Considering the swing-and-miss arsenal that Justin Verlander possesses, he’s always been someone who lets his nastiness do the talking, rather than try to out-think opposing hitters.  After all, that’s essentially the catcher’s job anyway. Verlander is a pitcher who’s at his best when he isn’t over-thinking a given situation.

Well, it seems that his little brain might have been working a bit too hard as he prepared to face the A’s David DeJesus, with Daric Barton (always a threat to steal) taking a baby lead at first base.

What happened next is totally unprecedented and perhaps the wackiest balk in the history of the game.  Believe me, I have seen some crazy stuff on the baseball field, but nothing as bizarre as this.

(more…)

Ryan Langerhans records golden sombrero against Oakland (4/1/2011)

Top 2: Langerhans grounds out to second baseman Mark Ellis

Top 4: Langerhans strikes out swinging against Trevor Cahill

Top 5: Langerhans strikes out swinging against Jeremy Blevins

Top 7: Langerhans called out on strikes against Craig Breslow

Top 9: Langerhans strikes out swinging against Michael Wuertz

#40 Grant Green – Oakland Athletics

SS

DOB: 9-27-87

ETA: 2012

(more…)

After taking a short break from Twitter this week, I for some reason felt compelled to check it last night before bed.  Instantly, I noticed that my feed was littered with tweets from none other than Jose Canseco.  As we are all well aware, Jose is, well, he’s Jose.  He’s that former high-profiled athlete turned celebrity, except the only person who believes he is a celebrity, is the delusional Jose himself.

Having developed a knack for unprompted disclosures over the years, Jose’s love affair with Twitter was inevitable.  It’s as if the service was created solely for his use…and Chad Ochocinco’s, of course.  Anyway, Jose was at it again late last night, and I thought that I would take a few minutes this morning to dissect a few of his most personal thoughts:

(more…)

• Gordon Beckham is ecstatic that Paul Konerko will be retuning to the South Side next season.  Apparently it was Konerko who helped the White Sox second baseman through his toughest times in 2010,  “He helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel. He helped me get perspective on the game.”

• About a week and a half ago I posted a link to Sox Machine’s survey on all of Kenny Williams’ trades in his 10-years as the Chicago White Sox GM.  Readers were asked to vote from 1 to 10 on his 50+ trades, with 1 being awful and 10 being a miracle.  Well, the results are in…

• With all of the offensive pieces in place for the 2011 season, the White Sox are now addressing their only glaring weakness, the bullpen.  However, after shelling out the big bucks for Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski, they will most likely have to make a trade to add a reputable arm.

(more…)