--LHP John Danks made a case for himself on Sunday, as the southpaw threw seven scoreless innings in the win over Kansas City. It was his second scoreless outing, as he has also allowed just two total runs in his last three starts. Manager Ozzie Guillen indicated over the weekend that if his club did hold on to make the postseason, he would reshuffle the starting rotation if he could, based on who was pitching well. Two weeks ago, it looked like Danks would be the No. 4, but that might no longer be the case.
--2B Alexei Ramirez will likely fall short to Evan Longoria in the American League Rookie of the Year voting, but not because of his statistics. Ramirez -- nicknamed "the Cuban Missile" by his manager -- entered this week hitting .294 with 20 home runs. With his 20th homer of the season on Saturday, Ramirez became the seventh rookie in club history to reach the 20-homer plateau in his first season. --DH Jim Thome's $13 million contract option for 2009 kicked in over the weekend. He needed 564 plate appearances this season to qualify for the option.
--Manager Ozzie Guillen still isn't thrilled with his bullpen, but now feels he has enough arms going right that he could still shorten the game if need be. Matt Thornton and Bobby Jenks remain the most consistent, but D.J. Carrasco and Octavio Dotel have been better on the current road trip. The hope is that the starting rotation, however, still gives them at least six every night out.
--3B Joe Crede will now stay with the team on the remainder of this road trip, after rejoining them Sunday in Kansas City. Guillen has already ruled Crede out for the season, but Crede is still undergoing his back rehab program, especially facing free agency after this season.
--GM Ken Williams has had several discussions with Guillen about playoff roster possibilities, but according to Guillen, they have been just questions at this point. Neither man wants to get too serious about what the roster will look like until they know they have clinched the division.
BY THE NUMBERS: 40-23 -- The Sox' record against the American League Central Division this season, which is a big reason they have been atop the division most of the year.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I tell them no matter what we do for 150 games, people aren't going to remember that. People are going to remember what you do from today to the last day of the season. Then they're going to say they had a bad year or a good year or a great year. That's all they'll remember." -- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen's message to his team with the season winding down.
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