Jim Thome Returning To White Sox?

"The White Sox were one of several teams putting a claim in for Thome, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Sun Times. The White Sox could be trying to block a claim by the Indians or seeking another lefty bat in place of the unproductive Adam Dunn (ESPN)."



Wow, how far has Adam Dunn fallen that a 40 year old Jim Thome is a better option. Guillen always said he regretted letting Thome go, and why wouldn't he? His piece of shit DH (Dunn) is hitting .167 with 11 HRs and 40 RBIs. Thome has better stats (.253 12 HRs 40 RBI) and he has had 162 less at bats.



The White Sox aren't the only teams that are interested in Thome. The Red Sox, Rangers, Angels, Tigers, Indians and Yankees are alll rumored to be interested. I would love for the Sox to be able to make a deal for them, but they are so far down the waiver list I doubt they will even get a chance.

11 Sox, 5 Rangers

Look who's got their swagger back.



Adrian hit 2 bombs last night as the Sox finally took out the Rangers. The 1st of which came in the 1st off of Colby Lewis and the second came in the 4th. Colby Lewis got crushed this game by the Sox bats, he gave up 7 runs off of 9 hits in 6 innings of work. Ellsbury had a 1-4 game in his triumphant return.



John fucking Lackey of course gets the win after a very mediocre start. He went 6.2 innings giving up 4 runs off of 7 hits. For some reason the Sox score a billion runs for him so he wins.



Once again BMack's asshat prediction of the Sox LOSING is wrong... what a prick.

Red Sox @ Rangers Preview

There is a good chance the Red Sox will play the Rangers in the playoffs, and if that doesn't scare the shit out of you, well... it should. The Sox are 0-4 against the Rangers this year and have been outscored a total of 30 to 11. I mean these games haven't even been close. Sure there are excuses. The first 3 wins came in the beginning of the season when the Sox started out something like 0-8, and now they are playing without Youk, Ellsbury, and Ortiz (Ellsbury back today). Still, the Rangers do scare me.



At least the Sox have John Lackey on the hill tonight (just puked all over my computer). He will be facing Colby Lewis, who is having a nice year for himself. He is 11-8 with a 3.83 ERA, and a 1.74 ERA over his last 3 starts.



There is reason to be optimistic about Lackey has six wins and a 3.93 ERA in eight starts since July 9, but then one remember that he is 1-4 with a 9.92 ERA in his last eight outings versus Texas.



Sorry fellow Red Sox fans it's going to be another long night.



Rangers win 8-4

Player of the Game: Young

Game starts at 8:05pm

4 Rangers, 0 Red Sox

Erik Bedard can't catch a break. He pitched a solid game and of course gave up the 3 run shot in the 6th to Mike Napoli, but he can't catch a break this year. So far he must think there is no difference between now and when he was in Seattle when it comes to the Sox putting up runs. They have only scored 8 runs in his 4 starts so far in a Sox uniform.



CJ Wilson once again dominated the Sox and pitched 6.2 innings, and only let up 4 hits. Then the combination of Koji Uehara, Mike Adams, and Neftali Feliz shut the door for good.



The Sox just can't beat Rangers, and lets hope he gets more than 4 hits.

Red Sox @ Rangers Preview

The Red Sox make their way back to Texas for the first time since April. They are hoping it goes a lot better this time. The Rangers outscored the Red Sox 26-11 and hit 11 homers during a three-game sweep in Arlington to open this season. Tonight we see if the Red Sox can have better luck with Bedard going against CJ Wilson.



It's really a terrible time for the Red Sox to have to go down to Texas. Youk, Ellsbury, and Ortiz all might not be playing and let's be honest the Sox need all the offense they can get. To make matters worse Wilson has dominated the Red Sox going 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA in four career starts against Boston.



Bedard has been good for the Red Sox and is yet to give up more then 3 runs in any start. That could change tonight, as Bedard is winless in his last seven starts against Texas.



I don't like this matchup and I think it could be a long night for the Red Sox.



Texas wins 6-3

Player of the Game: Kinsler

Game starts at 8:05pm

Rangers/Giants In Lead For Beltran (2 UPDATES)

The New York Mets are making progress with both the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants in trade talks involving outfielder Carlos Beltran. The Indians actually offered to take on Beltran's entire salary, but Beltran refused to go there using his no-trade clause.

As I stated earlier this week I think the Rangers make a lot of sense, and I would think Beltran would want to go there since they are most likely going to be in the playoffs. That being said, Beltran has stated his desire to play in the NL, unless it is the Red Sox so it will be interesting to see if he uses his no-trade clause again here.

I would still have the Rangers as the favorites, but we will have to wait and see. No matter what Beltran will be wearing a different jersey after the trade deadline.


***UPDATE***

Or not...

Beltran is not going to the Rangers, tweets Rosenthal. The Giants are his presumed frontrunner.

It is also being said that Boris wants Beltran to go to SF, because they have the money to resign him in the offseason.


***UPDATE 2***

The Mets have agreed to send Beltran to the Giants for Zach Wheeler. The Mets are said to be sending back a lot of money. Beltran has 24 hours to agree to the trade, which isn't expected to be an issue.

Tragedy in Texas

The fan had a ball tossed to him after Josh Hamilton caught a fly ball and flipped over the 1st row railing falling to his death.

This is awful figuring the guy was there with his son. It will be interesting to see if the MLB will do anything about not allowing players throw the ball into the stands anymore, which was initially implemented to make the game fan friendly. Also, this has to be pretty awful for Josh Hamilton also, and isn't good to have happen to figuring hes a recovering addict.

It is the second fatal fall at a MLB ballpark this season. In May, a 27-year-old man died after he fell about 20 feet and struck his head on concrete during a Colorado Rockies game.

Rangers Going After K-Rod/Beltran?

According to sources the Texas Rangers are interested in Mets veterans Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez. Beltran to me makes sense. He can play CF, and would add just another solid bat in an already potent lineup. K-Rod though is on borrowed time, and is only a couple more appearances from kicking in his 2012 option which is worth $17.5MM. Obviously, in a deal for either the Mets would need to eat a lot of money, but to me trading for Beltran just makes a lot more sense. He is having a decent year (.278 BA, 10 HRs, 49 RBIs), while K-Rod has an ERA over 11.00 through the month of June. We have been hearing for years that his velocity had been dropping, and that might finally be catching up to him.