Sox 8, Indians 10

He was safe, but more on this later

It's been a while, but after a game like today, you've just got to talk about what happened from an online betting standpoint. Before I get too swept up, though, let's get some things straight:

The Good:

#1. Jim Thome. Normally, you'd look at the stats and expect Thome to have a lousy game today. Hitting against a tough lefty like CC would usually spell doom for Thome, but Jimmy went deep twice and provided half of our run total for the day.

#2. The offense in general. All of the role players did their job today. Crede, Cabrera, Paulie, Swisher, and AJ all provided pop when needed. Jermaine Dye was especially impressive, coming off of his quiet Spring Training.

#3. Nick Masset. Can't complain here. Nick barely made the roster (Wassermann is probably the better pitcher, but Nick eats innings and was out of options), and came in early after a short outing from Buerhle. Even so, Nick pitched 4+ innings of shutout ball, allowing us to come back from an early deficit. Nice.

The Bad:

#1. Juan Uribe and Alexei Ramirez. Neither one of these guys should be in a White Sox uniform. Neither of them can hit the ball if it's moving. The two of them racked up 3 Ks apiece, and effectively left 6 runners on base. I understand that we're probably stuck with Uribe at 2B for the year, but there's no reason to start Ramirez in CF. Both Anderson and Quentin are better defensively, and Owens should be back soon.

#2. Octavio Dotel and Mark Buerhle. Neither one of them looked pretty. Buerhle got molested by the long ball (which is tough to do with that big wall in left field), and Dotel put himself into a bad spot and finished the game for us with a fat meatball down the middle. I expect both of them to bounce back, but you never know.

#3. Intangibles. Ah yes, the intangibles. We'll start with the umpiring crew.

See, I'm OK with one bad call. It happens. Umps don't get enough credit for trying, etc etc. However, when you get dicked by THREE bad calls in a game (two in a row, mind you) that affect the outcome of the game directly, then you get a little pissed off. For those of you that were watching the game on StatTracker or some other web-based game log, let me fill in the blanks for you.

Bad Call #1: Sox at bat. Konerko is on 3rd, two outs. AJ hits what could be an RBI single and hustles to first. Throw is in time, but off the mark. Ryan Garko makes the catch, but it pulls his foot off the bag before the catch is made. AJ is called out anyways.
White Sox Nega Runs: 1 and counting.

Bad Call #2: Sox at bat. Bases loaded for Orlando Cabrera. Cabrera hits a sharp one to left, and there's going to be a play at the plate. The throw is in time, but off the mark, and the catcher needs to adjust in mid-air. Crede slides under the tag, and all replays show the tag was missed. Crede is called out, and needs to be restrained by Jim Thome. Still no sign of Ozzie.
White Sox Nega Runs: 2 and counting.

Bad Call #3: Just moments after Crede is called out. Bases still juiced, now one out. AJ batting. AJ hits a chopper to the pitcher, which is given to the SS for the double play. Cabrera slides feet-first, and uses his hands to try and break up the play (a suitable revenge because he got annihilated on a DP attempt earlier in the game while playing SS himself). The SS get slapped in the thigh, and stops his throw to first after stepping on the bag (he probably wouldn't have made it, as he was late getting the ball out). Cabrera is called out on interference, resulting in a double-play.
White Sox Nega Runs: 3 and counting.

So, in reality, it's possible that even with Dotel coughing up the lead, the Sox still could have won 11-10. I'm not saying that the world is out to get the Sox, but I AM saying that baseball does need the benefit of instant replay. It really turned things around today.

Also, I'd like to thank the Cubs for losing today. It has eased my pain, if ever so slightly.