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The Sox didn’t make it any easier on themselves to get to the playoffs, and now it’s up to the Detroit Tigers to make the final decision.
Despite their best efforts over the weekend, the Sox have not made it into the playoffs, yet. Cleveland took away an easy playoff berth for the White Sox by defeating them the first two games of the series. Luckily, Kansas City did the same to the Twins.
Both teams have had a final series with home field advantage and haven’t been able to take advantage of the fact. Cleveland, coming in to Cellular Field with a record of 0-6 this year, gave their best shot at knocking out the possible first place Sox with two straight wins through the beginning of the series. Despite the Sox scoring 14 runs in the first two games combined, the Indians topped that with 23 runs from only 24 hits.
Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko were the main producers daily against the Indians, while Jim Thome and A.J. Pierzynski were able to get a couple hits and RBIs off Cleveland. Konerko produced 10 runs himself throughout the series, which included a home run in each game, and two in the second game. Jermaine Dye was also able to knock out two home runs in the first two games, as well as drive in six RBIs in the Sox’s efforts against the Indians.
The final game of the series was the defining game for both teams, but more so for the White Sox. With a do-or-die situation in the final games of the season as it was, the Sox had to win to stay alive, or give up first place to the Twins. Because Minnesota lost their first two games, but won their final game, the Sox are forced to play the make-up game against the Tigers. If the Sox had lost their final game, the Indians would have been in the playoffs, taking first place, and leaving the White Sox behind. Thankfully, the Sox won, meaning the Twins had to win their final game against the Royals, which they did with a score of 6-0.
The Tigers game will be played Monday and will determine whether or not there will be a tie-breaker game between the Twins and the White Sox for first place in the AL Central Division.
Javier Vasquez went out to play with only three days rest on Saturday, producing another horrible game for the White Sox during the second game against Cleveland. With a positive outlook towards the playoffs throughout the team, Vazquez does not seem to be putting his best foot forward, even in light of the short rest period. Javy gave up seven runs during 4.1 innings and took the loss, dropping his record to 12 and 16 for the year.
The White Sox bullpen also had a bit of a struggle with their match-up against the Indians, especially during the last half of the games. The Sox gave up 19 runs after the fifth inning in the first two games alone, but gave up no runs in the final game to keep the lead and win. Both the starting pitchers and the bullpen have to pick it up during the playoffs if they want to make it anywhere close to the World Series. There are a lot of Class A teams going into the playoffs, and no match-up will be an easy one.
As of late around the MLB, several teams have closed down on their hunt for October. Recently, the Phillies have clinched the NL Division and the Milwaukee Brewers have taken the NL Wild Card, so the Sox or Twins may have to look forward to meeting them in the World Series this year. That list of potential teams also includes the Chicago Cubs and the L.A. Dodgers. But first, the winner of the AL Central Division will face the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who made it to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, and then the winner of the Boston-Angels game, before they can even think of facing those teams.
The White Sox still have a long and hard road ahead of them to make it deep into the playoffs, and we’ll be rooting for them the whole way through. Good luck to all the teams that have made it, and here’s to baseball, America’s greatest pastime sport!
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