(34-26) Today is different

What's wrong with Sox fans?

OK, who had the White Sox in first place by *more* than 3 1/2 games on June 7? Hmmm? Who had Jose Contreras snapping back to top form, at 6-3, 2.76? Who had the staff ERA at 3.37, the LOWEST in baseball after 61 games? Who had the offense fifth in the AL after 61 games?

What? Nobody? NOBODY? Everybody thought (a) the team would be much worse and (b) the Indians and (most people) the Tigers would be much better.

So what is 34-26? A 92-win pace.

Consider these numbers:

.252/.329/.415 100 and 3.37/129

Now consider these numbers:

.262/.322/.425 95 and 3.61/124

Guess what. This team is, so far, fundamentally just about as good as the 2005 Chicago White Sox.

You wouldn't think so from the bitching. The team can't score, although they are fifth in the league. Their pitching is suspect, although it's been dominant.

Oh, shut up! The team can't score against top pitchers. Duh, neither does anyone else. They play mediocre baseball on long grinding road trips against good teams. Duh, so does everyone else.

What they have been doing is win two-thirds of their games on grass. They are 31-16 on grass, 17-9 at home and 14-7 on the road. They have 7 games left on turf (in Twinkie-Land) and 95 left on grass.