San Francisco Interested In Jermaine Dye

I've been saying for years that Jermaine Dye is the most underrated outfielder, if not player, in baseball today. Year after year since he came to Chicago in 2005 Dye has provided great defense in right field while bashing out 30+ homers and 80+ RBI ever season. Currently he leads the White Sox in home runs with 18, RBI with 46 and OPS at .920.

Of course it's because Dye is such a good player that he's also the most valuable trade chip the Sox may have should they decide to become sellers at the trade deadline this season. Which is why the San Francisco Giants had a scout in Cleveland last night to take a look at him.

And even after White Sox general manager Ken Williams said last week he intends to remain a buyer, it won't stop other teams, such as the San Francisco Giants, from scouting Sox players who can help them for their own playoff runs. The Giants, who lead the National League wild-card race, sent one of their top scouts to Cleveland on Monday to watch right fielder Jermaine Dye. The Giants also were believed to be looking at Cleveland's Victor Martinez, according to a source.

If Dye were to be traded I'm sure San Francisco would be one of the places he'd like to go to. He grew up in nearby Vacaville and the Giants spend their springs in Dye's winter home of Scottsdale, Arizona.

Personally I'm hoping that Jermaine finishes the season on the south side because not only his he one of my favorite players on the team, but it would also mean the Sox are winning.

Dave Bolland Signs A Five-Year Deal

The Blackhawks have a lot of work to do this offseason if they're going to keep the core of a team that reached the Western Conference Finals intact for next season, and they've completed one important task already.

They've locked up center Dave Bolland for the next five years.

Chicago re-signed forward Dave Bolland to a five-year deal, locking up one of the team's more consistent performers last season.

The new contract is worth $16.875 million for an average of $3.375 million per year.

Bolland had a very nice season in his first full year with the Hawks, with the 23-year old accounting for 47 points in the regular season along with a rating of +19. He also contributed 12 more points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Of course this isn't the last move the Hawks will have to make as Kris Versteeg, Troy Brouwer and Cam Barker are all restricted free agents as well, and I'd like to see all three of them back next season.

There's also Martin Havlat who recently got back to the states from a quick vacation in Dubai and his home in Czechoslovakia to begin looking for a new deal. Havlat has repeatedly said on his Twitter page that Chicago is where he wants to be, and considering he's the most consistent offensive performer the Hawks have when he's healthy, I'd like him here as well.

Of course today is the last day that the Hawks have exclusive negotiating rights with Havlat before he can begin talking to other teams on Wednesday, and if he hits the open market the odds of him leaving town only increase.

As for the Hawks other free agent, goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, though it looked like there was no way the Bulin Wall would be back in Chicago next year during the season, it's now looking like both sides want to get a deal done to keep him here.

The question there will be how much money Khabibulin wants.

Yankees Trade For Eric Hinske

When the St. Louis Cardinals traded for Mark DeRosa over the weekend it was basically the start of teams swapping players before the July 31st trade deadline. Traditionally teams wait for one big domino to fall before they start wheeling and dealing, so it's no surprise that the Yankees and Pirates have now worked out a deal amongst themselves....

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Lou Piniella Voted Manager Players Would Least Like To Play For

It hasn't been the greatest week for Cubs manager Lou Piniella. Not only is he feeling the heat of the Chicago media with the Cubs scuffling, but he's also gotten into an argument with Milton Bradley in which he called his right fielder a "piece of [expletive]." Regardless of whether the exchange should have ever left the clubhouse or not, it's not exactly the type of thing you want the world to know about....

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Finally: Some Good News For The Cubs

The Cubs were able to pick up a win in the opener of their three-game set in Pittsburgh on Monday night, and wins are always a nice way to cleanse the palate of the bad taste left in your mouth after a horrible weekend. Hell, things went so nicely on Monday night that not only did Rich Harden pick up his first win since May 12th, but Milton Bradley even managed to drive in another run.

Still, that wasn't the best news for the Cubs on Monday night. No, that would be the fact that Aramis Ramirez is set to begin his rehab assignment on Thursday.

Manager Lou Piniella said Aramis Ramirez (edit. note: no word on whether or not it was a Pirates clubhouse employee snitching on these plans) would begin his minor league rehab stint on Thursday if all goes well the next three days during batting practice.

Piniella did not know where Ramirez would be playing, but he expects to get him 20-25 at-bats. That suggests Ramirez could be back for next week's series against Atlanta at Wrigley Field.

"It's been a long time for Ramirez," Piniella said. "He'll know (when he's ready). He's a professional hitter. He can tell us more than we can tell him, honestly. He's worked hard, to his credit. We thought it would be about two months, and that would be the time-frame. We're pleased with that."

