4-11-08: Tigers 5 - Sox 2

April 11, 2008 - Chicago, Illinois

Strange things are afoot at the ballpark.

This was a game of oddities and strange occurrences. Detroit starter Dontrelle Willis, who almost no-hit the White Sox the last time he faced them, pitched to two and a half batters before exiting the game with a really nasty looking hyper extension of the knee. The Sox managed a run off of D-Train, but not much else.

I'm usually not one to complain about balls and strikes, but when Jim Thome argues about the strike zone, there usually is something wrong. I've been seeing a lot of weird things this year involving umpires calls against the White Sox. Calls against a team are a part of the game, but you tend to notice when quiet players and coaches start getting animated. This season has already seen Harold Baines, Joe Crede and Jim Thome get animated about umpires calls.

The good:
Toby Hall got a hit!

The Sox took advantage of Dontrelle Willis in the short time that he was on the mound.

The bad:
Only 4 hits by the Sox.

Jose Contreras would've done enough for the win on almost any other night.

The ugly:
Detroit's Dontrelle Willis' hyper extended knee.

Jim Thome getting tossed for arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire.

This is definitely one to forget. Move on and get them next time. It's a shame that the 2005 World Championship monument unveiling was before such a bad game. In bad weather to boot. Oh well, it's not like you can plan these things.