RKMeibalane
07-15-2006, 05:44 PM
2010 Chicago White Sox- Between the Lines
April 5: Opening Day: Fresh off a disappointing 82-80 finish in 2009, the revamped Chicago White Sox begin the ’10 season at Fenway Park, in a showdown with the Boston Red Sox. Behind a strong outing by Brandon McCarthy, the real Sox defeat the Red Sox 3-0 before a sellout Boston crowd. Brian Anderson drives in all three Sox runs with a bases-clearing triple in the fourth inning, and later helps out his pitcher by robbing David Ortiz of extra bases. Quote of the Day: Sox manager Ozzie Guillen: “I’m glad that we won, but sorry we made Chris Berman cry.”
Sox Opening Day Lineup: (vs. Josh Beckett)
2B- Brian Roberts
RF- Ryan Sweeney
DH- Paul Konerko
1B- Ryan Howard
CF- Brian Anderson
3B- Josh Fields
SS- Juan Uribe
C- Josh Bard
LF- Scott Podsednik
P- Brandon McCarthy
April 9: Sox Home Opener: Former White Sox star Frank Thomas, who retired the previous off-season, throws out the first pitch before the start of the Sox game vs. Tampa Bay. As part of the festivities, Thomas’ number is retired, and a statue is unveiled on the left field concourse featuring Thomas’ famous home run swing. The game features a celebration of its own, as the Sox pound out nine runs on fourteen hits to improve their record to 3-1 on the young season. New Sox first baseman Ryan Howard drives in four runs, three of which coming on a double that bounced off the top of the wall in center field.
April 10: In a game that saw Devil Rays’ manager Joe Madden ejected for arguing balls and strikes and shortstop Juan Uribe pulled because he was staring at five women seated near the Sox dugout, the Sox defeated the D-Rays 5-2 in the Pale Hose’s first night game of the season. Ryan Howard connected for his first Chicago home run, crushing a 3-2 fastball onto the fan deck in center field. The blast, which was estimated at 492 feet, left Sox announcer Ken “Hawk” Harrelson speechless. Harrelson’s call of the home run: “Way back! They look… (several seconds of silence)… that ball… (more silence)… and the Sox lead it, 4-2!”
April 22: Following 6-5 loss to the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field, Ozzie Guillen rips into his team. The primary target of his ire: Sox right fielder Ryan Sweeney, who finished the game 0-5 with three strikeouts and a crucial throwing error that allowed the Indians to score two in the ninth inning against Sox closer Bobby Jenks. “It pisses me off,” Guillen said. “This team is not as good as the two that won the World Series (in 2005 and ’06), yet there are guys on this team who think they can get away with not giving their best effort. I guess that’s my fault for not making that clear, but just so everyone knows, that’s how it’s going to be from now on.”
May 1: Following a sub-par April that saw the Sox finish 11-9, Ozzie Guillen tries to re-ignite his struggling offense by flip-flopping Ryan Howard and DH Paul Konerko in the lineup. The move pays off immediately, as Howard and Konerko slug back-to-back homers in the first inning off former Sox starter Javier Vasquez. The Sox later add on three more runs to knock off the Minnesota Twins 6-2 at the Metrodome. Quote of the Day: Howard, on playing his first game at the Metrodome: “I didn’t have a clue where the ball was hit when it was in the air. I was just hoping I didn’t have a catch a pop-up. This place is ridiculous.”
May 6: Ryan Howard continues to feel comfortable in the number-three spot, blasting his fifth and sixth homers of the season as the Sox crush the Seattle Mariners by the score of 19-3 before a sellout crowd at US Cellular Field. The victory improves the Sox record to 16-9 (5-0 in May), leaving them just two games back of the Detroit Tigers. Asked what he thought of the Sox recent surge, Sox GM Ken Williams replied, “Frankly, I think that’s a stupid question. Of course I’m going to be happy when this team wins. Winning is why I still have a job.”
May 11: Behind eight runs batted in from Joe Crede, the Sox win again, this time pummeling the Kansas City Royals 10-4. Crede’s heroics weren’t the game’s only fireworks, however. After left fielder Josh Fields was plunked in the fifth, Brandon McCarthy retaliated by throwing behind Royals’ DH Pat Burrell. Both benches were warned, prompting an enraged Jerry Manuel to emerge from the Royals dugout. The KC manager (and former Sox skipper) was ejected moments later, but not before throwing his cap to the ground and stomping on it, prompting the US Cellular crowd to sarcastically chant, “Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!”
May 18: Bothered by recurring back problems that forced him into a three-way 3B/LF platoon with Josh Fields and Scott Podsednik, Joe Crede is placed on the 15-day disabled list. Quote of the Day: Crede, on concerns that his back might force him into retirement: “I hope not, but that’s something every player has to live with. Every guy knows the risk he takes when he puts on that uniform. Right now, I just want to get healthy enough to where I can get out of bed in the morning and not feel sore. Baseball is the furthest thing from my mind.”
