Today was the annual Photo Day. WAS. Some pretty good storms rolled through town during the morning. In fact, due to some driving, we wound up experiencing the same severe storm cell three different times. We got to the park early enough for the event, but I was only in line less than 10 minutes before they canceled it.

The game was delayed over half an hour, but it was worth it. In the traditional feast-or-famine approach this year, the boys score in the double digits to beat the Angels. Their pitcher - John Lackey - threw 45 pitches in the first inning alone, and left the game after 3 innings and 85 pitches.

(Boxscore)

It's Carol's most favorite White Sox game of the year - not for the actual game, mind you, it's because it's Dog Day! The left field bleachers are set aside for owners and their dogs (maximum 500 dogs that have to be pre-cleared with medical releases, so you just can't show up with a dog). We always get there early to watch the dogs arrive and then go into the park and watch the parade around the field before the game.

The game itself sucks. Ozzie Guillen is in Florida for his son's high school graduation, so Harold Baines is the substitute manager for the day. Ozzie had already made out the lineup, so he just had to manage the game. The game itself feels odd, like there's something missing, some spark, some energy.

The game is doomed anyway. It's time for our rotating-nonexistent 5th starter to pitch. We don't have a 5th, so we keep trying out people. We're not very successful, as the "5th Starter" has an 0-6 record this season while the other 4 starters are 20-8 with a 3.68 ERA in 40 starts.

Today's lucky guy is Jon Rauch, whom we haven't seen since 2002 due to injury. (Side note: he's the tallest pitcher in MLB history - yes, taller than Randy Johnson - at 6' 11").

Things are OK until the top of the 4th, which lasts about 15-20 minutes. Rauch gets into trouble and is left in a batter or two too long. We're down 5-0 by the time he gets pulled.

Then Rauch leaves. No, I mean he leaves. He knew he was just called-up for this one game, so he decides to get a jump on traffic for the trip back "home" so he leaves the park while the game is still going on. GM Kenny Williams goes down to the clubhouse to talk to him and finds out he's gone, a major MAJOR faux pax in baseball, and Kenny immediately decries that Rauch will never play for the White Sox again. (Rauch hears about all of this during the ESPN post-game show and calls-in to explain his side of the story - that it was a big misunderstanding and in no way was he dissing the team. He also called pitching coach Don Cooper to explain. Cooper, BTW, says that Rauch was all the way to Indianapolis by the time he called. Who knows what's going to happen...)

So, other than Paul Konerko's solo homerun (for which there were no fireworks so the dogs wouldn't get scared), there is nothing to talk about. The team lost some fire - does Ozzie motivate that well?

(Boxscore)

After the game we went over to Janie & Gary's new condo - yes, they're moving again. They're doing some rehabbing before they move in, so we saw the "before" look of the place. After the condo we went to the South City Tavern for dinner.

Here's the prize breakdowns:

New World Series of Poker Champion for 2004 is Greg Raymer from Stonington, CT who beat 2755 players and takes home 5 Million Dollars first place

David Williams eliminated in 2nd by Greg Raymer Prize Money $3,500,000

Josh Arieh eliminated in 3rd by Greg Raymer Prize money $2,500,000

Dan Harrington eliminated in 4th by David Williams Prize money $1,500,000

Glenn Hughes eliminated in 5th by Greg Raymer Prize money $1,100,000

Al Krux is eliminated in 6th by Greg Raymer Prize Money $800,000

Matt Dean is eliminated in 7th by David Williams Prize Money $675,000

Mattias Andersson is eliminated in 8th by Greg Raymer Prize Money $575,000

Michael McClain eliminated in 9th by Greg Raymer Prize Money $470,400

OK, the sun's out and it's almost 10 degrees warmer today than yesterday (though it's only 63 degrees at gametime). I'm excited about the game and angry at the same time - it's Feast Or Famine with this team. We lose yesterday but win today 11-zip.

Oh, and I'm tired of Jose Friggin' Valentin, too. He may be have been 3 for 5 in the game with a 3-run homer, but he also had 2 errors. THIS is the guy that should be the team's DH.

(Boxscore)

You know... I'm getting really tired of my underachieving teams...

Another friggin' cold night at TPFKAC™. It was in the 80's on Thursday, but tonight it's 53 degrees with winds from the northeast at 9 and it just feels like almost the coldest night yet. The weekdays are fine, but when the weekend comes and we got a game to go to, the weather gods just screw with us.

