Results tagged “baseball”

White Sox GM Kenny Williams always seems to have some deal in the works, so it's no surprise that the Sox are involved in some of the early trade chatter during the off-season. His boldest move last season was landing Jake Peavy from the cash-strapped San Diego Padres, and he might use the Padres' financial situation to try to land another of their star players. Preliminary talks suggest a three-way trade which would send Sox first baseman Paul Konerko to the Anaheim Angels, Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to the White Sox and prospects from Chicago and Anaheim to San Diego.

This weekend, the web was abuzz when pictures of former Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa from a recent Vegas event surfaced that showed him looking a bit paler than usual, raising speculation as to its cause, including it being a result of alleged steroid use. A former Cubs employee defended Sosa, saying he'd recently undergone some skin treatment. Appearing on Univisions's "Primer Impacto" program, Sosa himself has addressed the uproar by explaining, "It's a cream that I have, that I use to soften [my skin], but has bleached me some." He then inexplicably said, "I'm not a racist, I live my life happily." So to recap, Sosa's just trying to keep his skin soft and that's why he looks white, not because he wants to be white.

Maybe the entire season didn't quite play out how ace Mark Buehrle and the Chicago White Sox had wanted, but it wasn't too shabby for Buehrle. He finished the season with 33 starts, a 13-10 record with a 3.84 ERA, and one complete game. Of course, that one complete game was kind of a big deal: the Sox first perfect game since 1922. And now Buehrle has some nice hardware to add to his accomplishments, being awarded this year's A.L. Gold Glove for the pitcher position. He's the Sox first Gold Glover since Robin Ventura got one in 1998. While making only one error, Buehrle had 41 assists, good enough for a .982 fielding percentage.

The White Sox's AL Central rival Minnesota Twins are getting ready to move out of the HHH Metrodome and into the new Target Field, which boast such amenities as a view of the sky (they'll love that in April) and a field designed exclusively for baseball. A new commercial supposedly portrays the move, with movers unpacking a truck filled with bats, a World Series trophy and crate filled with Denard Span, Michael Cuddyer and a whole lot of foam peanuts. When a White Sox fan gets hauled off the truck, one of the movers exclaims, "Woah, Woah, Woah! Doesn't belong here..." before he gets tossed back on the truck. We Sox fans are tough so we can take the ribbing -- and the toss back into the truck. We just hope the Twins made sure to use lots of extra bubble wrap on Joe Crede, because he's extremely fragile. [via]

The 2009 Major League Baseball season has been over for about 12 hours and already reports are surfacing of some White Sox dealings. Per ESPN Chicago the NY Daily News is reporting that the Sox have sent infielders Chris Getz and Josh Fields to Kansas City in exchange for third basemen Mark Teahen. The Sox refused to comment on the story and Getz told ESPN, "I talked to some people with the team this morning. At this point, it's been characterized as a rumor."

With last week's announcement of the Cubbies' new ownership - the Ricketts family - came a historic, gay caveat. One of the four new sibling owners, out lesbian Laura Ricketts, is the first openly gay owner of a professional sports team.

The Chicago Cubs have denied they've been in talks with the Toronto Blue Jays about a trade that would send troubled outfielder Milton Bradley north of the border in exchange for Vernon Wells. But that doesn't mean the Cubs aren't looking to deal Bradley after only one year of his three-year, $30 million contract. ESPN reports that the Tampa Bay Rays (for Pat Burrell), Texas Rangers, and California Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (for Gary Matthews, Jr.) are potential destinations for Bradley.

The Ricketts family was formally introduced today as new owners of the Chicago Cubs and Tom Ricketts began the new era with a bold proclamation: "We’re going to win the World Series." Cubs fans in our office (which is actually just me) are hopeful maybe even a change of ownership can get something going, but we're not holding our breath.

The Cubs' sale to the Ricketts family is finally complete. The family now owns 95 percent of the team and Wrigley Field and 25 percent of Comcast Sports Net. Said Tom Ricketts, "Now we will go to work building the championship tradition that all Cubs fans so richly deserve." The team will wait until Friday - an off day for the World Series - to formally introduce the new owners.

As temperatures dip, daylight saving time ends, and the Bulls look to jump-start their season, this can only mean one thing for Cubs fans: look to next year. Though a tiring and frustrating ritual, we have in some ways grown to expect the hustle and bustle in the GM's office come late October. Next order of business: new hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo. ESPNChicago.com reported today the Cubs have signed former Texas Ranger hitting instructor Rudy Jaramillo to a three-year deal on Tuesday for an estimated $2.4 million. The Cubs will officially introduce Jaramillo this afternoon at a Wrigley Field press conference.

Last season, both our baseball teams reached the playoffs. This time around, both the Cubs and White Sox cleaned out their lockers. This was not unexpected for the Sox, but many truly thought this was going to be the Cubs' year. And yet fans on both sides of town are left to "wait until next year."

  

No matter which team you prefer, you're either sad to see baseball go or glad the long, torturous 2009 season is done. Benjy will wrap up the season for both teams (and look ahead to 2010) later in the week, but for now, here's what went down yesterday.

