#67 - John Danks

Even though John Danks now wears number 50, he started out as number 67. When he wore 67, he was a pitcher with a lot of potential and a lot of upside, with a little rawness, nervousness and bad luck mixed in with flashes of brilliance.

In 2008, John has transformed himself into a great pitcher. If he continues on this path, John will become a premier pitcher. That is a wonderful thing to finally see. It's not often that minor league pitchers get traded to the Sox that turn into something special. John definitely has the tools to become something special.

While John lost 13 of his 26 games in 2007, he showed enough promise to be one of the rookies the Sox were counting on big time in 2008. So far, John has put on quite a show. His record may not show it, from lack of run support, but Danks is one of the stoppers on the starting staff. John has stepped up his game, big time.

If Danks can stay healthy, I can see a long, successful career for him. I hope he turns into another Beuhrle and not another Bere.

5-5-08: Sox 0 - Blue Jays 1

May 5, 2008 - Toronto, Ontario

The Sox couldn't even get cinco hits on Cinco de Mayo.

History was made tonight. For the first time in the Blue Jays entire existence as a team, they swept the White Sox in a four game series. Think about that for a second.

The Blue Jays started playing in 1977. Their first game was against the White Sox on a snow covered field. This includes both of the seasons that the Blue Jays won World Championships. In all that time, with all those good teams, this is the first time the Jays have swept a four game series from the Sox. That's simply amazing.

The Sox had golden opportunities to score that were completely wasted. Juan Uribe and Toby Hall started the third with a single and a double. With runners on second and third with no one out, the Sox stranded both runners. Juan Uribe did not help matters by staying at third on a ground ball to Eckstein, who was playing short very deep. It should have been an easy run.

The Sox also wasted three straight walks with one out in the ninth. Pablo Ozuna promptly grounded into a double play to end the game, as if scripted.

The good:
Juan Uribe had two hits.

Javier Vazquez pitched another gem.

The bad:
4 hits.

3 walks, all coming in the ninth.

The ugly:
Two golden opportunities to score with less than two outs wasted.

Vazquez gave up a solo home run, which was the only run scored in the game.

Maybe a homecoming is just the thing to perk the offense up. Alexei Ramirez is returning for the home stand. Could Alexei be the missing ingredient? Probably not, but anything is possible at this point. Hopefully, the Sox will win again soon. If not, maybe Ozzie will start calling the bloggers out by name for playing "manager" at home.

All I know is that Ozzie might actually be half serious when he suggested that Harold Baines and Greg Walker would be in the next game's lineup. That would certainly be something. Hopefully, that wouldn't prove to be better. If the losing continues, we may see Harold and Walker in a game.

Failed Dynasties

ESPN's Jonah Keri has an interesting article about failed dynasties. The top five, in no particular order, are the 80s Expos, the 1986 Mets, the 1990 Reds, the 1995 Mariners and the 1993 White Sox.

These articles try to pinpoint what went wrong for these potential dynasties. Jonah does a great job with the White Sox, but misses a few key ingredients.

The 1994 strike. Yes, Reinsdorf was a vocal player on the owners side of things, but the players are the ones who decided to strike. This issue has been rehashed to death and it makes no sense to rehash it here. Both sides have fault.

The Jack McDowell trade could be debated up and down, but the Sox put too much stock in the rookie starting pitching and thought that Black Jack was expendable. Jack would only have two decent years left and he was headed to Free Agency after the 1995 season. It's not an uncommon practice to trade players a year before they enter the open market.

The article fails to mention the reason for Jason Bere's downfall. Jason's arm started to hurt in 1995. He decided to pitch through it and ended up having a horrible season. He rested the arm instead of going through surgery which effected the next few seasons.

A lot of bad decisions and more than their fair share of bad luck contributed to the White Sox downfall in the mid-nineties. Then, like in the movies, the Cleveland Indians swooped in and won the division five straight years. The Sox were left to spin their wheels and make desperate attempts at winning, like giving Albert Belle $55 million and letting Alex Fernandez run to the Marlins to win a World Series ring through Free Agency.

Still, the article is a fascinating read. Be sure to check out the other failed dynasties. Sometimes, "what should have been" is more interesting than what actually happened.

Mailbox Joys: The Football Card Blog

It continues to amaze me, how many different types of people read this blog. I received a package on Friday from Tony of the Football Card Blog. This was in response to an earlier e-mail concerning 2008 Topps Heritage.

Originally, the e-mail was caught by my spam filter. I have no idea why. Spam still sneaks through and Tony's e-mail had none of the qualities of spam. It's lucky that I check my spam e-mail once a week before I delete them.