If Ramirez is able to begin his rehab on Thursday and can work his way back into the Cubs lineup without any further shoulder complications -- he's going to need surgery on it at some point and hopefully that will be in the offseason -- it could make a world of difference for the Cubs.

It's no secret that their lineup has struggled mightily to plate runs and while Cubs fans have given a million reasons why that is -- my favorite of course being that Mark DeRosa is gone -- the fact of the matter is the biggest reason for their scuffling has been the absence of Ramirez.

If he's healthy all season nobody cares about Mark DeRosa.

The fact is that Aramis, like Reggie Jackson with the Yankees in the 70s, is the straw that stirs the drink in the Cubs offense. You put him in the middle of the lineup and it changes the entire complexion of the team.

Let's not forget that for all their struggles the Cubs are still only 3.5 games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central -- some will also tell you that they're only 2.5 games out of last place -- and a healthy Ramirez makes that gap a lot smaller.

Gordon Beckham Hitting His Stride

When he first came up to the big leagues on June 4th I tried to temper my excitement over the possible contributions of Gordon Beckham. I knew then as I know now that he's not a savior, but I have to admit, with every passing game I'm getting all hot and bothered with the kid.

His start was horrible. Two hits in his first 28 at bats wasn't exactly what I was hoping to see, but that's all we got. Ever since he finally hit his first Major League home run in Cincinnati on June 20th, though, things have started to turn the corner.

Since that game Bacon is hitting .333 (9/27) with 6 RBI and 6 runs scored with 4 walks and an OBP of .419. While he's still had some problems over at third base, particularly with throws, he also seems to be getting the hang of things there as he made a couple of very nice plays in Monday night's 6-3 win in Cleveland.

Oh, and just to stir the pot in the "Milton Bradley Must Die" movement spreading throughout Chicagoland, Beckham has 11 RBI in 71 at bats this season, even though he started 2-for-28.

Milton Bradley has 17 RBI in 179 at bats. That's one RBI for every $588,235.29 the Cubs are paying him this season.

Anyway, back to Beckham.

I'm not planning my trip to Cooperstown for his Hall of Fame induction just yet, but with every game he seems to gain more confidence, and that can only mean great things for the White Sox. If they are going to make any noise in the AL Central this season a nice second half from Beckham would be a lot of help.

He makes the bottom of the Sox lineup so much more dangerous than they have been up to this point in the season, and with Pods and Alexei doin damage at the top along with the boppers in the middle, that warms the cockles of my heart.

Before I forget I'd also like to give props to Gavin Floyd for his performance on Monday night as well. The Sox offense and Bacon gave him a lot of support but the man didn't need much.

Floyd went 7.2 innings without allowing a run and only 5 hits while striking out 5 batters. That means in his last 8 starts Gavin has allowed only 9 earned runs. Keep pitching like that and Gavin's going to win a lot of games for this team in the second half.

I'm Not On The Bandwagon Just Yet

As should be expected after the White Sox took two of three from the Cubs this weekend, all the talk in the Chicago sports media is about how the White Sox look to be on the rise and ready to hit their stride and the Cubs are spiraling around the drain waiting to be swallowed by the darkness below.

It's just what we do in this city. For some reason every year we think that whomever wins a series of games between these two crosstown "rivals" has the advantage. Now in the rare case where both teams are in first place at the time, this argument holds some merit, but at the end of the day it's still just six games out of 162.

Why the hell am I supposed to be so impressed by the fact that the Sox took two out of three from a team with a losing record?

What makes this even worse is that we don't learn from our own mistakes. Remember a week and a half ago when the Cubs had that big comeback win over the Sox. Why that was the type of game that would spark a win streak for sure!

Then, wouldn't you know it, the Cubs swept a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians. You know, the team with the worst record in the American League.

Holy shit! Look out world! Here come the Cubbies!


Then they lost a makeup game in Atlanta before they went to Detroit to play a team with a winning record, and though they helped the struggling Detroit economy -- saviors of the American dream they are -- they were also swept in three games before coming back to Chicago and dropping two of three to the Sox.

Now they all have to die.

So you'll have to excuse me if I don't care what the White Sox did to the Cubs this weekend, I'm still not ready to say this team has a real shot at getting to the playoffs again. Now, I'm not saying they don't either.

They may be playing some mediocre baseball but the fact of the matter is they're only five games behind the Tigers, and I'm not ready to proclaim the Tigers world beaters either. They, like everybody else in the AL Central -- hell, baseball -- have their own flaws.

