It is doubtful that Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Gavin Floyd will pitch again in 2010, following an unexpected early exit from his start against the Oakland A’s on Monday night.  Floyd threw just 7 pitches before leaving the game due to soreness behind his pitching shoulder, a discomfort that apparently might have affected his previous start against the Twins.  On Thursday, Floyd will travel to Los Angeles to have his shoulder examined by the Angels team physician, Dr. Lewis Yocum.

Now that the Minnesota Twins have clinched the American League Central, the White Sox are likely to shut down Floyd for the remainder of the season and allow him to properly heal and prepare for 2011.  Neither Floyd nor White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen have seemed particularly optimistic about the right-hander’s lingering shoulder discomfort.

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To say that the Chicago White Sox have hit a skid in September might be an understatement after their latest homestand.  Following their 9-7 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Monday night, the White Sox(79-70) now trail the Minnesota Twins by 10 games, and their dwindling elimination number rests at 4 games entering Tuesday night’s game against the A’s.

After being swept at home by divisional rivals Minnesota and Detroit, the White Sox losing streak sits at a season high six games; it was also the first time that the South Siders had been swept in back to back home series since 1989.  The starting rotation, one of the key ingredients in the White Sox 28-8 midsummer surge, struggled mightily over the past 14 games, posting an 0-8 record and 7.09 ERA while allowing opposing hitters to hit a robust .345.

The offense, which had nicely complemented the excellent starting pitching around the All-Star break, turned in consistent lackluster performances during both the Twins and Tigers series.  In those six games, White Sox hitters slashed .240/.333/.373 with 6 HR and 21 RBI.  Those numbers would have been drastically different had the offense not repeatedly struggled with runners in scoring position.  Against the Twins, the Sox left a total of 62 runners on base; against the Tigers, they left 53 runners on base(including 41 in Monday night’s extra innings loss).

Barring an unprecedented and unimaginable Twins collapse down the final stretch of the season, the White Sox will fail to reach the postseason after finding themselves on the brink of contention for the second consecutive season.  Although the team’s quest for a postseason birth has come up short, there are still many reasons to watch the White Sox play out the remainder of their 2010 season.

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After taking a break from my “Best Baseball Commercials” series, I have decided that now is the perfect time to stage a comeback with Part 8, the Chicago White Sox.  After watching my boys do some work this past week, sweeping two crucial road series against Cleveland and Boston, I feel that it is necessary to post the best White Sox commercials both as a sign of my support, as well as with the hope that it keeps them rolling.

After beating the Tigers 5-4 in 10 innings on Monday afternoon, the surging White Sox have now won 7 in a row, all on the road.  As the series with the Minnesota Twins on September 14-16 edges a little closer every day, there’s really only one thing that must be said:

In the words of Hawk Harrelson, “Don’t stop now, boys!”

Carlos Quentin’s Swing:

[hdplay id=10 ]

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Winning Major League Baseball’s Triple Crown is arguably the noblest distinction an offensive player can receive. To hit dominantly for both power and average is a tremendous feat and even if someone manages that, a good bit of luck is still necessary to provide the base runners necessary to bat runs in. As prevalent as offense was throughout the steroid era, it still never happened. In fact, the feat is so rare that it was last accomplished by the Boston Red Sox’ Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. That season, the Yaz hit .326 with 44 home runs and 121 runs batted in. But we are now past the halfway point of the 2010 campaign and there are presently four different players still in the running for this most illustrious of baseball awards.

The first and most likely candidate to keep up the consistency needed to win the Triple Crown is Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera. The four time All-Star first baseman is currently second in the majors in batting average, hitting .349, and considering he is a career .314 hitter it is definitely within his capabilities to maintain such a high mark. At the moment he is also second in the American League in home runs with 24 and leading the AL in RBI at 88. Prior to this season the once wild-partying Cabrera entered treatment for alcoholism and followed up with a promise that he has so far delivered on to be more focused this year. The Tigers are currently three games back in the AL Central division and with lead-off man Austin Jackson hitting well over .300 there should be ample opportunity for Cabrera to drive home runs. If he doesn’t fall off the wagon down the stretch either personally or professionally then Miguel Cabrera is by far the most probable contender to become MLB’s first Triple Crown winner in over forty years.

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