Bottom 1: Adam Dunn called out on strikes against Livan Hernandez

Bottom 3: Dunn struck out swinging against Hernandez

Bottom 5: Dunn struck out swinging against Hernandez

Bottom 8: Dunn struck out swinging against Sean Burnett

Final Line: 0-for-4, 4 K

Notes: Dunn’s golden sombrero last Sunday was his third of the season, and accurately portrays his god-awful 2011 campaign.  Headed into Thursday’s game, Dunn’s slash line was .173/.308/.316.  In 279 plate appearances, he has fanned an MLB leading 100 times.  The last time we reported Dunn’s sombrero, he was hitless against left-handers.  Currently he’s 1-for-53 with 25 strikeouts.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 51

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Top 1: Adam Dunn called out on strikes against Brandon Morrow

Top 4: Dunn struck out swinging against Morrow

Top 6: Dunn struck out swinging Morrow

Top 8: Dunn struck out swinging against Mark Rzepczynski

Final Line: 0-4, 4K

Notes: Dunn’s golden sombrero on Thursday was his second of the season (and second in the past week), and lowered his slash lines to a rotten .186/.314/.346.  Mired in a season-long slump, Dunn currently leads the MLB with 65 strikeouts in 45 games, and actually has more whiffs than total bases (54).  Who would have guessed that a quarter of the way through the 2011 season, Dunn’s performance would make Mark Reynolds’ .200/.305/.381 seem desirable?  In honor of last sombrero, I noted how the big man had not collected a hit off a left-hander in 31 at-bats.  Well, it’s now up to 33 at-bats, 15 of which have ended in a strikeout.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 29

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Bottom 1: Adam Dunn struck out swinging against Jon Garland

Bottom 3: Dunn struck out on foul tip against Garland

Bottom 4: Dunn walked against Ramon Troncoso

Bottom 6: Dunn struck out swinging against Troncoso

Bottom 8: Dunn called out on strikes against Lance Cormier

Final Line: 0-4, 4K, BB

Notes: Dunn, who has yet to record a hit off a left-hander this season, was the only White Sox starter without a hit on Saturday.  Furthermore, the White Sox only struck out five times as a team, four of which belonged to Dunn. The slugger is now hitting a dismal .190 this season.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 27

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For those who don’t already know, I spent Opening Day weekend in Ohio with my buddy Clint from Diamond Hoggers, where we took in the Reds and White Sox opening day games.  As it turned out, both were two of the weekend’s most exciting games, as the Reds won with a dramatic Ramon Hernandez walk-off, and the White Sox hit the crap out of the ball and put up 15 runs.  Their bullpen implosion is a story I’ll save for another day, however.

When we arrived at Progressive Jacob’s Field, the White Sox were in the midst of batting practice.  Based upon how my boys were crushing the ball during BP, I should have known they were going to put up 15 runs.  Adam Dunn was effortlessly going 15-20 rows deep with each swing and even deposited one in the right field upper deck.  Clint was busy tweeting/texting and almost lost his life after a Dunn line drive skipped off the top of the wall and right past his melon. Alex Rios had the best ball flight of anyone on the team – his blasts were majestic and looked like they were still rising even after they cleared the fence.  I watched Edwin Jackson throw a knuckleball to an unsuspecting John Danks, who had the ball deflect off the palm of his glove and flush into his chest.  The best part: Danks was laughing harder than EJax after it happened.

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National League

West Division

1.     Los Angeles Dodgers

2.     San Francisco Giants

3.     Colorado Rockies

4.     Arizona Diamondbacks

5.     San Diego Padres

Central Division

1.     Cincinnati Reds

2.     Milwaukee Brewers

3.     St. Louis Cardinals

4.     Chicago Cubs

5.     Pittsburgh Pirates

6.     Houston Astros

East Division

1.     Philadelphia Phillies

2.     Atlanta Braves

3.     Washington Nationals

4.     New York Mets

5.     Florida Marlins

Wild Card: Atlanta Braves

NLDS

Phillies def. Reds in 5

Braves def. Dodgers in 4

NLCS

Braves def. Phillies in 6

Series MVP: Jason Heyward

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