Its Never a Good Sign When the Score Could be for Football

As the regular season clears the halfway mark with the celebrated All Star Game and most of the league gets a little break that must feel like a big break (162 regular season games, people!) when the season yields a day off after 10 straight games--and you don't have to spend the day traveling. Even as a fan, I don't mind the five days of non baseball.

Well, relative non baseball--there's the Homerun Derby (congrats Vlad!) and the actual All Star Game for those who made it.

But, I don't think any of that is any reason to overlook the White Sox - Twins game from July 6th that ended with a definite loss by the White Sox. It's usually not hard to say if a 7 run game is close, but when the final score is 20 to 14, it puts some rare perspective on a game because these kind of games are rare. The most runs ever scored (total) in an American League game: 36. The most runs ever scored in the history of the White Sox: 35.

Most days; you would be thrilled with an offense that can put up 14 runs in a single game. I think most pitchers would feel good about a game you could promise half those numbers. But, when you're off--you're off.

White Sox's pitcher John Garland's ERA absorbed 11 of the runs before leaving the game with 7 of them coming in quick via the long ball. The tired state of the bullpen coupled with the last game of their double header still to go had to have something to do with a prolonged outing that otherwise might never of happened. However, even with their offense doing what it could to get them back in the race, the bullpen still had 9 scored on them.

And don't overlook Chicago's 5 errors on the game.

And that's not where it ended, I'm afraid. It was to be a double header, and while most double headers end in a split (each team usually picks up a win) the White Sox were having the definitive bad day in baseball, as they go shut out 12 - 0 with the following game.

I mention all this because 1) It's rare to have a baseball game with that high score and 2) Sometimes, you need something so bad that no matter how bad your own team is doing (like the Dbacks getting swept by the Reds!) you have the boon of knowing it wasn't as bad as that time. . . . .

July 6th's game has provided such a comparison. So remember that day people, and enjoy the rest of the season!