This game sucked. I wish I could sugar-coat it for you guys … but it just sucked. Chris Sale had one of his worst starts of the year, the offense got flat-out dominated by Chris Tillman, and it was all in front of a crowd half the size of some of the unimpressive crowds we’ve seen at US Cellular Field.
But I find positives any time I can – that’s just what I do, and I’ll do the same here, even though the Sox now find themselves down 0-2 in the 4-game series in Baltimore.

Positives … I guess

Chris Sale’s better than that: Our ace just didn’t have it Tuesday night. That’s rarely been the case and even when he hasn’t looked like himself, he’s been able to manage a better result than he did on Tuesday (4 IP, 4 ER). Sale is set to pitch on Sunday night in Detroit against Justin Verlander in a game in which we’ll obviously need him to come up big no matter what happens in the next four games until then.
He now should have a decent amount of rest as he was taken out early by Robin Ventura, and you know he’ll really want to prove himself and silence the critics in that outing. Losses happen … it was only Sale’s 5th in 2012, a number that nobody can be upset about. What’s most important is that he’s resilient, as he and the Sox have been all  year. I know I can’t wait to watch Sale take on one of the most difficult tests possible on Sunday evening.
Verlander’s woes in KC: While our ace’s outing looked bad, it may not have been as bad as the Tigers’ ace Justin Verlander’s game at Kauffman Stadium in which he surrendered eight earned runs in 5.2 IP. Detroit lost the game 9-8 and remain 2.0 games behind our Sox.
It’s at the point in the season, obviously, when scoreboard watching is not only okay, but even sometimes a reason to give your team a free pass. On Tuesday afternoon, I tweeted the following:

At this point, so late in the year, you can almost count any Tigers loss as a mini Sox win. And a Justin Verlander loss can count as, in my mind, almost a Sox win in itself.
I assume some of you are saying that I’m just looking for excuses after the Sox have not looked like themselves the last two nights, but I honestly don’t think that’s the case. There’s two variables to the playoff race from here on out: how the Tigers play (1) and how the Sox play (2). It’s as simple as that.
While Sox winners are obviously what we should be striving for every time out, it’s no longer the only outcome we need; Tigers losses are almost as important as the south siders winning.

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I know some fans get down in the dumps much easier than I do when the Sox struggle … but it’s harder than its ever been for me to get upset with this ball club. They’ve proved us wrong time & time again, silencing critics and slowly shocking the rest of the league. Trust me – when and if there’s a time to be completely upset with this team, I’ll be right there with you. But for now, look at the good situation we’re in and keep cheering for this team with full-blown excitement. I think they’ve definitely earned that.

Wednesday night it’s Dylan Axelrod on the bump for our Sox, as we need him to come up big against a tough AL East opponent … something he’s already done twice, against the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. It’s not an easy task, but you know it’s one “Axe” is happy to have, as he wants to be able to claim some sort of consistent role with the ball club.

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Posted by GSB! Founder & Managing Editor, Zach Gropper. Go, go White Sox!