Even a Cubs fan such as myself has to hand it to the White Sox: this "Well, if we can't be in the playoffs so we might as well completely screw up the playoff picture for someone else" attitude is pretty addictive. The White Sox downed Detroit 5-1 last night, forcing the Tigers into a tie with the Minnesota Twins heading into the last day of the season. Adding a little fun to the festivities, if the Twins and Tigers finished tied, the Twins host a playoff which will have to be played Tuesday because of the Vikings-Packers Monday Night Football game at the Metrodome. Anything that messes even the slightest bit with Bud Selig is totally awesome with us. Okay, but there was a game last night, too. Freddy Garcia looked sharp, pitching seven-plus innings, striking out seven, and giving up only a single run. Carlos Quentin had a two-run homer and Alex Rios also had a great night, knocking in three runs. The Sox wrap up 2009 against the Tigers today at 12:05 p.m. (WGN).

A day after being shellacked by the Arizona Diamonbacks, the Cubs bounced back behind a sterling performance from rookie Randy Wells and shoutout the D-backs 5-0 earlier this afternoon. Wells struck out 10 while allowing only three hits over seven innings or work. Reed Johnson hit a two-run triple in the fourth and Geovany Soto doubled in Johnson to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead; Soto would add another RBI in the sixth. The two teams do it one more time, closing out the regular season tomorrow afternoon at 1:20 p.m. (CSN).

  

Peavy Shuts Down Detroit, Gives Sox Hope For 2010

The Pirates had a lead on the Cubs last night but it was all for naught. All that rain washed the game out and it won't be made up. The game was in the top of the fourth with the Pirates leading 3-0 when the game was delayed by rain for over two-and-a-half hours before being canceled. The Cubs have a weekend series against the Arizona Diamonbacks that starts tomorrow at 1:20 p.m. (WGN).

  

Both the Cubs and Sox played doubleheaders yesterday. One team fared much better than the other.

Ryan Dempster hurled the third shutout of his career, striking out six and allowing only five Pittsburgh hits to help propel the Cubs past the Pirates by a 6-0 final. On the downside, the Cubs were officially eliminated from playoff contention when the Rockies defeated the Brewers, not that the Cubs' chances were all that good during the last month. The Cubs jumped out to an early lead with three first inning runs and Derek Lee helped put the game well out of reach with a two run single in the fourth inning. The Cubs also got offensive help from Might Micah Hoffpauir and Jeff Baker, who had two RBIs each. The Cubs and Bucs play two today in a twi-night doubleheader to make up a mid-August rain-out. Game one starts at 1:05 p.m. this afternoon (WGN) and game two starts at 7:05 p.m. (CSN+).

The White Sox got a sterling pitching effort from John Danks who pitched a complete game as the Sox toppled the Indians 6-1 last night in Cleveland. Danks, pitching his first career complete game, struck out seven, allowed three hits, and gave up only one run via a Shin-Soo Choo solo homer in the seventh. Said Danks of his gem, "To go out there and get deep in the game, it feels good. I'm going to go out there and throw one more time against Detroit and hopefully it means something. Hopefully, the race isn't determined yet and it means something." Danks also benefited from some great run support. The Sox loaded the bases and brought in three runs in the second inning, including RBI singles from Brent Lillibridge and Gordon Beckham, who continues making his case for AL Rookie of the Year. Beckham added to that RBI total with a two-run double in the ninth, finishing the night with three RBIs. The division foes face off again tonight at 6:05 p.m. (CSN).

If Carlos Zambrano struggles next season like he did this season, he says he'll quit. The pitcher, who's only 28 years old, told the Tribune, "Look, this is the only season I haven't won 16 or 18 or 14 games. If it happens again next season, two seasons in a row, I'll quit. Believe me, I'll quit. I just have to put this behind me." Of course, we all know Zambrano is prone to emotional fits from time to time, so maybe it's just the disappointing 2009 season getting to him. Besides, next year is his contract year so we expect big things out of Big Z. Zambrano has previously hinted at retiring at the end of his contract, which runs through 2013.

It was a roller coaster weekend for the Sox but they came away winners over Detroit Sunday 8-4 and took two of three from the Tigers as the team closed out the home part of its 2009 schedule. Rookie Daniel Hudson, making his second career start, got his first Big League win, pitching six strong innings. Carlos Quentin was the offensive star for the Sox, driving in four runs including an RBI double in the second and a key three-run homer in the eighth. Podsednik, Kotsay, Beckham, and Dye all contributed RBIs in the winning effort as well. Matt Thornton struggled for the Sox bullpen, giving up two runs in the ninth, but eventually shut the door to clinch the victory. The Sox head over to Cleveland for a three-game series starting tonight at 6:05 p.m. (WCIU).

