifth, one in the seventh, and two in the eighth, but the Cubs had added solo runs in the sixth and eighth, so our comeback fell a little short. We dropped to 7-17 this month with the loss. Jason Dubois led the Cubs attack. He went 2 for 5 with a double, a home run, an RBI, and 2 runs scored.

GAMES PLAYED AT AMERICAN LEAGUE PARKS
Cincinnati 6
Cleveland 5
W: D. Herrera (1-0) L: J. Meloan (2-3) S: F. Cordero (23)
HR – CIN: J. Votto (13) CLE: B. Francisco (11)

Washington 12
Baltimore 6
W: J. Lannan (8-6) L: J. Guthrie (6-9) S: J. Tavarez (1)
HR – WAS: R. Belliard (3) BAL: A. Huff (8), B. Roberts (6)

Philadelphia 2
Toronto 5
W: R. Halladay (4-9) L: C. Hamels (7-3) S: S. Downs (18)
HR – PHI: R. Howard (27) TOR: V. Wells 2 (12)

Florida 0
Tampa Bay 1 (11)
W: G. Balfour (4-2) L: L. Nunez (2-2)
HR – TBA: B. Upton (7)

San Diego 1
Texas 13
W: M. Harrison (4-7) L: C. Baek (2-3)
HR – TEX: D. Easley 2 (3), H. Blalock (5), J. Hamilton (11), C. Davis (8)

Colorado 4
Oakland 3
W: J. Marquis (6-6) L: J. Duchscherer (1-1) S: H. Street (12)
HR – COL: S. Smith (4)

GAMES PLAYED AT NATIONAL LEAGUE PARKS
Kansas City 3
Pittsburgh 6
W: P. Maholm (10-3) L: Z. Greinke (6-6) S: J. Grabow (4)
HR – PIT: R. Doumit (4), N. McLouth (13)

Boston 10
Atlanta 4
W: T. Saito (4-2) L: C. Morton (1-4)
HR – BOS: J. Drew (5), J. Bay 2 (8) ATL: G. Norton (4)

New York (A) 3
New York (N) 0
W: C. Sabathia (11-1) L: J. Santana (5-7) S: M. Rivera (24)
HR – NYA: N. Swisher (10)

San Francisco 8
Milwaukee 5
W: R. Johnson (7-7) L: B. Looper (7-5) S: B. Wilson (13)
HR – SFN: R. Win (4)

Detroit 1
Houston 4
W: R. Oswalt (9-5) L: Z. Miner (9-3) S: J. Valverde (13)
HR – DET: C. Guillen (5)

Minnesota 3
St. Louis 6
W: A. Wainwright (9-6) L: G. Perkins (7-5) S: K. McClellan (2)
HR – SLN: R. Ankiel (14), K. Greene (4)

Los Angeles (A) 7
Arizona 10
W: T. Gordon (3-1) L: K. Jepsen (0-1) S: C. Qualls (21)
HR – LAA: M. Napoli (13) ARI: J. Upton (8)

Seattle 6
Los Angeles (N) 4
W: F. Hernandez (8-4) L: J. McDonald (6-6) S: J. Crain (5)
HR – SEA: K. Griffey Jr. (9) LAN: R. Furcal (3), D. Young (3)

PERFORMANCES OF THE DAY
#1 – SP Adam Wainwright (SLN) 8.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W
#2 – CF Vernon Wells (TOR) 3 for 4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R
#3 – SP CC Sabathia (NYA) 8.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W

[Dauis]

6/27/2009
MARLINS-TWINS TRADE
Florida has agreed to trade 27-year-old starting pitcher Dan Meyer to the Twins for 24-year-old minor league third baseman Danny Valencia.

This season, Meyer has fashioned a 5-1 mark and 2.90 ERA in 80.2 innings. Opposing clubs are batting .219 against him and he has logged 62 strikeouts. He will be the number 5 starter for the Twins.

