76

It's the All-Star break, so no White Sox action yesterday.  Let's take a moment for a brief  look ahead at the rest of the season.  The Sox have 75 games remaining.  Forty of them are against the Twins, Tigers, Yankees, Red Sox, and Angels, all of which have at least a .516 winning percentage.  Thirty-five of them are with the Mariners, A's, Orioles, Royals, and Indians, all of which have less than a .484 winning percentage. 

Assuming that those teams perform at the same level against the Sox as they have overall -- an unrealistic assumption since teams play better against certain teams, some clubs are hot while some are cold when you face them, teams play better at home than on the road, etc. -- the Sox will lose 22 games to the good teams and 14 games to the bad ones.  Those 36 losses added to the 38 they already have will give the Good Guys 74 losses, which means an 88-74 record for the season.

That may be enough to sneak into the post-season in what is admittedly a weak division.  Once they get there, the Sox have the kind of pitching -- at least they have lately -- that can carry a team to a title.  All of this is just me looking ahead through somewhat rose-colored glasses, but isn't that what sports are for?  In any event, the Sox are a better team now than they were when they racked up most of those first-half losses, so maybe they'll do even better than the numbers suggest.  We may need that home field advantage in the World Series that comes with winning the All-Star Game.  Go American League!

By the way, check out the Letters to the Editor in the July 12 edition of Sports Illustrated (the one with Serena Williams on the cover).  SI published my letter concerning Stephen Strasburg, which mentions "my beloved White Sox."  Go Sox!