Sox Suddenly Unbearable

Now I suppose we have no choice but to turn our full attention to the Bears.

Geez. Thanks a lot, Sox.

The wheels came off in the Motor City, a three-game skid leaving the White Sox six games behind the Twins with 22 left to play.

Is all hope lost? Well, here's an interesting fact:

The last time the Sox were this far out of first place — 6 ½ games on June 17 — they went on a tear that saw them win 18 of 22 games and surge into first place. But keep in mind that during that same stretch, the Twins lost 18 of 22. Astounding.

The chances of such dichotomous streaks repeating themselves in these final weeks of the season are as remote as Manny Ramirez and Mark Teahen sharing hair-care tips.

No amount of adversity seems to be rattling the Twins these days, while the Sox suddenly are playing with frayed nerves and, as Hawk might say, tight sphincters. The last three games in Detroit brought back all the awful memories of those early-season woes: horrendous defense, mental mistakes, inadequate pitching and a dearth of clutch hitting.

We'll save the eulogy for later, hoping the Sox find their footing this weekend against the Royals while the Twins somehow stumble against the Indians — and the Sox then sweep the Twins in next week's three games at the Cell.

But cruel reality is closing in, as is a Bears season that soon might have us counting the days until White Sox 2011.