Chicago White Sox - TeamReport

MLB Team Report - Chicago White Sox - INSIDE PITCH

The White Sox kept winning on Friday, and the pitching staff keeps changing.

Despite Jose Quintana having his first real stumble as a starter, the lefty rookie gave the Sox six innings in the shootout with New York, as the Sox beat the Yankees 14-7 at Yankee Stadium. Quintana allowed four runs in the first and six on the night, but considering the ever-changing situation in the bullpen, the Sox needed him to gut it out and give them those innings.

Before the second straight win over New York, the Sox announced that their seventh rookie pitcher would be joining the staff, calling up right-hander Brian Omogrosso from AAA Charlotte. The reason for the latest roster move was because right-hander Brian Bruney went on the disabled list with left hip inflammation.

It was on Thursday that the Sox called up lefty Leyson Septimo from Charlotte, after veteran Will Ohman was designated for assignment.

"Oh, yeah, it's a pretty young bullpen, that's for sure," the 27-year-old Omogrosso said. "It's exciting to see the young guys here. We've got a first-place ballclub and everything like that. It's promising, that's for sure."

The 6-4, 230-pound Omogrosso, who had no major-league experience, throws in the mid-to-upper 90s. He was 0-1 with two saves and a 4.09 ERA over 33 innings. He had 40 strikeouts and a .228 opponents average and had pitched better of late -- a 1.42 ERA over his last nine appearances.

"These guys come up, they're ready to compete," manager Robin Ventura said. "People make a lot of having rookies in here, but it's what we have. That's how we're making do. I don't look at them necessarily when they go out there as rookies. They're players, they're wearing our uniform and we want them to do well."

Omogrosso, who was wearing Zach Stewart's old number, 48, joins fellow rookies Septimo, Addison Reed, Nate Jones, Hector Santiago, Dylan Axelrod and Quintana.

Bruney, 30, earned the win in his only appearance this season on Sunday, when he pitched a scoreless inning.

With Jesse Crain still hurting with some shoulder soreness, the staff might be getting more changes to it, with Crain possibly facing a trip to the disabled list if he doesn't start to feel better. Crain was shut down before Thursday's game, making it a wait-and-see.

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MLB Team Report - Chicago White Sox - NOTES, QUOTES


--RHP Jesse Crain now looks closer to going back on the 15-day disabled list than returning to the bullpen, with his condition not changing prior to Friday's win over the Yankees. Crain felt a little shoulder soreness after his most recent outing, last Saturday against the Brewers, and then "felt something" on Monday. He threw off the mound on Tuesday night, and the discomfort was a little worse on Wednesday. When Crain still felt it on Thursday in New York, he went to see Dr. David Altchek, who repaired his torn rotator cuff and labrum in 2007. From what Altchek saw, no MRI exam was needed. The telling sign will be when Crain throws again, after taking off Thursday, Friday and Saturday. That will likely come on Sunday. "That's going to have to be a decision they make," Crain said of a DL trip. "If I'm not ready to throw in the next day or two, then probably. There's no point of rushing back if we're not ready to go, so we'll see how it goes on Sunday or Monday if I throw and go from there."

--LHP Leyson Septimo made his major-league debut for the Sox on Friday night, as the rookie came in in mop-up time in the win over the Yankees and gave manager Robin Ventura an inning of work. Septimo's first strikeout was also memorable, coming against Alex Rodriguez. The plan was to only use Septimo as a lefty specialist, but with such a big lead, Ventura said he wanted to see what the rookie could do.

--LHP Chris Sale's new starting schedule could cost him a possible All-Star appearance, with the southpaw scheduled to start on Tuesday, that means he then starts on July 8, against the Blue Jays. He could use the All-Star Game as a side session day, so he isn't shut down completely, but with the Sox watching his innings this season, it will be a tough decision. "I've got to pitch here before I pitch anywhere else, to be honest with you," Sale told reporters. "I'd hate for them to have to rearrange things for that to happen. That would be very selfish to do. This is important to me. This is my team." Don't be surprised if Sale is bumped back in the rotation when the All-Star Game ends, however, giving him extra rest to start the second-half push for the Sox.

