Inside the Numbers-Top Pitching Duos

Sports Illustrated just put out a list of the Top Ten Pitching Combo's in the Major Leagues. After reading it, I wondered if the guys at SI actually watch baseball or if they just picked names out of a hat.

How do you have a Top 10 list of pitchers and not include a single member of the White Sox staff? It's widely accepted around baseball that the White Sox have the best starting rotation in the league but we're supposed to believe they don't have the top tandem?

Let's look at SI's list:

1. Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett-Boston
2. Barry Zito and Rich Harden-Oakland
3. Andy Pettite and Roy Oswalt-Houston
4. Tim Hudson and John Smoltz-Atlanta
5. Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine-New York Mets
6. John Lackey and Bartolo Colon-Anaheim
7. Mark Mulder and Chris Carpenter-St. Louis
8. Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina-New York Yankees
9. Carlos Zambrano and Mark Prior-Chicago Cubs
10. Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett-Toronto

Not that bad, but let's take a closer look inside the numbers:

• #10. Halladay and Burnett-(Combined numbers for 2006 2-2, 30IP, 4.50ERA) Roy Halladay belongs on this list, no question. The only reason Burnett is on it is cuz of his salary. In 2 starts this season Burnett has been knocked around, giving up 7 runs in 10 innings. Then in his 3rd start he had to leave early due to elbow pain. Gee, Burnett has a sore elbow. What's new?
• #9 Zambrano and Prior-(0-1, 29.2IP, 3.94ERA) Those numbers are combined, but of course they're only Zambrano's. Prior, though, leads the Majors in simulated innings pitched. Zambrano is the Cubs ace, yet he hasn't gotten a victory yet and has been hit around pretty well at times. The inclusion of these 2 on this list is the biggest joke of all. You're telling me that there is no combination of Sox pitchers better than these two? I think any combo of Sox pitchers beats these two. Maybe not on potential, but potential doesn't win games.
• #8 Unit and Mussina-(6-3, 64.1IP, 3.08ERA) I can't argue with these two being on the list. Both for what they've done in their careers, and for what they're doing this year.
• #7 Mulder and Carpenter-(5-1, 61IP, 2.80ERA) Carpenter is a Cy Young winner, and Mulder has been a stud his entire career. These two should be on this list, and probably deserve to be a little higher.
• #6 Lackey and Colon-(2-3, 38IP, 5.21ERA) This is a big mistake too. I don't really think that this tandem belongs on this list, let alone above the last two duos. Lackey has never been anything more than a #3 guy, while Colon looks brilliant at times and god awful at others.
• #5 Pedro and Glavine (6-2, 59IP, 2.90ERA) Like I can argue against these two. Both are off to good starts, but at their advanced age I don't think they'll be able to do it all season. Either way, there's almost 500 wins between em.
• #4 Hudson and Smoltz (2-3, 56.2IP, 5.08ERA) This is obviously based more on reputation than performance this season. The Braves pitching staff is struggling right now. I don't expect these two to continue at this rate, but right now they shouldn't be this high.
• #3 Pettite and Oswalt (5-3, 67.1IP, 3.34ERA) Right now it's all Oswalt.(4-0, 36.1, 2.48) Considering the Little League field these two spend most of their time pitching in though, and their numbers get even more impressive.
• #2 Zito and Harden (4-2, 55IP, 4.75ERA) No argument with these two being so high. Zito had some early struggles, and right now Harden is the better of the two. That 4.75ERA is troublesome though, especially with a team that struggles to score like Oakland.
• #1 Schilling and Beckett (7-0, 63IP, 2.57ERA) Completely deserving of being ranked #1. However I still think it's just a matter of time before Beckett gets a blister and goes on the DL. It happens to him constantly, and I have no reason to believe it won't again. Schilling has just reinvented himself, and is still as dominant as he was before.

Now the White Sox staff is harder to break up in tandems, as it's harder to define the clear #1 in their rotation. For the sake of this exercise though we'll just go with Mark Buerhle and Jose Contreras.

• Buerhle and Contreras (6-0, 57IP, 1.73ERA) Okay, so the only tandem with a better record is Schilling and Beckett at 7-0. Of course, they have one more start as Buerhle prepares to face the Mariners tonight. They have only pitched 57 innings, but one has to consider their team is up 7-0 a lot when these two pitch, so Ozzie Guillen takes them out after 7 innings to give the bullpen work. Again, the closest in ERA is Beckett and Schilling, but they trail by .85 runs a game.

That's just Buerhle and Contreras combined. You can take either of the two and match them with any other Sox starter and that tandem would probably have better numbers than most these duos.

Maybe the guys at Sports Illustrated just thought it would be unfair to include the White Sox staff on this list. That's the only reason possible. Looking at the numbers and there's no way that these two could be listed lower than #2.

And if the numbers aren't enough, you can look at the fact that these 2 consistently pitch over 200 innings a season, and never spend time on the DL. Or the fact that not only do they give up few runs, they hardly give up hits, period. In fact their combined WHIP (Walks+Hits per Innings Pitched) is .877.

So in summary, the Buerhle/Contreras combo doesn't give up hits, runs, walks, and they don't lose. But they aren't good enough to be in the Top 10 of Major League Baseball.

Maybe that's cuz they're in a league of their own.

Enough of the Draft!

The 2006 NFL draft will be taking place this weekend at Radio City Music Hall. The NFL Draft is one of my favorite weekends of the year, cuz I am one of the countless football fanatics that actually watches the thing.

How can you not be entertained by it?

It's 15 minute intervals of Chris Berman, Tom Jackson, Chris Mortenson, and Mel Kiper Jr talking about everything and nothing, with 3 second announcements sprinkled in from Paul Tagliabue.

The fun never stops!!

Ok, so maybe you have to be somewhat of a die hard to really revel in the NFL draft.

Don't tell that to ESPN though. For the last two weeks it seems like every time I turn on ESPN they are showing either a 4 hour NFL Draft preview, or the Battle of the Gridiron.

Gee, there's nothing I like watching more than Peyton and Eli Manning competing in bass fishing, and Sean Salisbury waxing poetic on some division 2 running back with a ton of upside.

I guess what I'm saying is that this whole draft thing has gotten way out of hand. I mean what the hell can you say about the draft for 3 hours every day before it's even taken place?

"Well Trey, word out of Houston is that the Texans are now thinking of drafting Florida center Joakim Noah with the #1 pick. The athleticism he showed in the Final Four has really skyrocketed him up their board."

The most ridiculous aspect of the Draft previews is that you can't trust a word you hear anyway. The NFL draft is filled with more misinformation, BS, and posturing than a session of Congress.

Nobody tells you the truth.

I mean think about it. If you find some player under the radar, or a big name guy, and you really like him, are you gonna go tell every other team in the league, "Hey this guy has got all the tools to be a surefire Hall of Famer."

Of course you aren't. You're gonna tell him that his workout was unimpressive, and that you're gonna look in another direction.

All it becomes is a cornucopia of 40 times, verticals, bench presses, and test scores.

#1 Picks Since 1990

Never once do they actually see the players play in an NFL game. This is why the draft is such an inexact science. Devoting so much time to studying it seems kind of futile doesn't it? ESPN having so much time to fill of course has to come up with "stories" to help fill the time. So we get the 20 minute piece on what the 49ers are going to do with their 4th round pick.

Where is my Chris Connelly piece on some defensive end with misericordia who survived the Great Irish Potato Famine, Holocaust, and Vietnam before playing at little known Montana Tech, and is now on the virge of being a 7th round pick? What an inspiration!! I can't wait to watch all his practice squad games.

