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September 19, 2008
Going into the game, the tension was high. Both teams were tied for first coming in. One team will leave the stadium in sole possession in first place.

Chicago White Sox 79-74 @ Kansas City Royals 79-74

Chicago scored another first inning run on an RBI single by Paul Konerko. There was no scoring until the fourth, when Chicago put two more runs on the board. Orlando Cabrera homered in the seventh, giving the Sox a 4-0 lead. The White Sox made a tough game look easy, taking 1st place in the AL Central.

W- Backe 12-6
L- Tomko 9-3
HR- Cabrera 10

Hirayama 0-5
Cabrera 2-5, HR, RBI
Swisher 1-4
Konerko 4-4, RBI
Thome 1-4
Viciedo 1-4, RBI
Pierzynski 0-4
Crede 3-4, RBI
Uribe 0-4
Backe 9 IP, 7 H, 10 K, 0 ER

September 21, 2008
We faced another must win game in KC. After losing Saturday's game, a loss would knock us back into second. Johhny Cueto was given the ball to start one of the most important games of the year so far.

Chicago White Sox 80-75 @ Kansas City Royals 80-75

Chicago started the scoring off with a Swisher triple in the first. Paul Konerko drove Swisher in with a single. In the second, Paul Konerko cleared the loaded bases with a double. Kansas City fought back, scoring 4 in the 5th. The Sox broke the game open with a 3-run triple by Cabrera, giving them an 8-4 lead. The lead was held easily, and the Sox won a HUGE game in Kansas City.

W- Dotel 5-1
L- Hochevar 10-7

Hirayama 1-5
Cabrera 4-5, 3 RBI
Swisher 1-5, RBI
Konerko 2-4, 4 RBI
Thome 1-4
Viciedo 2-4
Pierzynski 0-4
Crede 2-4
Uribe 1-4
Cueto 3.1 IP, 7 H, 5 K, 4 ER
Dotel 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 K, 0 ER
Chacon 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 K, 0 ER
Duchscherer 1 IP, 0 H, 2 K, 0 ER

September 23, 2008
We were in another must win situation, this time in Minnesota. We had a 1/2 game lead over KC, with Cleveland and Minnesota not far behind. Everyone in the clubhouse knew the importance of this game. We were ready to go.

Chicago White Sox 81-75 @ Minnesota Twins 79-77

Chicago scored first in the second on an RBI groundout by AJ Pierzynski. In the next inning, Jim Thome crushed an RBI double. There was no scoring until the 6th, when AJ Pierzynski homered to deep right. Chicago shut out Minnesota in the first game of a huge series.

W- Buehrle 9-8
S- Duchscherer 15
L- Bonser 15-4
HR- Pierzynski 21

Hirayama 0-5
Cabrera 2-5
Swisher 4-5
Konerko 1-5
Thome 2-5, RBI
Viciedo 2-4
Pierzynski 2-4, HR, 2 RBI
Crede 1-4
Uribe 2-4
Buehrle 8 IP, 11 H, 10 K, 0 ER
Duchscherer 1 IP, 2 H, 0 K, 0 ER

Games around the Division:
CLE 8
BOS 7

KC 2
DET 4

September 25, 2008
Going into today's game, we knew exactly what was at stake. A win would put us a victory away from winning the division. There was much enthusiasm in the clubhouse, but I reminded the boys not to get too overconfident.

Chicago White Sox 83-75 @ Minnesota Twins 79-79

Chicago scored first on a homer by Paul Konerko. Jim Thome followed with a solo homer of his own. Minnesota equalized in the fifth on a 2-run single. Nick Swisher fought back with a solo shot of his own. Paul Konerko followed with another homer. Minnesota cut the deficit to 1 in the 6th. Minnesota couldn't scale the wall, and lost the game.

W- Backe 13-6
S- Duchscherer 16
L- Hanrahan 3-4
HR- Swisher 32
Konerko 39, 40
Thome 37

Hirayama 0-4
Cabrera 1-4
Swisher 1-4, HR, RBI
Konerko 3-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI
Thome 2-4, HR, RBI
Viciedo 1-4
Pierzynski 0-4
Crede 2-4
Uribe 1-3
Backe 8 IP, 7 H, 10 K, 3 ER
Duchscherer 1 IP, 0 H, 1 K, 0 ER

September 26, 2008
At 1 this afternoon, I visited the team's training session before the game. We all knew what we could do tonight. It was obvious that the division title was on every player's mind. During a usual session, players usually are talking to one another. This afternoon, it was silent and almost eerie. Everyone knew what was at stake. I tried to loosen them up by telling them that we have at least a 95% chance to win the division, but they didn't seem to care. I was worried that we might make many mistakes in the field, but only time will tell.

Cleveland Indians 80-79 @ Chicago White Sox 84-75

The enthusiastic crowd was silenced in the fourth on a homer by Martinez. Juan Uribe got the crowd back into the game by hitting a grand slam, stunning Cleveland. Pressure was mounting in the bottom of the ninth. Justin Duchscherer had given up two consecutive hits. He fought back, striking out the next two batters. Johnny Peralta stepped up. He hit a grounder to short. Uribe fielded it and threw Peralta out by a footstep. The White Sox won the AL Central!!

W- Arroyo 10-9
L- Byrd 11-5
HR- Uribe 20
Martinez 15

Hirayma 2-4
Cabrera 1-4
Swisher 0-4
Konerko 1-4
Thome 2-4
Viciedo 0-3
Pierzynski 2-3
Crede 1-3
Uribe 2-3, HR, 4 RBI
Arroyo 8 IP, 4 H, 6 K, 1 ER
Duchscherer 1 IP, 2 H, 2 K, 0 ER

you clinched on my birthday!!!

