Dyck:

Guillen said either Gordon Beckham or Alexei Ramirez would bat second, although he prefers Beckham in an RBI role in the middle of the order.

As for the outfield alignment, Pierre will play left, Alex Rios center and Carlos Quentin right. And Pierre expects to play every day after sitting for much of his first two years in Los Angeles, or as he calls it, in the “witness protection program.”

whitesox.com:

Chicago White Sox players Gordon Beckham, Mark Buehrle, Paul Konerko, Andruw Jones, along with manager Ozzie Guillen, are now scheduled to attend SoxFest 2010, presented by Miller Lite, Pepsi and the Palmer House Hilton. They join Freddy Garcia, Jayson Nix, Jake Peavy, A.J. Pierzynski, Alexei Ramirez and Matt Thornton who also are scheduled to be at the annual event. …

whitesox.com:

Chicago White Sox players Freddy Garcia, Jayson Nix, Jake Peavy, A.J. Pierzynski, Alexei Ramirez and Matt Thornton are just some of the current White Sox players scheduled to attend SoxFest 2010, presented by Miller Lite, Pepsi and the Palmer House Hilton. Additional players from the current White Sox roster, as well as coaches and former White Sox greats attending SoxFest will be announced once their schedules are finalized. …

Getting all but one first place vote, Joe Mauer became the fifth Minnesota Twin to win the AL MVP.  Hitting .365, playing gold glove worthy defense behind the plate.  It’s hard to argue with the selection – I can’t, he was my pick, too – because there just aren’t that many players like this guy.  Mauer decided to take advantage of the count when he it was in his favor and added power, enough to lead the AL in batting, on base percentage, and slugging percentage.  Amazing, really…  [ESPN and others...]

Tom Verducci had a vote and explains it for Sports Illustrated…

Ken Rosenthal discusses his vote for Fox Sports…

The real challenge will be this offseason or next when the Twins have to try and keep Mauer around, especially since Mauer has to be worth about $20 million per season on the open market.

And in Other News…

Omar Vizquel signed a one -year deal with the Chicago White Sox.  Vizquel expects to be a mentor to infielders Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham.  [ESPN]

The Nationals say that Stephen Strasburg, who missed his last start in the Arizona Fall League, won’t need surgery on his twisted knee.  Dcctors say it’s a dislocation of the joint and he just needs some rest.  [SI]

The Associated Press released notes suggesting that Ken Griffey Jr. could earn as much as $3.9 million after incentives for the 2010 season.  [ESPN]

The Cubs signed lefty reliever John Grabow to a $7.5 million, two-year deal.  Grabow is a solid eighth-inning guy (though he can pitch in any inning from 5 through 9) who earned the contract after a year with 70 appearances for both Pittsburgh and Chicago.  However, personally I’d be leery of anyone coming off a career high in appearances and a career ERA over 4.00…  [SI]

Cuban Aroldis Chapman has fired his agent, signing with the Hendricks Brothers, agents who represent players such as Andy Pettitte.  Edwin Mejia, of Athletes Premier International, had helped Chapman escape from Cuba, setting up residency in Andorra so that Chapman couldn’t be drafted and would be signed as a free agent.  One expects a lawsuit for tampering in the very near future.  [ESPN]

Look for Roy Halliday to play out the string for Toronto, knowing that he will either be traded or become a free agent after the 2010 season.  Toronto brass fully expect Halliday to hit the road.  [ESPN]

The Marlins and pitcher Josh Johnson couldn’t iron out a deal, and per ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, it’s because Johnson wants a fourth year if he signs a long-term contract.  The Marlins are prepared to deal with arbitration, but tried to get Johnson to sign a three-year deal.  Johnson was trying to get a deal similar to the four-year, $38 million deal the Royals gave Zack Greinke.  [ESPN]

Speaking of Marlins named Johnson, the ESPN rumor mill has Nick Johnson getting plenty of interest in the free agency market.  Johnson had a .477 OBA after arriving in Florida in a late season trade with Washington.  Among the suitors?  Boston, Washington, the Mets, Giants and Orioles.  [ESPN]

