If White Sox announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson sounds pissy during the pregame tonight, it's probably because he's still red-assed from the talk baseball commissioner Bud Selig and White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf gave him about his Wednesday meltdown in Tampa.
Selig, Reinsdorf Take Harrelson To The Woodshed
Good Home Cooking Can Help White Sox Pad AL Central Lead
Even though they are one game below .500 at the Cell, this is the perfect opportunity for the Sox to stretch their lead in the AL central before the dog days of summer arrive.
Cubs, Sox Among Most Expensive Ballpark Visits
Let's just say we pay a lot for bad baseball on both sides of town.
One For The Road: RIP Moose Skowron
Baseball legend Bill "Moose" Skowron died today. He was 81.
Morning Box Score: Blackhawks Go Home, Peavy Shines, Cubs Win
The hockey meatheads are out in force this morning.
White Sox' Humber Throws Perfect Game
Humber needed only 97 pitches en route to his perfecto, threw first pitch strikes to 17 of the 27 batters he faced, struck out nine Seattle hitters, had 13 flyouts and only went to a three-ball count with three batters.
Afternoon Box Score: White Sox Stumble In Texas
The White Sox have a new manager and hitting coach, but the same old problems driving in runs.
Cubs Implementing "Dynamic Pricing" For Bleacher Seats
The Cubs are implementing a new sliding scale ticket price plan for the bleachers this season that, if expanded to the entire ballpark, could generate up to $18 million for the club in revenue lost to ticket brokers.
Cubs Create a Theocracy: What the Epstein Hiring Means
Former Cubs Fan Report Editor-in-Chief Joel Reese is even more impressed by the Theo Epstein hiring as we are. Here's his analysis.
Morning Box Score: White Sox Hammer Cleveland
Brent Morel and Paul Konerko brought out the heavy lumber last night.
Morning Box Score: One Painful White Sox Loss
The question asked when the White Sox and Twins meet is "How will the Sox lose?" It's a valid question, even with a 5-1 lead after one inning.
Morning Box Score: Cubs Fall Short in DC Again
"Close but no cigar" has been the theme for the Cubs in DC.
Cubs Release "It Gets Better" Video
Here's the Cubs contribution to the It Gets Better project.
Cubs on List of MLB Teams in Violation of Debt Service Rules
The Cubs aren't saying why they're one of nine teams in violation of Major League Baseball's debt service rules. But there's plenty of speculation.
Morning Box Score: White Sox Go Extras to Beat M's
The White Sox win their first series in nearly a month, but needed extra innings to do it.
Morning Box Score: Sox Lose, Ozzie Ejected, Tweets
The scouting report on Mark Buehrle is that he tends to have one bad inning per game. Last night, that was the first inning as Buehrle gave up a three-run home run to Robinson Cano, which was all the Yankees needed in a 3-1 win over the White Sox. Buehrle settled down and pitched well the rest of the way, going seven innings, but Cano's home run proved to be a major hole for the struggling Sox' lineup to dig themselves out, which they couldn't against a resurgent Bartolo Colon. Ozzie Guillen provided more fireworks. The Sox skipper was ejected in the first inning and tweeted about it immediately afterward. The White Sox and Yankees close out their series tonight (6:05 p.m., WSCR-AM, CSN)
Morning Box Score: Cubs in First. White Sox All In... A Slump
After last night's 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay, The White Sox hitting slump is now so pronounced that people are calling for the firing of hitting coach Greg Walker. Demanding Walker's head may as well be a rite of spring at this point. Not trying to defend him here, but critics are quick to lay the blame on Walker when the bats go quiet and hesitant to give him propers when the team is hitting the cover off the baseball. Walker giving the press sound bites like, "our hitters aren't making adjustments" only add fuel to the fire. But Walker can't hit for them, and he isn't making fielding calls or getting picked off first base like Paul Konerko did the other night. This is a team wide slump. As Talking Chicago Baseball notes, this is some of the worst baseball the White Sox have played in Ozzie Guillen's time as manager. As bad as the White Sox played early last season, their longest losing streak before their June hot streak was four games. Last night's loss marked the Sox' seventh in a row. But at least they're keeping pace with Minnesota. At the bottom of the Al Central standings.
Morning Box Score: Late Rockies Rally Downs Cubs
Thanks to the Cubs' lineup scratching back after being put in a 4-1 first inning hole, Ryan Dempster officially earned a no-decision in yesterday's 9-5 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field. But Dempster knew after the game he didn't help matters with a 29-pitch first inning highlighted by Sean Smith's home run.
