ChiSport: Down to .5

By Mario Scalise

 

Whether the White Sox win or lose the final game of this three-game series, hopefully a lessen is learned, and that is you need an offense with the ability score runs on any night, in any stadium, against any team.

 

Built around the long-ball - and the belief that the threat of the long-ball alone will cause pitchers to wet their pants and make mistakes, then allowing them to hit more home runs - this offense goes from dangerous to anemic when home run derby takes a night (or a series, week, month) off.

 

In this series with the Twins, you can pin a good chunk of game one on another Vazquez big-game no-show, or the bullpen that couldn’t minimize the bleeding. But Wednesday, Mark Buehrle stepped up. It wasn’t pretty in the early going, but he battled it out over seven innings, allowing just three runs. And then Scott Linebrink came in for the eighth, and he kept the game within reach. So it was a better performance for the men on the mound Wednesday, yet still a loss. Thank you, offense.

 

Thank you for being No. 1 in homers and No. 10 in runs. Thank you for being No. 3 in slugging and No. 25 in stolen bases. Thank you for having the lowest team batting average, the 27th fewest runs scored, and 30 home runs (good for 8th overall) over the past 30 games when it comes down to crunch time.

 

We can talk all we want about Vazquez, or the bullpen, or the fifth starter, or Guillen’s infatuation with playing Ken Griffey Jr., and in center no less, but these past two games and the several days leading up to it, the part of the Chicago White Sox that eats up the most salary has done nothing.

 

So the Sox now stand just .5 game up with one game left in Minnesota, three more left at home against the Indians, and if necessary, game No. 162 against the Tigers on Monday.

 

It’s Gavin Floyd’s game tonight.

"Thank you for being No. 1 in homers and No. 10 in runs. Thank you for being No. 3 in slugging and No. 25 in stolen bases. Thank you for having the lowest team batting average, the 27th fewest runs scored, and 30 home runs (good for 8th overall) over the past 30 games when it comes down to crunch time."

 

AAHHH,those are the same stats I have been hearing all year from the soxtalk experts of what is most and important and proof we have a great offense.

I don't think we wanted to be the way we are, but making the run for the trophy with what we have is pretty impressive. Right now it's nothing that a few more runs scored every game won't solve.

Great article Mario.