Showdown at The Cell

The biggest series for the Chicago White Sox so far in the 2006 season begins tonight: the team with the best record in baseball, the Detroit Tigers, are coming to US Cellular Field.

Both teams post the best records in the American League (Detroit 37-20, Chicago 34-22). Both come into this series playing their worst baseball of the season.

The Tigers are 4-6 in their last 10 games after losing 3 of 4 to the Yankees and 2 of 3 to the Red Sox, all at home in Comerica Park.

The Sox are playing even worse, losing 7 of their last 10, and they've also lost their last 3 series (dropping 2 of 3 in Toronto, 3 of 4 in Cleveland, and 2 of 3 at home against the Rangers).

Needless to say, this series is of great importance to both teams.

Divisions and pennants are not won in June but they can be heavily swayed.

Now is the time for the White Sox to set Detroit straight. In their only meeting this year (April 10-12 in Detroit) the Sox swept the Tigers. If they can do that again they will not only reclaim first place, but possibly shatter the Tigers' confidence.

It hasn't been a good week and a half for Detroit. There had been a lot of talk that the Tigers were fattening up on weaker teams such as the Royals and Twins to boost their MLB best record. They had a chance to shut critics up with seven consecutive games at home - against the Yankees and Red Sox - but the team didn't capitalize. Instead, they went 2-5 and just narrowly avoided a four-game sweep by the Yankees. To make matters worse, they lost one-fifth of their MLB best starting rotation, Mike Maroth, possibly for the entire season.

The Tigers are 0-3 against the Sox already this season. A loss in this series could plant serious doubt in the Tiger clubhouse whether it can beat the defending champs. And it could turn the Tigers into nothing more than this year's version of the 2005 Baltimore Orioles, a team that started off blistering hot but quickly faded to mediocrity.

But the Sox have their own problems to worry about. Here's a list of what's going for and against the Sox in this series:

• For: It's at US Cellular Field, where the Sox own MLB's best home record of 20-8.
• Against: The Tigers hold a MLB best road record of 20-7.
• For: The Sox will be putting Freddy Garcia(7-3), Jose Contreras(5-0) and Jon Garland(4-2) on the mound, the same three who started and won all three games in Detroit earlier this season. Garcia is at his best in big games, and tonight's start is definitely a big game. Contreras had a rough outing last week in Cleveland, but still hasn't lost in his last 13 decisions. Jon Garland has easily had his best 2 outings in his last 2 starts; unfortunately both were ruined by the bullpen.
• Against: The Tigers will be starting Nate Robertson(5-3), Justin Verlander(7-3) and Kenny Rogers(7-3). The Sox roughed up Verlander in April when they scored seven earned runs against him and knocked him out after 2 2/3 innings, but Robertson and Rogers, both southpaws, pose a problem. The Sox come into this series 9-12 against lefties, accounting for 55% of their losses. Both, however, have had a couple of rough outings their last few times out.
• For: Detroit's closer Todd Jones is 0-2 with an 11.12 ERA in his last 5 outings. The rest of Detroit's bullpen is starting to show chinks in the armor too.
• Against: The Sox bullpen sure isn't doing any better. Cliff Politte looks like an outclassed rookie so far this season after being absolutely dominant last year (2005 7-1 2.00ERA, 2006 1-1 7.40ERA). It's not just Politte. All the Sox relievers are struggling right now, and are largely responsible for the Sox slump. The only person in the pen not giving Ozzie Guillen ulcers is closer Bobby Jenks (2-1 3.47ERA and 15 saves in 16 chances).

Another positive for the Sox will be the return of Jim Thome to the #3 spot in the lineup. Thome missed all three games against the Rangers with a sore groin. Taking no chances, the team decided it would be best to let the big man rest up for this series.

While Thome's return should help the Sox powerful lineup, it cannot help the team execute the intangibles that so often determine the outcome of a game. Yes, the Sox lead MLB with 81 home runs, but in the last few weeks they have struggled to put runs on the board in key situations. They aren't bunting properly or sacrificing. This season, the Sox are grounding into inning-ending double plays - last season the same situation would have been met with a single to the opposite field. So just like this series could be make or break for Detroit, it's the same for Chicago. If the Sox take 2 of 3 or sweep they are right back in Detroit's heads. If they lose 2 of 3 or get swept the teams' confidence won't be helped.

