We have come to the uncomfortable fork in the road that most White Sox fans thought the White Sox might avoid this year.  To the left are the playoffs and all the glory and/or heartbreak that comes with them.  To the right, it's go home early.  You never like to put into a position like this, yet this is where the Sox are right now.  A special shout out goes to the Anaheim, Azusa and Cucamonga Angels for at least keeping the Twinkies only ½ game ahead.

I know that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have proven that they are not a fluke.  I know that somehow, even in late August, they have managed to find a way to hold off the mighty Red Sox and the Yankees.  I know that they are the story of the season in baseball, America's new darlings and a team whose bandwagon numbers are beginning to swell.  So, losing to them is not necessarily the issue.  HOW the Sox have been losing to them is the problem.

Good teams don't stop scoring after the sixth inning.  Good teams don't give up a collective ten runs over two games in the eighth and ninth innings.  Especially against good teams.  Is it safe to conclude then that while the Sox may be good, they are not of the caliber of the Rays, who are playing without Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria?  And if that is the case, do we come to the conclusion that even if the Sox do overtake the Twinkies to win the AL Central or if the Sox win the wildcard, that another one of those first round exits will be the most likely outcome?

Look, I'm sorry to not to be blowing smoke up your backside and being the positive voice of reason, but right now the negatives outweigh the positives.  Right now, all indications are that against the A's and Mariners, the Sox are terrific; against the cream of the AL crop they are a sorry also ran, devoid of an effective bullpen and a team incapable of pushing across any runs late in the game or rally in the ninth when they get down a couple.

The Sox wasted a terrific effort by Javy Vazquez yesterday.  Those haven't been all that frequent this year.  The next time Javy takes the hill, he could lay another egg.  Mark Buehrle has wandered back into inconsistency again.  John Danks is good for 6 1/3 innings before he needs some help from the pen.  All of this is not going to go away, so unless the Sox can help their bullpen by getting some late inning runs (and keeping Octavio Dotel from giving up gopher balls) it may be an early October golf date.

Yesterday's loss was bad.  Today the White Sox need to end the homestand and the series on a positive note.  One that says "This time, the horses are staying in the barn" 

Lightning Round

• I very rarely second guess Ozzie, but I will today.  Yesterday, Ozzie plays Jim Thome at DH.  Thome is 0-10 lifetime against Rays starter Scott Kazmir.  Paul Konerko, meanwhile, is hitting something like .367 (gee, they didn't try to pitch around him yesterday, did they?)  Wouldn't it have made sense to DH Junior, who probably has never hit against Kazmir just to give it a different perspective?  Thoughts?
• The Twinkie fans are starting to annoy me. (Bugs & Cranks)