The White Sox are AL Central champs for the first time since 2008

Tim Anderson

The White Sox are American League Central Division champions for the first time since 2008. Even though they have been in first place since May 7, and even though this outcome has been looked upon as an inevitability for weeks, it's not something we should take for granted.

I turned 45 years old this summer. I attended my first Sox game at old Comiskey Park in August 1981, just over 40 years ago. I've been a Sox fan for a long time, and this is only the sixth season in my lifetime in which the Sox have won their division.

It's never happened two years in a row. It hasn't happened in 13 years, and you should never assume it will happen again next year, or the year after that -- despite the general optimism around the team and the talk of "competing for multiple championships."

Tomorrow is not promised, so enjoy the accomplishments of today.

The Sox clinched the division with a 7-2 victory in Game 1 of a doubleheader Thursday against the second-place Cleveland Indians.

Give Tim Anderson a lot of credit. He hit a solo home run three pitches into the game to give the Sox a lead, and he added a 3-run homer in the second inning that turned a 3-0 Sox lead into a 6-0 advantage.

Anderson, along with Jose Abreu, is the leader of this team, and he pretty much decided that the division race would end today. Anderson's second home run of the afternoon was part of a six-run outburst in the second inning that also included homers from Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez.

Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez had a 7-0 lead to work with by the time he took the mound in the second inning. He gave up a solo home run in the third, and another in the fourth, so manager Tony La Russa gave him a quick hook after 3.1 innings of work.

This was a seven-inning game, of course, and La Russa obviously sensed an opportunity to knock the Indians out. Even with a five-run lead, he used his high-leverage relievers -- Garrett Crochet, Aaron Bummer, Craig Kimbrel and Liam Hendriks -- and Cleveland managed only two hits over the final 3.2 innings and didn't score another run. 

I like the way La Russa managed the game. He wasn't going to let this one get away. He wasn't going to let clinching wait for another day.

The Sox lost the second game of the doubleheader, 5-3, as the lineup was full of bench players. Michael Kopech got the start and looked sharp through two scoreless innings. The Indians scored their five runs off the lesser relievers in the Sox bullpen -- Mike Wright, Matt Foster and Jose Ruiz.

No doubt, if the game had meant something, it probably would have been managed differently. But for once, the Sox and their fans can afford to not care about a loss.

The Sox are 86-67. The marathon is over. The playoff sprint will begin soon enough.