Tony had a bunch of 2008 Topps Heritage from my list that he wanted to send out with a few White Sox cards thrown in for good measure. How could I refuse a kind gesture like that? Well, I can't.

On Friday, the package arrived. I was surprised by the amount of 2008 Topps Heritage that were included. I immediately altered my want list and put the Topps Heritage cards away in pages. I had planned to put off the post until Saturday, since I had nothing going on that day. Then, my computer went screwy with a virus.

I spent a good chunk of time fixing the problems. By Sunday, I was extremely busy. I had a job interview (which I got), my future niece's birthday party, the same future niece's dance recital and the last game of league bowling. So, my day started at 6:30 AM and lasted until 10:00 PM. It also spanned about 100 miles with a lot of back and forth driving. It was a good day, but tiring. So, this is why the post is happening on Monday instead of Friday.

I have also forgotten which specific 2008 Topps Heritage cards were sent. The ones that immediately come to mind are the White Sox team card and Joe Girardi. There were plenty more, but they are a blur of retro themed cards. My computer went ballistic in the middle of writing out the list, so I only have the non-Topps Heritage cards listed.

1981 Donruss #278 – Greg Pryor
1984 Topps #20 – Greg Luzinski
1984 Topps #97 – LaMarr Hoyt
1984 Topps #382 – Chris Nyman
1984 Topps #480 – Ron Kittle
1984 Topps #667 – Vance Law
1987 Fleer #507 – Bobby Thigpen
1987 Fleer #643 – Harold Baines/Jesse Barfield
1987 Fleer #645 – Russ Morman/Ron Karkovice
1988 Topps #385 – Carlton Fisk
1997 Topps #176 – Wilson Alvarez
1998 Topps #331 – Albert Belle

Even though the aftermath of the package has been hectic and haphazard, I really do appreciate the effort. I was able to get a good little chunk of the 2008 Topps Heritage completed. Plus, there were random White Sox cards thrown in and I needed most of them. That is always a bonus.

Thank you, Tony, for your generosity. I have a feeling that you will receive a mysterious package somewhere down the line as a thank you. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but at some point expect a package.

5-4-08: Sox 3 - Blue Jays 4

May 4, 2008 - Toronto, Ontario

One missed call says it all.

There were flashes of brilliance emerging from the Sox on Sunday. It wasn't a full blown attack, but there were bright spots. The Sox managed to get back the three runs in the fourth inning that they just gave up the half inning before. The problem was that the Blue Jays had already scored a run in the second inning. So, the Sox ended up coming close again, but no victory cigar.

The three runs that the Blue Jays had were started by a missed double play call. The lead runner was tagged for the first of two outs. Or so it seemed. The umpire was at a vantage point where he couldn't see the tag. As a result of that, there was only the out at first. But that is just an excuse. No team is going to get every call. A team has to play over those blown calls. The Sox aren't doing that lately. Maybe this will fire the Sox up.

The good:
Getting those three runs back right away.

Jose Contreras pitched well enough to complete the game.

The bad:
4 hits.

Carlos Quentin was hit by another pitch.

The ugly:
That blown double play call.

A tough loss for Contreras.

Hopefully, the Sox will salvage the last game of the series. They are currently 0-5 on artificial turf this year. If the Sox do make it to the World Series, maybe it should be against a natural grass National League team.

Julio Franco Finally Retires

We knew this day would come, but none of us could believe it. Julio Franco has actually retired at the age of 49. I thought he would be able to play forever. I guess I lost that bet.

He played on a total of 13 teams (9 major league teams) between 1982 and 2008. He pretty much stopped everywhere in the majors. At least he played for most of the favorite teams of the blogging community.

He had a stop with the White Sox in 1994. Chicago would not see a full season out of Franco because of the strike. In 1995, he would head to Japan.

The thing I will always remember about Julio Franco is his unique batting stance. It looked uncomfortable, but boy was it effective. I hope that Julio finds peace with retirement. Baseball will not be the same without him.

5-3-08: Sox 2 - Blue Jays 5

May 3, 2008 - Toronto, Ontario

Trouble's a brewin'

The Sox offense can't be this bad. I refuse to believe that. Another decent outing by a starting pitcher was basically eliminated. The trouble came for John Danks through a multitude of foul balls and errors by his defense.

At least the offense is showing some signs of life. Solo shots by Jermaine Dye and a league leading Carlos Quentin showed a little bit of the power and swagger that the Sox have been lacking lately. The Sox are making average pitchers look like supermen. This too shall pass.

