The Sox entered Tuesday night's game with the Texas Rangers having lost three in a row and six out of their last eight. Most people blame slumping first baseman Paul Konerko. The real problem is the pitching staff.
Jose Contreras is on the DL after several consecutive ineffective starts. Bobby Jenks is just back off the DL. Scott Linebrink hasn't seen the mound in two weeks with "general fatigue" or some such silliness. Boone Logan and Nick Masset have turned into cans of gasoline. Even the normally reliable Matt Thornton has had a couple ineffective outings.
As young pitchers will do, both Gavin Floyd and John Danks have had a couple of clunkers lately. Javier Vazquez pitched well in Monday's loss, but he's clearly been going through a dead-arm period as well.
Mark Buehrle, who starts on 3-days rest tonight, has been the only Sox hurler on top of his game in recent weeks. No wonder the Sox have struggled to play .500 ball over the last 12-15 games.
The Sox need to get these pitchers back on track. If they do, they'll win the division despite the agonizing-to-watch woes of Konerko. If they don't, say hello to third place.
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