With the score 8-0 during the bottom of the second inning of the White Sox 13-9 victory over the Yankees,  I got up and left the room to make myself some lunch.  I returned twenty minutes later to find out that the score was 8-6 and almost lost my lunch when the Yankees tied the game at eight.  In the words of the late Jack Buck "I don't believe what I just saw!" It was enough to make Sox manager Ozzie Guillen suck his thumb.

Thankfully, it was a good day for the Sox pen as five relievers gave up just one run over 7.2 innings and the Sox pulled the game out. 

It has become obvious over the last few starts that the toll of not having a bullpen has caught up with the starters.  Jon Garland, Javy Vazquez, Jose Contreras and Mark Buehrle have all had to pitch deep into the game so that the bridge to Bobby Jenks is shorter.  And now, in the heat of August, you are seeing the starters break down.  Contreras started the ball rolling, Garland has been shaky and Vazquez left early during his last start.

The problem will be moving forward, the Sox will be taxing their shaky bullpen, so unless the offense continues to hit like yesterday, the Sox will stay where they are, ½ game ahead of the Royals in the basement of the AL Central.

It's ironic that this team can not put a complete game together.  They did last week in Cleveland and for a minute, you thought they had turned the corner and that maybe they'd be solid for the last two months and have something to build on going into 2008.  But the two horrible games they played in New York Tuesday and Wednesday, coupled with yesterday's game, lead you to believe that this team will easily finish at least ten games under .500.

That and Jim Thome's back has flared up again. And Darrin Erstad fell down and went boom.  And the bullpen will no doubt be short tonight after heavy useage in New York.  Let's hope Mark Buehrle can put together one of his masterpieces.

The Sox open a series in Detroit tonight. Dispair

Lightning Round

• The Brewers can't beat the Mets, but they beat themselves in the runway tunnel.  A discussion about how Manager Ned Yost dealt with a situation, escalated into a heated debate between Yost, Tony Graffinino and Johnny Estrada.  A New York camera crew caught in and beamed it back to New York while the Brewers telecast glossed over it (shocking!) With any luck, this will have the same effect that Zambrano vs. Barrett had on the Cubs and will propel the Brewers back to the lead in the NL Central.  While I'm sure the local sports radio heads are having a field day with this, the reality is stuff happens and if the Brewers can use this as a slingshot, it means it dodn't happen for naught.
• Former Bear linebacker Warrick Holdman, now with Denver, sustained an injury to his spinal cord yesterday in practice.  Holdman can move all his extremities and that's what's important.
• Tony Stewart continues to make friends wherever he goes.
• Baroid is still stuck on 754 after going 1 for 2 with two walks last night against LA.  ESPN is quickly becoming the official network of the San Francisco Giants.  BTW, I actually thought Berman did a decent job last night.  Someone has obviously calmed him down.
• Our friends at "Barry Melrose Rocks" have a few suggestions for ESPN should they choose to oick-up the NHL again.  I agree on the "more Buchi" aspect.  He's totally underutilized by them and is one of the few guys on that network that has a passion for the sport.
• Detroit Pistons coach Flip Saunders had to take a detour on Wednesday or may have suffered the same fate others did on the I35W bridge in Minnesota. 
  
• Maxim has come out with their annual list of crappy baseball managers.  Boy, is it wrong.  First, it still lists Ken Macha as manager of the Athletics ( Bob Geren is) and second how can any such list include Ozzie Guillen, Lou Piniella and Ron Gardenhire and not include Jim Tracy, Clint Hurdle and John Gibbons?