From The Windup is FanHouse's daily, extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

I don't know if you've been paying attention, but there are some things going on in this country right now that are far more important than whether or not the Cubs will win the World Series, or whether New York will collapse on itself should the Yankees miss the playoffs.

No, I'm not talking about the new Beverly Hills 90210 - though it's nice to see Lori Loughlin getting work - I'm talking about the upcoming election for President of the United States. Yeah, you've probably noticed in the last few weeks that all your favorite crappy sitcoms and celebrity dancing shows haven't been on in favor of a bunch of people giving speeches in front of sycophants. We call these the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.

For the first time in my life, I've paid pretty close attention to both of these conventions this year. You see, even though I've never been shy about my feelings about this country of ours, and those who have been chosen to run it, I've never actually exercised my right to be a factor in the decision.

That's right, at 27 years of age, I have never voted in a single election. Not for President, not for Governor, not even for Student Council President in high school. So when November 4th rolls around in two months, I will be stepping into a voting booth for the first time, and though I'm somewhat excited about it, I still face a pretty tough question.

Just who am I voting for?

With both the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins doing everything in their power not to win the AL Central right now - both teams are currently playing Our Bullpen Is Worse Than Your Bullpen - the White Sox had been hoping that the return of a healthy Joe Crede could be the boost they needed down the stretch.

Well, apparently those hopes have been dashed because Crede had to leave last night's White Sox loss in the sixth inning after his back problems flared up again. Now his manager Ozzie Guillen is saying that he doesn't anticipate being able to use Crede for the rest of the season.

"I don't expect Joe to play for the rest of the year," Guillen said of Crede, who missed nearly five weeks because of back stiffness before returning Aug. 25. "You come out of the game and your back really bothers you, I cannot count on him for the rest of the year.

"I'm not going to put Joe out there once a week, see how he feels and then play around it. I want him to play because he makes our club better."

Now seeing as how this is Ozzie Guillen speaking, I'm pretty sure we shouldn't believe a word he says. In reality this is probably just Ozzie's way of telling Crede to suck it up and deal with it. Whatever it is, and however the season ends for the White Sox, I think it's safe to say that Crede won't be back on the south side next season.

Deep and sincere kudos to our classic namesake for hitting yet another milestone in his storied, rosy-cheeked, Faulknerian man-child career. 536 is something to be proud of, even if it's still 33 less than Rafael Palmeiro.

HEY GUYS, the last Dugout of August is after the jump.

The stupid thing about the MVP race is that half of it involves perception. Is his team good regardless of how he performed as an individual? Is he a clutch player based on stuff we think we've seen but might not actually know? Is he the type of baseball player worthy of the honor of being selected by us sportswriter types as the best in the game? Is he tall? Is he handsome? Etc, etc.

These ridiculous perceptions are probably why -- despite what the fans think -- Dustin Pedroia will not win the MVP this season. Don't believe me? Just ask Ozzie Guillen, who called the smallish in stature second baseman a "g*dd*mn jockey".

''I never thought I was going to walk a goddamn jockey,'' Guillen said of the 5-7 Pedroia, a player he actually admires. ''Walking a guy who just came from being on top of Big Brown. Right now, he's on a roll. This guy right now is on fire. No matter what you throw up there, he's going to get it. I can't believe you can change professions in one year, go from the Kentucky Derby to the Boston Red Sox ballpark.''

Pedroia has reached base in 10 consecutive plate appearances and became the first Red Sox player with four hits or more in consecutive games since Wade Boggs did it in June 1989.

When he stepped to the plate in the eighth inning, Pedroia was met with cheers of ''MVP, MVP.''

Now, in fairness to Ozzie, he then proceeded to discuss the fact that Pedroia was the heart and soul of Boston's team right now.

While most of the blogging world has been celebrating the resignation/firing of Jay Mariotti at the Chicago Sun-Times on Wednesday, it's not just those of us who read him that are happy to see him go. The Chicago White Sox have long been one of Jay's favorite targets. Whether he's ripping on team owner Jerry Reinsdorf, manager Ozzie Guillen, or even play-by-play announcer Hawk Harrelson, Jay never had anything nice to say about the organization.

So when the news reached the White Sox in Baltimore on Tuesday night that Jay's reign of terror was coming to an end, the Sox were quite happy to hear the news.

''When people wish the worst on people, you have to be careful because the baseball gods are going to get you,'' [Ozzie] Guillen said. ''He was not asking just for my job, he was asking for thousands and thousands of people's jobs over the years. I'm not going to say I will get the last laugh because I will get fired from this job. But the day I get fired is the day I lose interest in this game.

