God Bless A.J. Pierzynski

He's one of the most hated players around the league, and I understand the the thought process behind every fan that boos him when he steps to the plate or is introduced to the crowd. He is A.J. Pierzynski and he may have just saved the White Sox season on Sunday afternoon.

The Sox were on the verge of being swept at home for the first time this season and possibly falling even further behind the Twins when some heads up thinking by Pierzynski saved the day. After Paul Konerko singled home Brian Anderson with two outs in the ninth inning and sent the game into extra innings, A.J. led off the bottom of the tenth with a single.

That's when the odyssey of A.J. began. First he showed once again that he's the smartest base runner the White Sox have by tagging up from first on a deep fly to center by Carlos Quentin, and getting into scoring position with one out. Then a few seconds later he became the dumbest base runner in the world when he took off for third on a Jermaine Dye grounder to short.

A.J. was quickly caught in a rundown when the gears in his brain began grinding. There's no way a slow-footed catcher was going to be able to outrun a bunch of middle infielders, so he needed a new plan.

So while A.J. was running back and forth, he figured out an escape. After Willy Aybar chased him back to second from third base, Aybar flipped the ball to Jason Bartlett, but as he passed Pierzynski in the basepath, A.J. stuck his elbow out for Aybar to run into.

Pierzynski then promptly fell to the ground and was tagged out. Only he was ruled safe after the second base umpire, Doug Eddings, ruled that Aybar had interfered with him. You aren't allowed to touch a base runner unless you have the ball in your hands, and that's what Eddings saw Aybar do, so Pierzynski was ruled safe and awarded third base.

After an intentional walk to Jim Thome to load the bases, Alexei Ramirez lined a single into right field and Pierzynski crossed home plate with the winning run. All of a sudden, the Sox had gone from being swept at home to back in first place in the AL Central, all thanks to the cheating smart thinking Pierzynski.

Oh, and if you're wondering why Doug Eddings' name sounds familiar when it comes to A.J, there's a reason for it. Guess who the home plate umpire was during Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS when A.J. Pierzynski literally stole first base, and helped send the Sox on an 8-game win streak that ended with a World Series trophy.

Yep, that's right, it was Doug Eddings. Chicago's favorite patsy umpire.