Has the advent of the baggy pants (pajamas) in baseball caused the strike zone to change?

My perspective on this is that once the players started to wear loose fitting pants the umpire was no longer able to see exactly where their knee began.  While it is comfortable for them, they are putting themselves behind the eight ball from the umpire’s perspective.

One player that I noticed tried it both ways was Jermaine Dye earlier in the season.  While he only wore the pants in the traditional fashion for a couple of games, to me it was obvious that his strike zone was different.  It would be nice to sit down and discuss this with him.  I wonder if he saw the same thing that I did while I was sitting on my couch?

It is obvious that taller players with long legs are at the biggest disadvantages.  I also think that it has to have some impact on their ability to run.  Just look at Manny Ramirez’s pants.  How can he run in those things?

I guess the bottom line for me is that if you take away the umpires’ point of reference, then don’t complain.  I really wish the players all would go old school and wear their pants in the traditional sense.  Just for arguments sake it would be interesting to see if the strike zone were to go back to the official rule definition of the strike zone.

* – Jermaine Dye photo credit: Getty Images via Daylife

But it also means something else: it’s time to dole out some midseason awards.

Since our primary focus here at Midwest Sports Fans is, well, the Midwest, I am going to focus my award giving to just the Central divisions of the American and National League. Let’s get right to it.

NL Central 1st Half MVP: Albert Pujols, and I really don’t need to say anything else about it. His name itself is becoming hyperbole. I want to see a new version of “The Most Interesting Man in the World” commercials featuring Pujols. They could be called “The Most Dominating Presence in Baseball” and include lines like “he once struck out, just to see what it felt like” and “he’s seen less pitches than the World Cup, yet his goatee alone has hit more home runs than Ryan Ludwick.” Albert Pujols is amazing and is not just the NL Central MVP, but the MLB MVP for the first half of 2009.

AL Central 1st Half MVP: This one is not so clear cut. Let’s take a look at a few of the candidates (stats as of July 9th):

• Joe Mauer, Twins: 60 G, 224 AB, .388 BA, 15 HR, 47 RBI, 48 R, 1.118 OPS
• Justin Morneau, Twins: 84 G, 319 AB, .317 BA, 21 HR, 69 RBI, 56 R, .984 OPS
• Jermaine Dye, White Sox: 77 G, 276 AB, .297 BA, 20 HR, 54 RBI, 51 R, .940 OPS
• Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals: 10-5, 2.12 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 129 K, 29 BB

Obviously I really want to say JD, or even Scott Podsednik, and I think there is an argument to be made for them as their value has been highlighted by the injury to Carlos Quentin, but I have a hard time giving it to anyone other than Justin Morneau or Joe Mauer with the impressive stats both have racked up.

It certainly isn’t Zack Greinke, whose team becomes more irrelevant with each passing week. If his ERA was still 1.00, then maybe. But he hasn’t been as lights-out recently, which is to be expected since he isn’t the greatest pitcher in the history of mankind and all beings, as some have suggested.

While everyone is salivating over Mauer, and don’t get me wrong — he has been great since returning from injury, Morneau has been producing at a high level for 24 more games and over the span of almost 100 more ABs than Mauer. Plus, batting average is an overrated stat, so Mauer gets no bonus points from me because he’s making everyone dream about .400. Both are great candidates, and by the end of the year such a difference in games won’t be so magnified, but right now I have to go with Morneau, who has been the most consistent run producer in the division over the course of the entire first half.

NL Central 1st Half Cy Young: I see two primary contenders: Adam Wainwright of St. Louis and Yovani Gallardo of Milwaukee. Here are the stats:

• Yovani Gallardo, Brewers: 8-6, 109.2 innings, 2.95 ERA, 120 K, 51 BB
• Adam Wainwright, Cardinals: 9-5, 122.1 innings, 3.09 ERA, 110 K, 45 BB

Pretty damn close based on the numbers (and you could probably throw Ryan Franklin in the mix here too, who has been great as the Cardinals’ closer). My first instinct when comparing Gallardo and Wainwright is to go with the guy pitching for the team in first place, but it’s hard to use team record as a tie-breaker considering the Cardinals are only one game up on the Brewers in the standings. Or is it? With two pitchers this close, sometimes it comes right down to head-to-head battles.

Thus far in 2009, Wainwright has absolutely dominated Milwaukee. He is 2-0 in two starts against the Brewers, going 15.1 innings and giving up just a single run while striking out 18. Gallardo, on the other hand, has struggled somewhat against his team’s primary competition for the division title. Despite having a better overall ERA and WHIP than Wainwright, Gallardo is 0-1 against St. Louis. Sure, he pitched 8 innings of shutout ball while only giving up 2 hits in the teams’ May 25th battle, so you can’t blame him for the no decision there, but that game was not head-to-head against Wainwright like the July 7th game was. In that battle, Gallardo lasted only five innings and gave up four runs in a 5-0 loss for the Brew Crew.

So maybe that one game difference for the Cardinals is the difference between Wainwright and Gallardo. I’m giving the 1st half Cy Young for the NL Central to Adam Wainwright.

AL Central 1st Half Cy Young: Lots of legit contenders here. Let’s list them out with stats:

• Mark Buehrle, White Sox: 9-2, 3.14 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 114.2 innings, 65 K, 25 BB
• Joe Nathan, Twins: 0-1, 1.13 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 33.1 innings, 22 saves, 43 K, 7 BB
• Justin Verlander, Tigers: 9-4, 3.59 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 115.1 innings, 141 K, 35 BB
• Edwin Jackson, Tigers: 6-4, 2.59 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 114.2 innings, 93 K, 33 BB
• Zack Greinke, Royals: 10-5, 2.12 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 127.1 innings, 129 K, 29 BB
• Fausto Carmona, Indians: 2-6, 7.42 ERA, 1.81 WHIP, 60.2 innings, 36 K, 41 BB

If we were giving this out to the pitcher who has been the most generous to opposing hitters and teams, Fausto Carmona would win in a landslide. And yes, this is the same Fausto Carmona that went 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA in 2007. But obviously I only listed Carmona here to throw more salt in the multitude of open wounds Cleveland’s start has given its fans. More on him later.