--3B Kevin Youkilis left the game on Friday in the bottom of the fifth with what was called an upset stomach. Youkilis, who was acquired from the Boston Red Sox last Sunday, was replaced at third by Eduardo Escobar, and Robin Ventura was uncertain if Youkilis would be ready to return to the lineup for Saturday's game against the Yankees. Youkilis was 0-for-3 when he left the game, again hitting second in the lineup for Ventura.

--RHP Jake Peavy will be looking for some luck to go his way on Saturday, when the veteran takes the mound 0-3 in his last five starts, but only allowing nine earned runs in 34 1/3 innings pitched for a 2.36 ERA over that time. Peavy has held opposing hitters to a .218 average, but has only received 2.36 run-support average in those five starts. He is, however, 0-3 with a 3.71 ERA lifetime against the Yankees, allowing seven earned runs in 17 innings pitched against them.

BY THE NUMBERS: 7 -- Former Sox players now on the Yankees' 25-man roster. It includes OF Dewayne Wise, RHP Freddy Garcia, OF Andruw Jones, LHP Boone Logan, INF Jayson Nix, C Chris Stewart and OF Nick Swisher.

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San Francisco 49ers pass rusher Aldon Smith suffered minor injuries in an "incident" that occurred at a house party in early Saturday, reports The Sacramento Bee.


 ".... the Santa Clara sheriff's office reported that deputies arrived at a large house party shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday after receiving reports of gunshots.

By Ed Szczepanski, US Presswire

When they arrived, they found two people with gunshot wounds and another suffering from stab wounds. All three were taken to hospitals where they were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. A sheriff's spokesman said he could not comment on the identity of the victims."

According to Sgt. Jose Cardoza, more than 100 people were in attendance at the party, and it required the San Jose police and the California Highway Patrol to serve as backup. Cardoza said they did not have any suspects yet and described it as a "chaotic scene."

San Francisco general manager Trent Baalke released this statement:

"The San Francisco 49ers are aware that Aldon Smith incurred minor injuries during an incident last night. We are in contact with Aldon, and thankful that his injuries were not more serious and that he is recovering comfortably. The 49ers are also in communication with local authorities as they gather information regarding the incident, and will reserve further comment at this time."

This isn't the first time the seventh overall pick in 2011 has found himself in the news this offseason. In January, Smith was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol in Miami Beach.

Smith, who came off the bench when he set the rookie team record with 14 sacks, is expected to start at outside linebacker this season, according to The Bee.

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Recap: New England vs. Seattle

Seattle Sounders FC was seconds from ending its winless streak.

The New England Revolution had other ideas.

Diego Fagundez scored 4 minutes into extra time and New England tied Seattle, 2-2, at Gillette Stadium on Saturday in MLS.

The Sounders are winless in a club-record eight straight matches.

Saer Sene also scored for New England (5-7-4), which led early before a brace from Eddie Johnson put Seattle (7-5-5) in front before halftime.

Sene directed a pass from Blake Brettschneider into the net in the 12th minute for his team-high eighth goal of the season as New England grabbed the lead.

Johnson equalized in the 23rd minute when he reached a pass from Mauro Rosales and headed from the edge of the 6-yard box to the top-left corner.

Just over 10 minutes later, Johnson added his second of the match and seventh of the season when he reached a cross from Marc Burch and headed into the net.

Seattle held the one-goal lead into second-half stoppage time, as it closed in on its first win since May 9 against FC Dallas.

Fagundez spoiled the Sounders' plans, as the 17-year-old reached a cross from Fernando Cardenas and turned a header into the net in the dying seconds.

New England extended its undefeated streak to four matches, although the last three are ties. The Revolution return to MLS action July 8 at home against Red Bull New York.