Let’s stick with stories about my fish…  Former Angels prospect and Marlins minor leaguer, Dallas McPherson, signed a minor league deal with the Oakland A’s.  At 29, McPherson is past his prospect days and has missed two of three seasons with back problems.  [ESPN]

Finally, Peter Gammons compliments the management of the Marlins for winning with a payroll that, over four years, has spent less money – nearly a third less – than the Mets spent in 2009.  [ESPN]

Quick Hits…

Jermaine Dye says he is open to playing first base.  I’d be more worried about how his production fell apart after the all-star break, so this is just something to make him seem more valuable on the free agent market. [MLB]

After signing Chris Capuano and John Halama, two pitchers who have missed time due to injury and really haven’t been on the MLB radar in two or three years, the Milwaukee Brewers are showing interest in Carl Pavano.  There just aren’t enough 4.50 ERA guys with bad backs and shoulders to go around, I guess…  [MLB]

Happy Birthday!

Hall of Famer Joe Medwick was born on this day in 1911.  Joe never liked his nickname “Ducky”, which was shorted from “Ducky Wucky”, which might help explain his surliness…

Others celebrating with cards, cake, or rememberances include:  George Burns (1889) – a fine lead off hitter with the Tigers back in the day…, Billy Rogell (1904), Danny Ozark (1923), Jim Northrup (1939), Fred Beene (1942), Steve Yeager (1948), Randy Velarde (1962), Cal Eldred (1967), Ben McDonald (1967), Al Martin (1967), Dave Hansen (1968) – who could probably STILL lace a single pinch hitting for the Dodgers right now…, and Joel Guzman (1984).

I love when teams make good personnel decisions. It makes me giddy.

Today, the Chicago White Sox signed SS and future Hall of Famer Omar Vizquel to a one-year, $1.375 million deal. Vizquel, who is 43-years-old hit .266 with a .660 OPS in 2009 with the Texas Rangers.

Vizquel can still pick-it at SS

I really like this move for the White Sox.

Vizquel will serve as a backup infielder and as a mentor to Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham. Who better to serve as a mentor to a young middle infielder than one of–if not the best defensive (cue Cardinal fan crying Ozzie Smith here) shortstop of all time.

The Rangers used Vizquel in this role last year for Elvis Andrus and that worked out quite well.

Not only will Vizquel serve as a mentor, but he can still pick-it with anyone defensively. He is not a washed up player, who is just looking to hang on. AKA: “A veteran presence.”

Vizquel played 62 games in the field last year at short, second and third, and didn’t commit an error. His UZR at shortstop was 5.3, which is very, very respectable. He also had a 3.3 UZR at third, which was better than Michael Young and David Wright.

The 11-time Gold Glove winner will be entering his 22nd season in the major leagues.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

When Beckham moved why not back to short and Alexei at second?

”Because Alexei’s better than Gordon at short. Not that Gordon can’t play the position, but Alexei is a special guy. What we do have to get Alexei a little bit better on is his focus. That’s not unusual for a young player. Gordon would also have some of those defensive lapses if he were in the middle of the field. People really don’t understand how fast the major-league game is until you’re out there. Believe me, it’s not an indictment on Gordon’s abilities; it’s more praise of what Alexei can do.”

UPDATE: More Kenny:

“It’s not the end of the season with Alexei we have to get squared away. It’s April and May. Now that he’s two years removed from Cuba, hopefully the third year will be the charm where he can have a good April, or maybe we just leave him in Arizona and play someone else there until June. He probably would win a batting title if he didn’t have to play in April.

it won’t be shortstop:

“I’m not saying he’s not a good shortstop,” Guillen said of Beckham. “I think if he moves somewhere, it should be to second base. The last three months, (Ramirez) played pretty good.”

Also, Ozzie put Jayson Nix and Brent Lillibridge on notice again:

“I expect those two guys to change their games and play the way we think they can play,” Guillen said. “They have to go out and give us better at-bats. If they don’t, we have to go a different way.”

Nix batted .224/.308/.408/.716 with 28 BBs and 64 Ks in 290 PAs.