Back to the subject at hand. Zack Greinke obviously has the best numbers, but I just don’t believe in handing out awards to players whose teams are not in the playoff race. There is a different level of pressure when your team is expected to win and when games are meaningful. If the award were Most Outstanding Pitcher, it’s Greinke by a landslide. It’s not, and it clearly states in the fine print of my own personal Cy Young and MVP criteria that last place teams (Cleveland sucks so bad they don’t count anymore) cannot have Cy Young or MVP winners, so we’ll let Willy Wonka tell Zack Greinke what he’s won:

(By the way, credit goes to Hugging Harold Reynolds for tweeting that video yesterday. I hadn’t seen that in forever, but always loved Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Charlie Bucket is a golden god.)

Honestly, I can’t find a whole lot to separate Buehrle, Verlander, and Jackson. All three have had excellent seasons. I’d give the edge to Buehrle because he owns the Tigers and Verlander sucks against the White Sox, and both have more wins than Jackson, but it’s really splitting hairs between those three.

My 1st half AL Central Cy Young goes to Joe Nathan, who has just be out-of-this-world awesome. The Twins’ pitchers (other than Nick Blackburn, who is having a very good yet under-the-radar season) have struggled this season. Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker, and Kevin Slowey have all dealt with injuries and bouts of ineffectiveness. The one constant (throughout all the years Ray, has been baseball) has been Joe Nathan at the back end of the bullpen making sure that when the Twins do have a late lead, they do not surrender it.

I’m not a huge proponent of giving Cy Youngs to closers who typically pitch less than a third of the amount of innings a top-line starter does, but Joe Nathan has given up only 18 hits in 33.1 innings and is 22-24 in save opportunities. He has been beyond dominant and there is no way the Twins would be as close to first place as they are without him. It’s a competitive field, but Nathan is the choice.

NL Central Manager of the 1st Half: Tony LaRussa, and I don’t think it’s close. Ken Macha has done a nice job in Milwaukee keeping the Brewers in the race without C.C. Sabathia or Ben Sheets, but LaRussa has the Cardinals in first place with one legit hitter in his lineup. Yes, that hitter is the great Pujols, but look at the rest of the team’s offensive stats. Putrid. And it’s not like their pitching has been lights out. Ryan Franklin has been a revelation in the bullpen, and getting Chris Carpenter back has helped, but this is still a rotation that counts on guys like Kyle Lohse, Joel Piniero, and Todd Wellemeyer. That LaRussa has the Cardinals in first place is a testament to his managerial genius (and to Pujols’ utter dominance, of course).

AL Central Manager of the 1st Half: I really want to say Ozzie Guillen, and I think that he’s done a great job, but my vote goes to Jimmy Leyland of Detroit. It’s not just that the Tigers are in first place, it’s that they’ve been able to rebound from last season’s disappointment with a far less potent offensive attack and without the benefit of an above-average bullpen. Leyland has navigated his way through the struggles of Dontrelle Willis and Armando Gallarraga, plus had to deal with Magglio Ordonez’s sharp decline. Leyland essentially has a lineup with only three hitters who have been consistent producers (Miguel Cabrera, Brandon Inge, Curtis Granderson), yet there the Tigers sit, a couple games up and eight games over .500.

2009 has been an excellent rebound season for Detroit, and Leyland deserves credit as the man steering the ship. He also deserves credit for having one of the most hilarious old school baseball cards ever. The hat, the mustache, the sunburned face…I’m not sure if he’s at Spring Training, a train conductor, or working at a carnival.

And with that, let’s transition into a few “alternative” awards for the first half.

NL Central Least Valuable Player of the 1st Half: Milton Bradley wins this one. Signed in the offseason after putting up terrific numbers in Texas, The Angry One has only gotten 203 ABs so far this season and hasn’t done much with them. He’s hitting .236 and, even worse, is slugging only .374. Ouch. Plus, he is being his usual distracting self and getting into public pissing matches with his manager when he’s not forgetting how many outs there are in an inning. Like most things having to do with the Cubs, you just get the feeling that this is not going to end well.

AL Central Least Valuable Player of the 1st Half: Fausto Carmona of the Indians. We touched on his stats above, and they really say it all. This guy has just gone straight downhill since 2007 and the Indians have to be wondering if he’ll ever be able to recapture the ability that made him appear to be one of the bright young pitching stars in the big leagues. Despite a rough 2008, a lot was expected out of Carmona this year. Well, the Indians have gotten a lot out of him…it’s just all been bad.

AL/NL Central Worst Manager of the 1st Half: Hands down Eric Wedge. You need look no further than this site, where our very own AJ Kaufman calls for Wedge’s head in pretty much every article he writes. The Indians were expected to contend for the AL Central crown, yet they are 13.5 games out and 19 games under .500 already.

AL/NL Central Manager with the most potential to give his kids truly awful awesome names: Eric Wedge. If he had any sense of humor he would name his kids Orange, Potato, and Cheese. No such luck though. As it is, he and his wife named their kids Ava and Dalton Cash. Oh well.

Come to think of it though, Dalton Cash Wedge is a pretty sweet and unique name. The kid is either going be a scrappy middle infielder/#2 hitter in the majors or the lead actor in his generation’s version of Dawson’s Creek. Well done Eric. (See, we don’t always criticize you on Midwest Sports Fans.)

AL/NL Central Quote of the 1st Half: This one is easy and goes to (who else?) Ozzie Guillen. And there were a few of them, all of which were gloriously derogatory towards the team from the North Side.

“But one thing about Wrigley Field, I puke every time I go there. That’s just to be honest. And if Cub fans don’t like the way I talk about Wrigley Field, it’s just Wrigley Field. I don’t say anything about the fans or anything now. But Wrigley Field, they got to respect my opinion. That’s the way I feel…I don’t care if they hate me. They don’t feed my kids. If they hate me, that’s cool.”

That’s just a great quote, although the part about Ozzie not talking about Cubs fans may not be entirely true. Ozzie also had this gem:

“…our fans are not stupid like Cubs fans.”

