MVN - Most Valuable Network

Seven In a Row, But the Twins Won’t Slow

The White Sox have won seven games in a row and they completed a three game sweep of the Indians in exciting fashion last night with a walk-off home run by A.J. Pierzynski.

They pounded out five runs against reigning AL Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia in the victory and improved their record to 49-35.

The problem is, the Twins won’t go away.

I have stated that I don’t think the Twins will be in the mix down the stretch, but it is now July 3rd, and they are only two and a half games back.

I will stick to my guns and continue to predict that the White Sox and Tigers will be fighting for the AL Central title, but the Twins shouldn’t be ignored. For some reason those pesky Twins find a way to win every year.

The SouthSiders will try to improve upon their seven game winning streak tonight as they begin a four game set against the A’s at home. Meanwhile, the Twins are off today, and then they get their chance to tee off against the sinking Indians. The Tigers will start a four game series tonight in Seattle.

Even if the White Sox lose their grip on first place, the AL Central is sure to be one of the most exciting races to watch this summer.

Guillen a genius as Sox win thriller

Ozzie Guillen was willing to give up a little defense in order to put the right man at the plate.  Turns out, that defense would not be needed.

After Alexei Ramirez hit a game-tying solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the tenth to send a previously deflated U.S. Cellular crowd into a frenzy, Ozzie called back starting center fielder Brian Anderson and used Dewayne Wise as a pinch hitter.  Wise, who had just 30 at bats all year, was called upon as a left-handed bat to face right handed closer Joe Borowski.  Wise delivered a single to right, stole second on the first pitch to Orlando Cabrera, then scored on Cabrera’s single.

Ozzie has been pulling all the right strings so far, and this extra inning victory puts the Sox a season high 13 games over .500.  Jon Danks was magnificent once again, striking out eight while allowing one earned run over eight strong innings.  However, as has been the theme all year, Danks did not get a win, falling victim to a lack of run support once again.

Casey Blake hit a one out homer in the top half of the tenth to break a 1-1 tie before the Sox rallied to win it in the bottom half.  As Hawk says, “you win 60 and you lose 60, it’s what you do with the other 42 that count.”  This win was definitely part of that 42.

White Sox/Cubs Recap on the Air Again!

I was interviewed again last night on the Papa Joe Chevalier show. It is broadcast out of Las Vegas and nationally syndicated. As you can imagine, this time I was in a better mood.

Here is the link: Jay on the Papa Joe Show

The show is rather long, but my segment is at about the 19 minute mark.  You can just drag the bar across the bottom of Windows Media Player to listen to the segment.

Sweep Revenge!

The White Sox returned the favor by sweeping the Cubs out of U.S. Cellular Field over the weekend, and now they can return their focus to more pressing matters- like winning their division.

The Cross-Town Classic was fun as always, but the Tigers, Twins, and Royals are all surging ahead as the AL Central race heats up with the summer temperatures.

The White Sox have a formula in place that is built for sustained success:  Pitching, defense, and timely hitting.  I was actually surprised to see that the club was in the top five in all of baseball in runs scored, but any Sox fan will be able to tell you that those runs have come in flashes.

As I have alluded to the entire season, the White Sox need to watch out for those roaring Tigers.   I don’t want to entirely dismiss the Twins, who are only one and a half games back, but I really don’t think they have a team that can sustain a long run for the rest of the season.  They do have some nice young pitchers, and they have already surprised most of the league with their performance, but I have a feeling the wheels are going to come off soon. 

Time will tell I suppose.

July looks to be a very telling month with a number of divisional match-ups throughout the league.

The White Sox will get things going today at home against Cleveland as Gavin Floyd takes the bump against young southpaw Jeremy Sowers.