Make or Break Games

Given that the regular season is 162 games long, it's hard to say that any single game determines a team's course for the season or decides a team's playoff chances. But when the end of the season rolls around, you can often look back and think "what if" about a game here or there.

The White Sox and Marlins had games like those in their second game in the season. The White Sox lost a game they should have won, blowing a three run lead in the cold, while the Marlins managed to win a back-and-forth game that was wild until the finish.

When I think back on the 2003 Marlins and 2005 White Sox, they have more than World Series championships in common. Both of those teams won games that they seemingly should have lost. The most memorable example of that, of course, was the Marlins improbable come from behind win over the Cubs in game 6 of the NLCS. But winning games that are only won by a "team of destiny" was a theme for those clubs.

So what does it all mean? Well, time will tell. But it seems like a good omen for the Marlins to have found a way to win a game that they could have lost any of a dozen ways. For the White Sox, it's not so rosy. The loss in game two reminds Sox fans that the offense is still suspect and that even a solid pitching staff will go through rough stretches.