Homecoming Week

It was odd to see former Cubs’ pitcher Greg Maddux in a San Diego Padre uniform at Wrigley Field on Tuesday. Somehow Navy just doesn’t look as good on him as Cubbie blue did.

On the other side of town, the White Sox are hosting the Texas Rangers and Sammy Sosa. It's Sosa's first visit to Chitown since making a disgraceful exit from the Cubs at the end of the 2004 season. The crowd at U.S. Cellular Field booed Sosa each time he came to the plate. Sosa hit
his 591st career home run Tuesday night en route to a 8-1 Texas Rangers’ victory over the Sox.

This isn’t the first time the Sox have made a former player feel so welcome. Last May, Frank Thomas hit two home runs for the Oakland A’s in his first two plate appearances against John Garland.

Games 2 and 3 take place tonight and Thursday.

Two Tigers Nab Gold Gloves

Detroit Tiger starting pitcher Kenny Rogers was awarded a Gold Glove this season, along with teammate, catcher Ivan Rodriguez. This is Rogers’ third straight Gold Glove and fifth overall in his career. Rogers is the pitcher who had a suspicious-looking smudge on his hand in the first inning of Game 2 of the World Series. Rogers claimed it was only dirt, but no one will ever know for sure since the smudge was gone by the second inning. Rogers was one of the few Tigers’ pitchers who did not commit an error during their World Series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. He pitched 23 scoreless innings in the postseason and would have started Game 6 if the Tigers had managed to extend the series.

Other American League Gold Glove winners include: Ichiro Suzuki, right fielder (Seattle); Torii Hunter, centerfielder (Minnesota); Vernon Wells, centerfielder (Toronto); Eric Chavez, third baseman (Oakland); Derek Jeter, shortstop (Yankees); Mark Teixeira, first baseman (Texas); and Mark Grudzielanek, second baseman (Kansas City).

On the National League side, pitcher Greg Maddux won his 16th Gold Glove award, while Albert Pujols and Carlos Beltran both won their first. Maddux also filed for free agency after playing the last few months with the Los Angeles Dodgers.