Black Sox Blog

I guess I can live with the Tigers in the World Series.  We battled them for most of the season and the series with them seemed more like a rivalry then with any other team but there’s some respect.  I’m glad the Twins are done though.  They deserve a lot of credit for that comeback but I look at them as costing a spot in the playoffs more then I do the Tigers for some reason.  I’m actually rooting for the Cardinals to win it all just to make my brother mad.

In a lot of ways, it looks like Mark Buehrle might be the odd man out in 2007.  The White Sox have an option on him although after a mediocre season this year, they might let him go and finally give Brandon McCarthy his shot as a starter.  This mailbag even speculates we might deal for A-Rod, which is an interesting theory.

And the Arizona Fall League has kicked off.  Here’s a list of the players taking part in the AFL this year.

Well, we tried to help the Tigers out, they just blew it.  I’m sick of listening to people compare the 2005 White Sox to the 2006 Tigers.  Yes, they both came out of nowhere, but the comparison’s will stop once the Yankees roll right over the Tigers in what will probably be a sweep.

On Friday, the White Sox held off a ninth rally to edge the Twins 4-3.  A.J. Pierzynski singled home Ross Gload in the top of the ninth to make it 4-1 but the White Sox ended up needing that run because Bobby Jenks gave up two runs in the ninth inning but he held on to pick up the save.  Freddy Garcia had a really nice start and he picked up his 17th win.

On Saturday, the White Sox doubled up the Twins.  Tad Iguchi homered and drove in three runs and Jon Garland won his 18th in the 6-3 win.

The White Sox couldn’t keep it up and Javier Vazquez was roughed up in a 5-1 loss.  So goes the White Sox season.

I’ll probably stay away from the postseason stuff because it still pisses me off.  In a little bit I’ll continue the Season Lookbacks and the Frank Thomas retrospectives.  Next years diary is the 1917 White Sox so I’m hoping to get the Lookbacks up through that season.  We’ll see how I do.

Alright, the White Sox are now officially done.  They won’t be defending their World Series from last year and while that’s dissappointing, I think White Sox fans know that this team will be right back in the mix next year.

The loss on Monday put us out of it and man was it ugly.  Jon Garland was rocked for twelve runs (eight earned) in 5 1/3 innings.  The Sox only run came in the first on Jim Thome’s sac. fly.  Not pretty.

Tuesday’s game was just as bad.  C.C. Sabathia held the White Sox to four hits Javier Vazquez was a mixed bag.  He gave up six runs but struck out twelve in seven innings of work.  He striking out a lot of the guys he faces, he’s just giving hits just as much.

The White Sox finally pulled out a win in a rain shortened game yesterday.  Brandon McCarthy made his second start of the season and it was a good one.  He gave up one run on two hits with eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings of work.  Ross Gload homered in the 2-1 win.

Next up is the Twins, who are the secondary reason why the White Sox aren’t in the playoffs (first is the White Sox themselves).  It’d be nice if we can get a little revenge and take a game or two in this final weekend series.

Well, it was a nice run, al beit somewhat disappointing.  In a lot of ways, this White Sox team was better then it’s World Series champion counterpart but that’s why you play the games.  The White Sox need a ton of help and they have to win their next six games to have a shot at the post season.

The early parts of this series were pretty ugly.  On Thursday, Ozzie Guillen spoke and blasted his team, with good reason.  The Mariners blew out the White Sox and Jake Woods of all people shut them out on five hits.  Not much good to say about this game or Friday’s game, which was also a blowout. 

Things looked like they would hit rock bottom yesterday, but the White Sox came alive.  Down 7-2, the White Sox scored four runs in the sixth and five in the eighth to turn the tables on the Mariners.  Mark Buehrle was gone in the fifth inning but Charlie Haeger and Bobby Jenks really picked the Sox up out of the pen.  Jim Thome and Paul Konerko both homered and drove in three runs in the 11-7 win.

The White Sox and Mariners combined for 41 hits today but the White Sox put 12 runs on the board to the Mariners 7.  Freddy Garcia was hardly great but he looked awesome compared to what the pen did.  Joe Crede hit homerun number 30 and I’ll get to that in a moment.  Paul Konerko went yard twice and Brian Anderson and Juan Uribe both hit homeruns as well. 

A lot of people had written Joe Crede off from ever being a great hitter.  He’s always been one of my favorites (he and Brandon McCarthy) and the past two seasons I predicted he’d break out and hit 30 homeruns.  Last year I was very wrong.  This year I feel redeemed.  Joe Crede definitely has had a fantastic season and hopefully he’ll cap it off with a Gold Glove.  Unfortunately he won’t be able to continue his run in the playoffs.

Next up is three at Cleveland.  It’s do or die, and a loss the rest of the way is unacceptable.

