I’ve had occasion to see some Chicago White Sox games, as they hosted Pittsburgh last week and then went across town to play the Cubs over the weekend and I was interested in seeing some NL Central contenders play. Instead, my main impression was just how awful this White Sox team really is. It doesn’t […]
TheSportsNotebook’s MLB spring training previews have included separate articles on the ten teams in the American League who either made the postseason in 2013, were right in the race to the end or at least should have been the race to the end. That leaves five darkhorses left on the board.
The Chicago White Sox may have seen their six-game winning streak come to an end last night in Baltimore, but the White Sox are still rolling around at 71-56, and keeping their two-game cushion on Detroit in the race for the AL Central title. Chicago is also only 2.5 games back of New York for the two-seed in the American League playoffs, meaning homefield advantage in the Division Series. Given the tightness of the division race and the current landscape which has only one team making it to the postseason from the AL Central, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. But for a team the Las Vegas numbers had projected as a 74-88 team back in March, Robin Ventura’s White Sox have had quite a run. The biggest reason is there offense.
The Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers are each on a stretch of playing decent baseball, as last year’s ALCS teams look to again make it to October and go deep. The Tigers split four with the Yankees earlier in the week. I suppose that can be considered modestly disappointing, as they won the first two at home and hit C.C. Sabathia hard in the third game before losing 12-8. But a split with one of the league’s best teams is never a bad thing and it fits into an overall stretch of consistency for Jim Leyland’s team. Texas, after losing the first two games of their series with the Angels early last week, responded by winning the next two and salvaging a split and then taking two of three from Kansas City and Boston.
The Chicago White Sox have been the active team in the weeks leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. After first acquiring Kevin Youkilis from Boston to play third base, the White Sox struck this weekend when it came to the bullpen, bringing in Brett Myers from Houston in exchange for two minor-leaguers. TheSportsNotebook evaluates the White Sox bullpen in light of their new acquisition.
The 2011 season definitely had its fair share of drama and heroic endings, but 2012 has a completely different outlook. We had our fair share of players contributing to the storyline but 2012 will have a new crop of people leading their teams to the coveted Series. Here is the list of five players that look to finally have that breakout season or get back on track after seasons of diminished expectations.