The Chicago White Sox have won eight of their last nine and in convincing fashion.  The Sox have scored nine runs in four consecutive games for the first time since 1938.

That tells us two things:  They had less offensive production in consecutive games in all of the years they made it to the playoffs and world series since 1938 (1959, 1983, 1993, 2000, 2005 and 2008.)  And the second is the 1938 team finished 65-83-1, good for sixth place in the then eight team American League.

So, before you turn in that request for an October vacation, be advised that there is a long way to go.  While the White Sox proved they can beat the lowly Cubs and Twins and the limping Indians, it's no guarantee that they can keep this up.

Which brings us to the Tampa Bay Rays.  These guys are good, especially at home at the Trop.  Their pitchers are good.  Their hitters are good.  Their bullpen is good.  Their manager is good.  This is not a free spot on the bingo board like the Twinkies or Cubs, this is a playoff caliber baseball team.

The Sox have a long history of losing streaks starting at the Trop as well as heartbreak, not to mention their first round playoff exit in 2008.  Tampa isn't dead until the last man is out.  Yesterday, they entered the ninth in Boston trailing by a run, got a two-run homer and won 4-3.  This is who you are dealing with.

If the Sox win two of three, I might be a little more ready to shout I believe.  But if you expect the Sox to continue to put up twelve runs a game against these guys, you have another thing coming.

Let's use this as a gage as how far the Sox have come.  Let's hope it's further than we think.

I was listening to part of the White Sox post game show Saturday afternoon after a tremendous victory over Cleveland.  Listeners should have been calling in and singing the praises of just about everybody, but instead, you would have thought the Sox lost by seven runs. 

In my experience, you know it's going to be a long afternoon as a sports talk host when everybody calling doesn't really ask for your opinion, they merely call in to show how smart they allegedly think they are.  "Hey, here's what we need to do..." they say.  Are you planning a jailbreak or something, sir?  Because last time I looked, you weren't affiliated with the team in an official capacity.

David Shuster gets the good guy award very patiently taking these calls and not acting like he wanted to reach down the phone line and strangle someone.  Because if it were me, it would have been both barrels to the middle of the forehead. 

Among the dumb ideas:

• The White Sox need to trade for Cole Hammels.
• The White Sox need to aquire Roy Oswalt
• The White Sox should trade for Ryan Dempster

Let me break it down for you, genius:

• It's only Memorial Day.  The Phillies aren't nearly as bad as they have played and they will get better as their injured players return.  They are certainly in the thick of the race in the NL East.  Atlanta is shaky, Washington will fade and Miami could go a number of ways.  The Phillies will just fine and be in contention late into September.  That's why they won't be trading anyone anytime soon.
• Have you seen the obscene amount of money Oswalt wants?  Not a chance. And I'd say that if the White Sox weren't as financially challenged as they usually claim they are. Don't forget kids, Oswalt has a very short list.  He's from Mississippi and his preference is Texas or Atlanta. 
  
• Ryan Dempster?  Seriously?  And what do the Sox give the Cubs?  The Cubs want top line prospects to add to the rebuilding job they are doing  on the North side and the Sox have very few.  And they'll want to keep the ones they have.  Hopefully, Kenny Williams learned something in the Hudson-Jackson trade that sometimes it's just better to hold 'em then go all in.
  

Do me a personal favor.  Enjoy the way the Sox are playing right now.  If you want to bitch, become a Cub fan.  I'll hang up and listen

• On a day after they buried one of their own, the Chicago White Sox avenged a 9-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins by whipping the Twinkies 6-0. Chris Sale was the big star going seven innings and giving the Twins little to work with.
• The win came a day after the Sox attended the funeral of batting practice and former Sox pitcher Kevin Hickey, who passed away last week from complications related to diabetes.  Most of the Sox players attended the funeral and several served as pallbearers. It was a long and emotional day for the Sox, one that may have caused them to come out flat Tuesday night.While it's easy for those in the seats to assume ballplayers can tune things out, they fail to realize that they are first human beings.  As such, they are entitled to the benefit of the doubt when they brought their sorrow to the office on Tuesday.
• It's the rubber match tonight.  The Sox need another solid effort out of Phillip Humber to take this series before sending Danks, Peavy and Floyd after the Indians this weekend. 
• Don't take the Tribe too lightly either.  They beat the Tigers again last night and don't seem to understand that they are expected to fold.  This Indians series is big because after it's over, the Sox will have played Cleveland twelve times with only six games remaining head to head between the two teams.  Beating Cleveland head to head is necessary if the Sox want to be in contention come late summer.
• It appears Orlando Hudson is setteling in at third.  O-Dog had a hit, an RBI and a couple of decent defensive plays last night.  Maybe his upbeat and frothy personality will inject some life in to a fairly buttoned down team.
• The Bears are now saying they are going to try former first round pick Chris Williams at left tackle.  By pitting Williams against incumbent J'Marcus Webb, the Bears will finally get a measure of the oft injured Williams.  Williams rookie contract is over after this season and if he can't do what the Bears ask him to do, he'll probably not be with the team next season.
• This is one of the best sports articles I've read in a long time. 
  
