Last season, Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was making all the right moves and the Chicago White Sox stunned America with a World Series victory. The 2006 season started off in much the same way that the previous fall ended and the addition of Jim Thome had the South Side team ready to defend the title.
Suddenly the White Sox are about to be overtaken by the surging Twins of Minnesota and Guillen could be go off the deep end. The Twins have won 33 of their last 41 while the White Sox have dropped 11 of 14. The loss moved Minnesota within one game of Chicago for second place in the AL Central and within 8 1/2 games of the Detroit Tigers for first place in the division.
The White Sox lead the wild card by one-half game over the New York Yankees with the Twins one-half game further back. If you believe that the numbers don’t lie then the White Sox are a sure bet today as Mark Buehrle owns the Twins.
The southpaw has been successful against the Twins going 17-9 with a 3.63 ERA in 29 appearances. The 17 wins are Buehrle’s most against any opponent. In his last start against them on May 14, Buehrle allowed seven first-inning runs, but the White Sox rallied for a 9-7 win for his fourth straight victory over the Twins.
The Twins counter with Carlos Silva who is 2-5 with a 5.98 ERA in 11 appearances against Chicago including nine starts. He has faced the White Sox twice this season and lost both outings. In his most recent start against them Silva allowed eight runs in 3 1-3 innings.
The Dodgers are sinking fast as they have gone 1-9 in their past 10 and now trail the Padres by seven full games. Meanwhile, MLB owners must be shaking their heads when they look at their overpriced talent and stack it up against the miniscule $14 million payroll of the Florida Marlins.
Manager Joe Girardi is going to be heralded as one of the finest young coaches in the game and don’t be surprised if the Yankees don’t make a pitch for him to replace Joe Torre.
Bob Acton
