Baseblogs

Sale Tale: Be Careful
What You Wish For

By Paul Ladewski, Executive Director
Posted on Monday, May 13

White Sox pitcher Chris Sale had his perfect game broken up in the seventh inning on Sunday night. Maybe it was for his own good.

Ask ex-teammate Phil Humber, the most recent Chicago pitcher who has seen his fortunes take a sudden and mysterious turn for the worse immediately after the highlight of his career. Since Humber authored a perfect game against Seattle Mariners last spring, he has a 4-13 record and 8.03 earned run average in 33 appearances.

Even four-time All-Stars such as Mark Buehrle have fallen prey to the no-hit jinx over the years. The veteran has a 42-44 record and 4.61 ERA since his perfecto against the Tampa Bay Rays four years ago.

No doubt Sale was disappointed to fall short in his bid for the 19th no-hitter in franchise history, but at least he was part of no small bit of irony. The Houston Astros designated Humber for assignment only hours before it happened.

It takes a good baseball voice
to honor the best voices of all time

By George Castle, CBM Historian
Posted on Friday, May 24^th

Pat Hughes is a one-man gang writing, producing and promoting his "Baseball Voices" CD series.

The “other side” of Pat Hughes is almost always on duty well beyond the parameters of the seventh-month-long, exhausting baseball season, during which he broadcasts all 162 Cubs games for WGN-Radio.

Hughes’ passion outpowers profit in this second career. Once he’s done as a one-man gang with writing, narrating, producing and marketing his latest “Baseball Voices” CD honoring play-by-play announcers who have achieved the broadcasters’ wing of the Hall of Fame, Hughes is on to sketching out the next tribute.

That’s why mid-summer cannot be a death march, at least away from the booth, as the Cubs slide into yet another irrelevant campaign. There are no dog days as Hughes spends the idle time in hotels on the road scouting and reviewing material for the next CD. Hughes both works hard and has an emotional spur to producing another tribute to men who first stoked his love of baseball, then later served as career influences.

STORY >>