The Sox magic number is now at 18.

They have 10 home games and 10 away games left.

The Twins have 9 home games and 10 away games left.

The Sox currently have a 2.5 game lead.

I think it is fair to assume the Twins will go 4-6 on the road and 6-3 at home. Under that scenario the Sox could go 9-11 the rest of the way and still win the division. I like our chances.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

+1. The Sox are still in the driver's seat for this run. If they pitch decently, not necessarily great but just average, and do NOT get swept at the baggie, they will win this thing.

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The number to keep the closest eye on is the loss column, and right now, the White Sox have a 3 game edge in that "L" column over the Minnesota Twins. It could be 4 tonight, weather permitting, if the Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays at U.S. Cellular Field. The Twins go right back to the road tomorrow to start a 3 game series at Baltimore's Camden Yards.

Irish Boy's magic number: 5

17

I am heartened by the fact that the Sox' last two victories have come after ripping both Lackey and Halladay.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I am more heartened by the fact that they beat a great pitcher yesterday without a home run.

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16

Thank you Royals. Who would have thought you could beat Liriano in the dome during a pennant drive.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Keep cheering for the Twins' opponents. Next up, they start a 10 game roadie at Camden Yards vs. the Orioles in Baltimore tomorrow night. Better yet, even without Quentin, Crede & Konerko, KEEP WINNING WHITE SOX!!!

13.

Twins hit the road and lose one in Baltimore. I expect them to lose at least one in Cleveland and 2 in Tampa.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Agreed, especially in TB. With Cliff Lee going against the Twins in one of those three, it would be great to see Minnesota lose that game along with another while the White Sox are probably getting knocked around in NY.

I'm expecting NY to take 3 of 4 from the White Sox.

Outside of last season, the Sox have played pretty well in the Bronx under Ozzie. The Yankees this year are very mediocre as well. They do not have much pitching. Sox should split at least and could take 3 of 4 if they can score some runs via singles and doubles.

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Also, there is added incentive for the Sox to clinch this thing ASAP. If needed, they would play the Tigers on Monday the 29th. Then, game 163 would be on Tuesday the 30th, with the ALDS starting on October 1st with no off day(s). Sox need to do everything in thier power to beat the Twins outright, so that they can have at least 1 days off before facing Tampa.

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I'd be happy with a split, and although the Sox haven't been horrible in NY, they are not a good road team. I'm hoping we can somehow go .500 on this trip, but I'd guess 4-6 based upon their performance this season.

If they want to ensure themselves a spot in the playoffs, they need to go 6-4 on this trip. Time to put up or shutup.

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I thought this thread was about a White Sox magic number....

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Go Cubs!!!!

A week later and I'm only taking one off that number...fucking pathetic...

12

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I was staying out of White Sox Business and so just saw this. There's hope yet!

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Fire Phil Emery

Down to 10.

13 games to go (including one makeup against Tigers if necessary)

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Magic# down to 5 with 7 games left (3 @Minne, 2 Vs. Indians, and Vs. Tigers Monday the 28th if nescessary). Hopefully Sox can take 2 of 3 from the Twins, then win Friday nite and party in front of the home crowd. Give the regulars one of the 2 days off on the weekend, give Broadway and/or Richard a start, and get the rotation set for Tampa. Playoffs in essence start on Tuesday though. If they win on Tuesday this thing is all but over. As much as the offense owes this team, Javy is way overdue for a big outing. Sox need a solid 7 inning performance from him.

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Tuesday's game is crucial. If they don't win, this is probably going down to the wire.

I expect Minnesota to take 2 out of 3.

Pitching. I'm not terribly worried about thems coring runs, because it is not all that hard to hit HRs in the baggie. However, this team dinks and dunks those hits, and thats what does our pitchers in more than anything. Also, they never seem to pitch over an error in the field. If the Sox pitch well and catch the ball, they should be able to take 2 of 3.

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So, I have never really had this explained to me in any way... and I feel like a complete idiot for asking this question...

But since our magic number is 5, does that mean we need to win 5 games, the Twins to lose 5 games, or any combination of the two?

Yes. Eg. Sox win 2, Twins lose 3...Sox win division. Sox win 5, Twins win 5...Sox win division. Sox lose 5, Twins lose 5...Sox win division.

Yep. Any time the Twins lose or the Sox win, the magic # goes down by 1. So if the Sox win tonite, the # goes down to 3. It cannot go up. It will remain at 5 for the Sox until somebody wins the division.

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Why would the number go down to 3 if we only win 1 game?

Sox win 1 + Twins lose 1 = 2

Gotcha. I wasn't aware that the Twins already lost.

Their next game is against the Sox ...so a Sox win = Twins loss.