Name: Rod Craig
Rank: 366
Position: OF
Year With White Sox: 1986
After spending time with the Mariners and the Indians in the late 70s and early 80s, Rod Craig resurfaced for 10 games with the 1986 White Sox, getting 2 hits in 10 at bats. He was granted free agency following the season and that was it for his career.
Craig’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:
As we head in to the All Star Break, the White Sox are in first place and I’ve been to 20 games. Here’s the team’s records for those 20 games.
| TeamCity | TeamName | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | Nationals | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Kansas City | Royals | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Boston | Red Sox | 2 | 1 | 0.667 |
| Chicago | White Sox | 12 | 8 | 0.600 |
| Seattle | Mariners | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Houston | Astros | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Toronto | Blue Jays | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Continue reading → |
With 81 games in the books, we are officially at the halfway point of the 2012 season. The so-called experts at Sports Illustrated made some pre-season predictions that are looking a little off a this point.
| Team | Won | Lost |
Predicted Wins |
PredictedLosses | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL East | |||||
| New York Yankees | 49 | 32 | 95 | 67 |
After a slow-ish start, a long winning streak moved the Yankees back into first place despite an injury-ravaged pitching staff. |
| Baltimore Orioles | 44 | 37 | 63 | 99 | One of the surprises of the first half, theOrioles need only 19 second half wins to match their predicted output. |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 43 | 39 | 92 | 70 | Tampa has continued to keep things togetherwhile once again losing Evan Longoria for an extended period of time. |
| Boston Red Sox | 42 | 40 | 91 | 71 | After their collapse at the end of last season,the Red Sox have struggled to stay above .500 in the first half. |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 42 | 40 | 85 | 77 | The Blue Jays were having a strong half beforelosing nearly their entire starting rotation in one weeks time. |
| AL Central | |||||
| Chicago White Sox | 44 | 37 | 67 | 95 | While most people did not expect the White Soxto be as bad as SI did, nobody thought they would be in first place at the halfway point. |
| Cleveland Indians | 42 | 39 | 80 | 82 | The Indians have been right around where expected, a little over .500 instead of a little under. |
| Detroit Tigers | 40 | 42 | 93 | 69 | The Tigers were expected to run away and hide in this division, but they have been unable to outhit their poor pitching performance to date. |
| Kansas City Royals | 36 | 44 | 82 | 80 | Eric Hosmer’s sophomore slump has held back the developing Royals. |
| Minnesota Twins | 35 | 46 | 72 | 90 | Could this be the end of the Ron Gardenhire era? The Twins are woefully bad for the second straight year. |
| AL West | |||||
| Texas Rangers | 50 | 32 | 94 | 68 | After losing back-to-back World Series, the Rangers look to be stronger than ever. |
| Los Angeles Angels | 45 | 37 | 97 | 65 | The Angels, and new acquisition Albert Pujols, got off to a slow start before putting things together with the arrival of Mike Trout. |
| Oakland A’s | 41 | 42 | 68 | 94 | The A’s have been much better than expected in the first half. |
| Seattle Mariners | 35 | 49 | 64 | 98 | The Mariners have struggled offensively again in the first half. |
7 – 4 vs Seattle
4 – 3 vs Tampa Bay
7 – 2 vs Tampa Bay
2 – 1 vs Tampa Bay
12 – 6 vs Cleveland
14 – 7 vs Cleveland
9 – 3 vs Cleveland
11 – 8 vs Minnesota
6 – 0 vs Minnesota
Name: Todd Ritchie
Rank: 384
Position: P
Year With White Sox: 2002
Following the 2000 playoff loss to the Mariners, Kenny Williams traded for David Wells, thinking a front-line ace would help solidify a promising young staff and lead the team back to the playoffs. When that didn’t turn out as planned, he turned his attention to Pittsburgh and Todd Ritchie, hoping that after 3 steady seasons with the Pirates, the right hander would stabilize the White Sox rotation. That move was even worse.
Ritchie was acquired from the Pirates in December 2001, in exchange for Josh Fogg, Sean Lowe, and Kip Wells. 12 months, 1 week, and 1 wildly disappointing season later, he was granted free agency, after which he pitched in 9 more big league games before calling it a career.
He started 23 games for the 2002 White Sox, managing to win only 5, while allowing nearly 100 more base runners than innings pitched with a crowd pleasing ERA of 6.06.