And speaking of screwing with us, why the hell can't the Sox beat the Twins? It just pisses me off. They're in 1st and every game we lose, we fall behind. This is a very critical series...

(Boxscore)

Season Over.

Not much to say here... the teams played the same as they played all series. The Wolves just didn't know what the hell they were doing. Those 12 days that they had off between the series killed them. Lot all of their passing prowess.

So, it's over. After 2 friggin' overtimes, we lose at home. There was a sense of anger and loss after all of this. The ref didn't call a single penalty in the 1st overtime - and even though it really pissed-off the fans, you just got to let the guys play...

I wanted to team to do well this year. Hell, we were in the playoff like we should have been, but I feel... relieved.

So long boys - see you in September...

On the way out, I ducked back in to get one last shot of the arena.

They were playing an acoustic cover of Elton John's Daniel. I heard: "Lord I miss Daniel... Oh, I miss him so much..."

I grabbed my picture and quickly ran out, tears welling up in my eyes.

They were playing that in honor of Danny Snyder... I had forgotten how the season had started...

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

Every year with our Weekend Season Ticket package, we get one game during the week, usually a holiday. Last year - no holiday, but it was a Monday and that was OK. This year it's a Thursday. And it's Carol's Birthday to boot.

The lovely weather this week rained-out the game last night, so today is going to be a doubleheader. (They had to do that as we don't play the Orioles again this year). The the first game is at 1:05.

We were STUPID. We NEVER checked the tickets. We ASSUMED today's game was a 7:05 game, and with the double header, we thought it would be a a split day-night double header and today's scheduled game would be at 7:05 and yesterday's game would be at 1:05.

We were wrong. Thursday is typically "Get Away Day" and games are usually scheduled early. Carol called me from work at about 1:30. The scheduled showed today's game at 1:05. Sure enough, the tickets say 1:05!

We're screwed! WE HAVE NEVER had this happen before.

Well, Carol left work right away and came home. We changed and we were out the door at 2:20. We got to the park at about 3:50, just at the end of the first game. I'm glad we missed it - we lost.

There aren't a lot of people at the game. The weather is keeping them away. And then it starts to rain. Not hard, more or less a drizzle. It's going to be miserable. We start the game strong and lead 3-0, but we eventually go down 5-3. The sky gets even more threatening - we can hear static while listening to our AM radios. I realize that we need to get on top quick and get out of there. So, out loud, I say "How about a home run, we take the lead, the rain comes in and the game gets called and we win?" I say this just as Erik Bedard releases his pitch to Paul Konerko who proceeds to hit a homer into the left field seats (with 2 guys on base). As Paulee circles the bases, the skies open-up. The Ground Crew comes out and covers the field with the Sox up 6-5.

The torrential rain hits the park. People scramble for dry seats (very few in this park). Take a look at this short video of the Rain Delay.

The Rain Delay lasts an hour and 42 minutes. There aren't a lot of people left for the rest of the game. Anyway, there were no more runs and the Sox win.

We will NEVER let this happen again... how embarassing...

(Boxscore - Game 1 - Boxscore - Game 2)

The Wolves suck. We are down in this series 2-1 and the game that we did win... I couldn't tell you how we did it. Take a look at the Gamesheet from Saturday's game. The ref was Harry Dumas, who called 38 penalties of 122 minutes (87 minutes on 26 infractions were against us). He did some other odd - possibly illegal - things like trying to use off-ice officials to verify stick infractions (which the on-ice people should do). He called 3 game misconducts (one against Coach Anderson) and a Match Penalty against Mike Weaver (which means he doesn't play tonight). Apparently Mr. Dumas asked for a police escort home.

So, tonight we have our other "favorite" ref - Dan O'Rourke. He's not a problem tonight.

Tonight, the problem was The Wolves. They look tired. They can't keep up. There's just no way in hell to keep Milwaukee outside our zone. How the hell is Kari Lehtonen supposed to stop all of the 45 shots coming at him? You've got to ask - what the hell are there 45 shots to begin with?

We're being outplayed. We're down 3-1 in the series and it goes to Milwaukee on Wednesday.

I don't expect to be back at the Allstate Arena this season.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

It's cloudy, cool, and a little "rainy". We pulled into town and I realized that this was pretty big judging by the people trying to park in an empty lot.

