Still Alive?
Once left for dead, there still seems to be some life left in the White Sox. They pulled to within 10.5 games this past weekend with a three game sweep of the Detroit Tigers, and they are only 10 games back in the Wild Card. With the better part of two months left to play, they are still technically in it, but they will have to stay hot for the rest of the season.
The key to the turnaround has been an injection of team speed and a new found willingness to hit the ball the other way. The speed has come from rookies Jerry Owens and Danny Richar as well as the re-emergance of Scott Podsednik from the disabled list. As for hitting the ball the other way, veteran sluggers Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye have both done a much better job in recent weeks. They are taking the slow stuff on the outside corner to right field, which is forcing pitchers to throw them some inside heat. This plays to their strengths as right handed power hitters, and the homeruns are starting to come.
Meanwhile, the biggest weakness on the team, the bullpen, is starting to show signs of coming around, although it is still inconsistent. Ehren Wasserman has looked very good at times as the right handed set-up man, and although Mike MacDougal has struggled, he has found his 96 mile per hour fastball since coming off of the DL. If MacDougal can regain command of his slider, he will be filthy, as he always has been when healthy. Additionally, Bobby Jenks, the Sox lone All-Star, has retired 32 straight hitters. That would leave him two outs into the eleventh inning of a perfect game. Things are definitely looking up in the bullpen.
Can the Sox catch Detroit, Minnesota, and Cleveland? It is certainly possible with the number of games left to be played against the three teams, but there is almost no room for error. However, it is possible, and winning this week's series against Cleveland would help a lot as it would pull the Sox to within single digits of the tribe.
The key to the turnaround has been an injection of team speed and a new found willingness to hit the ball the other way. The speed has come from rookies Jerry Owens and Danny Richar as well as the re-emergance of Scott Podsednik from the disabled list. As for hitting the ball the other way, veteran sluggers Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye have both done a much better job in recent weeks. They are taking the slow stuff on the outside corner to right field, which is forcing pitchers to throw them some inside heat. This plays to their strengths as right handed power hitters, and the homeruns are starting to come.
Meanwhile, the biggest weakness on the team, the bullpen, is starting to show signs of coming around, although it is still inconsistent. Ehren Wasserman has looked very good at times as the right handed set-up man, and although Mike MacDougal has struggled, he has found his 96 mile per hour fastball since coming off of the DL. If MacDougal can regain command of his slider, he will be filthy, as he always has been when healthy. Additionally, Bobby Jenks, the Sox lone All-Star, has retired 32 straight hitters. That would leave him two outs into the eleventh inning of a perfect game. Things are definitely looking up in the bullpen.
Can the Sox catch Detroit, Minnesota, and Cleveland? It is certainly possible with the number of games left to be played against the three teams, but there is almost no room for error. However, it is possible, and winning this week's series against Cleveland would help a lot as it would pull the Sox to within single digits of the tribe.
posted by Pat at 2:16 PM
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