Last weekend's three-game series against the Cubs summed up the 2008 Chicago White Sox when they're going bad.

In game one, they could pitch, but couldn't hit, losing 4-3.

In game two, they couldn't pitch, but could hit, losing 11-7.

In game three, they couldn't pitch or hit, losing 7-1.

Yes, the Sox were badly beaten this weekend. Maybe, they now have a better understanding for what Alf Landon went through in the 1936 presidential election.

The Twins have won six straight and are all of a sudden just 1.5 games back of the first-place Sox in the American League Central. The Tigers are hanging around, and so are the Indians.

Things aren't looking up for the Sox nearly as much as they were five days ago, when the Sox started a three-game series against Pittsburgh in which they scored a whopping 37 runs.

There are plenty of reasons to think this team will miss out on the playoffs. They don't play good teams well, they don't have the organizational depth of other division leaders, Javier Vazquez and Jose Contreras are struggling, and they still have a struggling Jim Thome as the designated hitter, just to name a few.

However, it's June 23. The season doesn't end until September 28 (but don't tell that to the BELIEVE!!! Cub fans who already are searching for 2008 World Series tickets). There's a lot of time, and, believe it or not, a lot of reasons to think the White Sox can still pull this one off and finish in first place come late September.

1. The number 16

The White Sox play the Kansas City Royals 16 more times this year: nine on the road, six at home. Yes, the White Sox have played poorly on the road—but, come on, it's the Royals. The Sox have been beating teams they should beat all year, and Kansas City is one of those teams.

While the Royals are building a good foundation to win down the road, they're still a long way off. It wouldn't surprise me if the Royals started to contend for the AL Central in 2010 or so, but that's still two years off.

For the White Sox this year, the name of the game has been capitalizing on weak opponents, especially within their division. That won't stop against the lowly Royals.

2. The relief men

The bullpen has taken on such an increasing role in the last 20 years that it's come to the point where the team with the best bullpen will almost always make the playoffs.

Is it any coincidence that the Sox's collapse last season coincided with their bullpen completely falling apart? I don't think so.

This year, however, it's different.

Bobby Jenks is still one of the better closers in the game and has converted 16/19 save opportunities this year. He may not be throwing that 99-mph heat that he was in the 2005 playoffs, but he's getting the job done just as well.

The free agents brought in by Kenny Williams have been huge in turning this bullpen around. Scott Linebrink is pitching better than he did in his two career years with the Padres in 2004 and 2005, when he posted ERA's of 2.14 and 1.83, respectively. His ERA this year is currently at 1.55—and while ERA is a tricky stat to judge relievers on, when it's that low, you know Linebrink is doing something well.

Outside of the occasional shaky outing, Octavio Dotel has been lights-out this year, fanning 51 batters in 35.1 innings of work.

The lefties in the White Sox bullpen have been just as, if not more, impressive than the two free-agent signings. Matt Thornton and Boone Logan both have seen their velocities creep up into the mid to upper-90's and have both done excellent jobs, whether in situational spots or for full innings.

Nick Masset has made the most of his big-league opportunity this year after just barely making the roster out of spring training. The right-hander has worked in long and middle relief situations and, much to the surprise of many, has done pretty well in both roles.

This bullpen has the ability to turn a nine inning game into a six inning game, provided Dotel doesn't hang a few breaking balls. They've also thrown an absurdly low amount of innings—179.0 between Jenks, Linebrink, Dotel, Thornton, Logan, and Masset—so there should be no worry about this group breaking down come August and September.

3. We're going streaking

While it may be incredibly frustrating for the fans, the fact that the White Sox are incredibly streaky is a good thing.

Why? Well, simply put: it's better than being consistently bad.

This is a White Sox team that has gone from scoring 61 runs in seven games to 14 in six games to 37 in three games to 11 in three games. They've gone on eight and seven-game winning streaks, but have also lost three in a row six times, including twice on a six-game losing streak (thanks, third grade math).

A lot of this has to do with the pitching the White Sox have faced, but regardless, get used to it: the White Sox will be like this for the rest of the year. This lends hope because after a series as bad as last weekend's, the Sox have the ability to come back and play great baseball.

4. The former top dogs have more bark than bite

The AL Central really isn't that good this year. The Tigers, Indians, and Twins were all picked to finish ahead of the White Sox, but none of these teams really has the talent to overtake the White Sox for the long haul.

I know, I've heard the story before. The Twins don't have the talent, but they always find a way to win.

Referring back to reason #2 for a second, it's no coincidence that the Twins won the division in 2003, 2004, and 2006 with a good bullpen. While Joe Nathan still is one of the top three closers in the game, Minnesota will have a difficult time getting him the ball with a lead with Pat Neshek out for the season. Jesse Crain and Denys Reyes have been good, but they're nowhere near the level of Neshek when he was healthy.

Even if Francisco Liriano returns at full strength sometime soon, I don't think it'll be enough for the Twins to overtake the White Sox.

Like the Twins, Detroit is on a hot streak right now, winning 12 out of their last 15 games. In that stretch, the Tigers got prized relievers Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya back from the disabled list, which they had been on all year. Granted, they've only pitched a combined two innings so far, but they've allowed six earned runs in that short span.

Even if they both come back healthy, the fact that the Tigers don't have a bona fide fifth starter could really come back to bite them. Right now, it's Eddie Bonine, but he's marginal at best. I'm not sold on Armando Galarraga finishing out the year at the pace he's on right now, either. Something tells me the league will catch up to him in August and he'll struggle down the stretch.

Cleveland is hanging around, too, but has yet to make a real push at first place. The White Sox could put them away with a three-game series at U.S. Cellular Field starting June 30 and force the hand of G.M. Mark Shapiro into trading CC Sabathia away from the division.

To put it bluntly, the only team that can knock the White Sox out of first place is the White Sox themselves. None of these teams have the pitching depth the Sox do to contend down the stretch.

5. In Kenny we trust

After getting some terrible deals out of his system (David Wells, Todd Ritchie, Billy Koch) in his early years as general manager of the White Sox, Kenny Williams has proven time and time again that he knows exactly what he's doing when he makes—or doesn't make—a trade.

In 2005, the lone acquisition at the trade deadline was Geoff Blum, when many Sox fans were clamoring for the team to go out and get a big left-handed bat in Ken Griffey Jr. or a top-of-the-line starter in AJ Burnett.

Williams' best moves seem to be the ones that fans either initially hate (Carlos Lee for Scott Podsednik and Luis Vizcaino, Freddy Garcia for Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez, Gio Gonzalez/Fautino de los Santos/Ryan Sweeney for  Nick Swisher) or shrewd moves that are passed over by many with a "meh" (Chris Carter for Carlos Quentin, Joe Borchard for Matt Thornton).

The point behind this is that White Sox fans should trust their general manager to make the right move (or non-move) for the better of the team. If Williams sees a hole, he'll fix it.

So, if you find yourself saying "what was Kenny thinking?" on August 1, remember: trust in Kenny, and all shall be good.