160

The White Sox are back and so is the Update.  Yep, we're here to count down the Good Guys' progress towards clinching the A.L. Central.  And the Sox are off to a good start, having Meat Loafed the Indians, taking the first game 15-10 and the second 8-3 before losing the finale 7-1.  That's good for a one game lead over the Twins, Tigers, and Indians, each of which stands at 1-2.  The Sox trail the Royals, the team the Sox visit starting Tuesday, by one-half game.

While the opener was something of a cakewalk, historically, it was no sure thing.  Since the 1919 season, the Sox have played 285 games in which the opponent has scored at least 10 runs and racked up 17 hits, as the Tribe did on Friday -- and they've lost 265 of them, with only 19 wins (a 0.067 winning percentage) and one tie.  So, it's a good thing the South Siders scored 15 (on 18 hits).

The offensive production of the first two games has left most of the team with some pretty gaudy batting averages.  Eight players are hitting at or over .333 -- Mark Teahen (1.000), Omar Vizquel (. 667), Carlos Quentin (.545), Gordon Beckham (.455), Adam Dunn (.400), A.J. Pierzynski (.385), Paul Konerko (.364), and Brent Morel (.333).  On the other hand, Alex Rios, Ramon Castro, and Brent Lillibridge are all 0 for the season, and Alexei Ramirez is off to his usual slow start (.154) and has hit into a triple play on a failed bunt attempt. 

On the pitching front, the key members of the bullpen -- Matt Thornton, Chris Sale, and Sergio Santos -- have not given up an earned run, and starters John Danks and Edwin Jackson have ERAs of 3.00.  The rest of the bullpen has been a bit funky though, with Will Ohman's ERA at a stratospheric 27.00, Tony Pena's at a better, but still horrible 18.00, and newcomer Jesse Crain's at 9.00.  Mark Buehrle won his record ninth Opening Day start, but has an ERA of 6.00 -- nothing to write home about, or even an Update post about.

But hey, it's early and none of these stats matters at this point in the season.  What matters is the Sox have won their first series, while the Twins and Tigers were losing theirs.  Go Sox, beat K.C.!