Konerko: Central race will go down to final week
When talking about the AL Central race at Minnesota over the weekend, manager Ozzie Guillen said he's expecting a tight race among the White Sox, Twins and Tigers, with pitching and health likely to decide the outcome.
Paul Konerko also weighed in on the topic.
"No one's going to run away with it, I don't think," the Sox' captain said. "It would be nice, but I doubt that will happen. It's going to go down to the last week; hopefully we're involved with it. It's just going to be a lot of momentum. There will be probably 12 different momentum shifts before it's over, three- to four-game stints here and there. It's going to turn a lot. You just have to hang in there and not get too high or low."
The Sox hardly skipped a beat when one of their top starters - Jake Peavy - went down for the season with a detached latissimus dorsi muscle. Heading into Tuesday night's game at Seattle, the Sox were 7-3 without Peavy.
The Twins managed to win three of four against the White Sox coming out of the all-star break, but they lost their second straight to the last-place Indians at home Tuesday night.
Minnesota continues playing without all-star first baseman Justin Morneau, who suffered a concussion July 7 and has not returned.
Morneau isn't expected back until next week, at the earliest.
"You talk to him, he's groggy and he can't do anything about it," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters Tuesday. "How long it's going to last, nobody knows. Concerned? Absolutely. I'm concerned that he gets healthy before we even think about anything else. The big thing right now is with him just getting healthy and them telling us, 'OK, he's ready to go.' And no one is even close to doing that right now, it sounds like."
As for the Tigers, they have a seven-game losing streak after falling to the Rangers on Tuesday night.
On Monday, Detroit lost Brandon Inge for 4-6 weeks when the third baseman was hit by a pitch and fractured his left hand.
Prospect watch: If White Sox GM Kenny Williams does swing a trade before the July 31 nonwaiver deadline, look for one or more of these prospects to go:
• Carlos Torres: The 27-year-old right-hander pitched in eight games (5 starts) for the Sox last season and was 1-2 with a 6.04 ERA. At Class AAA Charlotte this year, Torres leads the International League with 119 innings pitched and 120 strikeouts and is 10th with a 3.38 ERA.
• Anthony Carter. A starter in his first four minor-league seasons, Carter is closing for Class AA Birmingham this year and is third in the Southern League with 12 saves.
• Jon Gilmore. A third baseman at Class A Winston-Salem, Gilmore is second in the Carolina League with a .332 batting average and fifth with 57 RBI.
• Brandon Short. The Winston-Salem outfielder leads the CL with 67 RBI and is tied for first with 14 home runs.
• Seth Lohman. Another stud at Winston-Salem, the first baseman is tied with Short with 14 HR and ranks fifth with 57 RBI.