No all I get is 15 segments on Vince Young throwing funny, and scoring low on the Wonderlic.

"Vince, what do you have to say to all the doubters out there?"

"Well, once I'm drafted I will show them all......blah blah blah blah blah."

I don't care!!!!!!

I just want to watch the actual draft so I can see who's going where, and what my Bears are getting. I don't care about what Vince Young thinks about all the teams that may or may not potentially disrespect him by not drafting him... potentially.

Of course now there is all the talk that Reggie Bush might not be the #1 pick of the Houston Texans. Word is that the Texans have come up with contract proposals for both Bush, and NC State DE Mario Williams. Williams apparently is a man beast in the mold of Julius Peppers and Dwight Freeney.

Well he's that or all the teams below Houston are just saying that so maybe the Texans let Reggie Bush slip to them.

Personally I think Houston has to take Reggie Bush. He is a gamebreaker with the ability to win a game for you any time he touches the ball. You don't want to be the team who passes on that kind of ability. Think New Jersey and Sam Bowie leading to Chicago and Michael Jordan.

Mario Williams may turn out to be all that they're saying he is, but that still doesn't mean you draft him over Bush. Of course I think the Texans would be better served to trade the pick for a bunch of them, and improve their offensive line. Their line cannot protect David Carr as it is, but then again a guy like Reggie Bush can really improve your offensive line.

I don't know what to do. It's all too damn confusing.

All I really want to know is who are the Bears going to draft. We have needs in a few areas;

• Cornerback
• Tight End
• Defensive Line
• Outside linebacker

The Bears seemed to have added depth to their secondary this weekend by signing Ricky Manning away from the Carolina Panthers. Then of course the very next day he has to go and beat up a nerd at Denny's. So now maybe drafting another young corner is still the way to go. The NFL is becoming more pass happy every season, and having a lot of depth in the secondary is never a bad thing.

Tight end though is still, and always has been a huge need for the Bears. Not since Mike Ditka have the Bears had a solid option at the position. A good pass catching threat at Tight End would really help Rex Grossman out.

The defensive line and outside linebacker spots are precautionary. With Tank Johnson hurting himself this offseason, and Alex Brown having surgery we could use some extra bodies. Outside linebacker is more of a reaction to Lance Briggs hiring Drew Rosenhaus and wanting more money than Urlacher, and the fact that while he's acceptable, Hunter Hillenmeyer isn't exactly irreplaceable.

I think the Bears will go with another corner. It seems likely to be either Florida State's Antonio Cromartie, Virginia Tech's Jimmy Williams, Ohio State's Ashton Youboty, or Fresno State's Richard Marshall.

My "educated" guess is that it will be Youboty, which would make me happy enough. How can you not smile saying that name? Try it.

Youboty. (yuuu-bo-teee)

It rolls off the tongue.

Plus he's only the second person I've ever known with the name Ashton.

Since everybody else is doing it, I guess I'll do my own mini mock draft.

My Top Five

1. Houston Texans-Reggie Bush, RB, USC
2. New Orleans Saints-Mario Williams, DE, NC State
3. Tennessee Titans-Matt Leinart, QB, USC
4. New York Jets-D'Brickashaw Ferguson, OT, Virginia
5. Green Bay Packers-A.J. Hawk, LB, Ohio State

There that's my Mel Kiper impersonation, sans the fine helmet of hair that Mel sports. Rumor is it's made from kevlar.

The best part about all this pre draft hype for me?

I won't even be able to watch it. I'm going down to Champaign for the weekend with the McCahill boys. So when the draft finally starts I'll be starting my own draft. A Miller Genuine Draft in the first hour of a reported 14 (!) hour barcrawl.

Maybe I'll Tivo it.

Some Clarification

(This piece is slightly tongue in cheek. SLIGHTLY.)

Well the news on Derrek Lee was announced yesterday, and it isn't good. He's going to be out around 8-10 weeks.

Personally I think that's optimistic.

He'll have to be in a cast for at least 6 weeks, and in that time he's gonna lose a lot of strength in his wrist. So whereas he may be able to play in 8-10 weeks, I don't think he's gonna be Derrek Lee til next season at the earliest.

Along with yesterday's post though, I got a few questions from some of my friends.

"What do you mean it's Cub fans that catch your ire? What's wrong with them?"

Well that's a tricky question actually. I used a bad choice of words. I don't hate Cub fans. The problem is the majority of people that go to Wrigley Field aren't Cub fans. They are Wrigley fans, or just yuppies with an afternoon to kill.

See Wrigley Field is a very nice place to see a ball game. Most games are played during the day, and as a result there is usually an abundance of scantily clad, good looking women in the crowd. As a result a lot of people go to Cubs games for nothing more than the park, and the surrounding neighborhood. These people call themselves Cub fans, but in reality they aren't. I could probably name more players on the current Cubs' roster, and some past ones, then these people can.

My friend Panger, a Chicago native and lifelong Cub fan who lives in Malibu, often complains about the fans of Southern California.

"They show up (at Dodger games) in the 4th inning, and leave after the 6th. They aren't there for baseball, it's just a cool place to go before heading out to the trendiest night club."

LA fans have long gotten this rap. A lot of people don't realize that Wrigley fans are the exact same way as these LA fans.

The only difference is they have the courtesy to show up on time, and "watch" the entire game. Wrigley fans aren't there to watch or support the Cubs, they're there to hang out with friends. If you watch a Cubs game, watch the crowd. They will stand up and cheer for a home run, and a strikeout, but they miss the little things.

Like when someone bunts a runner into scoring position with 1 out. You will see a few people stand up and clap for this, these people are the actual Cub fans. The ones who know about baseball, and are actually there for baseball.

Here is a list of the Cub fans I know that I truly respect as Cub/baseball fans:

• Silvio-The most knowledgable Cub fan I know. When he goes to a Cubs game (and he goes to a lot) he goes for the Cubs first, fun second. He is exempt from any taunting on my part about the White Sox winning the World Series cuz I respect him. Hell after the Sox did win, I told him I hope the Cubs win one someday just so he could experience it. Screw the rest of Cubs Nation.
• Sai-Sai was the first real Cub fan that I knew growing up. He's not as avid now as he used to be, but it's hard to get to as many games when you live in Switzerland. To his credit though, he is known for getting up at 3AM to watch Cubs games on the internet
• My sister-She's my sister. I gotta respect her, even if she is throwing her life away rooting for the Cubs. She has changed my opinion though, at first I labeled her as nothing more than a bandwagoneer cuz her boyfriend (now her fiance) was a Cubs fan. Over time though the woman has shown passable knowledge, and even agrees with my assessment of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior.
• BillyB-Billy was iffy. He's knows baseball, that's not in question. I just question his "intensity." Billy roots for the Cubs, but I get the feeling that they don't matter as much to him as much as he just enjoys watching and playing baseball. As a result he's the one who catches the most crap from me when something goes wrong. I know it will just roll off his back. If I started making fun of Derrek Lee's injury in front of Silvio, he might just punch me in the face. Billy would just laugh and tell me to F off.

And that's it. Only 4 people, and only 2 of those 4 are locks. Now I'm not saying that there aren't that many real Cub fans, it's just I don't acquaint myself with them. The stench of expensive cologne, mixed with stale beer and a whiff of failure on most of them just turns me off.

The main thing is I feel there has to be a Civil War amongst Cub fans if they ever want to break this "curse." The Cub fans must revolt against the Wrigley fans. See the Tribune company gets a lot of grief from Chicagoans for not always putting the best possible product on the field. People view it as they don't care about winning.

Hey look! There's a game going on!