Danny Valencia was assigned to Florida's Single A affiliate in Greensboro where he will be the starting third baseman and cleanup hitter. Baseball America has ranked him as Florida's 13th-best prospect (7th-best hitting prospect).

Game #76 – Chicago (N) Cubs [40-33] (R. Wells 0-0, 0.00 ERA) at Chicago (A) White Sox [35-40] (C. Richard 3-6, 5.08 ERA)
Chicago (N) lineup: SS Theriot – 1B Lee – RF Bradley – 3B Ramirez – LF Soriano – 2B Fontenot – C Hill – DH Dubois – CF Matos
Chicago (A) lineup: 2B Getz – CF Ramirez – RF Dye – 1B Konerko – 3B Fields – LF Wise – DH Thome – SS Lillibridge – C Pierzynski

Chicago (N) 0
Chicago (A) 8
W: C. Richard (4-6) L: R. Wells (0-1)
HR – CHA: J. Dye (6), J. Thome (21)

This is the kind of game I needed to see. We scored in multiple innings, and even put up crooked numbers in a couple of them. Richard stepped up big and pitched a great game. He went all nine, gave up 5 hits, and struck out 5.

GAMES PLAYED IN AMERICAN LEAGUE PARKS
Philadelphia 9
Toronto 6
W: C. Carrasco (1-0) L: S. Richmond (8-3) S: B. Lidge (23)
HR – PHI: J. Werth (19), R. Howard (28) TOR: M. Barrett (6), V. Wells (13)

Cincinnati 3
Cleveland 5
W: K. Wood (5-7) L: F. Cordero (0-5)
HR – CLE: B. Francisco (12)

Washington 1
Baltimore 8
W: T. Armas (4-7) L: S. Olsen (5-3)
HR – BAL: B. Roberts 3 (9), F. Pie (5), N. Reimold (4)

Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts put on quite the performance today, going 3-4 with 3 home runs. So far this season he is hitting .275 with 9 home runs and an on base percentage of .332.

Florida 5
Tampa Bay 9
W: A. Sonnanstine (4-5) L: T. Tankersley (2-1)
HR – FLO: R. Gload (1) TBA: C. Pena (11)

San Diego 1
Texas 8
W: S. Feldman (3-4) L: P. Martinez (4-5)
HR – TEX: I. Kinsler (11), J. Saltalamacchia (8), C. Davis (9)

Colorado 2
Oakland 5
W: G. Gonzalez (9-6) L: S. Casilla (1-2) S: B. Ziegler (19)
HR – COL: B. Hawpe (13)

GAMES PLAYED AT NATIONAL LEAGUE PARKS
Minnesota 1
St. Louis 2
W: K. Lohse (5-6) L: D. Meyer (5-2) S: J. Motte (18)

Boston 4
Atlanta 3
W: M. Bowden (3-2) L: B. Logan (0-1) S: J. Papelbon (18)
HR – BOS: J. Lowrie (5) ATL: B. McCann (9)

Los Angeles (A) 3
Arizona 2 (10)
W: B. Fuentes (3-3) L: C. Qualls (0-5)
HR – LAA: H. Kendrick (7), S. Rodriguez (2)

Kansas City 9
Pittsburgh 1
W: C. Rosa (1-0) L: J. Barthmaier (1-5)
HR – KCA: M. Olivo (6), M. Jacobs (8), A. Gordon (12)

San Francisco 7
Milwaukee 0
W: B. Zito (6-7) L: J. Suppan (6-3)
HR – SFN: R. Winn (5)

Detroit 4
Houston 6
W: F. Paulino (2-1) L: B. Lyon (4-3) S: J. Valverde (14)
HR – DET: M. Cabrera (18) HOU: J. Towles (5)

New York (A) 0
New York (N) 10
W: O. Perez (9-1) L: A. Pettitte (4-7)
HR – NYN: C. Beltran (11), G. Sheffield (1)

Gary Sheffield joined the exclusive 500 home run club today, going 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored.

