Coming Back to First Place

I came back from Florida yesterday just in time to see the game. And what a nice game it was. The Sox not only pummeled the Royals 15-5 (Admittedly, not the most difficult of tasks), but found themselves in first place by a hair.

It’s great to have those bragging rights, but there’s still a lot of baseball to be played. And, apparently, I’ve missed a lot. What’s happened in the past week?

Well, Jake Peavy was injured. And is out for the year. That is hands-down the worst news of the bunch. Closely behind is the news that Daniel Hudson is by NO MEANS ready to be the answer to the question raised by Pevy’s departure. Hudson has some pretty good numbers in the minors, but he had a pretty average at best start yesterday. Sure it was a small sample size, but I think the same would be true about anyone the Sox brought out from their farm system. Other than Buehrle, Crede, and maybe one day Beckham, when’s the last time the fruits of the White Sox farm system were worth harvesting?

On the bright side, Carlos Quentin is really on top of his game. He’s had 2 2-HR games in a row, one of the four being a grand slam. He’s had 61 RBI this season. And despite his weak .244 average, his OBP is .344, so he’s been a lot better than you would think at first glance.

In other news, Brent Lillibridge is en fuego. That’s German for a whale’s vagina- I mean ON FIRE. In 22 at bats, he’s had 10 hits and just as many RBI. What? Yeah. Viciedo is curently batting a healthy .300 over 40 at-bats with 2 HR.

That’s bad news for Mark Teahen, who has been forgotten a long time ago. Who will go down when he returns from his injury? He, Beckham, and Vizquel are the worst of the bunch, and they’re supposed to be the starters.

Finally, the All-Star game. Matt Thornton was selected many moons ago, but Konerko is now also on the roster due to Morneau’s concussion. While that’s nice for Paulie, I think I would have preferred he get a vacation. And that Morneau had a more season-ending injury (as mean as that seems).

That’s all for now, folks. Thanks for bearing with me while on vacation.