May 29: The Sox lose in extra innings to the rival Cubs, the Sox only run coming on a home run by Paul Konerko, who got a rare start at first base at Wrigley Field. Quote of the Day: Guillen, on National League rules: “I wish these ****ing morons would get with the times and use the DH. Watching my pitchers go up there and piss themselves trying to get a hit isn’t baseball.” Guillen was later fined for his remarks by Bud Selig.
June 3: The Sox notch their second come-from-behind win in as many days, squeaking by the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 at Camden Yards. Josh Fields fuels the comeback with a two-run homer in the eighth off Orioles starter Eric Bedard. Through fifty games, the Sox sit at 31-19, one and a half games back of the Tigers.
June 11: Facing the Phillies for the first time, Ryan Howard greets his former teammates in style, tying a career high by driving in seven runs in the Interleague showdown at US Cellular Field. Howard starts the game’s scoring with a three-run home run to left-center in the first, followed by a two-run shot in the third, which landed atop the concourse in right. Howard later added two more RBI with a seventh-inning single. Quote of the Day: Ken “Hawk” Harrelson calling Howard’s second home run: “And the 2-2 pitch from Madson… You can put it on the board, yes! A no-doubter, and it is 5-0! Mercy!”
June 15: The Sox see their contest against the Atlanta Braves delayed three-times by rain. The weather, a product of a nearby tropical storm, has the Sox slipping and sliding all over the field, as the Braves win easily 8-1. The lone Sox highlight: an inside-the-park home run by Brian Roberts.
June 30: Brian Anderson homers for the third straight game, as he continues his late push towards his first All Star Game appearance. After a slow start, Anderson has come on to hit .315 in May and .323 in June, raising his season’s average to .302.
July 4: As part of their first appearance on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, the Sox agree to wear their throwback uniforms from the Dick Allen era, taking the field dressed in red, which seems to ignite the Sox bats. Anderson homers again, and is later joined by Sweeney, Howard, Konerko, and Uribe. The Sox pound Oakland 14-5, but still find themselves two games behind Detroit, who can’t seem to lose.
July 13: Ryan Howard, Brian Anderson, and Brandon McCarthy represent the Sox at the 2010 All Star Game, held in Kansas City. Sadly, the National League wins 5-3, aided by an Albert Pujols grand slam.
April 5: Opening Day: Fresh off a disappointing 82-80 finish in 2009, the revamped Chicago White Sox begin the ’10 season at Fenway Park, in a showdown with the Boston Red Sox. Behind a strong outing by Brandon McCarthy, the real Sox defeat the Red Sox 3-0 before a sellout Boston crowd. Brian Anderson drives in all three Sox runs with a bases-clearing triple in the fourth inning, and later helps out his pitcher by robbing David Ortiz of extra bases. Quote of the Day: Sox manager Ozzie Guillen: “I’m glad that we won, but sorry we made Chris Berman cry.”
Sox Opening Day Lineup: (vs. Josh Beckett)
2B- Brian Roberts
RF- Ryan Sweeney
DH- Paul Konerko
1B- Ryan Howard
CF- Brian Anderson
3B- Josh Fields
SS- Juan Uribe
C- Josh Bard
LF- Scott Podsednik
P- Brandon McCarthy
April 9: Sox Home Opener: Former White Sox star Frank Thomas, who retired the previous off-season, throws out the first pitch before the start of the Sox game vs. Tampa Bay. As part of the festivities, Thomas’ number is retired, and a statue is unveiled on the left field concourse featuring Thomas’ famous home run swing. The game features a celebration of its own, as the Sox pound out nine runs on fourteen hits to improve their record to 3-1 on the young season. New Sox first baseman Ryan Howard drives in four runs, three of which coming on a double that bounced off the top of the wall in center field.
April 10: In a game that saw Devil Rays’ manager Joe Madden ejected for arguing balls and strikes and shortstop Juan Uribe pulled because he was staring at five women seated near the Sox dugout, the Sox defeated the D-Rays 5-2 in the Pale Hose’s first night game of the season. Ryan Howard connected for his first Chicago home run, crushing a 3-2 fastball onto the fan deck in center field. The blast, which was estimated at 492 feet, left Sox announcer Ken “Hawk” Harrelson speechless. Harrelson’s call of the home run: “Way back! They look… (several seconds of silence)… that ball… (more silence)… and the Sox lead it, 4-2!”