Seattle 2
Los Angeles (N) 3 (14)
W: H. Kuo (3-2) L: M. Lowe (3-1)
HR – SEA: A. Beltre (19) LAN: D. Mientkiewicz (2)

PERFORMANCES OF THE DAY
#1 – 2B Brian Roberts (BAL) 3 for 4, 3 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, BB
#2 – SP Clayton Richard (CHA) 9.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, W
#3 – 1B Carlos Pena (TBA) 3 for 4, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R

[Dauis]

6/28/2009
MINOR LEAGUE NEWS
The rosters for the Carolina League All-Star game have been announced and we have two representatives from Winston-Salem playing in the game. The first is starting pitcher Levi Maxwell, who is 4-1 this season with a 4.26 ERA. He has struck out 68 and walked 15 in 69.2 innings pitched. Catcher Adam Ricks will also be playing. He is hitting .259 with 7 home runs and 22 RBI this season.

RETIREMENT
Third baseman Damion Easley of the Rangers has announced he will retire at the end of the season. In 1723 career games Easley is batting .252 with 166 home runs and 693 RBIs.

Game #77 – Chicago (N) Cubs [40-34] (R. Harden 4-6, 3.64 ERA) at Chicago (A) White Sox [36-40] (G. Floyd 5-7, 4.42 ERA)
Chicago (N) lineup: SS Theriot – 1B Lee – RF Bradley – C Soto – 3B Ramirez – DH Hoffpauir – LF Dubois – 2B Fontenot – CF Matos
Chicago (A) lineup: 2B Getz – CF Ramirez – RF Dye – 1B Konerko – 3B Fields – LF Wise – DH Thome – SS Lillibridge – C Pierzynski

Chicago (N) 2
Chicago (A) 4
W: G. Floyd (6-7) L: R. Harden (4-7) S: B. Jenks (16)
HR – CHN: A. Ramirez (9), M. Hoffpauir (9) CHA: J. Fields (13)

Well this series was a bright spot in this disastrous month. We took 2 out of 3 from our crosstown rivals, with our pitching staff doing a pretty good job the last two games. Floyd went 6 innings, gave up 1 run on 7 hits, walked 2, and struck out 5. Then Randy Williams (who replaced MacDougal on the roster), Dotel, and Jenks each pitched an inning to preserve the win. Josh Fields led the offensive attack today. he went 2 for 3 with a home run, 2 RBIs, a run scored, and a walk.

GAMES PLAYED IN AMERICAN LEAGUE PARKS
Cincinnati 9
Cleveland 7
W: N. Masset (4-3) L: R. Perez (0-1) S: A. Rhodes (1)
HR – CIN: B. Phillips (14), C. Duncan (9), J. Votto (14), A. Rosales (4) CLE: T. Hafner (10), T. Crowe (2)

Philadelphia 6
Toronto 0
W: J. Blanton (6-5) L: J. Litsch (5-8) S: C. Durbin (2)
HR – PHI: R. Ibanez 2 (9), J. Rollins (12)

Washington 4
Baltimore 3
W: S. Martis (7-7) L: K. Uehara (3-9) S: J. Hanrahan (19)
HR – WAS: K. Casto (4)

Florida 2
Tampa Bay 3
W: D. Wheeler (3-2) L: M. Lindstrom (1-2)

Colorado 3
Oakland 2
W: A. Cook (5-8) L: D. Eveland (3-5) S: H. Street (13)
HR – COL: S. Smith (5)

San Diego 10
Texas 7
W: S. Hill (3-5) L: D. Turnbow (1-2) S: C. Meredith (11)
HR – SDN: S. Hairston (5), K. Kouzmanoff (9) TEX: D. Murphy (2), J. Saltalamacchia (9)

GAMES PLAYED AT NATIONAL LEAGUE PARKS
New York (A) 3
New York (N) 2
W: J. Chamberlain (6-4) L: M. Pelfrey (6-5) S: M. Rivera (25)

Boston 3
Atlanta 4
W: K. Kawakami (6-7) L: J. Masterson (5-7) S: R. Soriano (15)
HR – BOS: J. Bay (9)

