When it rains...

(May 4)

Short Take:  Six run lead wiped out

A 6-0 lead for our White Sox was swept away by a Texas rainstorm with two out in the top-half of the fourth inning.  It's not an official game unless five innings are played and the umpires called it, opting to replay the game on Monday afternoon at 2:05 pm.

That's right Sox Fans, the best chance the Sox had to pull out a victory in weeks goes by the boards.  For the first time this season, the Sox sent nine men to the plate, an occurrence Sox Fans took for granted last year.  It got us exactly nothing.

It was a goofy line up Jerry Manuel fielded.  Or perhaps we should say, more goofy than usual.  By virtue of his .075 batting average, Jerry promoted Julio Ramirez to the #1 spot.  Meanwhile leadoff bust Ray Durham was dropped to the #3 spot and Jose Valentin got his customary #2 spot batting right-handed (!) and playing third base.  Frank Thomas was unavailable (a sore shoulder and the death of his father) as was Magglio Ordonez nursing tendonitis.  That left Herbert Perry to DH and Chris Singleton in right field.  

Hey, whatever... it worked!  Ramirez went 0 for 2 and was nothing but a sacrificial lamb to help Ray Ray get his stroke back away from the pressure of getting on-base in the leadoff spot.  Valentin tripled and singled and scored twice as Durham managed two hits and two rbi's, easily his best performance in a month.  

Royce Clayton and Chris Singleton did fine impersonations of major league ballplayers, each collecting a hit and a pair of rbi's.  Starter Mark Buehrle hadn't allowed a hit.  It could have been a beautiful thing to behold, but then the rains came.

Somewhere in Cleveland, they're laughing.