Seattle will try to end its skid Wednesday at Real Salt Lake.

Game Notes

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/30/2876610/recap-new-england-vs-seattle.html#storylink=cpy

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European Championship soccer finalists Italy and Spain are on different missions

TORONTO—

— A month ago, Italy Coach Cesare Prandelli was ready to pull out of the European Championship amid a game-fixing scandal that implicated members of the national team.

On Sunday, Prandelli and that same embattled national team have a chance to win soccer's second-most prestigious prize. And though it will be an uphill climb against a Spanish team ranked No. 1 in the world, it might not be a good idea to bet against Italy in this one.

After all, this is the third time in the last three decades that Italian soccer has been wracked by charges of illegal gambling, and on each of the previous occasions the national team helped cleanse the wound by winning a major championship.

In 1982, Paolo Rossi, suspended two years when he was caught up in a betting scam, came back just in time to score six goals and help Italy win its first World Cup since World War II.

Then six years ago, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was implicated in another gambling probe. A month later he gave up only one goal in four elimination games as Italy won the World Cup again.

Now Buffon, Italy's captain and one of four players left from that 2006 championship team, says this year's team wants to cover the latest tarnish with a triumph as well.

"There's definitely something special, beyond all the talk that has been made out of it," Buffon, who had his spending habits scrutinized during this latest investigation, told reporters in Kiev, Ukraine, site of Sunday's final. "Italians have a sense of respect and love for their jersey that stretches beyond all limits."

Among those who have rallied to the team's side is Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. Last month, some in the Italian government were suggesting the national team take a sabbatical from international play to get its house in order, a suggestion Prandelli said he would have complied with had the president asked him.

Instead, Napolitano attended Italy's European Championship opener, a 1-1 tie with Spain, and will hold a reception for the team in Rome regardless of how Sunday's game ends.

"We really felt his present and his support," Prandelli said of the president. "He showed a lot of confidence in us at a time when not a lot of people had confidence in this squad."

Italy, in fact, has been an underdog since the tournament draw in December, when it was put in the so-called "Group of Death" with Spain, Croatia and Ireland. Then given virtually no chance against England or Germany in the knockout stage, Italy wound up beating both to earn a rematch with Spain.

But if Italy, already a team on a mission, is beginning to look like a team of destiny, Spain is chasing some history of its own.

With a victory, Spain would not only become the only team to win consecutive European titles but, with its 2010 World Cup victory in between, it would be the first to hold three major titles at the same time.

And in each of those tournaments Spain followed the same conservative blueprint to victory, failing to concede a goal in its last nine knockout games and scoring just enough to win.

The once-invincible Spanish are vulnerable, however. If Portugal had let Cristiano Ronaldo have a go at a goal, Spain might have lost on penalty kicks in the semifinals. As it is, they survived and now must contend with the electric and creative Mario Balotelli, who scored the two goals Italy needed to end Germany's 15-game winning streak in its semifinal game.

"It would be a lie to say I'm not worried about them," Spanish defender Sergio Ramos said of Balotelli and his teammates. "But we are not obsessing."

Still some on the Spanish side feel an urgency to grab this last brass ring, knowing they have a chance to leave a lasting legacy. The core of the team is aging, with many of the key players — goalkeeper Iker Casillas, midfielders Xavi Hernandez and Xabi Alonso as well as defender Carles Puyol and forward David Villa, both of whom sat out the tournament because of injuries — now over 30.

"The truth is yes, it is something we think about," Ramos said of Spain's hope for winning soccer'sTriple Crown. "That's what we're playing for on Sunday. It's something that will never be surpassed as no other national team has managed it before and we have the chance now to do it.

"[But] whatever happens Sunday, Spain has already made history."

Italy can say the same thing. After opening the tournament under a dark cloud of suspicion, it will be playing the final under clear skies, regardless of the weather. But as long as they've made it this far, the Italians figure, they might as well go ahead and win the tournament.