AL/NL Central Home Run Call of the Year: Hawk Harrelson, two days ago. Hell yeah!

That’s all I’ve got. Sorry for not even mentioning your teams Reds, Astros, and Pirates fans…they’ve all been pretty uninteresting so far this year, at least as far as I’m concerned. But feel free to add your own midseason awards in the comments.

The White Sox bring out the brooms again tonight, and then play the Twins in a pivotal pre-All Star Break series. As Hawk might say, I loooove baseball.

* – Jim Leyland baseball card image credit: Vinewood Sports Cards

* – Albert Pujols photo credit: Urban Shocker

The White Sox only other sweep of the season came at the end of May when the Good Guys swept three on the road against the Kansas City Royals. And as KVB and I lament to eachother all of the time, the White Sox never seem to complete sweeps. It always seems like any time we take the first two or three games of a series there is a letdown in the final game. Either the regular lineup sleepwalks through the game, we get a terrible pitching performance, or Ozzie throws out one of his crazy lineups where Brian Anderson is hitting cleanup.

I’m exaggerating…but not by much.

Not yesterday though. Last night, the White Sox continued playing the solid brand of baseball that has propelled them to five straight wins and 12 wins in their last 17 games. Over that same time span, a fan base — and maybe even a team and an entire organization — has been reborn into one that expects, rather than hopes, to be playing baseball in October.

At least that’s how I feel. And hopefully the rest of the South Side is with me. (And if you’re not, I have a few words from Steve Perry I’d like to share with you. That’s right, I went there.)

Truthfully, what has transpired over the last couple of weeks has renewed my faith that the White Sox will ultimately come out on top in a very competitive AL Central. I have to admit that through the ups and downs of this season it has been hard to maintain that faith. Case in point: Ozzie saying that we are in trouble if we have to bring up Gordon Beckham…and then shortly thereafter Beckham gets brought up.

And yes, I realize that the majority of the recent success has come against the inferior National League (and then the even more inferior Indians), so I will grant you that the White Sox haven’t exactly been mowing down the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays; but, the Brewers, Cubs, Dodgers, and Reds are all at least decent teams (especially LA, with our without Manny) so I don’t think you can simply chalk up the White Sox success to playing subpar competition.

No, there are many reasons why the White Sox are winning and the majority of them have to do with the players themselves and the better brand of baseball they are playing.

Will they make the playoffs? I’m not going to make any proclamations and jinx them. (Full disclosure: in preparation for this post I researched Jim Fassel’s infamous playoff guarantee when he was coaching the Giants and had planned on altering it for purposes of my own guarantee here. Then I thought the better of it.) But what seemed like a rather ridiculous conversation a few weeks ago is starting to look more and more realistic.

So in honor of the White Sox 40th victory of the season, and because it is my lucky number (in honor of my favorite basketball player of all-time), here are 40 reasons, in no particular order, why the White Sox have a great shot to win the AL Central and make a return trip to the playoffs in 2009.

1 — Ozzie Guillen. The SI players poll may suggest that other players don’t want to play for him, but his own players do. And they have proven it every year outside of that awful and anomalous 2007. As long as Ozzie is the skipper, I’ll always believe in the White Sox. Paws up.

2 — We actually have a productive 1-2 punch at the top of the order! Most White Sox fans had forgotten what that feels like. 2005 hero Scotty Pods and Sexy Alexei have reminded us over the last 50 or so games. If Podsednik can come close to maintaining his .368 OBP, and if Alexei can continue to put his early season woes behind him (and improve upon his .398 SLG), the White Sox will have the run production and speed they need at the top of the lineup.

3 — We get THE Carlos Quentin back around the All Star Break. Remember him? Mr. Porcelain, but also the best player in the American League through the end of August last year? The White Sox offense has fortuitously been able to find its footing over the last month without him, but no one has forgotten how important Quentin is to the overall makeup of our team. Assuming Quentin can even be 80% of his normal self throughout the rest of the season, he will provide a huge presence that has been sorely lacking.

4 — Jose F*****g Contreras. I love this guy. He’s like a phoenix. Every time you think he’s finished he rises again to prove why he was such a hot commodity upon defecting here from Cuba. And there are few guys that I trust more in big spots than Contreras. He was AWFUL to start the year, but since heading down to the minors he has found his touch again and has given up only 9 runs over five starts that have covered a little over 37 innings.

5 — Mark Buehrle is Mark Buehrle. He’s not always pretty, and he’ll get knocked around every now and then, but the numbers are always there. This year he’s 7-2 with a 3.26 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He’s an ace. You have to have one to win division titles, and I’ll just say it: you’re wrong if you don’t think Mark Buehrle is an ace.

6 – Gavid Floyd has become the good Gavin again. Gavin’s season has followed an arc similar to Contreras’. He struggled mightily out of the gate, but look at his game log since May 22. Floyd has not gone less that six innings or given up more than three runs in any start. That’s eight quality starts in a row. Even more exciting is the fact that he hasn’t walked more than three batters in any of those starts either. This guy was the #4 overall pick in 2001 by the Phillies for a reason. We’ve seen why over the past 6 weeks.

7 – John Danks has become the good Danks again. Danks is another pitcher who had an up and down first 6 weeks of the season, but has turned it around. And he’s saved his best outings of the season for his two most important starts thus far: his two outings against the Cubs. Danks gave up one run over 14 innings against the Cubs. Yes, their offense sucks, but Danks has pitched four straight quality starts, going at least seven innings in all four, and the guy proved last year that he’s clutch.

8 – Is the quartet of Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd, John Danks, and Jose Contreras reminding anyone over the last month or so of another White Sox pitching staff of recent vintage? Eating innings, throwing quality starts almost every time out, and stepping up big in key spots…sounds a lot like the 2005 staff to me. Buehrle and Contreras are the holdovers, but Floyd and Danks have been every bit as good as Garland and Garcia. And remember, neither El Duque or Brandon McCarthy was that great in the fifth spot during the regular season that year. If the pitching continues on its current trend, and we know they are capable, this is a World Series-quality staff.

