Thome's back, all is well in Sox Nation

I thank the CUBS for igniting our bats. Thome was just icing on the caked. Sox needed to see where we had sunk to. That Classic gave the Sox a scarlet letter in the city and that is a no no. We have tried everything, but sometimes a good ole kick in the butt by a rival can be the best medicine. It feels great! Now we need our small ball game to heal (Posednik) and we will be ready for the playoffs.

I feel good except for the fact that Crede looks like he could end up on the DL just when his bat was heating up. Ozuna's bat is fine, but my god is he terrible in the field. Then again a good number of guys look terrible playing in place of Crede.

But Paulie and Dye look like they're back now. Dye is on a 10 game hitting streak and Paulie has had a few multi-hit games lately. When those guys are not playing well that's the main source of RBIs, and you find yourself relying on guys like AJ and Uribe to drive in runs. Bad news. But when the offense is firing on most, if not all, of its cylinders, that's plenty enough to get on a hot streak with the way the pitching has been.

I suppose I am feeling better than I was 2 weeks ago when we were on that 5 game slide. But I am still a little weary of where we are headed. It wasn't long ago that I was at relative peace about our bullpen. They had quietly taken care of their business pretty well the first 6 weeks of the season but have shown recently that they are in fact closer to average. An average bullpen is just not going to get it done when you consider that it's no coincidence that the 8 playoff teams typically have the best bullpens in baseball. If the Sox relievers can get back on track, they will win, plain and simple. It doesn't even matter if the lineup isn't as good as advertised.

Solid starting pitching + great bullpen + average offense = Great team

And then this one:

Solid starting pitching + below average bullpen + great offense = above average team that misses playoffs

I truly believe those formulas hold true. If I had to guess, I would say the Sox relievers will eventually get on track. But part of me is wondering if dealing one of our starters before the break is something to consider. If it brought us another starting pitching prospect, an upgrade in our outfield or SS, and a TOP big league reliever to bolster our staff. And then perhaps we could bump up Masset into the rotation. But having 2 rookies in the rotation down the stretch would be asking a lot. And that would not likely be a deal that would be recieved very well by our fans. But if for some reason we dealt a starter that was not pitching all that well and injected a 5th starter that was really ready, this could work out. But make no mistake, I don't want to diminish our chances in 07 with this so I understand it's a longshot. Let's hope our bullpen gets it together and this is all a non-issue

Gotta love them White Sox! We are a healthy line-up and one consistent middle reliever away from a play-off year, no bout adout it. Personally, if somebody were to take this Sisco kid for about three rounds in the ring every other day and toughen this guy up, I think Baby Huey might tap into his unknown ability. 31st and Shields, all the way!

Roman responds: Hey, don't you live in Dallas?

Dallas? Um, yeah, I guess, if it's a neighborhood in Chicago.

Roman responds: I thought you were the big Cowboys fan. My bad. Like I said, short attention span.

Ok I am a lifetime Sox fan, but I have a few things I need to say.

First of all, Ozzie should really just shut the hell up. He had been looking for an excuse to blow up and apparently he felt that Mike North was that excuse. Now I personally despise Mike North, but I am glad he stood up for himself. I don't "mind" Ozzie Guillen as I was not on board when he was hired(Yes I still remember his quote of something to the effect of "We don't need the fans") that he made shortly after the strike was over. I also didn't think he had enough experience, but that's irrelevant when he calls up cursing on a show. In alot of ways he is like Scott Skiles, they both make things about themselves, just in different ways.

Two, Mark Burhle kinda needs to shut up too. He knows and everyone knows that the Cubs/Sox series is a big one for the fans, and AJ(after the infamous "I didn't have the ball B&*(#" smackdown)has alot of reasons for wanting to start. While Hall hit well, he definitely contributed to the loss that day. Burhle needs to concentrate on keeping his wins going, and his ERA mangeable. However I wonder if there has always been some kind of riff between these two. Remember they brought in Alomar to catch Burhle and in a way seemed to suggest Pierzynski was behind Burhle's issues? Hmmm......keep an eye on that relationship.

As for the offense? Well, let's not jump the gun yet. I mean they were scoring against the Cubs(not that hard to do) and now they are beating up on a decimated Oakland A's team. I do feel better knowing that big Jim is back, but it's also kinda scary to be dependent on one person that much. Crede being hurt is also wearing on me. Ozuna at third and Macowiak in the outfield for any length of time is just asking for trouble. Where is Brian Anderson? Have they given up on him? Too many question marks to be happy. Perhaps very optimistic would be more appropriate.

why doesn't anyone ever post in Sox threads? Here's how the Windy city classic boxing tournament turned out.
DeRosa vs. Macowiak
very few punches thrown,not much of anything really, split decision-Macowiak he is the hometown hero (despite being from the rival highschool).

A.J vs. Barret - despite the fact no one was realy behind him (get it?-he's a catcher!)...A.J. was relentless despite his lack of speed. In the end he wasn't worried about getting any uglier-not possible. He would have gotten a K.O. no doubt, but Barret was disqualified when it was found he was using illegal gloves-they had holes in them!

the Heavy weight battle:
Thome vs. TBA unable to match up anyone in this division with the Sox, the cubs last ditch effort to bring in Matt Murton,was realized as a failure. It Appears Mr. Thome saw who it was and laughed out loud,immediatley sending Matt Murton to the ground.
When asked why the Cubs would match up Matt Murton with Jim Thome,
Jim Hendry simply replied:"I thought someone of his size would be a heavy hitter. I guess I was wrong-again."

See, I found a way for the Sox to beat the Cubs. Now I just have to find a way to find a good hot dog out here....If I see one more Brat stand......I'm gonna puke. All we got is Culvers. 2.75 for an Oscar Meyer hot dog? I don't think so.

stuckinwisconsin, i'm posting this just for you:

GO WHITE SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I'm jealous of your proximity to Culver's.

I agree with the comment above. The Sox are one good middle reliever away from being a real contender.

I still don't believe that the Tigers are going to make it past the All Star break. Indians will come back down to earth and the you can NEVER count out the Twins after the All Star break.

Sox will definitely be in the hunt and Kenny Williams is looking brilliant in comparison to not-so-brilliant Jim Hendry that blows 300 million on a team that's below .500. Now the Sox have some room to spend at the trading deadline. Maybe pick up a speed guy and a solid middle reliever. The Sox will be in good shape!

Cubs suck!!!

Go SOX!!

Roman are you feeling good? How do you feel good in the strongest division in baseball? In this division I enjoy Sox victories but I'm left feeling more num than good. I don't think I'll feel good until the Sox secure the div/wc.

I think it's wishful thinking that Detroit or Cleveland are falling back to Earth. The White Sox are going to have to sweep somebody to gain ground on these two. Of course Minny will win like there's no tomorrow after the all-star break to make things even tighter. The Royals are no slouches either. They are gaining a pace right now that will put them over the 75 win mark.

I'm starting to sour on Pods. Why does it take him that long to heal? He should be cheap to sign to another contract but the Sox should look to trade him after that.

Sox aren't beating themselves as much as 2-12 0ne run games north siders are. Sox appear to be hitting better but certainly offensively still leaves allot to be desired.Sox weakness is one of cubs many , bad middle relief & set up relief. McDougall says its just baseball the way he's gas canning it of late. Yes,it's just baseball losers like him get released! Sisco got sent down finally!The cubs problems ? Id need to write a book on them!