Ten games left.  That’s all the White Sox have to make up a 5 1/2 game deficit.  Even worse, it’s six games in the loss column.  So the White Sox have little margin for error.  They might be able to lose one game the rest of the way, but if they don’t go 9-1 in their final ten games, they’re most likely not going to make the playoffs.  Heck, even if they do go 9-1 they might not make the playoffs.  They have to make up three games over the next seven days and that’s just to enter their season ending series with the Twins three back.

White Sox fans have to have mixed feelings.  I know I do.  The White Sox came out of nowhere last season and won their first World Series in almost 90 years.  They actually have a better team on paper this year and it looks like they’re not even going to be playing meaningful October baseball.  While I appreciate what happened last year, it’s tough to take right now.

Next up is a four game series against the Mariners.  It’d do or die so nothing short of a sweep will get the job done.

This is not looking good.  With only two weeks to play, the White Sox dropped three straight games to the A’s and now sit five games back of the Tigers and four back of the Twins for the Wild Card.  There’s not a lot of room for error in the next two weeks.

Jon Garland had been our best pitcher of late, and while he was good on Friday, Esteban Loaiza was even better.  Garland dropped to 17-5 and he gave up three runs on nine hits and two walks with one strikeout in 5 2/3 innings.  Rob Mackowiak hit his fifth homerun of the season in the 4-2 loss.

Frank Thomas came back to haunt the White Sox yesterday.  He drove in four runs in the White Sox 7-4 loss.  Again, Javier Vazquez was good but not great and the pen really got roughed up.  Jermaine Dye hit homerun number 42 and both he and Sandy Alomar, Jr. each drove in two runs.

This afternoon was more Frank Thomas and boy did he get some paybacks in this series.  Jose Contreras was knocked around in his six innings and A.J. Pierzynski hit his 15th homerun of the season in the 5-4 loss.

This week is huge.  The White Sox play three against the Tigers and if we’re going to have a chance to make the playoffs, we need to win all three.  The White Sox have owned the Tigers most of the past few years, so it’s time to keep up that trend.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  The standings look eerily familiar with the Twins a game and a half back of the Tigers and then the White Sox a game and a half back of the Twins.  The Twins play today so that half game thing will be wiped clean but regardless, the White Sox goal is to keep winning. 

Bobby Jenks held on to win on Monday.  The White Sox scored three in the fifth inning but the Angels crept back into it with a single run in the sixth.  Then in the ninth, Jenks got into trouble but got out of it with a big double play.  Jose Contreras improved to 13-7 and he gave up one run on six hits and one walk with eight strikeouts over eight innings.

Tuesday’s game was tough and it stopped the White Sox from pulling out a sweep.  Once again, the White Sox scored three in the fifth but this time it was to take a 3-2 lead.  The Angels tied it up in the sixth and then neither team’s pen yielded a run until Jenks gave up an RBI single to Chone Figgins to end it.  A solid start by Mark Buehrle went to waste and Jenks dropped to 3-4 on the season.

Yesterday was all Freddy Garcia.  He took a perfect game into the eighth inning but a single broke that up so he had to settle for a one hit combined shutout with Neil Cotts.  Paul Konerko went four for four with two RBIs and Tad Iguchi scored three times in the 9-0 loss.

If you’re an optimist, this weekend’s series with the A’s could be a preview of a first round playoff matchup.  It’s huge though because there’s not a lot of games left in the season.

At this point, we might catch the Tigers before we catch the Twins.  The White Sox play them sooner and the Twins just don’t seem to want to lose.  The bad news is, the White Sox enter the portion of their schedule where things get tough and this week is the time to play out of our minds.

Cleveland took the first game in this series in a blow out loss for the White Sox.   Mark Buehrle slipped back to .500 and he lasted only four innings.  He gave up five runs (four earned) on ten hits and a walk.  The only White Sox run came on Jermaine Dye’s RBI single in the sixth inning.

Friday’s game was a roller coaster.  The White Sox took a 5-3 lead into the ninth but Bobby Jenks blew it when he gave up three doubles and summarily three runs.  The White Sox magic from last year hasn’t completely disappeared though.  A.J. Pierzynski hit a two run walk off homerun in the bottom of the ninth to win it.  Freddy Garcia didn’t get a decision for a solid start and Juan Uribe hit his seventeenth homerun in the 7-6 win.

Saturday’s game started out as a blowout.  The White Sox jumped out to a 10-1 lead, but a seven run seventh inning by the Indians made things very interesting.  Jon Garland threw six solid innings and won his 17th game while Boone Logan and Brandon McCarthy got knocked around for most of those seven runs.  Paul Konerko hit two homeruns and he drove in five while Juan Uribe and Jermaine Dye also went deep.

A great start by Javier Vazquez went to waste yesterday.  He gave up two runs on four hits and two walks with ten strikeouts in seven innings.  Brandon McCarthy gave up two ninth inning runs and he took the loss.  He dropped to 3-7 on the season.  Tad Iguchi was the offense in the 5-2 loss.  He hit a two run shot to account for all of the White Sox runs.  It was his fifteenth of the season.