Well the Tribune company is precisely that, a company. They're biggest concern is the bottom line, and the Cubs are a cash cow. Why should they spend more money when they can make larger profits for less?

It's those damn Wrigley fans who keep showing up regardless of what's happening that are the problem.

As the Tribune company keeps raising ticket prices year after year, despite lack of success, it's Wrigley fans who keep showing up. This as a result keeps a lot of the true fans at home. They can't get tickets if they want to, and even if some were available they may not be able to afford them. I mean keep in mind the Cubs scalp tickets to their own games, it's not cheap.

Cub fans must fight off the Wrigley fans for the sake of the franchise. Cub fans could then take the route of White Sox fans, and tell the Tribune "If you want our money, make us happy and put a good team out there."

Yes this would lead to some empty seats in the stands, but so what? This issue is the one that used to piss me off the most when Cub fans threw it out there.

When there would only be 16,000 people at US Cellular, and Cub fans would be like "You guys can't even get people to watch you."

So? I'd rather be in a stadium with 16,000 people who actually care than with 40,000 people more concerned with the conversation on their cell phone. And look what happened!!!

Sox owner saw that the only way he could make money with the White Sox was to put a good product out there. So he allowed the team to start spending money, and holy crap they won a World Series!!! Now just 3 weeks into this new season and the Sox ALREADY HAVE THE 4 LARGEST PAID ATTENDANCE for a season in the teams history.

"You're only fairweather fans," they say.

That's crap. All Sox fans are watching at home if they aren't at the game. They just don't want to fork over cash that could be used to feed their kids to watch a bad team. (There has never been a study, but I'm guessing if you took the average income for a Cub fan vs. a Sox fan, the Cub fans would be higher.)

Remember, it's the fans who hold all the power. We seem to forget that these days. If we don't go to their games, these leagues have no income.

Destroy the Wrigley fans, Cub fans. Take back the Cubs, and Wrigley Field. Get them to fire Andy MacPhailure. All the talk is about Hendry and Baker, but what in the hell has MacPhailure done in his 10+ years with the team? Why is he exempt?

I can't promise all this will keep Kerry Wood, or Mark Prior off the DL. It won't make Derrek Lee's wrist heal quicker.

What it will do is give you your team back. You cannot complain about ownership and management, and then proceed to do absolutely nothing about it. I mean this entire country was formed as a result of protest, why should our sports teams be treated any different?

Show them who's boss.

Suicide Watch on the North Side

Late last night as most Cub fans were probably tucking themselves into bed, one of their worst nightmares became reality.

As Scott Eyre flung a baseball from his glove to first baseman Derrek Lee on a Rafael Furcal bunt, Lee and Furcal collided.

Scott Eyre hurt his knee on the play but nobody seemed to notice. They were too busy watching Derrek Lee rolling around on the ground holding his right wrist.

It appears that 2006 may be just another chapter in the Shakespearian tragedy that is the Chicago Cubs. With a season that started under the same old Prior/Wood injury questions, there loomed a sense of optimism in Wrigleyville. The Red Sox had won the World Series in 2004, and the White Sox did it in 2005.

Surely that meant that 2006 has to be the Cubs year.

Until last night it seemed that way. The Cubs were off to a very good start and were only a half game out of first place. Greg Maddux is pitching like he's 27 again, and the youngsters look promising.

Not even a week ago the Cubs resigned the new face of their franchise, known as DLee, to a 5 year $65 million contract extension. Now the only face Cub fans see is the grimacing one of their new hero.

The X-rays taken Wednesday night came back, "inconclusive," and the Cubs are saying it's just a sprain right now. They have scheduled more x rays and tests for their day off on Thursday.

Given the Cubs dubious history when it comes to injuries, and what they tell the media, what exactly does inconclusive mean? You either see a fracture or you don't. I have a feeling that when the Cubs do release the news on Lee's wrist it won't be good.

At the very least we're probably talking a week missed. Your hands and wrists are incredibly important in baseball. Lee cannot throw, or swing a bat with a sprained wrist. They also take a lot of time to heal.

If the team's worst fears are realized, and Derrek in fact has a broken wrist, it's likely he'd be out for the season. Hand and wrist injuries take a very long time to recover from, and seeing how the Cubs just invested $65 million in Lee, they will probably want to take every precaution they can with him.

What that would also mean to the Cubs is that fans will already be saying "Wait til next year." Where as this team is better than the teams of 2004 and 2005, they cannot make the playoffs without Derrek Lee.

Some people probably think that I'm delighted at the possibility that DLee could be out for the year.

They'd be wrong too.

See I'm a White Sox fan, but I don't wish ill will upon the Cubs. I love to talk smack with my Cub fan friends about who's better, but I don't have an actual hatred of the Cubs franchise. It's more the majority of their fans that catch my ire.

In all reality Derrek Lee is one of my favorite players in baseball right now. It started in 2003 when it was Lee's Marlins eliminating the Cubs from the NLCS, and beating the Yankees in the World Series. Derrek Lee is easily one of the game's premier players, and if it wasn't for a certain guy named Pujols, he would be the perennial starting first baseman in the National League.

In fact Lee's injury HURTS me. I have him on my Roto team, and I'm sure to struggle without him. So while the North Side of Chicago is on suicide watch, I'll be holding my own silent vigil hoping that Lee will miss a week, and come back as good as new.

It's the only way I'll ever get to experience the joy of seeing the White Sox beat the Cubs in a World Series.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

• Speaking of injuries in baseball, and there are a ton so far, there was some very good news for White Sox fans on Wednesday night. Of course it's bad news for the Cleveland Indians, but at least CC Sabathia will have some company on the DL. Well, if there's any left anyway. Sabathia is a large man.
• Curt Schilling just keeps on tickin this year. Last night he went 6 innings and gave up only one run, improving his record to 4-0 with a 1.61 ERA. Josh Beckett is also off to a very good start. One of Beckett's former teammates thinks it's only a matter of time before he gets another blister and goes on the DL though. "I give him a month," he said.
• Chad Johnson is probably going to get a lot of fines this year thanks to the NFL's new endzone celebration's crackdown. Luckily for him the Bengals want to do everything possible to help him pay those fines.
• If you get a chance, there's a great pitching matchup Friday night in Chicago. The White Sox and Mark Buerhle go against the Twins and Johan Santana. If you're a fan of pitching, then this game is a must see. Expect a 1-0 85 minute affair.
• I hope the fact that the Detroit Pistons rested their players this last week, and indirectly cost the Bulls a chance at the 5th seed, bites them in the ass. It won't, but I can hope. The Bulls meanwhile start their postseason Saturday night in Miami.

Inside the Numbers-White Sox Starters

The White Sox are now riding a 5 game winning streak, and have won 9 of their last 10 ball games.

The reason behind all this?

Same thing as last season, starting pitching.

We all remember last season in the ALCS when Jose Contreras, Jon Garland, Freddy Garcia, and Mark Beuhrle pitched 4 consecutive complete games to get to the World Series. This offseason the Sox added even more depth to the rotation by trading for Javier Vazquez from the Arizona Diamondbacks, all while still having young Brandon McCarthy ready to take a spot.

Well the last five games we have truly seen what this White Sox pitching staff can do. Let's look at the numbers.

• Mark Buehrle 8.0IP 5H 2R 2ER 2BB 4K 2.25ERA
• Freddy Garcia 5.0IP 4H 4R 3ER 6BB 3K 5.40ERA
• Jose Contreras 7.0IP 1H 0R 0ER 1BB 6K 0.00ERA
• Jon Garland 6.1IP 6H 1R 1ER 0BB 3K 1.42ERA
• Javier Vazquez 8.0IP 2H 0R 0ER 1BB 7K 0.00ERA

Totals 34.1IP 18H 7R 6ER 10BB 23K 1.57ERA

One thing to keep in mind is that the 34.1 innings is of a possible 41 innings. (Freddy Garcia's performance was a rain shortened game. 5 innings) That's 83% of the teams innings pitched by the starters.

