Konerko for Cameron

Paul Konerko is playing out of his mind right now.  And with are coming some numbers that are beginning to make people want to rank him among the legends of White Sox history.

So that got me to thinking, how did we get to this point.

In 1998 the White Sox and Reds made a 1 for 1 trade.  Sox center fielder and up and coming star Mike Cameron was traded for young 1B Paul Konerko.

As I posted on my Twitter earlier, check out this newspaper article about the trade that brought Konerko here.

What strikes me in this article is the last sentence.  "The reds had projected Konerko as their power hitter of the future... but he struggled both at the plate and in the field."

Or how about this comment from the Sun Times on the trade.  "While it might seem to be a swap of disappointments, the Sox obtained protection for at least two positions."

You can take the time to compare what Paul has done compared to Cameron.

But as Paul continues to become a White Sox legend himself, just take the time to remember how he got here.  And with that, look across the city, and wonder what might be for the Cubs future if they decide to move Mike Cameron-esque Starlin Castro.

It was tough to see a five tool guy like Cameron go, but sometimes the return works out just fine.

That Was Good Baseball

The White Sox just came off one of their better performances in recent history.  With the 5-2 win against the Tigers on home Opening Day, the Sox showed it all.  Pitching, defense, clutch hitting, agressive base running, this game had it all.

Let's start with what I thought was the most impressive part of the afternoon, and that's Jake Peavy.  Peavy went 6.2 innings and was dominant almost the entire day.  He let one pitch get away from him and it was the one Delmon Young took out down the left field line.  Other than that, Jake struck out 8 and kept the very good Tigers lineup off balance throughout his time on the bump.  Peavy has now held down the Rangers and the Tigers in his 2 starts.  He has a 1-0 record to show for it, and it really looks like we've got the dominant Jake Peavy here in Chicago for the first time ever.

On to the bullpen.  Reed did his job. 2 outs, 1 broken bat double, and got the big out when he really needed it (thanks to Viciedo's awesome play.)  Thornton was good.  His one hit allowed was also a broken bat.  And the double play ball he induced was excellent as well.  Santiago let one man on but came back and struck out 2 and nailed it down for his 3rd save.

Defense.  Wow.  From the 2 Peavy plays to the Viciedo play to the insane double play by Alexei and Beckham.  What a great thing to see.  That's how you win games.  Either of the Cuban Defense plays don't happen, the Sox probably lose today.  This team may not have the best offense, but if they can take away runs on the defensive side, that can contribute just as much.

Base running.  Konerko scores from 1st on a triple?  Konerko, from first?  Joe McEwing has really proved that he is willing to push the envelope.  Every chance he's had, McEwing has sent the runner, and it's working.  It's a fine line, but McEwing is walking it to a tee.  Then there's the De Aza base running.  On the nightmare in left field by Delmon Young, De Aza hustled out of the box and got himself into third.  He ended up scoring.  His energy has been critical for this team and is really looking like it's contagious.

And lastly, the big hitting.  You have to love Viciedo breaking the 0-0 game with the bomb, but I'm more talking about the RBI's later in the game.  Konerko's RBI single was clutch, yet typical Paulie.  The triple by AJ was very big.  And even Morel was able to come through with a big RBI hit.

I know it's just one game, but this was everything to could ask for in a baseball game from the Sox.  If they can play ball anything close to this for the rest of the year, this team will vastly overachieve.  Certainly creates some excitement where there really wasn't any a week ago. 

What are the Chances?

The Sox are 1.5 run underdogs in this Opening Day match up with the defending AL Champ Texas Rangers.  The Sox come in as the biggest dog on the day sitting at +175 on the moneyline.

So, the experts don't really like the Sox chances today.  But what do we here in the horribly biased world of TCB?

Well, I like the chances more than Vegas, but I'm still not be any means expecting a W this afternoon.  Opening Day's are almost always toss ups.  When you take a look at the history of playoff teams in their Opening games, there's not really a significant trend one way or the other.  So +175 seems a bit steep to me.

I like John Danks a lot in this game.  Danks has a 3.81 ERA in the past 5 seasons against the Rangers which is fantastic when you look at how powerful the Ranger lineup has bene recently.  Danks is tough to face on an Opening Day because of his style.  Left hander that mixes it up, has the ability to strike you out, these kinds of guys usually do pretty well early.

As far as the hitters go, the Sox have had some success against Colby Lewis in the past.  It's a guy most of the lineup has seen before, which is usually a huge plus for the Sox.  Dunn is the current MLB leader in Opening Day HR's with 7, and Rios and Konerko both have solid Opening Day numbers as well.

Last year the Sox killed the ball in their first game against Fausto Carmona and the Indians.  Offensively this looks like a much better matchup than one year ago.

The Sox are 2-2 historically against the Rangers on Opening Day with the last time being a loss in 2000.

The Sox would definitely surprise some people with a win today, but that's not to say it's a longshot.

Let's Play Some Baseball!!!