Lastly Scot Gregor speculates about a possible bullpen pickup. Gregor throws out the name of Will Ohman.

from Merkin’s mailbag:

Will Dayan Viciedo be in the mix for a starting job in 2010?

A few scouts I talked to recently said Viciedo could benefit from another year in the Minors. But I believe Viciedo will get a serious look at in Spring Training, as a possible designated hitter candidate, after getting a first look during the current Arizona Fall League. He primarily played third last year for Double-A Birmingham, so the White Sox need to find him a true position with Beckham set at the hot corner.

Merkin, also, sees Alexei Ramirez and the other infield players staying at the same positions in 2010.

Merkin:

Guillen reiterated on Sunday that he doesn’t see any changes coming for his infield in 2010. He likes the combination of Gordon Beckham at third, Alexei Ramirez at shortstop and Chris Getz at second base. “My infield is set. That’s going to be the team, hopefully,” Guillen said. “I’ll take the three kids. They play well and have a lot of energy and bring a lot of great stuff. Alexei has been better the past two months, Beckham is unbelievable the way he plays third. Nobody talks about Getz, but he’s a great baseball player.” Guillen also believes that Jayson Nix will continue to function as a top-notch utility player, including as an emergency outfielder.

from Gonzales’ mailbag:

As for Ramirez, I agree that he needs to come across the bag more often when covering second on steal attempts. Tadahito Iguchi adjusted well to contact at second after being accustomed to the Japanese style. I don’t have any doubts Beckham would be an adequate major leauge shortstop, but Ozzie and Kenny are committed right now to Ramirez as shortstop. He has more range that Beckham, and he should be better at that position next year with a full year of experience. He also remains a bargain at shortstop to the Sox.

El torpedero cubano Alexei Ramírez informó el viernes a ESPNdeportes.com que planea jugar en la próxima temporada de la liga invernal dominicana, mientras que su compatriota Kendry Morales reveló que su participación con los Gigantes del Cibao depende de un proceso migratorio que realiza en Estados Unidos.

Todo eso el mismo día que los Tigres del Licey anunciaron que firmaron al derecho Yadel Martí, uno de los héroes cubanos en el primer Clásico Mundial de Béisbol.

“Voy a jugar con los Leones del Escogido en la próxima temporada”, dijo Ramírez, quien pertenece a los Medias Blancas de Chicago en las Grandes Ligas de Estados Unidos.

“Estaba un poco enojado con el Escogido, pero tengo entendido que muchas cosas han cambiado en el equipo en los últimos días”, agregó Ramírez antes del primer partido de la serie de fin de semana contra los Angelinos de Los Angeles en Anaheim.

Ramírez, de 27 años, debutó en el profesionalismo con Escogido en noviembre del 2007, antes de firmar un contrato de 4.7 millones de dólares por cuatro años con los Medias Blancas. La estadía del pinareño con los Leones dominicanos duró menos de una semana y fue despedido luego de batear de 14-1 en cinco juegos.

“Quería jugar, necesitaba jugar para mostrarme, pero el Escogido no tenía puesto fijo y preferí pedir mi baja”, dijo Ramírez, quien fue una revelación el año pasado en las ligas mayores y esta temporada batea .277 con 15 jonrones y 65 carreras impulsadas para Chicago.

Kendry con los Gigantes del Cibao

Uno que no ha dejado de batear desde que debutó en la liga quisqueyana hace cinco años es Morales, quien obtuvo la ciudadanía dominicana y juega como nativo con los Gigantes del Cibao.

“La pelota dominicana es la mejor del mundo y mi plan es jugar aunque sea un mes, pero eso dependerá si me dan un permiso especial ya que estoy en proceso de recibir la residencia de Estados Unidos”, dijo Morales.

En su primera temporada completa con los Angelinos, el inicialista de Fomento batea .308 con 30 jonrones y 98 remolques, números que lo colocan en posición de aspirar al premio Jugador Más Valioso de la Liga Americana.

“Nada de esto lo habría podido conseguir sin jugar pelota invernal, nunca agradeceré lo suficiente a los Gigantes y a República Dominicana”, dijo Morales.