The first thing we did is head for 8th Street because all up and down the street - for a few blocks - were Klompen Dancers that danced for about 15-20 minutes. We were all waiting for some major medical emergency due to flying wooden shoes. Alas, no shoes flew. (Here's a quick 30 sec video of the start of the dancing.)

We noticed as we walked up and down 8th Street that everyone had come by much earlier and "staked-out" spots along the sidewalks and curbs with chairs and blankets.

We decided to grab some lunch at the New Holland Brewing Company. I wanted to take some pictures of the outside of the place and when I went outside, I realized I heard marching bands. Well, I guess, they were having the major festival parade in a bit and they were showcasing a few of the bands.

Well, I guess that explains why people were staking-out their territory. The grand finale of the festival, the Muziekparade, features nearly 50 marching bands from across the state as well as floats, giant helium balloons, horses, more Klompen Dancers and other typical small-town parade stuff.

Quite honestly, the parade was a blast. We saw just under half of it - we need to do this again and camp-out to actually get a good seat. It was actually fun.

We got back in the car and drove just a little but further north to the Veldheer Tulip Farm. Holy crap - seven acres of tulips. They have hundreds of different bulbs here on display, and you can actually order any one you want. Hell, I never knew there were that many available.

We found something very odd when we were there - us. We were actually in the minority of whites that were there - the vast majority of people there were Indian. I have no idea why - heavy population in the area or something with a tie to tulips. Everyone were taking extensive time trying to take pictures of themselves with the tulips. I don't get it. Anyway, took pictures, too - just to fit in.

After a quick stop at the garden shops and gift shops, it was a bit of a drive home and another great dinner cooked-up by Diane and Melinda.

Yeah! The sun's out! Not a cloud in the sky!

It was terrible! Worse than yesterday! Damn Chicago weather decided to choose "wind" to screw up our day. It was bearable while we were still in the sun, but the wind was a bit brisk. Then the sun ducked behind the stands, and it was terrible.

The only thing that saved us was these damn hand warmers that I talked about yesterday. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Worth $1!

I was distracted by having to walk around the park too many times to 1) keep warm and 2) stop my legs from twitching. The few things that stood out: bunting. I can honestly say that I haven't seen this much bunting by this team since we've had season tickets. Love the agressive base running, except Uribe got caught stealing by a mile.

(Boxscore)

Oh boy, this was lousy. Cloudy, cold, windy, rainy.

Oh, and long. We didn't rush out the door to get to the first game of the doubleheader, since we knew that we would be there a while. We got there just after 3pm, only to find out that there's been a rain delay, so the game won't start for about half an hour. The game just seems slower because of the weather. I took a quick break and went down to the Bullpen Sports Bar to watch the Kentucky Derby. It was a nice respit from the weather, but then I needed to get back upstairs. However, while I was downstairs, the Jays get a run and tie then game. Then just to add insult to injury staying out in this weather, the first game goes into extra innings. At least we win. (Did you know that Joe Crede has had 3 last at-bat wins so far?)

They've started the All-Star Game balloting. The home opener wasn't even 3 weeks ago - how can anybody make a wise choice in the balloting instead of just stuffing the box with favorites? Based on how he started the season, do you honestly think Derek jeter should be there? Oh, and since the game is in Houston this year, there's no DH. Frank Thomas is on th ballot for 1B. Puh-lease. I'd rather see Paul Konerko, the real 1B for the Sox on that ballot. That's a slap in his face by not including him.

The second game was worse and Danny Wright (who scares the hell out of me) doesn't look good at all.

Oh! Let me tell you about something that we found that helped with the cold!!! At Home Depot, in impulse-buy stuff in the checkot lanes, we found these chemical hand warmers. They were only 97 cents for a pair. They're two fabric pouches filled with dry chemicals. You open the packages and shake the pouches. Within 15 minutes you have over 110 degrees of heat for almost 10 hours! Just stick them in your jacket pockets and keep your hands in there - they're wonderful!

It's one thing to stay behind your team in the cold/wet/wind when they're in the lead or even in the hunt. It's another thing to watch a game in the cold/wet/wind when they're not playing well. Then add-in the fatigue from enduring this for hours.

After 6 hours of this, Carol threw in the towel. She was just too uncomfortable and we left in the 7th. I don't like leaving the game, but this was just a torture to stay there. So much for the first Fireworks Night of the year...

We left, and the boys just went down the toilet and lost the second game.

(Boxscore - Game 1 - Boxscore - Game 2)