Going "All in" blind...

I know it's been the better part of a year since I have written in this blog. Getting a "real job" will do that to a person. It was a shame that I didn't have any time to write about the Bulls and their amazing run, but that is another blog for another time.

What I really want to talk about is this whole "All in" thing. The strikeout king Adam Dunn, the Double play king Alex Rios, and the king of all things awesome, Paul Konerko. Yes, I am talking about your 2011 Chicago White Sox.

Where do I begin? Well, at 76 games into the season, "All in" feels more like throwing a couple chips in here and there and making it seem like you have a better hand than the other AL Central teams, when you know you're bluffing.

...Because it's clear that the Indians have the best hand.

Wait, that can't be right, can it?

Usually, the Twins would be the team that would beat us on every hand, no matter how much we bet. While that may be true in head-to-head play, the Twins still find themselves eight games back in the division, in fourth place behind our third place Sox. Usually around now, I find myself complaining to no end about Mauer and Morneau and the like being in first place and killing the Sox every chance they get. But this year, it's the Indians that have the best hand, at least for now.

That just isn't right. The one team the Sox can beat in this division happens to be sitting in first place at the moment. The Tigers only find themselves one game behind, which makes for a nice competitive AL Central. I'm all for the Central being a competitive division, and i'm all for the Twins not having anything to do with it.

However...

It is still early in the season, with the all-star break waiting in the wings, and while it may be easy to count the Twins out, I just know them all too well to believe that they are done.

With the possible Twins comeback in sight, what can our boys do to stay ahead in the division? Not only against the Twins but the Tigers and Indians as well?

For the life of me I can't think of many long-term answers, so I would like to break it down based on our previous series against the Cubs. Granted, playing against the Cubs isn't the best of samples last time I checked, but there were a few things I noticed that left me hopeful. After all, Ozzie said that he was just happy "beating another big league team", not necessarily that it was the Cubs. Here is one thing I noticed:

The Bullpen was really awesome. Having Sergio as a closer didn't even cross my mind during the offseason and into spring training, but I feel extremely proud to have him be the guy shutting it down in the ninth inning. All three games against the Northsiders were close, and the Bullpen didn't seem to be phased by it one bit. I have loved the addition of Jesse Crain since we signed him, and the tall, lanky, ice-cream-eating man known as Chris Sale has potential (perhaps hidden potential?) to be an elite reliever. And while it was easy to shun Matt Thornton earlier in the year (partially due to the miffed Juan Pierre plays), he is still a great reliever too. The closer thing just wasn't Thornton's cup of tea; or at least that's what it seemed like. But as far as being a set-up man goes, i'd want him in the game any day. If the bullpen can keep up this Cotts/Politte-esque behavior, i think some good things are in store.

There are several other things that I noticed during the Cubs series that kept me hopeful, but I know people's attention spans, and I am willing to save my other thoughts (mostly about Paulie) for my next Sox blog.

As we continue interleague play, the Nationals will be in town tomorrow. Should be an easy series win, especially since interleague play is usually the saving grace to an uncertain White Sox season such as this. Gaining ground is the key, and taking care of our own business is crucial. The Indians have a weekend date with the Posey-less World Series champs, while Detroit hosts the D-backs for the weekend series.

Every game counts, and beating teams that we are supposed to beat (like Washington) might be the key to getting back to "All in" status, as opposed to just showing the AL Central our Pa-pa-pa-poker face.