The Cubs won for the third straight game and for the sixth time in seven games since sending Milton Bradley packing for the year as they tripped up the Giants 6-2. Earlier this week, we said the Cubs' playoffs hopes were done. Even though the Cardinals (finally) clinched the NL Central, the Cubs do still have slim hopes of sneaking into the playoffs, 5.5 games back of Colorado in the Wild Card with 8 games left, though they'll still have to get through the Giants (which they will with a series sweep), Florida, a streaking Atlanta, and the aforementioned Rockies. Playoffs or not, the Cubs looked good yesterday, starter Tom Gorzelanny allowing only one run over five innings and the bullpen giving up only a solo homer in the seventh. The offense did their part, too, as Jake Fox and Geovany Soto had two RBIs each and Aramis Ramirez added a homer to the tally. The Cubs go for the sweep today at 3:05 p.m. (WGN).

It wouldn't be as big a miracle as making the 2009 playoffs, but being able to trade troubled outfielder Milton Bradley? That would provide something of a silver lining to the entire debacle and mean that the Cubs wouldn't eat the entire Bradley contract without at least a little something in return. A report in today's Tribune says that San Francisco or San Diego are two current possible destinations for the right fielder and Kansas City is also being mentioned. San Diego is the only team to openly admit an interest in Bradley but the Trib's Paul Sullivan suggests the Giants' Aaron Rowand could make for a nice swap for Bradley. Of course, given the flop seasons from Bradley and the Cubs' other big free agent signing for '09 - Kevin Gregg - it's still going to be hard for GM Jim Hendry to wash await the taint.

With the White Sox having been eliminated from the playoff race Thursday night, there was nothing left for them to do except play spoiler in the AL Central. And that's what they did Friday night as Jake Peavy threw lights out and Gordon Beckham provided the offense as the Sox beat the Tigers 2-0. The win put the Tigers lead over the Twins at a meager two games. As for Peavy, he struck out eight over seven scoreless innings, giving Sox fans a reason to be optimistic for 2010. Said Peavy of another outing for the Sox, "It was fun tonight. I was able to make some pitches when I needed to, getting out of some jams, and the boys played well behind me for a hard-fought ballgame on both sides." Gordon Beckham's two-run homer in the sixth was the only offense for either team. The two teams continue their weekend series tonight at 6:05 p.m. (CSN).

Jeff Baker provided the drama with a ninth inning go-ahead homer that helped the Cubs edge the Giants 3-2 and kept the Cardinals from officially clinching the NL Central. The game was primarily a pitcher's duel between Ryan Dempster (seven innings, two runs, six K's) and Brad Penny (eight innings, one run, four K's). But Baker's two-run homer in the top of the ninth off of closer Brian Wilson put the Cubs ahead for good. Aaron Heilman pitched the eighth and was credited with the win while Carlos Marmol recorded three K's in the ninth to notch the save. Derek Lee aggravated his neck with a slide into second in the ninth inning but there's no news as to whether it will keep him out of tonight's game or not. The Giants and Cubs play game two of their weekend set tonight at 9:15 p.m. (CSN+).

Ugh. Thank you, ESPN Chicago, for twisting the knife and - as the Cubs see their slim odds of a playoff appearance in 2009 disappear in the wake of a season of mediocrity and controversy - reminding us of another Cubs team, one that made a great run through the NL East only to see a two games to none lead in the NLCS (in a best-of-five series, mind you) over the San Diego Padres vanish as the Padres won three straight on their way to the World Series.

Jeff Samardzija hit his first major league homer last night but also allowed two as the Brewers prevented a Cubs sweep with a 3-2 win over Chicago. Samardzija threw five innings, allowing all three runs on that pair of homers. The Cubs couldn't muster much in the way of offense besides his homer and a Bobby Scales RBI. It's now off to the west coast for the Cubs, where they start a four game series with the San Francisco Giants tonight at 9:15 p.m. (CSN).

Embattled Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley tried to improve a very bad situation on Wednesday, by issuing a formal apology through his agents. Bradley also dropped his union grievance over the suspension on Wednesday, when the Cubs agreed to suspend him with pay -- meaning he'll earn about $400,000 while sitting at home (waaaaaaaaaaaaay more than what Marcus makes by blogging in his underwear from a basement).

The White Sox fell once more to the rival Minnesota Twins, this time by a score of 8-6, and fell even further behind as any slim playoff hopes are now fading fast, eight games back of Detroit with only 11 to play. John Danks had a rough outing, responsible for seven of Minnesota's runs over six innings pitched. The Sox did their best to keep pace with the Twins, including homers from Alex Rios, Gordon Beckham, and Paul Konerko, but even six runs wasn't enough to stop Minnesota, who have won 8 of their last 10. Meanwhile, the Sox are 3-7 over their last 10, not the way they wanted to finish the '09 season. The Sox see the last of the Twins for '09 tonight at 7:11 p.m. (CSN+).

Over a year ago, we posted about an article in the "Sporting News" which theorized that the infamous "Black Sox" scandal -- the 1919 White Sox were accused of throwing the World Series -- was inspired by the Cubs having done so themselves the year before. A fascinating new wrinkle to the already extensive Chicago baseball lore. The author of that article, Sean Deveney, continued his research and has now written The Original Curse, which digs deeper into what may be the true reason for the Cubs' century of futility.