If we lose this game or the series, you can't obviously blame it all on the umps... but a call like that takes the outcome of the came out of the ands of the players. If they lose this game, it will forever have a "tainted" mark on it for that reason and that reason alone. The bottom line is the Sox do NOT hit that grand slam unless Dye gets on, and it was NOT a fact that he would be on...
You can say whatever you want to about the Astros not getting it done despite the bad call. You can't argue though that the game is between the players, and that the umpires blowing fundamental, basic calls can severely alter the course of the game. I wish we still had that next pitch for Dye. Oh well. If we can't score, we have to take them apart at home. The 2005 White Sox are the luckiest [insert appropriate choice word] ever. Well, other than that guy that won that Powerball. But that doesn't count.
Make Jenks throw strikes.....Bags was swinging at VERY high heat yesterday...make him pitch from the stretch. DD
I fully understand that we shouldn't have got ourselves into that situation. I know you cant let the Umps beat you but bad calls can come back to haunt you. It was terrible pitching by the bullpen and I know that.
But the Truth is he should have walked anyway. It was ball four. He wasn't fooled. And given all that I can understand why a questionable call would go his way. It's a seven game series. The White Sox did what they were supposed to do if they win two. I'm not worried. We can still win 4 of 5. It's all about getting after it. The Rockets are living proof. Never say die.
How many teams were down 0-3 in a LCS and came back... one. It's not over till it's over. Granted it doesn't look good right now. Seems the Astros have run into a team with even more karma - however possible that is - than them. We really need Oswalt to step up huge in game 3 and help swing the momentum back in our favor. If we can take at least 2 out of 3 at MMP and send it back to Chicago, then we'll be in good shape with Pettite and Oswalt for 6 and 7. And remember we came back home trailing 0-2 to the Cards last year and took 3 in a row with Oswalt, Clemens and Backe, the same three starting (hopefully) for us at home home this series. I just find it hard to believe that another team could possibly have more things working in their favor than us right now, conisdering everything we've been through since the beginning of the season. But it is what it is.
I looked up some of Jenks' minor league stats yesterday. He seems to walk a lot of people. Hopefully the Astros have the same scouting report.
Even if Dye wasn't awarded that free base, he probably would have walked or hit in 2 runs. He's their second best hitter.
Look, that pitch to Dye was one of about 10 outcome-influencing events of the inning. The other 9 were either Astros' mistakes or White Sox good plays. That one pitch didn't screw us, the combination of many pitches did. Wheeler wasn't finding the plate and Qualls served up a meatball.
He had to have elbow surgery and he has a screw in there now..... In hindsight, I will bet they are asking themselves the same thing. DD
IF they do win the WS, will the ChiSox be considered * champions? *the asterisk being for the fact that they got here on several bad calls made by umps (Pierzynski third strike, Pierzynski catcher's interference, Dye's HBP)...
Honestly... a lot of you guys sound like all the Cardinals fans did last week... about how "lucky" the Astros were to be winning every game with the umpires help. The bottom line is, we didn't get the job done... you have to be good enough to overcome blown calls, and we weren't.