Also Garcia's numbers don't tell the complete story. Freddy pitched very well for the first 4 innings, but then had to pitch in a downpour for the 5th. The rain wasn't going to stop, and the umpires (correctly) did not want to call the game when it was so close to being official. Unfortunately for Freddy it's hard to grip a baseball when it's soaking wet, and his control suffered for it. Of his 6 walks, 5 came in that 5th inning, along with all 4 runs.

Contreras pitched an absolute gem giving up one hit over 7, while today Vazquez went 6.1 innings before surrendering a hit.

That hit?

A cheap little swinging bunt down the third baseline by Doug Mientkiewicz that just wouldn't roll foul.

You take a dominant pitching staff like the White Sox have, add a terrific defense led by third baseman Joe Crede, and a lot of runs scored courtesy of Jim Thome and Paul Konerko, and what you get is the team that has to be considered the favorite to win the World Series again this year.

The Mets are off to a great start, but their starting rotation isn't proven once you get past Pedro and Glavine. It's doubtful that their rotation can keep up like this all season.

The White Sox' main competition will be provided by the Cleveland Indians, who are the second best team in baseball. What the Sox have that the Indians don't though is 5 dominant starting pitchers.

No Longer the Baby Bulls

When I woke up this morning I half expected the world to be awash in flames, asteroids landing everywhere, and the Earth cracking open like Paris Hilton's legs in front of a video camera.

Why?

The Bulls are going to the playoffs for the second straight season thanks to a 117-93 victory in Miami Sunday afternoon.

Growing up this would have meant absolutely nothing. In the late 80's and 90's when MJ was patrolling the floors of the old Chicago Stadium and the United Center the playoffs were the season. The regular season was just a tune up, an extended pre season.

But then MJ left, and Jerry Krause got rid of anything resembling a championship basketball team and for years Bulls fans suffered through something resembling professional basketball. Though it only seemed to be a distant cousin.

It even caused me to lose interest in the NBA, though not entirely. I still watched Bulls games occasionally, but not with the fervor I was used to. It used to be an event in this city. Hell my mom watched Bulls games then, and I'd have friends over and everything to watch it. It got to the point where I didn't have to explain anything that was happening to my mom either. She knew. Me and my friends would be watching feverishly when from behind us would boom the female voice of my mother.

"What a shitty call!!!! That isn't a foul, he got all ball!"

For those who don't know my mother, the fact she was able to make a coherent statement about a sporting event without assistance from me, or asking "What's happening?" was a mind blowing experience for me and my friends.

But that's the way it was. The Bulls were so big in Chicago my mom was an expert. In the Chicago of the 90's the Bulls were like cocaine was in the 80's.

Everybody was doing it.

When they were going through the Dark Ages I couldn't watch. It was like seeing your first girlfriend, your first true love who you shared so much of your adolescence with and you adored, a few weeks after you just broke up lying in an alley with a needle sticking out of her arm.

You cared, but at the same time this wasn't how you wanted to remember them.

So I stopped caring so much. I let all my sporting interest go towards college sports (basketball and football anyway) the Bears, and the White Sox. Hell the Blackhawks, who had long been a disappointment garnered more attention and affection from me.

Then a combination of things happened to get me interested again.

• Jerry Krause was "fired"
• Jim Paxson was hired
• We drafted Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, and Luol Deng
• The NHL killed itself

From the moment Jim Paxson stepped in everything seemed different. There was the first sign of light that we hadn't seen in a while. Paxson hired Scott Skiles to replace Bill Cartwright as coach, and immediately you could see a difference in the team. Paxson then drafted Hinrich, and I wasn't happy with it at first. Not cuz I didn't like Hinrich, (Actually I hated Hinrich in college. I'm not exactly a big Kansas fan.) but cuz I wanted Dwayne Wade. The Miami Heat unexpectedly drafted him right in front of us though, and I was pissed. Pat Riley already had a roster full of guards, and now he stole our new hometown hero from us. Part of me was certain it was nothing more than sour grapes over our dominating him while he was in New York.

Hinrich's play though won me over. I never though he was a bad player, I just don't like Kansas basketball. I knew that Captain Kirk would never be a superstar, but you could see that he would be a more than capable point/2 guard. Then we added Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, and Chris Duhon.

Those three along with the signing of Andres Nocioni of Argentina gave this team a personality to match its coach. In 2004-05 they finished 4th in the Eastern Conference and made the playoffs for the first time since MJ left.

I was watching too. There was no more NHL, and well the time I would have spent watching hockey had now gone back to the Bulls, and they were winning me over.

There have been a lot more smiles around the United Center lately

Now this year has been more of a struggle for the Bulls because the rest of the NBA is aware of them now. The key to the Bulls is that they are the hardest working team in the NBA. No ifs ands or buts about it.

They have to be. It's the only way they can win.

They have no superstar. In fact their leading scorer is Ben Gordon and he only averages a little over 16 points a game, while coming off the bench for the majority of the season. They just run harder, try harder, and do everything with more energy than their opponents. Andres Nocioni is quickly becoming one of the most hated men in the NBA by opponents. Josh Childress of Atlanta was ejected from a game last week for taking a swing at him.

Why does everybody hate him? For the same reasons his fellow Bulls, coach and fans love him. He never stops going 100%. He goes after every rebound, every loose ball, makes every key shot. He routinely has to play in the power forward spot despite the fact he is only 6'7 and 225 pounds. Yet it's his job to keep 6'10 guys off the boards and stop them from scoring.

And he always does. He just had a recent streak of 8 consecutive double doubles in points and rebounds.

Then there is Luol Deng, the lanky slasher who generally seems to be the only guy on the court with fresh legs. Like Nocioni, he never takes a play off. Deng probably has the most upside of any one on the current Bulls roster. While the others have a ceiling to what they'll probably ever be able to accomplish, we just don't know with Deng. He just turned 21 yesterday, and has plenty of time to grow.

The firestarter is Ben Gordon. Nobody need look past his performance against the Washington Wizards last week. He outdueled Gilbert Arenas and scored 32 points on 9-9 shooting from 3 point range. As he did so many times last season Gordon put the entire team on his shoulders and carried them to that win. It really was Jordan-esque.

All the credit for this team should go to Scott Skiles though. In my opinion he is the Coach of the Year. Take this team, and give them any other coach and you don't get much more than 30 wins. In my opinion when voting for league MVP you vote for the guy who's team would be the worst off without him (Hence the reason that even though I hate him I think Kobe is the MVP) and I think coaches should be judged off the same criteria.

It's his hard nosed approach to everything that is molding these players into winners. That's the reason Tim Thomas was banished to the end of the Bulls bench. He is released and goes to Phoenix and scores 20 points a game and people wanna know how the hell Skiles could bench him in Chicago. Especially since interior offense is our weakness.

Well Thomas didn't want to practice. The Bulls probably hold the hardest played practices in the league, and Tim Thomas didn't like it. So basically Skiles told him "Fine. We don't need you." Skiles approach has led to the Bulls to be the best defense (based on opponents field goal percentage, 42.65%) in the NBA. A lot of talk has been about how hot the New Jersey Nets and Orlando Magic have gotten to end this season.

Nobody seems to notice that in their last 12 games(Since March 24th) the Bulls are 10-2, and have gone from 10th in the Eastern Conference to a tie for the 6th seed.

