Part of the reason I still think the White Sox are going to be really good this season, despite getting off to an average 21-19 start, is because some of their best hitters have been pathetic so far. The Sox record is pretty impressive when you consider Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko, and Joe Crede are all hitting below .220 coming into today’s game against Oakland. That, coupled with the injury to designated hitter Jim Thome, left the offense punchless for nearly two months. You just know all of these guys are going to start getting hot eventually- does anyone really think Konerko is going to hit under .200?- and when they do, the White Sox could put a long winning streak together.

Jermaine Dye looks like he’s going to be the first of the power hitting trio to break out of his season long slump. He started his recent power surge against the Yankees, and continued it against the Cubs, getting hits in all three games and smacking two homeruns. If there was any doubt that Dye still couldn’t find his swing, yesterday’s third inning homerun off Carlos Zambrano rested any concerns. With two outs and no one on, and the White Sox ahead 2-1, Dye crushed the Zam Man’s offering, slicing it through a hard in-blowing wind at Wrigley Field. It would be hard to imagine anyone hitting a baseball much harder.

Dye’s first year with the White Sox was the World Series season of 2005, hitting fifth in the order most of the season, he hit .274/31/86. Those are respectable numbers for the regular season, especially for the price the Sox were paying him, but Dye really broke out in the playoffs. Driving in the series clinching run in Game 4 and winning World Series MVP propelled Dye to a monster 2006 season which was the best of his 10 year career. Had the White Sox made the playoffs in 2006, Dye could have been the MVP, hitting .315/44/120.

His recent power surge, along with the arrival of Thome from the DL, could be what the White Sox need to get back on track. The pitching has been phenomenal so far; once the big bats in the order start to get going, the White Sox should again find themselves among the major league’s elite for the third straight season.

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