Coasting Doesn't Work

On May 13th, the White Sox were 27-9 and had won 11 of 13 games. They were crusing, playing great baseball. Their manager, Ozzie Guillen, was the toast of the town. The Trib was running stories on how the Sox might just get more press than the Cubs this year.

All the talk was that they just had to play .500 the rest of the way and the division was a near lock. Tough to disagree given that the Sox would accumulate 90 wins should they only go .500 for the remaining 126 games.

A funny thing has happened. Everyone forgot about the Minnesota Twins. Now, they haven't exactly been world beaters. On the same May 13th, the Twins were a respectable 20 and 14. Since then, the Twins are 13 and 8 and have moved within 3 games (loss column) of the Sox.

What have the Sox done since May 13th?

.500

Yes, they are 10-10.

If the Sox play .500 for the rest of the year, their year will effectively be over by mid-August.

A cautionary tale.

Anyone who thinks that the Cubs don't need to get better than they are right now is a fool.