Black Sox Faction

The plot against Thome and Konerko

I will amidt it. I was wanting to kill both of these players last week. I was gonna post to get rid of the both of them to-gether. But winning has a way of changing things. That and the fact that their long slumps may finally be ending.

Despite the batters best attempts to turn the clock back to last season, the Sox have survived ruff spots and the early part of the season - if building a five and a half game lead can be called 'surviving'. Built on strong pitching in both the starting rotation and relief corps, the Sox have taken advantage of horrible starts by both Cleveland and Detroit and look ready to compete the whole year.

Last years collapse - keyed, I think, by Kenny Williams "trades for the future" that took the emphesis off of a 90 win team rady to compete for the division to a team looking forward to 2008. Well -it worked - the 2007 team was a joke, and this team is in it for this year. Williams off season moves this winter (Swisher, Canbrera, relievers)were for THIS season, and it's has payed off. The two starters acquired in 2007 (Danks and Floyd) have been outstanding this year. So, on almost all fronts, the White Sox are playing well and treating 2007 as an abberation. They may not win 90 games like they have two of the last three seasons - but looks like it'll be close.

And what may keep them from this? Injuries and relief pitching had huge roles in last year disaster. But for me, it was the stinking batters that keyed last years collapse. What didn't hurt them in September of 2005 has killed them since then. Although they won 90 games in 2006, there was something missing. And last year - despite the emphesise on the relievers -it was the batters that clued the fans into the fact that the team was garbage.

This year -even with four starters batting around .210 (or less) for the first two months of the season - they manageged to keep winning. And it is now - with the Sox (road warriors so far) in the midst of a streak of 26 of 32 games in chicago - that the hitting is finally solving itself -for this week. Do not think that they will be scoring 10 runs and 15 hits every game - those days of one run on four hits will make their return.

The key is to make these games appear as little as possible. I still have trouble with the lineup of the team - it still a 'wait for the 3 run Hr' type lineup. But the additions of Swisher, Cabrera (now that both have finally started hitting) and Carlos Quientin- added to the return of Crede - have added hope to the lineup. The fact that the Sox have the largest lead of any team in baseball despite the horrible batting slump the team has endured so far give even more hope that '07 was abberation.