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Right next to the dictionary definition of slump -- "a period during which a person performs slowly, inefficiently, or ineffectively, esp. a period during which an athlete or team fails to play or score as well as usual" -- there's a picture of the 2009 Chicago White Sox. With good reason. The Sox have now lost four in a row and 11 of their last 14 games. They find themselves in fourth place, twice as far from first (5.0 games) as they are from last (2.5 games). And they have one more game to play in Toronto, their personal House of Horrors.

The losing streak began last Wednesday in Cleveland, where Mark Buehrle lost his first game of the season. Buehrle uncharacteristically gave up four runs in seven innings, which was more than enough to ensure a loss on a day when the Sox managed only seven hits and were shut out. It's hard to win when you don't score any runs. Basically, the other team has to forfeit, and that didn't happen.

Friday saw the Good Guys lose the opener in Toronto. (Good in that sentence refers to our positive feelings about them, not to how they've been playing.) John Danks, whom we celebrated too early as the Sox best pitcher -- a clear case of premature congratulation -- took it on the chin, allowing seven runs on nine hits and a walk in only three innings. The Sox collected three runs on seven hits in the 8-3 loss.

Saturday's game was a close one. Bartolo Colon, whom we've failed to give his due this season, threw five innings of scoreless ball. Octavio Dotel maintained his 0.00 ERA by tossing one shutout inning. Matt Thornton did the same. But Scott Linebrink blew the save -- and picked up the loss -- in the eighth inning by allowing two runs. The pitching was good enough to win, but the Sox bats continued in the deep freeze, producing only three hits and one run to snatch a 2-1 defeat from the jaws of victory.

On Sunday, it was Gavin Floyd's turn to disappoint. Last year's 17-game winner saw his ERA balloon to 7.71 when he yielded six of Toronto's eight runs. Floyd has now failed to win in his last five starts. Bobby Jenks, who was used in a low leverage situation, permitted the other two to cross the plate in the 8-2 loss. The Sox offense again notched a mere seven hits in the losing effort. (By the way, it was Carlos May's birthday, which means it's time to note that since he wore number 17, the thumbless one is the only player in MLB history to wear his birthday on the back of his uniform -- May 17.)

So to sum up, the Sox scored a total of six runs and 24 hits in the four games in their losing streak, an average of 1.5 runs and 6.0 hits per game, while giving up 22 runs, or average of 5.5 runs per game. If that's not a "fail[ure] to play or score as well as usual," then we don't know what a slump is. Go Sox!