The White Sox are off to their worst start in 10 years and tonight at the Cell, they will be trying to avoid something that hasn't happened in 16 years -- a four-game sweep in Chicago at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles.
Of course, the White Sox have been a pretty good team over that period and the Orioles haven't. This year, so far, the Orioles are treading water at 13-13 in a closely bunched AL East, while the Sox have been prevented from sinking to the bottom of the AL Central alone only by the Minnesota Twins, who are virtually tied with the Sox, 10 games behind the division-leading Indians.
If that sounds bad, it is. The Sox will send Mark Buehrle to the mound tonight; Buerhle doesn't seem at all like the guy who threw a perfect game less than two years ago. He'll face Baltimore's Jeremy Guthrie. Here's the rest of the White Sox lineup for tonight:
1. Juan Pierre LF
2. Alexei Ramirez SS
3. Adam Dunn DH
4. Paul Konerko 1B
5. Carlos Quentin RF
6. A.J. Pierzynski C
7. Alex Rios CF
8. Mark Teahen 3B
9. Gordon Beckham 2B
It all gets under way on the South Side at 7:10 p.m. CDT; TV coverage tonight is on WCIU-Ch. 26.