This time, Sox get big inning
At 2:46 p.m. Friday, Derrick Rose glides through the White Sox' clubhouse into the third-base dugout, where he's blindsided by Ozzie Guillen and a million cameras.
Guillen offers the new Bull, who's wearing a black Sox jersey with "ROSE 1" on the back, a hug and a bunch of verbiage.
Hopefully Ozzie wasn't bragging to Rose about his rapping skills, as "showcased" in that omnipresent Chevy commercial with Lou Piniella.
Yikes.
In any case, minutes later Rose sets up on the rubber, peers in for the sign, shakes off catcher Mark Buehrle, and delivers a perfect strike.
With that ceremonial first pitch out of the way, we're ready for the second - but not necessarily final - installation of this year's Cubs-Sox series.
First inning
To remind the Cubs who was the boss of this rivalry more than a century ago, fans seated in the first row behind the Sox' bullpen have draped an enormous 1906 CHAMPIONS banner over the railing in front of them.
Security makes them remove the sign shortly after Orlando Cabrera tags up at first and hustles into second on A.J. Pierzynski's fly to left.
That turns out to be huge when Carlos Quentin ropes a single up the middle. Cabrera just beats Jim Edmonds' throw to the plate and slides hard into Geovany Soto's left leg, knocking him off balance.
Second inning
Edmonds aggravates his plantar fasciitis trying to get out of the box. He beats out the 4-6-3 double play, but only because Daryle Ward raises his hands sliding into second base and forces Cabrera's throw to go high and wide.
Third inning
After allowing a one-out single to Ronny Cedeno, Contreras throws 8 of the next 9 pitches out of the strike zone to load the bases.
Ordinarily pitching coach Don Cooper would come out to visit the mound, but his Thursday hamstring injury (which inspired the Sox to tool around the field before the game in a motorized wheelchair bearing a "Property of Don Cooper" sign) forces Ozzie Guillen to go.
Guillen raps quickly and forcefully to Contreras, who induces Derrek Lee's second 5-4-3 double play of the game to end the threat.
The Sox then proceed to pick on the arms of rookie left fielder Eric Patterson and veteran starter Ryan Dempster for a 7-run inning, their biggest of the season.
Cabrera leads off with a ball down the line, challenges Patterson's arm, and slides in with a double.
Pierzynski follows with a bloop single into left. As Patterson charges in, he sees Cabrera rounding third and somehow completely misses the rolling ball with his glove.
That allows Pierzynski to get to third, from where he can jog in on Quentin's double just inside the right-field line.
Dye follows with a lined single to left. Patterson's throw beats Quentin to the plate, but it's up the first-base line allowing him to make it 4-0.
From there, Piniella makes two appearances on the field. First, he raps unsuccessfully with umpire Chad Fairchild about Dye's steal of third. Then he returns two batters later to remove Dempster after Nick Swisher blasts his third career grand slam to push the lead to 8-0.
Fourth inning
We have an Ozzie Smith sighting.
In a 2-pitch span, Cubs shortstop Ronny Cedeno makes two of the finest plays you'll ever see.
First, he sprints into short left field and catches Pierzynski's bloop on his knees with his back to home plate - AND manages to twist to avoid the onrushing Patterson.
Then Quentin scalds a ball into the hole. Cedeno dives headlong to snag it on a short hop, then rises and fires to first to nip Quentin.
Sensational.
Fifth inning
Dear Jose Contreras:
Your team leads by 8 runs. The weather radar shows rain bearing down on U.S. Cellular Field. You need three outs for an official game.
Suggestion? Throw strikes.
Contreras gets behind leadoff man Soto 3-0. Soto then ropes a 3-1 fastball into the left-field seats.
Mike Fontenot follows with a homer to right.
Hmmm. Maybe Contreras ought to nibble.
He shrugs off Cedeno's one-hop shot off his pitching arm to finish the fifth and get in line for his seventh win.
Sixth inning
The rain arrives. The game continues minus a few shelter-seeking fans.
They miss Dye's terrific sliding catch at the foul line to retire Derrek Lee, though Nick Swisher does NOT celebrate by doing the worm. To quote Hawk Harrelson, I can't stand it.
Seventh inning
Edmonds' leadoff homer and Soto's single chase Contreras from the game.
After allowing just 4 homers in his first 14 starts, Contreras has surrendered 6 homers in 9 innings against the Cubs.
Eighth inning
As Aramis Ramirez jogs toward first after popping to center, Sox reliever Octavio Dotel stares at Ramirez and raises his arms as if to declare, "What's up now?"
If you recall, Ramirez took Dotel deep in the seventh inning last Friday to tie the game.
But there's no beef here. Dotel and Ramirez exchange smiles as the latter retreats to the Cubs' dugout.
Ninth inning
While organist Nancy Faust plays the Justin Timberlake hit "What Goes Around (Comes Around)," lots of fans, many of them wearing black, head for the exits without seeing Nick Masset get the final three outs of the Sox' 10-3 victory.