Chicago White Sox

Will "MannyWood" be moving to a new address soon? Well, it seems so, and there's a very good chance that new address will be 333 West 35th Street by next Tuesday, if all goes as planned.

I'm not going to throw the towel in quite yet on the Chicago White Sox season, however, with each passing day, the playoff window is growing smaller and smaller.

Chicago currently stands four and a half games behind the impressive Minnesota Twins (7-3 over the past 10 games) for first place in the AL Central. 

This season had been a bumpy road so far.

"I saw his life slippin'. "This is a minor setback; still in all, we livin', just dream about the getback." That made him smile, though his eyes said 'Pray for me.' I'll do you one better and slay these brothers faithfully." - Jay-Z, "Dead Presidents II"

If you've watched any spaghetti Western, film noir or crime drama, then you know the role of the tragic hero. He's usually a shifty-eyed guy, always sweating, nervously smoking a cigarette and looking as if he hasn't slept in days.

The Chicago White Sox setup man and part time closer Matt Thornton has been shut down with a forearm injury.

"I'm not concerned with my overall health,'' Thornton said. "I'm concerned about missing some time is what I'm concerned about."

According to Thornton he's been able to "warm-up through" the forearm pain all year, but now the pain has become too much. "Now warming up has turned into some pretty good soreness. I've got to take a step back"

The 1919 Black Sox scandal is unarguably one of the worst moments in all of baseball history. It ended the careers of many all-time great players—players who would have been first ballot Hall of Famers who were forced to retire from the game.

The mastermind behind this was first baseman Chick Gandil, helped by professional gambler Joseph Sullivan.

Wind the clocks back five years

 The White Sox team that went coast-to-coast in first place were truly a complete team that had it all. In June of that season Bobby Jenks stepped up to become the man that Ozzie Guillen went to in the 9th after injuries hampered Dustin Hermanson. Ozzie did have some other options at the time with Cliff Politte and Damaso Marte as options.

As Jim Thome gave his post-game interview and wiped the shaving-cream from his face I felt as let down as an ugly girl at prom. I wanted to blame someone for this loss. Anyone. But as I gave it some thought I wasn't sure exactly whom the blame should fall on.

The candidates appear to be:

1. Ozzie Guillen
2. Matt Thornton
3. Bobby Jenks
4. Kenny Williams
5. Paul Konerko

For most Chicago White Sox fans, the 2010 season was over a long time ago. Eleven months ago, in fact.

To be perfectly precise, the 2010 MLB season ended for many Chicago White Sox fans October 11, 2009—the day the Minnesota Twins played their final game in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

I talked it over with many a Sox supporter during the offseason: the artificial turf would be gone, which meant all those ground balls the Twins hit for singles would be outs.

After shellacking the Chicago White Sox 12-6 on Tuesday night, the Minnesota Twins have moved into first place in the AL Central by one game.

Both teams are hot, with the Twins winning 12 and the White Sox winning 10 of the teams' last 15 games. White Sox have gone 39-16 since June 8th, overcoming a horrendous start to get to this point, while the Twins have gone 19-10 since the All-Star break without one of, if not their best, hitters.

The Chicago White Sox might as well be in second place already.

They've dropped two of three to the lowly (but resurgent) Orioles and are one loss away from heading home in second.

The Minnesota Twins, meanwhile, toughed out a split with the Rays in Tampa Bay and have taken care of Cleveland.