I admit I am surprised I am writing this -- I was saying things about the White Sox in group chats that I cannot repeat here. I've been angry and anxious about this team since the September swoon began. But maybe it's because I heard "Panic Switch" by The Silversun Pickups in the car yesterday followed soon after by Common's "South Side", perhaps the universe was suggesting to me that I need not panic, that indeed the South Side would stand up.
Eight Reasons Why The Chicago White Sox Will Make The Playoffs
Reason one: A .500 record, or just above, is probably good enough. If the Sox go 5-5 or 6-4, that may be enough to re-take the division, and it's probably enough to keep the wild card as backup. Obviously the Sox will need Cleveland and their pursuers to stumble here and there, but they don't need a miracle winning streak. Still, it would be nice if a team that hasn't had a true hot streak got on one.
Reason two: Resiliency. Yes, it's true that past performance doesn't necessarily guarantee future performance, but the White Sox have not lost more than four straight games this year. They've bounced back from bad losses and bad luck all season. If they keep the right mindset, they can shake off what happened in Cleveland.
Reason three: Slumps and losing streaks don't last forever. The Sox are 5-10 since September began. Two of their three best hitters, Colson Montgomery and Munetaka Murakami, have been terrible at the plate going way back well into August. It's possible that both the record and the hitting could turn around with the time left in the season. It's not guaranteed, of course, but Montgomery isn't this bad, and Murakami probably isn't either, although there is some concern about him having some weakness involving fastballs -- a weakness that was on his scouting report when he came over to the States. If just one of these two guys gets a little hot over the final 10 games, the Sox will be in good shape. Similarly, perhaps the recent swoon was just a blip, and the Sox will flip the script for the next week and a half.
Reason four: See reason three, but for pitching. Part of the Sox's swoon involved struggling starters. But Sean Burke, Davis Martin, and Anthony Kay have shown better stuff lately. Unfortunately, the same bullpen that was saving the season has had some recent struggles.
Reason five: With the pressure (slightly) off, the Sox might play free. The Sox's troubles started when the calendar turned, and those of us who watch most games got the impression that with the playoffs on the line, hitters were perhaps pressing. Hitting struggles tend to create a vicious cycle -- failures with runners in scoring position cause players to try harder the next time around, and as they try to hard, they tend to strikeout more. Add to that the pressure of maintaining a division lead, and the Sox might've been playing tight. The spotlight will still be on, but it will have dimmed a little now that the Cleveland series is over. Perhaps a Sox team that was better when the players had fun and played loose can rediscover that magic and get the needed wins.
Reason six: Fatigue can be pushed through. Pundits have suggested a young Sox team is tired. But sometimes when the grind of a season tires players out mentally and physically, they can came out the other side strong. At a certain point, the body adjusts and the fatigue passes. I've obviously never experienced a MLB season myself, but I've seen tired athletes catch a second wind near the end of a season/race/game. Maybe that will happen here.
Reason seven: Cleveland's September prowess falls apart under scrutiny. The Guardians surged in September to overtake Detroit in 2025, and the narrative has been "well Cleveland is doing it again!" But the Guardians are just 8-7 in September as of this writing. They're in this position in part because of the Sox swoon -- especially Chicago going 1-5 against Pittsburgh and St. Louis. It's not inevitable that they'll do well enough over their final nine to hold the division.
Reason eight: The Sox schedule is semi-soft. Detroit will be tough in four games in Chicago -- the Tigers are hot and have an outside shot at the Wild Card. And they've played the Sox tough in 2026, though the Sox swept them in Detroit the last time they met. Kansas City can be pesky but isn't very good. The Rockies are terrible, and the Sox end with a series against them. If the Sox split with Detroit and win the final two series, that's 6-4 and that's probably enough.
Maybe I am just reassuring myself that the Sox can salvage this season after being a mostly .500 team since May and then falling into a bad stretch in September. Maybe I am trying to forget some inexplicable losses that are looming large right now. I know I don't want to settle for "well it was a nice run but this team wasn't ready for the postseason, they'll get there next year."
That's in part because next year is never guaranteed in sports -- and 2027 is literally not guaranteed due to labor strife -- but also in part because if a team I root for has a realistic chance at postseason play, I don't want to settle for "close enough." There's also the fact that the Sox haven't often been a playoff team in my lifetime (and I am well beyond 40), as well as this: Once you get in, anything can happen.
All that in mind, the schedule and the tiebreaker over Cleveland give me hope that not only is the division salvegable, but the playoffs are still likely.
| More White Sox on DaWindyCity |
Add us as a preferred source on Google