Chicago White Sox Playoffs

The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team that plays in the American League's Central Division. They have won the World Series three times, in 1906, 1917, and 2005.http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=chiwhitesoxpost&prov=st&type=lgns

The White Sox rode strong pitching and an opportunistic offense to a title in 2005. Starting pitchers Jose Contreras, Mark Buehrle, Freddy Garcia and Jon Garland led a staff that gave up just 34 runs in 12 postseason games, while Scott Podsednik (.286 postseason batting average, 2 home runs, 6 stolen bases), Paul Konerko (5 HR, 15 RBI) and Joe Crede (.289, 4 HR, 11 RBI) were among the offensive heroes.http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/cws/history/championship05.jsphttp://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/batting?team=chw&season=2005&seasonType=3&split=0&cat=avg&order=true&type=regRookie Bobby Jenks saved four postseason games, including the World Series clincher, with a 2.25 ERA.http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/pitching?team=chw&season=2005&seasonType=3&split=0&cat=ERA&order=false&type=reghttp://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/mlb/ps/y2005/boxscore.jsp?gid=2005_10_22_houmlb_chamlb_1

The White Sox swept the defending champion Boston Red Sox in three games in the first round, then bounced the Los Angeles Angels 4-1 before sweeping the Houston Astros 4-0 in the World Series.http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/cws/history/championship05.jsp Podsednik and Geoff Blum hit game-winning home runs, while series MVP Jermaine Dye hit .438 with a home run and 3 RBIs. http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20051023&content_id=1257697&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=cwshttp://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20051025&content_id=1259144&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=cwshttp://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/cws/history/championship05.jsphttp://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20051026&content_id=1260207&vkey=news_cws&fext=.jsp&c_id=cws

The White Sox' 2005 Series win snapped a streak of 87 straight seasons without a title. Some believed the team had been cursed after the infamous Black Sox scandal in 1919.http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2005/07/21/tough_town/ That year, the White Sox lost the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds amid accusations that star outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson and seven other White Sox players had taken money from professional gamblers to lose the series intentionally.http://www.chicagohs.org/history/blacksox.html The level of the players' involvement in the scam remains unclear, and they were all acquitted of criminal charges, but all eight were banned from baseball for life.http://www.chicagohs.org/history/blacksox.html

Red Faber earned three of the four wins with a 2.33 ERA as the 1917 White Sox beat the New York Giants four games to two in the World Series.http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/yr1917ws.shtml Eddie Cicotte went 1-1 with a 1.96 ERA and 13 strikeouts, while Eddie Collins (9 hits, .408 BA) and Chick Gandil (5 RBI) led the offense.http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/yr1917ws.shtml

In 1906, shortstop George Davis hit .308 with six RBIs as the White Sox won their first World Series 4-2 over the crosstown Chicago Cubs.http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/yr1906ws.shtml Nick Altrock, Frank Owen, Ed Walsh and Doc White combined for a 1.50 ERA and 28 strikeouts, with Walsh getting 17 strikeouts and two wins.http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/yr1906ws.shtml

Chicago White Sox Playoffs 2008

The 2008 White Sox won the AL Central and reached the postseason thanks to a 1-0 win in a 163rd-game tiebreaker against the Minnesota Twins.http://espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=280930104 Jim Thome's solo home run and eight shutout innings by John Danks put the Sox through.http://espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=280930104&teams=minnesota-twins-vs-chicago-white-sox

But in the White Sox' first playoff series since their World Series win in 2005, the Tampa Bay Rays quickly showed them the door, winning three games to one.http://espn.go.com/mlb/teams/schedule?team=chw&season=2008&seasonType=3. The White Sox couldn't hold leads in the first two games, losing by 6-4 and 6-2 scores in Tampa.http://espn.go.com/mlb/teams/schedule?team=chw&season=2008&seasonType=3 Danks helped them to a 5-3 win at home in game 3, but B.J. Upton's two home runs led the Rays to a 6-2 win and a place in the ALCS the next day.http://espn.go.com/mlb/teams/schedule?team=chw&season=2008&seasonType=3http://espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=281006104