Series Preview: White Sox at Tigers

Chicago White Sox (8-11) at Detroit Tigers (9-10)

Probable Pitchers:
Friday April 22, 7:05p: LHP Mark Buehrle (1-1, 4.50) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (1-2, 3.41)
Saturday April 23, 4:10p: RHP Edwin Jackson (2-1, 3.51) vs. RHP Brad Penny (0-2, 8.44)
Sunday April 24, 1:05p: LHP John Danks (0-2, 3.00) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (3-0, 4.30)

Lineup Notes:
With Victor Martinez on the disabled list, Magglio Ordonez is expected to fill the role at DH as he is still bothered by a sore ankle.
Don Kelly could get some playing time in Game 2, as he is 6 for 13 against White Sox starter Edwin Jackson.
Will Rhymes continues to struggle at the plate this season and after starting only 1 of the 3 games in Seattle this past week, we could see more of the same. With two lefties on the mound this weekend for the Sox, we should see more Raburn at second and Casper Wells joining Jackson and Boesch in the outfield.

Game 1:
CHI - Mark Buehrle (16-8, 3.01 ERA, 42 BB, 122 K vs. Detroit)
Hitter to Fear: Magglio Ordonez (.469, 2 HR, 5 RBI vs. Buehrle)
Hitter to Fail: Miguel Cabrera (1 for 18, 1 K vs. Buehrle)

DET - Justin Verlander (7-9, 4.55 ERA, 40 BB, 88 K vs. Chicago)
Hitter to Fear: A.J. Pierzynski (.327, 3 HR, 12 RBI vs. Verlander)
Hitter to Fail: Paul Konerko (.105, 12 K vs. Verlander)

DET - Brad Penny (Has never faced Chicago)
Hitter to Fear: Carlos Quentin (5 for 10, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI vs. Penny)
Hitter to Fail: Adam Dunn (.194, 3 BB, 16 K vs. Penny)

Game 3:
CHI - John Danks (3-4, 4.12 ERA, 23 BB, 52 K vs. Detroit)
Hitter to Fear: Magglio Ordonez (.609, 4 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI vs. Danks)
Hitter to Fail: Brandon Inge (.217, 8 K vs. Danks)

DET - Max Scherzer (1-1, 3.34 ERA, 7 BB, 31 K vs. Chicago)
Hitter to Fear: Adam Dunn (.600, 2 HR, 3 RBI vs. Scherzer)
Hitter to Fail: Alex Rios (0 for 6, 3 K vs. Scherzer)

Analysis:
You'll likely notice two significant stats from the Fear or Fail section. The more noticeable one is that Magglio Ordonez is a White Sox killer. Since coming to the Tigers in 2005, Ordonez has a career .336 average against his former team. A perfect series for Ordonez to get his swing back, as he has yet to record a homerun or an RBI in 2011. The other significant stat is the number of strikeouts. The pitchers combine for 337 strikeouts against each other and although Brad Penny has never faced Chicago, he has struck out their hitters 25 times. We may not see 362 strikeouts this weekend, but we should definitely see a few swing and misses.

Sorry for the inconsistency with the previews, I had some computer problems. I'm back so I won't miss another preview!