9 – Gordon Beckham is here and he’s every bit as good as advertised. Yeah, the kid struggled out of the gate, but look at his last seven games: 12-21 with a HR and 6 RBI. We all love Josh Fields and wish he had taken ahold of the hot corner when he had his chance, but Beckham is the future. And he is proving that he just may be the present as well.

10 – Did I mention Carlos Quentin is coming back at the All Star Break?

11 – Aaron Poreda is with the big club now and has not given up a run in his first five innings of work out of the bullpen. He has six Ks and only one BB and has given up only four hits. The Rays received a jolt from their phemon pitcher David Price last year. Could Poreda fill a similar role for the White Sox? He’s certainly had an auspicious beginning.

12 – Bobby Jenks is still one of the best closers in the game, and is as battle tested as anyone not named Mariano Rivera or Jonathan Papelbon. The big man has 18 saves on the season and has 28 Ks in 28 innings this year, a drastic improvement upon his sharply declining K rate from last year. He may not have the same gas he had back in 2005, but he is a much better pitcher now. And he’s already proven his stones on the biggest stage.

13 – Still, there are rumors that the White Sox might trade Bobby Jenks before the trade deadline. I do not want to this happen, nor do I think it will now that we’ve reemerged as a legitimate contender. Closers with Bobby’s stuff, talent, moxie, and proven experience do not grow on trees; and it’s rare to see a team get far in October without one. Regardless, on the off chance that we do trade Jenks, we’ve got a great bullpen filled with guys I would have confidence in to take over the role. (But Kenny…if you’re listening…don’t trade Bobby!)

14 – Matt Thornton has had a few rougher outings of late, but is still holding opponents to a .214 average and has struck out 39 batters in 31.2 innings.

15 – Octavio Dotel is walking way too many guys (21 in 30.2 innings) but has 39 strikeouts of his own through 30.2 innings and has successful closing experience in his past.

16 – D.J. Carrasco has come into his own as a very valuable asset in the bullpen. He’s logged 48.2 innings in 26 games and has an ERA under 3.00. He has given up seven runs over his last six outings though, so he needs to get himself back on track. But, as a former starter, he has the arm strength to be a bullpen savior on days when we need one.

17 – Scott Linebrink has not been great this year, but still has an ERA of 2.17 and averages more than a K per inning. He is not closer material — Thornton or Dotel would pick up that slack if Jenks is moved — but he remains a solid option as a setup man.

18 – Regardless of whether or not Kenny trades Bobby (don’t do it!!!), each of those four guys plus Poreda gives the White Sox an outstanding bullpen that I’d put up against any in the league. Still, I think Kenny will hang onto a proven closing commodity like Jenks, so each of the bullpen guys will get to stay in the roles they have been successful in and form one of the most unsung units in all of baseball.

19 – Ken Williams. He has to be listed as a reason why the White Sox can (and will!) make the playoffs. As White Sox fans we may not agree with all of his moves, but we have to give him this: he never stops being proactive to improve our chances. And I think his gameplan entering this season was brilliant. He put together a vet-laden team with a few new additions that, if everything fell right, had a good chance to make the playoffs. But he also has been restocking the farm system to the point where we can all feel pretty secure that when the Buehrle-Konerko-Dye era ends, the White Sox will be okay.

20 – Let’s get back to the offense, because its resurgence is one of the main reasons why the White Sox have started playing better baseball. And the most important cog in the White Sox offensive machine is still Jermaine Dye. As usual, Jermaine is quietly putting up solid numbers (.294, 18 HR, 48 RBI) and providing a steadying and consistent presence in the middle of the lineup. This guy was a World Series MVP in 2005 and was damn close to being the league MVP in 2006. He’s not quite the same player now — age will do that to you — but he is still good enough to be the second best hitter on a team that makes a deep playoff run.

21 – Carlos Quentin, of course, will hopefully resume his role as the best hitter on the team when he returns. And did I mention that he’s coming back around the All Star Break? My apologies if I didn’t. Quentin is coming back around the All Star Break.

22 – Paul Konerko, like Jermaine Dye, is having a solid season in the heart of the order (.290, 13 HR, 49 RBI). Like Dye, Konerko is not as ferocious as he once was, but is still good enough. And like Dye, Konerko has proven himself in clutch situations. I know that the combo of Dye and Konerko may not be all that sexy or exciting, but there is something to be said for battle-tested veterans who are team leaders and the essence of the term “professional hitters.” Paulie is still getting the job done both at the plate and in the field, as is JD.

23 – Chris Getz sometimes gets lost in the shuffle with all of the hullabaloo about Gordon Beckham, but Getz is providing something that our lineup has sorely lacked over the last couple of years: speed. He, Scotty Pods, and Alexei all have 11 or more stolen bases. Finally the White Sox have some people who can put a little pressure on other teams with the running game.

24 – AJ Pierzynski will never wow you with his stats, and he’ll do things that make you scratch your head sometimes (like his putrid ground out on the first pitch with the bases loaded at the end of one of our games last week), but he’s scrappy and he’s a winner. AJ comes through in the clutch more than often than not, and is underrated behind the plate (except for his arm, which can’t really be rated low enough). You need a good catcher to win, and the White Sox have one in AJ.

25 – The White Sox also seem to have found a backup catcher. Ramon Castro has blasted two home runs in 21 ABs since joining the team a couple weeks ago and is a guy who has always had monstrous power. Playing half of his games at The Cell with the weather warming up may be just the opportunity he needs to show that he can be a 25-30 HR guy someday. We’ll gladly take production anywhere close to that from our backup.

(BTW…all stats for the last six or seven of these have been taken from the White Sox hompage.)

26 – A couple of curses ended last year and we don’t have to worry about them anymore. The Jim Thome Curse and The Curse of the Douche Bag.

27 – Detroit has only three starters worth a crap (Verlander, E. Jackson, Porcello) and one of them is a 20-year old rookie (Porcello). Yes, Porcello has been very good this year, but how is his arm going to be holding up in September? He supposedly has a great makeup, but he’s never been through the pressure of a pennant race. If the Tigers cannot some more starting pitching, they are going to fall back even further to the pack.

