82

Things have gone from bad to worse. After dropping three games to the Bosox over the weekend, the White Sox are tied for last place in the division with the Kansas City Royals. How pathethic is that? According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time the Sox were in last place this late in the season was the final day of the 1989 season. The Update doesn't understand. This is not that different of a team from the one that won 90 games last year. True, there have been some trades, but the core of the roster is mostly the same as 2006-- Pierzynski, Konerko, Iguchi, Uribe, Crede (yeah, he's missed a lot of games, but the team wasn't doing that well while he was in there), Podsednik (same), Dye, Thome, Buehrle, Garland, Contreras, Vazquez, and Jenks. Well, maybe the injuries to Pods, Crede, and even Pablo Ozuna have made a big difference, and of course, the bullpen is largely new. Whatever it is, it isn't pretty, and it seems unlikely we'll get to see how this same bunch does next season. Even Ozzie may not be safe.

The Sox are now 15.5 games out of first, with a Magic Number of 82. Far more important at this point is that their elimination number (Detroit's Magic Number vis-a-vis the Sox) is only 51. Even the most cockeyed optimist does not think that the Sox can make a run at the post-season. The question is can they get over .500? They'd have to play .600 ball the rest of the season to reach a winning record, and nothing we've seen to date suggests that they're good enough to win three out of every five games they play. Go Sox!