Why Play?

Just because the White Sox are out of playoff contention doesn't mean they don't have anything left to play for. Here's a few things the Sox can still work for to try to salvage the season, in no particular order:

1. Finish the season with a .500 record (81-81). Despite how bad they have played this season, the Sox can still finish with a .500 record if they win the rest of their games. Granted, this is well below the expectations that many had for the ball club this year, but it would give them some great momentum to carry into the offseason.

2. Play spoiler. Depending on how the Twins-Tigers series goes this week, the White Sox can gain the support of Twins fans if they can beat the Tigers in Detroit during the final series of the season, and prevent them from reaching the playoffs.

3. Help Gordon Beckham win Rookie of the Year. Gordon Beckham has a very legitimate shot at winning this year's Rookie of the Year award. This would not only be big for Beckham, but it would be more great momentum for the Sox going in to the offseason. Beckham would be the organization's sixth winner of the award, and the first since his manager did it in 1985.

4. Say goodbye to more stars from the 2005 title team. Sox fans will likely be forced to bid farewell to 2005 World Series MVP Jermaine Dye. Dye played a pivotal role in helping the Sox in 2005 and started off this season hot, hitting .302 with 20 homers and 55 RBIs before the All-Star break. Unfortunately the 35-year-old right fielder has cooled off during the second half hitting just .179 with only seven homers and 24 RBIs. Nothing is set in stone, but more than likely Jermaine's five year stint on the South Side will be over. I know I'll be sad to see him go, but I understand the move as the Sox look to go younger with their ball club.

The Sox could also say goodbye to their 2005 and current table setter in Scott Podsenik, depending on who they can sign in free agency this offseason. Pods was also a pivotal part of the winning formula in 2005 and has had a solid year for the Sox this year. He is hitting .303 and leads the team in hits, triples, on base percentage and stolen bases. Pods has a chance to stay with the team, but if the Sox can land free agent Chone Figgins the chance is low. It will also be sad to see Pods go, but I understand the move if the Sox can sign Figgins, but that is a big if.

5. Stop Ozzie from going on tirades. Even though the Sox won't be making the playoffs, Ozzie still expects his players to come to play everyday and play hard. This was evident after his latest rant after the loss against Detroit on Saturday. It's good to see that Ozzie hasn't lost any of his desire to win and that he's not afraid to call his players on it. However, his players can reduce Ozzie's anxiety and alleviate the television censors' aching thumbs if they continue to play hard for the rest of the season.

Sox Win 6-1

After taking two of three from the AL Central leading Tigers, the Sox continued their hot streak against the Indians on Monday night. John Danks pitched very well, going the distance and only giving up one run on three hits to go along with seven strikeouts and just one walk. Gordon Beckham was the offensive star, going 2-5 with three RBIs. Dewayne Wise also played well batting leadoff, as he went 2-4. With just five games left the Sox need to win all of them just to finish .500 for the year, not a huge accomplishment, but one that the Sox need to reach to give them some momentum for next season.

Sox, Peavy Shine

The White Sox's playoff future may not look bright, but the 2010 future is gleaming. Sox fans saw two key aspects of that future help them win Friday night against the AL Central leading Tigers. Those two key players were Jake Peavy and young Gordon Beckham. Peavy went seven stellar innings, scattering six hits and striking out eight. Beckham went yard in the bottom of the sixth with a two run shot. It was Beckham's 14th of the year and finally gave Sox fans something to cheer about.

Although Sox fans won't be doing too much cheering this postseason, they should probably save up because they could be doing alot of cheering all next season. If Mark Buehrle can regain his number one starter stuff the White Sox will have two legitimate number one starters. The Sox will also have Gavin Floyd and John Danks who could be either the second or third starters for just about any team in the baseball. Finally if Freddy Garcia continues to pitch the way he has been, the White Sox starting rotation looks to be one of the best, if not the best in all of baseball. That being said, we will still need more bats to come alive than just Beckham's.

Stay focused on 2010

After their third consecutive loss to the Twins the only words of sympathy that I can impart on White Sox fans is to look forward to next year. Next year could, no has to look better. GM Kenny Williams might have said it best when he admitted that this year's team simply underachieved, especially with their defense. The Sox committed 108 errors, allowing 69 unearned runs. The White Sox bats also underachieved, hitting a lowly .259. However, at the risk of sounding trite, after the dark there is always light and in this case the light might be the youth of the White Sox. Besides Pierzynski and Kornerko the rest of the infield has less than four years of MLB experience, combined. If nothing else, at least the Sox will have more infield experience to go along with their (potentially) stellar starting rotation come 2010.