The White Sox now hop on a plane and head to Anaheim to play the Los Angeles Angels for three games.  They do get a day off on Thursday to head over to Oakland.  This isn’t the best time to have a west coast swing, but so be it.

Is it time to get worried yet?  As if you weren’t already, the White Sox still haven’t managed to get over the hump and they trail the Twins by a half game. 

On Monday, Bobby Jenks blew his third save of the year and the Red Sox sent the game into extra frames.  Then Brandon McCarthy gave up a solo homerun to Carlos Pena of all people to end it in the tenth.  Jim Thome hit his 38th homerun of the season in the 3-2 loss.

Tuesday’s loss was just as tough.  Javier Vazquez threw a gem but he gave up one run, which was more then the White Sox offense gave him.  He struck out eleven and gave up only three hits in the 1-0 loss.

Jim Thome and Jose Contreras got the job done yesterday and the White Sox ended their skid.  Thome went four for four with three runs and a homerun.  Jermaine Dye hit homerun number 40.  Jose Contreras won his 12th game with a solid outing.  He gave up one run on four hits and one walk with nine strikeouts in eight innings.

It’s sad to say, but I’ll actually be rooting for the Tigers for the rest of the week.  The Twins and Tigers square off and the White Sox host the Indians.  It’d be nice to have that Wild Card lead back by Sunday.

Alright, it’s only a half game.  And it’s one game in the win column, but the since the Twins failed to capitalize on a poor week by the White Sox, we still get to say we have the lead.

I knew things weren’t going to end well after Friday’s loss.  A six run fourth inning made it 7-0 and despite a late inning flurry by the White Sox, the end result was a loss.  Jose Contreras was knocked around and two errors led to five unearned runs.  Joe Crede hit homerun number 29 and Paul Konerko drove in two runs in the 7-5 loss.

Mark Buehrle is still the team’s ace in my opinion.  He doesn’t get the recognition because he’s not a strikeout pitcher and every once in a while he’ll have a .500 season, but his numbers are always solid and he comes up big for the Sox when they need him.  Saturday was no different.  Buehrle threw six solid innings that allowed the White Sox to walk away with a win.  Joe Crede drove in two runs and he now sits at 90 and Pablo Ozuna scored twice in the 5-3 win.

Today’s game wask kind of a blowout.  The White Sox never led and while they made it close in the top of the eighth, the Royals knocked them right back down with three in the bottom of the eighth.  Paul Konerko and Jim Thome each homered and Freddy Garcia took the loss with seven mediocre innings.

So with the easy week out of the way, the White Sox now have to contend with the struggling Red Sox.  Normally I’d be worried about this series but the Red Sox have a ton of problems.  Hard to believe this team won it all two years.  They were in the mix just a month ago but they’ve slid far in just a short period of time.

The White Sox couldn’t wrap up the sweep, but two wins in a three game series is never something to scoff at.  With the Tigers struggling, the White Sox are now 4 1/2 back and only a half game ahead of the Twins.

The White Sox really got the bats going on Tuesday.  Jermaine Dye hit homerun number 39 and he drove in four runs in the 12-9 win.  Joe Crede went four for five with two RBIs and five different White Sox scored twice.  Freddy Garcia was hardly stellar but he improved to 13-8. 

Yesterday’s game was a whole lot closer but the White Sox pulled it out.  The White did most of their damage in the eighth.  Down 4-2, Tad Iguchi hit a two run homerun to tie the game and then Jim Thome singled home Jermaine Dye for the go ahead run.  Dye finished the game with three hits and two runs in the 5-4 win.  Jon Garland picked up win number 16 and he gave up four runs on nine hits and two walks with four strikeouts in eight innings.  Bobby Jenks pitched the ninth and saved his 38th game of the season.

Today, the White Sox laid an egg.  Matt Thornton gave up a run in the eighth that eventually sent the game into extra frames.  Then Brandon McCarthy gave up two runs in the tenth and he took the loss.  A.J. Pierzynski homered and drove in two runs in the 5-3 loss.

Next up is three against the Royals.  It’s now or never and we have to make some head way while we have these easy teams.

This is a big week coming up.  You wouldn’t think it looking at who they’re playing (Tampa Bay then Kansas City) but this is about as easy as it gets.  If the White Sox aren’t back in the lead for the Wild Card this time next week, there could be some trouble.

Friday had one of two very tough losses.  Javier Vazquez had a pretty good start before the pen starting blowing things.  The big blow came off of David Riske.  He was only credited with one earned run, but he gave up the three run shot to Torii Hunter that gave the Twins the lead.  Mike MacDougal then lost it in the ninth.  Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski both homered in the 5-4 loss.