28 – Curtis Granderson (.339 OBP, 18 HR, 13 SB) and Miguel Cabrera (.331 BA, 16 HR, 47 RBI) are really good, and Brandon Inge has certainly rebounded this year (18 HR, 52 RBI) from his subpar 2008, but what do the Tigers have after that? Magglio is on the sharp downside of his career and just is not supplying power anymore. Look at the other names that have chewed up the most ABs for Detroit this season: Placido Polanco, Gerald Laird, Adam Everett, Josh Anderson. Call me crazy, but I’ll take our offense for the rest of the season…especially once Quentin gets back.

29 – By the way, Quentin is coming back at The All Star Break.

30 – Minnesota is the Chicago’s other main competitor in the AL Central, and they have as many holes as Detroit. I do think that Minnesota’s pitching is better than what the numbers show (i.e. Baker’s 4.99 ERA and Slowey’s 4.41 ERA despite better peripherals) but this is a team that needed Francisco Liriano to be be an ace. Detroit has its ace in Justin Verlander and we have ours in Mark Buehrle. Who is it for the Twins? Baker and Slowey and very good #2-#3 starters, but the Twins do not have a guy who has proven he can take the ball and throw a gem in a big spot when the team needs it. Argue if you wish Twinkie fans, but that’s how I see it.

31 – Offensively, Minnesota has been surprisingly balanced this season. Look at the their team stats and tell me you aren’t surprised to see five guys with double-digit homers on the 2nd of July. In addition to the usual suspects (Mauer and Morneau), Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, and (*sob*) Joe Crede all have 11 or more dingers. Add in the speed of Denard Span and Carlos Gomez and the Twins have a more dynamic offense than usual that has been able to somewhat compensate for its struggling pitching. However, this is still a team that goes how Mauer and Morneau go, and you may be surprised to learn that both hit below their career averages against the White Sox. In 331 career ABs against Chicago, Morneau (a .284 lifetime hitter) hits only .275. He has a career OPS of .858 that drops to .840 when playing against Chicago. (For the record, his HR rate is almost identical.) As for Mauer, Mr. .400 blah blah blah, he is a .324 career hitter with an OPS of .881. Against the White Sox that drops to .313 and .858. Are Mauer and Morneau terrible against Chicago? No. Have they come up big at certain points against the White Sox in the past? Yes. But they sure as hell didn’t against John Danks in last year’s one-game playoff, and anytime you make those two hit worse than normal you have a great chance to beat Minnesota.

32 – Detroit and Chicago are big-market teams that will make moves at the deadline to improve their chances this year. Minnesota does not have the same luxury. That knocks the Twins down at least a peg in comparison to the Tigers and White Sox.

33 – Take a look at a quick comparison between the aces of the White Sox and the Tigers. In 15 career starts against Chicago, Justin Verlander is 3-9 with a 5.44 ERA. In 27 career starts against Detroit, Mark Buehrle is 14-8 with a 2.99 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. And, for the record, Buehrle is 23-13 lifetime against the Twins. So Peter Gammons and all of the other baseball analysts can go into the bathroom with a moist towelette and a mental image of Verlander’s incredible “stuff”, but the fact of the matter is that he doesn’t get the job done against his division rival. The underrated Buehrle, of course, does. So, in review: Minnesota has no ace, the Tigers do but he sucks against Chicago, and the White Sox ace (who many people erroneously don’t consider to be an ace) dominates the two best teams in his division. HUGE advantage White Sox.

34 – The White Sox schedule in the second half of September sets up beautifully for a late charge to pull away from the pack. From September 21-27 the White Sox play the Twins and Tigers three times each, all of which are in Chicago. These six games are sandwiched between three at home against Kansas City and then three on the road at Cleveland to end the season. And there is actually a good chance Cleveland will have just called off the season by then, giving the White Sox a three-game sweep by forfeit.

35 – Since the White Sox have no more games against the Rangers, I most likely will not be able to see them play live for the rest of the regular season. This is good because I think the White Sox have a .200 winning percentage in games I’ve attended over the years. When KVB and I go together it’s even worse than that. (Be thankful that we never moved to Chicago and got season tickets.) If the Sox make the playoffs, however, and especially if they go deep, I may not be able to stay away. My apologies in advance.

36 – I know, I know…I’ve left someone out who deserves mention: Jim Thome. Now that the White Sox are back playing in AL parks, Thome has returned to the lineup. He is by no means the masher he was in Cleveland or Philly, but the guy is still a productive hitter (.402 OBP, 13 HR, 42 RBI) and a tremendous leader in the clubhouse. It took me a while, but I’ve fully embraced him as a true Good Guy and he is another one of our battle-tested veterans who heats up with the weather.

37 – Time to address the elephant in the room: defense. This is the White Sox biggest weakness. Currently, there are only five teams in baseball with more fielding errors than the White Sox. And no one has had worse defense at the hot corner than Chicago (17 errors, .922 fielding percentage). With Joe Crede gone and the combo of Josh Fields-Gordon Beckham over there, that is to be expected. But on the bright side, this has no place to go but up. And considering that Gordon Beckham has only been playing third base for about a month, his struggles were anticipated. Most seem to think that he is a good enough athlete to become very good defensively at third. As the season goes along, I think we’ll see his production in the field improve.

38 – Another area on defense where the White Sox have struggled is at shortstop, where Alexei Ramirez recently drew the ire of Ozzie Guillen for lackluster and unfocused play. I definitely see this improving. Alexei has all of the tools to be not just a good shortstop, but a great one. And there is no way Ozzie will allow that position to be a consistent weakness.

