17 (Tigers and Twins)

Like sands through an hourglass .... No, this isn't the start of Days of Our Lives; it's the end of the 2006 Chicago White Sox. The Sox came into the series with Detroit effectively needing to sweep the Tigers, but instead got Meat Loafed, losing two out of three. The loss last night was a microcosm of the entire season. The Sox starter (this time Jon Garland) dug himself a hole early, behind 2-0 in the third inning. The relievers were largely ineffective, with Matt Thornton giving up a hit to the only batter he faced, and Neal Cotts serving up a gopher ball -- his tenth of the season. The Sox scored all their runs on homers; Ozzie Ball was nowhere to be seen. In short, they looked a whole lot more like the 2004 White Sox than the 2005 World Series Champions.

The Tigers' Magic Number over the Sox is down to five, and the Twins' is six. That means Detroit just has to play .500 ball the rest of the way to ensure that the Sox can't catch them -- even if the Good Guys win all their games -- and Minnesota has to go 6-5 to do the same. It ain't gonna happen, but that won't stop the Update from saying: Go Sox!