El viernes, Licey, actual monarca de la pelota dominicana, anunció la contratación de Martí, quien se escapó de Cuba el año pasado.

Martí, de 30 años fue el líder del cuerpo de lanzadores cubanos en el I Clásico Mundial, en el 2006, con marca de 1-0 y dos salvamentos y lideró el torneo en efectividad al no permitir carreras en 12.2 entradas.

El antiguo estelar de Industriales de La Habana ha estado entrenando en Santo Domingo a la espera de conseguir contrato con alguna organización de Grandes Ligas.

Sox are still in the hunt, but just barely

With only a handle of games left in the regular season, most Sox fans have given up the hope for post season play and are switching gears instead to the Bears and the new franchise quarterback Jay Cutler. However the door has not slammed closed on the Sox yet.  With the Tigers’ difficulties in Kansas City,  the Sox could potentially make a run for the playoffs.  Standing in their way this weekend is the AL West division leader the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  The Angels come into tonight’s matchup on the end of a 3 game sweep of the Seattle Mariners. General Manager Kenny Williams seems excited about the prospects of post season play stating “We’ll let it play out…You’ll have to excuse me because I’m so consumed with [our current state] right now,” in a Chicago Tribune Article (click here for full article). Also excited about possible post season play is newcomer Jake Peavy.  Peavy, as most know, has been on the disabled list for the past few months after taking a line drive to the elbow on August 24^th during a minor league rehab start for Charlotte Knights. He strained the tendon in his right ankle while with the San Diego Padres. “I’ll go as long and hard as I can for as long as they’ll let me go…I’m so anxious to pitch,” Peavy told the Chicago Tribune. (click here for full article). With Peavy to make a possible start against the Mariners, the Sox have the ability to pull into playoff contention in the final weeks of the season.  With a 3 game series left with Minnesota and 6 games left against Detroit, the Sox could do enough damage to at least force a tie-break. The Sox have a few things going in their favor; they have gone 13-6 at Angel Stadium, Gordon Beckham, who has missed the past four starts with a right oblique muscle strain, is scheduled to return and the Sox have two hot bats in Scott Podsednik, who went 4 for 7 with 2 doubles and a stolen base against the A’s, and A.J. Pierzynski who heroically crushed a hanging slider to score Alexei Ramirez from first base in the bottom of the 13^th.  The true test for the Sox will lie with the bullpen that has given up 35 runs in 55.2 innings pitched over the last 17 games. At the very least it will make for an exciting end of the baseball season- provided the Sox can string together a series of wins going into the last 18 games of the year.

Author: Shoeless Joe

Think the Sox will make the playoffs? Let us know my casting your own vote in the “Cast Your Vote” Section of our blog.

Alexei is the Shortstop of the future:

“Ozzie and I have talked, and we have no plans to move him off of shortstop,” said Williams of Ramirez. “He should be the shortstop in a White Sox uniform for a little while,” Guillen said.

Kenny likes the Alexei Ramirez, Gordon Beckham duo:

“We like having that athletic left side,” Williams said. “We really have two shortstops on our left side of the infield. As they are more comfortable with each other and become more comfortable with the Major League game, they should become one of the more solid tandems.”

Ozzie on benching Alexei back in May:

“There never was any back and forth between us because he knows I was right,” Guillen said. “There is a reason you are on the bench. We talked about it, and he understands. He had a bad attitude on the field and we come here to fight. He wasn’t fighting the right way. He thought playing shortstop in the big leagues is playing shortstop in the Cuban League. No, that’s a different scenario.”

Kenny:

“Alexei is a 28-year-old [as of Sept. 22] second-year player in the big leagues, who has proven that he can make the spectacular play and the routine play,” Williams said. “Is there an occasional lapse? Yeah, there is. The whole darn team has had an occasional lapse. He’s going to continue to grow and get better.”

And Alexei:

“More than anything, practice makes perfect,” Ramirez said. “The more you practice, the better you get.”

