ChicagoSportsBlogs : Non Compete

I spent the weekend realizing that the death march that is the month of August is finally coming to an end. It was time to reflect on the White Sox's accomplishments. I was on record that by today we would know if the Sox were going to make the playoffs or not. I stand by that prediction. So here it is: The White Sox are making the playoffs.

I understand we're in 3rd place right now (5.5 games behind the Tigers) and that the Twins took 2 out of 3 games this past weekend. The Twins play great baseball. At least that's what Ozzie thinks. They clearly have enough to beat us and to beat the Tigers, so maybe we should just hand them the division and focus on that wild card.

Not so fast. We can all agree that the Sox have yet to play their best baseball. I'm using this as our trump card in the wild race to the playoffs. The Sox are overdue for a string of wins. I think it's about to happen. Buehrle (I haven't had to spell his name in a long time) came out and gave us a great outing yesterday and Jon Garland seems ready to take the lead in on our staff. All we need is for Contreras or Vazquez to snap out of it. If one of those guys can get it together, and if McCarthy can take the others place - the Sox have a chance.

I have reached that point in the season where football is starting to take over my mind. I think this is as natural as the leaves changing. It marks a departure from what I have typically become accustomed to in Chicago: a horrible baseball season. That changed last year with the Sox going to the show but old habits die hard. Detroit might have said "Old Habits Dye Hard" thanks in part to a 2 homer performance by White Sox MVP(IMHO) Jermaine Dye.

The White Sox took the Tigers behind the wood shed yesterday afternoon for the final game in their 4-game series. They played their best baseball game since the All-Star break. As a result,that twinge the Tigers' felt deep in their minds is back. Its the fear of melting in the late summer heat; wilting into second place and giving up the lead in the AL Central. I'm familiar with that twinge. You should be too. The White Sox felt it last year when the Indians wouldn't go away. The difference this year is that the White Sox aren't charging like a bull after the Tigers the way that the Indians pushed the White Sox. Right now, we are an annoying fly that bites. We're pesky, but a swat in the right direction will throw us off course long enough for you to get away. That's the way I see it.

Jon Garland threw a 6 hit complete game shut out. I have to add him to the category of guys who stepped up. If we pull off catching the Tigers, and yes I haven't given up hope of the AL Central title (what's 5 and a half games after all?), he will join Joe Crede, and Jermaine Dye as my 2006 heroes. Garland found his stride and is clearly the hot pitcher in our rotation. You have to wonder if the "internal competition" between our starting pitching is about to start. Finally.

The Sox send the much maligned Javi Vazquez to the mound today against the Twins. Jim Thome will most likely miss this series. Are the Twins this year's version of last year's Indians? Or are the White Sox? I think I feel that twinge.

Last night, a collective sigh of relief could be heard across the city of Chicago. We got one. No need to keep worrying about the sweep. We're still in bad shape, but mentally we could have been tossed into the loony-bin with another loss to the Tigers. As it stands, Joe Crede's 2 homer heroics kept us from dropping a 3rd straight game against the division leading Tigers. We're 6 and a half games back, with the Twins handling their business and continually breathing down our necks. I'm standing by my earlier prediction this season that the last series of the season, against those third place Twins, will be the deciding factor in our playoff future.

Last night's White Sox win didn't come without a price. Jim Thome pulled up lame (or blew a tire if you're watching BT) on a smash into center field. In the immortal words of Wanny: "Aahp. He's got a hammy!" I heard on the radio this morning that the White Sox trainers don't think it's too serious. He is day to day.

No post on this game would be complete without some commentary on the Sox's pitching. Yesterday we sent "Big Game Freddy" Garcia to the mound. That nickname is self appointed I believe. I didn't make it up, and there is no denying that Big Game Freddy could be interpreted in two ways. The most common interpretation lends itself to Garcia's recent history of stepping up in big games. (Gee, that wasn't obvious.) I wonder if recently the moniker Big Game Freddy points to the fact that Garcia blows big games. He almost did this last night after watching his offense spot him 3 runs in the top of the first. "Big Game" headed out with a lead that should have won the game, but proceeded to allow 3 runs to cross the plate in the bottom of the 1st. Ouch. That's not going to get you in front of the lunch line with these guys.

Its clear to me that Joe Crede is a huge Freddy Garcia fan because he stepped up last night in a monster way to bail Freddy out of that mess. His 2 home runs ensured the White Sox victory. Way to go Joe!

Lets get one more to split this series tonight. Garland heads out, so it should be a win. Right? GO SOX

Do you know people who pronounce Detroit as Det-wah? You know, with the fake French accent? I do. Hell, I think I've been known to do it myself on occasion. It's fun, in an childish sort of way. Making a mockery out of the Tigers stops this week as the White Sox head into another critical series agaisnt the AL Central leading Tigers. The brutal month of August has yet to give us a clear picture as to how it will finish. The White Sox are no further back (5 and a half) in the standings as they were last week. This is a good thing since we didn't do so well against the Twins.