It has happened that way.

"When you dream, you always dream big," Prandelli said after his team advanced to the title game. "This is the beginning of the dream."

Italian forward Mario Balotelli, left, and Spanish forward Fernando Torres celebrate after scoring.(AFP/Getty Images / June 30, 2012)

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Pak Army medics fill in for defiant ‘messiahs’

LAHORE – In the ongoing battle between the young doctors and the Punjab government, the latter has acquired the services of 150 doctors from Army Medical Corps.

Besides, the government, determined to cut the agitating doctors to size, has issued recruitment notification of 454 women medical officers (WMOs) through the Punjab public service commission (PPSC) and posted them to different hospitals of the province to ensure uninterrupted delivery of medical care.

But the young doctors are still insistent on continuation of their strike till the acceptance of their demands regarding the service structure. The young doctors are also planning to besiege the Chief Minister Secretariat on July 5, if their demands would not be met.

In an encouraging development, Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif accepted a mediation offer of a team of senior medical professionals before going for a final crackdown against the young doctors.

The team of senior doctors, including principals and administrative heads of different medical teaching institutions, met the CM Saturday promising to convince the young doctors to call off their strike within 24 hours. They will hold talks with the young doctors on Sunday (today) at Lahore General Hospital in a bid to end the deadlock so as to mitigate the miseries of the poor patients, who are the prime losers in this battle.

However, the government is considering cancelling the licenses of the striking doctors if they continue their strike. The health department claims some of the striking doctors have contacted them and expressed willingness to get back to work. Nonetheless, the rumours of show-cause notices and arrests of the leaders of YDA (Young Doctors Association), Punjab, proved false as none of them was either served with notice or arrested.

The Punjab government Thursday night had invoked the Essential Services Act for a period of one month in a bid to ensure uninterrupted healthcare to the poor patients. However the young doctors blatantly ignoring the warning continued their protest and boycott and denied healthcare facilities to poor patients.

The young doctors’ strike in the outdoor wards, being observed on the call of YDA Punjab chapter, entered into 13th successive day to protest against government’s ‘indifference’ toward their demand of service structure, causing immense hardships for patients and their attendants. The load of patients has increased at the emergency wards. The OPD strike is affecting the healthcare services at the indoor wards as well as Operation Theatres (OTs).

The patients at various public sector hospitals, especially at Mayo Hospital, protested against the striking young doctors saying they, who are believed to be the saviours, were bargaining against their lives. They said the strike has left the poor patients either to simply die unattended or be fleeced at private hospitals. According to unofficial figures, over 29,000 patients visit OPDs at public hospitals in the provincial metropolis alone who are being denied healthcare for the 14th consecutive day.

The provincial government has notified the administrative offices of principals of medical colleges; medical superintendents of teaching hospitals; and all the offices of DHS and EDO (Health) in Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, DG Khan, Rawalpindi and Bahawalpur to keep open on Sunday (today). It has also directed the senior professors and doctors to provide healthcare services to the patients in the hospitals.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), in a statement issued Saturday, said: “On the request of the Punjab government to requisition doctors in aid of patients because of ongoing strike of doctors, Pakistan Army is providing 150 doctors, for medical treatment of patients in view of their extreme suffering. These doctors will perform their duties in uniform... The military doctors will only provide medical consultancy, while administrations of hospitals will continue to be the responsibility of the provincial government.”

However, despite all the hardness of stances on both sides, many among the senior doctors strongly believe they would succeed in ending the strike in today’s meeting with the young doctors, lifting the veil of emergency from the public sector hospitals

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Warid launches new offer

KARACHI – Keeping the tradition of launching consumer-centric promotions, Warid Telecom with the aim to best serve its customers now introduces amazing ‘Power Pack’ in addition to new exciting SMS Bundles, says a press release.

