I understand much has been tossed around lately on this topic, but I think it bears repeating: what if the Sox had had a genuine, full-time, high-OBP/OPS, power-hitting DH for this entire season? Would they still be 4 1/2 games behind the Twins well into the final month of the season?

No, I'm not talking about Mark "Picasso" Kotsay or Andruw Jones and his predatory grin or, for that matter, any of the bevy of failures the Sox have trotted out in their DH-by-committee debacle this year. Hell, I'm not even so worried about Jim Thome, as far as that angle goes. No, I'm talking a real, in-his-prime DH--not too much to ask a major market team to acquire when in need during the off-season, right?

Again, had this fantasy been a reality, would they still be 4 1/2 games behind the Twins in the final few weeks of the season? Or, as I'd venture to guess, would this race be much more interesting and not just an afterthought?

Just taking Jim Thome off the Twins would be enough to put the Sox over the top. He has had that big of an impact on the Twins in the absence of Morneau.

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

Even with that, the Sox have to blame themselves if they don't win this thing. The bullpen has melted down numerous times since the All Star break, and even if they had held leads in just half of those games the Sox probably would be within 1.5 games of the Twins. The Sunday afternoon in Minnesota, Jenks in Seattle, the walkoff in Minnesota, extra inning loss in Baltimore, come to mind right off.

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Bingo. I wasn't clamoring for the Sox to bring Thome back, but when they saw he was going to sign with the Twins, they damn sure should have tried to stop it. It would have been worth whatever he was asking to sit him on the bench and make sure he wasn't winning games for Minnesota. But stupid ass Ozzie wanted to be able to play Kotsay in the outfield twice during the season.

If you had nine prime Frank Thomases on your team, anyone with any sense would write them all into his lineup everyday. Yeah, the one playing short would miss some balls, but you'd club every team to death. If Ozzie was the manager he'd play one Frank at first, one at DH, and maybe one in left (I'm not even sure of that) and send the other six to Charlotte. That's because he overvalues the things he and Kotsay could/can do as players and undervalues the things that guys like Frank and Thome could/can do.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

All they had to do was beat Cleveland and Kansas City the way they should have.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Exactly. Sure, Thome on the Sox (or not on the Twins) would help, but this team was still up 3 games after the AS break. They went from 9 games out in early June to 3 games up on everybody. And as tough as its going to be, they still aren't out of it yet. They could easily be within 2 games of the Twins when they play them next week at the Cell.

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"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public." ~ H.L. Mencken

Ozzie wanted to change the White Sox into a team that ran more and relied on the long ball less. That could work in a lot of parks, but it's a dumb idea when your home field is a bandbox. In their park, they need mashers...guys who drive the ball, not slap it around, like Pierre. Kenny Williams knew better, but let Ozzie have his way and he's got to regret it now.

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Go Cubs!!!!