Red Sox travel to Chicago

Life after Manny so far has gone better for the local nine. If there’s a dowfall to Manny’s departure, David Ortiz hasn’t seen the pitches he’s used to. Without Manny hitting behind him, the bad guys can now pitch around him a little more. With a sweep of Oakland and then taking two of three in Kansas City, the boys move onto Central Division leading Chicago. Previously in this space, I said I think they need to win 15 out of the first 22 games in August in an effort to overtake the Tampa Bay Rays. A 5-1 start is a great start.

So now it’s onto Chicago. The White Sox have a lineup with few holes. Leading the way is old friend Orlando Cabrera. He’s leading off for the White Sox hitting .268 / 6HR / 44RBI. The meat of the Sox order is Jermaine Dye (.304 / 26 / 69) Carlos Quentin (.287 / 28 / 86), DH Jim Thome (.257 / 22 / 65). When Quentin, Dye or Nick Swisher needs a day off, the recently aquired Ken Griffey Jr steps into the order without missing a beat.

As far as the White Sox starting pitching, Gavin Floyd and John Danks lead the way. Floyd 11-6 3.66 ERA leads the team in wins. Danks 9-4 3.21 ERA. The Red Sox will see both of these guys along with one time ace, Mark Buehrle and Jose Contreras.

As far as the Red Sox go, Jason Bay seems to be just fine since the trade. In his six games with Boston, he’s 11/26 (.423) with one double, triple and HR.  Kevin Youkilis, now the Red Sox team triple crown leader was hit by a pitch in the hand Wednesday night in Kansas City. X-rays were negative and chances are pretty good he will be in the lineup tomorrow night. Yoook is hitting .317 with 20HR and 76 RBI.

In other news today, the Red Sox have put in a waiver claim on San Diego Padres outfielder Brian Giles. The 37 year old Giles is hitting .296 / 6HR/ 37RBI in 103 games this year. He is being paid $9M this year that bumps up to $11M if he’s traded. One complication, he has a limited trade clause in his contract and Boston is one of the teams he can veto a trade to.

The weekend’s pitching matchups look like this:

Friday - Lester (10-3 3.14) @ Buehrle (8-10 4.07)

Saturday - Matsuzaka (12-2 3.04) @ Contreras (7-6 4.60)

Sunday - Buchholz (2-7 5.94) @ Floyd (11-6 3.66)

Monday - Beckett (10-8 4.08) @ Danks (9-4 3.21)

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