One of the biggest surprises of the 2005 season the Chicago White Sox, once 34 games over .500, have of late demonstrated their more mortal side. Seven ugly losses in a row to the Red Sox, Twins and Yankees and 8 runs in their last five games, having scored just twice in their last 36 innings. Today doesn't promise anything better as they face Yankee alleged ace Randy Johnson.
Yesterday was another humiliating step in the ladder down, a 5-0 loss, their 15th loss in their last 21 home games, shut out by nowhere man Shawn Chacon.
A-Rod Revenge For El Duque's Throw Behind His Head
Will the White Sox right themselves?
They need a combination of 33 wins and Indian loses to clinch.
"I hope they show up and give me better at-bats and give me better execution," Manager Jose Guillen said in disgust following the game. "When you get there, you're going to put my hitting coach on the spot, Kenny Williams on the spot, put me on the spot and I'm not going to take that. It's not my fault, it's not Kenny's fault, it's not Greg Walker's fault. We just stink at the plate."
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The other Sox, from Boston, are also on a mild skid of sorts having lost four of six on their road trip allowing the Yankees to sneak back to within three games of the AL East lead after their 4-2 loss to the Angels.
Angels starter Ervin Santana dazzled the Red Sox, holding them to just five hits and two eighth-inning runs. Spotting a fastball authoritatively at speeds up to 97 mph, Santana was able to hold the Red Sox at bay for most of his 7 2/3 innings.
A sign of panic or a return to reality, the Red Sox announced that Curt Schilling will be returning to the starting rotation after his stint in the bullpen and they will be counting on Keith Foulke again to close the games.
Schilling has made three starts and 20 relief appearances for the Red Sox this season. A three-time 20-game winner, he has a 5-5 record with a 6.37 ERA and nine saves in 11 chances.
The Bloody Sock Commeth
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If it's Kansas City, armpit of Major League Baseball, it must be a city excited about ending a 19-game losing streak, the longest in baseball in 17 years:
You Know You're In KC When...
One Victory Feels Like A World Championship
Hell, maybe their just happy they aren't on the KC Chiefs. If you're keeping score at home, the Chiefs have had more embarassing run-ins in the last week than the Royals had wins.
The most recent outrage was backup QB Todd Collins Melee with starting QB Trent Green.
The police report said Collins became threatening and uncooperative after police arrived and calmed down only after he was threatened with a Taser.
The police report said Collins and Green "were causing a problem inside the establishment ... and Collins had climbed up onto a speaker's box near the stage and refused to get down."
The report said when John Bonse, a restaurant security officer, tried to remove Collins from the speaker's box, Collins struck Bonse "in the head area, at which point Bonse and other Freight House security staff took Collins to the ground."
This came ont he heels of their KICKER for crissakes, Lawrence Tynes was charged with breaking a bouncer's nose in a bar fight in River Falls and defensive tackle Junior Siavii and safety Greg Wesley were arrested after allegedly getting into a drunken confrontation with police in a Minneapolis hotel.
That's one rowdy training camp.
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With Terrell Owen nursing a "groin injury" and missing the exhibition game against the Ravens, Donovan McNabb was free to be his non-huddle-puking Super Bowl self with 6 for 9 passing and 107 yards:
No T.O., No Cry
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49ers guard Thomas Herrion collapsed in the locker room Saturday night after the team's 26-21 exhibition loss to the Denver Broncos and was rushed to a hospital, where he died, a team official said.
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With wars raging in Afghanistan and Iraq, American President George Bush found time to stage a Tour de Ranch with Lance Armstrong.
The pair rode for two hours on their 17-mile trip around the ranch, pausing midway to admire a waterfall.
Wonder how many American soldiers died in that span.
How far would Bush get riding his little bicycle through the streets of Baghdad?
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Man U takes another victory, 1-0 to continue their unbeathen 2005 season.
Meanwhile Tottenham Spurs are atop the tables with their own 2-0 victory over Middlesborough.
But no one should hold their breath because today's match between Chelsea v. Arsenal is the early match of the season.
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