Chicago White Sox Community Roundtable: Week 8

JJ Stankevitz:

While I appreciate Ozzie trying to catch lightning in a bottle, doing it with Thome against J.P. Howell, a soft-tossing lefty, was a poor decision.

Yes, Thome leads the team in home-runs vs. left-handed pitchers, but three of those came off the hard-throwing (and struggling) CC Sabathia.

Howell features a good changeup and breaking ball—essentially, a deadly combination for Thome.

With the way Ramirez has been hitting lately, I would have much rather had Guillen kept him in.

I think it speaks to how loyal Ozzie is to Thome, though, because Thome was on deck when Howell was brought in—he had yet to be announced as a pinch-hitter. He easily could have been called back for Ramirez, but Ozzie balked at that and Thome, of course, struck out.

3. Despite the three straight losses to the Rays, the Sox still find themselves one game ahead of the Twins for first place in the AL Central heading into a stretch where 26 of their next 32 games are played in the city of Chicago. Could this be a defining stretch for the Sox (either good or bad)?

Patrick Nolan:

Absolutely.

The month of June is the perfect opportunity for the Sox to establish themselves as favorites in the AL Central. With so many tough road opponents behind them, this is a nice month for the White Sox to do well. A .667 winning percentage or so would be a good goal for the rest of June.

Chris Pennant:

This is the big test.

The Sox have played the division well so far, but I said it a few articles ago: you have to win at home. The Cubs have played a bunch of games at home and have shown they can win; now, they'll have to show they can win on the road.

The Sox have the opposite task: they played well enough on the road to get to first. Now they have to win at home. If you win at home, you gain the fan support, which I believe is very important for a team's psyche. If you lose at home, especially on the South Side, it's going to be a long summer.

Thomas Barbee:

I wouldn't say a defining stretch, but they have to continue to play good ball, obviously. Should the pitching continue to hold, I'd look for Ozzie to really be aggressive in his offensive strategy—increasing the hit and runs, steals, and bunts called. Hopefully that combination will equate to continued success.

Steve Jankowski:

I think it could be a defining stretch either way.

They have played well at home and will need to continue to do so to maintain their lead. They've done well so far playing the fewest home games of any MLB team, and here's hoping that some home cookin' will keep the Sox on top of the division.

TJ March:

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