Results tagged ‘ Gavin Floyd ’
Magic number still 5
Everything always goes wrong in the Metrodome for the White Sox. I do not understand why, but we always seem to get hosed in this building. A bad call early on where Mark Buehrle had Carlos Gomez picked off at second base was called safe and later scored on the soft grounder by Joe Mauer. If that call was made the right way the score would have still been 2 to 1. Next inning Griffey hits the home run and we would be tied. It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth when a umpire blows an obvious call when so much is on the line and I am sure there will be an apology from the umpires, because everyone with a good eye could clearly see that Gomez was out.
Regardless of the call the Sox lost 3 to 2 and we are only a half game up on the Twins, or if you just want to say we have one less loss than the Twins, if that sounds better. The pressure now falls on Gavin Floyd as the game three starter later today. We know this guy is tough when he won in New York Stadium and now he must do it again in the one place where the Twins have just owned us in every category.
Floyd can pitch his heart out and we will still lose if we can not get more consistent offense. Home runs are nice, when we have runners on, and when we have a man on with less than 1 out you got to get that guy in because you know 90 percent of the time when it happens to us they score. The fundamentals have got to be perfect in this next game if the Sox want to leave today still in first place.
The key to this next game will be if the Sox can possibly get an early lead and let Floyd pitch ahead and put some pressure on the Twins. The first two games we have fallen behind each game and have not jumped back ahead and an early manufactured run or home run can provide that help Floyd can use. It is amazing that our first place lead now lays on the shoulders of one of the most inexperienced pitcher’s on our staff. However, Floyd has proven before that experience means nothing to him as he leads the Sox in wins on the pitching staff.
The 2008 White Sox can either win this game and come home with a chance to clinch at home or they can lose and become scoreboard watchers and fans of the Kansas City Royals. The choice is easy just win and everything else will be much easier, but as we have seen this year, nothing has been apparently easy for these White Sox. I still believe we can do this and every Sox fan out there should not give up yet, as these guys have bounced back from bad losses. This team has not been swept since the Chicago Cubs did it back in June.
Sox need a big win in Minnesota
If the White Sox can rely on Gavin Floyd to pull off at least one win in Minnesota the Sox should hold their first place lead. Will it happen I beleive so, I know this Minnesota team plays the Sox so well because they match up against us better than any other team out there but in the long run I still will place my money on the Sox to win the central.
I have been viewing both teams schedules and both are very comparable to winable games against struggling teams this year. The month of August is a few days away and the Sox just look to be the more relaxed team. Are they too relaxed? That might be the difference between us and the Twins. The Twins had to win at least two games and they did that and now it is up too the Sox to show who is the real first place team.
I just do not see Minnesota hanging around all this time as the playoff race heats up. They have some veteran presence in the right positions but they only have one starting pitcher with a veteran presence. I really think this race will come down to veteran leadership and i still think on that note the Sox have the upper hand in that department.
Even thou the Sox are using two starting pitchers who are in their first full season I still believe the overall team has what it takes to win the Central. The guys in this lineup are overall better than what the Twins put out on the field and that should hold as the determining factor in who ends up as the division champion.
It comes down to simple execution and as long as the Sox keep their cool and just keep competing the end result will come up in our favor. There is too much talent on this team not to win a majority of their remaining games. The Sox still hold a better record against the division and in the end that will balance out and give the White Sox faithful what they deserve.
My last point here is we should not worry about Minnesota they might look good now but do they have it in the tank for another two months. Just like Tampa Bay they might hang around for the ride but in the end the better teams do find ways to win and that is what I am expecting out of the rest of the season for the White Sox. In my mind Detroit is a bigger threat to the White Sox because they do have more talent and experience to make a run at the Sox compared to the Twins.
kchofmannsuperdad
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