Power Pack is one of its kind unique offer available in town which includes 5MB of Internet, 5 free on-net minutes, and 100 SMS on any network in just Rs.4.99+t. The new exciting SMS bundles include 500 daily SMS in just Rs 3.5+t and 1000 weekly SMS in just Rs 6.99+t for all networks.

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The gay rights revolution in Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba — Niurka says she is "halfway out of the closet" as a lesbian in Cuban society. She doesn't talk about her sexuality in public, and she's thankful nobody asks at work. But with her curly cropped hair and more masculine dress — most notably gym shoes on an island where most women prefer sandals — she says she can't conceal it.

On the streets of Havana, people sometimes call her "tortillera," she says, at first just mouthing the prerogative Cuban Spanish term for a lesbian. Niurka repeats the word in a whisper, leaning across the institutional waiting room chairs so that nobody else can hear her on the broad, airy porch at the Cuban National Center for Sexual Education (CENESEX).

CENESEX, a government-funded institution founded in 1989, made headlines in the United States last month when Mariela Castro, daughter of President Raul Castro and director of the center, met with American gay rights activists and chaired a panel on sexual diversity at an academic conference in San Francisco. The visit drew criticism from several US leaders, including Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), who called Castro "a vociferous advocate of the regime and an opponent of democracy."

Angeli Carmen Bravo (Megan Sweas/GlobalPost)

Angeli Carmen Bravo was one of the first people to take advantage of this opportunity. "I owe a lot to CENESEX because my life changed completely," she says, sitting behind the center's front desk in a tight white tank top that shows off her cleavage.

Carmen Bravo picks up the phone with pink, manicured nails. Her low voice hints at her sex change from male to female.

She is thankful not only for the physical changes, but also for the social gains. Thanks to Mariela, she says, she was able to add the "i" to her first name, legally changing it from Angel to Angeli.

She feels accepted as a straight female and integrated socially at work. Though CENESEX is undoubtedly welcoming, it has a team of lawyers to represent LGBT clients in cases of workplace discrimination.

CENESEX also has implemented sexual education and gender-neutral games in Cuban schools. Carmen Bravo hopes such programs will change future generations' attitudes toward sexuality away from the "blue is for boys, pink is for girls" culture that she grew up with.

The resources, programs and legal developments created by CENESEX show that the Cuban political system can change. "We are opening a new stage in our development," says Olga Fernández Ríos, who studies Cuban politics at the University of Havana.

Economic reforms have taken precedence, she says, and Raul Castro has talked of making the Communist Party more democratic to ensure that it reflects the will of the Cuban people.

Whether economic, political or social, though, the reforms are designed to preserve socialism in Cuba. Critics, therefore, say the changes are merely "cosmetic."

"It is necessary to maintain some achievements of the Cuban Revolution," Fernández Ríos says, naming social justice among the top priorities. Change requires "high levels of consensus" among the Cuban people, she adds. "We need to improve participation."

Government control

When Cubans talk about the participation in civic life, though, they understand civil society to be part of the government. The only sanctioned channel for fighting for LGBT rights is CENESEX, which is part of the ministry of public health.

Amnesty International reports that that outside CENESEX, gay activists "face repression, intimidation and harassment when trying to peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly," says Gerardo Ducos, a researcher on the Caribbean region.

"The problems the members of these groups face are not necessarily linked to their sexual orientation or identity but to the fact that the Cuban government doesn't allow independent organizations (outside government control) to thrive, to register and operate legally," he says.

More from GlobalPost: Mariela Castro, 'sexologist' and niece of Fidel, granted US visitor's visa

Niurka said she is fine working within a government organization. She's part of a lesbian group that has met weekly at CENESEX headquarters in Havana since 2004.

"As a whole, we want to fight discrimination but each of us is here for our own personal reasons," Niurka says, sitting on CENESEX's porch with three other members of the group and a counselor.

Women attend the meetings to learn about mental and physical health issues. They have been trained to promote sexual health in their communities. The group also helps them build self-esteem.

