The Dog Days of Summer

Over the last six weeks the once seemingly invincible White Sox have begun too look vulnerable. Since July 8th, the weekend before the All-Star Break, the Sox have gone just 17-18 and are 6-11 at the Cell. In the past week they lost their tag of "The best team in baseball" when the St. Louis Cardinals passed them in the standings. This week the Sox were swept by Minnesota, just their second time being swept all season, and are now on a season-high 5 game losing streak. All this and yet the Sox are 74-44, 30 games over .500 and are still holding a 10.5 game lead over Cleveland in the Central Division and a 5.5 game lead over LAAAAA for the best record in the AL.
The recent struggles have caused many around town to lobby for the acquisition of Jr. Griffey and his $12 million a year contract to put the Sox "over the top". I know I am in the minority when I say this, but am I the only one who thinks that $50 million over the next 4 years might be a bit too much to commit to a guy who has played in just 83, 53, and 70 games during the past 3 seasons due to injuries? I realize that this guy is most likely a first-ballot HOF'er and is having a solid season for the Reds, hitting .290 with 29 homers and 85 RBI in 113 games. My question is... How much financial flexibility will the Sox be left with to improve the club during this off-season and in years to come with Griffey Jr.'s bloated contract on our books? Not only that, but how many of the few promising prospects the Sox have in their farm system will have to be sent to Cincy? They say desperate times call for desperate measures, and I don't think that the Sox are that desperate....yet. I'm not denying the fact that something needs to happen with our offense. Over the past few weeks the Sox collectively, except Konerko, have looked lost at the plate. You just have to keep in mind that these same guys who are struggling right now have each helped this team earn a record of 74-44.
The point that is being made by many is that the Sox lack another power bat in the heart of the order since the loss of The Big Hurt. Without Frank in the line-up the Sox are a respectable 54-36. With Franks bat in the 3-hole, the Sox went 20-8. Although the loss of Frank hurt, it didn't sting as much as the loss of another, less obvious players bat. (And legs)
One of the main contributing factors to the Sox offensive struggles of late is the loss of Scott Podsednik. Without Pods leading off, the offense seems to struggle to find any kind of rhythm. The past few games Ozzie has resorted to batting Timo at the top of the order. Forgive me if the go-ahead 2 RBI double he hit the other night doesn't impress me. I'm still trying to forget about the game in Baltimore a couple of weeks ago when the Sox batted around in the 1st inning only to have Timo make 2 of the 3 outs in the inning hitting in the lead-off spot. The guy is hitting .223 with an OBP of .277, and he's leading off.
Enough about Ozzie's bright idea to bat Timo in the leadoff spot, let alone at all, and lets take a look at the Sox record with and without Scotty in the lineup:
With Podsednik in lineup: 62-33 or .729
Without Podsednik: 12-11 or .522
Amazing what a lead-off guy with above average speed who can actually hit will do for your team.