Kansas City 0
Pittsburgh 4
W: A. Lopez (1-1) L: G. Meche (5-7)
HR – PIT: N. McLouth (14)

Detroit 1
Houston 4
W: M. Hampton (8-6) L: J. Verlander (6-7) S: G. Geary (1)
HR – HOU: L. Berkman (14)

San Francisco 5
Milwaukee 7
W: D. Bush (6-4) L: J. Sanchez (4-6) S: T. Hoffman (15)
HR – SFN: B. Molina (5) MIL: B. Hall (11), J. Koshansky (4)

Minnesota 10
St. Louis 0
W: S. Baker (7-6) L: C. Carpenter (8-7)
HR – MIN: J. Crede (5), T. Wigginton (6)

Seattle 4
Los Angeles (N) 9
W: C. Billingsley (5-8) L: G. Hernandez (4-4)
HR – SEA: G. Jenkins (5) LAN: R. Furcal (4), B. DeWitt (2)

Los Angeles (A) 1
Arizona 3
W: B. Webb (8-7) L: J. Weaver (2-7) S: Y. Petit (1)
HR – ARI: M. Reynolds (17)

PERFORMANCES OF THE DAY
#1 – SP Scott Baker (MIN) 8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, W
#2 – 1B Joe Koshansky (MIL) 4 for 4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
#3 – LF Raul Ibanez (PHI) 3 for 4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R

[Dauis]

WEEK IN REVIEW
Considering how this month's gone so far, this was a great week. We went 3-3 to bring our record to 37-40, only 4.5 games out. We've got a pretty big stretch coming up before the All-Star break, playing all 13 of our games against divisional opponents. We start by playing at Cleveland and at Kansas City this week. Hopefully the series win against the Cubs will get us going in the right direction and we can take a division that is wide open.

[Dauis]

AL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
LF Billy Butler (KCA) .500 (11-22), 2 HR, 7 RBI

NL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
1B Ryan Howard (PHI) .500 (12-24), 2 HR, 6 RBI

[Whitesox]

Hey man, I signed up to give you a shout. I love it so far.

You have had a tough streach lately, but hopefully you can get back on track, and finish this half strong. You weren't as far out as I expected.

Sounds like the draft went well. You write up on the Cubs game when refereed to their "fans" on their cell phones had me laughing out loud. Keep it up!

[Dauis]

Originally Posted by Whitesox

Hey man, I signed up to give you a shout. I love it so far.

You have had a tough streach lately, but hopefully you can get back on track, and finish this half strong. You weren't as far out as I expected.

Sounds like the draft went well. You write up on the Cubs game when refereed to their "fans" on their cell phones had me laughing out loud. Keep it up!

Thanks for reading. I always appreciate the comments.

I'm really surprised that I'm not completely buried yet with the stretch I've had, but I'm still not very optimistic.

We'll see just how well the draft went. I'm not quite sure I can trust my scout, especially when I got so many highly rated players.

I'm out of town this weekend so updates will be very few if any. Hopefully when I get back we can catch fire and make the playoffs.

[Whitesox]

Get back soon! I can't wait for more!

[Dauis]

6/29/2009
Game #78 – Chicago (A) White Sox [37-40] (M. Buehrle 5-6, 3.83 ERA) at Cleveland Indians [38-39] (S. Lewis 5-7, 6.12 ERA)
Chicago (A) lineup: 2B Getz – CF Ramirez – DH Dye – 1B Konerko – LF Anderson – 3B Fields – RF Wise – SS Lillibridge – C Armstrong
Cleveland lineup: LF Francisco – 3B DeRosa – CF Sizemore – DH LaPorta – RF Crowe – C Shoppach – SS Cabrera – 1B Garko – 2B Carroll

Chicago (A) 4
Cleveland 6
W: S. Lewis (6-7) L: M. Buehrle (5-7) S: K. Wood (21)
HR – CHA: J. Dye (7) CLE: A. Cabrera (6)

