If the Major League Baseball season continues to shake up like it has we could be in for a very special treat. Many Major League teams are adding to the excitement that we see night in and night out, but it remains to be seen what teams will have enough to withstand the tough month of September and stay alive. Let’s take a look at this year’s pretenders and contenders for the upcoming dramatic playoff race.

A.L. Pretenders:
Tampa Bay Rays- I feel really bad for putting the Rays in this spot, but I don’t see them making it out alive in the A.L. East. The Red Sox will find some way to make this thing close before September comes. If stud third baseman Evan Longoria and closer Troy Percival can get off the DL sooner rather than later the Rays could have a chance, but putting everything on Carlos Pena and Australian Grant Balfour is a tough thing to ask.

Minnesota Twins- Tip your hat to the Twins for staying in it this long. Losing Santana and Hunter gave the image of a losing year back in Spring Training, however the emergence of young pitchers such as Nick Blackburn and Kevin Slowey have kept the Twins floating. The main problem with the Twins lies with the lineup outside of All-Stars Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer. The Twins will take on the Mariners and Oakland this week in a 7 game west coast swing; games in which they need to play well in to stay on top of the division.

N.L. Pretenders:
Philadelphia Phillies- The Phillies leader in wins is Jamie Moyer. Ouch. This squad has no pitching outside Cole Hamels and Moyer. And please don’t sit here and tell me that fat ass Joe Blanton was the answer to the Phillies pitching problems. They made a weak push for Rich Harden and are quickly learning that Blanton’s cheese curd fastball can’t hold much to Harden’s dominance. Their lineup is stacked, but their rotation isn’t. Balanced teams make the playoffs. The blue collar working class of Philadelphia will once again have to hope the Mets collapse in a New York minute (or seven games in seventeen days like last year).

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Hosts: Sonny and Ryan. In this episode, Sonny and I discussed the American League Central, one of baseball’s deepest divisions. After blowing a 3-1 lead in the ALCS, can the Cleveland Indians ride their two Cy Young Award candidates back into the postseason? Or will the new-look Tigers, bolstered by the acquisition of Miguel Cabrera, return to the playoffs after a one-year absence? Also, how will the Twins fare after losing the two faces of their franchise? All of this and more on the Sportable Spot!

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Sunday afternoon the Chicago White Sox hit a new low in their humiliating season. A Kansas City Royals victory over the Detroit Tigers, coupled with another White Sox loss to to the Red Sox resulted in a surprising fourth place tie at the bottom of the AL Central.

Just two years ago the Chicago White Sox were on top of the sporting world. A medium budget team that managed to win the World Series by playing baseball the way it was meant to be played. Two years later the White Sox have completely forgotten the form which took them to the 2004 World Series.

The results have been devastating. Picked by many before the season to be competing with Detroit and Cleveland for a division title, the White Sox are now being picked to be the next fire sale.

How did it come to this? Well in the last month the ‘lowly’ Royals have won series’ on the road against the LA Angels, Boston Red Sox, and Detroit Tigers, as well as beating the surprising Mariners at home. In the mean time the White Sox have been busy losing 5 of 7 to the Baltimore Orioles, not to mention a month of June in which they lost series’ to the Blue Jays, Yankees,Astros, Phillies,Pirates, Marlins, and Cubs.

What went wrong? How have the White Sox slipped so far, in such a short time? It starts their philosophy towards the game. The 2004 Championship team was one that was modeled heavily after the Minnesota Twins. The team utilized the speedy Scott Podsednik by stealing bases, and moving runners over by whatever means possible. When the White Sox signed Jim Thome in 2005, many figured that they were a lock to repeat as World Series Champions, but in retrospect it was a bad omen.

Instead of scrapping their way to victory, ever since the White Sox signed Jim Thome they have once again become a team that has lived and died by the long ball. Lately, its been most of the latter.

Perhaps more importantly, the White Sox pitching has turned to shit. While the starting staff has turned things around lately, their bullpen is one of the worst in the league. I know it clich?, but everyone knows that pitching wins championships.

