400 For Konerko

Congrats to Paul Konerko on hitting his 400th home run!!!!

Mr. 2,000

Congratulations to Paul Konerko on his 2,000th hit!

Welcome Back, Paulie!!!!

300 x 2 = History

History was made in Detroit, Michigan today. For the first time in Major League history, two players hit a century milestone in the same game.

Jermaine Dye hit his 300th home run and Paul Konerko hit his 300th home run. What makes this feat even more remarkable is that they are on the same team. What makes this feat improbable id that they hit them back to back.

Jermaine Dye led off the second inning with his blast. Dye was congratulated by the next batter, Paul Konerko, who quickly followed with his own home run milestone. Carlos Quentin had two home runs of his own, which nearly took away the limelight of Dye and Konerko's special achievement. Just when I thought I heard and seen it all in baseball, up pops this.

Stealing the thunder from the home runs was DeWayne Wise. He made a spectacular diving catch in the bottom of the fifth inning, but had to leave the game because of a separated shoulder. After rolling over and throwing the ball in to hold the runners, Wise was slow to get up. You could see him grimacing in pain.

Congratulations to Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko! Neighbors, golfing buddies, and now milestone teammate achievers!

The Road To Rhode Island

Hey, I'm psyched as the next White Sox fan to have any White Sox player on a subset. I didn't realize that Paul Konerko was the home run leader of people from Rhode Island, until dayf pointed that out when he came across this card.

I'm of the same opinion though. What happened to Napolean LaJoie? Wouldn't he trump Konerko in best players from Rhode Island? I would certainly think so.

Who knows where Topps gets its ideas for these things. I'm glad to see Konerko on this card. It's another card to eventually pick up for the collection. I'm just happy for that little miracle.

Jon, Paul, Geoff & Shingo?

Jon, Paul, Geoff & Shingo. No, it's not anything close to the Beatles. It's a group I like to call the UnBeatables. They were all part of the 2005 World Series Team at some point during the season. As of this writing, only Paul remains.

I still say this would have made a brilliant marketing campaign. So, what if the Sox didn't have a George or a Jorge on the team. They had a Geoff and that's close looking to George. OK, the fact that Geoff didn't get onto the team until July 31st and Shingo was released the next day didn't offer a lot of time. But that never stopped a good marketing campaign. Oh well... missed opportunities.

Shingo appeared in 31 games and saved 8. Those are decent numbers on an average team. The problem was that Shingo was the Opening Day closer. Those are great numbers for middle relief, not so great for your closer. Shingo started out great, but a couple of blown saves in the first couple of weeks rattled him beyond fixing. After that, the Sox cringed whenever Shingo was called upon. I still say Shingo was a main reason that Tadahito Iguchi came to the South Side, and for that and his 2004 season, Shingo is OK in my book.

Geoff Blum was a utility extraordinaire. He didn't get into games that much, but when he did, good things happened. He also appeared in 31 games and batted a cold .200. Geoff wasn't there for his bat, he was there for defense and to give the regulars a rest. By a stroke of luck, Geoff will always be remembered for his bat. His home run in the top of the 14th inning broke the 5-5 tie in the third game of the World Series. Essentially, Geoff won the game with a home run in his only World Series plate appearance. He replaced Bobby Jenks in the batting lineup and played second base in the bottom of the 13th inning.

Jon Garland had his best season, so far, in 2005. He won 18 games during the regular season, made the All-Star team, and was "on" for most of the postseason. The entire pitching staff kept the White Sox in every game. Jon Garland was no exception. While most of the drama of the game he started in the World Series (game 3) happened well after he was out of the game, Jon kept the Sox in the game while he was out there. Plus, nothing could top his performance in the 2005 ALCS, where he pitched a complete game. One of four consecutive complete games that the Sox threw in the ALCS.

Paul Konerko was the glue that held together the 2005 team. He never wanted to be a captain, but that's exactly what happened. With Frank Thomas being hurt most of the year, the players looked to Paulie for the leadership and guidance. Paul is a soft-spoken player who leads by example, like Carlton Fisk, but without the attitude. He was voted the 2005 ALCS MVP and was strongly in the running for World Series MVP. Paul's steady hand caught the last out of the World Series and the White Sox fans rejoiced. 88 years of "almost" vanished the second Konerko caught the ball at first.

The Joe Buck call will always be famous because it was on television. The call I prefer, came on the radio by broadcaster John Rooney. "A ground ball past Jenks up the middle of the infield, Uribe has it, he throws... OUT, OUT!!! A White Sox winner and a World Championship!!! The White Sox have won the World Series, and they're mobbing each other on the field!!!"

2007 Artifacts

I liked the design of the 2007 Artifacts. It was different from anything I'd ever seen before, at least to my recollection. At least that was my initial impression. I still like it, but it doesn't have the same "Wow" factor that it had when it first came out.

The dirt background is very eye catching and goes well against the antique looking photo seemingly laid on top. It reminded me of a pirate map or some ancient parchment. The intentionally off-centered photo is a little maddening at first, but once you take that in with the background, it turns out to be a nice touch.

I'm always a bit surprised when I see more than three White Sox cards in a set that has 100 or less cards. This shocked me by having six cards in the base set. Three veterans and three rookies. The usual suspects are there for the veterans (Konerko, Thome & Dye) and the rookies are alright, but not overly essential. We'll see where the rookies rate ten years from now.

• 5 - Jim Thome
• 6 - Paul Konerko
• 7 - Jermaine Dye
• 85 - Jerry Owens
• 86 - Josh Fields
• 97 - Ryan Sweeney

Not a bad mix of Sox players for a 100 card set. The cards will pop out at you in a binder. They're not as great as they were upon first arrival, but the cards still hold up well. Nice job Upper Deck. Not great, but good enough.

The Halos Hunted By Cover Of Darkness

Torii Hunter got a contract from the Los Angeles Angels for $90MM over 5 years. That's $18MM per year. News of this leaked out in the wee hours of the morning today. The Angels are taking a page out of Kenny Williams book. I never heard a word about their interest.

What does this mean to the Sox? It means that the Sox will concentrate on "The Legend" Aaron Rowand, Andruw Jones, Kosuke Fukudome, finding a scrap heap bargain, finding a rookie bargain, trading for a center fielder or staying with what they got. I know, that's a lot to digest. Fortunately, that's why it's Kenny Williams job to sort that out.

As evidenced by my favorite card of Torii Hunter, he's shocked that someone actually gave him $90MM. I'm a bit shocked too. That's about $3MM more per year than he really should be worth. If the Angels want to overpay for him, that's their business. It smells a bit like a Scott Boras move though. Wine and dine and promise alliances, only to use those teams as bait for a bigger paycheck.

I am a bit disappointed that I won't be showing the 2007 Allen & Ginter card of Torii to friends. I like to show off cards of White Sox acquisitions with former teams. You know, to get the fan base used to what the players look like and what they do. That would've been a sweet card to show around.

I like Torii and I think he would've made an excellent addition to the Sox outfield. When Jim Thome and Paul Konerko are reported to have texted Hunter on the benefits of the Chicago White Sox, it seems like desperation. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Only time will tell on that though. With that said, I can't wait to see what the Sox do with centerfield this year! I want to know who's series two card I can look forward to collecting next year.