Buehrle disappointed again. He only lasted one inning, gave up 5 runs on 4 hits. Granted, 4 of those were unearned after Wise dropped a fly ball by Francisco—the first batter. However, someone of Buehrle's caliber should be able to pitch around something like that, but he didn't. The Indians added another run in the fourth, and after that our bullpen held them scoreless. We tried to stage a rally in the fifth, thanks in part to a Jermaine Dye 2-run homer, but we could only score 4 of the 6 we needed.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Boston 2
Baltimore 4
W: R. Hill (4-6) L: J. Smoltz (1-10 S: G. Sherrill (12)
HR – BOS: K. Youkilis (7), J. Lowrie (6) BAL: A. Huf (9)

Tampa Bay 8
Toronto 4
W: M. Garza (5-3) L: B. Tallet (7-2)
HR – TBA: P. Burrell (5) TOR: M. Barrett (7), S. Rolen (6), T. Snider (15)

Los Angeles (A) 14
Texas 5
W: E. Santana (3-4) L: V. Padilla (5-8)
HR – LAA: J. Rivera (8) TEX: H. Blalock (6), C. Davis (10)

Minnesota 6
Kansas City 1
W: F. Liriano (7-7) L: J. Wright (2-8)

Detroit 6
Oakland 2
W: R. Porcello (6-4) L: S. Gallagher (9-3) S: J. Zumaya (4)
HR – DET: C. Guillen (6)

Oakland reliever Russ Springer will be out for 4 months because of bone chips in his elbow. So far this year he has been credited with 3 saves, registered a 1.64 ERA and struck out 31 in 33 innings. He also has a 3-0 record.

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Chicago (N) 5
Pittsburgh 4
W: T. Lilly (7-4) L: J. Karstens (3-7) S: C. Marmol (19)
HR – PIT: N. McLouth (15), J. Jaramillo (3)

Washington 2
Florida 6
W: C. Volstad (3-2) L: C. Balester (1-5)
HR – WAS: A. Dunn (14) FLO: D. Uggla (18)

New York (N) 3
Milwaukee 2
W: S. Green (3-2) L: M. Stetter (3-1) S: F. Rodriguez (14)

San Francisco 2
St. Louis 6
W: T. Wellemeyer (8-6) L: M. Cain (4-1)
HR – SFN: B. Molina (6)

Houston 3
San Diego 8
W: C. Young (9-6) L: W. Rodriguez (4-8)
HR – HOU: L. Berkman (15), C. Lee (18) SDN: K. Kouzmanoff (10)

Houston left fielder Carlos Lee suffered a knee sprain and will mis 2 weeks. This year he is batting .332 with 18 home runs.

Colorado 2
Los Angeles (N) 6
W: C. Kershaw (6-8) L: J. de la Rosa (6-7)
HR – COL: J. Baker (9)

PERFORMANCES OF THE DAY
#1 – SP Chris Volstad (FLO) 9.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, W
#2 – LF Pat Burrell (TBA) 2 for 5, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
#3 – LF Carlos Guillen (DET) 2 for 4, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, R

[Dauis]

6/30/2009
CONTRACT EXTENSION
The Yankees have reached an agreement with Bobby Abreu on a 3-year extension worth $12 million a year. This year he is hitting .305 with 10 home runs, 43 RBIs, and has scored 54 times.

Game #79 – Chicago (A) White Sox [37-41] (B. Colon 3-9, 5.15 ERA) at Cleveland Indians [39-39] (C. Lee 6-7, 4.20 ERA)
Chicago (A) lineup: 2B Getz – CF Ramirez – DH Dye – 1B Knoerko – LF Anderson – 3B Fields – RF Wise – SS Lillibridge – C Pierzynski
Cleveland lineup: 2B Cabrera – 1B Hafner – C Martinez – CF Sizemore – DH LaPorta – LF Francisco – RF Ward – SS Peralta – 3B DeRosa