The next test the Sox face is their next 13 games before hitting the All-Star break. All 13 games are against divisional opponents, and whichever team is going to end up winning the AL Central will be the one that does most of it's damage within it.

In the middle of May I wrote that the next six weeks would be a huge test for the Sox as they had a favorable schedule that placed most of their games at US Cellular. Well, in those 24 homegames the Sox went 12-12.

Not exactly what we were hoping for, huh?

The good news is that the division is so average that the Sox actually gained a half-game in the standings in that span.

Now with 13 straight games against the Indians, Royals and Twins they have a chance to make up for a craptastic June. Now only three of those 13 games will be played in Chicago, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. In their last 14 road games the Sox are 10-4 so maybe getting out of town is just what they need.

Of course just because I don't sound too excited by all this doesn't mean I'm not encouraged. While the two victories over the Cubs don't mean that much to me, I'm very happy with the Sox taking two out of three from the best team in baseball, the Dodgers, and two of three from Milwaukee and the Angels in the last month.

So if over these next 13 games the Sox continue to show life before adjourning for three days off and the second half of the season then, and only then, will I even begin to let a glimmer of hope creep it's way into my dark and evil soul.

So don't make any room for me on the bandwagon just yet, though you should probably swing by my place in a few weeks to see if I want on then.

Jim Hendry And Kenny Williams Should Scout These Teams

While both the White Sox and Cubs have started to show signs of life on offense lately the fact of the matter is that neither team is scoring runs with ease this season. So I don't have any doubt that general managers Jim Hendry and Kenny Williams are looking for ways to improve their anemic offenses.

Well, I think I found the two teams they should be scouting. Fellow FanHouser and connoisseur of crappy baseball teams -- he's a Pirates fan -- Pat Lackey sent this out on Sunday night. Check out the line score from this minor league baseball game between Lake Elsinore and High Desert.



Apparently the wind shifted during the 6th and 7th innings.

Ozzie's Being Ozzie Again

The White Sox and Cubs finished up their three-game series at U.S. Cellular Field on Sunday with a 6-0 White Sox victory that came complete with another Carlos Zambrano meltdown to put the finishing touches on a very ugly weekend for the Cubs. Of course, never wanting to actually talk about what the real problems are with the team, when talking about the team's lackluster play as of late manager Lou Piniella started talking about how the Cubs are helping the economy...

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Jeremy Jeffress Suspended 100 Games

Over the last few years the Milwaukee Brewers have begun to develop into a threat in the National League. They're now a team that is a legitimate contender to win their division and possibly even the NL pennant and a lot of the credit should go to the organization's ability to develop young talent. They've produced players like Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo as part of a solid young core for the organization, and they have more players waiting for their shot in the minors...

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Larry Rothschild Thinks The White Sox Have Been Snitching

The "Battle For The Best Third Place Team in Chicago," also known as the "Crosstown Classic", will come to an end for the 2009 season on Sunday but that doesn't mean there won't be any lingering issues between the two teams. Though the Windy City rivals have split the first two games of this series, which has been pretty entertaining to watch, the big story was and still is the argument between Lou Piniella and Milton Bradley on Friday...

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Two Men Shot By Off-Duty Police Officer At Angels Stadium

Earlier this season on Opening Day a fan named Brian Powers was killed at Angels Stadium when he got into a fight with one other fan, and a third person came and punched him in the head, knocking him over and causing him to crack his head on the concrete. I'm not exactly superstitious, nor do I put much faith in these types of things, but you have to admit that Powers' death certainly wasn't the greatest omen for Angels Stadium this season...

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Big Hurt Close To Retiring

With the White Sox and Cubs set to begin their second series against each other this season at U.S. Cellular Field, former White Sox first baseman Frank Thomas is back in Chicago, but instead of playing he's now a member of the local media. The two-time AL MVP is 41 years old now but he's still open to the idea of coming back and playing if anybody is interested in his services....

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Vlad Sheds The Dreads

While most people are aware of the struggles that Boston's David Ortiz has been suffering through this season, there's another Dominican slugger located on the other coast that's been scuffling himself. Vladimir Guerrero is hitting a respectable .273 this season for the Angels, but when you're a man with a career average of .322, it's somewhat worrisome...

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Please Don't Sign Chris Chelios

The news broke today that the Detroit Red Wings aren't going to be bringing Chris Chelios back next season and as you'd expect, as soon as people heard that they immediately started speculating about Chelios coming back home to Chicago to play with the Blackhawks.

Given the Hawks recent affinity for bringing back old heroes like Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Tony Esposito to be team ambassadors, it's not exactly crazy to think the Hawks might try something to the same effect with Chelios.

Let's hope they don't.

