3 White Sox trouble spots Tigers must exploit in suddenly important four-game series

The Tigers may have failed to sweep the Blue Jays, but they still have a chance to make the last week of the season very, very interesting. They're five games back of the last Wild Card spot, which is currently occupied by the White Sox, who were just kicked out of first place in the AL Central and who the Tigers have four games against up next.

Detroit may have lost their win streak, but they're still hotter than this flailing Chicago team. The White Sox have never looked more beatable, as long as the Tigers can take advantage of these three weaknesses.

Munetaka Murakami, Colson Montgomery, Miguel Vargas' bats going cold

All-Stars Murakami and Vargas and former Rookie of the Year candidate Montgomery are the three-headed dragon of the White Sox's youth movement this season. They've all hit exactly 31 homers, and Vargas and Montgomery are tied with 84 RBI apiece (Murakami has 65). If Murakami had stayed healthy all season, he probably would be giving Kevin McGonigle a run for his money in the RotY race this year.

However, all have tailed off and lost steam in these late weeks. Murakami has been dropped from his usual place as Chicago's No. 2 hitter to cleanup, but he's been struggling so much that the White Sox resorted to using Tommy Pham, of all people, in the four-spot on Wednesday. Montgomery is hitting .168 with a .598 OPS and a staggering 73 strikeouts since the beginning of August. Vargas isn't having a great September, either, batting .250 with a .653 OPS.

No one on the White Sox's offense holds a candle to the production these three have offered throughout the season. The effect of all three struggling has been easy enough to identify; Chicago scored 133 runs last month and have only scored 56 over halfway through September.

The Luis Castillo trade turning into a bust

Chicago had a respectable trade deadline, acquiring Rockies Gold Glover Brenton Doyle and a handful of pitchers, the crowning jewel of which was Luis Castillo from the Mariners. Castillo was enduring his fair share of struggles before he left Seattle, but Tigers fans have had a front row seat to what La Piedra can do for a pitching staff. The White Sox were no doubt hoping he would be able to anchor an up-and-down rotation.

He hasn't done that. Since being traded, he has a 7.76 ERA over 29 innings. In his latest outing against the Cardinals, what was supposed to be a long relief appearance, he lasted just 2 2/3 after giving up three runs on four hits and three walks. The White Sox have yet to announce their starters beyond Erick Fedde on Thursday (more on that later), but it's likely they'll see Castillo at some point during the series.

Rotation uncertainty and a taxed bullpen

There's been nothing regular or routine about the White Sox's pitching usage as of late. They resorted to two openers/bullpen games in their last series alone and six in their last 10 games. Anthony Kay, who started the game on Wednesday, is the only starter who's gotten a standard turn through the rotation during that span.

The White Sox's rotation, which is comprised of Sean Burke, Kay, Davis Martin, Castillo, and Fedde, is technically fully healthy, but their struggles have forced Chicago to put them behind openers, or skipping their turns entirely. Castillo went nine days between his last start and his latest relief appearance.

Basically, everything is going wrong for the White Sox right now, and the Tigers are in a prime position to strike. Though Detroit has many of their own weaknesses, they're just a more complete team. They couldn't be heading to Chicago at a better time, but it's up to them to take advantage of the opportunity.

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