Limping Away with a Victory

So the good news is the White Sox beat the Tigers Wednesday night, 7-5.

Unfortunately the bad news outweighs the good.

After hitting a missile into left center field, Jim Thome did his best Barbaro impression around first and came up with a tender hamstring. I don't think we're going to have to shoot Jimmy, but a lot of Sox fans may have wanted to blow their own heads off at the site of him limping off the field.

When you're going to have to fight tooth and nail to get into the playoffs and you feature a pitching staff that just loves to give up runs, it hurts to lose a guy with 36 HRs and 91 RBIs. Of course, there is some good that could come of it, as I'm sure Jermaine Dye will be taking Thome's place in the 3 hole of the lineup while Jimmy's out.

It was all part of my devious plan.

As for how long Thome's going to be out, nobody's exactly sure right now. Ozzie said he thinks he'll have his DH back by Friday against the Twins. Jimmy has no idea:

"I don't think it's a cramp because a cramp usually goes away. There's probably a strain in there. I've never had a hamstring injury. We'll think the best, re-evaluate it and do our best to get back as quick as possible."

-Jim Thome

That theory about cramps leads me to wonder if Jim took the right career path. He's obviously qualified to be a doctor.

There were other problems lurking within the victory.

Freddy Garcia got those runs he's been pissing and moaning about, and still almost lost the game. I'm getting really tired of the Sox taking a lead one inning, and then the pitching giving it all back the very next.

After a clutch (what new?) 2-out three run homer off the bat of Jermaine Dye in the top of the 1st inning, the Tigers got three right back in the bottom half. It wasn't all Freddy's fault though as Rob Mackowiak continues to struggle in center field. For Mackowiak, picking up fly balls is like like Lance Bass trying to pick up a hot chick: comical and utterly pointless in the end.

Luckily for Garcia and the Sox, Joey Clutch rode to the rescue yet again. In the second inning Crede pulled a curveball out of the left batter's box and at his shoetops over the left field wall with a swing that made Vladimir Guerrero blush. It was his 100th home run of his career.

A few innings later Joey hit the 101st of his career into left center. By the way, Tigers fans hate Joe Crede as much as Sox fans love him. Of his 101 career blasts, 20 have come against the Tigers.

Garcia would get pulled in the sixth inning with two Tigers on base, one out, and a 6-3 lead.

Matt Thornton came in and immediately gave up a 2-run double to Sean Casey, who's been absolutely raking since he put on a Tigers uniform. Personally I think Matty gave up the double just to piss Freddy off, cuz after that he was typical Thornton.

Once again, Thornton, Mike MacDougal, and Bobby Jenks would pitch 3.2 innings and give the Tigers nothing.

There has to be a way to just let those guys throw three innings apiece 4 out of every 5 games, and then let Garland pitch a game to give them all a rest, isn't there? I swear every game I'm praying for our starters to be in trouble in the 5th inning just so we can get the bullpen in there.

So, luckily, the White Sox were able to take advantage of Tigers starter Zach Miner, who only lasted 1.1 innings, but that leads me to my next point.

There's been a lot made over the White Sox struggles at the plate during the three games prior to tonight. There's the one side (the one I'm on), genuinely worried about how lethargic the offense has looked and the team as a whole.

Then there's the other side that brings up the fact the Sox have played against three of the AL's best pitchers in those three games; Johan Santana, Justin Verlander, and Kenny Rogers. They say, "It's not that we've sucked, it's that we've been facing great pitching."

Well that's EXACTLY what my concern is. Who in the hell are the White Sox going to be facing in the playoffs, if they make it? It's not going to be the pitchers from the Devil Rays and Royals. If you Sox fans need a refresher course on what happens to teams that can't hit good pitching in the playoffs, just try to remember what happened to the Red Sox, Angels and Astros in last year's postseason. I believe those three teams combined to go 1-11.

Tomorrow afternoon's game is a must win if the White Sox want to have a realistic shot to win the AL Central. Thankfully, Jon Garland is pitching. If the South Siders lose, they'll be 7.5 games out with only 36 left to play, and let's face it: The Sox will not be 8 games better than the Tigers in that span.