I know he was beloved here in Chicago before he went to Detroit, and that he was a great player here, but he's a great player no more. He's 47 years old, and I don't care if he bought me dinner at the Oakbrook Terrace Denny's many moons ago, he's just not that good anymore.

He only played in 28 games for the Red Wings during the regular season, and got some ice time in the playoffs when the Wings were ravaged by injuries, but his time on the ice this season can't be considered productive.

He wound up with no goals, no assists, 14 shots and was a +1.

He's a no doubt Hall of Famer when he finally does decide to hang his skates up but he's of absolutely no use to the Blackhawks. The Hawks are a young team on the rise, and though having Chelios around to help blue-liners like Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook would be nice, they don't need him playing for them.

That goes for Jeremy Roenick too.

So while it would be nice for Chelios to come back to Chicago and retire with the indian head sweater on, it doesn't make any sense for the team. If he wants to sign a contract and immediately retire, that's fine. If the Hawks want to bring him back as a new ambassador, great.

Just don't sign him to play.

Sosa Wanted To Show The Guns

When the news broke that Sammy Sosa had tested positive for steroid use back in 2003 last week it was kind of like when American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert came out of the closet. You didn't really need to be told anything because you could just see it. When Sosa morphed from a beanpole to start his career to the behemoth he was at the end of it, it was pretty obvious...

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LA Times Writer Wonders Where Albert Pujols Gets His Talent

A few weeks ago there was quite a bit of controversy surrounding Phillies outfielder Raul Ibanez, steroids and a blog. More specifically, a media firestorm started when a blogger named JRod wrote a post on MidwestSportsFans.com that looked at the possibility of Ibanez using steroids considering the way he'd been playing in the 2009 season...

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Sean Avery Discovers The Joy Of Sloppy Seconds

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Jose Canseco's Girlfriend Wants In The Ring Too

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Tom Brady And Gisele Bundchen Expecting Child

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Carlos Quentin Wishes He'd Signed That Contract Extension

When Carlos Quentin joined the White Sox last season he was a revelation. Quentin came to Chicago in a minor move by Kenny Williams via a trade with the Diamondbacks, a move that I openly mocked on this site, and ended up taking the city by storm.

He wouldn't have even been playing if it hadn't been for an injury to Jerry Owens -- the best thing Jerry Owens ever did in a White Sox uniform -- that opened a spot in left field. Quentin then went on to have an MVP-type season before his season ended prematurely with a broken bone in his wrist.

The Sox tried to lock up Quentin with a contract extension this spring, but Carlos turned it down. Now Quentin is hurting again with a nasty case of plantar fasciitis, and it's possible that he might now play again this season.

So I bet he's kicking himself with his good foot that he didn't sign that extension.

"I mean, security and contracts, it's a real thing," Quentin said. "It's a real thing for all players and our everyday lives. You look back at it and think should you have done it then. It's a weird thing. It's hard to predict. All you can do is trust the people around you that make decisions, that analyze stuff.

"Ultimately, it's my decision at the end, but who's to say that if I would have signed the contract and this would have happened, and then I feel even worse that I signed a contract and can't show anything on the field for it.

There are two different ways to look at it. I'm choosing to look at it as just moving forward and having all of that work itself out in the future."

At this point I think it's rather obvious that Carlos will not be getting any similar offers from the Sox in the near future. The reason the Diamondbacks were willing to give up on their former first round pick in the first place was the injury problems he suffered while there. Now that he's been in Chicago it's been more of the same.

He'll have to prove he can stay healthy for an entire season before the Sox consider making another offer, and he won't have that chance until after next year.

Why You Should Never Bet On The Kansas City Royals

Remember last week when the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals on a walk-off single by Shin-Soo Choo when Royals centerfielder Coco Crisp lost the ball amidst a flock of seagulls (video here)? No, Coco didn't have headphones on and he was not singing along to "I Ran" when this occurred...

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Ben Gordon Could End Up In Detroit

Generally when it comes to sports I don't have a very hard time taking a stance on a subject. I look at the situation, weigh both sides, and then pick which one I agree with the most. Then I go write a few hundred words about it and move on to the next topic.

For some reason, though, when it comes to Ben Gordon and his future in Chicago I can't make up my mind what I think is the best move for the Bulls to make. One day I think the Bulls are better off with BG around, but then the sun rises the next day and something makes me think they'd be better off without him.

Well we're not too far away from finding out what the Bulls think the best option is, as free agents in the NBA can start negotiating with teams on July 1st. While teams aren't allowed to talk to free agents yet there is already word that the Detroit Pistons have reserved some space in their salary cap for Gordon.