A lot of people in Chicago though seem to think that it would have been best for the Bulls to not make the playoffs. That is quite simply one of the stupidest things I have ever heard a sports fan say. The argument is that since we have the Knicks pick (Thanks Isaiah!) we would get 2 lottery picks in the draft this year.

That's nice. We've had lottery picks the last 8 years, and well until now it hasn't resulted in many wins has it? Besides who is in the NBA draft this year that really makes anyone say "Wow"?

The playoffs are where teams learn how to win. If the Bulls are going to return to their glorious form of old, they have to get the experience necessary to do it. A lot of us seem to forget that the Bulls of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were eliminated from quite a few playoff series before finally finding their stride.

Also if the Bulls can win out, they could end up as a 5 seed. That's not exactly hard to imagine as we have 2 games left against Orlando and Toronto. Two teams with absolutely nothing left to play for right now. Plus with the momentum they've had over the last few weeks, if they can dodge Miami and Detroit in the first round, a possible trip to the second round is not a crazy thought.

I know, I can't believe I typed that either.

This Bulls run has also gotten me to reconsider my wish to add a Paul Pierce like guy. I still want one yes, but not at the cost of Gordon and Deng. If you think about it, say the Bulls package some draft picks, along with Gordon and Deng and send them to Minnesota for Kevin Garnett. How would the Bulls be in any different a state than that of the Timberwolves right now? I'm starting to fall more inline with the theory that this team is still growing, and hasn't even reached it's full potential yet.

Plus we still have the Knicks first round pick this year, and possibly next year too.

If the Bulls go into the playoffs as a 7th or 8th seed and get swatted away by the Pistons or Heat, this season won't be a disappointment.

I really think that this team's future is very bright, and for the first time in a while there's that feeling of electricity in my veins while I watch the Chicago Bulls.

Now I haven't fallen back in love with the NBA yet. Not by a long shot. There are still a lot of things about the league that turn me off of it. The biggest thing being the officiating is absolutely terrible.

Guards have absolute free reign over the league right now. You cannot touch a guard without a whistle blowing. On the other end of that coin, you can do absolutely anything to a center short of going off like Dick Cheney and unloading a shotgun in his face, and not get called for a foul. (Unless your name is Tyson Chandler. Then you can get a foul called on you just for blinking.)

Look at the scoring leaders this year.

1. Kobe Bryant-35.4
2. Allen Iverson-33.0
3. LeBron James-31.4
4. Gilbert Arenas-29.3
5. Dwyane Wade-27.2

They're all guards. All any of them have to do is run towards the hoop and jump into a big guy. The big guy gets called for a foul, and little guy goes to the free throw line and racks up the points. If you're looking for a low post player you have to go all the way to 11th with Elton Brand(24.8).

It's gotten to the point that I think the Bulls figured out a brand new way to play the perfect defense against these guys.

Don't play any at all.

On a couple occasions when Gilbert Arenas drove to the rim last week the Bulls defense parted like the Red Sea and gave him a clear lane. This led to complete confusion for Arenas, who then proceeded to flail in mid air and scream like he got shot while throwing up the ugliest of layups. Of course there was nobody within 3 feet of him.

It's just that it's become robotic for guards these days. Anytime in which Tim Duncan does not lead the Spurs in scoring (18.7 to Tony Parkers 19.0) there is something wrong with the NBA.

Until some changes are made I will still see the college game the superior style of basketball. Sure the talent in college isn't the same as the pros, but at least they're playing basketball in college, not just isolation drills.

That's another part of the reason I like this Bulls team so much. They really do remind me of a college team. Tyson Chandler is the only big guy on the team, and he's a toothpick. Our starting center is Mike Sweetney, and he's 6'8. Nocioni is 6'7 and our best rebounder.

Everything about this team is charming, and they've got my attention.

Hopefully in the playoffs they'll get everybody elses too.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

• How about Albert Pujols? He will now be getting the Barry Bonds treatment from this point on. Sunday he hit three home runs, including a walk off shot in the 9th, to defeat the Cincinnati Reds. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Albert Pujols is my favorite non-White Sox player and will retire as the greatest hitter any of us ever saw. Oh and he's only 26 years old, yet has 996 career hits, and 209 home runs. I say the over under is 130 walks this season for Pujols.
• I wanted to do a piece on the Cubs and Carlos Zambrano, just to make sure I keep my coverage of Chicago baseball fair. Then I read this column by Rick Telander, in which he says everything I wanted to say and I didn't feel I could say it any better. I still stand by my prediction he'll win the NL Cy Young this season. If I'm a Cub fan though I still have to be pretty happy with the teams start. They're 7-4 in second and they start a west coast trip in LA tonight.
• The NHL playoffs start this week and I'm holding out the hope that playoff hockey may help me enjoy the sport again. I wouldn't hold your breath though.
• Mark Buehrle is going to be fined for having fun at a baseball game.
• Rudy Gay is going to enter the NBA Draft. Nobody knows if he'll disappear before he's selected. LSU freshman forward Tyrus Thomas will be joining him there.

Happy Homecoming

I can still remember the night I got the phone call. I was at work, the night before Thanksgiving when Silvio called me.

"You guys got Thome."

Being how Silvio is a Cubs fan my immediate thought was, "BS."

"We got what? How?!"

"You guys traded Rowand and some minor leaguers for Jim Thome."

My feelings were being yanked in every direction. The first thing I felt was the sting of losing Aaron Rowand. Aaron was one of my favorite players, and a cult figure on the South Side of Chicago among White Sox fans.

My other feeling was, "Holy shit we got Jim Thome!!!"

"If he's healthy...."

"You guys are gonna kill people."

See I was all too familiar with the Peoria, Illinois native. Since about 1994 I had the distinct pleasure, along with all White Sox fans, of seeing Jim Thome terrorize us and anyone else in our division. Back then when Thome was walking to the plate it was more "Oh shit here comes Jim Thome."

If it was a critical point in the game against the Indians, and Thome was coming to the plate you could already see the vapor trail from his inevitable 450 foot blast. When he finally left after 2002 there was a collective sigh on the South Side of Chicago. He was gone to the National League, unable to abuse us anymore.

The Sox fan in me was ecstatic, though the baseball fan was saddened. Even though he killed us, there were few players then I enjoyed watching hit more than Jim Thome.

Now he was going to be a White Sox. At the time of the trade it also presented a relief to the Paul Konerko situation. Konerko was still a free agent at the time and being courted hard by the Angels. Before the Sox sent Paulie out to see what he was worth Konerko and Sox GM Kenny Williams discussed what Paul would need to come back.

"Protection."

Kenny got the ultimate protection for Konerko, and at a bargain price. Yes Aaron Rowand's defense is going to be missed, but Thome's bat makes up for it. Also Williams was able to get the Phillies to pay $16 million of the $22 million left on Thome's contract.

That's like going to your favorite bar to find out that it's 10 cent bottles night on your favorite beer.

Of course the big question mark on the trade was Jimmy's health. I was worried about it too, but I was also confused. People were talking about Thome like he was always injured. I never remembered him being hurt before last season. In fact besides a few common injuries that baseball players are going to get over the course of a 162 game season, Thome never did get hurt.

2005 was a horrible year for Thome. He only hit 7 home runs in 59 games due to the problems with his elbow and back. In the 11 seasons before then though, Thome was a beast.

From 1994-2004 Thome averaged 38 HR and 102 RBI. His worst season was in 1994 when he hit .268 with 20 HR and 52 RBI. Of course he only played in little over 90 games that season for the Indians thanks to the players union strike.

