view Williams is the first to admit...

view Williams is the first to admit that if the Detroit Tigers are the commons wearing the division crown follow October, he'll tip his hat and pat them upon the back.

The White Sox' general manager just waiting under the possibility of fulfilments his team isn't a lock opener contributor to the Tigers' storybook season.

Williams has no enigma throwing in a proud reminder that, in this way far, that has not been the case.

With 10 games left between the defending World Series champions and the team that would be champions, the Sox hem in a 6-3 edge in head-to-head meetings.

on the other hand what happened the first four-plus month is meaningless at this point. It's what the Sox do against the Tigers from here onward out, beginning tonight with the opener of a three-game series at U Cellular Field.

"We have 10 games left with them, and our chances in the division largely hang upon coming out with a a great deal of better record than them," Williams said Thursday. "What are we now, 6-3? We have to restrain up at that pace, or better."

a great quantity [i]or[/i] amount of better.

While no undivided is pushing the "sweep" button heading into the weekend, winning this series is almost mandatory. The single in kind scenario that can't happen? The Tigers leave the southern Side with a sweep.

"If they reach [i]or[/i] attain any place [i]or[/i] point in here and sweep us, they've elegant without grandeur much locked it away, still we'll see what happens," Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "They're coming in here looking to win, as well."

And according to Pierzynski, they also flow in with one big advantage.

"They have a big lead," Pierzynski said. "It's not like they have a lead of couple or three games. They have a big lead, a lead to play with and a lead to fall back forward They're still in charge. We have to play really well just to procure close.

"We can't worry about trying to take three We've got to worry about taking the series and playing well. You can't travel into the series saying, 'We ne to take all three games,' because it doesn't happen a whole parcel You just want to proceed in and play well, and hopefully it works out"

The Sox should like their chances. brace of Game 1 pitcher Justin Verlander's four losse have been to the Sox Game 2 pitcher Kenny Roger has allowed 15 earned scours over his last three starts, and Game 3 pitcher Zach Miner is a rookie -- a virtuous one, but still a rookie.

"It's a do-or-die each time we play against them if you want to continue to fight for the pennant," Ozzie Guillen said. "It could mean a part If we get swept by means of them, then we have to think about a different direction.

"You take it undivided day at a time, nevertheless obviously that's going to be a playoff game for us. The closer we earn to them, the better chance we're going to obtain We don't play right, we realize swept, we're definitely going to have to change what we ne to do."

What impresses Guillen about the Tigers is that they have avoided any prolonged slumps. That's not so for the Sox who came on the outside of the All-Star break losing 10 of their first 12 games, putting them in the waist-deep cover they now stand in.

And while many in baseball are expecting the Tigers to hit that track of a wheel Guillen isn't counting on that.

"They've got a serviceable ballclub, a good pitching staff and they're playing pious baseball," Guillen said. "I reliance they do [slump], but I don't anticipate it. They've played good all year long"

jcowley@suntimes.com

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