Sometimes, in the course of even the most lost of seasons, you get nights like this one, nights where nothing can possibly go wrong (even when it does) and no team poses a threat (even when they do). Anybody remember 2007, when the eventual 72-90 White Sox destroyed the playoff-bound Yankees, Cubs, Indians and Angels? Awesome nights, all of them, but just that: awesome nights, and never indicative of awesome seasons.

So when the Sox mow down the best-in-the-West Los Angeles Dodgers in a gold old-fashioned American League softball derby, there’s a tendency to get excited. To get optimistic. To get … hopeful, to say the team has “turned a corner” and “gotten on track” and all that business. Grinder, grit, long season and what-have-you.

That of course overlooks things like Jimmy Gobble’s dangerous flirtation with disaster, or the atrocious defense, or turning bases loaded into nothing – but hey, they won! That’s what counts, right?

Except, it’s not. The Good Guys, try as they might, aren’t always putting up ten-spots and, more importantly, they still gave up seven. And still almost blew a six-run lead.

So if games like this, or the home run derbies in Cincy over the weekend, are supposed to be the guiding light towards the promised land, all should be well, shouldn’t it? Maybe, maybe not; most of that depends on how those pesky Twins and Tigers are doing which, unfortunately, is still a resounding “pretty good.”

But even if we lend them absolutely zero credence and pay no mind to those clubs, even if we look past the all-or-nothing offense and newly (and increasingly) shaky bullpen, even if we say those are all some of the requisite imperfections for any elite team to overcome, there still exists one tiny problem.

Actually, six of them: for all the crushing of the Brewers and Reds, the Sox have lost 2.5 games on the Tigers since June 1.

Lost! Even though they’ve won! This cannot bode well for the impending summer and fall.