At the beginning of the month, I wrote that it was question of when, not if, the Chicago White Sox would clinch the AL Central.
A little over three weeks later, the Chisox managed to do it defeating the Cleveland Indians 7-2 in the first game of a doubleheader at Progressive Field. The White Sox put the game away in the 2nd inning scoring six runs including a 3-run HR from Tim Anderson who also homered to lead off the game. The White Sox put away the division on May 7th when they took sole possession of first place overcoming a fast start from the Kansas City Royals.
The only real serious threat the Chisox faced was from the Tribe who came within 1.5 of the division lead on June 26th after Chicago dropped 7 out of 8 games. But by the All-Star Break, Chicago had an 8 game lead and they clinched the division up 11.5 games on Cleveland.
The season was not without controversy. After earning an AL Wild Card berth in 2020 which marked their first post-season appearance in a dozen years, the team unceremoniously fired manager Rick Renteria and replaced him with Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa who led the Chisox to a division title in 1983 when the team was in the AL West. An off-season, DUI didn't help matters and would have got almost anyone else fired on the spot. LaRussa would ruffle feathers when he publicly criticized his rookie catcher/DH Yermin Mercedes for hitting a home run on a 3-0 pitch. This took the gas out of Mercedes' tank and soon he would be sent to the minors. But things like that get overlooked as long as you win.
Last year's AL MVP Jose Abreu remains the team's biggest offensive threat while last year's AL batting champ Tim Anderson missed time with a bad left hamstring. Eloy Jimenez has been productive in limited action with Yasmani Grandal providing power depth though Yoan Moncada has been a disappointment.
The Chisox have four starting pitchers in double digits in victories (Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, Lance Lynn and Carlos Rodon). You have a pretty good rotation if former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel is your number five pitcher. Liam Hendriks has had an All-Star season as a closer while Michael Kopech, Aaron Bummer and Jose Ruiz have been serviceable in support of Hendriks.
Will it be enough against the Houston Astros? The White Sox will most likely face them in the ALDS. The Astros could clinch the AL West as early as tomorrow. As of this writing, the Chisox are 25-29 against teams with a record better than .500 while the Astros are 43-31. Of course, this is of no guarantee of anything. The Chisox could sweep the Astros. But the Astros, warts and all, will be favored in this contest.
Still, the White Sox are led by only one of two managers to win a World Series title in both leagues and the only one to win World Series titles in three different decades. La Russa, who turns 77 on October, would become the oldest manager to win a World Series in MLB history.
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