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.