39 – Getting back to pitching because I forgot someone: Clayton Richard. On the season he is 3-1 with a 4.48 ERA in 22 games (10 starts). Immediately after stepping into the rotation when Bartolo Colon went on the DL, Clayton strung together three straight excellent starts. I then picked him up on my fantasy team and he hasn’t thrown a quality start since. White Sox fans will be happy to know that I’ve dropped him again, which means that he will likely turn things back around. All kidding aside, Richard is nothing more than a 5th starter right now, but he is adequate. And when Colon comes back to the rotation (if he even does), he gives the White Sox a veteran presence who is still capable of putting up halfway decent numbers. The point is that while the White Sox don’t have a world beater in the 5th slot of the rotation, the guys they are throwing out there aren’t horrible. And with the offense picking things up, we can win with Richard or Colon on the bump. And who knows, maybe Poreda steps in there at some point and provides Porcello-like production. Either way, this slot will not keep up from winning the Central.

40 – And finally, reason #40 why the White Sox can, should, and I think will win the AL Central: the return of Carlos Quentin. Am I putting a lot on his shoulders? Yes. Is there a chance he comes back and gets injured again? Yes. But is his presence in the lineup necessary for this team long-term in 2009? I believe it absolutely is. The White Sox are proving they can without TCQ, but when you get one of the best players in the AL back after an extended absence it cannot be anything but a boon to your chances. And Carlos will have the entire second half of the season to get his timing back. Perhaps this year will be a reverse of last year in that Quentin will save his best for September in 2009. We missed him in September last year, but still found a way to claw our way to a playoff berth. With Quentin in September this year, I think the White Sox have a good chance of heading into the playoffs with momentum and their best all-around player hitting on all cylinders.

Say what you will about the 40 reasons listed above, but one thing is certain: those who stuck a fork in the White Sox a few weeks back did so prematurely. For some reason, people always seem to underestimate the managerial and leadership ability of Ozzie Guillen and the heart, character, and talent in the White Sox clubhouse. The good thing is that the only people who matter (Kenny, Ozzie, and the team) never doubted. Over the last three weeks we have seen why, and White Sox fans have every reason to believe that a return trip to the playoffs is not only possible but, at least in my opinion, very probable.

So sit back, relax, and strap it down, and let’s all enjoy what should be a great three-team race for the 2009 AL Central crown…one that will be made all the more exciting when the White Sox end up repeating as champions.

* – Scott Podsednik photo credit: MouthPieceSports.com

And that is exactly what Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko did today against the Detroit Tigers, as two of the heroes of the White Sox 2005 World Series team proved that they are still on top of their game. Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye hit back-to-back homeruns, the 300th career homerun for each, in the 2nd inning of Tigers starter Zach Miner. It marks the first time in Major League Baseball history that two teammates reached a century milestone in back-to-back at bats.

I cannot wait to hear Hawk Harrelson’s calls of these two jacks.

And, of course, not to be outdone, Carlos Quentin went 4-5 and jacked two dingers today, his 3rd and 4th of the season, putting to rest the Spring Training whispers that Quentin’s power may be slow in returning after his wrist injury last season. (What idiot would say that?) Something tells me Carlos Quentin will be the next White Sox player to reach 300 homeruns. Just a hunch.

After today’s 10-6 White Sox victory, the first of the season for starter Gavin Floyd (1-1), the White Sox are all alone in first place in the AL Central at 4-3, a half game up on the Tigers, pending the result of the Royals-Indians game later today.

Update: I didn’t get a chance to watch today’s game, but I just read that Dewayne Wise separated his shoulder and will be out indefinitely. Brian Anderson will obviously be getting more ABs in Wise’s absence.

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That has been the common theme that I have been witnessing first hand at White Sox Spring Training. It would not be so bad if they were spread out amongst the team but it all seems to be Josh Fields, whose fielding percentage thus far in Spring Traning is .885. I was in a much better position during the game against the A’s to really look at what he is seeing and how he is reacting.

He appears to be reading the ball just fine. What he does not seem to be able to do is to make a commitment on how and when is going to field it. With complete understanding of what a hot corner third base is, it should be understood that it will take him time to get into his comfort zone. Right now I think the only thing that is saving him is his hitting. I just want to know how long it is going to be until Ozzie has seen enough of Fields’ defense.

The 12-10 victory over the A’s began with a hitting barrage by the visiting White Sox. It was a relief after the effort that was seen against the Cubs. It was nice to see Wilson Betemit playing first base well and hitting the ball with such power. I think he will make a great second tier guy not only at first base but at other infield positions.

Jermaine Dye, however, did not look as good as I thought he would have. His choices of pitches to swing at was questionable and he always appeared to be swinging for the high home run. Of course Jim Thome hit a towering home run that bounced quite ironically of a Hooters restaurant sign.

All in all the team put together a nice offensive game.

Prior to the game I spent the morning over at Camelback Ranch getting to watch the minor league team workout. I was impressed with Dayan Viciedo and how relaxed he looks. Could he be a sizable Cuban presence in the White Sox organization in the future? If so, he appears to be making great strides in his transition to the major and minor league baseball in the States.

The stories are true. He is a big kid. Shedding some weight will definitely improve his quickness in the field, which really is not all that bad already. His hitting was in great form. He was being worked out at third base and from what I have been told that is where he is going to be playing while he is in the system. I think that it is only a matter of time and he will be up in the big leagues. My feeling is that he will be starting at third base before this year’s All-Star break.

Josh Fields photo credit: AP Photo/M. Spencer Green

I doubt Carl Pohlad would approve. Washburn’s $10.35MM dollar contract is roughly 5x the payroll of our current starting staff, and he’d be no more than our 4th or 5th starter. The other part of the story that seems fishy is that we would be getting Jeff Clement in return. Clement was the 3rd overall pick in the 2005 draft and certainly has a lot of upside, but are we seriously going to acquire another young catcher? It smells like a Boston fan played a hand in this rumor as the assumption in acquiring Clement would be that Mauer is out the door after his contract expires in two years (most notably to Boston).

Would it be nice to have Jarrod Washburn in the rotation? Yes.

Would it be nice to have a top prospect in the wings? Yes.

Should we really be giving up Delmon Young in a deal that doesn’t fill either of our primary needs? No.