Thome's Career Statistics

Then spring training rolled around and Thome started slow. He didn't have any home runs, but he was healthy. Then he had some hamstring problems and took about a week off. I was a little worried about him, but it wasn't his elbow or back, so I wasn't that concerned.

Then in the last week of the season Thome returned to play the last 7 games of spring training. In those 7 games he hit 8 home runs. It was incredible. Nothing had changed from the Jim Thome I grew up with.

If you threw it anywhere near the plate he was going to crush it. Pitchers had absolutely no chance.

NO CHANCE.

Of course my initial thought was "Great. He's hitting em all now when they don't count." Then i realized that he was getting his swing right at the absolute right time.

Then on Opening Night at US Cellular against his old mates, the Cleveland Indians, Thome hit a 455 foot home run in his very first at bat as a Chicago White Sox. I was as giddy as a schoolgirl. I practically developed a crush on the man.

Thome watches his first homer in Chicago drive through the rain

Even as the White Sox would struggle losing 4 games in a row, Thome kept hitting home runs. Now he has homered in the last 4 games, and not coincedentally, the White Sox have won all 4 and are back above .500 (5-4).

After he helped lead the way on a White Sox sweep in Detroit this week, you get the feelings Tiger pitchers are going to be screaming "Thome!!" in their sleep for a while. If nothing else new Tiger skipper Jim Leyland was impressed.

"He looks very healthy and strong to me," Leyland said. "Not having to go out on defense will be a big help for him during the year."

The start Thome has had is a surprise to everyone I'm sure. After 9 games Thome's stat line looks insane.

.379 (11-29) 6 HR, 10 RBI, 12 runs(He's the ONLY Major Leaguer to have scored a run in every game this season), 3 doubles, 10 walks, 2 hit-by-pitch, a .561 on base percentage, and he's slugging 1.103%.

He has 6 home runs in 9 games. He had all of 7 in 59 last season. If you include the last week of spring training he has 14 home runs in his last 16 games. That is absolutely phenomenal.

"We knew exactly what we were getting when we got him, which you can't say very often,'' said White Sox hitting coach Greg Walker, "I've been a big fan of his -- first of all, his career -- but his swing mechanics. We've used him to teach off of the last few years, for our righties and lefties. We'd bring up at-bats of his and show hitters, 'This is what we're talking about.' So we already knew his swing pretty well.''

You look around baseball right now and balls are flying out of parks. If the league keeps using these juiced balls it's not crazy to think that someone will break Bonds 73 HR mark this year. Of course looking at the guys in the AL right now, the three hottest are Thome, Cleveland's Travis Hafner (aka Thome Jr.), and Detroit's Chris Shelton. Now Shelton I think we can safely assume will not keep his current pace. Hafner could easily hit 50 though, and Thome with a juiced ball could hit 80. Especially playing 81 games at US Cellular which is very friendly for left handed power hitters. (How many do you think Thome will hit? Answer the poll on the right of the page.)

Over the last 4 games the White Sox have looked more like the team from 2005 than they did in the first week of the season. With the starting rotation staying strong, and Jim Thome threatening the lives of anyone in a bleacher seat, the White Sox still have to be considered the favorite to win the World Series.

Cleveland started real hot, but have now lost 2 in a row at home to Seattle and only lead the White Sox by a game. The trendy pick, Oakland, is only 5-5 and having problems. The Yankees still have a questionable starting rotation, and the Red Sox have arm issues as well.

The White Sox though are very hot and about to start a 9 game home stand. Last year the Sox ripped off a number of 8 game win streaks, and seemed poise to get another long one going now. If things go well on this homestand the Sox could have a 3 or 4 game lead by the time it's over.

Thome has come back to many a happy dugout so far this season

And it's all Jim Thome right now. Before Thursday's 13-9 victory in Detroit the White Sox entered the game with the lowest batting average in the American League, yet they were averaging 4.6 runs a game. Once the rest of the offense finds it's swing this team will devestate opposing pitchers.

And it's all because of one man.

Jim Thome.

Welcome home Jimmy. Take off your shoes and stay a while.


RANDOM THOUGHTS

• Barry Bonds is in some real trouble now. I'm still torn on this whole thing. I don't like Bonds, but I also think it's crap that he's the only one they're going after. There's probably about 100 guys(AT LEAST!!! Probably more like 200) who were on steroids, but since he was the best hitter of them to start with, he's the one we'll crucify.
• USC running back Lendale White has torn his hamstring. What this will do to his draft stock we can't be too sure of yet, but I have a feeling a team with a late first round pick could get an absolute steal now. While Reggie Bush is more electrifying, I'm of the opinion that White will the better NFL running back.
• Word is the Bears are looking to sign Carolina cornerback Ricky Manning. The Panthers offered him a $700,000 deal which the Bears can easily outbid. Signing Manning would cost the Bears a third round pick, but Manning could start right away opposite Vasher allowing Tillman to move to safety. A position the Bears coaching staff thinks he could excel in. (By the way, when coaches say that they mean "He's too slow to play corner.")
• Carlos Zambrano has looked horrible on two occasions this year. Both have been against the Reds. With no Prior or Wood, and Glendon Rusch getting rocked, the Cubs can ill afford Big Z to struggle. Luckily for them Greg Maddux seems to have found the fountain of youth and has been outstanding so far.
• So maybe the Cubs could shore up their staff? Word is that the Marlins have already started shopping Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera. Maybe newly resigned GM Jim Hendry can right the wrong of trading Willis to begin with. He's already conned the Marlins out of Derrek Lee, might as well complete the deal. This would be a huge step in the "Get over Kerry Wood and Mark Prior" movement that needs to happen on the North Side.

Baseball Is Still Juicing

Where as I have no doubt that somewhere there is a Major League baseball player using steroids, that's not the kind of juicing I'm speaking of. I'm talking about the balls.

Over the first week of the season I saw a lot of baseball, and I noticed a few things. The ball is flying. I have seen 4 home runs at least that should have been nothing more than fly outs. One even got White Sox tv announcers Hawk Harrelson and Darrin Jackson to take notice.

When Reggie Sanders hit a solo shot in the 9th inning of a 3-1 Sox victory in KC Sunday Darrin Jackson could only think of one thing to say.

"What!?"

Sanders had gotten underneath a ball and it looked as if it would be an easy fly ball out. The ball though never stopped moving. Even Reggie Sanders was surprised. After making contact he put his head down and started trotting to first with that "Dead Man Walking" pace hitters have when they know they've made an out.

It's not just that home run, as there have been others. Hell it's not even just home runs. Balls are being absolutely scalded this year. Rope shots everywhere. Jim Thome nearly killed Royal first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz Saturday. At one point Joe Crede hit a ball off the end of his bat, and it carried all the way to the warning track in KC a mere 405 feet away. In that same game Joe Crede broke his bat on an inside fastball and DOUBLED DOWN THE THIRD BASELINE. It was a frozen rope too.

Now I don't want to say that Joe Crede is a wimp, but by no means is he strong enough to do that on his own. Not off the end of the bat one time, and after cracking it another. (Speaking of which, I've also noticed a record pace for broken bats in a season. Does anyone keep track of such a thing? It could be the most inane record ever, and I want to know if we're gonna break it. Screw Bonds, I wanna know the broken bat record in one season!)

Pitchers are in the most danger. Mark Buerhle was pelted by 2 line drives on Sunday without any time to react. Keep in mind that Mark Buerhle is easily one of the three best defensive pitchers in the game today.

I fear that before this season is over, a pitcher is going to get hurt, severely.

Why are the balls juiced?

Well it's kind of obvious really. With the "crackdown" on steroid use by MLB this season can any of us really be surprised that Bud Selig would pull something like this?

