Taking on Those Other Sox

Friday, August 12, 2005, 5:40 pm ET

Battle of the Lefties

Tonight’s game features a matchup of fellow left-handers and good friends, Mark Buehrle and David Wells.  During his brief stay with the White Sox, Wells took Buehrle under his wing, and the young Sox left-hander really seemed to benefit on the mound.  "I think they are both alike in that they don’t change," said Ozzie Guillen before the game.  "They are the same person, and bring the same approach to the ballpark every day.  Some people might think they don’t really care, but believe me, they do.  They care a lot."

Tonight’s White Sox lineup

Pods, LF … Iguchi, 2B … Everett, DH … Konerko, 1B … Rowand, CF … Dye, RF … Pierzynski, C … Crede, 3B … Uribe, SS … Buehrle.

Red Sox Lineup

Damon, CF … Renteria, SS … Ortiz, DH … Ramirez, RF … Varitek, C … Millar, 1B … Graffy, 2B … Mueller, 3B … Kapler, RF … Boomer.

Fenway

Tough to beat a road trip to Yankee Stadium and then Fenway Park.  Lots of White Sox fans have shown up for both series.  Two braves souls even held up a Sox flag Wednesday at Yankee Stadium as the Sox won the series, 2 games to 1.  Both ballparks have teriffic character and are fun for fans, but you won’t find a ton of space or much in the way of amenities.  The Red Sox have done a very nice job in using the streets around the ballpark to enlarge the footprint of the park.  Tickets here are very scarce, as they were in NYC, but the experience is well recommended for all.

Double Duty

Many members of the White Sox travel party expressed their sympathies to the family of Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, who passed away yesterday.  Many of our coaches were friends with Double and plan to attend his service on Wednesday.  Double frequently attended White Sox games, always wearing his chapeau, and was a friend to many and a great source of baseball stories.  Ozzie, Harold and Tim all considered him a good friend.

Cameron

It hurt to watch Mike Cameron and Carlos Beltran collide yesterday and to see the re-play over and over.  It reminded Ozzie of the collision between Dave Martinez and Lyle Mouton and his colliding with Raines in 1992.  "Usually, it is because of communication, or no communication," Guillen explained.  "In my case with Rock, I couldn’t hear him calling for it.  Players have to communicate and hear one another."

Fenway VIP

Prior to the game, Luis Tiant visited with Guillen in the White Sox clubhouse.

White Sox VIPs

Several White Sox sponsors travelled to Boston as guests of the team and will take in the series with the Red Sox.