My former colleague and current friend Sam Smith jump-started the free-agency frenzy that will begin July 1 by writing Wednesday on www.Bulls.com that he's heard Ben Gordon's agent is claiming Gordon's camp has an $11 million per year promise from the Detroit Pistons.

Several media outlets, including the Tribune, reported the Pistons as one of the teams expected to make a run at Gordon back in April. They are armed with roughly $23 million in salary-cap space and reportedly want to sign two big-name players this summer, possibly Gordon and Utah's Carlos Boozer.

Detroit fits Gordon's main requirement that he has stated publicly and consistently whenever asked about his upcoming unrestricted free-agency status---the chance to win. And, if true, an $11 million annual salary would surpass the back-to-back offers Gordon turned down from the Bulls in the summers of 2007 and 2008.

Now as I said, teams aren't allowed to contact players or their agents until July 1st so if the Pistons have already let Gordon or his agent Raymond Brothers (sounds like somewhere you'd buy a suit) that they'd like to sign him that would be illegal. Though it's also possible they may have contacted Gordon's camp last year and let him know they'd be interested when they had the cap space, which they currently do.

If this rumor is true, that would be good news for Gordon. There were a lot of people, myself included, who thought Gordon not signing the long-term offers the Bulls gave him was a mistake. That's because he wasn't likely to get that much money from anybody else, but now the Pistons are reportedly ready to beat either of the Bulls' offers.

Personally if the Bulls are going to lose Gordon to free agency I'd rather the team tried to work out a sign-and-trade that would send Ben, Tyrus Thomas, and some draft picks to Toronto for Chris Bosh.

The Raptors know that Bosh isn't coming back to Toronto when he hits the open market after next season so you know they're going to be listening for offers on him this summer and into next season. That package might be enough to entice them to pull the trigger now.

The Shock Of The Century

I was already out of the house for the day and on my way to work when the news broke yesterday that just like Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa tested positive for steroids back in 2003.

A New York Times report that Sammy Sosa tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003 reverberated through the White Sox and Cubs clubhouses before Tuesday's postponed opener of the City Series.

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, who was Sosa's boss in 2003, declined to talk in detail about the newspaper's story, which cited anonymous , "lawyers with knowledge of the drug-testing results from that year."

"As soon as somebody writes a story saying somebody did something, that doesn't make it a fact," Hendry said.

I was shocked. Shocked. To hear this news. And when I say shocked I mean not surprised at all. I don't think there's any baseball fan in Chicago, or the rest of the country, that didn't already assume Sosa was on steroids when he played anyway. It was pretty obvious then, though I guess it's nice to finally have some confirmation on it.

As for how this will affect Sammy and his legacy here in Chicago, I don't really care. The only thing about this story that bothers me is the timing of the whole thing.

Nearly two weeks ago Sosa officially announced his retirement and said he was just gonna sit back, relax and wait for his induction in the Hall of Fame. Now, on cue, somebody is leaking the test results to the New York Times.

This means that somebody has access to the list of players who tested positive in 2003 and has chosen to release names whenever the time feels right. That's bullshit in my opinion. Just release the entire list so we can all act outraged by it for a few weeks or days and then completely move on with the rest of our lives.

Will Coack K Be Making His Way West To L.A.?

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Dogs > Humans

I don't want to really get in depth with it, but did anyone else notice the sentencing that Donte Stallworth received on Tuesday? I mentioned it at the end of the Brandon Marshall post, but in case you missed it, Stallworth reached a deal that will have him spend 30 days in prison after killing a man while driving drunk.

30 days. That's it.

So just to be clear, Mike Vick kills some dogs and gets two years. Donte Stallworth kills a human and gets 30 days.

Makes sense to me!

Windy City Generalizations and a Faux-Rivalry

Each year the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox play six times. Six. Out of 162 total games. Those games aren't any more relevant than six games between the Twins and Cubs or Brewers and White Sox. Of course, there are millions of misguided fans who believe there's a rivalry between the two teams, a notion that is only perpetuated when our President talks about how the White Sox play "real baseball." FanHouse's resident Cubs fan (Matt Snyder) and resident White Sox fan (Tom Fornelli) got together to discuss the aura surrounding what shouldn't be a rivalry...

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Brandon Marshall Wants Out Of Denver

There's been a lot of talk about the Bears signing Plaxico Burress in Chicago lately, especially since his hearing keeps getting pushed back and the odds of his trial for that whole "bringing a loaded gun into a nightclub and shooting himself in the leg" incident won't come until after the season.

Still, you have to wonder if Burress' baggage is really what the Bears need, especially when Roger Goodell will likely still suspend him for at least four games anyway. Besides, there are other disgruntled wide receivers who Goodell has on his speed dial that may be of interest to the Bears.