Two of them are Alexei Ramirez and Alex Rios:

Like Ramirez, this season hasn’t been as bad for Rios as it looks at first glance. First of all, he’s been victimized by a terrible BABIP even though his GB/FB/LD percentages haven’t changed all that drastically from years past. His strikeout and walk rates are in line with his career averages too. So, the .250 batting average is surely misrepresentative of his performance at the plate. Since Rios does not walk very much, that has jettisoned his OBP to the point that it is difficult to score a lot of runs. Rios should still wind up hitting around 20 homers and stealing about 25 bases.

Rios’ BABIP with the Blue Jays in 2009? .284. Rios’ BABIP with the Sox in 2009? .193.

top of the 9th inning starts; Sox are down 0-2:

[Twins pitcher Joe] Nathan than quickly retired pinch-hitter Mark Kotsay on a swinging strikeout to start the ninth and then induced Scott Podsednik’s routine fly ball to left fielder Denard Span for out No. 2. Nathan jumped ahead on Gordon Beckham with two quick strikes, needing one more swing to send the White Sox to their sixth straight loss. But the rookie phenom worked the count full and then launched a 3-2 pitch into the left-field stands for his 10th home run and a 2-1 deficit. … Beckham’s blast was a nice moment for the White Sox, but they still were one out away from falling 4 1/2 games behind the Twins for second. Once again, Nathan brought the game within its final strike, but Konerko drove out his own full-count offering for home run No. 24. Konerko’s long ball was more of a high fly, and Span looked as if he had his jump timed to take away the game-tying run. It would have been a fitting ending for the White Sox in the Metrodome, but instead, it landed about four rows beyond Span’s outstretched glove.

After that Nathan walked Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin and was replaced by Matt Guerrier. The next batter was Alexei Ramirez who singled:

His single to left on an 0-2 pitch scored pinch-runner Dewayne Wise when Span’s throw short-hopped catcher Mike Redmond. A good throw would have had Wise by a few feet. But it was an aggressive send by third-base coach Jeff Cox in a venue where the White Sox literally had nothing to lose.

Next, Carlos Quentin scored an insurance-run on a wild pitch, Bobby Jenks worked a scoreless 1-2-single-4 bottom of the 9th and the Sox had their first win in the Metrodome in a game the Twins lead by 2 runs in the 9th inning. Seems the Sox figure it in their last Metrodome game. The Sox finished with a 89-114 record at the Metrodome after it opened in 1982.

A couple quotes from the Sox after the jump.

Gonzales:

“We own this place,” Konerko quipped while flipping his cap to a clubhouse attendant after the Sox scored four runs with two outs, two strikes and the bases empty in the ninth inning to forge a 4-2 victory over Minnesota in their final game at the Metrodome.

Gregor:

Next season, the Twins move into Target Field, an outdoor stadium. Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who despises the Metrodome more than most, was rattling off jokes afterward. “I didn’t know that the clubhouse has such a nice sound system,” Guillen said. “That’s the first time I’ve (heard music) in 7-10 years. “How crazy is this thing?” Guillen continued. “We figure out how to win in this place, and now we can’t come here anymore.”

SoxNet:

Relieve Matt Thornton. While Ozzie Guillen and the players aren’t quitting (according to him), his GM certainly did once that reported memo went out telling fellow GMs that a list of veteran Sox players were available. That said, it’s not time to put on a show and more a time to give Thornton a rest. Between pitching in the World Baseball Classic and throwing 59.2 pressure-packed innings (throwing in the high 90’s throughout), Thornton call it a season. He’s too valuable of a 2010 piece – especially with the current state of the pen – to waste further energy and risk injury pitching in meaningless September games. You can say this about anyone I’m sure, but relievers unreliable health from year-to-year makes this too obvious of a choice. …

All in all, that was a very strange game.  How we came out of it with only one error is completely beyond me, because we displayed just about every blooper you could possibly imagine.  It was a full nine innings of weirdness, let me tell you, but if we win I don’t care how weird it is.  It’s the third win in four days.  Keep ‘em coming.