Niurka (Megan Sweas/GlobalPost)

Niurka has never lacked confidence, she says, but she joined the group as soon as it formed because just by participating she would be promoting change.

"I was interested in adding my grain of sand to this fight," she says. "I'm not the only one who is going to benefit but all the lesbian women of Cuba."

Patricia Arenas, a retired counselor and consultant with CENESEX, has been helping the lesbian group determine how they can best work toward its goal of fighting homophobia in Cuban culture.

The group has discussed fund-raising and leadership, but the process is more important than the conclusions, Arenas says. Neither she nor any government officials are telling them how to run their group, but rather they are shaping it themselves.

Outsiders' criticism of the lack of freedom on the island misses the mark, she says.

"We are not a perfect society. We have a lot of problems, but generally they are different than what is identified. I prefer the problems of my own society to the problems of other countries."

Niurka agrees. Though she's had insults yelled at her on the street, she doesn't worry about hate crimes as LGBT people in other Latin American countries must, she says.

Her friend Deisy chimes in from across the porch, sharing her reason for hope. "If discrimination were inherent in society, centers like this wouldn't exist," she says.

“If we don’t change our patriarchal and homophobic culture…we cannot advance as a new society, and that’s what we want, the power of emancipation through socialism,” Mariela Castro said. “We will establish relationships on the basis of social justice and social equality...It seems like a utopia, but we can change it.”

The Cuban government now touts its record on LGBT rights, including the governing Communist Party’s endorsement of an International Day Against Homophobia march last month, but its history bears many wounds for gay Cubans. For years following the successful socialist overthrow of dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, homosexuals were imprisoned for “re-education,” branded traitors who didn’t fit Che Guevara’s definition of the “new man” who would move the country forward.

"The object was to make adequate this 'new man,'' said Lázaro Hernández, a psychiatrist at CENESEX.

Official persecution ended in the mid-1970s, and Fidel Castro ultimately took personal responsibility for the revolution's treatment of gays in a 2010 interview with the Mexican newspaper La Jornada. Homosexual acts were decriminalized in 1979, but homophobia remains common in Cuba. 

More from GlobalPost: US Cuba embargo grows new fangs in Florida

At the same time, Cubans who fled the island for the US argue that Castro's support for gay rights is disingenuous. Her visit to the US served as a public relations trip, they said, making Cuba look progressive even as the government denies its citizens basic rights.

"For Mariela Castro, or anybody else under the Castro dictatorship, to say they are representing the rights of anyone is an insult to the hundreds of thousands who have either been killed, jailed or assassinated by their own hands, or the nearly 100,000 people who’ve jumped into the ocean looking for freedom who haven’t made it here," Herb Sosa, executive director of Unity Coalition, a Miami-based Hispanic gay rights group, told theMiami Herald.

Culture shift

Despite criticism from the Cuban community in the US, CENESEX aims to change Cuban culture through government policies and citizen participation. As such, the Castros’ efforts on gay rights offer a peek into how Cuba may be changing.

Mariela Castro says she's continuing the work of her mother, Vilma Espín, a feminist revolutionary who started the Federation of Cuban Women. Espín, who passed away in 2007, wanted Cuba to legalize gay marriage.

Today, CENESEX is pushing for civil unions. While Castro says this is a compromise, other Cuban activists say they do not want "matrimonio" because the term is sexist, rooted in motherhood.

Hernández says a bill legalizing civil unions will pass "very soon," but Lourdes Fernández Rius, who studies family life at the University of Havana, is less optimistic. "The Cuban government is focused on many other problems that are very urgent, especially the changes to the economic sectors," she says, but homophobia also hinders legislation.

Mariela Castro successfully fought opposition based in economics and homophobia when she convinced the government to cover sex reassignment surgeries under Cuba's universal health care system in 2008. A limited number are performed each year due to the surgery's high cost.

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