Remember how Jay Cutler was upset with the Broncos for firing Mike Shanahan and hiring Josh McDaniels, who then went out and tried to trade for Matt Cassel? That situation then led to the day where millions of Bears fans simultaneously wet themselves upon hearing the news that Cutler had been traded to the Bears.

Well there's another player at a position of need for the Bears who is unhappy in Denver.

Brandon Marshall(notes) walked out of the Denver Broncos’ training facility on Friday carrying packed boxes to his car, then pulled out of the parking lot and away from a mandatory minicamp.

There’s a strong possibility he won’t be coming back.

The Pro Bowl wideout, upset about his contract and the Broncos’ treatment of a hip injury that required surgery in late March, seems to be following the Jay Cutler(notes) Highway out of town. He also appears to be taking a page from the departed franchise quarterback’s playbook: Disregard the authority of new coach Josh McDaniels, stay away from the facility and wait for owner Pat Bowlen to sign off on a trade. (Denver’s KOA radio reported Monday that Marshall asked to be dealt during a private meeting with Bowlen on Friday.)

Like Cutler, Marshall is likely to get his wish – assuming there are legitimate offers for a fourth-year receiver who has averaged 103 catches and 1,295 yards over the past two seasons.

Would the Bears be interested in Marshall? Probably, though I'm not sure what they can send back to Denver for him at this point. Obviously wherever he goes Marshall is going to want a new contract because he's comically underpaid considering what other receivers get who haven't had near the numbers of Marshall in recent years.

Still, even though Marshall obviously already knows how to play with Cutler, I don't want him here anyway. Yes, the Bears have options to upgrade the receiver position, but when those options include one guy who is smart enough to think carrying a gun in the waistband of his sweatpants is a good idea, and the other one is a guy who has been arrested or questioned by police 13 times -- just can't stop hitting the ladies -- I'll just have to pass.

Maybe they should just wait 30 days until Donte Stallworth gets out of jail.

Michael Strahan And Nicole Murphy Are Engaged

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At Least It's Something

The White Sox and Cubs start a three-game series at Wrigley Field tonight and, though I don't care about it anywhere near as much as I used to, I have to admit I'm happy it's here this year. Even if the series is starting on a Tuesday for some unknown reason.

Though, I'm actually kind of thankful it is.

Of course, I didn't feel that way until yesterday.

Was Monday not one of the slowest sports days of the year? I was bored out of my skull all damn day long. Hockey ended on Friday night, the Lakers finished off the Magic on Sunday night, and then... Monday. There were only two baseball games to watch: Indians/Brewers and Giants/Angels.

The highlight of my entire night was Ryan Braun, the sole member on my fantasy team playing, go 3-for-4 with a homer, a triple, a walk, a stolen base, and 5 runs driven in as the Brewers won a pitcher's duel 14-12.

Other than that stat line, I didn't actually watch the game past the 2nd inning. The night was complete and utter boredom. I mostly sat around and watched season 4 of The Wire on demand because there wasn't anything else on television, either. I mean, maybe "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here" is your preferred method of wasting time, but I take my time-wasting very seriously, and I'm sure as hell not going to demean it with that crap.

So even though this Cubs-Sox rivalry has lost some of its luster, I'm happy it's here. I don't have very high expectations for either team - though I'm not counting either out because there's a long way to go. And a win by the Sox won't make me happier than any other victory. But after a day like Monday, I'll take anything.

Of course it doesn't start until 7pm tonight, so we still have some time to kill, don't we?

Here's some videos to get you in the right state of mind and help pass the time. There is some NSFW language and such, so be warned.





And just to prove I'm a good sport, I'll even admit that there are some things about Wrigley Field that aren't all bad.

Hanley Ramirez Feels Unprotected, Fredi Gonzalez Feels Anger

The Florida Marlins have been playing a lot better in June than they did in July, and have won five of their last seven, including a three-game sweep over the Blue Jays in Toronto this weekend.

So why are they so angry?

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First Impressions of Jared Mitchell

One of the great things for me when the White Sox drafted Gordon Beckham last spring was the fact he was playing in the College World Series at the time with Georgia. This gave me a chance to actually watch the kid play instead of just having to rely on the things I read about him.

Well I got the same chance again this season. This year's first round pick Jared Mitchell is currently in the CWS with LSU and they played their first game last night against Virginia. I wasn't home to watch it but before I went out I set the DVR and watched the game this morning before the first pitch in Milwaukee this afternoon.