Yesterday, Jermaine Dye came up with the huge hit.  His two run homerun in the ninth inning tied it up.  If only there was one more guy on base, because the White Sox eventually lost it 8-7 in the eleventh.  Jose Contreras was bounced in the third inning so the fact that we were even in this game is a good thing.  Dye hit his 39th and Konerko hit his 29th.

Finally the White Sox got the win today.  Mark Buehrle was en fuego and he gave up only a single run in 7 1/3 innings.  Joe Crede hit his 28th homerun and A.J. Pierzynski hit a two run shot in the 7-1 win.

Like I said at the beginning, this week is huge.

It’s funny how your perspective changes.  Heading into the series, I would have said it was imperative that the White Sox take three of four.  When they then proceeded to drop the first two, I was then more then happy for a two-two split.  Regardless, the White Sox are back to a 5 1/2 game deficit, right where they started the series, and they’ll be in first place for the Wild Card regardless of whether the Twins win or lose tonight.

Not that long ago, Jose Contreras had the best start of the season against the Tigers in Chicago.  On Monday, he was knocked around pretty bad and Justin Verlander held the White Sox bats in check.  Contreras gave up seven runs on eight hits in only five innings and the only run that the White Sox could get in the 7-1 loss was a solo homerun by Jermaine Dye.

Tuesday’s game wasn’t much better.  Kenny Rogers and Fernando Rodney held the White Sox to five hits in a shutout.  Mark Buehrle was pretty good but he took the loss.  He gave up four runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Joe Crede was one of our sparks yesterday and he got the White Sox back on track.  He homered in the second inning to break a 3-3 tie then he homered again in the seventh to give the White Sox an insurance run.  He’s now up to 27 on the season and when he gets to 30, I’ll feel redeemed.  The downside to this game was Jim Thome hurt his hamstring so we’ll see when he’ll be able to get back into the lineup.  Freddy Garcia wasn’t exactly great, but he improved to 12-8 on the season.

Today’s game was actually kind of fun.  Jon Garland pitched a six hit shutout to give the White Sox pen a rest and the bats put up 10 runs.  Jermaine Dye went yard twice and he drove in three runs and Juan Uribe hit a three run homerun.

Things don’t get any less huge this weekend.  The White Sox play three against the Twins so they can’t let up now.  The wild card lead is at stake this weekend.

We really could have done better then this.  The White Sox have a two game lead over the Twins and they’re six down (Tigers are winning in the fourth) from the Tigers and they play each of those teams over the next two series.  This is a very big stretch of seven games.

Monday was how the whole series should have went.  The White Sox scored eight runs in the fourth inning to bust the game wide open.  Jim Thome and Brian Anderson both homered. Nine different White Sox scored runs in the 12-2 win.  Jon Garland also threw a good game.  He gave up one run on seven hits in seven innings in the win.

Then it went downhill.  The Royals edged the White Sox on Tuesday behind a strong outing by Runelvys Hernandez.  Then yesterday, the Royals smacked around Jose Contreras.  The White Sox turned things around today though.

The first four runs of the game were all on solo homeruns, two a piece for the Royals and White Sox.  Paul Konerko doubled home Scott Podsednik in the eighth to give the White Sox a 5-3 lead.   They’d end up needing that run because Bobby Jenks got into trouble in the ninth inning.  He gave up a run but pitched out of his own jam and picked up the save.

Three against the Twins beginning tomorrow.  It’ll be Freddy Garcia against Boof Bonser.

Man was this huge.  Huge.

Jose Contreras made the Tigers look silly on Friday.  He picked up his first career complete game shutout and struck out five.  Contreras had been struggling but he definitely picked things up here in this game.  He needed only 101 pitches to get the job done too.  Jim Thome and A.J. Pierzynski both homered and drove in two runs in the 5-0 lead.

Three errors and four unearned runs won this one for the White Sox.  Mark Buehrle got the job done as well.  If you take away a botched double play attempt, he might have held the Tigers scoreless.  He struck out seven in six innings before letting the bullpen do it’s job.  Brian Anderson had two RBIs in the 4-3 win.

The White Sox finished things up today and it was Alex Cintron who burned the Tigers yet again.  In an earlier series, he had a couple of big hits and his three run double in the second inning was huge.  Freddy Garcia threw seven solid innings and he’s now 11-7.  Jermaine Dye hit homerun number 31 in the 7-3 win.

Next up is the Royals for four.  The Tigers play the Red Sox so it’d be nice to pick away at this lead a little more.  Just as important, the Sox still have a two game lead for the Wild Card, so we always have that to fall back on.

Close games make for exciting games.  Close games also account for elevated blood pressure levels.  This series could have gone either way.  One team could have swept the other with a couple of timely at bats.  Fortunately the White Sox came out on top.

Tuesday had to be the funnest game.  Down 5-4, Paul Konerko hit a lead off homerun in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game up and send it into extra frames.  Then in the eleventh, Jermaine Dye came up huge with a walk off RBI single to end it.  Bobby Jenks went two and two thirds innings in this one and he picked up his third win of the season.  Joe Crede hit his 24th homerun earlier game.