• Green Bay Packers President Mark Murphy is rumored to be in the mix for the open Stanford AD job.  As much as this pains me to say this, the Packers are a great franchise and to leave a gig like he has for love or money is totally incomprehensible to me.  Man, I must have drank too much local water.

I warned you yesterday.  I told you that it didn't matter how bad the Minnesota Twins are, they turn into the '27 Yankees when they play the White Sox.  And they did too, pounding the White Sox 9-2.

Pink Floyd struggled mightily in the second and third innings and didn't last much longer, surrendering all nine Minnesota runs, which included a three run homer by Justin Morneau.  Meanwhile, Minnesota starter P.J. Walters gave his bullpen the night off, going the route giving up a run in the first and the ninth, but nothing in between.

No Kubel? No Cuddyer?  No problem!

This is a Twins team that lost 16-2 to a below average Milwaukee team on Sunday.
I guess there are no ill effects.

Robin Ventura spoke the obvious after the game when he said "we got our ass kicked."

Chris Sale takes the mound tonight.  Maybe the Sox will come out fired up and beat these guys.  With Cleveland beating Detroit last night, the Sox are now 3½ games out of first.  Time to cowboy up, boys.

I get the feeling that this team will be like a bad radio signal this season, fading in and out, making you happy for a minute when it booms in and then ticking you off when it fades out for a few minutes.  They are, at this point, the definition of a .500 team.  Which is not good if you want to see Jake Peavy pitch in a Sox uniform after July 31. 

This division, at this point, is there for the taking, if these guys could just remove their collective heads from their backsides and do what they need to do.  And what they need to do is lay a couple of ass kickings of their own on the Twins.

Fresh on the heels of their three game sweep of the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox resume play tonight, opening a three game series against the dreaded Minnesota Twins.

When Lovie Smith was introduced as the new head coach of the Bears, he made a point to mention that the Bears would beat Green Bay.  Although Robin Ventura made no such promises about Minnesota, it may have excited Sox fans if he did.

Over the past several years, the Twins have been a speed bump the Sox keep tripping over.  Many times, just when you thought the Sox were turning a corner, the Twins pop up and whack them with a mallet in a game of reverse whack a mole.  In 2010, the Sox had that huge winning streak, then played the Twins after the break and were never heard from again. 

These aren't your Daddy's Twins, not even your older brother's Twins.  These are the horrible, mid 80's style Twins.  Their pitching is horrible, their hitting is suspect and their defense is below average.  Basically, they are the American League version of the Cubs.  Sox killers Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kuebel and Joe Nathan have moved on.  Is that enough to get the Twins out of their heads.

With Cleveland playing Detroit, the opportunity for the Sox to position themselves to be in first place by the end of the week are good.  Now we'll find out if this team has the killer instinct that some of Ozzie's latter teams lacked.   

While the Twinkies really don't scare anyone, they have won three out of four.  And that could be enough to bring them to Chicago with a little swagger.  Let's see how Robin handles this series, because as insignificant as it looks, it could be the most important series the Sox have played this season.

• If you are a Chicago White Sox fan, please read this.  Before you start clearing your early October schedule in your euphoria following the Sox three game sweep of the Cubs, know this: The real work is this week against Minnesota and Cleveland at U.S. Comiskey Park.  While we all enjoy watching the Cubs suffer, winning games against divisional opponents is what gets you to the playoffs.  Nothing out of a minimum four out of six is going to make a difference.
• The Twins, who have been horrible this year, went into Milwaukee and beat the Brewers two out of three.  The Brewers are not the Brewers of last year, still they should have done better. Minnesota always finds a way to torment the Sox, especially in Chicago. And, it doesn't matter which end of the division the Twins are on.  Maybe the change in managers will make a difference.
  
• The Sox then take on the Indians who are keeping the Tigers spot at the top of the division warm.  Cleveland is currently 2½ games up on the Sox.  The Sox need to get closer. They need two out of three and perhaps a sweep to send a message.
• Why I am I making a big deal out of a six games in May.  Because if the Sox lose ground or get beat up, the beginning of the end will occur.  The Sox are clearly pleased with their success over the last week, but they need to have another week or weeks like last one so upper management will put the brakes on any White Flag nonsense. Once they dump Jake Peavy, it's pretty much over.
• The Sox need to get some momentum while Detroit is still struggling.  The Tigers face the Indians in Cleveland beginning tomorrow night in an important series for both teams.  The Tigers could remind the Indians who they really are or they could continue to scuffle.  In any case, this series helps the White Sox IF they can take care of their own business against the Twins.
• Lost in the shuffle Saturday night was that Sox pitcher John Danks had three at bats and made contact all three times. 
  