If we are dead-set on dealing Delmon Young, we should focus on the left side of the infield while grabbing a worthwhile setup man. Liriano, Slowey, Blackburn, and Baker will be excellent for years to come and with Humber, Mulvey, Swarzak, and Perkins among others for us to pick from, the Twins will definitely be able to fill out that 5th spot in the rotation by season start. By the way, Joe Mauer will be a life-long Twin. This may be the only time I ever say this, but the Twins will pay the big bucks to keep him around. Jeff Clement would be great, but the only time we’d ever use him would be to deal him down the road.

I’m not crazy about this deal. I don’t see the Twins picking up Washburn’s salary and I don’t see the Twins taking a high prospect in Jeff Clement when we have Joe Mauer. It just doesn’t make sense even though both would be nice to have around. I’m also not ready to give up on Delmon Young. Anybody else somewhat surprised that Beltre’s name wasn’t thrown into the mix when that story broke?

In other news, the Twins can officially cross Ty Wigginton’s name off their wishlist as the Baltimore Orioles signed him to a 2 year $6MM dollar deal today. Apparently, other offers were on the table (possibly the Twins?), but that second guaranteed year by Baltimore was enough to ink the deal.

The Chicago White Sox are reportedly going after Bobby Abreu. This comes as a shock to some as the White Sox claimed to be finished making moves this offseason, but the rumor is that they’ve already put a one year, $8MM deal on the table. Could they possibly fill their outfield with Dye, Quentin, and Abreu? It would be a defensive nightmare for Chicago, but their lineup would have as much pop as anybody’s. However, it’s practically a foregone conclusion that Jermaine Dye will be dealt if Abreu is a member of the White Sox next season. Regardless, it has to be exciting to have Ken Williams calling the shots, but I have to say, Twins fans have to like seeing Bobby Abreu’s name in that lineup rather than Jermaine Dye’s.

Scott Baker is thinking long term with the Twins. This is great news as Baker has many good years of baseball left. Here’s to hoping we can lock him up long term.

Former Twins pitcher Eddie Guardado just signed with the Texas Rangers today. Guardado was a key component of the Twins’ AL Central titles in the early part of the decade and its good seeing him get more work.

So why will the White Sox win Game Two? Here are two key reasons as we preview tomorrow’s game:

1 – The White Sox have the better lefty. Game Two features a tremendous pitching matchup between White Sox ace Mark Buehrle and Tampa Bay ace Scott Kazmir. Both pitchers have had up-and-down seasons, and can be erratic throughout a long, 162-game season, but they would be each team’s first choice to be on the bump if their teams absolutely had to have a win. It will be a great matchup. Who has the edge? Well, let’s look at some numbers.

Scott Kazmir Stats

Season: 12-8 | 3.49 ERA | 166:70 K:BB | 1.27 WHIP

vs White Sox (2008): 1-0 | 2.08 ERA | 13:5 K:BB | .163 BAA

in September: 2-2 | 5.19 ERA | 26:15 K:BB | .240 BAA

Playoff Experience: None

Mark Buehrle Stats

Season: 15-12 | 3.79 ERA | 140:52 K:BB | 1.34 WHIP

vs Tampa Bay (2008): 0-1 | 4.58 ERA | 15:6 K:BB | .316 BAA

in September: 4-1 | 2.29 ERA | 30:10 K:BB | .267 BAA

Playoff Experience: 3-1 | 3.42 ERA | 13:1 K:BB | 1 World Series Title

So, what do the numbers tell us? Well, their overall stats for the year were relatively similar. Scott Kazmir obviously had greater success against White Sox hitters than Mark Buehrle did against Rays hitters. However, I think the bottom two rows of each stat line are the most telling. When his team needed him most this season, in September, Mark Buehrle was outstanding after really struggling in August. That is why Mark Buehrle is an ace in the truest sense of the word: he knows how to turn it up a notch when his team needs him. And Mark Buehrle has successful playoff experience. He has won a World Series and has proven he is capable of pitching big in big games.

Is Scott Kazmir?

Well, with his team fighting to win the AL East down the stretch, Kazmir limped home with a 5.19 ERA. Something tells me that might have been artificially inflated, as his K:BB and BAA were not awful. However, team aces and trusted big game pitchers do not produce 5.19 ERAs down the stretch.

Pitching usually dictates all baseball games, and this axiom is especially true in the postseason. Just as I thought Javier Vazquez would be the reason the White Sox would lose today, I can state with the utmost confidence Mark Buehrle gives the White Sox a tremendous advantage tomorrow.

2 – Tampa Bay has a talented young roster. However, for all of their talent, they have only played in one postseason game. Of course, as Evan Longoria proved today, experience isn’t always everything. But today the Rays faced a pitcher struggling with his confidence who has consistently failed in big games (Javier Vazquez). Tomorrow, they face a pitcher in Mark Buehrle who will dictate the pace of the action, pound the strike zone, probably give up some hits but also get some double plays, and will make them earn any run they get.

The White Sox hitters have a difficult task as well if the Scott Kazmir that shows up is not the same guy from September. The difference between the White Sox and Rays’ hitters is the experienced presence in the heart of the White Sox order. Jim Thome and Ken Griffey Jr have loads of experience (though not a lot of successful playoff experience) and were huge in the one-game playoff against the Minnesota Twins. Alexei Ramirez and Dewayne Wise have injected a new presence into the White Sox lineup this year and come up with big hits in key moments.

The key for the White Sox, though, will be the contributions of Jermaine Dye (the 2005 World Series MVP) and Paul Konerko (the White Sox team captain). Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko are the types of experienced veterans who step up in key moments. They always have. Obviously, Jermaine Dye stepped up huge in the 2005 World Series, and was equally as outstanding in 2006 despite the failure of the White Sox pitching staff to allow the team to make a return trip to the playoffs. Paul Konerko has made a tremendous impact during the stretch run for the White Sox. After enduring injuries and horrific struggles at the plate all summer that included a platoon at first base for a time, Paulie rebounded in September to slug .649 with 9 home runs and 15 RBIs.

Tomorrow will be a prime game for these two White Sox leaders to step up and lead the White Sox to a victory. Not only have they proven to be clutch, but they are the two White Sox hitters who have found success against Scott Kazmir. For his career, Jermaine Dye is hitting .333 against Scott Kazmir in 15 ABs, and has hit 2 home runs. Paul Konerko is also hitting .333 against Scott Kazmir, with a home run, a double, and 2 RBIs. I think both of these guys will step up and drive in at least one run, if not more.