The Yankees jumped out to a 7-0 lead on Wednesday and while the White Sox made a run at a win, they fell just short in a 7-6 loss.  Randy Johnson had things firmly in hand with a no hitter into the sixth but he couldn’t pitch forever, and the Yankees middle relief is a weakness right now.  Joe Crede hit homerun number 25 and Tad Iguchi went yard as well.  Jon Garland, who had been the White Sox best starter of late, got shelled in the loss.

Javier Vazquez was given a four run lead last night and he needed each of those runs and then some.  He improved to 11-6 and he gave up two runs on six hits and six walks with eight strikeouts over five innings.  Brandon McCarthy made things interesting and gave up two runs in the seventh, but the rest of the pen held on for the win.  Tad Iguchi had three hits and Scott Podsednik had two hits and two RBIs.

Next up is a huge three game series with the Tigers.  We’re eight and a half back and even after this weekend, the Sox have two more series against the Tigers.  The bottom line is, the Sox still have a shot at the AL Central, the Sox just have to take care of business this weekend.

I guess I know how Indians’ fans felt last year.  Right now, no matter how well we do, we can’t make up any ground in the standings.  The Tigers swept the Indians, so even though the Sox won their series this weekend, they’re still further away then when we started.  Depending on how this coming weekend series with the Tigers goes, it might not even be worth looking at anything other then the Wild Card standing from her on out.

Toronto spotted Roy Halladay three runs on Friday, and that’s usually enough.  Fortunately the White Sox made Halladay look very mortal and tagged him for five runs in six innings.  A.J. Pierzynski hit homerun number nine and and Jim Thome and Paul Konerko had three hits a piece.  Jon Garand improved to 12-3 and he now has his ERA under five.  He gave up three runs on eight hits through six innings of work.  Bobby Jenks saved his 30th game of the season despite giving up a run in the ninth.

Javier Vazquez was awesome yesterday.  He struck out thirteen over eight innings and he gave up only one run on two hits.  He had really been struggling later in the game, so it was nice to see him throw over 100 pitches and not break down.  Paul Konerko had four RBIs in the 7-1 win and Tad Iguchi scored three times.

Not sure what happened today.  A.J. Burnett yielded three early runs but Jose Contreras gave up that and then some.  He dropped to 10-4 and Jim Thome went two for three with an RBI and two runs in the 7-3 loss.

The Tigers go against the Twins this week while the White Sox have and off week.  The Angels come to town for one makeup game, then the Yankees roll in on Tuesday.  Needless to say, this is a huge series with regards to the Wild Card.  The Yankees may be ahead in the AL Central, but if they slip, they’ll be back into the Wild Card mix.  Then it’s three against the Tigers.  Needless to say, this is a very, very big week.

Even against a horrible team like the Royals, you can’t expect to win if two of your best hitters are out of the lineup.  Paul Konerko was hit on the elbow Tuesday and then Jim Thome has had some problems with his wrist and his back so both players missed the finale against the Royals. 

Monday things got off on the right foot.  The White Sox scored eight runs in the first three innings and never looked back.  Alex Cintron, Jermaine Dye and Joe Crede all homered in the 8-4 win.  Jose Contreras picked up an easy win and he’s now 10-3.  He gave up four runs (three earned) on nine hits and two walks with three strikeouts in seven innings.  Brandon McCarthy pitched two perfect innings to close out the game and he struck out two.

The White Sox needed ten innings on Tuesday to top the Royals.  The White Sox gave up a 4-2 lead in the eighth but scored three in the tenth to bring home the win.  Joe Crede hit homerun number 23 and he had a monster game.  He went four for five with two RBIs and three runs.  Matt Thornton gave up the two eighth inning runs and he was responsible for the game going into extra innings but David Riske and Bobby Jenks threw decent and picked up the win and save respectively.

Freddy Garcia hasn’t been throwing well and yesterday was no exception.  He gave up five runs (four earned) on eleven hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings.  He’s now 10-7 on the season.  Jermaine Dye and Juan Uribe homered in the loss.  It was homerun number 30 for Dye.

Next up is three against the Blue Jays, which is still an important series.  The Jays have hung on and are 6 1/2 games back of us for the wild card.  It’d be nice to really bury them in this series and make it a three team race between the Twins (who have struggle) and the two headed Red Sox/Yankees.

With the Tigers looking like they’re going to sweep the Twins (3-1 in the eighth), the White Sox had a chance to put some room between themselves and the Twins after we got swept.  We took care of business in the first two games, but came up just short in the series finale.

The White Sox scored four ninth inning runs to win on Friday.  Down 4-2, Ross Gload hit a ninth inning grand slam to put the White Sox in front.  Freddy Garcia was okay in six innings of work and Matt Thornton picked up the win.  Bobby Jenks threw a perfect ninth for his 27th save of the season.

