Yesterday, Jose Contreras went out and pitched his butt off for eight innings.  The line is 8ip, 2h, 0er 2bb 8k.  Yet the talk on the post game show was that Contreras was some kind of 'fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me" guy.  The talk was that somehow, after two impressive outings, the aliens would return the real Jose Contreras to us.  Unreal.  Even "The Cheat" isn't convinced.

I guess it's been the kind of season where any ray of hope is treated with skepticism.  After all, the White Sox have gone up and down more than Kristie Alley's weight in a three month period.  And every time there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel (ten out of thirteen) here comes the train (4-8 on the recent home stand).  So I get the total lack of optimism.

Consider that maybe Contreras came back too early from the injury he suffered last year (which, by the way, people have seemed to suddenly forget about.)  And maybe the time in the minors corrected his mechanics, strengthened his legs and gave him a sort of extended spring training that he probably needed.  I'm not saying that he'll pitch like he did yesterday all the time, but he won't be as bad as he was earlier in the season.

Maybe, if the Sox can get healthy in a hurry (that mean you, Q), maybe it isn't too late to think that these guys, as putrid as they can be on some days, can actually turn it around.

In any case, cut Contreras some slack until he proves otherwise.

Lighting Round

• I get the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that the Brewers could gang up on Mark Buehrle today.
• Ranger Ronge made a point of saying "this is why teams don't give up on players" in reference to Contreras.  He continued his point with "this is why even when the fans wonder why this bum is still with the team, the team doesn't give up, because they know a player can turn it around."  Yet, he also made a point of saying that he doesn't trust Contreras and that he doesn't expect Contreras to continue to pitch like this.  My counter to that is, he hasn't given you any reason not to believe that he can continue pitching well and that fans are sometimes correct in their assessments of players like Jerry Owens, Mike MacUseless and Wilson Needs A Better Mit.  The truth is, the teams know it too, except they don't want to eat their contracts.
• It's a damned shame that Buzz Lightyear can't pick up a glove.  But it does give you some insight into why he probably won't be back next year.  Thome is a good guy, a hall of famer, but his lack of flexibility puts Ozzie in a bad position, especially during the interleague games.  I agree with some of the post game callers that Jermaine Dye may be better as a DH next year, or perhaps even Paulie with Josh Fields or Brandon Allen taking over at first base.
• Ozzie says he's okay with the Cubs, he just hates Wrigley Field.  How many years is this going to be a story?
• From what I've seen the last two days, I wouldn't invest in one of these yet as they seem to not be working.
• Maybe this is a sign from the ghosts of Ted Lyons and Al Lopez.
• It appears the White Sox put more of hurt on Jeremy Bonderman than first reported.
• It also appears the White Sox knocked Manny Parra right out of the major leagues (Bernie's Crew)
• With the signing of Scott Podsednik earlier this year and the recent signing of Freddie Garcia, fans were wondering if Kenny Williams was trying to get the ENTIRE band back together.  Unfortunately, one member has signed somewhere else and one won't be available until the end of the year, if at all.
• The Savior has no worries.
• Aaron Poreda seems to be one of those guys who gets fired up...a lot.  
• A humorous take on the Josh Fields situation. (The White Sox Blog)
• Should the White Sox be buys or sellers?  Midwest Sports Fans is there.  My view is right now it's too close to call.
• Some thoughts on the draft from someone who really understands it.  The baseball draft is hard to track because no one follows college or armature baseball and there is, thank God, no Mel Jr.  Plus there is that two year apprenticeship you usually have to serve at the minor league level (unless you are considered a savior.) (Minor League Ball)
• Meet your future Chicago White Sox! (MLB Trade Rumors)