• Adam Dunn is beginning to look like the player the Sox thought they were getting last year.
• Although he had two clutch hits in the Crosstown Classic, Gordon Beckham was only 3 for 14 against the Cubs.  I'm just sayin'.
• I like Orlando Hudson, he has the reputation of being a great teammate and a consummate professional.  However, putting him at third base may be problematic since he hasn't played it much in his career and because his throwing arm isn't optimal for that position.  The Sox would be better served moving Beckham to third if they wanted to get regular PT time from Hudson.  Why does Kenny Williams always pick up the players he covets when they are past their prime?  It's like a parent that buys birthday presents at the Goodwill Store.
• I felt bad for the Cubs in a certain sense.  They just seem like they have very little.  Their starting pitching is good for a time or two through the lineup, their bullpen is horrible and they can't hit (except when Zach Stewart is pitching.)  Cubs fans will have to take solace in the fact that Theo knows what he's doing and breaking it down to build it back up is the only way to win.  Look at the 1991 season.  Minnesota and Atlanta both finished dead last in 1990, but played in the World Series that year.  It can happen that quickly.
  

It's back.  The annual battle for Chicago mediocrity between the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs.  I say who cares.

Seriously, it's two bad baseball teams battling it out for absolutely nothing.  It's not a divisional opponent like the Tigers or Indians.  It's a team from a different league.  Heck the Sox can't even use the DH this weekend.  That means the Sox will have to wrap the Cuban Sandwich and keep him in the fridge until they need a pinch hitter.

Without Ozzie to call Wrigley a dump or Carlos Zambrano's annual meltdown, this promises to be as exciting as sitting with Roger Bossard and watching grass grow.

I've never been a fan of interleague play.  I always thought one of the unique things that baseball had going for it was that the two leagues were seperate entities and that they couldn't play each other until a world series.  That made each league a mystery, especially when it came to the series.  But now, teams play teams in the other league several times a year and next year it gets worse.  With two fifteen team leagues, there will be at least one interleague play every day.

Now, I would be the first to say that a Sox-Cubs world series would be the ultimate sports event in my book.  I've already seen the Sox win a world series in my lifetime, so a second one would almost be greedy on my part. 

As far as this weekend's series is concerned, I really don't care.  Sure, there's Sox pride in beating the Cubs, but there is more pride in sweeping the Tigers or Indians. Watching the White Sox beat the Cubs isn't nearly as satisfying to me as the Bears kicking the asses of those insufferable cheeseheaded cretins from Green Bay.  Maybe I've lived in Wisconsin too long.

Of course, I'll be watching the game this afternoon and pulling for the White Sox.  But then again, I always do, no matter who they play.  I'd just like to be watching a game that matters.

I get up each morning at 3am to get to my job at the radio station by 4 or so.  I am not a napper because if I take one, I can't sleep.  So, by design, I'm up all day unless I am especially tired.

I bring this up not because you care about my sleep habits, but rather to illustrate what sometimes happens to someone who may doze off for a few minutes.

I got home yesterday just in time to see A.J.'s big single in the first inning.  I was eating lunch when Paulie homered to make it 4-0 and I was putting some laundry in when I heard A.J.'s other big single. 

Holy crap!  It's the top of the sixth and it's six to nothing!  The Sox are going to town today!  And so, having the comfort of a six  run lead and two dogs laying on me, I closed my eyes for a couple of minutes and started to drift off.

Now, you know how that goes. I didn't fall into a deep sleep, just one of those stage one deals where it feels like you are hovering over yourself.  And in the midst of this state, the Tigers started putting runs on the board.  And I didn't know if that was really happening or I was dreaming it.  Surely, Jake Peavy isn't going to blow a six run lead.  Surely, the Sox aren't letting the Tigers back into it.  I MUST be dreaming.  Maybe I am subconsciously going back to Day 1 at U.S. Comiskey Park where God showed his displeasure in the building of the ball mall by having Detroit pound the White Sox 16-0.

Then I hear Austin Jackson's name and three run homer and 8-6 and I still am half out of it, convinced that when i wake up it will be 6-1 and my runaway imagination was poisoning my subconscious. Alas, when I awoke with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, the dream turned nightmare and I realized that it wasn't a dream at all, but me fading in and out listening to actual audio.

I've talked a lot about 60-60-42 and this is yet another game the Sox should have had in their 42 or their 60.  It was a horrible game to lose in the way it was lost, the fact it was lost at home (in front of tens of fans) and to a divisional opponent makes it even more intolerable.

