Despite Slump, Sox Chances Are Still Good

I'm trying to find the silver lining in the current slump by the Chicago White Sox. After being swept by the Yankees last weekend, losing two out of three to the Detroit Tigers and losing to Texas last night, the Sox now find themselves six and a half games out of first place -- and falling quickly.

It's scary, watching your favorite team free fall like this. It's like watching someone take a dive from a high-rise building or a car speeding out of control and hitting a tree. You know how it's going to end, and there's nothing you can do to stop it.

But I'm trying to keep the worry wart in me at bay by focusing on the positive. And there are some positive things.

1) It's still July, and with more than two months to go in the season, the Sox have plenty of time to make up those six and a half games.

2) The Sox and Tigers face each other 10 more times this season. That's when the Sox can really gain some ground.

3) The Sox are going through their slump now. Better now than in August or September. In the meantime, the Tigers have yet to go into a slump. It's bound to happen sooner or later.

4) The Sox did not play all that poorly against the Tigers. Their pitching, for the most part, was very good. Garland was brilliant in game 1. Contreras was also solid in the game 3 loss on Thursday. Vazquez pitched well through the first five innings in game 2 until he gave up the five runs in the sixth inning. Take that inning away, and Sox pitching contained Detroit to three total runs in three games. The Sox bullpen did not give up a single run.

Detroit simply outpitched the Sox and took advantage of a few mistakes by Vazquez. That was the difference in the series.

As always, it comes down to pitching. So far this season, Detroit has been the better pitching team. You have to tip their caps to them for that. Question is, can the Tigers keep up that good pitching for the remainder of the season, and can the Sox starters regain their pitching dominance in time to make a run for the division title?

Stay tuned. The next two months should be interesting.