Lost in the euphoria of being back at .500 and losses by Detroit and Minnesota which have put them only four games out is the continued presence of San Fransisco Giants scouts following the movements of Chicago White Sox outfielder Jermaine Dye.

Dye, who is having another solid year, is being sought by Giants to help their sleepy offense take a shot at the NL wild card.  The Giants currently lead the wild card by 1½ games over the Cardinals and Rockies.   The Giants would like to add some power to a team which has been led primarily by it's pitching.

However, moving Dye, who could be a free agent after this year would appear to be a white flag to Sox fans, who still hold out hope that they can overtake Detroit in the mediocre AL Central.  Despite injuries, inconsistent starting pitching and a porous defense, the Sox have clawed their way back into the race.  The big question, at least in the media, is if, a month from now at the trading deadline, will the Sox pick up a player to help or dump salary. 

The truth is, even if Carlos Quentin comes back by the all-star break, trading Jermaine Dye would be detrimental to the team.  He's one of the most respected and popular players on the team as well as one of the most consistent.  Dye plays solid defense even if he can't move like he used to, and he has an above average arm in right field.  The alternatives of Dewayne Wise, Brian Anderson or Quentin in right just don't make sense right now.  Trading Dye straight up for another right fielder to go younger, stronger, faster would also be a mistake because the last thing you want to do in a pennant drive is mess with team chemistry.  If Kenny Williams learned anything in failed trades for Nick Swisher and Orlando Cabrera it's that sometimes guys fit in and sometimes they don't.  You sure don't want to make that mistake at a critical time.

So while the Giants continue to kick Dye's tires and look under his hood, Dye would just assume stay where he is and have his team pick up another player who can help.  That's a lack of change we can all believe in.

Lightning Round

• A week ago, this corner of the Internet brought up the idea of Scotty Pods as a candidate for the all-star game.  A week later, the big boys jump on our bandwagon.  We are so ahead of the curve around here.
• I thought it was funny last night that Phil Cuzzi blew yet another call, only to be spared by his fellow umpires.  For the record, the Cleveland announcers whined and cried until they saw a replay and saw that the reversal of the call was correct.  That's all we ask of the umps, please get it right.  Had they not reversed that call in the bottom of the sixth, it may have changed the complexion of the entire ball game.
• Jim looks at what Kenny Williams could get for some of his assets. (Sox Machine)
• The thing about The Savior that impresses me the most is not how he has fought to finally get his average up over the Mendoza line, but how much his veteran teammates seem to respect him.  The kid is going to be good if he keeps his head on straight.
• From having Ozzie Guillen in his head to having the sound of birdies in his head, it's been a tough week for White Sox shortstop Alexi Ramirez.
• Our STFU honors Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild who insists that Sox employees tipped the media off about what Lou Piniella said to Milton Bradley during Friday's confrontation.  Larry, if it's loud enough to be heard by several people, what do you expect?  Seriously.  Why don't you spend less time complaining about things that are irrelevant and work on fixing your God awful bullpen.  To steal a phrase from our hero and role model "This is so Cub." (Foulballs)
• Fornelli thinks the Cubs and Sox should pick the bones of these losers. (Foulballs)
• Memo to Ozzie: Things could be worse.
• Andrew takes a look at life from the perspective of a Cub fan.  Well, someone had to do it. (35th Street Review)
• Like so many of us, Ozzie still believes.