Easier said than Dunn

Ah, the White Sox. Still hangin' in there with their eternal 1.5 game lead over those evil, evil Twins. I'm glad to see the Sox stay on a roll when they need to, and they definitely need to. One team has to give as far as being on a roll goes, and that team better be the Twins. Seems like they find any random way to win that they can, just ask Joe Maddon. Even when they no longer play in a dome, they still use a dome to their advantage to win. It's disgusting is what it is.
But the Sox shall keep rolling and hopefully the Twins stop their crazy streak. Going to Baltimore for four games certainly helps.
Since I haven't been blogging since the trade deadline, I want to share some thoughts about that as well. I can't believe how eventful it was! Berkman to the Yankees, Lilly and Theriot to the Dodgers, even going back to Cliff Lee to the Rangers. But what of the Edwin Jackson trade?
I actually like it. Of course, i would have been a bit more excited to get another bat in the lineup as our pitching staff is doing really well. The only reason i'd want the extra bat is, well, Mark Kotsay. But today he helped us win (twice if you think about it), so maybe that's a sign of things to come? I'm just glad Kenny didn't go through with the Dunn trade because getting rid of Beckham or *cue Left 4 dead tank music* Viciedo would be a bit too much. I'm all about winning now, but why not win later too?
Jackson pitched pretty well yesterday, given that he got out of the many jams he got himself into. the important column is the run column. As long as the number for the Sox is higher than the number for the opponent, then you've done your job. However, i would rather just see him shut people down, because I don't think you can get out of situations like that every time. But if he can, i'll take the extra WHIP on my fantasy team (I had him before he came to the Sox. Got a no hitter out of him, but I lost in Walks that day for sure).
So now Dunn is placed on waivers, and its a long shot for the Sox to get him that way. But for the price, as I said. I think we're better off. This team has been working well so far, and things will just keep rolling, whether the Nasty Nats want to help us out with that or not.
Taking 3 out of 4 from Detroit is good, and that puts them all but done. After Bobby blew the save i was just hoping someone would come through so i didn't have to do an "I hate Bobby" blog, and Kotsay did. But still, Bobby is in the doghouse for that one. I'm not sure that there has to be alot of drama for the closer situation, but i'm sure Thornton or Putz may get a chance, especially with the twins coming to town very soon. I'm sure Ozzie has faith in Bobby, and I do too, but who would want to risk it when these games go on unless you're absolutely sure?
So now, on to Baltimore. The Buck Showalter era has proven to be good for them so far, but I can see another 3 of 4 series in our future. At least I hope so.
I want to close by saying "don't stop now, boys!", but alas, you all hear that way too damn much.

First Place and my love-hate relationship with the all-star game

Ah, I saved my only positive blog for last. In a world where Salary Caps and Lebron James take overall precedence, it's nice to know that somewhere in the world, there is a hot baseball team worth mentioning.
And that team, my friends, is your first place Chicago White Sox.
I am still in shock that we got to this point. Nobody thought at the beginning of the season that we could even possibly make a run like that. I am loving every minute of it, and I really think we can keep going. Konerko and Rios have had an amazing first half in general. Our starting pitching has turned it around in an almost impossible fashion, getting their combined ERA lower and lower by the day. And when the rest of the team began to hit, it just spelled disaster for the opposition.
As the first half is in the books, I am not only reflecting on what an amazing run we made to get into first place by the break, but also looking forward, knowing we have to get right back to work, as we start a very important road trip with 4 games at Target Field against the Twins. The Twins are always a pain, so don't let the fact that they're in 3rd place now fool you. If we could win 3 out of 4 here, or even split, we could still be in a good position here. Target Field is certainly no Metrodome, thank god for that. I look forward to this series alot and hope we can stay in first place the rest of the way!!
I have pretty much a love-hate relationship with the All-star game. I love the idea of having all the awesome players in one place, but I really am not a fan of how the teams are constructed. Popularity contest + the "everybody gets one" thing kind of screws up what the game is supposed to be about. I'm sure Ty Wiggington has had a good year....for the Orioles. And if i'm a Mariners fan..."Hey look the only one from our team is Ichiro...again..." (after Cliff Lee had gone to Texas that is...). I also don't like how it determines home-field for the World Series, and no, I'm not just saying that because the NL won. i don't like it because it takes away from the novelty of the game. it's just supposed to be this fun thing for the kids to watch and for baseball fans to see as kind of an official halfway point of the summer. I just think that this is another victim of something in sports losing its fun. That has been happening way too much lately. It's actually kind of sad.
So much for the whole blog being a positive one, but hey, like I said, our Sox are in first place, and life is good. Just gotta keep it up in the second half, boys!!
Now on to watch the ESPY's...yeesh...

I miss playing NL teams...or do I?

