One of the direct benefits of getting up at 3:15am to do a morning radio show is that I can't watch late night west coast games (I could, but I'm sure that my employer wouldn't appreciate an empty chair at 5am).  I think for my sanity, missing these last two has been a good thing.

The last three Sox games (all resulting in losses) have really amplified the weaknesses with this team that people were writing about in March.  Feast or famine hitting.  Feast or famine pitching.  Catchers who couldn't throw my Grandmother out (Gram died in 2004.) Spotty, inconsistent defense.

We said before the season that for this team to be in contention everything had to go right.  In the last three games, you've seen the ugly side of your 2008 Chicago White Sox.

Sunday, Pink Gavin Floyd pitched poorly.  Yet the Sox squandered several opportunities to work around that.  Monday,  they scored 7 runs but lost 10-7 because their alleged ace Mark Buehrle  couldn't hold the lead.  Last night, they faced a guy they should have absolutely  teed  off on, but were shut out 2-0..

Good teams are consistent.  Good teams give you the same effort night in and night out.

Why are the Sox in the state they are in?  There may be several reasons.  The Sox are once again waiting for the offense to come around, something they were still waiting for last September when the season ended.  Buehrle has struggled mightily.  The defense has been sometimes brilliant, sometimes maddening (i.e. Juan Uribe's inability to turn the double play Monday night.)  And the catchers can't throw, which is not helped by the fact that all of the Sox starters (except maybe Buehrle) are easy to run on.

There may be other reasons as "The Cheat" discusses at South Side Sox.  The bottom line is while Cleveland continues to improve and Minnesota continues to hang on, the Sox are beginning to slip from the pack a little bit. While they are far from out of it, Cleveland, Minnesota and eventually Detroit won't be wallowing forever and the Sox will have to step up or be stepped on.

Recently, I have lost confidence that they can step up.

Lightning Round

• The Sox have named Carlton Fisk as a team ambassador.  Does this mean they'll finally let him in the clubhouse?