White Sox watch
Posted on September 10th, 2008 – 10:35 AMBy La Velle
This is why you can’t count the Twins out in the AL Central.
The White Sox are fighting all sorts of issues right now, and the Toronto Blue Jays, the team the Twins helped get hot last week, continue to leave a mark on this race.
Check out the latest from manager Ozzie Guillen following a sweep by Toronto on Tuesday. He’s not happy about what he’s seen lately. And I remember a recent Chicago Tribune online poll in which fans predicted that the the Twins would catch the Sox.
Tonight, it’s Roy Halladay vs Mark Buehrle in a baseball package special.
The one White Sox stat I keep harping on: They are 8-32 when they don’t homer in a game.
I know it’s easier said than done. But there’s no Carlos Quentin, no Twins-killer Joe Crede and a chance there will be no Paul Konerko when the White Sox head to the Dome on Sept. 23 - which is at the end of a 10-game road trip. If you keep the ball in the park against the Sox, they can be had.
It’s going to be rocky ride to the finish line, so buckle up. And it may take just 90 wins to win the division.
18 Responses to "White Sox watch"
The Twins still need to find a way to win at least six or seven games on that 10 game roadie. Based on the last trip and trends this season, that may be wishful thinking.
The one White Sox stat I keep harping on: They are 8-32 when they don’t homer in a game.
Out of curiosity, what kind of run production do they have in games where they don’t homer comparred to ones in which they do?
I’m curious if they’re following the “feast or famine” trend in that regard. You’d almost think that by looking at them.
Also curious to hear how many times they’ve been shut out.
Wow in only 40 games this year they haven’t had a homerun. It seems like there’s been at least one or two stretches where the Twins don’t hit in a homerun in like 30 or 40 games in a row 
LaVelle…was the announcement on top of Target Center really just to say they are pushing for the 2014 all-star game?
That should go without saying, let alone setting up a press conference for it.
I know it’s no good dwelling on what ifs and I try not to get discouraged, but it’s still incredibly frustrating that we could have a comfortable lead in the division if only our bullpen hadn’t blown half the leads they did. I’m not asking that they be perfect, only half as terrible.
Good post, LENIII. Let’s hope Halladay can dominate tonight.
What is the Twins record when they do hit a home run?
“What is the Twins record when they do hit a home run?”
3-1
Ha!
Another ket stat is that the twins have outscored the sox by 11 runs this season despite getting out homered by 100 h.r.’s
a statement from Ozzie’s interview that La Velle linked:
We have to fight like a cat—paws up
Given the happenings in the Sox Clubhouse this year, expect catfights…
The way these two teams are playing, 85 wins will probably be enough to win the division. Seriously, we can’t realistically expect the Twins to win more than four games on their road trip. That would give them a total of 71 losses and very little margin for error at home.
They must win five out of the six games against the Royals and win at least two out of three against the White Sox. Will that be enough? Stay tuned.
Anyone have the time to figure out the Twins record when we don’t hit a home run? How about when we do?
51-27 when hit a home run
28-38 when they don’t
huge differential (that’s why some of us were screaming for a HR-power bat at the deadline)
thrylos,
Are you saying that we have around 22 Multi-HR games? I find that hard to believe.
With our inability to perform critical aspects of the game on a consistent basis…great defense,bunting in key situations, stealing bases,sacfrices to advance the runners, and now facing key injuries to some of our players.We are in a precarious situation. We are going to need plenty of home runs, and great pitching for a chance stay ahead of the Twins.
This is a fun pennant race to watch for sure…but I really don’t think either the Sox or the Twins will win the first round of the playoffs. The only match up that might prove different in my mind is if the Twins and Rays were to play each other in the first round. With the trade that occurred in the off season - who knows that might have some effect on the players involved and we might have a shot.
I really think the Red Sox or Angels will walk away with this…. darn
thrylos,
I think that is a bit misleading…against weaker pitching you are going to tend to hit more hrs then against dominate pitching. Obviously the Twins are going to win games against weaker pitching more so then not. I think the quality of pitching correlates to the wins and losses a lot more than just if we hit a hr or not. Whether we hit a HR or not is more a result of the quality of pitching. We are much less likely to hit HRs in games where a pitcher is dominate and is commanding all his pitches.
Maybe the White Sox should add another power bat or two since they are 8-32 in games when they don’t homer….
Another way of looking at it is the White Sox have lost 32 out of 40 games when they have not hit a HR. The Twins have lost 38 out of 66 games in that scenario? Sure the Twins have a lot more games where the don’t hit HRs, but they have only lost 6 more games all year long in those games.
I think it just shows you the Twins are more balanced and can win games more ways. The Twins can scratch out runs in tough pitching matchups and still pull out the win.