Yesterday’s game was pretty ugly.  The White Sox and Orioles combined for 24 runs on 37 hits.  The big inning was a seven run third that put the White Sox up for good, not that the Orioles didn’t make things interesting.  Jim Thome scored four runs without getting a hit and A.J. Pierzynski went five for five with a homerun, four RBIs and two runs scored.  Jon Garland picked up his eleventh win despite giving up six runs and Jenks picked up save number 28.

The White Sox took a 4-1 lead today but another late inning breakdown by Javier Vazquez gave the Orioles a 5-4 lead.  The White Sox answered with three runs in the eighth to make it 7-6, but Bobby Jenks gave up two runs in the bottom of the ninth to give the Orioles the win.  Jermaine Dye homered and drove in five runs and Paul Konerko homered and scored twice.

Good news. The Twins have just taken a 4-3 lead over the Tigers.  Maybe we won’t drop a game after all.  Next up is the cellar dwelling Kansas City Royals.  This is a huge series in that we get a chance to make up some ground, which we dearly need.

This is like the final months of last year, only in fast forward.  We’re not even into August yet, and the White Sox are having their collapse.  For the first time in a long time, the White Sox don’t have the Wild Card lead.  Just as worse, we’re tied with the Twins.  I’m almost rooting for the Tigers this weekend as they head to Minnesota.

Brad Radke held the White Sox in check on Monday.  After giving Javier Vazquez a two run lead, he fell apart late and the Twins scored three runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings.  He dropped to 9-6 on the season.  Paul Konerko, Juan Uribe and Brian Anderson all homered in the 7-4 loss.

Tuesday was more of the same because Johan Santana was on the mound.  The White Sox actually touched him for three runs but Jose Contreras topped that by giving up four runs on seven hits in seven innings.  He’s now lost his last three decisions.  Jim Thome hit homerun number 33 and Joe Crede went deep with his 21st.

The White Sox came back from being down 3-0 to tie it up yesterday, but the Twins then scored two runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings.  Final was 7-4.  Mark Buehrle was roughed up and he’s now a pedestrian 9-9.  Jermaine Dye and Rob Mackowiak both homered.

Next up is three games against the Orioles.  The Sox have to take care of business here against a mediocre team because they have an even better chance of making up some ground next week when they face the Royals.

I know there’s a lot of speculation going on these days, and some of it might be planted by our competitors to see who blinks first.  News broke yesterday that the White Sox were very close to a deal for Alfonso Soriano.  The price would be Brandon McCarthy amongst other things, and if the White Sox were to deal McCarthy, I’d be pretty upset.  More on this as it develops.

The Tigers keep winning and at least right now, the White Sox haven’t kept up.  With two losses to the Rangers, the Sox are now two more game behind the Tigers then we were at the beginning of the week.  And the Yankees, Twins and Blue Jays are all hovering around in contention for the Wild Card.

Mark Buehrle was hammered on Friday.  He gave up five runs in the third inning alone and even worse, the White Sox crept back into the game only to have the pen fall apart in the eighth inning.  Joe Crede hit homerun number 20 and Jim Thome went yard as well. 

Yesterday’s game was closer, but the end result was the same.  The White Sox only scored one run on five hits but because of some good pitching by Freddy Garcia, the score was tied 1-1 going into the ninth.  Then Bobby Jenks gave up two runs on All Star Game hero Michael Young’s two run single.  The Sox scored their one run on a solo shot by Paul Konerko.

Jon Garland’s thrown really well lately.  He’s had six straight wins and in his last eight starts, he’s given up more then two runs only once.  Scott Podsednik homered and drove in three runs in the 5-0 win.  Tad Iguchi homered and drove in two runs.

Next up is a huge three game series against the red hot Twins.  They’re only three back of the Sox and it would be really nice to pick up a game (or three) and make it more of a two team race.  We’ll miss Francisco Liriano, but we’ll see Johan Santana.

Alright, we’ve got a nice little rivalry brewing here.  For the last year and change, the White Sox have owned the Tigers.  This week at Comerica Park, the White Sox finally met their match and the Tigers took two of three.  The White Sox are in a tough slump and it’s time to turn this around, especially with the Yankees, and dare I say it, the Twins, knocking on our door.

Monday was the good game.  The White Sox rolled over the Tigers and Paul Konerko led the way with two homeruns and four RBIs.  Jon Garland had a very nice start and he gave up one run on six hits and one walk through seven innings.  Joe Crede also went deep.

Things were going very well for Javier Vazquez and the White Sox up until the sixth inning of Wendesday’s game.  Once again, the Tigers weren’t hitting the ball but they finally tagged Vazquez for a run and loaded the bases up.  Then Craig Monroe took Vazquez deep for a grand slam that ended up being the difference.  Joe Crede and Juan Uribe hit solo shots but the White Sox were held to only five hits in this one.

