brijames1957

This line up is called were playing to win.

Scherzer about to hit 100 pitches here in the 5th. if he get's through this inning it will probably be his last.

Jose has another night to rest and get fluids and electrolytes I think he will be able to at least DH. Remember he is a professional athlete in better shape than us average joes so he should be able to bounce back from the flu bug pretty well.

Will the Managers and select players be holding press conferences today?

They are the favorites. They have the first two at home. They really need to win those first two with as well as the Sox play at home. The Sox only need a split in the first two. And if they can win game one then the pressure really is on the Stros to win game two. Pressure like that can do strange things to a team. Which team, which players can perform the best now with the lights the brightest. I thought the Sox really felt that pressure in last years playoffs. Hopefully this year they are more relaxed and play up to their talent.

These are the kind of at bats we need to see in the playoffs

Nobody is worn down come playoff time. This is what they have been waiting all year for. The adrenaline rush they get is off the charts. It now is up to each player to get themselves ready mentally. It will help a lot that they experienced it last year. We will see who can handle and perform best under the pressure.

The first game in Houston is huge. A win and you guarantee yourself two games at home. Also if you win that first one the home team will have a ton of pressure on them to win game two. It's all on the players now to get themselves mentally prepared for the pressure the playoffs bring.

How active do you think the Sox will be in free agency this off season? Would they try to sign a Semien or Story?

Damn the Sox have an incredible core of young talent right now. They say the peak years for a baseball player are 25-30. The Sox have 13 guys within that age range who are major contributors. I think this year is the start of a 3-4 year window where they can seriously contend for a WS title.

Sheets needs to be an everyday player next season. So where does he play?

I'm pretty sure Lynn will drill somebody in that 1st inning Friday. The team needs a spark right now and no better team to throw at than the Tigers.

I love these bench clearing yell fests because you can see who on your team is out there first ready to throw down and who is last and a giant p****. It looked to me like the first 3 were Moncoda, Crochet, and Grandal. Crochet was the most impressive because he got in there quick and was definitely ready to go.

Enjoy this my fellow Sox fans! It doesn't come around often.

Does the Champaign flow between games if they win or do they wait until after game two?

I have a feeling this team is going to rally around the fact that everyone is writing them off against Houston. I think they have just been waiting for Oct 7 to roll around. I think they will all individually start locking in mentally the last week of the season. It is up to each player to get themselves ready for the pressure of playoff baseball. They all say the playoffs is what they have been waiting for.

I agree with all of this. I'm not in the best of health so it has been really nice to have the enjoyable diversion of watching a very good White Sox team. I can't wait for the playoffs to start. How many years of following the Sox have we had the pleasure of playoff baseball? It don't happen often. Enjoy it when it does.

Will it simply be the start of the playoffs that gets this team playing with purpose and energy? Or does it have to start somehow in this last week and a half of the regular season? Can a team that has played months without any pressure or challenge from other teams just turn it on come Oct 7? What is it going to take to light a fire under these guys? Or will they all just be able to turn up their games starting Oct 7. How does TLR handle the last 8 or 9 games of the season after they clinch? Do you sit the regulars? Do you put your playoff lineup out there the last 4 or 5 games to try to get them in a groove together? Lot's of questions going in to this post season. I think a whole lot of people are writing them off against Houston because of how they have been playing this last half of the season. If Tony is as smart as some people seem to think then he will take these next 15 days to get this team mentally ready to go. I like the fact most everyone isn't giving them a chance to beat Houston. Hopefully the team will use that as added motivation. Whatever happens I can't wait to watch it.

Exactly! Yea they are playing like crap right now. But they are about to win the Division and make the playoffs where anything can happen. I mean would you rather they sucked all year and weren't in the playoffs? My opinion is they have had this thing pretty much locked up for months now. They haven't had any kind of challenge to get revved up about. Now if they are going through the motions once the playoffs start then we can all start b****ing!

Announced attendance 128 And that includes both teams.

Both these teams look like they would rather be doing anything else but playing this game today.

TA's mistake was letting his cheating become public. Most athletes wives know exactly what they signed up for. They tell their husbands I know your going to cheat just don't let it become public and embarrass me.

That didn't sound good

When is Engel supposed to be back?

Going to be very important how TLR manages this last two and a half weeks of the season in as far as who sits and who plays. Remember the Sox don't start the playoffs until 4 days after the season ends. If you sit guys the last few regular season games thats a lot of days off.