If there were a few White Sox fans out there who were still holding out hope that the South Siders were in the pennant race, Sunday's 6-1 loss to the Red Sox should extinguish all of that.

The team looked lethargic throughout the day and managed just six measly hits off Jon Lester and company. The season is over and the next month will be a meaningless crawl to the finish line.

That's the bad news.

If you look past all their flaws, though, you realize that the struggles of the past month (and year) will become a distant memory over time, because in just a few months, the Sox are going to have what every single team in baseball craves: a young and talented starting rotation.

White Sox general manager Kenny Williams has constructed a group of starters that every manager in baseball would salivate over: John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Mark Buehrle and Jake Peavy.

Danks earned the loss on Sunday afternoon after giving up three runs over six innings, but that's about the only thing he's done wrong over the past month. Since Aug. 11, he is now 3-1 and has worked 40 2/3 innings and given up just 12 earned runs.

Since July 30, Floyd has worked 55 2/3 innings while surrendering just 18 earned runs. Buehrle has struggled off and on since his perfect game at the end of July, but he has still worked 31 1/3 innings since Aug. 12 and given up 13 earned runs.

And then, of course, there's Peavy. If the right-hander stays healthy, there's a solid chance he'll continue to be one of the top pitchers in the game. Not to mention the fact that rookie Carlos Torres continues to improve and Williams could always snag another veteran starter off the market during the winter.

There's no denying that Williams has made some errors during his tenure. At the moment, the Sox's offense looks average and feeble, the Alex Rios pickup is looking worse by the day and the bullpen has imploded over the past few weeks.

Still, if you look through the malaise of this lost season, there are plenty of silver linings streaking in the distance. Gordon Beckham, Chris Getz and Alexei Ramirez should continue to improve and provide a solid foundation in the infield for years to come. Most importantly, though, every single time they hit the field, the White Sox will be playing behind a starter who has the ability to win.

No matter how grim the next few weeks look for the White Sox, hope is on the horizon, in the form of a starting rotation that should be the best in baseball next year. That realization should make the next few months a lot easier to deal with.

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