White Sox 6, Orioles 1: The Good, Bad, and Indifferent

Box Score

Good

Paul Konerko

A day after I wondered how much longer the Sox could deal with Konerko's poor play, he shut me up by going 2-for-3 with two solo home runs and a walk in today's game.

Both of Konerko's home runs, which came in the second and sixth innings, gave the Sox the lead. He was staying on the ball much better today and using a nice, short and compact swing. 

Hopefully, this is a sign that Konerko finally is coming out of his slump.

Jose Contreras

Like Gavin Floyd has the Tigers' number, Contreras has the Orioles' number. After turning in a dominant seven-inning start against Baltimore April 16, Contreras threw 6.2 innings of one-run ball today, allowing five hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

Here's a scary fact: Contreras really hasn't been all that bad this year. Even with his rough outing against Detroit in his first start of the year, Contreras has kept the White Sox in every game he has pitched, even turning in a few gems (both games against Baltimore). 

I'm not expecting big things out of Contreras this year. But if he can keep the White Sox in the game every time he takes the mound, this team really could go places.

Carlos Quentin

I'm okay being repetitive here, as Quentin was in the "good" column yesterday as well.

Quentin went 2-for-2 with a walk, RBI, and a run scored in today's game, raising his batting average to .288 with five home runs and 19 RBI. His OPS also has shot up to .996.

Everything he hits seems to be hit hard, and the energy he brings to the ballpark is up there with Nick Swisher's.

The bullpen

Ehren Wassermann, Matt Thornton, and Octavio Dotel combined to hold the Orioles scoreless after Contreras departed with two outs in the seventh inning. As of late, this group had been struggling, but today they looked very good.

The offense

As a group, the White Sox did an excellent job of putting together big innings, scoring three times in the sixth and twice in the seventh. 

Although Konerko had his two solo home runs, the offense did not rely on the long ball today, as the other four runs did not come on home runs.

With the sooner-rather-than-later return of Jermaine Dye coming up (hopefully), the White Sox lineup will be even deeper than it has been in the last few games.  

Bad

The Bears' refusal to take a quarterback

As a Bears fan, I feel somewhat offended that the organization thinks I'm stupid enough to believe that Rex Grossman is the solution at quarterback. He's not.

Would Brian Brohm, Chad Henne, or any of the other quarterbacks the Bears passed on in the draft have been the solution? Maybe, maybe not.

But the point is, we don't know. I think Grossman has proven that he is not the solution. The same goes for Kyle Orton.

I'm honestly considering becoming a Chiefs fan. They're just two hours from Columbia, MO, they have awesome fans, a great atmosphere, and they actually know how to draft.

One of those picks was "Da Copta," Will Franklin, a former Mizzou wide receiver, too. Just added incentive.

Indifferent

Nothing here. If the Sox can win tomorrow, the bad taste of the New York series will be washed away.