The good:
Solo home runs by Dye and Quentin.

A double by Joe Crede.

The bad:
Six hits for the Sox.

Four different batters were 0 for 4.

The ugly:
No walks for Sox batters.

Errors by Ozuna and Crede led to three unearned runs.

The unearned runs were the difference in the score for the second game in a row. At least the Sox stopped a 19 inning scoreless streak. Jermaine Dye has recovered somewhat from his sidelining injury. Carlos Quentin is the AL home run leader? I still can't fathom that, but at least it's something positive.

Random Card #17

Thaddis, why so angry? Could it be that you were taking your .224 average out to the field with you. That may be why you appear on the White Sox on your 1981 Fleer card, but you were actually traded to the Brewers on April 1, 1981.

You didn't get to even play a game with the Sox in 1981. Not that it would matter. Thad would only improve his season batting average by 5 points in 1981. He wouldn't hit his stride until he was with the Cubs in the mid-eighties.

I've been looking very similar to this photo of Thad today. My computer was infected by two viruses, one spyware and one adware. I got a clue, when my computer became ultra sluggish and AOL kept trying to load by itself. Then different websites in German would pop up. Not my favorite way to spend the day.

Luckily, I have a multitude of programs to deal with this. I ran four programs and cleared out everything. It wasted the entire day and crept into the night though. Damn Germans. Always causing trouble. I'm half German, so I can say that with a hearty laugh. Oh well. If you use the computer enough, you're bound to pick up something.

I realized how that last sentence sounds. Especially when Sweet Transvestite from Rocky Horror popped up on the iPod. Meh. I still stick by that statement. Tomorrow will be a better day. And of course, what post about a bad day (computer-wise at least) wouldn't be complete without Paint It Black by the Stones popping up on shuffle. Kinda sums up the entire day.

5-2-08: Sox 0 - Blue Jays 2

May 2, 2008 - Toronto, Ontario

Another wasted effort.

Mark Buehrle has to be the bad luck pitcher of the year so far. He threw a complete game and held the Blue Jays to two unearned runs. The Sox mustered up a grand total of two hits and four walks. If you haven't guessed, that means no runs today.

Orlando Cabrera was the only member of the Sox that figured out the Jays starting pitching. The Sox wasted an effort to score when they loaded the bases on walks and failed to score. Tomorrow has to be better! Right?

The good:
Mark Buehrle continues to pitch gems.

Orlando Cabrera is the only Sox player to get hits.

The bad:
No hits by any Sox player not named Orlando Cabrera.

Six Sox left on base.

The ugly:
Joe Crede's throwing error that led to two runs.

Eleven strikeouts for Sox hitters.

This is the pure definition of an ugly game. There is absolutely no reason why the Blue Jays should have scored in the first inning. The weather shouldn't be an excuse, since they were playing in a dome. There's nowhere to go but up!

Card Spotlight: 5-2-08

1995 Kodak White Sox Team Set #29 - John Kruk

How much did I love John Kruk when he was playing? He was the only player that I knew with a body type like mine and long hair like I had at the time. Plus, he hit the holy hell out of the ball.

He was someone I could look up to. I became a Kruk fan for life when I saw his appearances in the 1993 World Series. The way he played the game made me think that I could actually do that too. I never went through with anything, but I always felt that I could have because of him.

The moves that the White Sox made in 1995 almost had me hooked back in, but I couldn't let go of the strike. John Kruk had me at least watching some games again. The record turned me off very fast. All the moves were designed to bring the fans back, but mostly backfired.

John Kruk was a different story though. He hit .308 during his time with the White Sox. John grew tired of the game by July 1995. On July 30, 1995, in Baltimore, he singled and took himself out of the game. He left the ballpark, never to play again. He told the Chicago media that he wanted to spend the rest of the year eating at the Sizzler buffet.

John Kruk finished his career with an average of .300 with 100 home runs in 1,200 games. He left the game on his own terms. I can never fault him for that. It makes me an even bigger fan.

Canada Or Bust

It seems that the Sox may be short one player on their trip to Toronto. Alexei Ramirez can get into Canada, but can't get out due to his defector status. The Sox have been working on the issue since Spring Training to no avail.

So far, there has been no indication of a call up for the Toronto series to take Alexei's place. If there is no call up, then the Sox are shorting themselves a player for the entire series. With all the extra inning games lately and with the offense playing catch up in the late innings, the Sox could be shooting themselves in the foot.