With Mark Buehrle on the hill going 8 strong innings and then handing the game off to Bobby Jenks, two runs may be all it will take for (Ed Farmer Alert!) a White Sox winner. I think the White Sox will tack on a couple more than two, and Mark Buehrle will give up two of his own in 8 innings while scattering 9 hits, walking one, and striking out 4. Bobby Jenks…umm, did you see the tenacity in his eyes against the Twins on Tuesday night? He’s dialed in, and not giving up anything. (Hawk Harrelson Alert!) You can put it on the board — a 4-2 White win — Yeees!

[tags]chicago white sox, tampa bay rays, baseball, mlb, mlb playoffs, mark buehrle[/tags]

Mark Buehrle stepped up, and stepped up big.  And in the process, he just may have helped the Chicago White Sox escape the vicious grip of The Curse of the Douche Bag.

I wrote this morning that it was up to Mark Buehrle to step up and save the season for the Chicago White Sox. And he did just that.

Pitching on three days rest against the Cleveland Indians at home, Mark Buehrle threw 111 pitches in going 7 strong innings, giving up only a 2nd inning solo shot, and inducing four double plays. In two of the biggest games the White Sox have played in since the 2005 playoffs, Mark Buehrle has given his team a chance to win. The Sox couldn’t capitalize Wednesday night against the Twins, but they did today.

And look at who else stepped up: the captain, Paul Konerko.

Last week, I wrote “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.”

Obviously, I must offer my apologies to Paulie. He cranked two homeruns yesterday, and hit another one this afternoon to get the scoring going. But it has certainly been the stars of the 2005 White Sox who have enabled us to weather the storm and continue playing. Buehrle had a great start today, Paulie has erased the memories of his terrible season with two huge games here at the end, and Jermaine Dye has done everything he can to put runs on the board in support of our struggling pitching staff, adding two more RBIs today.

So what’s next for the White Sox?

We play the Detroit Tigers tomorrow, at home on the South Side. Gavin Floyd, who was our best big game pitcher throughout the summer, will toe the rubber for the Good Guys. And stepping on the mound for the Tigers? Another 2005 White Sox hero, Freddy Garcia. Garcia has gone five innings in both of his starts this season, giving up 3 homeruns when he faced the Kansas City Royals last week. As everyone knows, one of the Tigers’ biggest weakness is their leaky bullpen. Without question, we will get to face that bullpen tomorrow as Freddy simply doesn’t have the endurance right now to go longer than 5-6 innings, even if he is throwing well.

And remember, Gavin is 2-0 this season against Detroit, almost no-hitting them once back in April. The Tigers did chase him after four innings the last time he faced them, and Gavin was up and down throughout September, but I feel good about this matchup. I would not be surprised to see some runs scored early, but Gavin has the ability to go 7-8 innings and keep the game away from our own awful bullpen. If he can do what Mark Buehrle did today, and go seven strong before turning it over to Linebrink/Thornton and then Jenks, I like our chances.

I’ve been hard on Gavin Floyd at times this year, because his facial expressions do not always inspire confidence, but he has been our best pitcher this season. Needing a victory today we were able to turn to Mark Buehrle, who stepped up. Needing one tomorrow, we turn to Gavin Floyd. Without Mark Buehrle unavailable, and Jose Contreras lost for the season, there is no one I’d rather have throwing the ball tomorrow than Gavin.

If Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye can continue to carry the load on offense, this is a game that the White Sox should win.

Assuming we do, that brings Minnesota back to the South Side for a one-game playoff. I am assuming that John Danks would start for us and I would think that Francisco Liriano would take the mound for Minnesota. That’s a pretty even matchup, but this time we are the ones at home and I just don’t see us losing to the Twins outside of the Metrodome in a game of this magnitude.

Today was a great day for the White Sox, and proved that this team takes on the personality of its manager and never quits fighting. Today also confirmed the wise thinking of Kenny Williams in locking Mark Buehrle up long term. We all know that Mark can be up and down throughout a season, but he almost always steps up when the White Sox need him. Mark Buehrle did what Javier Vazquez has been unable to do, and showed our young pitchers what it means to be an ace. We’ll find out tomorrow if Gavin Floyd learned from Mark’s example.

The White Sox won the World Series in 2005 for a reason. The reason is that Mark Buehrle, Paul Konerko, and Jermaine Dye, among others, are talented veterans who have the ability to rise to the occasion and produce in big spots. In 2008, those very same guys have stepped up and pulled the White Sox back from the brink of total implosion. I know it’s a cliché when said in reference to the White Sox, but this team and its fans simply don’t stop believing. That’s why I have total faith that Monday and Tuesday will result in victories and the White Sox will be playing October baseball.

And other than the Red Sox, what other team has experienced veterans like the White Sox? Just get to October boys, because 2008 still has the potential to be just as special as 2005.

We have to get there first, but Mark Buehrle, Paul Konerko, and Jermaine Dye give us all plenty of reasons to believe that we can, and will.

[tags]chicago white sox, chicago, mark buehrle, mlb, baseball, AL Central, minnesota twins, jermaine dye, paul konerko[/tags]

[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:

Nick Swisher!!!! It is 12:11 am as I write this and I have been sitting at my computer watching GameCast ever since the Sox were down 6-2 early against the Tigers. What a comeback!!! Paulie went yard to start the comeback, Carlos Quentin (who else!?) jacked one to bring us closer, and then Alexei went yard in the 8th to tie it up.

The game lasted all the way until the 14th inning. The Tigers hit a 2-run homer…but there is no stopping the White Sox! Cabrera leads off with a single, and ends up scoring after Jermaine Dye reached on fielder’s error. With Quenting and Dye on base, Thome struck out (big surprise there) bringing Nick Swisher to the plate. There is only one thing left to say…

YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOARD….YES!!! Good guys win 10-8! Watch out…the Sox are about to get on a roll!