April 22: Following 6-5 loss to the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field, Ozzie Guillen rips into his team. The primary target of his ire: Sox right fielder Ryan Sweeney, who finished the game 0-5 with three strikeouts and a crucial throwing error that allowed the Indians to score two in the ninth inning against Sox closer Bobby Jenks. “It pisses me off,” Guillen said. “This team is not as good as the two that won the World Series (in 2005 and ’06), yet there are guys on this team who think they can get away with not giving their best effort. I guess that’s my fault for not making that clear, but just so everyone knows, that’s how it’s going to be from now on.”
May 1: Following a sub-par April that saw the Sox finish 11-9, Ozzie Guillen tries to re-ignite his struggling offense by flip-flopping Ryan Howard and DH Paul Konerko in the lineup. The move pays off immediately, as Howard and Konerko slug back-to-back homers in the first inning off former Sox starter Javier Vasquez. The Sox later add on three more runs to knock off the Minnesota Twins 6-2 at the Metrodome. Quote of the Day: Howard, on playing his first game at the Metrodome: “I didn’t have a clue where the ball was hit when it was in the air. I was just hoping I didn’t have a catch a pop-up. This place is ridiculous.”
May 6: Ryan Howard continues to feel comfortable in the number-three spot, blasting his fifth and sixth homers of the season as the Sox crush the Seattle Mariners by the score of 19-3 before a sellout crowd at US Cellular Field. The victory improves the Sox record to 16-9 (5-0 in May), leaving them just two games back of the Detroit Tigers. Asked what he thought of the Sox recent surge, Sox GM Ken Williams replied, “Frankly, I think that’s a stupid question. Of course I’m going to be happy when this team wins. Winning is why I still have a job.”
May 11: Behind eight runs batted in from Joe Crede, the Sox win again, this time pummeling the Kansas City Royals 10-4. Crede’s heroics weren’t the game’s only fireworks, however. After left fielder Josh Fields was plunked in the fifth, Brandon McCarthy retaliated by throwing behind Royals’ DH Pat Burrell. Both benches were warned, prompting an enraged Jerry Manuel to emerge from the Royals dugout. The KC manager (and former Sox skipper) was ejected moments later, but not before throwing his cap to the ground and stomping on it, prompting the US Cellular crowd to sarcastically chant, “Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!”
May 18: Bothered by recurring back problems that forced him into a three-way 3B/LF platoon with Josh Fields and Scott Podsednik, Joe Crede is placed on the 15-day disabled list. Quote of the Day: Crede, on concerns that his back might force him into retirement: “I hope not, but that’s something every player has to live with. Every guy knows the risk he takes when he puts on that uniform. Right now, I just want to get healthy enough to where I can get out of bed in the morning and not feel sore. Baseball is the furthest thing from my mind.”
May 29: The Sox lose in extra innings to the rival Cubs, the Sox only run coming on a home run by Paul Konerko, who got a rare start at first base at Wrigley Field. Quote of the Day: Guillen, on National League rules: “I wish these ****ing morons would get with the times and use the DH. Watching my pitchers go up there and piss themselves trying to get a hit isn’t baseball.” Guillen was later fined for his remarks by Bud Selig.
June 3: The Sox notch their second come-from-behind win in as many days, squeaking by the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 at Camden Yards. Josh Fields fuels the comeback with a two-run homer in the eighth off Orioles starter Eric Bedard. Through fifty games, the Sox sit at 31-19, one and a half games back of the Tigers.
June 11: Facing the Phillies for the first time, Ryan Howard greets his former teammates in style, tying a career high by driving in seven runs in the Interleague showdown at US Cellular Field. Howard starts the game’s scoring with a three-run home run to left-center in the first, followed by a two-run shot in the third, which landed atop the concourse in right. Howard later added two more RBI with a seventh-inning single. Quote of the Day: Ken “Hawk” Harrelson calling Howard’s second home run: “And the 2-2 pitch from Madson… You can put it on the board, yes! A no-doubter, and it is 5-0! Mercy!”
June 15: The Sox see their contest against the Atlanta Braves delayed three-times by rain. The weather, a product of a nearby tropical storm, has the Sox slipping and sliding all over the field, as the Braves win easily 8-1. The lone Sox highlight: an inside-the-park home run by Brian Roberts.
June 30: Brian Anderson homers for the third straight game, as he continues his late push towards his first All Star Game appearance. After a slow start, Anderson has come on to hit .315 in May and .323 in June, raising his season’s average to .302.
July 4: As part of their first appearance on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, the Sox agree to wear their throwback uniforms from the Dick Allen era, taking the field dressed in red, which seems to ignite the Sox bats. Anderson homers again, and is later joined by Sweeney, Howard, Konerko, and Uribe. The Sox pound Oakland 14-5, but still find themselves two games behind Detroit, who can’t seem to lose.
July 13: Ryan Howard, Brian Anderson, and Brandon McCarthy represent the Sox at the 2010 All Star Game, held in Kansas City. Sadly, the National League wins 5-3, aided by an Albert Pujols grand slam.