“I saw his life slippin’. “This is a minor setback; still in all, we livin’, just dream about the getback.” That made him smile, though his eyes said ‘Pray for me.’ I’ll do you one better and slay these brothers faithfully.” – Jay-Z, “Dead Presidents II”

If you’ve watched any spaghetti Western, film noir or crime drama, then you know the role of the tragic hero. He’s usually a shifty-eyed guy, always sweating, nervously smoking a cigarette and looking as if he hasn’t slept in days.

He’s always running from something: the police, the mob, the hired guns, somebody. But in the end, it turns out he’s running from himself. Namely, his conscience.

He just can’t bring himself to be a good guy until the very end—and by then, it’s usually too late to save himself.

This is the allegory of the 2010 Chicago White Sox.

On the inside, there is good, fighting to get out, but their bad side usually gets the upper hand. By the time the good wins, it might be too late.

Slipping into darkness

After another subpar week of play, the White Sox find themselves an overwhelming 4.5 games back of first.

Yes, that was sarcastic.

After losing the lead in five of the six games they played (and blowing a late lead in four of them), the Sox finished their Central Division road trip at 2-4. Yet amazingly, they are below the “danger zone” mark of five games behind Minnesota, thanks to a stalwart performance by Rich “The Tin Man” Harden and the Texas Rangers.

(continued tomorrow)

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