Chicago (A) 5
Cleveland 6 (15)
W: J. Lewis (3-1) L: O. Dotel (2-2)
HR – CHA: P. Konerko (14), A. Pierzynski (6) CLE: G. Sizemore (12)

This was a roller-coaster of a game. Things started off well with Konerko hitting a homer to lead off the second to give us an early 1-0 lead, and Dye singling home Pierzynski in the third. However, the Indians tied it up in the bottom of the inning, thanks in part to a miscue between Ramirez and Dye that allowed a ball to drop between them. They took the lead in the sixth on a sac fly by DeRosa, and Sizemore hit a solo shot in the seventh to give the Indians a 4-2 lead. It stayed that way until the ninth, and it looked like things would stay that way when Wise hit into a double play in the inning. Thome pinch-hit for Lillibridge and got a base hit to keep us alive, and A.J. hit one 372 feet to right to tie the game.

In extras, Jenks pitched out of a bases-loaded jam with one out in the tenth. We took the lead in the 13th when Ramirez scored thanks to an error by Betancourt. However, Dotel blew it by giving up three singles and a walk to keep the game going. In the 14th, A.J. led off the inning with a single, and Ozzie put in Kroeger to pinch-run for him. Getz sacrificed him over to second, but when Ramirez got a base hit, Kroeger was held at third, which is strange since he was put in just to run. Betancourt got the next two outs, and we couldn't take advantage. Sizemore led off the 15th against Dotel with a double, and LaPorta grounded out to second to advance Sizemore to third. Ozzie called for the intentional walk of Francisco and brought in Thornton to pitch to Garko. However, Garko poked one into right, and Sizemore scored to end the game.

Sizemore went 5-7 in the victory. He grounded out in the 1st, singled in the 3rd, singled in the 5th, hit a solo shot off Colon in the 7th, walked in the 9th, struck out in the 11th, singled in the 13th, and doubled in the 15th. This year he is batting .282 with 12 home runs, 45 RBIs, and has scored 41 times.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Seattle 0
New York (A) 8
W: A. Burnett (10-5) L: E. Bedard (6-6)
HR – NYA: D. Jeter (3), X. Nady (4), A. Rodriguez (8)

The Yankees shut out the Mariners behind a superb effort by A.J. Burnett. He allowed 3 hits in recording the shutout. This season Burnett has 10 wins and 5 losses and a 4.10 ERA.

Boston 3
Baltimore 5
W: N. Blackburn (5-9) L: J. Beckett (9-4) S: J. Walker (2)
HR – BOS: J. Drew (6) BAL: A. Jones (12)

Tampa Bay 8
Toronto 9
W: B. Ryan (1-2) L: G. Balfour (4-3)
HR – TBA: B. Upton (8) TOR: M. Barrett (8), V. Wells (14), A. Lind 2 (13)

Los Angeles (A) 3
Texas 2
W: N. Adenhart (6-4) L: K. Millwood (3-11) S: B. Fuentes (11)

Minnesota 3
Kansas City 1
W: K. Slowey (3-10) L: L. Hudson (6-6) S: J. Nathan (15)
HR – MIN: J. Morneau (10), C. Gomez (6)

Kansas City reliever Robinson Tejeda has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament and will be out 9 months. This season he chalked up a 2.05 ERA while compiling a 2-0 record. He made 27 relief appearances, pitched 48.1 innings, gave up 34 hits, and held opponents to a .202 batting average. Tejeda also recorded 44 strikeouts and allowed 20 walks.