2010 looks better than 09

After their second loss in as many days, the White Sox and their fans should focus on 2010. Although they aren't mathematically eliminated, their chances of making the post season this year are about as good as the Bears benching Cutler. However, the rest of the games could show some promise for the 2010 season. Even during their loses to the Twins on Monday and the Royals on Sunday, the Sox have shown some positive glimpses that could be big for next year.

One of those is the play of Freddy Garcia. Garcia pitched very well, despite picking up the loss on Sunday. He went eight innings giving up just two runs. Besides his first start of the season, Garcia has gone at least six innings in all of his games with the Sox and maintained a manageable 4.01 ERA. Which makes him the likely candidate for the fifth spot in the rotation next season. That rotation looks to be a very strong point for the 2010 Sox when you add Buehrle, Peavy, Danks, and Floyd.

Rookie Daniel Hudson started Monday night's game against the Twins for Floyd who was scratched due to a sore hip. Hudson proved to be another bright spot and could contend with Garcia for the fifth spot in the rotation, as he went five solid innings, giving up just three runs, with only one of them being earned.

In 2010 the White Sox will have to sure up their defense if they want to contend and prevent nights like tonight from happening. The Sox have committed 107 errors this season, which makes them third worst in the league. However keep in mind both players on the left side of the infield were playing new positions, as Alexi Ramirez was at second last year and this was Gordon Beckham's first year as a third basemen, so they should make great strides this offseason.

One positive to look forward to for 2009 is that Gordon Beckham could still win the rookie of the year title. If Beckham becomes the rookie of the year, he would be the organization's 6th winner of the award, and the first since manager Ozzie Guillen won the award in 1985.

11-0 bad guys

The Sox were unable to take advantage of the Twins beating up on the Tigers as they lost, big to the Royals on Friday. Not much went right for the Sox and really the only positive is that Detroit also lost, which means that they are in the same position in the games behind column.
Buehrle took the loss going six innings and giving up five runs.

On the positive side, the Jake Peavy wait is over. Peavy will start today against the Royals in what now becomes even more of a must win game for the Sox. The former Cy Young award winner will face Kansas City's first time starter Dusty Hughes.

Jenks blows the save

It was difficult to watch as Bobby Jenks gave up two solo home runs in the bottom of the ninth against Seattle to tie the game at three. Jenks picked up his 6th blown save of the season, matching his career high from 2007. After the demoralizing blow, the Sox bullpen held the Mariners to four scoreless innings until Scott Linebrink gave up an RBI single to Ichiro Suzuki in the bottom of the 14th. Mark Kotsay was the offensive star for the Sox, going 4-6 with two RBIs.

The Sox missed a golden opportunity to make up ground on the Tigers as they lost to the Royals. The White Sox hope to (and must) cool down the Royals for their next series if they are going to make the playoffs. The series starts Friday with Mark Buehrle facing Luke Hochevar.

Although the Sox aren't mathematically eliminated they are running out of time. They are 6.5 games back with just 15 to go. One positive is that nine of those 15 are at home.

Sox can't repeat the rally

The White Sox were unable to rally tonight, unlike Tuesday night when they climbed back from a 3-0 defecit to beat the Mariners 6-3. Freddy Garcia picked up the win as A.J. Pierzynski knocked in two runs with a clutch hit in the top of the seventh, to put the Sox up 5-3.

Unfortunately the Sox couldn't repeat the magic Wednesday night, as they would never recover from a 4-0 deficit. Gavin Floyd struggled to get through three innings and gave up three runs in the three innings. He left after the third with what looked like a hip problem. Gordon Beckham was the only Sox player to cross the plate with his 12th home run of the season.

This loss puts the Sox 6.5 games back of the Tigers with just 16 games to play. The Sox haven't been mathematically eliminated, but they will be soon if they can't end their streak of alternating wins and loses, which is currently at nine. The Sox need to go on a winning streak, and it starts with John Danks on Thursday as he faces Brandon Morrow in the rubber match of the series.

Of note: Jake Peavy is scheduled to start this Saturday against the Royals.