FINAL AL CENTRAL STANDINGS/ANALYSIS

1. Chicago White Sox 86-76
Chicago was statistically the best team in the division this year, and ran away with it in the final week. They will face a great Yankees team in the ALDS>

2. Kansas City Royals 82-80
KC finally collapsed finally in September, choking in huge series vs. Chicago, Detroit, and Minnesota.

3. Cleveland Indians 81-81
Cleveland had a disappointing season in 2008, and collapsed in the final two months.

4. Minnesota Twins 81-81
The Twins came out of nowhere to join the division race, but it wasn't enough to take the division.

5. Detroit Tigers 78-84
Detroit's collapse came after they were swept by Chicago. They completely fell from the top.

Final Batting Stats
Hirayama .289 AVG/20 HR/83 RBI
Cabrera .246 AVG/10 HR/74 RBI
Swisher .311 AVG/32 HR/106 RBI
Konerko .344 AVG/40 HR/123 RBI
Thome .296 AVG/38 HR/130 RBI
Viciedo .307 AVG/9 HR/33 RBI
Pierzynski .322 AVG/21 HR/91 RBI
Crede .275 AVG/7 HR/48 RBI
Uribe .271 AVG/20 HR/72 RBI

Final Pitching Stats
Buehrle 9-8, 4.49 ERA
Duke 12-6, 3.12 ERA
Backe 13-6, 4.09 ERA
Arroyo 10-9, 3.98 ERA
Paulino 7-8, 3.39 ERA
Danks 5-7, 5.79 ERA
Logan 4-6, 4.63 ERA
Floyd 6-4, 3.76 ERA
Cueto 6-5, 4.95 ERA
Chacon 3-0, 2.30 ERA
Duchscherer 3-5, 2.47 ERA, 17 SV
Embree 5-2, 5.15 ERA
Masset 4-3, 4.03 ERA
Dotel 5-1, 3.00 ERA
Geary 1-4, 7.59 ERA
Thornton 0-5, 4.38 ERA

Postseason Keys
-Can't be tense.
-Pitching has to be strong.
-We need to score at least 4 runs a game.

You get free tickets for the ALDS because of that! (We might not even have an ALDS home game)

YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

October 5, 2008
The day was finally here. Game 1 of the ALDS. A windy evening in the Bronx. Yankee Stadium was lit up and ready for baseball. Mr. Perfect a.k.a Zach Duke was ready to toe the rubber. The guys were finally loose. They had nothing to lose. Tonight was our night.

Chicago White Sox 0-0 @ New York Yankees 0-0

The Sox started off strong as Paul Konerko drove in a run with a single. In the 3rd, Juan Uribe crushed a homer to left. Later that inning, Nick Swisher hit a homer of his own, giving Chicago a 3-0 lead. In the sixth, Jim Thome homered, giving Chicago a 4-0 advantage. The Yankees scored first in the sixth on a homer by A-Rod. Nick Swisher drove in a run on an RBI single in inning #7. Uribe closed Chicago's scoring with a solo homer. New York fought back, putting up 2, but a stupid base running mistake by Johnny Damon ended the game.

W- Duke
L- Mussina
HR- Rodriguez
Swisher
Thome
Uribe (2)

Hirayama 1-5
Cabrera 1-5
Swisher 3-5, HR, 2 RBI
Konerko 2-4, RBI
Thome 3-4, HR, RBI
Viciedo 0-4
Pierzynski 2-4
Crede 0-4
Uribe 2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI
Duke 8 IP, 8 H, 11 K, 2 ER
Chacon 1 IP, 2 H, 2 K, 1 ER

Nice good job just don't allow buerhle to overdo it

October 6, 2008
We were in the Bronx again, this time looking to carry positive momentum into Game 2. Brandon Backe and the rest of the boys were fired up and ready to go.

Chicago White Sox 1-0 @ New York Yankees 0-1

Both sides were shutout until the sixth, when A-Rod homered. Just when it seemed like New York would win, Nick Swisher hit a game-tying homer to deep center. The effort fell short, however, as Bobby Abreu hit a walkoff 2-run bomb, winning it 3-1 for New York.

W- Karstens
L- Chacon
HR- Abreu
Rodriguez
Swisher

Hirayama 1-6
Cabrera 1-6
Swisher 3-6, HR, RBI
Konerko 0-5
Thome 1-5
Viciedo 2-5
Pierzynski 0-5
Crede 2-5
Uribe 1-5
Backe 7.2 IP, 6 H, 11 K, 1 ER
Dotel 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 K, 0 ER
Duchscherer 4.1 IP, 3 H, 5 K, 0 ER
Chacon 0 IP, 2 H, 0 K, 2 ER

October 8, 2008
A critical game in the Bronx. A win would put us a game away from the ALCS. A loss would put us another loss away from elimination. Bronson Arroyo, arguably the biggest professional took the mound.

Chicago White Sox 1-1 @ New York Yankees 1-1

The Postseason is determined by who makes the least mistakes. The Sox were killed by a mistake. Orlando Cabrera dropped an easy ball, which would have ended the inning. A run scored for the Yanks. However, Jim Thome made up for this error with an RBI double. In the 8th, steroid-ridden Alex Rodriguez singled, giving New York a 2-1 lead. The Sox threatened, but couldn't drive in a run, ultimately dropping Game 2.

W- Pavano
L- Geary

Hirayama 0-4
Cabrera 1-4
Swisher 3-4
Konerko 0-4
Thome 2-3, RBI
Viciedo 0-3
Pierzynski 0-3
Crede 1-3
Uribe 0-3
Arroyo 6 IP, 5 H, 8 K, 0 ER
Geary 2 IP, 3 H, 2 K, 1 ER

Daiki for ROTY! How many steals did he have?