Basically, heading into the eighth inning, we were tied at three.  Jon Lester had exited with two outs in the seventh and gave up three runs on four hits with two walks, six K’s, and a long ball by Jayson Nix to lead off the third.  And he was just about to record that final out, with two men on and an 0-2 count on Alexei Ramirez, when his curveball bounced off Tek and one of the runners scored.  Then Nix struck again, literally and figuratively, as he hit a line drive that hit Lowell’s glove and that batted in their third run.  Even with those two runs, Lester delivered his eighteenth quality start of the season, putting him ahead of Josh Beckett and in the lead of the entire pitching staff.  So he may have gotten a no-decision, but at least he didn’t lose (Delcarmen got the win, and Paps got the save, which was completely clean.  Sixteen pitches in the inning, thirteen of them strikes, a hit but no walks and two K’s.).

It didn’t end there.  In the top of the eighth, Carlos Quentin popped up just behind the mound, and despite Okajima’s best efforts at a catch, the ball landed behind him.  Later in the frame, V-Mart botched the routine throw back to the mound, and the ball ended up in center field, moving Quentin to second.  Paul Konerko singled to put runners at the corners, Jermaine Dye popped to short, AJ Pierzynski struck out, and that was the end of the night for Okajima.  Delcarmen came in and got Alex Rios to pop to second to end the top half of the inning.

In the bottom of the inning, the game was pretty much over.  We scored three runs and basically won it, 6-3, right then and there.  Jason Bay hit a solo shot with one out.  His twenty-eighth of the season, and what a blast it was.  Probably one of his most important home runs of the year.  Definitely one of his farthest.  It didn’t even touch the Monster.  Huge.  And hit with two strikes, too.  After that the White Sox had no chance.  Period.  End of story.

Other RBIs came courtesy of Youk, Pedroia, Martinez (perfect at the plate, going two for two with a double and two RBIs), and Jacoby Ellsbury, who went three for five with a double, an RBI, and a stolen base, thereby officially leading the franchise in single-season stolen bases! Congratulations, kid.  Can’t say I didn’t see it coming.

Turns out that Billy Wagner will, in fact, be pitching in Boston.  He ended up waiving his no-trade clause to win a World Series.  And you hear something like that and it makes you marvel at how far we’ve come.  Until about five years ago we were a temporary stop, not a destination, for baseball’s best, because the expectation was obviously that a World Series wasn’t coming to Boston any time soon.  How the tables have turned.  We’ve come so far from that it’s ridiculous, and I have to say it feels pretty good.  Papelbon is psyched, by the way.  If you take his comments literally, what he said was simply that the bullpen has clearly defined roles and he just wasn’t sure how Wagner’s role would fit in from a purely organizational standpoint.  But he’s psyched.  And if Wagner works out, that would be one seriously formidable one-two punch.

Wakfield returns to the mound tonight opposite Gavin Floyd, but this game is important for reasons other than Wakefield’s return and its status as a must-win (as is basically every game from this point on).  It’s important because Victor Martinez is catching.  He’s been practicing with a pitching machine rigged to throw knuckleballs and was even using in on our last road trip.  This game, with its relatively low-pressure opponent, will be a good introductory diagnostic of V-Mart’s abilities in that vein.  On the bright side, when it comes to catching knuckleballs, he couldn’t possibly be worse than Tek.

AP Photo

Jacoby Ellsbury stole his 55th base, setting a new club record, in the Boston Red Sox comeback victory over the Chicago White Sox. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

The Chicago White Sox offense was patient against Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester through six innings. He was at the 40 pitch mark in the second inning, at the 70 pitch mark in the fourth, and closing in on 100 pitches in the sixth, but Chicago had little to show for it: one run on three hits. Then the seventh inning came along, when fatigue set in for Lester.

Boston’s offense, which entered this contest having only averaged four runs for Lester per start, only gave him two over the course of his outing. Their center-fielder, Jacoby Ellsbury, was responsible for the first, and made history in doing so. He lined a double off Freddy Garcia to begin the bottom of the first inning, then, took off for third. Catcher A.J. Pierzynski was set to throw, but with Ellsbury closing in on the base, he held onto Garcia’s fastball. Ellsbury slid in safely for his 55th stolen base of the season, setting a new Red Sox record. He dusted himself off, stood on the bag, and chatted with the third base coach while the Fenway crowd gave him a resounding standing ovation. He was rewarded by Pedroia, who grounded out to plate him as Boston’s first run.

