While Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen soft soaps the fact that the Yankees are a key opponent, it doesn't take Dr. Wilder Penfield to figure out this is a big series.  The three matchups today, tomorrow and Thursday may go a long way to showing the Sox and their fans what this scrappy team is really made of.

It's one thing to beat up on the down trodden Tigers.  Remember, they were swept by the Royals too.  But these are the New York Freakin' Yankees and even with out A-Rod in the lineup, they are pretty good.

Johnny Damon is a Sox killer.  Robinson Cano is a Sox killer. Hideki Matsui is a Sox killer, especially on defense. Melky Cabrera is a MAJOR Sox killer.  Chien-Ming Wang, who is already 3-0 this year and is pitching tonight, OWNS the Sox.  So, the thought of easily taking two out of three in this series is a pretty tall order?

For the Sox to win, they'll have to tighten up their defense from what we saw in the last two series against the Orioles and Devil Rays.  While their pitching has been good, it's important for Jose Contreras to get off to a good start tonight.  They'll need to make sure too that they don't leave runners on base and that they continue to be patient at the plate.

The Yankees, like the Red Sox and Angels, are teams you don't give an inch to.  If you do, they take a mile. 

Let''s see how this incarnation of the White Sox stands up against one of the tougher teams in baseball.  Then we will have a good idea how to gauge a team that so far this year has been full of surprises.