Juicing the baseballs is a great smoke and mirrors tactic. This way at the end of the season Selig can tell us that he was right, and that the rest of the country had overreacted to the prevalence of steroids in Major League Baseball.

"Look at all the home runs that were hit this year," he'll say, "We put in stringent testing, and even an investigation into the steroid problem, and balls are still flying out at record paces."

It's a shame too, as so far I've noticed this season a turn to the style of baseball of old. More teams are emphasizing speed and defense this year, and taking an aggressive approach to baserunning. It's an approach the White Sox used last season before everybody else, and it led to their first World Series title since 1917.

There's more bunting though now, and not just in the National League. I'm seeing American League teams bunt with runners on first and third and 2 outs. I think I've seen that more this week than I probably have in the last 5 years combined.

What Bud Selig and baseball don't understand is this.

The great battle between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa did NOT save baseball in 1998. All it really did was accelerate America's forgiveness for the 1994 strike. The fans would have come back eventually with or without McGwire's 70 home runs. Baseball has too long been an everyday aspect of American life and culture for it to ever disappear.

All Bud saw was people like home runs though. So he turned a blind eye to steroids, and now that he got caught up in that he thinks he needs to find a new way to keep the home runs coming.

"Please don't ask about steroid, please don't ask about steroids...God dammit!!"

All the while he completely forgets why people love the home run.

It's a difficult thing to do. Hitting a baseball is probably the hardest thing to do in all of sports, let alone hitting one out of a park. Now it's become so common place that it really has started to lose it's significance.

The lack of interest in Barry Bonds' chase of Ruth and Aaron isn't just due to Bonds' personality and alleged steroid use. It's cuz people have been there and done that.

To me the most exciting play in baseball has always been, and always will be the suicide squeeze play. In most cases the ball travels no further than 10 feet on a suicide squeeze, but there's more baseball being played then that at any other point of a baseball game.

So here we are at a point in which baseball may actually be on the verge of returning to it's former self, and all Bud Selig and his cronies want to do is ruin it some more.

Of course we should all expect this. What else could happen? I mean what has Bud Selig ever done to improve the game of baseball? He put an emphasis on smaller market teams building new ball parks, which has been a nice aesthetic factor. He made the All Star game matter again, but only cuz he obliterated the game the year before by ending it in a tie.

Other than that what?

Please stop juicing the balls Bud. Also, after please make that your last ever move as Commissioneer of Major League Baseball. Baseball needs somebody who cares about baseball. Not a former owner who only sees the bottom line.


RANDOM THOUGHTS

• It pains me to say it, but the Cubs have looked really good so far this season. They just completed a 3 game sweep of the Cardinals at Wrigley Field this weekend led by clutch home runs from Michael Barret and Derrek Lee. The Cubs though have never had a problem beating the Cardinals and Astros. It's the lesser teams in their division (Pirates, Brewers, and Reds) that give them fits. So far so good though.
• The last time I saw as many missed wide open jumpshots as I did Saturday night while the Bulls were creamed at home by Philly, I was the one taking them. The Bulls jump into the 8th seed in the East over Philly, and then they just let them right back in it. Being without Luol Deng didn't help, but there is no excuse for missing that many wide open shots. Especially in such a huge game.
• If Chipper Jones could ever stay healthy for an entire season he'd be a sure fire Hall of Famer. Unfortunately for the Braves and Chipper, that just never happens.
• Some people are saying Coco Crisp will be out for 10 days, others are saying for a month. Either way it's a bad start for Crisp in his new home of Boston, and the Red Sox could ill afford to not have him in the lineup and the field.
• He doesn't believe in dinosaurs, but he does believe he was treated unfairly. Seattle Mariner Carl Everett takes yet another shot at White Sox GM Ken Williams. I guess the fact that Williams traded for him 2 years in a row wasn't enough to convince Crazy Carl that Kenny liked him.
• Toke Ricky Toke!! Ricky Williams finds out his fate from the NFL today after another failed drug test. I have no confirmation to the rumor that if let off the hook Ricky will celebrate by smoking a pound of "the stickiest of the icky."
• The St. Louis Cardinals will open the new Busch Stadium today against the Brewers. It's a gorgeous stadium too, with a view of the Arch and St. Louis skyline. Don't believe me? Fine I'll show you.

No Need To Panic

Ok so things aren't going as planned so far in 2006 for the White Sox. After 4 games they sit at 1-3 in third place in the AL Central division. They lost 2 of 3 at home against their biggest threat and rival Cleveland Indians.

There are a few things going wrong for the White Sox right now. We'll start with the biggest one. All the talk about the Sox last season was of their dominant pitching staff. Well that dominant staff doesn't look too good right now.

1. Mark Buerhle 0-0 4 IP 6.75 ERA
2. Freddy Garcia 0-1 4 IP 15.75 ERA
3. Jose Contreras 0-0 6 IP 3.OO ERA
4. Jon Garland 0-1 5.1 IP 15.19 ERA

The numbers are a bit deceiving though. In reality Buerhle made one bad pitch in 4 innings, and it happened to get hit out of the park. It was quickly followed by a 3 hour rain delay, which Buerhle didn't return from. Garland was credited with 9 ER, but only 4 were really earned. The Royals scorekeeper gave the Sox fielders a little too much credit Friday night. The box score said the Sox made 1 error, but in reality they committed about 4.

Garcia is the only concern at this point. His velocity is down from 93-94MPH last season to about 89MPH tops in his first start. With that velocity he will need pinpoint control, and just didn't have it against Cleveland. Anything he left over the plate they crushed, and other teams will too. There are a few pitchers suffering from this around the league right now, like former Sox starter Esteban Loaiza in Oakland. What do these pitchers have in common?

The World Baseball Classic.

It appears that there may be a little dead arm going around the Majors right now. Possibly from the early start for some. Whatever it is both pitchers teams are hoping they get over it, and fast.

Another problem thus far has been the lack of clutch hitting. The White Sox didn't score many runs last season, but they always seemed to score the ones they needed. The Sox have had a few 2 on, none out situations in which they've failed to score this season. Scott Podsednik starting the season 0-13 hasn't helped either. When Podsednik gets on he can wreak havoc on a pitcher, and easily steal second AND third.

Jim Thome hasn't been a letdown though. The slugger is batting .333 with 2 HR 3 RBI 4 R and 6 BB, and has shown no signs of trouble with either his elbow or back.

All in all though it's only been 4 games. There are still 158 more to go, so nobody is exactly panicking. With all the celebrations and ceremonies accompanying every game so far, the White Sox haven't been able to focus on just playing baseball yet. (Opening night, Ring ceremony, Trophy ceremony, and KC's home opener) The key is that they get into a rhythm and get going soon.

Whether Detroit can keep up their current undefeated pace is debatable, but the Indians are more than capable of keeping theirs. In a very tough division it's imperative that the Sox don't dig themselves a hole early. That's what happened to the Indians last season, and they needed a near perfect second half to finish as well as they did. Still, they missed the playoffs. It can happen to the White Sox just as easily.