Jerry Owens is ready and doing very well at AAA. Alexei needs regular playing time to get used to this country's type of baseball game. He's not getting it at the major league level, but could replace Jerry Owens in AAA and get his regular at-bats to boot. What will the Sox do? It should be interesting this weekend.

Maybe Alexei could use the time to autograph some stickers for Topps? That would certainly be a productive use of his weekend off. Then we may finally see some cards of Alexei in the near future.

Random Card #16

Wilbur Wood was the ultimate workhorse. If he hadn't been seriously injured in the mid-seventies, there's a good chance that he would still be pitching today. That's how effortless he made pitching seem. He was effective too.

I chose this card to highlight the career of Wilbur Wood and to mention that I'm doing a lot of behind the scenes work today. You'll notice that the posts are fewer today, but the want list is growing rapidly. I've even plugged the holes in the 1987 and 1993 pages, which each only had one release listed.

Unless it's an oddball or a parallel, it should be listed now. Oddballs and parallels are always welcome though. I'm slowly making my way through the years. It will never be a complete guide, but it should serve as a pretty good guideline of my White Sox needs.

4-30-08: Sox 3 - Twins 4

April 30, 2008 - Minneapolis, Minnesota

Some days you're hot, some days you're not.

These days the Sox offense seems to be just enough to lose. They look like they are in a lazy funk. I understand that teams go through that at some point during the season. It's just frustrating on the fans. I'm sure it's more frustrating on the players themselves.

I can see A.J., in particular, slamming his bat down every time he pops up. I see a frustrated team that is going to break out with an offensive explosion soon. Hopefully, that will happen this weekend in Toronto.

As for the offense, Brian Anderson seems to be getting more consistent as he gets more at-bats. Jim Thome is climbing out of his funk. Nick Swisher seems to always find a way on base. Those are all good signs that things will improve soon enough.

The good:
Brian Anderson was 3 for 4.

Matt Thornton pitched two scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts.

The bad:
Seven batters left on base for the Sox.

Joe Crede was 0 for 4.

The ugly:
Orlando Cabrera was 0 for 4 and left 4 on base.

Nick Masset balked.

It's surprising to me that Carlos Quentin is tied for the American League lead in home runs. He is also one bases loaded hit by pitch away from establishing a new modern day record. It's good to see Toby Hall getting his hits. He had another one today. This is from someone who was 0 for Spring Training. Let's go get them in Canada!

Card By Request: 1995 Kodak Rob Dibble

Someone asked for it, so here it is. The 1995 Kodak card of Rob Dibble in a White Sox uniform. Impressive, huh?

From the back of the card, I learn that Rob was signed as a free agent on February 27, 1995 by the Sox. Why did Cincinnati let Rob get away?

That is quickly answered by the "Did You Know?" portion of the card.

"Missed most of 1994 after right shoulder surgery..."

A-ha! More evidence that the White Sox were nothing more than MLB's M*A*S*H unit in the nineties. Why is a Rob Dibble White Sox card a rarity?

The answer is quite simple. He only played 16 games with the White Sox with a 6.28 ERA. The plot thickens! At least he held on for one save during his brief White Sox career. It would be his last MLB save.

Rob was released on July 17, 1995 by the Sox and picked up on July 31, 1995 by the Brewers. He appeared in 15 games for the Brewers, but without a save. At the end of 1995, Rob was so desperate that he signed with the Cubs, but never made it onto the major league team.

At least I can finally say that I have a White Sox card of Rob Dibble. That's pretty cool.

Random Card #15

Talk about an out of body experience. I see two Chris Snopeks. There is the Chris Snopek that points at the runner and there's the Chris Snopek that falls after throwing the ball into left field.

Which one will play today for the White Sox? Apparently neither. 1998 was the last year for Chris on the White Sox. He was traded to the Boston Red Sox in August 1998. This would also be the last year in the majors.

Chris would end up only playing in 8 games for the Red Sox in 1998. He only had 2 hits in 12 plate appearances with 2 walks, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. He ended up playing until 2002 in the minor leagues with the Reds, the Mariners, the Cubs and the Cardinals.

Chris was a third baseman, but had trouble getting to the major league level as a third baseman. The problem was that the White Sox already had a great third baseman in Robin Ventura. So, Chris adapted to also play shortstop and second base. He would not become the super sub that the Sox wanted. It's one thing to be versatile, but you need to be suited to play that role.

Chris would end up being a AAAA type of player. He was really good at the AAA level, but never really put it together at the major league level. I remember Chris being highly touted within the White Sox organization. Sometimes all the potential never lives up to the hype.