July 2009 Archives

Five players are involved and all of them are pitchers. I've learned over the years that to make a judgement right now doesn't do much good. Usually, your first instinct turns out to be wrong. I want to think about this one for a bit. It's a bold move by Kenny. If Carlos Quentin can play in August and September, his bat will help us win this thing. Our guys had a lot of upside, but that's what you pay to get a number one guy. That upside wasn't going to help us win a division this year, but Jake Peavy can. 

 

* The Twins have won 10 of the past 12 meetings with the White Sox in Minnesota. Twins relievers are 2-0 and have converted all five of their save opportunities against Chicago over that stretch.

* The White Sox salvaged the finale of their four-game series with Detroit by beating the Tigers on Sunday, 5-1. Chicago is 2-7 in road games since July 4.

* The Twins snapped a four-game losing streak with a 10-1 victory over the Angels on Sunday. It had been Minnesota's second-longest skid of 2009.

* Jim Thome has blasted 57 career homers versus the Twins. That's the most ever by any player against the Twins since the team moved to Minnesota in 1961.

* A.J. Pierzynski is batting .356 in road games, the third-highest average by any White Sox player away from home since 1954 (minimum 150 PA).

* With two homers on Sunday, Justin Morneau assumed the American League lead with 26 home runs this season. He also drove in at least three runs for the 10^th time in 2009, tying for the most such games in the majors.

 

* The White Sox and Tigers have split eight meetings this year, including two in Detroit. In those games the average margin of victory was 3.50 runs.

* Detroit averages 5.49 runs per game at home this season, compared to just 3.96 runs per game on the road; the largest differential in the majors.

* Mark Buehrle pitched the 18^th perfect game in major league history yesterday against Tampa Bay. Buehrle's 116 pitches were the third highest pitch count in a perfect game.

* Jim Thome is slugging .644 against Detroit in his career including 132 RBI, the second highest slugging percentage and the most RBI (Paul Konerko is second with 118 RBI) of any active player against the Tigers (Minimum 150 PA).

* Miguel Cabrera is hitting just .279 (38/136) against the AL Central, compared to .379 (52/137) against the rest of the AL.

* Chicago has given up just 20 hits in its last four games (5.0 hits per game), compared to the 62 hits allowed in its previous five games (12.4 hits per game).

* Chicago has won three games in a row against the Royals after losing four of its first five meetings against them this season.

* The Royals have just one win in their last eight home games and have the second-most home losses overall among AL teams this season (22).

* The White Sox have won each of their last five games, scoring at least six runs in each of their contests in that span. At 13-4, the White Sox have the best road record in the majors since May 25.

* Chicago has won 13 of Mark Buehrle's last 15 starts against the Royals. Buehrle has 19 wins in his career against Kansas City which are the second most wins in his career against any opponent (23 vs. Twins).

* Bruce Chen will be making his second start of the season and will be seeking his first win since October 2, 2005. Chen is 0-1 with a 6.10 ERA in two career starts against the White Sox.

* Jermaine Dye is hitting .486 (17-for-35) with three homers, five doubles and nine RBI during his current nine-game hitting streak. Dye is 10-for-28 (.357) with two homers and six RBI in his seven meetings with Kansas City this season.