Detroit 6
Oakland 9
W: A. Sanchez (3-7) L: J. Bonderman (2-2) S: B. Ziegler (20)
HR – DET: J. Larish (1) OAK: J. Cust (14)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Chicago (N) 5
Pittsburgh 6
W: T. Yates (2-2) L: B. White (0-1) S: M. Capps (20)
HR – CHN: G. Soto (13) PIT: A. Phillips (1), J. Jaramillo 2 (5)

Philadelphia 3
Atlanta 9
W: J. Jurrjens (7-5) L: B. Myers (8-4)

Washington 3
Florida 4
W: R. Nolasco (7-9) L: M. Wise (0-1) S: M. Lindstrom (16)

Arizona 6
Cincinnati 3
W: M. Scherzer (7-5) L: A. Harang (4-7) S: C. Qualls (22)
HR – ARI: C. Young (14) CIN: C. Dickerson (8)

New York (N) 1
Milwaukee 6
W: T. Coffey (2-0) L: B. Parnell (2-3)
HR – NYN: J. Reyes (9) MIL: B. Hall (12), R. Braun (9)

San Francisco 6
St. Louis 3
W: S. Romo (1-1) L: J. Pineiro (7-3) S: B. Wilson (14)
HR – SFN: N. Schierholtz (8)

Houston 4
San Diego 1
W: B. Backe (2-1) L: K. Correia (6-5) S: W. Wright (3)
HR – HOU: T. Manzella (1) SDN: K. Kouzmanoff (11)

Colorado 11
Los Angeles (N) 6
W: G. Rusch (6-5) L: R. Wolf (3-7) S: A. Embree (1)
HR – COL: G. Atkins 2 (13), B. Hawpe (14), R. Spilborghs (5) LAN: B. DeWitt (3)

PERFORMANCES OF THE DAY
#1 – LF Adam Lind (TOR) 4 for 5, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 R
#2 – 3B Garrett Atkins (COL) 3 for 5, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 R
#3 – SP A.J. Burnett (NYA) 9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, W

[Dauis]

MONTH IN REVIEW
I'm so glad it's over. We went a miserable 9-19 in June to put our record at 37-42. Amazingly, we're only 5.5 out. Our pitching staff really struggled that month. Buehrle was 0-3 with a 8.14 ERA, Colon was 1-3 with a 6.00 ERA, and Danks was 1-3 with a 5.28 ERA. 17 of our 25 games this month are against teams in our division, so by the time the deadline comes around, we should have a good idea if we have a chance or not. Right now I'm not very confident, but who would be after that kind of month. Hopefully we'll still be in contention when Quentin comes back in 4 weeks.

[Dauis]

AL BATTER OF THE MONTH
3B Adrian Beltre (SEA) .368, 6 HR, 16 RBI, 26 R

NL BATTER OF THE MONTH
RF Nate Schierholtz (SFN) .345, 8 HR, 30 RBI, 23 R

AL PITCHER OF THE MONTH
SP CC Sabathia (NYA) 5-0, 45.2 IP, 1.97 ERA, 41 K, .263 OBA

NL PITCHER OF THE MONTH
SP Mike Hampton (HOU) 5-0, 42.2 IP, 2.32 ERA, 32 K, .217 OBA

AL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
LF Travis Snider (TOR) .389, 5 HR, 17 RBI, 11 BB, .447 OBP

NL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
CF Colby Rasmus (STL) .306, 2 HR, 14 RBI

[Dauis]

7/1/2009
Game #80 – Chicago (A) White Sox [37-42] (J. Danks 6-5, 4.13 ERA) at Cleveland Indians [40-39] (F. Carmona 7-5, 4.56 ERA)
Chicago (A) lineup: 2B Getz – DH Thome – RF Dye – 1B Konerko – 3B Fields – LF Wise – CF Anderson – SS Lillibridge – C Pierzynski
Cleveland lineup: LF Francisco – RF Choo – C Martinez – CF Sizemore – DH LaPorta – SS Peralta – 3B DeRosa – 1B Garko – 2B Carroll

Chicago (A) 3
Cleveland 11
W: F. Carmona (8-5) L: J. Danks (6-6)
HR – CLE: V. Martinez (10), B. Francisco (13)

Well, July started off no different than June. We got destroyed, thanks to a 3-run first and a 7-run seventh by the Indians. Ben Francisco went 2 for 5 with a home run, 2 RBIs, and 2 runs scored for the Indians.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Boston 4
Baltimore 15
W: J. Guthrie (7-9) L: C. Buchholz (0-1)
HR – BAL: A. Huff (10), A. Jones (13)

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones had a big day at the plate, going 5 for 6. This season he is hittingn .268 with 13 home runs, 50 RBIs and 48 runs scored.