While I'm no scouting expert, while watching Beckham play last year I knew he'd be in the Majors pretty quickly. He was a polished player who would only need some seasoning before joining the Sox, and lo and behold, that's exactly what happened.

I did not get the same feeling watching Mitchell this morning. Yes, he's a junior in college just like Beckham was last year when the Sox drafted him, but he's going to take a bit longer to get to the big leagues.

My initial reaction to Mitchell, who played right field for LSU last night, was that he reminded me of Carl Crawford appearance wise. He's a lefty who has the same type of open stance and blazing speed, but he is nowhere near the hitter that Crawford is. Though I never saw Crawford before he got to Tampa, so I have no idea how much work he needed to get where he is.

In his four at bats last night Mitchell went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, a lineout to first and a walk. The strikeouts are somewhat of a concern because in just slightly over 200 at bats Mitchell struck out 63 times this season. It should be pointed out that his two strikeouts came against a pretty tough lefty, and the one time Mitchell faced a right-hander is when he lined out.

He did hit .325 for the Tigers this year, though, so apparently when he makes contact he makes it count. His lineout was a very hard hit ball pulled down the first base line that the Virginia first baseman made a good play on.

Still, it's apparent that Mitchell is a football player that is still learning the game of baseball. I didn't get to see much of him on defense as he didn't really have many balls hit to him, so unfortunately I have no idea about his ability to play in the outfield just yet.

The good news for Mitchell is that the Sox really don't have many guys in front of him in centerfield, so if he can prove himself to be a solid outfielder he may get to Chicago based on his glove and the team will let him figure out how to hit here.

What I think would be best for him though, if he signs, would be to play some rookie ball for the Sox this summer and come to Arizona next spring for some teaching. Then I'd probably have him spend a full year in the minors before I even thought about bringing him up.

If he earns a call-up before that, well then that can only be a good thing.

You Dumbass

Jeremy Bonderman Back to the DL

When the Detroit Tigers got Jeremy Bonderman back on Monday this week it presented somewhat of a problem for the team. If Bonderman pitched well enough to earn a spot back in the rotation, exactly who's spot would he take? Well, Bonderman didn't pitch very well in that first start, giving up six runs in four plus innings, but Dontrelle Willis followed Bonderman's start by walking five in five innings on Tuesday...

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Rangers Sign Orlando Hernandez

So far this season it seems like the Chicago White Sox have been trying to go back in time. After getting off to a bad start to the 2009 campaign, the Sox went out and signed Scott Podsednik to a minor-league deal even though most scouts would have told you he was done. Well, it's worked out pretty well for Chicago as Podsednik is back on top of their lineup and playing surprisingly well...

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Derrick Rose Wants You To Know He's Not A Gang-Banger

Wow, it's been a pretty bad few weeks for Derrick Rose. First there was the controversy surrounding his (alleged) cheating on his SAT to get into Memphis which we still haven't heard the last of, and then that photo up there started appearing on some "non-mainstream sports blogs (the Tribune's description, not mine)."

As you can see, unless you're painfully white, that's Rose flashing some gang signs in a picture while at a party during his one year at Memphis. The signs belong to the Gangster Disciples Nation, one of Chicago's more notorious gangs, who have quite a large contingent in the Englewood area of the city where Rose grew up.

As you'd expect Rose to do after the photo surfaced, he quickly released a statement explaining the picture.

"I want to emphatically state, now and forever, that Derrick Rose is anti-gang, anti-drug and anti-violence. I am not, nor have I ever been, affiliated with any gang, and I can't speak loudly enough against gang violence and the things that gangs represent.

"This photo was taken at a party I attended in Memphis while I was in school there, and was meant as a joke ... a bad one, I now admit. In posing for this picture, I am guilty of being young, naive and of using extremely poor judgment. I sincerely apologize to all my fans for my mistake."

I don't doubt for a second that Rose is telling the truth in this matter because I've flashed gang signs in pictures before, and the only gang I've ever belonged to was the Math Team. We were pretty rough and tumble, and if you messed with our calculus books we would cut you.

If you were lucky, that's all we'd do.

But, yeah, I wouldn't expect Derrick to pop up on any episodes of History Channel's Gangland in the future.

Alonzo Mourning: Phil Jackson's 'Just Showing Up'

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A-Rod And Teixeira Confront Rick Sutcliffe

Two weeks ago while broadcasting a New York Yankees game former pitcher and current color commentator Rick Sutcliffe said that Alex Rodriguez was giving his teammate Mark Teixeira verbal indicators on where the catcher was setting up behind him while in the box. How exactly Sutcliffe could hear these verbal cues from Rodriguez while up in the television booth I'm not entirely sure...

