It was supposed to be the homestand that turned the season around.  The Chicago White Sox were to play twelve games in  eleven days, seven against opponents who were in last place.  Those first seven games would position the White Sox nicely for a five game showdown against the first place Tigers.  The Sox were riding the wave of four winning series and came back to US Commiskey Park last Monday having won nine of their previous twelve. 

Last Monday night, they played one of their best games of the year, getting solid pitching and some late game heroics to beat Oakland and for a moment, you thought this team really could be pretty good.  Then, something went horribly wrong.

Three unknown, kid pitchers for Oakland mesmerized the White Sox for three straight games.  Friday night, John Danks, who may be a cause for concern moving forward, was rocked by Cleveland.  Saturday, Gavin Floyd stepped it up and the Sox won their first game in five tries, but they went right back into the tank on Sunday with Colon giving up gopher balls and the offense missing opportunity after opportunity against a pitcher with a 10+ ERA.

That brings us to where we are today:  Four games under .500, in third place, a game behind Minnesota and 4½ games behind the Tigers.  For this to be a productive series, the White Sox are going to have to win at least four out of five.  A sweep at the hands of Detroit would be a disaster.  Yeah, I know.  There's plenty of baseball left, but it would be nice if this team could rise to the occasion and play at a level that some of us think they are capable of.

The sad fact is the Sox are closer to last place with Cleveland 2½ games behind them then they are to first.  And while the boys at PERCOTA are slapping each other high five, Sox fans are not.

The hurdles are many for the White Sox.  Jose Contreras returns from a stint in the minors to pitch in his first varsity game in six weeks.  Will he be the Contreras that burned up Charlotte or the one who was consistently getting knocked out of the game in the fourth inning?  Mark Buerhle has pitched well without much support.  Gavin Floyd has righted his ship, but John Danks has yet to show any flashes of 2008.  And Bartolo Colon is showing he can't beat anyone with his fastball which is the only pitch he feels like throwing.

The Sox situational hitting is putrid.  Scotty Podsednik has the "get 'em on" part down pat, but the rest of the team gets an "F" on the "get 'em over" and "get 'em in" parts.  

And to add a big cherry on top of the sundae, the Sox may have another enemy: Mother Nature.  Heavy rain is forecast all day in Chicago and if the doubleheader gets washed out today, the Sox may be forced to play five games in three days.  That takes a toll on any team.

Ozzie Guillen has been relatively calm as of late, but is on the verge of blowing a gasket.  His comments after yesterday's winnable loss were telling: 'We had a great opportunity with the bases loaded, and we do what we do best -- strike out,''  Give Ozzie credit.  His restraint is admirable.  Most managers would have overturned a buffet table by now.

And so it goes: Five games in four days to determine if this team is a bunch of chumps or a bunch of champs.  My heart says the latter, but my gut says the former.  Let's hope for once, my heart is right.