After watching the first game of yesterday's doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers, you got the distinct impression that the Tigers, who have multiple injury issues, were ready to lie down and drop out of the AL Central race.  The Sox rained down hit after hit including three home runs in game one en route to a 12-2 pasting of the Tigers.

All the Sox needed in game two were six decent innings from Carlos Torres.  Unfortunately, they only got four.  The Tigers took advantage of the righties wildness and put up one in the first and four in the fifth.  The offensive buzz saw which was so effective in game one apparently left the ballpark and the Sox got shut down 7-1.  So, yesterday's doubleheader can be called a draw.

At least the Twinkies lost to Tampa Bay, so they are now 1½ games out.

The next two games in this series are a bit iffy for the White Sox.  Edwin Jackson makes his Sox debut tonight.  There is no telling whether the couple of side sessions he has had with Doc Cooper will bear fruit tonight.  Jackson has been very wild lately and the Sox can ill afford a short performance from him.  Meanwhile, Freddie Garcia, who seems to have hit a wall lately, takes the ball for the Sox.

Optimistically, the Sox could split these two games and split the series.  Worst case, they lose the next two games, give the Tigers some momentum and maybe leave town in second place.

This series should be an opportunity to knock the Tigers off the map, but to do it, the Sox need some steady starting pitching and some consistent offense.  It's nice to score twelve runs in a game, but if you come back and score one in the next game, it really doesn't matter if you won the first game by ten runs or one run.

Sure, Jeremy Bonderman was impressive in game two, but if the Sox could have kept out of a couple of double plays, they might have given themselves a chance.  Add to that Torres, who is proving he is AAAA at best and you have a situation that was self-fulfilling.

Lightning Round

• With all of their acquisitions and talent, the Yankees have fallen into second place in the AL East, which means if the season ended today they would be the wildcard.  Wouldn't be something if the Red Sox got all their players back and got even for 1978?  Of course, a surge like that probably would propel the Bosox deep into the playoffs, so maybe this is a be careful what you wish for scenario.
• The Milwaukee Brewers have to be the most schzophrenic team in baseball.  How do you explain getting swept by Houston over the weekend and then beating the Cubs in the first two games of their series?  How bad does this make the Cubs? 
• Adam Dunn was put on the waiver wire yesterday but the odds of Kenny pulling another Rios deal are slim and none, especially since the other teams know that he would do it in a heartbeat if given the opportunity.