To be honest, I thought the Twins, not the White Sox would be the primary threat to the Tigers the second half of the year.
But the White Sox won Monday, pulling to within just a game of the Tigers in the American League Central, while the Twins blew a 10-run lead at Oakland.
Clubs normally don't easily recover from losses like the one the Twins suffered Monday. It was a devastating. And I do think sometimes we give too much credit to the Twins and not enough to the White Sox. If you look at the A.L. Central since 2005, the White Sox have been the best team overall. They have won the division twice and are the only team from the division to capture a World Series championship. Paul Kornerko is really hitting for the White Sox, who also got a boost from Carlos Quentin returning Monday. The White Sox have a better bullpen than the Tigers, although I still believe Detroit has the edge in starting pitching.

Random Thoughts

- How good a player is Gerald Laird? I haven't been as impressed with his play lately as I was early in the season. Seems like some of his pitch calling is questionable and he is prone to hitting slumps. He'd benefit from not having to catch so much, but catching is obviously not a position of strength for the Tigers.

Two players the Tigers might have interest in at the trade deadline: Pittsburgh reliever John Grabow and Arizona first baseman Chad Tracy.