The Red Sox and White Sox exchanged runs in the third inning, and the game remained a 2-1 score until Lester’s seventh. The first pitch of the frame was lined into left by Paul Konerko for a single, then Jermaine Dye walked on four straight pitches. Lester was at the 102 pitch mark and clearly laboring, but manager Terry Francona trusted Lester and left him in the game. Lester made Francona look like a genius, retiring Pierzynski on a sacrifice bunt that moved both runners into scoring position, then Alex Rios on a line out that was hit so hard to right-fielder J.D. Drew that it failed to allow Konerko to tag and score from third.

Yet, still a well-placed single by Alexei Ramirez could not only send Lester to the showers, but give the White Sox the lead. Ramirez couldn’t give the White Sox the lead, nor knock out Lester, but thanks to the some wildness by Lester, he was able to notch the score at two. He took a curveball for strike-one, then flailed at another, and then one more. But the third curved a bit too much and too early. It ricochet off the plate and rocketed past catcher Jason Varitek to the backstop. Konerko, not fleet of foot, scored easily. Ramirez reached, extending the inning.

Lester would need to obtain a fourth out, one he could not get. Jayson Nix, who homered in the third, laced the first pitch on a line to third baseman Mike Lowell. The ball was scorched so hard that it sliced off his glove and into foul territory, allowing Pierzynski to score. Lowell ran it down, then walked back to his position shaking his head. As a gold-glove caliber third baseman, he knew that was a catch he could have made. But, alas, it dropped, taking the air out of Fenway and sending Lester to the clubhouse.

The lead was gone, but now it was the White Sox turn to attempt to hold a slim advantage. They could not. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Jason Varitek tattooed a double deep t0 center-field, a godsend considering the ways he’s been hitting this season. Backup shortstop Nick Green pinch ran for the slow-footed Red Sox captain, and Victor Martinez, originally given the night off, pinch hit for the starting shortstop, Alex Gonzalez. He didn’t waste any time, nutting a 98 mile per hour fastball from Matt Thornton into left-field, scoring Green to quickly tie the game.

Boston loaded the bases later in the frame, but Kevin Youkilis, the hitter the Red Sox could ask for in such a situation, couldn’t take advantage, grounding out to end the threat. But at least they bounced back and tied the game. This shifted momentum immediately and fueled them for the rest of the game.

Jason Bay watched a curveball from reliever Scott Linebrink fall in for strike-one with one out in the eighth inning. After fouling off a slider, he watched another curveball, but instead of looking at Pierzynski’s framed glove, he watched it sail out of the stadium. With this solo-homer, Bay’s 28th of the season, the Red Sox took back the lead. This time, they would not only hold onto their advantage, but increase it.

In this month of August, Boston has been one of the better teams offensively. They have led the American League in both home-runs and batting average, while placing in the top-3 in many other major categories. But the main reason for their success, especially in the last couple of weeks, has been their ability to produce with two outs. They continued this trend, as, with the bases empty in a seemingly harmless situation, Green singled, then Martinez doubled him in to give the Red Sox a little insurance. Ellsbury increased the margin to three by knocking the first pitch he saw from reliever Randy Williams into center-field for a single.

He scored the first run and drove in the last, but it was the drama that unfolded in the other eight-plus innings that epitomizes Boston’s greatness. Especially what transpired after the wild pitch evaded Varitek. Usually, a play like that would devastate a ballclub, but to the Red Sox it was rejuvenating. They are well behind the New York Yankees in the division, and hold a slim Wild-Card lead, but their short-term memory once again proved beneficial, leading to another impressive victory.

