The F*&KIN' SKY IS FALLING!!!

Is it just me, or have I seen this movie before?

White Sox get out to great first half - one of the best in baseball. As the summer drags on into the dog days, they seem to hit something of a wall. The starters suffer a noticeable fall-off. The offense disappears in the same type of clutch situations they dominated in the first half. People beginning clamoring - nay, demanding - a blockbuster trade for a proven All-Star bat. And all across the Southside, casual fans jump ship on the team in droves.

Wait. I have seen this movie before. It's called the 2005 World Series Championship Film.

I appear here to ask all Sox fans to do one thing - breathe. Everybody inhale and realize that two full months in the season remain. 10 bad days in July don't sink the season...yet. Everything can be regained with one fell swoop in August. And if the season ended today, the Sox would STILL be in the playoffs. Don't start that bush-league "Yeah, but they don't deserve to be there" argument. What the hell does that mean? The point of playing an ENTIRE SEASON is to gage who's the best team over the whole season. The Twins haven't automatically become more worthy of postseason play than the Sox because of a great 40-game stretch. Where were they for the first 60 games when the Sox were piling up baseball's second-best record?

ESPN holds firm to its report that the Sox are "extremely close" to a deal for Alfonso Soriano, and that said deal would surely involve Brandon McCarthy. Kenny Williams appeared on the radio today and issued a flat-out denial that B-Mac was on the move anywhere other than into the ChiSox rotation eventually. On that same note, after tonight's game where (AGAIN!) Javy Vazquez imploded the third time through the lineup and gave away a White Sox lead, does anybody want to argue he wouldn't be better served by evolving into a relief specialist while McCarthy takes his long-term spot in the rotation?

Also - Sox re-acquire Sandy Alomar, Jr. as a more effective backup than Chris Widger, but experience doesn't change the fact that Sandy is a broken 41-year old. And KW deals lefty minor leaguer Tyler Lumsden for the hard-throwing former Royals closer Mike McDougal, the surest sign yet that Dustin Hermanson shall not return. That Sox bullpen could wind up one of the more efficient AL units before the season is over.