How sad that interleague play is over. Those Kansas City Royals give us problems all the time, and this series was no different. I was very excited about the pitching matchup today with Greinke going against Peavy, and it did not disappoint. The Sox bullpen, however, that was the part that kind of disappointed.
But it wasn't all bad, the Sox actually engineered a really epic almost-comeback thanks in large part to that 3-run triple from Lillibridge. How wonderful and random. I was really hoping we would score in the 8th so as not to have to face Joakim Soria, but it didn't work out that way, and Soria shut us down for good.
I liked the way we totally got back into this game tonight, though. These boys are tough, and they know how close this AL Central race is going to be from here on out. I mentioned in my last blog that I don't like to scoreboard watch, but when we're still only 2.5 games out, I can't help but try and take a peek at what our little Twins and Tigers friends are up to. Their series against each other went pretty much how I wanted to, with one team taking 2 of 3. Now with us playing another really hot team in Texas, we need to focus on winning these games so as to not fall back down to where we were. The Twins begin a series with the Rays tomorrow, and the Tigers will begin a series with the Mariners on Friday. Seems like all three AL Central contenders may have their work cut out for them, so it will be an exciting weekend for baseball (although it's also going to be an exciting weekend of NBA free agency as well...).
So I thought that being back in the AL would not be a big deal, but this series made me question that theory. Were the Sox just hot because they were beating up on the bad teams? I still think they were playing some good baseball against KC, they just always seem to give us trouble. Hawk even mentioned that last year we lost more games to KC than we did to the Tigers. Very strange. On the other hand, we have been playing some good teams and beating them. Such is the beautiful thing about baseball. The game changes constantly and it is up to us as fans to try and keep up. Right now, just as well, it's up to the White Sox to keep up with these teams in their own division by beating teams no matter what league they're in, no matter what division they're in. I hope during this off day they can reflect on how they almost came back to win this game and held on until the very last out. I'm pretty split when it comes to momentum affecting things, but i think and hope that this is one of those times where it does. These Rangers are tough, and they will come out fighting to keep their first place spot. It will be quite an awesome weekend like I said.
...At least I know Jerry Reinsdorf has other plans for this weekend. ^_~

Crosstown part 2

Well, the coveted BP crosstown cup belongs to the White Sox, and the Crosstown classic, as well as interleague play in general, has come to an end. But what would a Sox/Cubs series be without a little drama right? and what would a little drama be without Carlos Zambrano?
I thought what he did was childish and terrible. I can understand being frustrated with your "dead ass" team (as Bob Brenly so graciously put it), but if you give up a home run when the hitter is behind in the count like that, you can't totally blame someone else for that. Especially not Derek Lee. If you have a problem with someone on your team, you have every right to confront them about it, that's what a person in a leadership role like that would do. However, you certainly don't have the right to yell and scream and freak out after a bad inning, and get in your teammates' face. That's just not being a very good teammate in my opinion. I'm glad he got suspended, and i'm glad that even when he gets back he is going to stay in the bullpen. He i s good enough to be a starter, but he has to earn that role back. Unless Jim Hendry actually finds someone that wants him. The Cubs are just in a bad position financially in general, and that just makes things harder on them.
Now, on to a much more awesome story...The Sox only being 1.5 games behind in the AL Central!
This might be the earliest i've ever begun to "scoreboard watch", but it has happened. A few weeks ago I figured there would be no way I should even be caring about the Twins and the Tigers, but now I am watching closely making sure they both lose...
But that's impossible for the next 3 days because they are playing each other. -_-
Back to that series against the Cubs, I loved the starts we got from Peavy and Freddy for sure, and even with a bit of shakiness from Danks, our starters still have an ERA of around 2.29 since the winning streak (and 2 losses to the Cubs in between) began. The offense continued as Gordon even put himself on the score sheet a few times, and Quentin and Paulie continue to hit home runs like crazy.
But will this continue now that we don't have the little old NL to beat up on anymore? i mean, we are playing Kansas City now for 3 games, but then we go to Texas, and that certainly won't be easy, because they're the only team as hot (if not hotter) than us. I'd like to believe that this wasn't just a case of NL ownage, and we can at least take 2 of 3 from KC, and Texas. if we can just continue to win every series from now until the end of the year, this division will be ours for the taking.
So let's start with a great game against the Royals, boys. I think Buehrle can get the job done against....uh oh, wait. Is this a pitcher we've never seen before? At least i've never heard of him. Regardless, I think we can get the job done and keep this little AL Central race of ours very interesting. my pick to click tonight shall be...Carlos Quentin.