Sure, the Cuban Sandwich coming within a few feet of righting a wrong was an interesting finish, but an "L" is still an "L".

The Sox now travel to California to meet the reeling Angels of Anaheim, Azuza and Cucamonga. This is a team that just fired their long time hitting coach, deemed untouchable by their once untouchable manager.  A team led by one of baseball's biggest stars who has turned into this year's 2011 Adam Dunn.  Given the luck the Sox are having lately, the Angels will most likely right their ship and Albert Pujols will hit seven home runs in the two game series.

Following the Angels, the Sox play the Cubs, a terrible team who the Sox should, theoretically beat.  Again, given the way things seem to be going now, the Cubs could morph into the '27 Yankees right before our eyes.

Yesterday's loss was not a bad dream, it was the reality that the experts might be right and that this team can't compete with the big boys.  Quite a sobering thought two weeks before Memorial Day.

Just hours after I called for his possible demotion to Charlotte, Dyan Viciedo made me look bad yesterday.  But that's okay.  Anything I can do to contribute to the White Sox winning some ball games is fine by me.

Last night "The Tank" as he was dubbed by TV broadcaster Hawk Harrelson (or, as I like to call him, "The Cuban Sandwich") had a homer and four RBI as the White Sox came back from three runs down twice to beat the Tigers 7-5.

Some of the highlights:

• Adam Dunn hit his 12th home run of the year, which eclipses his entire output of last year. Forget the gaudy projections, the bottom line is Dunn obviously has buried 2011 somewhere in his back yard and is now the Adam Dunn who signed that big free agent contract prior to last season. 
• Alexi Ramirez had to hits last night raising his average to .209.  While that's nothing to write home to Havana about, it does indicate that perhaps The Cuban Missile is ready for takeoff.  As lousy as the bottom of the Sox order has been this year, that's significant.
• The Sox overcame two three run deficits last night.  A good sign if they can keep it up.  A game like this only goes to increase their confidence.
• Zach Stewart did a tremendous job in relief last night after John Danks was hooked after 80 pitches.
• Addison Reed came back from getting crushed Sunday to picking up a save.  That's significant because it indicates that he's tough mentally.
• The fact that the Sox won a game with Phil Cuzzi behind the plate makes me smile.

And the lowlights:

• John Danks lasting only three innings, giving up five runs on five hits three walks and no strike outs.  This is your ace?  Last year, Danks got the benefit of the doubt when he started 0-8 because the team around him was so horrible.  This year, the team is better but Danks is not. Perhaps cause for concern if the Sox want to hang wif 'em.
• An 0-3 performance from Gordon Beckham last night in the two hole, including a strike out and three men left on base.  Just when you thought it was safe to anoint him the #2 guy, he goes back to struggling.  Honestly, I think he's a great kid with an outstanding glove, but if the Sox think they will improve themselves by off loading him, I'd be okay with it at this point.
• Hector Santiago relying on primarily fastballs in a white knuckle seventh inning.  What happened to his screwball?  I thought that was the pitch that made the difference for him?  Has he lost confidence in it or is the order to throw fastballs and an occasional slider coming from the bench?

It doesn't matter if the manager is Robin Ventura or Sparky Anderson, if a team can't trot out some offensive weapons, they won't score very many runs.  Right now, White Sox manager Robin Ventura has his hands tied.  He's got two starters struggling badly (Brent Morel, Dyan Viciedo) two more starters just hanging in there (Gordon Beckham, Alexi Ramirez) and a punchless bench (Brent Lillibridge, Kosuke Fukudome.) Short of picking up a bat and inserting himself into the lineup, Ventura has very few options at this point without some re-enforcements.

Seeing as how the White Sox have taken a vow of poverty, I wouldn't hold out for the calvary anytime soon.  And, when the pitching dries up, as it did yesterday, the Sox are going to find themselves on the wrong side of some pretty lopsided scores.

It doesn't matter if it is Kansas City, Texas or even the Cubs, you can't win ballgames if only five of your starters (D'Aza, Dunn, Konerko, Rios and Pierzynski) are hitting.

So, what do you do to get the offense going? I would send The Cuban Sandwich back to Charlotte for some additional seasoning, giving Brett Lillibridge the opportunity to play every day in left.  I would consider giving Brent Morel some DL time with his balky back and bring up Dan Johnson for a 15 day tryout at third.  Johnson is ripping it up down on the farm and his bat would be a nice addition to the roster. Or, perhaps stick Dunn in left, Lillibridge at third and bring Johnson up to DH.

This Sox team badly needs an insertion of energy to spark it.  The pitching has been fine, but the hitting inconsistent.  Maybe Johnson and Lillibridge could move the needle a bit and give them a chance to stay in the race until the Chairman is ready for the sale at the end of July.