Afternoon Box Score: White Sox Skid Hits 4
There's no need in complaining about the White Sox bullpen for this weekend's sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim. Mike Scioscia's crew was simply the better team. Dan Haren pitched into the seventh inning, Maicer Iztruis had three hits and scored twice, Mark Trumbo his a home run and Jordan Walden got Juan Pierre to pop up, ending a ninth inning rally as the Angels beat the White Sox 4-2. Mark Buerhle pitched seven innings to take the loss
Afternoon Box Score: White Sox Bullpen Fails to Hold Another Lead
The purpose of a bullpen in baseball is to put out fires, not start them and then add gasoline. The White Sox bullpen are like a gang of arsonists so far this season and that held true in Oakland's 7-4, 10-inning win. John Danks was solid through eight innings, allowing one run on five hits while striking out seven. But Chris Sale blew a save opportunity in the top of the ninth, allowing the A's to tie the game while not getting an out. Matt Thornton was touched with the loss, allowing three runs in the 10th inning. Reader BlueFairlane commented yesterday that it's too early to declare the Thornton era as Sox closer a bust, but it's pretty close. Thornton's WHIP is now an abysmal 3.21, his ERA 7.71.
Morning Box Score: Cubs Edge Astros, Bad Fielding Mars White Sox
With a little bit of help from bad fielding, Matt Thornton is now 0-for-3 in save situations for the White Sox. In Houston, Carlos Marmol continued to be an alpha closer.
Afternoon Box Score: Cubs Win, Cashner Leaves Game With Stiff Shoulder
The Cubs did what they couldn't do against Pittsburgh - take a series against a lesser opponent. But today's 6-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks may have come at a cost as Andrew Cashner, making his first major league start, left the game in the sixth inning with stiffness in his right shoulder. Before being pulled, Cashner was dealing, giving up 1 run and 2 hits in 5.1 innings. Tyler Colvin, starting his first major league game at first base in place of the injured Carlos Pena, belted a 2-run home run to pace the Cubs. Starlin Castro went 2-for 5 at the plate with an RBI.
Afternoon Box Score: Cubs Beat Diamondbacks
Carlos Peña broke a 1-1 tie with a sacrifice fly as the Cubs evened their record with a 4-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field. Alfonso Soriano was 2-for-3 at the plate and drove in 2 runs, including his second round-tripper of the season. Randy Wells pitched six innings to get the win. Wells struck out six and walked four as manager Mike Quade went deep into his bullpen to get Wells the win. Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his second save of the season.
Afternoon Box Score: Cubs Rally to Beat Pirates, White Sox Bats Stay Hot in Cleveland
Let's start in Cleveland, where the White Sox put up a lot of runs again and did so without the long ball in an 8-3 win over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Edwin Jackson gets his first win of the season, going 6 innings and settling down after a shaky second inning in which he let the Tribe back into the game after being spotted a 5-0 lead. Chris Sale and Sergio Santos were stellar in relief of Jackson. On the offensive side, both Gordon Beckham and Carlos Quentin are off to torrid starts. Beckham was 2 for 4 at the plate and drove in two runs with a bases loaded single in the Sox' four-run second inning, while Quentin had two more doubles, one of them driving in a pair of runs. It's the Sox' first 2-0 start on the road since their World Series championship in 2005, but way too early to start thinking of bigger prizes.
Opening Day Box Score: Pirates Still Have Cubs Number; White Sox Hang On in Cleveland
The Cubs picked up where they left off last season against the Pittsburgh Pirates, by losing to the Bucs 6-3 in the season opener in Wrigley Field. Ryan Dempster was strong through the first four innings and had a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning, but things went south after Neil Walker tagged him for a two out grand slam, the second Opening Day grand slam in Pirates history and the first since Roberto Clemente did it 49 years years ago. Andrew McCutcheon added a two-run shot in the seventh, chasing Dempster out of the game. Starlin Castro was another bright spot for the Cubs, going 3 for 5 at the plate and scoring two runs. Carlos Pena and Kosuke Fukudome drove in the Cubs runs.
Cubs Season Preview
For our Cubs preview, we asked former Cubs Fan Report Editor-in-Chief Joel Reese to handle the honors. Joel came through in spades. Read on.
White Sox Preview
While the weather may deceive, spring is here and that means baseball! The White Sox open up their 2011 campaign in Cleveland tomorrow. Come October, will this Sox team find itself in the postseason? Perhaps. Last year's team finished 88-74, six games back of the Twins in the AL Central. While initial indications suggested that GM Kenny Williams would have to scale back the team's payroll in the offseason, he instead went on a spending spree in hopes of returning to the playoffs.
Piniella Takes Umbrage With the Word "Quit"
Sun-Times Cubs beat writer Gordon Wittenmyer had a chance to speak with former Cubs skipper Lou Piniella at this week's winter meetings in Tampa, FL. Reflecting on his tenure as Cubs manager, Piniella felt the need to stress to Wittenmyer that he didn't quit on the team in the weeks leading up to his retirement in August. Piniella admits that his announcement to retire was another distraction for a team that struggled with distractions most of last season (among other things).
Ricketts Asks State For Wrigley Funds
The Ricketts family has asked the state of Illinois to borrow up to $300 million in a bond offering that will fund a major to Wrigley Field, the beloved but 96-year old ballpark of their recently purchased Chicago Cubs.

