Chicago White Sox: 2008 AL Central Champions

by Jerod Morris

[UPDATE: So I noticed this post had a huge spike in traffic today (due to the title) after the White Sox defeated the Minnesota Twins to capture the AL Central crown.  Well, this post was written on 9/21 predicting that the White Sox would win the AL Central.  And, of course, they did!  Follow the link for a quick recap of the game that made the White Sox AL Central champions. You can also go back to the homepage.  We'll be having lots of updates today and tomorrow.  And feel free to read on if you'd like to see what I was saying waaay on September 21st.]

Damn it feels good to write a blog again.

After a crazy-busy week at work, I finally had a few moments tonight to catch the end of the White Sox-Royals game on WGN and now add a post to Midwest Sports Fans. This is my favorite part about having a sports blog…it reminds me of the Southwest Airlines commercials: “Wanna get away for a while?” Well, I do. And it’s time to offer my fearless (and guaranteed) predictions for the end of the season:

We are closing in on the last week of the season. As I sit here tonight typing, on September 20th, 2008, the White Sox are 2 ½ games ahead of the Minnesota Piranhas. (Short aside here: if I were a Twins fan, I would write a letter to the club and request a name change…and I’d go with Ozzie’s suggestion. Right now, they are named after the nickname of two cities. How lame is that? And if you make a joke about the White Sox being named after, you know, socks I will put you in a headlock and punch your cranium repeatedly.)

Speaking of which…

And while we are strolling down memory lane…

Now back to the subject at hand… the last week of the season. How will it finish up for the White Sox? Here is how I see it playing out:

After tonight’s game, I see no way the White Sox lose tomorrow. Jermaine Dye’s 9th-inning blast was a Cubs-fans’-dong-length away from going out. Yes…it was literally an inch from being a homerun. If that goes out, the game is tied 5-5 and we win. We always win close games like that when we come back late. The pitching matchup is John Danks versus Brandon Duckworth tomorrow. The way I see it, if we lose to a guy named Duckworth, we don’t deserve to win the AL Central. But we’re the best team in the AL Central. Hence, we will win, and I don’t think it will be close. I see our offense exploding, at least 3-4 homers. I also think Minnesota will win. I know that Andy Sonnanstine killed the White Sox earlier this year with a masterful complete game, and the Twins are on the road; but, they have Francisco Liriano on the hill and I think they get it done. Sox still up 2 ½ games.

Both the Sox and the Twins are off Monday.

Then it’s the series of the year. White Sox at Twins. September 23-25.

Game 1 (according to ESPN) is Clayton Richard versus Scott Baker. Richard just pitched in relief tonight, so I don’t what that means as far as him starting next week. But he did throw the ball well against the Yankees in his last start so I am assuming he will make this one. I think the Twins take this game though. They are back at home after a tough road trip and we are not the best road team. And this is a touch matchup for a young pitcher against a fundamentally sound lineup. Sox up 1 ½ games. I hate Joe Mauer. (just thought I’d throw that in there, for the record. And not for any particular reason either. He’s good, he has sideburns, and he’s on an AL Central rival. I don’t hate him as much as I hate Girlie Sizemore, but I still hate him. Justin Morneau too.)

Game 2 is not listed on ESPN, but I am assuming it will be Javier Vazquez taking the hill. And I would think he’d be up against Glen Perkins, based on the Twins rotation from this week. I hate to say it, but my confidence in Javy is kind of low right now. And I think the Twins will have some momentum from the first game of the series and the home field advantage gets them another win. Sox up ½ game.

Game 3 is Mark Buehrle against Nick Blackburn. Mark is 10-6 with a 4.16 ERA in the Metrodome. Overall, he is 21-12 with a 3.85 ERA against the Twins. Nick Blackburn is kind of a douche bag, looks like Joe Mauer’s dorkier older brother who has an inferiority complex because his younger brother beats him at everything, and has given up 6 earned runs in each of his last two starts. Plus he has a 6.14 ERA lifetime against the White Sox. No way Buehrle lets us lose this game. Sox up 1 ½ games.

So we lose the series 1-2, but have a 1 ½ game lead, plus the momentum of a big win in game 3. We go home to play Cleveland while Minnesota stays in the Metrodome to face Kansas City. It looks like we would face Cliff Lee on Sunday, but miss Fausto Carmona. I see no way that we don’t win the series in our own home park…where we’ve played so well season…but it’s hard to predict a victory against Cliff Lee. He’s been lights out this year, and I think he’d be facing Vazquez. Not a good matchup for us. I say Minnesota wins their series too, but not in a sweep. And even if they do sweep the Royals, I’m not entirely convinced they beat Tampa Bay tomorrow. They are still on the road, after all. Either way, that means we’re still up at least 1 ½ games and the extra game against Detroit is not necessary.

It also means we’re AL Central champions and in the playoffs. Obviously I am hoping we do better than 1-2 against Minnesota. But realistically, with how inconsistent we’ve been on the road and how good they are at home, we can sustain a series loss if we can go up there and steal a game. I have tremendous faith in Mark Buehrle not allowing us to lose in the finale. I love Floyd and Danks…but both of those guys would scare me a bit in that spot. I know Buehrle can be erratic sometimes, but he also steps up big when we need him. That start will be one of his most important regular season starts in a White Sox uniform and when all is said and done will be one of the primary reasons why we are playing in October.

It also looks like we might get Carlos Quentin back if we make the playoffs, which would be a huge emotional lift for this team. Not to mention, his presence back in the middle of the order…even if he isn’t 100%…would be huge.

We all know that crazy things happen in the baseball playoffs. You just have to get there. I think the White Sox will get there, and if we can hit some home runs and get games to Bobby Jenks, well…how about one more trip down memory lane?

Let’s finish strong White Sox. We have a lot of new guys who have stepped up this year (Danks, Floyd, TCQ, Alexei) but I think it will be some of the stalwarts from 2005 (Buehrle, Jenks, JD, AJ, Uribe) that carry us to the finish line and to another AL Central crown. Just ask Ozzie what place we will finish in:

Tags: AL Central, bobby jenks, carlos quentin, chicago, Chicago White Sox, jermaine dye, joe mauer, mark buehrle, minnesota twins, MLB, ozzie guillen

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