The bullpen pitched 4.2 scoreless innings of relief, and Luis Terrero added a late solo HR (the third of the day for the Sox) to avoid the White Sox 11th blowout (5+ runs) loss of the season.
The 3 runs the Sox scored marks the 12th time in the last 15 games that the Sox offense has failed to score more than 3 runs. They've been shut out in 3 of their last 19 games.
/end recap
Could this mess have been avoided?
Before today's game I read a piece on the White Sox MVN blog titled Sox Will Miss Post Season Because of Bad Offseason, and while I couldn't disagree with much of the entry, the title itself seems overstated. I don't think anyone could have been handed the Sox roster and minor league system on November 15th and reworked it into division winner (given current stats and injury status of all major leaguers). You could have moved many of the veterans for top prospects, putting the Sox in position to win in a year or two (The Marlins Method), but you can't just tear apart a 90-win team in baseball's third largest market.
Kenny made some mistakes this off-season, most notably with the OF and bullpen, but even if he got those situations "right" I don't think this team (as currently performing) would be a serious threat to the Tigers or Indians.