April Showers

Cait Higgins, Sox Superfan
Doing a little live blogging during the Sox game….

Since we were on rain delay for about an hour and a half overall, we’re still playing. I decided that Thome’s homer in the bottom of the 5th would be an excellent way to celebrate! A HUGE congrats to Mr. Thome because he just passed Ernie Banks on the All-Time Home Run list. Right on! Beautiful.

Earlier today, I got the pleasure of meeting Nick Swisher, Carlos Quentin, and Ed Farmer! It was so cool to meet some of the new faces of the Sox. I really enjoy watching Swish and Q play; they are both huge additions to our team. I know Nick writes journals for his site (www.nickswisher.net), so I passed along our little site to him. Hopefully he checks it out! (Hey, Nick!) Of course, I wore my Dirty 30 shirt to the signing. Swish made my day by commenting on how much he liked my shirt. Very cool. Q and Swish could not have been nicer. Hopefully they are enjoying Chicago as much as I am enjoying them playing here! Especially Swisher, he really seemed genuinely happy to be there signing stuff for the fans. That’s one thing (out of the many many things) that I love about the guys on the Sox. They always seem to be happy when people appreciate them. Anyway, thanks guys for making my day! LET’S GET THESE MEN A RING!

The games on Tuesday and Wednesday were tough to watch. The Yanks are just a tough team. They better be, as much as they’re getting paid. But, in all seriousness, I honestly thought we would fare a little better against them with A-Rod out. I’m not sure what else to say. Our pitchers each got shelled for an inning on both nights, and we couldn’t come back from it. It was interesting to see the guys at the bottom of the lineup absolutely murdering us. I know Damon and Giambi each had homers on Tuesday’s game, and Abreu had a slammer. It just goes to show you how these guys are, everyone in their lineup is dangerous.

I usually hate blogging while the game is still on, but I am tired and have finals coming up. Gavin Floyd got roughed up a little early, but has been SOLID since the rain delay. I know I’ve said it before, but it’s really good to see him go out there and have great outings. *And Melky Cabrera hits his homer as I write this… great.* I can’t sell the offense short, either, because they were able to string some hits together to get us ahead! It was excellent to see Paulee get his 16th RBI! It’s also nice to see Alexi Ramirez in the lineup. I like to see him get some experience in there. Give Juaney a break for a day. I still believe that Juan can be as dangerous as anyone else in the league.

Let me just add how much I love the fan that keeps calling out Melky Cabrera’s name. I am honestly laughing out loud every time I hear “Melky!” Unfortunately, I think that guy is bad luck, because he has hit us HARD.

Finally, I think that it will be interesting to see what happens with Jerry Owens. I know he was reinstated a couple of days ago and is in Charlotte. I wonder if we will send down Brian Anderson and use Jerry as a utility outfielder? That would be a sad situation, because I do think Brian has a lot to offer. He is an excellent defensive outfielder. But, looking at our everyday guys, it seems like there isn’t a place for Jerry just yet. Carlos Quentin has been a Godsend. He’s hitting like crazy and is an overall great outfielder. Swisher has brought back the life that the team had in ‘05. I compared him to Aaron Rowand in the dugout, the guy who is keeping the morale up. (Sorry, I am gushing, but now I know why the people in Oakland loved him so much. He’s awesome). MVP of the World Series ‘05, Mr. Jermaine Dye… what would we be without him?

Alright, let’s take this one from them, guys. I can’t wait to get back to the field this weekend and see what I know will be a great series against the Orioles! Let’s go WHITE SOX!!!!!! If you read this and see me, come say hi! I’m always out there on the weekends, down the third base side (new seats this season!).

Edit: For God’s sake, Linebrink. UGH. SORRY.

Until next time, Sox fans!

Edited to add: During the rain delay, they showed a couple of highlights from the playoffs and World Series ‘05. I was literally in tears. My mom and I were on the phone crying tears of joy, remembering the magic of that season. I feel good about this season; like I did in ‘05. I don’t want to jinx anything, because I know how hard our division and the rest of the AL is.

I was a freshman at Loyola University when our Sox were making their run. Every semester, I’ve written a paper on how October ‘05 changed my life. I was a music major that switched to Sports Management, because after Game 2, I knew that being in that atmosphere is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. After two years of a grueling business program, I still think that I made the right choice. I love the Sox and Blackhawks more than almost anything. Sorry, I’m getting nostalgic.

Really. Until next time, Sox fans!!