But I take solace in the fact that this White Sox team, while not playing anywhere near to its capability, still hosts the 2nd best record in the AL at 34-22. At this pace they would finish the year around 98-64.

Last year's team finished 99-65.

So when a team isn't pitching like it should, hitting like it should and fielding like it should yet still sits 12 games over .500, what happens when they start to play well? The White Sox are getting by on pure talent alone right now.

Every team hits a groove at some point in a 162-game season and the Sox have yet to find theirs. The Sox also proved during the regular season and playoffs last season that when they do hit a groove they tend to stay in it for a long time.

The bullpen is the only aspect of the team that truly worries me but Kenny Williams will undoubtedly address that issue before the July 31 trade deadline.

Of course I'm getting tired of waiting for this team to find itself, and I really would like for them to do it tonight. Here's hoping they feel the same way.

Random Thoughts

• I hope Sun-Times Cubs beat writer Mike Kiley wrote this accidentally on Friday. If he did it on purpose it's a pretty classless move that he should definetely be punished for. In the article he talks of Cubs radio analyst Ron Santo who isn't on the Cubs current road trip for health reasons. Santo is a diabetic and has lost both his legs the last few years. So when I read Kiley report that Santo "will miss the first 2 legs of the trip," I was kinda shocked.
• I don't know whether I'm going to write a NBA Finals preview column or not this week. I will say that I'm picking Miami to win in 6 though. This whole postseason, people keep picking against the Heat. I'll admit, I was one one of them. Like many, I didn't think the Heat would escape the first round against the Bulls. The Heat won. Then every expert and their momma talked about how the Nets would dispose of them. The Heat won. Then it was, "They can't beat the Pistons." Well the Heat did that too. Now everybody is saying that there is no way that they can beat the Mavericks. It's as if everyone is still basing their opinion on this team on the way they played in the regular season - well, Shaq, anyway. It's like nobody's noticed he's been a beast in the postseason. I'll settle this using simple math. Shaq+Wade>Nowitzki. Who on the Mavericks will stop Wade or Shaq?
• Since there was no White Sox or NBA game last night and the Red Sox/Yankees game was a blowout, I watched my first hockey game of the season last night. Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. It was a pretty damn good game too. Edmonton jumped out to a 3-0 lead only to lose 4-3. Rod Brindamour scored the game winner for Carolina with 31.4 seconds left. The Oilers had lost their goalie earlier in the third period (he's now out for the series) and the backup made a crucial mistake, playing the puck behind the net. Brindamour was able to score easily from behind the wide open net. I may actually Tivo the rest of this series, though without their goalie it seems that Edmonton's Cinderella postseason run is going to come up short.
• The way he's pitching now Carlos Zambrano seems to be the guy I thought he would be when I picked him to win the NL Cy Young Award this year. He shutout the Astros 8-0 last night while throwing 7.1 innings of no hit baseball. Now if only the Cubs could find a place to put him in the lineup everyday. He went 1-3 with a homer, and 4 RBI in the game. He also hit .300 last season. The Cubs are actually starting to show some life, and they couldn't have picked a better time. Why?
• The fact that nobody's sure just how long Albert Pujols is going to be out really, REALLY sucks. What could have been the single greatest season of all time for a hitter is no longer a possiblity. Remember in one of my previous columns when I asked what would happen to the Cardinals if Chris Carpenter, Mark Mulder, and Albert Pujols got hurt? Well we're 2/3 of the way to finding out now, aren't we? Sorry for jinxing you guys, St. Louis.
• Oh and by the way, I know they're winning right now but someone please explain this to me. The Cubs trade for Phil Nevin to help the sagging offense. He joins the team Friday in St. Louis and sits. Saturday he gets a start and hits a home run. Sunday he sits. Monday he sits. How does Dusty Baker have a job? You don't trade for a bat to help your team and then sit him on the bench. Is Tony Womack that important to your lineup that you can't just keep Todd Walker at second and let Nevin play first?