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The poll is dizzying to read. I know. Bear with me.

Remember when the White Sox were really good to start the year? They've tailed off ever so slightly and now are sitting at .500 at 36-36. While the Jays just avoided Arizona's top-end starters, they don't get so lucky this time as they are slated to face Cy Young candidate Chris Sale on Sunday (with Stroman still struggling mind you, double whammy). So that won't be fun, and in order to win the series will likely have to squeeze both Friday and Saturday games out for victories.

Game 1 - Friday, June 24th
8:10PM first pitch
Aaron Sanchez (7-1, 3.35 ERA) vs. Carlos Rodon (2-6, 4.16 ERA)

Game 2 - Saturday, June 25th
2:10PM first pitch
R.A. Dickey (4-8, 4.08 ERA) vs. Miguel Gonzalez (1-2, 4.29 ERA. And also a former bastard Oriole)

Game 3 - Sunday, June 26th
2:10PM first pitch
Marcus Stroman (6-3, 5.23 ERA) vs. Chris Sale (12-2, 2.83 ERA)

Like I said before, the importance rests in the first two games and winning there. I don't trust that Sunday matchup one bit. But let's go and win some baseball games, yes!

Time to rebound and pick up 2 of 3 here.

2/3 I hope.

Atleast we don't have to face Quintana

People are giving Sale too much credit. His ERA is about 4.50 over his last 6 starts. He's not the same lights out guy we faced last time.

And the ChiSox don't have a single batter on their roster with an OPS better than .800. Wow.

The_Hater wrote:People are giving Sale too much credit. His ERA is about 4.50 over his last 6 starts.

Yup, people like this exist. He has a merely average ERA over the past month therefore the rest of his career is irrelevant.

Skin Blues wrote:

The_Hater wrote:People are giving Sale too much credit. His ERA is about 4.50 over his last 6 starts.

Yup, people like this exist. He has a merely average ERA over the past month therefore the rest of his career is irrelevant.

He's obviously an ace, I'm just saying that he's not in the same grove he was a few weeks ago. The numbers support that. Everyone already has game 3 marked down as a loss.

In fairness, I'm probably not worried about Sale as much as Stroman--but I like the optimism.

The_Hater wrote:

Skin Blues wrote:

The_Hater wrote:People are giving Sale too much credit. His ERA is about 4.50 over his last 6 starts.

Yup, people like this exist. He has a merely average ERA over the past month therefore the rest of his career is irrelevant.

He's obviously an ace, I'm just saying that he's not in the same grove he was a few weeks ago. The numbers support that. Everyone already has game 3 marked down as a loss.

The numbers support that he was merely average the past few weeks. They absolutely don't support that he will be anything less than his usual superstar self in his next outing.

Skin Blues wrote:

The_Hater wrote:

Skin Blues wrote:Yup, people like this exist. He has a merely average ERA over the past month therefore the rest of his career is irrelevant.

He's obviously an ace, I'm just saying that he's not in the same grove he was a few weeks ago. The numbers support that. Everyone already has game 3 marked down as a loss.

The numbers support that he was merely average the past few weeks. They absolutely don't support that he will be anything less than his usual superstar self in his next outing.

I view MLB as a game of streaks. Players are never constant and never have their A+ stuff everytime they take the field. You clearly disagree with me. I'm definitely not writing game 3 off as a loss just yet.

The_Hater wrote:

Skin Blues wrote:

The_Hater wrote:
He's obviously an ace, I'm just saying that he's not in the same grove he was a few weeks ago. The numbers support that. Everyone already has game 3 marked down as a loss.

The numbers support that he was merely average the past few weeks. They absolutely don't support that he will be anything less than his usual superstar self in his next outing.

I view MLB as a game of streaks.

Well, it's not. There's a boatload of evidence to the contrary. The fact that streaks aren't predictive isn't so much an opinion, as it is a reality. That said, I hope we spank Chris Sale, and it's very possible we win the game. Unlikely, but possible.

Skin Blues wrote:

The_Hater wrote:

Skin Blues wrote:The numbers support that he was merely average the past few weeks. They absolutely don't support that he will be anything less than his usual superstar self in his next outing.

I view MLB as a game of streaks.

Well, it's not. There's a boatload of evidence to the contrary. The fact that streaks aren't predictive isn't so much an opinion, as it is a reality. That said, I hope we spank Chris Sale, and it's very possible we win the game. Unlikely, but possible.

I get your argument and I fully understand the huge luck factor that comes with MLB and is responsible for many streaks. At the same time, I don't view Marcus Stroman's current pitching problems compared to the rest of his career as just bad luck. He's not the same guy right now. I don't view RA Dickey struggling to get players out every April as bad luck as it happens every season. Russell Martin is historically a good hitter but he couldn't even put wood on the ball,the first 6-7 weeks of the season. He was a complete mess. Ryan Goins was suddenly hitting the ball solidly and taking a boatload of walks last Aug-Sept, now he's back to being Ryan Goins.

I think you'd have to completely ignore the human element of the game to argue that there's absolutely no such thing as a streak and that players are not always playing at their peak performance. Confidence or lack there of isn't a key ingredient? What if a player has a nagging injury? That said, I haven't dived into Sale's stats deep enough to see if it's not just bad luck. ERA and his higher hit rates obviously don't tell us everything.

How many sales could Chris Sale sell, if Chris Sale could sell sales?

Rodon is throwing total junk and the Jays swing at the dirt. Good start.

Did Saunders finally make a good baserunning decision or did he just forget how many outs were recorded?

Ceciliani sure didn't last long. Ouch.

I turn on the game just in time to see junior lake swing at ball 4 followed by watching a strike 3 fastball right down the middle. Should have been 2 on and none out.

Sanchez has left that curveball up too often tonight. He had been lucky up until that point.

Wow Russ, that was right down the middle. Swing the bat!

Somewhere, Roberto Alomar is smiling.