On Thursday, the White Sox clinched their division. After cruising all year long, holding first place for most of the season, they finally made it official. But people who have been following the Sox all year might have noticed a trend since after the all-star break–the White Sox haven’t been as good as they were in the first half of the season.
As I’m writing this, in the second half of the season the White Sox are exactly .500. This is concerning for a number of reasons, among them being that they will likely play a red-hot Astros team in the playoffs, without home field advantage. There’s also the fact that the Sox are a measly 25-29 against teams with a winning record, and that the Sox went 2-5 against the Astros in the regular season.
Besides that, the Sox are looking pretty solid. They’ll have Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, and Carlos Rodon pitching against the Astros, so based on pitching alone, they do have a chance. On the hitting side, Yasmani Grandal is hitting exceptionally well, Luis Robert is crushing the ball, and Jose Abreu is solid as usual. It is concerning how far Eloy Jimenez has dropped off, but he’s still a good hitter.
Before I go off on any more tangents, let’s take a look at the original question: should we celebrate? The answer is…of course! The White Sox just took the AL Central for the first time in 13 years, they just guaranteed the first ever consecutive playoff seasons in franchise history, and they have a shot to take it all.
As we look on to the series at Houston, let’s keep one thing in mind: this will not be the last year that the Sox will be contending.
Image Credit: AP Photos