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Raul Ibanez Responds To Steroid Allegations On a Blog

When the Phillies signed Raul Ibanez to a three-year $30 million deal this past offseason there were quite a few people skeptical of giving a then 36-year old (Raul turned 37 last week) outfielder $10 million for three years. Especially when we all saw how much other free agent outfielders ended up getting elsewhere. Plus there was the fact that at 36 years old, no matter how well he's played, he has to start declining at some point...

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Could Stephen Strasburg Spurn The Nats For Japan or an Independent League?

The MLB amateur draft is tonight -- and you should totally join us for our live chat -- and there really isn't all that much drama in finding out who the first selection is going to be. If the Washington Nationals don't take San Diego State starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg with the first pick the entire baseball world will spin off of its axis and probably kill millions of people in the process. Or there will be a whole lot of "What Were The Nationals Thinking?" columns on Wednesday morning. Probably the latter, thought the former would be a bigger story...

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White Sox Call Up Aaron Poreda

After the White Sox dropped the first game of a double-header against the Detroit Tigers on Monday afternoon Ozzie Guillen laid into his team. It was Guillen's first real outburst of the season, and during his tirade he said that changes would be coming pretty soon. Well, some of those changes came earlier than Guillen figured because in the nightcap Jose Contreras turned into a Major League pitcher and Scott Podsednik broke out the big boy bat with a home run and the Sox actually won a game....

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The Vikings Have Not Set A Deadline For Favre

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Welcome Back Jose Contreras

Even though this White Sox season doesn't resemble the 2005 season in any way save for a few remaining players, Hawk Harrelson has become quite fond of saying "shades of 05" during games.

"Paul Konerko homered, just like that one time he did it in 2005!"

Now it's hard to blame Hawk for getting confused.  After all, the Sox did bring back Scott Podsednik earlier this season, signing him to a minor-league deal after picking him up off of the Colorado Rockies scrap heap.  Amazingly enough, Pods has not only earned a spot on the Sox roster again but over the last few weeks he may be the best offensive player the team has had.

Then on Monday the White Sox announced they were hoping to catch lightning in a bottle twice, and signed Freddy Garcia to a minor-league deal as well.  It seems that Kenny Williams and the boys are convinced that if they bring in every washed up player from that team then they can do nothing but return to the World Series.

Still, something tells me that Freddy isn't going to have nearly the success that Pods has had in his return.

Garcia wasn't the only pitcher from 2005 to return on Monday night, either, as Jose Contreras returned to the bump for the Sox in the second game of their doubleheader against Detroit and was absolutely brilliant.

The last we saw Jose he was an absolute wreck.  He couldn't find the plate with his fastball if given a well-drawn map and a seeing-eye dog to walk it up there for him.  As a result, Jose went 0-5 in six starts, reaching the 7th inning only once, and had an ERA of 8.19.  So the Sox sent Jose down to the minors to work on finding his control, and if Monday night is any indication, he done found it.

Before the game started I was pretty nervous.  The Sox looked horrible in the first game and with Contreras on the mound for the nightcap, I was pretty sure we were going to get swept.

I did take some solace in the fact that Jeremy Bonderman was making his first start in over a year for the Tigers after having surgery to remove a blood clot and a rib (just like Marilyn Manson, except not for the purpose of self-fellating!).  I figured Bonderman wouldn't be very sharp, but since he hadn't pitched in over a year I feared the Sox may confuse him for a rookie they'd never seen before and been completely baffled.

Instead the Tigers were the only ones baffled.

Contreras gave up a double to Clete Thomas in the first inning, but after that he retired 21 of the next 22 hitters he saw, with Brandon Inge being the lone exception after he drew the only walk of the night from Contreras.

Jose's line on the night looked like this.

8IP 1H 0R 3K 1BB and an economical 115 pitches.

He literally looked like the guy Sox fans got used to seeing during the second half of 05 and the first half of 06.  Now I'm not saying that the Jose Contreras of old is back permanently and he's going to go on and win 14 games this season, but for one night at least, he was brilliant.

If he continues to get ahead of hitters like he did on Monday night for the rest of the season, things could start going a lot better in the second half for the Sox.

Well, if they could hit anyway.

Ozzie Finally Blows Up

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Ron Zook Made $1 MIllion Last Year

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Zack Greinke Is Human After All

For the first two months of the season Royals pitcher Zack Greinke was a phenomenon. He seemed to be toying with hitters when he was on the mound, and as a result, he was getting a lot of attention for it. Of course when you start off your season with an 8-1 record and 0.84 ERA in ten starts, these things are going to happen...

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Sammy Sosa Gets Hall Of Fame Support

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