3 sweeps in a row!!!

Wow, those Sox are hot!!

I found myself repeating over and over again about the same reasons that they were losing, and now i'm finding myself repeating over and over again the same reasons why they are winning.
But I still must must must talk about how much I loooove this pitching staff! Gavin had another outstanding game today, for sure. Unfortunately, as usual, he did not get the win to show for it, but he had a spectacular performance nonetheless. The starters have been going long, conserving the bullpen (please no more Scott Linebrink...) and Bobby has been totally solid in nailing it down. Our starting 5 have been nothing short of amazing, and that's the staff I knew they could be to win this lovely little AL Central.
Speaking of the AL Central, the twins just got swept by...the Brewers?!?!? Mwahaha! That leaves the Sox just 2.5 games out of 1st place now, and 2 games behind the Tigers (would have been 1 if the Mets beat them...dang.). Now this is looking like the AL Central that everyone predicted, and it's going to make for a really exciting second half if we can keep it up and stay close. I'm gonna have alot of fun cheering for my Sox and hatin' on the Twins and Tigers like I always do. ^_^
Now the next thing I must must must talk about. Carlos Quentin. His bat and his home run swing have come back from the dead, and it's about time. He has been crushing the ball, hitting 2 homers last night and 1 the night before. I'm oh so glad he is starting to come around again, as that is another key to the Sox success, and will be for the rest of the season. Paulie also found his home run swing which was missing for a bit, and his average has been staying hot right along with the Sox themselves.
Ah, and now we start the Southside version of the Crosstown classic, er, the BP crosstown cup (great timing on that advertisement, guys...). The pitching matchup tomorrow will be Peavy vs. Zambrano. In other words, very entertaining. Big Z tends to do well against the Sox, but if Peavy is on like he was in his last start, the Cubs may be in some trouble. I just hope we keep this going and get even closer to those Twins. All I know is, this will be quite an awesome weekend!!!

6 in a what?

6 in a row, silly. That's how many games we have won. How awesome does that feel?
I do understand that these sweeps were of really bad teams, but I already mentioned several times how we are wining the games that we are supposed to! And that is a really good thing. I'm not getting so insanely excited that I can't contain myself, but I am feeling pretty good about how the Sox have been playing here during this streak of awesomeness.
Besides, the 1 day out of every 5 that the Nats are actually supposed to win for sure, we beat them too. And that was an awesome awesome game by the way. Gavin Floyd showed the world (or at least the MLB Network audience) that he's the man too. He might not have had as many K's, but he still showed some dominance out there, as he did in his previous start against the Cubs. He, along with the rest of the staff, is starting to show why I, along with many others, picked them to win this division. Everyone's ERA is nice and low, and when your 5th starter dominates as well as your big names like Danks and Peavy, then I would say your pitching staff is in mighty good shape. I was a bit worried about Peavy's start the other day but he proved me wrong. I was hoping the injury wouldn't affect him, and they way he pitched that day, it really didn't seem like there was any injury to that shoulder at all. It was really a beautiful thing.
Now the interleague test becomes at least a little bit tougher, with a very good team from Atlanta coming to the ballpark tomorrow night. I like Jason Heyward, as everyone does, and since every one of these pitching matchups is awesome for these games, it will come down to the offense. If our pitchers can shut the kid down, and Rios, Quentin, and Paulie still stay hot, then I think this streak can continue. Either way I know these games will be really fun to see, and if we can beat these Braves the way we beat up on the Pirates and Nats, Then maybe more people will start realizing this team is for real, and I will feel much better about it too.
I also anticipate a huge ovation for the Sox when they take the field tomorrow night. An 8-1 road trip is pretty freaking good, especially because the 1 loss was still almost a no hitter from your starting pitcher. I remember back in 2000 when the Sox had a similar awesome roadtrip and they got a standing ovation when they returned home as well. I can see that happening again, and I can see the division championship that followed happening again too. ^_~
Keep it up, boys!!