85

ROI. The White Sox's ROI, or return on investment, in Mark Buehrle figures to pretty high. Last night the lefty won his seventh game of the season by allowing only one run in 6.1 innings (109 pitches) before handing over the ball -- no doubt nervously -- to the bullpen. But this time, the pen came through with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief. Matt Thornton needed only four pitches to get two outs. Charlie Haeger flutterballed his way through the last two innings while giving up only a hit and a walk. The offense gave Buehrle a bit more than his usual level of support, led by the red-hot Paul Konerko, who smashed his 20th home run of the season. Konerko, who was having trouble for a long time getting over the .200 mark has raised his average to .270, with a surge since June 1 that would rank him among the league leaders.

Back to Buehrle, though. The Update looked at all of his starts this year to see what went on when he lost or there was no decision. In his five losses, Buehrle gave up two earned runs three times, three earned runs once, and five earned runs one time. In all of those games, he went at least six innings. Even average support at bat and in the field in those games would have meant four more wins. As for the seven games in which he didn't earn a decision, three times he left with the game tied and one time with a four-run lead. Again, more wins left on the table. He's made 15 quality starts, including the last eight in a row. Any question that this guy's a keeper?

The win cuts the Magic Number to 85 and keeps the Sox 14.5 games behind Detroit in the A.L. Central race. In the imaginary A.L. Worst division, the Sox retook first place over Baltimore by a half game. Their Magic Number in that race is 69, Dude! (See Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.) Go Sox!