The streak continue

Hello loyal readers,

Long time no talk. At the request of another die hard Sox fan, JA, I stopped writing for a little due to their recent hot streak. Well, the consecutive win streak ended, at a game I was at the by the way. However, like any good team, when one streaks ends, another begins.

The Sox in the last month have been displaying traits I haven't seen since 2005.

No. 1 - Hustle and Defense.

This team wants to win. On a any groundball, base hit, line drive or pop out, these team hustles. Many players in this league, hello All-Star Hanley Ramirez, do not run out groundballs or go all out for pop outs in foul territory. The Sox are not these kind of team. Next time you watch a game, watch how hard Alexei Ramirez runs out a routine out. The bullet tries to be out every single ball. When he is robbed of a call, he lets the umpire know it. You know what? That is the passion that drives a successful team. How about defense? Midway through last season, numerous critics said Ramirez could not make it as a major league shortstop. People said he lacked focus. Look at him now. He is arguably the best defensive shortstop in the AL. Ramirez is arguably the Sox MVP for the first half of the season.

No. 2 - Starting Pitching

Anyone who saw the '05 Sox can not tell me this last month doesn't remind you of that rotation. Even with Peavy out for the season, which I called by the way when he went a complete game in Washington three weeks ago, these starters can pitch. The man leading the way is the supposed No. 5 starter Freddy Garcia. I heard an interesting comment on the 670 The Score today. A team's 5th starter is supposed to eat up as many innings as possible. They are not to be judged by their record. When it comes to the south side, every pitcher is judged by their record or ERA. Garcia has the third best ERA among Sox starters and has almost equaled the total innings of Floyd and Peavy, who have both pitched in one more game than Garcia. This rotation is finally starting to show what we all hoped for last winter.

No. 3 - Bullpen

This bullpen is flat out the best in baseball. Let's start with my man, All-Star Matt Thornton. This guy dominates, and I mean dominates the AL with essentially one pitch. Guys go up there expecting and seeing a fastball, yet still miss it. Occasionally he will fool you with a curve or slider, but once you expect that, there is no way you are catching up the 98 MPH heat. How about offseason acquisition JJ Putz? He has been nothing short of spectacular. When Jenks came out, he and Thornton proved they could handle closer responsibilities. His ERA is 1.64. Yeah, that's pretty good. And how about converted infielder Sergio Santos? This guy just seems like a winner and has shown it on the mound. You can't tell me he wouldn't be an eighth inning guys on numerous teams in the MLB. Let's finish with our big closer Bobby Jenks. The season did not start off great. Later on, White Sox reliable beat writer Joe Cowley reported that Jenks was disappointed with how he was being treated by the fans. You know how to solve that Bobby? Go out and pitch. Don't quote me on this, but I think he has converted his last 20 save opportunities and has only blown ONE save. I will take that any day.

Overall, this is a team that can succeed. So go ahead Miguel Cabrera, try to catch up to a Matt Thornton fastball. Ron Gardenhire, try to out coach Ozzie and the best pitching coach in the league Don Cooper. The second half of baseball is going to start heating up, but I am confident our South Siders will be able to stay cool come October.