PV!
For all those of you who wanted to see Jake Peavy starting a game at Wrigley Field in a Chicago uniform, today you get your wish. OK, so it's the wrong Chicago uniform. But still, you should be happy, because Peavy has had a rough year -- a couple of decent to good outings, but others where he has been hit real, real hard. His season ERA of 5.90 ranks 54th of 57 qualified starters in the American League.
More on Peavy after the jump.
It would be fun if the Blackhawks would bring the Stanley Cup to Wrigley after their parade and rally this morning. According to this Sun-Times article, it just might happen:Nothing formal is scheduled yet, but most of the guys in the clubhouse who have kept an eye on the Hawks' Stanley Cup run anticipate a rare championship trophy appearance at Wrigley Field this weekend.
"I hope to get a picture with it. That'd be cool," said Tom Gorzelanny, who grew up in the south suburbs. "Touch it. I don't want to do anything crazy with it. It's not my cup."
No, that would be the, uh, BP Cup, if the Cubs handle the Sox.
"Yeah, the BP Cup," Gorzelanny said, then stopped in mid-thought and smiled. "I was going to say something funny."
There is a quote from Cubs catcher Koyie Hill in Bruce Miles' game recap from the Daily Herald that I think hasn't received as much attention as it should (emphasis added by me):
"It was a perfect situation for the Brewers," Hill said. "They had a guy up there at the plate who takes a lot of pride in what he does, and he practices those situations when it does come up. He got the bunt down to the right side of the field. They had the perfect guy on first base who's one of the fastest guys in the league. And they had one of the worst fundamental teams on the field."
When have you ever seen that before? A major league baseball player calling out his own team in public for being "one of the worst fundamental teams"? Hill happens to be correct. The questions are: How did it get this way? And what can be done to fix it?
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In Jake Peavy's last start against the Cubs, May 22, 2009 in San Diego, he hurt his ankle running the bases. He made three more starts, didn't throw very well, and then spent three months on the DL, during which time he was traded to the White Sox. The Cub he has faced the most is Chad Tracy, who he faced 47 times while Tracy was a Diamondback. Tracy has two HR off Peavy, but is only 8-for-47 overall. Peavy's 11 HR allowed are tied for fifth-most in the American League; this doesn't surprise me, as I thought he might give up more away from spacious Petco. Oddly, though he has made six starts on the South Side and six on the road, eight of the 11 HR have been given up away from the Cell. Let's hope that continues today.
Randy Wells' only career start vs. the White Sox was last June 26 on the South Side. It was the only game the Cubs won in that series. Many of the Sox who played in that game are no longer with the team, as the White Sox that Wells has faced most is Juan Pierre, 3-for-5. The only other current Sox player who has a hit off Wells is Gordon Beckham, 1-for-2. Randy has had trouble focusing in the early innings; if he can get past that problem, he should be fine.
Today's game is on WGN with Len & Bob. It's also on CSN Chicago with the Sox announcers. Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation White Sox site South Side Sox.
Today's first pitch thread will be up at 1:15 pm CDT, and the overflows will post at 2:15, 3:15 and 4 pm CDT.
Discuss amongst yourselves.