I've heard it said that the Sox were walking into Sunday's match up against Minnesota's pitching ace Santana with a defeatist attitude. We were sending Vazquez to the mound in what looked to be an uneven match up. It was. Santana was brilliant as usual and the White Sox took another loss in stride. Why wouldn't they take it in stride? There was a ton of talk about how great Santana is and how well he pitches before the game. If you ask me, it's a bit too much loser talk. We need to man up against the Twins. They lead the season series 7-6 against us with 6 games remaining.

The gap closed a bit in the wild card standings as the Twins took 2 out of three games against the Sox this go around. We hold a very slim 1 game lead over the Twinkies. I have to take a look at their schedule to see how difficult it's going to be for them to keep up with us. Everyone knows how hard the schedule is for the Sox. Here's to hoping the Twins cool off a bit (like the Tigers). Kudos to the Rangers for handling the Tigers and keeping us alive in the division race. Now, let's get back to work tonight and get a win. One game at a time.

GO SOX

I missed the entire Tiger series last weekend. Family time takes priority over the Sox sometimes and as a result I was traveling to the great state of Kansas. If you would have asked me a few weeks ago, I would have said I'd prefer playing in KC against the Royals instead of the upcoming Tigers series. It turns out that my worries were unfounded.
The Sox took care of business against the Tigers, and I ended up getting my wish about the Royals too.

An explosive inning by the Sox carried them to a quick and devastating lead of 8-0. It was all downhill from there for the Royals. The Sox radio broadcast had it right when they commented the Sox should save some of those runs for Javi tomorrow (Vazquez starts tonight). Garland didn't need all the offense last night which saw all but one Sox player get a hit.(Pablo Ozuno was left out of the hit parade)

I've got to get back to work, but I hope to be back this afternoon to cover the rest of this series and the implications of another potential series sweep over the Royals. I still think that last series against the Twins is going to matter to the White Sox. I'm hopeful that the Red Sox do their part tonight and take a game against the visiting Tigers, if only to help the White Sox bury that seed of doubt in the Tiger's mind even deeper.

One last thing - How about that rookie Brian Anderson? Is it me, or is he finally coming around? Way to Go Brian!

Back in 5

Have you ever heard the saying, "It was a good loss" ? It is typically followed by something along the lines of "Sure, we wanted to win the game, but if you have to go down, at least go down swinging." That's what you would expect a lot of White Sox fans to say in response to the 7-6 loss last night to the Yanks. The fact that it's not what people are saying, means something of greater importance.

No one is satisfied with the good effort, nay, the strong effort to come back from a 7-0 deficit to close the game with an L. No one. We're in a fight for the playoffs and every game counts. That's not a cliche. Ok, it is but it's true. There are no moral victories left in this season. That's loser talk. I won't have any of it. If you read Scott's blog here, you'll notice a ton of people who agree with me. Read the comments, they're good. We needed that win last night. As it stands, the see-saw wild card race has us sitting behind the Twins. Great.

Tonight's game features a pretty good match up. I say this with caution because Vazquez comes to the mound for the Pale Hose. Its time to see if the changes that he has undergone with Coop's help have stuck. I don't expect 13 strike outs tonight, just keep the ball down and avoid the home runs. Home runs are saving us on the offensive end, and killing us on the defensive end. That tugging at your pant leg is the Baseball Gods reminding you this is a tough game. A game of momentum. Let's see which way the pendulum swings for the Sox tonight.
Get this win guys.

GO SOX.

What a way to lose a game! Mark Buehrle lost his mind in the 7th inning of yesterday's make-up game against the Angels. The Sox starter had lost 5 straight games and was in need of winning the first game of this extended home stand to prevent a further slide into the abyss. He balked a run in to start a 3 run slide which cost the White Sox a critical game in the race for this year's playoffs. The White Sox are now 10 games behind the Tigers who beat up on the Liriano lead Twins and head into a tough series against the Yankees tonight.

I'm happy to report that I'll actually be at the game tonight. Maybe I can bring some good karma to the ballclub. God knows they need it. The recent mediocre play in the field and the horrible pitching by Buehrle in particular has cost us any breathing room we had in the wild card race. I've officially given up on the division. A 10 game lead isn't insurmountable, but I think everyone can agree the Tigers just won't lose. That's going to make it tough to catch up. Even if we win the rest of the games against them (a tall feat), I doubt they will relinquish their lead to the Sox. If anything, the blasted Twins will use their pitching edge to pass right on over both pairs of Sox to win the wild card. Maybe the wild card will come out of the AL Central afterall.

At this point in the season it becomes trivial to point out what the White Sox need to do to win games. That has never stopped me before and it won't stop me from listing these things now:

1. Pitching, pitching, pitching. When Baseball Tonight starts to notice that Neal Cotts is pitching every day, you know you're running into trouble. The starting pitching this year has been less than stellar. I was hoping Buehrle would feed off of Vazquez's recent great outing and pitch well against the Angels. It would have changed the story in the press significantly. People would have been talking about "White Sox pitchers are starting to get hot. Watch out!" Instead, I'm stuck pointing out that Garland is our best pitcher since the All-Star break.

