Newstradamus

Mark Buerhle/MLB

Let me note that I root for the Giants any time they are not playing the White Sox. That's easy to do because the White Sox NEVER play the Giants - except in interleague play this weekend. So forgive me if I am feeling pretty good having watched the Pale House eke out wins at AT&T Park on Friday and Saturday.

It's a pretty good combination - the Sox and the park by the bay. (I always try to catch the Sox when they play at Oakland, too, but the A's really need a better ballpark. )

On Friday, it was an 0-0 pitcher's duel until a rookie second-baseman getting a rare start slugged his first major league homer into the bleachers near where I was sitting with friends. Those two runs held up for the win.

Then on Saturday, in a game pitting two slumping aces, Barry Zito for the Giants and Mark Buerhle for the Chicagos, it was Buerhle who prevailed 3-1. The team got him runs early with two sac flies, then added one later when a single by Paul Konerko pushed home Jermaine Dye. Dye was on second due to a pickoff error by reliever Keiichi Yabu.

It's wasn't that Zito (who was getting a lot of heat from Giants fans) was bad. Although he let a lot of Sox get on base, he usually came up with a pitch at the right time to leave them there (I think the Sox stranded 14, so it could have been a much bigger blowout).

But the Chicagos also helped Buerhle with a lot of fantastic defensive plays, notably a layout catch of a line drive by Dye that saved a couple of runs, and an incredible leaping spear on the third base line by Pablo Ozuna who then doubled Randy Winn off first.

I must say the Giants fans were much less hostile to us Sox fans than I would have expected. They reserved their boos for Zito, Sox catcher A. J. Pierzynski (whom them hate his SF stint in 2004), and anyone wearing Dodger regalia.

All-in-all, a great weekend, including a $10 bet won off my friend Ted Weicker. I wish I could stick for the Sunday afternoon game as the Sox go for a sweep, but I must get home. I'll be listening on the radio, though!