Yesterday was the biggest disappointment.  Ozzie Guillen probably kept Contreras in there a little too long, even though he hadn’t thrown a lot of pitches.  With the scored tied 1-1, Contreras gave up a walk, and then the next batter hit into what looked to be an inning ending double play.  But a hard slide at second base took out Tad Iguchi, and then a double later and the Tigers had the lead.  The White Sox blew a huge opportunity in the fourth.  They loaded the bases with one out, and only managed one run.  After that, the White Sox didn’t too much with their bats.

The White Sox are now 5 1/2 back with the Rangers coming to town.  We’re two and a half ahead of the Yankees in the Wild Card and then four games ahead of the Twins.  Should be an interesting next couple of months.

This is the second worst team I can think of to get swept by.  Then very worst is the team we place next.  The White Sox travelled to New York and the Yankees beat them in all three games.  The Sox saw their Wild Card lead get cut in half and they now trail the Tigers by 4 1/2 games because the Tigers took three of four against the Royals.

On Friday, Jose Contreras finally lost.  The game was tied 3-3 heading into the eighth when Jose Contreras and Matt Thornton got tagged for three runs.  The White Sox made it interesting and touched up Mariano Rivera for two runs but the team fell just short.  Joe Crede continued his breakout season and hit his seventeenth homerun, a two run shot in the first inning.  Juan Uribe drove in two runs on two sac. flies.

Yesterday’s game was the ugliest.  Mark Buehrle was tagged for eight runs through three innings plus and he dropped to 9-7.  Cliff Politte was touched for four runs and Bobby Jenks gave up two (not sure why he was out there).  Jim Thome was three for three and he hit his 31st homerun of the season.

This afternoon, the Yankees jumped all over Freddy Garcia and took a 6-2 lead.  The White Sox then got hits, but they couldn’t get them across the plate.  A.J. Pierzynski homered and Scott Podesdnik had two hits and two runs in the 6-4 loss.  Garcia dropped to 10-6 on the season and his ERA is now above 5.00.

This is a big, big series against the Tigers.  If one team gets a sweep, you could see a three game swing.  Man do the White Sox have to bounce back from this series with the Yankees.

It took 19 innings yesterday, but the Sox pulled it out.  And it was the difference between going into the break down by two games or down by three games because the Mariners finally took a game from Detroit. 

Things didn’t start well in the series though.  On Friday, we ran into…..Jon Lester?  Okay, he’s doing his best Jered Weaver imitation and after taking care of the White Sox, he’s now a perfect 4-0 in six career starts.  Mark Buehrle was roughed up and he gave up five runs on nine hits in 6 1/3 innings.  Jermaine Dye had two sac. flies to account for the two White Sox runs in the 7-2 loss.

Jermaine Dye homered twice on Saturday but that wasn’t enough to top the Red Sox because Freddy Garcia and the pen was knocked around just as bad.  Three of the four relievers used in the game gave up runs.  Scott Podesdnik finished the game with three hits and Jermaine Dye’s season homerun total was now up to 24.  Jim Thome went yard for his 30th.

Yesterday’s game was the longest game (inning wise) of the season.  The game went into extra frames 3-3 and then both teams scored a pair in the eleventh.  Then neither team scored until Tad Iguchi hit a walk off RBI single in the nineteenth to win.  Give Brandon McCarthy some props.  He didn’t pick up the win, but he threw 4 1/3 shutout innings and this was after struggling of late.  Oh yeah, and lost in all this, Jose Contreras didn’t get a decision so his winning streak is intact.

It seems like the only way we can pick up some games on the Tigers is when we play more games, and that’s what happened here.  Although this time around, the Tigers dropped two of three so now we’re only a single game back.

On Monday, the White Sox were held to two hits, and one of them was a solo shot by Jermaine Dye.  That was it.  In the meantime, Freddy Garcia got knocked around and he took the loss.  Brandon McCarthy also got hit hard and he gave up two solo homeruns in his one inning of work.  Dye had both of the hits.

Then Tuesday, we turned things around.  Jose Contreras won his 17th in a row and the Sox blew out the Orioles 13-0.  Juan Uribe hit his 11th homeruns and he drove in five runs and Paul Konerko hit homerun number 21 and had three RBIs.  Contreras gave up six hits in 6 2/3 shutout innings.

Wednedsday was the closest game.  The White Sox scored four in the first then didn’t score again.  The Orioles scored one in the seventh then they got to Bobby Jenks and tagged him for one in the ninth, but he pitched out of the jam and earned his 26th save of the season.  Jon Garland appears to be turning things around and he gave up one run on six hits in 7 1/3 innings.  Jim Thome and Dye both had two hits and a run.

Yesterday, Javier Vazquez picked up a cheap win because the offense did their job.  Vazquez gave up five runs (three earned) on eight hits and one walk in only 5 1/3 innings.  The Orioles made things interesting by scoring three in the ninth but Matt Thorton got the final batter out to earn his first save of the season.  Jim Thome had a monster game.  He hit two homeruns and drove in six runs.  Jermaine Dye went deep and had three RBIs and all star catcher A.J. Pierzynski hit his sixth homerun of the season.

