Down to the Wire
After the Sox lost their last two games to the Twins and their first to the BoSox, I was afraid the pennant drive was about to unravel early. But after two impressive wins against Boston, the White Sox have shown that they are in the race to stay.

What will it take to make the playoffs? Well, there are 4 series left and they need to win each one. They don’t need to sweep them, just win them. That will leave them at 9-4 and also give the Twins two losses. If the Twins can go 9-1 against Detroit & Cleveland they would still end up on top. But I don’t think that will happen. And if it does, it will at least be good to know the Twins earned their way into October.

The biggest hurdle for the Sox will be trying to win on the day their fifth pitcher starts. Danny Wright just had a disastrous start Friday night against Boston and I would hesitate to start him again. For the year he has a 6.31 ERA as a starter and 3.24 ERA as a reliever. Wright has proven himself to be an effective relief pitcher and poor starter.

If the Sox drop Wright down to the pen, they still need to find a fifth starter for two games, as today is their last day off. There has been some talk of going to a 4 man rotation which I don’t think makes sense. These players have been pitching on four days rest their entire professional lives. To alter their routine with 13 games to go in the season, tied atop the standings, just doesn’t seem rational. So what do you do? I would start Schoeneweis. He has also had trouble in a starting role which is why Anaheim moved him to the bullpen. But he at least has a few years experience, and if he gets in trouble, Wright can come in for long relief. I know this isn’t a great option, but what else is there?