Carlos Quentin's Broken Wrist a Sign of Doom for the Sox

To quote the WWE, "there goes the neighborhood".

The news that everyone on the South Side was dreading came down from the Comiskey (that's right, I still don't call it US Cellular) front office: Carlos Quentin may be done for the season with a broken right wrist. He will undergo surgery on Monday, and will be re-evaluated in 2-3 weeks.

This is certainly a damaging blow to the team's playoff hopes. Clinging to a 1 1/2 game lead in the division, the White Sox are about to enter their final home stand without their MVP candidate left fielder. Should the White Sox be worried?

The answer, of course, is yes.

Sure, pitching is a key to winning baseball games. Lately, however, the Sox have been scuffling in this area. John Danks was fantastic early in the season, but lately the youngster has been showing that the heat of summer may be getting to him. In his last start, Danks gave up four ER over four innings and gave up eight hits while only struck out three.

Mark Buehrle has also had a sub-par season, with an 11-11 record and a 4.12 ERA. With Jose Contreras being done for the season with an Achilles injury, the onus is now on Javier Vazquez to carry the rotation, but I don't believe he can do this on his own.

On the offensive side of the ball, Carlos Quentin wasn't just the guy who hit home runs. He also drove in runs in key situations, and was always the go to guy. When the Sox were struggling, Quentin was there to save them from a 3rd place season. His 36 HR and 100 RBI were a key to a team who is reliant on the long ball to win games. In addition, his 26 doubles also were key sparks for rallies more often than not.

So, with Quentin sidelined, who is going to fill the void? More than likely, Nick Swisher will play left and Brian Anderson will take over in center. When Griffey comes back, he will likely move to left field.

Obviously, none of these options can make up for the offense that the team is going to lose, but as Ozzie will undoubtedly say in his pregame interview, the other guys like Thome, Konerko, and Dye just need to step up. Period.

In the long run, I think that the loss of Quentin will ultimately be the straw that breaks the camel's back, and I think that the Twins will eventually overtake the Sox. With the starting pitching struggling and their offense losing its most potent weapon, the "Good Guys" will fall by the wayside.