Sox look to rebound

After the big loss on Sunday to the Angels, the White Sox playoff hopes continue to dwindle. Mark Buehrle pitched well, giving up only three runs (2 earned) in seven innings of work. On the bright side, Gordon Beckham continued his rookie of the year hunt by going 2-5 and scoring one of the White Sox's two runs in the first. Paul Konerko scored the other run when Carlos Quentin knocked both of them in with a single. The killing blow was when perennial White Sox killer Torii Hunter homered. With the game tied in the seventh Hunter homered off Buehrle to make the score 3-2.

This loss and Monday's off day left the Sox 6.5 games behind the Tigers with just 18 to play. Yet I'm still not ready to give up on the Sox. Peavy just had his best bullpen session yet and could return for the next series against the Royals. Gordon Beckham is back from injury and should continue to provide a steady bat. Yes, our outfield, besides Podsednik is consistently underachieving, but hopefully they realize that the end of this season could have serious implications for what happens next season. Because as Kenny Williams said back on August 10, "I have a tendency to get rid of people when we don't win."

The thing that gives me the most optimism about catching the Tigers is that we still have six games left against them. I'm not saying that it is going to be easy, but stranger things have happened. However, it won't matter if the Sox don't start winning now. It begins tonight as Freddy Garcia goes against Ian Snell and the Seattle Mariners. Garcia has pitched well his last two outings and needs to continue it tonight for the Sox to have a chance at making the playoffs.

Sox win, despite bullpen

After losing the series opener, the Sox won game two against the Angels, who have the second best record in all of baseball. Gordon Beckham finally returned to the lineup after missing four games to go 3-4 with a walk and a homer. Scott Podsednik also hit a homer, but the inside the park variety, and scored the game winning run in the tenth on a wild pitch. The White Sox bullpen lost a well earned win for John Danks, after he pitched six scoreless innings. Matt Thornton was touched up for two runs in the eighth. Then Bobby Jenks blew a one run lead in the ninth. Jenks ended up with the win, thanks to Podsednik's heroics, and Tony Pena recorded his first save in relief of Williams, who came in after Jenks couldn't get the job done. Overall it was an ugly, but much needed win as Detroit lost. This win leaves the Sox just five games back in the division race, but it won't stay that way if their bullpen continues to blow leads.

Of note: Congratulations to Yankee Shortstop Derek Jeter for becoming the all-time hit leader in Yankee history. Jeter is a complete professional and a perfect representative of Major League Baseball. I can think of no one better to complete such a historic feat.

Off Day

The White Sox had a much needed day of rest on Thursday, before they start their series against the AL West leading Angels. The Sox will send Gavin Floyd to the mound to face Joe Saunders in the series opener.
The Sox also gained half a game on the Tigers and Twins in the division as both teams lost on Thursday. That means the Sox are just six games back of the division lead with 21 games to go. Interestingly enough, six of those 21 games are against the division leading Tigers. Keep your fingers crossed Sox fans, this could get interesting.

Sox win in lucky 13th

It took 13 innings but the Sox were able to beat the Oakland Athletics 4-3 on Wednesday's game. The win gave the Sox a split in the two game series and helped them pull to six and a half back of the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central.
Freddy Garcia looked good, giving up just two runs in six innings. However, he did allow the A's to steal a season high five bases. A.J. Pierzynski did throw out three base runners when it really counted in the later innings, but it was his bat that stole the show. A.J. drove in Alexi Ramirez in the bottom of the 13th inning to win the game. Octavio Dotel went three shut out innings to get the win.

Of note: Jake Peavy could start in place of rookie Carlos Torres on Tuesday against Seattle. Peavy threw a bullpen session today and looked good. The White Sox are in need of a replacement for Torres as he did not get out of the first inning in his last start against the Athletics, a game which the Sox lost 11-3.

Rookie of the year candidate Gordon Beckham was a scratch again in Wednesday's game. The soon to be 23-year-old is hitting .274 with ten homers and 52 RBIs and is still day to day while recovering from an oblique strain. He suffered a minor setback today as he took two ground balls off of his middle finger, causing it to bleed.

Sox take 3 of 4 from Boston

Mark Buehrle went seven strong innings, giving up just one run as the White Sox beat the Red Sox 5-1. Mark Kotsay punished his old team by going 2-4 with 2 RBIs. Carlos Quentin also went 2-4 with a two run homer, his 16th of the season. Hopefully this is a sign that Quentin is finally starting to regain his 2008 form.
The White Sox won three of four against the AL wildcard leaders and continue their home stand against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday. The White Sox will send rookie Carlos Torres to the mound, with hopes that he can duplicate his seven scoreless innings that he put up against the Cubs.
The Sox also hope to have Gordon Beckham back Tuesday, after he sat out Sunday and Monday with an oblique strain.