2. Where are the double plays? Seriously, when is the last time you saw us turn a double play. This could be because our pitching staff isn't keeping the ball in the park. You need ground balls to turn the double play! You also need good rhythm between infielders. I'm just not feeling it between Uribe and Gooch this year. Maybe it;s just me.

3. Injuries. Crede has a sore back. Thome is taking pain shots in his wrist. Pauly has some knicks as well. Pods still doesn't look right on the base pads. The wear and tear of a long season is starting to show its effects. I'll start freaking out over this when I see guys go on the DL, until then I'm hoping they have another push in them to overcome the pains of the grueling season.

I'm headed to the game tonight and I'm hoping to see a fast one for a couple of reasons. First, I expect Garcia to motor through the line up quickly. The more he stands on the mound, the more he slows down. This never equates to a good outing. Get those batters up and down Freddy! We need this win as bad as we will need the next few wins. Trust me on that.

This is the question everyone wants answered: Will the White Sox make the playoffs this year? Follow that up with a healthy dose of "Should we be playing for the wildcard?" and you've got yourself a lot to think about White Sox fans!

I finally found a bit of time to write down what I think it will ultimately take for us to win the division. Forget the wildcard. In the immortal words of Homer Simpson, "That's loser talk."

Let's get to it, shall we?

• Cut down on the errors. (some people jumped off the ledge as a result of our fielding proficiency. I'm looking at YOU URIBE!!!) Defense wins championships in football, and I argue it was an important part of winning the Series last year. Maybe I am wrong, but doesn't it seem like we're making a ton of errors as of late? The team total is at 59 errors right now. We had 94 in total all of last season. Is that on pace? It seems to be, but it would be nice if we made less than 8 errors for the month of August. I'm setting the bar high. I think Ozzie agrees
  
• The pitching has to improve. Yes, I know this is obvious but it needs to improve in a hurry. Team ERA is at 4.65. Are you kidding me? This is the same staff? It's time to work thru the problems and get that ERA below 3.00 for the month of August. Yes, this is a tough ass goal - but go look at the schedule. If we need to push then we better push hard. Get it done Coop!!
• Health:Yea man - I love that low hanging fruit! I have seen the future without the big bats in the middle of the line up and it isn't good. Sure, JD leads the league in slugging pct, but he is just one man. Of course I love watching guys like Crede and AJ smash the crap out of the ball, but frankly, no Thome or Konerko = no playoffs. While we're at it, we need to keep the starters healthy if we plan to make a true run at the division.
• Coaching. What the hell, I'll take my shot at Ozzie too since a lot of us amateurs seem to be doing it on a daily basis (re: newspaper columnist wanna be's - those damn bloggers).Ozzie needs to start playing to win. I mean it, no more seeing if a pitcher has it in him to pitch out of a jam in the 7th. Forget that noise. Go get Freddie and even Contreras when you see their pitch counts hit 90. If they lost command of the strike zone and seem to be behind each batter they face in the 6th, or the 5th in Vazquez's case - go get Mac. I hate saying it, but for us to make the playoffs the delicate balance between letting a guy correct his problems himself and yanking him for relief is as critical as our hitting and fielding. I think Ozzie can do it and I don't question his ability to motivate the bullpen back into shape so they help out. I'm taking the move of Brian Anderson up in the order over Uribe as a subtle message: Perform your asses off or I'll take your spot and give it to someone else. It's go time!

That's all I have for now. I've gotta get some work done around here. Stay tuned for some Bears coverage too - don't think I forgot about the beloved Bear! Especially with the recent Sox fanbase's mindshare catching up to the Halas Hall crew (do you buy that?)

Dropping the last game of the Kansas City series isn't that big of a deal. This is assuming we continue to win every series from now until September 1st when we meet back in KC to face the Royals. August is a a brutal stretch. I've been saying this for weeks. The White Sox will have to face pretty much every team in the AL playoff race and if they plan to be included in this group; they have to win each series. It's going to be a tough challenge. First we head to Toronto, or as I like to call it Hollywood-Lite (or was that Vancouver?).  Then, if you look at your pocket schedules it shows a day off for August 7th. Wrong. We've got a make up game against the Angels. The timing of this game is critical now that we have both our sluggers semi-injured. It get's worse.

The Yankees, Detroit, KC, Min, Detroit, Minnesota for an AL Central Oreo cookie and finally a day off on August 28th is how the rest of this month breaks down. When it is all said and done, the White Sox might be the only thing broken down. The toll of a long post-season run the previous year is starting to wear on our players. Credit should go to Ozzie for mixing and matching the line ups to get guys rest, even if it meant losing some games that we might need in the stretch run to the playoffs. Every game counts from now on. Isn't that the cliche?

Let's start with a win over a smoking hot Toronto pitcher tonight. Go Sox!