Antonio Osuna

Ozzie made it clear in the media that he is not interested in an All-Star Spot. He is using those three days to file papers for his US Citizenship application.

How many games do we have againt the Twins this year. 18? 19? In any case, with 5 games accounted for, that leaves us with 13 or 14 games. If the Twins beat us 2 out of 3 each time, for a total of about 9 games, that means we win 4 or 5, and, assuming we play equally in all other series, we're still up 4 or 5 games. The Twins don't just have to beat us -- they have to sweep us. That is, of course, unless we fall apart against other teams.

My post was not directed at the thread starter or necessarily at posts in this thread. Rather, it was directed to the general trend among Sox fans -- both here, at other websites, and in real life -- to start thinking too far ahead and thinking that victory is all but assured. Now, I pride myself on not going out before the start of the season and declaring "This is the year" or pre-coronating my team. I look down upon fans of the national league ballclub who do that sort of stuff; but now I see the same behavior among my fellow Sox fans. Granted, it's more justified, but still. Reality check. That said, today the Twins are faced with a reality check too. And I totally prefer ours to theirs.

Big whoop. This team has won absolutely nothing. The 1983 team was up 20 games at one point. The 2001 Mariners were around that too. The 2000 White Sox were in the lower single-digits consistently. They faded without winning a playoff game. The 2003 Royals were up 7.5 at the All-Star Game, 8.5 over the team that won the division that year. Where are the 2003 World Series flags at Kauffman? We must never, ever lose sight of reality, folks. This team has yet to win anything, this team is still vulnerable. This team can still improve, and I hope that Kenny isn't among those who is drunk with joy over our recent win streak. It sure sounds like Ozzie isn't. That said, it could be worse. Far worse. There's nothing wrong with celebrating that. But let's not go overboard.

The Carlos Lee slam. That's just about all that 2001 was good for.

Ah, Placido Polanco. *sniff* What could have been....

Actually, if the Twins keep losing, they'll improve their chances of taking this division. If we ever grow overconfident about them or write them off, BAM, they'll crush us. The Twins are not human, folks; one guy goes down, another comes up from the minor leagues and hits .400 or becomes an elite pitcher in his first year. They are a machine. They do not make many mistakes. We must take maximum advantage of every mistake they make; that is the only way to beat them, given the disadvantage of being human.

This Hill kid is just mowing down Brewers. Looks like their main bullpen will live

Was anyone at today's game? If so, how was the music?

And Everett looks downright tiny compared to both.

I pride myself on being level-headed, realistic, and not making pronouncements like "This is the year!" or "so-and-so prospect is the future!", but even I see a lot of potential in Brandon. What does it for me is that it doesn't seem the problem is with his stuff. It seems the problem is entirely something that can be coached away.

Game 1 at Comiskey Park against the Cubs in 2000. Bullet Bob was on to pitch the 9th; with two outs, he walked Mark Grace, and I thought for sure that Sosa would be the last out of the game. Instead, Sosa homered, tying the game. After experiencing my first 14th inning stretch, I got to see the Milkman deliver, like he did so many times that year. Of course, the next year, there was a much better walk-off moment against the Cubs, but its already been mentioned.

I love the song; I heard it for the first time Saturday at the game, and it hasn't left my head since, but I'd be saddened if it lost its specialness by being used in every single game. One of these days, they'll play it after a meaningless win or before a 9th inning in which the Sox fail to come back, and it will just cease to be special.

I was listening to that 8th inning on the radio and that "go go go go White Sox" song from yesterday just kept playing over and over in my head. Anyone else get ballpark music stuck in their head for a few days after going to a game? Anyway, I'm rarely happier to be wrong. 7.5 games up...not since 2000.

Why haven't any more green seats been installed? I thought they were going to do it on long road trips this year.

I don't think this team needs a Robin Ventura right now. We have guys that can provide power. What this team needs is a Herbert Perry. Can you imagine what this chemistry-based, clutch-driven team would be like if we had the 2000 version of the Milkman out there? Good god, we'd be unstoppable.

If you think I would ever "woohoo" a Sox loss, or if you think that I would ever feel happy about a White Sox loser, then you are sadly mistaken. I just think that, realistically, we'll probably lose this game. It brings me anger, not pleasure, to say that. That said, I'll have Ed Farmer and John Rooney on my dial tonight and I'll be cheering, cheering, cheering for the Sox to prove me wrong.

Sox are currently 7 games up. That hasn't happened since 2000. Enjoy it while it lasts; Contreras pitches tonight, so it'll be back to 6.5 by about 9 PM.

Sox fans, however, know that Timo is capable of running and scoring from first.

If Minnesota takes us down, it might very well be them and Cleveland that take the playoff spots. Remember, in 2003, at the All-Star break, the White Sox were 7.5 GB and the Twins 8.5 GB. Even though Pena got Manager of the Year, there were no Royals in the division race come September. This team isn't even doing the kind of domination that past clubs who missed the Series did. In 2000, 6.5 games up is what we called a bad week for the Sox, and in 1983, well, the lead was even greater. None of those teams made it to the series. Worry about the division and the wildcard before you even start worrying about the playoffs, and worry about the ALDS first and foremost -- ONCE YOU GET THERE.

I will congratulate myself on never having jixed it by making posts like this before the season is even halfway over. Two bad series for us and that lead could vanish. Like that. Twins were 8.5 games back at the All-Star break in 2003. Never, EVER underestimate them.

That kind of record and only 6.5 games up. What bad luck we have with these Twins in our division.

8.5 is how far back the Twins were at the All-Star break in 2003.

That 2003 team, if it had won the AL Central, would have rolled over the Yankees and the Red Sox. It would have gone to the World Series, where it would lose embarassingly bad to Florida. Instead, they lost embarassingly bad to the AL equivalent of the Marlins.

Wow, that's the first time I left a game in the 2nd inning.