All hope is not lost though.The White Sox struggles and injury problems have caused them to rely on a bevy of talented young players like Jerry Owens, John Danks, Ehren Wassermann, Boone Logan, and Josh Fields. If they start playing baseball the right way again in the Windy City, these kids could propel Chicago to another championship.

The Chicago White Sox have an explosive manager, an irritable general manager, and an underachieving team. Those three things combined anywhere always leads to bad things. Chicago is no exception to that rule. After being swept by their cross town rivals, the Cubs over the weekend, general manager Ken Williams publicly stated that now would be the time to shake things up for his organization.

You can’t fault Williams for being frustrated. After having so much success last season there really isn’t a reason the White Sox should be struggling as much as they are. They didn’t really change anything, but for some reason they just aren’t performing this year. It’s true that in the highly competitive AL Central it is hard to be good, but their record this year isn’t just bad, it’s flat out dismal. The good news is that they’ll always be better than the Royals. The bad news is that this team has to use the Royals as a measuring stick.

Right now all the talk is of Mark Buehrle being shipped off to Boston. I don’t know who they would expect to get in return, probably not any players that would have an immediate impact this year. There are also still talks of Jermaine Dye being traded as well. I think both of those moves would be very good for the White Sox organization. Maybe not in the short term, but dye is an aging veteran and Buehrle would be a free agent after the end of this year, if they could get good young talent for him they would be very happy. Regardless of what happens, Williams is correct in his assessment that something needs to change, and I think we can expect to see that change sooner rather than later.

Remember when the 2005 Chicago White Sox rolled through the playoffs with an 11-1 record, screaming Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ in the process? That seems like so long ago. This year’s White Sox, the same White Sox we predicted good things from, has absolutely tanked. They’ve lost 18 of 23 games, prompting their manager Ozzie Guillen to throw shit and call people out.

“It’s a joke,” he said. “Every day we see the same stuff, every day we see the same team. We have a couple of hopes here and there and get a little excited and the next day we go backward.

‘ll take the blame because I run the club, but every move I’ve been making so far is the wrong one because [the players] are not supporting it.”

As the murders losses pile up in the South Side, when do you nuke the whole thing? This is a past-their-prime veteran team that’s fallen on some hard times since the shock of 2005. All the players that had career seasons (and postseasons) a couple years back aren’t able to replicate it. And when you’re in a division like the AL Central, you have to play well throughout. These Sox are just 2.5 games ahead of the Royals, for God’s sake.

Does that last part of the quote suggest turmoil in the clubhouse, as well as on the field? It sure as hell looks like it to me. This team has too much experience to not be contenders. What happens next? Do guys like Dye and Buehrle get dealt at the deadline for some young players? You also have to ask the previously unthinkable question: Are Ozzie Guillen’s days in Chicago numbered?

Tonight’s game between the Houston Astros and the Chicago White Sox is Mullet Night at U.S. Cellular Field.? While there are many gimmicks and giveaways such as retro night that are great for fans, this one may take the cake.

I think before I dive any further into this riveting and deep subject, I should pay homage to the mullet.? Baseball is the only sport where players have made the mullet popular an acceptable hairstyle.? And before I get off on a tangent and start cracking back on the South and it’s non-coincidental correlation to the mullet, I’d like to take a look at some baseball players who have made the mullet the envy of other players the most disgusting hairstyle in sports.?

Mitch Williams found it stylish to rock while he surrendered walk-off home runs to Joe Carter.? John Kruk was another Phillies player who never quite discovered the wonders of scissors and a razor.? The Big Unit was busy making the mullet popular unavoidably distracting while he spent time in Seattle.? And then there was the tandem of Dante Bichette and Larry Walker?in Colorado.? I could go on forever, but then I would be missing the point of the story.

I hope the Associated Press has its finest camera men stationed around the ballpark tonight at U.S. Cellular.? While the mullet is one of the worst ideas for a haircut, it’s always hilarious to look at.? Who doesn’t point out a mullet when you see one on the street?? I know I do.? And besides, the only thing better than long balls flying around the yard is long locks of hair.? Tonight’s game will undoubtedly be epic on more than a baseball level.