Ritchie’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →
Going in to yesterday’s White Sox – Mariners game, there had been only 20 perfect games thrown in the 143 year history of major league baseball. 9 innings and 96 pitches later, there are 21, as Phil Humber becomes the third White Sox hurler, following Charles Robertson in 1922 and Mark Buehrle in 2009, to achieve perfection.
Humber was in control for most of the game, but was clearly nervous as the 9th inning unfolded, hitting ball 3 twice, the only times in the game he had done so. The final batter, Brendan Ryan, was retired on a check swing dropped third strike, with AJ Pierzynski throwing him out at first while Ryan argued the strike call with the home plate umpire. As Paul Konerko stepped on first base for the putout, Humber dropped to his knees and then stood up in time to be tackled by Jake Peavy and the rest of the Sox roster.
Unlike Buehrle’s perfect game, I was able to watch most of this one live. Thanks to the outdated backout rules that MLB uses, especially for games broadcast on Fox, not many people outside of Chicago and Seattle were, unfortunately. Since the Yankees were battling the Red Sox, only 2% of the country were able to see the game as it unfolded. I guess not everything about it was perfect.
Jose Paniagua spent parts of 8 seasons in the major leagues, and exactly one game, his final one as it turns out, with the 2003 Chicago White Sox. He lasted one third of an inning against the Twins, giving up 3 hits, 1 walk, and 4 earned runs, finishing with a 108.00 ERA. After then-manager Jerry Manuel mercifully removed him from the game, Paniagua went out with style by flipping off an umpire on his way off the field. He was released the next day.
The only time I saw him pitch in person was against the White Sox as a member of the Mariners in the 2000 ALDS. In that appearance, he managed to only give up 1 hit and 1 walk over 2 innings.
Heading into the 2012 season, here all the all-time team records in games that I have attended.
All-Time Team Records
| Team | Won | Lost | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Angels | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 12 | 2 | 0.857 |
| Florida Marlins | 15 | 8 | 0.652 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 10 | 6 | 0.625 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 8 | 5 | 0.615 |
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 13 | 10 | 0.565 |
| Chicago White Sox | 191 | 158 | 0.547 |
| New York Yankees | 9 | 8 | 0.529 |
| Chicago Cubs | 188 | 168 | 0.528 |
| Continue reading → |
Fireworks Night
4/28 vs Red Sox
5/12 vs Royals
6/23 vs Brewers
7/4 vs Rangers
8/25 vs Mariners
9/29 vs Rays
Kids Day
4/15 vs Tigers
5/27 vs Indians
6/10 vs Astros
7/8 vs Blue Jays
8/26 vs Mariners
Other Fun Stuff
4/13 vs Tigers – Opening Day
5/26 vs Indians – Robin Ventura bobblehead
6/3 vs Mariners – Southpaw’s Birthday Party and Southpaw Mini Plush Pal
6/24 vs Brewers – Kids 1972 Replica Jersey
8/3 vs Angels – Elvis Night
8/5 vs Angels – Kids Chest Protector Backpack
8/12 vs A’s – Spirit & Mascot Day
Earlier this winter, the MLB Network re-aired the 2005 World Series Championship video and, for the first time, there was an undertone of sadness to it, knowing that this day was likely coming. Now that it is here, it is a dark day indeed. Mark Buehrle, the most successful White Sox pitcher of my lifetime, has moved on, signing a new deal with the Miami Marlins.
Buehrle first came up during the 2000 season, working out of the bullpen for the eventual division champions. He moved into the rotation the following season, and stayed there for the next 11 seasons. During that time, there were numerous memorable appearances, many of which I was privileged to see in person.
The 2007 no-hitter against the Rangers.
The 2009 perfect game against the Rays.
Winning Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS against the Angels, thanks to AJ’s heads-up baserunning, and starting the streak of 4 straight complete games.
The 1 hour 36 minute game against the Mariners in 2005.
The no look, through his legs flip to Paul Konerko on Opening Day 2010 against the Indians.
And, of course, his performance in the 2005 World Series, starting Game 2, getting a no decision, and coming in to pitch the 14th inning and earning the save in Game 3.
It’s always difficult to see your favorite players move on, and this will be no different. Seeing Mark Buehrle joining Ozzie Guillen in South Beach, and someone else getting the Opening Day nod for the White Sox for the first time since 2007 will certainly be odd. While I had prepared myself for this eventuality, there was a part of me that thought Jerry Reinsdorf would step in as he did last winter to keep AJ Pierzynski in town. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and Chicago’s loss is Miami’s gain.
In White Sox annals, Buehrle is currently fifth all-time in strikeouts, sixth in games started, and eighth in wins and innings pitched.