Here’s Ozzie Guillen:

“[Nix] is going to be my utility player as long as he wants to. This kid is a great utility player. I think our plan is having [Gordon Beckham, Alexei Ramirez] and Getz at their positions for the future. [Nix] can help us a lot when we need him. He’s playing very well, but am I going to pencil him in every day? Time will tell. Now we have three guys and we count on those guys for a long time.”

So, we have: 2B: Getz, SS: Alexei, 3B: Beckham, UL: Nix

Seems Ozzie doesn’t think Nix > Getz

UPDATE: More Ozzie on Nix:

”When he hits them, he hits them pretty good. ‘He’s got unbelievable bat speed. I’m very surprised the team he played with in the past [the Colorado Rockies] let him go. I’m sure they had their own reason. He’s going to be a White Sox for a little while.”

Your author with Ramirez and Soto

White Sox

You could make a case for Freddy Garcia, who gave up seven hits and five earned runs in four and a third innings in his return, but his stuff wasn’t awful.  He probably would have stayed in the game but for his pitch count, which was starting to get up there.  I heard them on the radio this morning talking about whether Garcia gets another shot.  Are you kidding me?  The guy’s way better than Jose Contreras, who seems to believe home plate is somewhere off to the right and about 80 feet back.

Today’s Daily Goat earned his status by virtue of a single play, and man, was it a stinker.  Alexei Ramirez hits a towering fly ball that doesn’t get out of the infield, but trots off to first base.  Second baseman Alberto Callaspo gets under the ball, gauges its location, then muffs it.  Alexei, who for some reason has rounded first base, decides this is a good time to try for second, being as how the ball is a good 12 or 18 inches from Callaspo.  If you’re ever seen a Three Stooges routine, you know Callaspo picked up the ball and immediately got Alexei in a rundown.  A lucky bounce, ruined.  Damn Cuban Missile.

But the bases, which had been empty, soon filled after a Jayson Nix single and two walks.  Had Alexei been safely on first, the last walk would’ve scored him.  The Sox ultimately would’ve scored five runs in nine innings, and the game would’ve been tied.  Notice I’m saying “would’ve been” instead of “was.”  That’s because of Alexei Ramirez, lousy decision-maker and Daily Goat.

Cubs

Does anybody even care anymore?  Yesterday’s ninth-inning collapse is the one everyone will point to when the North Siders miss the playoffs.  Say what you will about the Sox, at least they’ve stayed within striking distance.  At this point the Cubs would have to win every game for a week, while the Cardinals lost seven straight, to regain the lead.  Yikes.

But the Daily Goat excuses no poor performance, even when the team is doomed.  A performance such as 0-3 hitting with an insignificant walk and 0-3 throwing out base-stealers.  You hear me, Geovany Soto?

The guy’s been nothing like the catcher who won Rookie of the Year honors in 2008.  He’s been Captain Stinkface all season, batting in the low .200s and just generally disappointing.  But yesterday he failed in all of three chances to pick off a base stealer at second, and in all four plate appearances.  (Granted, one ended in a walk, but if the next batter weren’t weak-hitting Ryan Dempster, the Padres would’ve had to actually pitch to Geo.  And Geo would’ve made an out.)

It’s not Hall of Shame stuff.  But it doesn’t have to be.  Just another miserable loss on another miserable day for this miserable team, on a night the Cardinals opened the gates with a loss.  You can blame every Cub on the team, but for last night’s misery, blame Geovany Soto a little bit more.

Dos cubanos, ambos ex integrantes de la selección nacional “amateur” de su país, se disputaron el mejor pelotero latino de la semana en la Liga Americana, donde Alexei Ramírez, de los Medias Blancas de Chicago, superó a Kendry Morales, de los Angelinos de Los Angeles.

Lea la noticia aqui.

Alexei Ramírez - Latino de la semana en la Liga Americana

OAKLAND — El cubano Alexei Ramírez abrió la 10ma entrada con un cuadrangular y los Medias Blancas de Chicago se recuperaron el viernes después de dejar escapar una ventaja de seis carreras para imponerse por 8-7 a los Atléticos de Oakland.

Ver artículo completo aqui.

Alexei conectó un HR solitario en extrainnings en el triunfo de Chicago. (AP)

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