Minnesota 7
Kansas City 4
W: G. Perkins (8-5) L: Z. Greinke (6-7) S: J. Nathan (16)
HR – MIN: J. Morneau (11)

Detroit 11
Oakland 5
W: Z. Miner (10-3) L: J. Duchscherer (1-2)
HR – DET: M. Cabrera (19), G. Laird (5) OAK: G. Blum (5)

Seattle 2
New York (A) 4
W: C. Sabathia (12-1) L: F. Hernandez (8-5) S: M. Rivera (26)
HR – NYA: X. Nady (5), J. Posada (9)

Adrian Beltre of the Mariners went 1-4 to extend his hit streak to 20 games. This season he is hitting .325 with 19 home runs, 52 RBIs, and 57 runs scored.

Tampa Bay 4
Toronto 7
W: R. Halladay (5-9) L: J. Nelson (4-1) S: S. Downs (19)
HR – TOR: A. Lind (14)

Los Angeles (A) 5
Texas 6
W: B. Vaughan (1-0) L: B. Fuentes (3-4)
HR – LAA: V. Guerrero (15) TEX: H. Blalock (7)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Washington 7
Florida 2
W: J. Lannan (9-6) L: R. Tucker (0-2)
HR – WAS: L. Milledge (4), J. Flores (8)

New York (N) 1
Milwaukee 3
W: B. Looper (8-5) L: J. Santana (5-8) S: T. Hoffman (16)

Brewers center fielder Mike Cameron will be out of action for 2 weeks with a concussion. This season he is hitting .273 with 7 home runs, 38 RBIs, 52 runs scored, and a .365 OBP.

Colorado 5
Los Angeles (N) 8
W: M. Valdez (3-1) L: J. Marquis (6-7) S: J. Broxton (10)
HR – COL: B. Hawpe (15)

Chicago (N) 3
Pittsburgh 0
W: C. Zambrano (10-4) L: P. Maholm (10-4) S: C. Marmol (20)
HR – CHN: D. Lee (6), G. Soto (14)

Philadelphia 4
Atlanta 1
W: C. Hamels (8-3) L: C. Morton (1-5) S: B. Lidge (24)

Arizona 6
Cincinnati 1
W: D. Haren (8-3) L: E. Volquez (7-6)
HR – ARI: F. Lopez (9), M. Montero (6), M. Reynolds (18)

San Francisco 2
St. Louis 3 (14)
W: T. Miller (5-1) L: C. Silva (1-2)
HR – SLN: J. Phelps (3)

Houston 1
San Diego 2
W: E. Mujica (3-0) L: L. Hawkins (2-3) S: C. Meredith (12)
HR – SDN: J. Gerut (4)

PERFORMANCES OF THE DAY
#1 – C Gerald Laird (DET) 4 for 5, 2 2B, HR, 6 RBI, R
#2 – CF Adam Jones (BAL) 5 for 6, HR, 3 RBI, 4 R
#3 – 1B Aubrey Huff (BAL) 3 for 5, 2B, HR, 6 RBI, R

[Dauis]

Just a side note, it doesn't look like anybody anywhere is going to get dealt this month. There are only about 3 teams with any budget room, and all 3 of them have less than $2 million free. It's really frustrating, since I can't do anything to improve the team or build for the future. But then again, I guess nobody else can, either.

[Dauis]

Quick question....and I hate to ask this, but do the teams have more budget room in the latest patch? I started this game with the original version and am thinking about restarting if this issue was fixed in the patch. It's frustrating to realize that there are going to be no deals, and it's because teams aren't able to.

[Dauis]

OK. After doing some reading on the issue and some thinking, I think I'm going to restart the league with the financials.txt file from OOTP9. It sounds like things don't get too ridiculous with that file.