After a 13-14 month of June the Sox remained on top of the AL Central by 1 1/2 games over the Cleveland Indians. That's the same division lead the Sox had heading into the month.
So after five consecutive series losses that saw the Sox go 5-10 you could say it could've been worse. Unfortunately where normally the Sox fatten up against NL teams, that wasn't the case this year as they went 6-9 against NL teams in June.
Their pitching staff took some hits as well. John Danks remained on the DL and Phil Humber joined him on June 22. Gavin Floyd had a couple nice starts but still continued to struggle through the month with a 2-2 record and 4.34ERA. Peavy, Sale, and Jose Quintana remained stellar arms in the rotation while the bullpen had it's ups and downs.
On the positive side, Zach Stewart and Brent Lillibridge were sent to Boston for Kevin Youkilis to stabilize third base. The Orlando Hudson experiment wasn't working. Hudson was batting under .200 and was shaky at third.
July shapes up to be a tough month. The Sox will close out the first half at home with three against the AL's- best, Texas Rangers. Then three with the Blue Jays.
Home hasn't been too kind for the Sox. They have been unimpressive at U.S. Cellular Field with a 19-21 record. But, the Sox only play 9 of 25 games on the south side in July. (There is a three game series against the Twins at the end of the month.) Road trips will include stops in Kansas City, Boston, Detroit, Texas and Minnesota. And don't forget the All Star Break next week. Paul Konerko, Chris Sale, and Adam Dunn will represent the White Sox. Jake Peavy has a chance to join them as he is on the final vote ballot.
It will be interesting to see how the standings shape up on July 31. The Tigers seem like they're coming around and the Indians look like they'll continue to contend.
Too many games against Texas this year. This is bullshit!
ReplyDelete