The White Sox lost more than first place in the AL Central last night after falling to the Boston Red Sox 6-2 at U.S. Cellular Field. In what was his first start since returning from a stint on the disabled list with elbow tendinitis, Jose Contreras had to be helped off the field after rupturing his right achilles tendon while trying to cover first base in the second inning.

Obviously the injury will put an end to Contreras' season, but there are fears that at 36 (if Jose Contreras is 36 years old then I'm 12) this injury could bring Jose's career to an end. It's something that crossed the mind of his manager, Ozzie Guillen.

"Those kinds of injuries, I don't know how you can come back," Guillen said. "The only thing I hope is that he can pitch again."

As for what the Sox plan on doing in Contreras' absence, they haven't announced yet, but the team did pick up Horacio Ramirez in a trade with the Royals earlier on Saturday. Guillen is also toying with the idea of having D.J. Carrasco, who came on to replace Contreras after the injury, move from the bullpen to the starting rotation.

There's also the possibility that the Sox may make a trade, with the recently waived Jarrod Washburn being a candidate. Chicago had shown interest in the left-hander before the trade deadline, but balked at Seattle's asking price. I wouldn't be surprised if Kenny Williams kicked the tires on current free agent, and member of the 2005 White Sox, Freddy Garcia either.

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

Before the season started, the Detroit Tigers were the popular pick amongst baseball fans and experts alike as the eventual World Series champion. After adding Miguel Cabrera to a potent lineup that already included hitters like Magglio Ordonez, Gary Sheffield, Carlos Guillen, Curtis Granderson, and Ivan Rodriguez, there was talk that the Tigers would score 1,000 runs this season.

Who knew they'd need to? Though most people were aware that the Detroit bullpen would be a problem area, I don't think anybody thought they would be as bad as they have been in 2008. So now here we sit on August 7th, and the Tigers find themselves in a tailspin.

After building up some momentum in recent weeks to get back into the AL Central race, the Tigers have now lost six in a row to fall three games under .500. They're also on the verge of being swept by the division leading Chicago White Sox and falling 9.5 games out of first place, which could effectively end any hope they have of playing this October.

So will the Tigers pull the plug on their season tonight, or are they going to rise up and start mauling people again? Find out after the jump.

Ozzie Guillen doesn't end. He just goes on and on, my friend. Some people started interviewing him not knowing who he was, and they'll continue interviewing forever just because Ozzie Guillen doesn't end. He just goes on and on, my friend. Some people started interviewing him not knowing who he was, and they'll continue interviewing forever just becau-

Supporting the White Sox is a lot like being Luke Wilson's character from Idiocracy. It's a righteous cause, but more often than not you're left wandering around thinking they're all dumb****s.

Tonight's Dugged-out is after the jump.

Ozzie Guillen is still being Ozzie Guillen, despite his two-game suspension, which he received for tossing threats in the direction of the Kansas City Royals after a weekend fracas. See, Ozzie knows what he could have said to get a longer suspension, but he didn't, because he is a man of disciplined verbal restraint:

"I wish we were like 10 games up or 20 games down, then I'd get a 10-game suspension," Guillen said after the penalties were handed down in the wake of Sunday's fight with Kansas City. "But my team is going through a pretty tough time right now, and I have to be with them 100 percent. I let my club down for two days. I almost broke his hand," Guillen said. "He touched me. I can't touch you, you can't touch me either. But no, he said I bumped him right before that situation."

One: If I was Joey Cora (and, to be clear, I am not), I would be a little hurt by Ozzie's comments. Are you saying Joey Cora is too incompetent to coach a baseball team for ten games? That's cold, Ozzie.

Two: If threatening an entire baseball team earned Ozzie a mere two-game suspension, I really, really, REALLY want to hear what he would say if he had his eye on a ten-game break. I'm picturing at least three epithets and the invention of brand new, never-before-heard swear words. Do it, Ozzie! Do it!

Even when Ozzie Guillen is right he's wrong.

While the umpire crew chief may have apologized for his ejection on Sunday, the commissioner's office was less understanding for Guillen's post-game comments. After Guillen admitted in a fit of anger that he's asked a pitcher to hit a batter on purpose in the past and warned the Royals that it could happen again, Major League Baseball decided to suspend Guillen two games. Unlike when a player gets suspended, Guillen cannot appeal the decision, meaning he won't be allowed in the building tonight and tomorrow as the White Sox host the Tigers.

If it makes him feel any better, at least MLB isn't singling him out: the Royals had three people suspended. Miguel Olivo got five games for rushing the mound and Zack Greinke got five games for hitting Nick Swisher with a pitch. Because Greinke's bean ball came after both benches were warned, skipper Trey Hillman was handed an automatic one-game suspension.

I'm sure Guillen can't be happy about the suspension, but it was completely predictable -- you just can't admit to hitting a batter on purpose and expect the commissioner's office to look the other way.