That's more like it.
A day after breaking their season opening four-game skid, the White Sox welcomed Chris Sale back with open arms and he pitched them to a 6-2 win over the Minnesota Twins, the Sox's second in a row against the presumptive AL Central bottom feeders.
Read MoreDespite the fact that the Royals squeaked past Oakland in the Wild Card game and then rode their elite bullpen into the World Series, the 2014 Tigers were objectively the best team in the division. Detroit would win the division and boasted a run differential of +52 as opposed to Kansas City's +27. In fact, they have won the AL Central every year since 2010. Their core has gotten older and slipped some, Dombrowski finally messed up a major trade last offseason, and the window looks like it may be closing. But, like the White Sox, they have had a very busy winter so far. How do they look at the moment?
Read MoreThere's a lot of trade rumors and important development for next year's roster going on right now, but it goes without saying that when a veterinary student from a school that recently was ranked 24th out of 25 schools in student satisfaction offers to assign dog breeds to pitcher types, you have to run it.
You have to sit on it for a day, then run it.
Read MoreA good laugh was had by all this week at the continuing and well-documented decline of Justin Verlander. It's more than a guilty pleasure. Verlander has terrorized the division nearly relentlessly since his full-season debut in 2006.
Watching him struggle is not just thrilling because it's like watching the laws of physics lapse, but it hints that life may be moving forward from the prolonged stretch of the Tigers basing yearly contention around two superstars. Miguel Cabrera and Verlander have both exited their 20's, and exited anything resembling affordability, and have the Tigers chasing diminishing returns with less funds to spread around elsewhere. And despite their very genuine and well-funded efforts, the Tigers could pass through the primes of these two MVP winners without a World Series championship.
Read MoreWhen it comes to coping and pitching with mounting physical decline, it would appear experience matters.
Now four games into his mystifying turnaround from the brink of utter useless, John Danks danced around hard contact with great economy (7 IP, 93 pitches), while Verlander, pounding his head against the wall with diminishing stuff that neither overwhelms nor tempts like it used, couldn't stopping digging his way to disaster in the sixth inning, allowing the Sox to rip open an easy 8-2 victory over the division-leading Tigers.
Read MoreThe Catbird Seat staff is often skeptical or pessimistic when it comes to the White Sox, slow to trust positive developments. Even in that company, my cynicism when it comes to Dayan Viciedo is considered a bit extreme. With that in mind, I will do what I can to be even-handed about Mr. Viciedo and his strong April.
Read MoreThese White Sox don't quit, but that doesn't preclude them from having the same type of gut-punch comeback pulled on them.
The Tigers didn't lead until the ninth, trailed 3-1 with Jose Quintana at his full powers facing them in the sixth, and didn't have a reason to hope until the Sox gave them one with one out in the ninth, and were without much of a chance again until they took it with two out. A deep fly ball to the right field warning track glanced off the heel of Dayan Viciedo's glove and turned into a three-base error, and a two-out matchup with backup catcher Bryan Holaday turned into heartbreak when he rolled a perfect two-out squeeze up the third base line.
Read MoreA split in Detroit considering the pitching situation of a short-notice lack of Sale was a coup. This go-round, on local turf and a short 2-game series, the pitching situation again falls unfavorably. The White Sox managed to pull Verlander and Scherzer as opponents while putting forth a struggling Jose Quintana tonight and a penciled in Hector Noesi the following day. A split, read: not a series loss, keeps the team record above .500 for the season’s opening month.
Read MoreWhile we continue to mourn and hold our collective breath after yesterday's news that Chris Sale will spend an undetermined amount of time on the disabled list, baseball games, unfortunately, must continue. And the White Sox will look to survive their first post-Sale start on Tuesday when Charlie Leesman takes the bump for the second of a four-game set against the Detroit Tigers.
Read MoreThe Catbird Seat is a White Sox blog by White Sox fans that focuses on intelligent and humorous baseball commentary. Brought to you by ESPN's SweetSpot Network.
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