Sox go on a run?

A day after rookie Carlos Torres went seven scoreless innings to get the win against the Cubs, the White Sox collected twenty hits and scored twelve runs to beat the Red Sox. It was a hit parade for the White Sox as every started collected at least one hit. However Freddy Garcia tried to steal the show by going six strong innings, giving up only one run. White Sox fans also got a first peak at September call ups Daniel Hudson and Jhonny Nunez. Both relievers looked good, especially Hudson who went two shutout innings against the AL wildcard leaders.
This win marked the third win in a row for the White Sox, keeping them alive in the hunt for the playoffs, but barely. If the Sox are going to make the playoffs they will need some help. The Detroit Tigers will need to go 14-14 (or worse) on their last 28 games, with the Sox going 20-6 (or better) for their last 26. As an optimist, I still believe the Sox have a chance, but the only thing they can do is win and then hope.

Of note: Jim Thome had a clutch RBI single in his first at bat with the Dodgers.

Then and Now

Alot has changed when the Sox first tried to play today's game back on June 26. For one thing we no longer have the man who is 12th on the career home run list, Jim Thome. Not that it would matter in today's game as there is no DH. We lost smooth fielding Brian Anderson. We also lost Jose Contreas and Clayton Richard, but we did gain an injuried Jake Peavy. Along with Peavy we picked up the lofty contract of underachiever Alex Rios and savvy left handed hitter Mark Kotsay. We also gained more experience for rookie Gordon Beckham, who seems to be the permanent replacement to Joe Crede, unlike Josh Fields. Finally we gained a couple of extra players for Ozzie Guillen to toy with from the September call ups. One of those is today's starter Carlos Torres. Another player that could be something to watch is catcher and heavy hitting Tyler Flowers.
One thing that didn't change is the fact that Sox fans are still waiting for the team to go on a hot streak. All season the Sox have had their hand on the the trigger, but they just haven't pullled the trigger. They have been right there all season, but now time is running out. It's time for the Sox to get hot or sit at home during the playoffs.

When all hope seemed lost for the game and possibly the season, the heart of the Chicago White Sox order finally came through. It took five epic at bats against one of the best closers in the game, but the White Sox finally made some magic happen in the Metrodome. It was a perfect way to end a less than perfect series and a fond farewell to the Metrodome, a place where virtually nothing was perfect for the Sox. With two outs and a full count, Gordon Beckham shipped a Joe Nathan offering into the left center field bleachers. Beckham's tenth home run still left the Sox down a run, but it didn't stay that way for long. It was the same count for Paul Kornerko when he floated a ball into the bleachers just out of the reach of left fielder Delmon Young. After Kornerko's long ball Nathan walked Jermaine Dye and then Dewayne Wise pinch ran for him and stole second. Finally after walking Carlos Quentin, Nathan was taken out for Matt Guerrier. It wouldn't matter as Alexi Ramirez singled to score Wise. The Sox scored an insurance run on a Guerrier wild pitch, but they wouldn't need it as the big guy, Bobby Jenks nailed down the game in the bottom of the ninth. So cheer up Sox fans, this win proves that there is still life in this team. Hopefully they can use this come-from-behind win momentum to go on a tear for the end of the season, and if not its always fun to beat a hated rival.

Have the White Sox waved the "White Flag?"

Call me an optimist, but I still believe that the White Sox can win the AL Central. I know that losing Contreas and Thome hurt the clubhouse, as they were both very well liked and hard working players, but how much did we lose from them on the field? Thome was hitting a lowly .249 with not overwhelming power numbers. Those numbers could easily be replaced if Carlos Quentin can return to his 2008 form and prove to us all that he wasn't a one year wonder. Despite Contreas helping us win the World Series in 2005 and setting a club record 17 consecutive wins, he simply has not been able to regain his dominance. So until (and if) Peavy returns we can only hope rookie Carlos Torres can make some magic happen in the fifth starter spot. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to matter how well the Sox pitch as their offense has been simply anemic. After Tuesday's loss to the Twins the Sox were seven games back with 28 to go. But keep in mind that six of those 28 games are against the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers. With that in mind, if (and it is a big if) the White Sox bats can find a way to score some more runs they can quickly make up ground in the Central. Overall, I will agree that we lost two highly respected players, but are the White Sox better without them? Lets just say that I don't think they could be any worse.