The White Sox host Boston heading into the break, and they’ve been hot.  It’d be nice if the Tigers laid down for the Mariners and the White Sox were in first place heading into the break but I’ll take being a game back.

The Pirates were due.  They had dropped 13 in a row and someone had to be on the receiving against the Pirates, and unfortunately that team was the Sox.  In the meantime, the Tigers continue to win and the White Sox now stand 2 1/2 games back of first place but they’re six games ahead of the Yankees for the wild card.

They won the series with some good pitching.  On Tuesday, Mark Buehrle rode an early three run lead to his ninth win of the season.  He gave up two runs on seven hits and one walk with four strikouts in seven innings of work.  Bobby Jenks saved his 23rd game of the season and Brandon McCarthy pitched a perfect ninth.  Jim Thome drove in two runs and Tad Iguchi had three hits in the 4-2 win.

Yesterday, the Sox came back from three down with four runs in the eighth inning.  Freddy Garcia picked up his tenth win despite giving up ten hits and two homeruns.  Jenks picked up save 24 and Juan Uribe tripled home three runs in that eighth inning.  Final score was 4-3. 

Today’s game was the heart breaker.  The Sox were down 6-4 and tied it up with two in the eighth.  Then Freddy Sanchez hit a walk off solo homerun to win it for the Pirates.  Jose Contreras gave up six runs on twelve hits in 5 1/3 innings.  Jim Thome hit his 25th homerun of the season and drove in two in the 7-6 loss. 

Next up is rivalry weekend and the Cubs at Wrigley Field.  The Cubs have been down, but you never in series like these.  It’d be nice if they just rolled over.

Last Friday’s game between the White Sox and Astros was highlighted as the game of the week by Baseball Prospectus (subscription required).

The White Sox did it all this weekend.  They blew out the Reds and they also came from behind.  The bad news is, the Tigers look set to win today, so they’ll have swept the Cubs.  So even with the three wins, the White Sox are still a game and a half back.

On Friday, the White Sox jumped out to a nice early lead and Freddy Garcia coasted to an easy win.  Garcia gave up four runs on seven hits through eight innings and he’s now 8-4.  Joe Crede had a monster game.  He went three for five with a homerun, four RBIs and two runs.  Scott Podsednik drove in three and Brian Anderson had two hits and two runs in the 12-4 win.

Saturday was the come from behind win.  The Reds had a 5-3 lead but the White Sox racked up five runs in the final three innings to put the game away.  Jose Contreras struck out 13 in six innings and didn’t get a decision and while he didn’t have his best stuff at times, his winning streak is intact.  Juan Uribe hit his sixth homerun and Pablo Ozuna had three hits and two runs in the 8-6 win.

Today was a pitchers’ duel through five innings.  Aaron Harang then got hit hard but Jon Garland continued to throw well.  He gave up only four hits and one run in eight innings and he’s now 6-3.  He also helped out his own cause with a two run shot in the eighth inning.  Jermaine Dye homered and drove in three runs in the 8-1 win.

St. Louis comes to town for three starting on Tuesday as interleague play continues.  I’m hoping the Tigers go through another rough patch like they did a couple of weeks ago (opportunity missed) and the Sox finally push ahead of them.

Sometimes, you need to win just to keep pace.  And while yesterday’s game was a disappointment, we did win two of three and matched the Tigers so we’re still a game and a half back (one back in the loss column).  The downer is, we’re heading on the road where the White Sox are a .500 team, so a successful road trip will be paramount to staying within striking distance of Detroit.

Friday was Jermaine Dye’s day to shine.  The Indians had a 4-2 lead and Dye’s solo homerun in the sixth made it a one run game, and then in the eighth, he drove in two with a single to give the White Sox a 5-4 win.  Javier Vazquez had a pretty good start (nine strikeouts) but it was Matt Thornton who picked up the win.  Bobby Jenks picked up his eighteenth save of the season.

Saturday we came from behind on two occassions to lock up the series win.  The Indians scored a run in the sixth to make it 2-1 and the White Sox tied it up in the bottom half of the inning.  The game went into extra frames 2-2 and the Indians actually drew first blood when Victor Martinez homered in the top of the eleventh.  Rob Mackowiack and Tad Iguchi came up big with RBI singles in the bottom half of the inning and just like that, the White Sox had two wins in a row.

Yesterday’s game was a downer, and on national television no less.  The Indians jumped out to a 10-2 lead and the White Sox actually made things interesting with six runs in the ninth inning.  Brian Anderson finished the game with three RBIs.

The White Sox head to Texas for four games.  Fortunately we’re up 3-0 early, and the Tigers are down 1-0 to the Devil Rays.  If things stay this way, we’ll be just a game back in the win column.