Well, you have to believe that the White Sox will come back to earth. They're getting it done with pitching and nothing else. Their starters have been lights out and each has pitched deep into games (doesn't Buerle have 2 CGs already?) and the pen isn't terrible.
However, if any of their pitchers tails off even a little bit, the ChiSox are in for a precipitous fall. They're essentially a National League team (Posednik gets an infield hit, steals two bases, scores on a grounder to 2B, Buerle pitches a complete game shutout). They don't take pitches, they don't walk, and the team slugging % is barely higher than its OBP. Contreras sucks against any decent offense, and who knows if Garland can keep this up. You still have to like the Twins to come out of the Central.
As a Sox fan, the Os scare me a whole lot more than any other team in the American League. They've had a great lineup the last couple years, and it's only gotten better with the emergence of Roberts and Matos and the addition of Sosa (who no longer has to be the face of a franchise. He might not have much "juice" left, but he's still better than Bigbie, Gibbons, or Surhoff in RF). Position by position, they're crushing the Yankees right now and match up very well against Boston.
But it's the pitching that's the difference between last year and this year. Lopez, Cabrera, Chen, and Berdard have been tremendous. Their bullpen is arguably the best in the league, and it's indisputable that BJ Ryan has been a better closer this season than either Mariano Rivera or Keith Foulke.
The O's staff is comprised of young pitchers who have struggled through their early years and are finally coming around. I don't expect them to fall off, I expect them to improve.
