Almost Perfect
Sorry for my unexplained absence the last two days. Let it be unexplained no longer. I was in Springfield, Illinois, arguing my first case in front of the Illinois Supreme Court. So, no, I did not just fade away into Bolivia. Anyway, I think it went very well, thanks for asking. Of course, my day didn't go quite as perfectly as Freddy Garcia's.
Garcia's near perfection got me thinking about the White Sox' history of no-no's. The strangest game I've ever watched live was July 1, 1990 at old Comiskey Park. That day, Yankee pitcher Andy Hawkins no-hit the White Sox. And, he lost 4-0. Hawkins walked 5, and the Yanks also made 3 errors. Lance Johnson, Robin Ventura, Sammy Sosa, and Ozzie Guillen all managed to cross the plate for the White Sox, without the team recording a single hit. Meanwhile, Greg Hibberd gave up 4 hits in 7 innings, but kept the Yanks off the board. Barry Jones pitched the 8th, and picked up the win when those 3 Yankee errors, and 2 of Hawkins' walks, plated the Sox' 4 runs. Ron Karkovice led off the eighth inning for the Sox, which clearly gave the team the karmic juice it needed to break the scoreless tie. Scott Radinsky pitched the 9th, and nailed down the strangest Sox win I've ever seen.
Wednesday, Garcia was chasing the Sox first perfect game since 1922. That gem was hurled by Charlie Robertson in the fourth start of his career. The last White Sox' no hitter was thrown by Wilson Alvarez. Interestingly, it came in only his second big league start., back on August 11, 1991.
Obviously, no hitters are a funny animal. White Sox pitchers seem to come by theirs before they're old enough to know better. Some franchises, like the Marlins have one every couple of years. Other franchises, like the Mets, have never had one, despite having a rich pitching history.
Anyway, winning 2 out of 3 in LA has to be seen as nearly perfect from the White Sox perspective too. And yet, the Sox are still 3 games behind the Tigers and 2 behind the Twins in the loss column. The Sox' chances of reaching the post-season remain mired at about 20%. For no logical reason, I feel more optimistic today than before the Angels series. I attribute it to Garcia's near-perfection and the Sox winning a series on the west coast. But the numbers don't lie, almost perfect may not be good enough the rest of the way.
Garcia's near perfection got me thinking about the White Sox' history of no-no's. The strangest game I've ever watched live was July 1, 1990 at old Comiskey Park. That day, Yankee pitcher Andy Hawkins no-hit the White Sox. And, he lost 4-0. Hawkins walked 5, and the Yanks also made 3 errors. Lance Johnson, Robin Ventura, Sammy Sosa, and Ozzie Guillen all managed to cross the plate for the White Sox, without the team recording a single hit. Meanwhile, Greg Hibberd gave up 4 hits in 7 innings, but kept the Yanks off the board. Barry Jones pitched the 8th, and picked up the win when those 3 Yankee errors, and 2 of Hawkins' walks, plated the Sox' 4 runs. Ron Karkovice led off the eighth inning for the Sox, which clearly gave the team the karmic juice it needed to break the scoreless tie. Scott Radinsky pitched the 9th, and nailed down the strangest Sox win I've ever seen.
Wednesday, Garcia was chasing the Sox first perfect game since 1922. That gem was hurled by Charlie Robertson in the fourth start of his career. The last White Sox' no hitter was thrown by Wilson Alvarez. Interestingly, it came in only his second big league start., back on August 11, 1991.
Obviously, no hitters are a funny animal. White Sox pitchers seem to come by theirs before they're old enough to know better. Some franchises, like the Marlins have one every couple of years. Other franchises, like the Mets, have never had one, despite having a rich pitching history.
Anyway, winning 2 out of 3 in LA has to be seen as nearly perfect from the White Sox perspective too. And yet, the Sox are still 3 games behind the Tigers and 2 behind the Twins in the loss column. The Sox' chances of reaching the post-season remain mired at about 20%. For no logical reason, I feel more optimistic today than before the Angels series. I attribute it to Garcia's near-perfection and the Sox winning a series on the west coast. But the numbers don't lie, almost perfect may not be good enough the rest of the way.
posted by Criminal Appeal at 9:56 AM
1 Comments:
Congrats, Crimeman, on the Supreme Court appearence (I think)...
I remember that no-hitter cuz I was at that game, believe it or not.
Strangely enough Andy Hawkins would be involved in another ho-hitter involving the White Sox that season where Melido Perez would beat Hawkins and the Yankees in a 6-inning no-hitter.
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