Kuzul

The Chicago White Sox are used to some chilly nights in early April as they get the season started. Friday night, in their series opener with the Seattle Mariners, two hurlers who made their marks a season ago saw their fortunes turn, at least for one frigid evening.With temps barely above freezing to start the game, Chicago battled throughout before dropping a 8-7 decision that took 10 innings to finish. Jose Quintana started this game, and reliever Nate Jones was on the mound for the White Sox for the final frame.Both players had promising rookie campaigns for the South Siders in 2012. Quintana was a big reason the White Sox stayed in contention despite numerous injuries to the rotation. Jones was 8-0 with a 2.39 ERA last year.Each player played a big part in the loss Friday.Quintana gave up a home run to Franklin Gutierrez to start the game, rallied ...

The Chicago White Sox have five games in which to claw past Detroit for the American League Central division title. To best the Tigers, Chicago may need to win each of its remaining games. Even running the table may not prove to be enough to win the division outright. Chicago closed the gap to a single game after beating Tampa Bay, 3-1. Coupled with Detroit's 4-2 loss in Minnesota, the White Sox came up with a crucial victory to keep some pressure on the Tigers. The White Sox picked up the win behind Gavin Floyd, Alex Rios and the bullpen. Rios homered and scored two of Chicago's three runs. He had three hits on the night. The bottom of the order factored into this one as well. Alexei Ramirez knocked in Rios to pad the lead with two outs in the bottom half of the sixth inning. Gordon Beckham had ...

The Chicago White Sox rolled the dice on Francisco Liriano's arm Friday night and dropped a key AL Central contest because of it.The White Sox retained their one-game lead over Detroit, who lost in Los Angeles. However, Chicago's 7-5 loss to the Royals in the opener of a three-game series was due in large part to manager Robin Ventura's attempt to squeeze Liriano for a longer outing.In a game where the White Sox showed their characteristic heart by repeatedly coming back, Ventura didn't do his team any favors when he had the chance to minimize the damage his starter caused.Despite giving up three runs on a pair of homers, Liriano got through five innings with the game tied thanks to an RBI single by Paul Konerko and homers by A.J. Pierzynski and Dewayne Wise. After a visit to the mound, Ventura elected to send Liriano out to start the sixth ...

DeWayne Wise is a familiar face to Chicago White Sox fans. He could find his way back to the the scene of his more memorable moments before the 2012 season draws to a close. It just might help the Chicago White Sox win a division title to boot. The White Sox signed Wise to a minor league contract. He has played two games with Triple-A Charlotte. The 34-year-old outfielder was released by the Yankees July 31. Wise exemplifies the term "journeyman outfielder." His second tour of duty with the White Sox organization is his eighth stop in his career. Over the last six seasons, he has been a .300 hitter in the International and Pacific Coast Leagues. He fills a spot on a major league bench. The South Side is where Wise played in the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He hit .248 for the AL Central champs in 2008 and logged 84 ...

The Chicago White Sox let a lot of salary walk away in the offseason. Despite losing some key pieces of their 2011 club, the White Sox are much better off. A quick look at the standings is all it should take. At this point in 2011, Chicago was sitting at 52-53, three games behind the Tigers in the AL Central. After 105 games in 2012, the White Sox are 58-47 and 2.5 games ahead of Detroit. Following the 2011 season, four key starters were allowed to walk away. Juan Pierre and Mark Buehrle left for free agency, while Carlos Quentin and Sergio Santos were traded. Rebound seasons from Alex Rios and Adam Dunn are a big part of the improvement. However, equally as important is the way Chicago has replaced the departed players in the lineup. Here is how the White Sox plugged the holes of the four departing players and how ...

The Chicago White Sox are seeing their pitching staff getting healthier by the day. Now the team may need to turn its attention to the other half of the battery. Following Monday's snapping of a five-game losing streak was sobering news of an injury to catcher A.J. Pierzynski. Though his right oblique strain is listed as mild, the prospect of Pierzynski missing a substantial number of games could hamper Chicago as they attempt to stay in the playoff hunt. White Sox skipper Robin Ventura held his starting catcher out of Chicago's 11-4 win over Minnesota Tuesday. Coupled with Detroit's loss in Cleveland, the White Sox pulled into a tie with the Tigers in the AL Central Division. It isn't far-fetched to think that he will start Tyler Flowers again on Wednesday. Ventura told MLB.com's Cash Kruth that with a rash of injuries, mostly to the pitching staff, his reserves have to step up. I don't think ...

The Chicago White Sox bullpen just got an injection of veteran presence in the last few hours. Two moves on Saturday have given Matt Thornton some more experienced compatriots for the late innings.MLB.com is reporting a trade with the Houston Astros that sees the White Sox pick up 31-year-old reliever Brett Myers in exchange for a pair of farmhands and a player to be named later. The move gives Chicago an experienced closer who could be used in a variety of situations.Myers, who has been a starter for much of his big-league career, had 19 saves in 21 opportunities for the Astros. He is carrying a 3.52 ERA and an 0-4 record. Taking away a June 18 performance in which he gave up five runs against Kansas City, his ERA drops to 2.10 in his other 34 games.The White Sox could use Myers in tandem with rookie Addison Reed in ...

The Chicago White Sox have pitching needs that should be addressed before the trade deadline. However, perhaps the larger concern lies in the heart of the batting order. Chicago's 4-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers Friday night cast the drought of the White Sox third and fourth hitters into full display. Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko both went 0-for-4 for the evening. Dunn left two runners on base. Konerko was robbed of extra bases by Quintin Berry to end the game. No matter how you slice it, the two are scuffling right now. It's been feast or famine for Dunn over the last few weeks. Since June 1, he has 25 hits in 41 games. Twelve of those went over the wall. Dunn put together an impressive series against the Royals last weekend, homering in all three games. Since then, his bat has been pretty silent. Dunn has just one ...

If Chicago White Six pitcher Chris Sale can replicate the first half of the 2012 season, he could win himself a Cy Young award. The young left-hander is among the elite pitchers in the American League, but can Sale keep it up in the midst of a division race? Sale enters the second half with a 10-2 record and a 2.19 ERA. He starts Sunday afternoon in Kansas City having won his last seven decisions. Since re-entering the White Sox's rotation May 12 after a brief stint in the bullpen, Sale has posted a 1.94 ERA. He pitched a scoreless inning in Kaufman Stadium on Tuesday in the All-Star Game. It's time to see if Sale will pick up where he left off July 3 when he beat the Texas Rangers. Sale is relying less on his breaking pitches and is changing speeds more effectively. That's a good thing because ...

The Chicago White Sox pitching staff took one more step toward being a rookie convention before Friday night's 14-7 win over the Yankees in New York.For a farm system rated as low as experts have proclaimed, the White Sox sure are getting mileage out of their young arms.With Brian Bruney being placed on the 15-day disabled list with a hip issue, 28-year-old Brian Omorosso joins the Chicago staff. Omogrosso is the seventh rookie arm currently on the White Sox staff.How is a team with so many inexperienced arms now 3.5 games ahead of Cleveland in the AL Central? Just who is left down in Triple-A Charlotte to pitch for the Knights?Jose Quintana was not as sharp as he has been in previous starts, but he picked up the win, the fourth in a row for the White Sox. Battling back after giving up four first-inning runs, Quintana logged six innings ...