The White Sox have two more games in Kansas City this weekend before heading to Detroit for a 3 game series with the 4-0 Tigers. This will be a important 5 game stretch in a still early season. The AL Central can either send a message to the Sox and set the tone for 2006, or the Sox can let the rest of the division know it's still theirs until someone takes it from them.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

• Well so much for Joakim Noah in a Bulls uniform. Noah and his teammates will be returning to Florida for their junior years. Not all hope is lost however, cuz the Bulls still have the Knicks first rounder next year too. Once again, thank you Isaiah. I mean it's like he felt really bad for leading the Pistons off the court without shaking the Bulls hands after they were eliminated in 91 and he wanted to say sorry.
• A lot of baseball insiders say that the position to watch out for in the steroid scandal is the relief pitchers. Since steroids greatly enhance recovery time it's rightfully suspected that many relievers may have abused them. An early suspect?
• I watched Friday's Oakland/Seattle game to get a glimpse of the newest pitching phenom Felix Hernandez. I never got a chance to see him last season, so I was anxious to watch it. Hernandez pitched very well(L5 IP 2 H 1R 1 ER 4K), and is as advertised. Unfortunately his lack of control (4 walks) early cost him and Seattle. King Felix wasn't the best pitcher in the game though. No that award goes to A's righty Joe Blanton. (W 8 IP 2H 0R 6K 1BB 98 pitches) He was absolutely phenomenal. Painting the outside corner, busting guys inside, working up in the zone, and down in the zone with pinpoint precision. Just an amazing performance, and it's a shame that early season pitch count kept him from the complete game shutout. Trust me, the Mariners couldn't keep him from it.
• I mentioned the 4-0 Tigers already. Not only is the 4-0 start a surprise to most, but they're doing it with unexpected power. They've hit 16 homers in 4 games. Hell they sent Ranger pitcher RA Dickey back to AAA after one game. The leader for these Motown Maulers? Chris Shelton with 5. Who's Chris Shelton you ask? Sorry, but I don't know either. I do know that he leads the Majors in that category though.

His Shining Moment

Well this weekends Final Four games were somewhat disappointing to anybody who isn't a Gator fan or player. After a terrific first two weekends of play were filled with buzzer beaters, upsets, and close games, this last weekend proved anti-climatic.

Everybody's favorite story George Mason was disposed of rather easily by the Florida Gators. While it wasn't unexpected, it was still a little bittersweet. George Mason was eliminated, but on the plus side the Gators DID cover the spread.

Last night the Florida Gators beat the UCLA Bruins, and they beat them for 40 minutes. Out playing them, out hustling them, out shooting them, out everythinging them. Last night's Gator win was a masterpiece for the Gators. Every Gator had a solid game. On the other hand just about every Bruin had a disappointing game.

One Florida Gator in particular not only stood out last night, but really dominated the entire tournament.

Joakim Noah.

I really enjoyed watching Noah play the last few weeks, from the SEC Championship to Indianapolis last night, he was on a whole other planet than other college players. Here is a 7 footer that runs the floor well, can handle the ball, rebounds, scores, and blocks shots with such a frequency that opponents practically abandon their inside game.

Then it hit me. Joakim Noah could be a Chicago Bull next season. Think about it. The Bulls have the Knicks draft pick(sorry, but I can't stop thanking Isaiah. Thanks Isaiah!!), and more than likely that will be the #1 pick overall.

Name somebody who's a better pick at #1 than Noah right now. That's the greatest story of this tournament. Noah has gone in 3 weeks from a virtual unknown nationally, to probably the #1 pick in the NBA Draft should he decide to leave early.

There's Adam Morrison, and even though I still think he can get you 15 points a game in the NBA his stock has dropped a lot. Sobbing like a schoolgirl with his team down and 2 seconds left against UCLA in the Regional semi's probably didn't help much. There's Aldridge down at Texas, but I don't know if he's big enough yet. JJ Redick went from lottery pick to potential 2nd rounder. Brandon Roy will be a good NBA player, but doesn't have as many tools as Noah.

So really, there is not a player in college basketball that is better than Joakim Noah.

He'd be perfect for the Bulls too. He's like Tyson Chandler, but with talent. He would be that low post presence the team desperately needs right now. He would also be a very good compliment to Luol Deng who has really stepped his game up in the last few weeks. In fact ever since I wrote about the Bulls big mistake in not trading for Paul Pierce cuz they need a reliable scorer(Sitting of the Bulls) he's been on a tear. Averaging 21 ppg, and 8 rebounds. The Bulls in fact have been playing pretty well all around lately.

Andres Nocioni is really showing his potential on a nightly basis, while Kirk Hinrich literally did his Paul Pierce impression the other night against the Celtics. He went off for 11 consecutive points in a crucial stretch of the game that resulted in a Bulls victory. The team still misses somebody down low though. Mike "A Donut and a Cookie away from 350 lbs" Sweetney is a monster in the first quarter, but after that he disappears.

Noah would fit in very well. He runs the floor better than any 7 footer I've seen. He would be the first Gator up and down the court seemingly every time. Against Villanova we were able to see him handle the ball, and break the Nova press. He set a NCAA Championship game record with 6 blocks. He also set the blocks record for the Final Four (10) and tournament (29!! In 6 games! Thats 4.8 a game.) Oh and he averages 16 points, 7 rebounds and over 2 assists a game.

Yes he's still young, and he will have to get a little bigger to take the pounding of 82 NBA games in the post, but he'll fill out the older he gets. I mean I really see the potential that, along with more than a few hours in the gym, could help Noah develop into a Hakeem Olajuwon type player. The only difference being Noah's superior ball handling and floor running skill. I don't know that Noah could ever be the offensive threat Olajuwon was, but he's really only a few low post moves away from it.

Sure I could be getting a little bit ahead of myself with Noah. We don't even know for sure whether he'll be in the draft. I think it would be smart if he did leave school right now though. Noah's stock will never be any higher than it is right now. College basketball had a very odd year this season, in that there was no powerhouse program. That should change next season.

With the new NBA rule that prohibits players from joining the league straight out of high school means that the best high schoolers will be going to college, if for only a year. Well where are those blue chippers gonna go?

To the Duke's, the UNC's, the UConns, etc.

Next year the college basketball landscape will return to normal. That means that even if all the key Gators return, they won't be assured of anything. Duke will get better. UNC will be better. UConn will be better. Even UCLA will be better.

Now is the time for Joakim Noah to enter the NBA draft.

Hopefully it's also the time the Bulls finally get a center.

Random Thoughts

• Well Barry Bonds hit a laser on the very first pitch he saw this season. He went 1-4 with a double and scored the Giants lone run in a 4-1 loss to the Padres. He looks pretty good running the bases, but looked a little apprehensive at times in the field. Of course he was still limber enough to dodge the syringe that a fan threw at him from the stands. Seriously, love him or hate him, that's just uncalled for. As fans we can boo, yell, and insult players all we want. It comes with the price of admission, but throwing things at a player is over the line.
• Speaking of Bonds, his ESPN reality show, Bonds on Bonds, airs tonight, and I have my DVR set to record it.
• I remember last year when the announced the new entries to the basketball Hall of Fame, and Charles Barkley complaining (rightfully) about Dominique Wilkins not getting in. Well Barkley got his wish this year, along with the right to join Wilkins there.
• If your Steve McNair this is a bad sign for the upcoming season. I wonder if they'd let him in had he retired.
• Good performances I saw on Opening Day yesterday:Curt Schilling going 7 strong innings in Texas, Brandon McCarthy pitching 3 shutout innings after the rain delay, David Ortiz being David Ortiz, Jake Peavy pitching 7 great innings, even striking out the side before being pulled.
• Bad performances I saw on Opening Day yesterday: Any pitcher in the Cubs/Reds game, Adam Dunn missing 3 fly balls in that same game, Kevin Millwood found out why pitchers just don't like playing for the Rangers, Barry Zito being unable to throw a strike to save his life.
• Happiest moment of Opening Day for me (Sox game aside) was seeing Frank Thomas hit a home run in his very first at bat for the Oakland A's. I still think Thome will have the superior year, but it's nice to see Frank succeed.