This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin's White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- Jim Thome played for a plethora of winning teams over the course of his illustrious 22-year baseball career.

There were great Cleveland crews from 1995-2001 who clinched divisions in mid-September. Thome also hit a 461-foot blast representing the lone run in a White Sox victory over the Twins to capture the AL Central title during the famous 2008 Blackout Game No. 163 at Guaranteed Rate Field.

But in a recent talk I had with the Hall of Famer and current White Sox special assistant to the general manager, Thome couldn't specifically pinpoint a team he had played for somewhat akin to the 2022 White Sox. You know -- a team loaded with talent and the clear-cut preseason AL Central favorite, dealing with countless injuries and areas of underperformance, but suddenly coming alive late from a mediocre season to challenge for the division title.

Thome instead spoke about the journey across 162 games, with the ultimate goal of getting to the playoffs beginning back in Spring Training.

"When you get in you put yourself in a position to win a World Series," Thome said. "To be honest, there's going to be this roller-coaster ride and you are going to have to go through some things as a unit to -- knock on wood -- hopefully accomplish what the end result is."

The White Sox posted a 9-3 record in their past 12 games to move three games over .500 entering tonight's series opener vs. the Rockies. They finished 5-2 over a road trip to Seattle and Oakland, including two important come-from-behind victories.

Yet they are also running out of time, with 21 games remaining and the club trailing in head-to-head tiebreakers to both Cleveland (6-9) and the fading Twins (6-7). With four games to play against Cleveland and six against Minnesota, those games will be crucial.

If the White Sox earn a division title, they could be better equipped for success than last year when they clinched the AL Central with 11 games to spare. Look at the 2011 Cardinals, also a Tony La Russa team, who were 8 1/2 back of the NL Wild Card on Sept 1 and went on to win the World Series.

"They got hot about right at this time and then went on this great run and carried it over," Thome said."That's when you wind the season down and you are in these tight games, close games, it's almost a pre- kind of setup to what you experience in postseason. And I've always said teams that are in that situation are dangerous because they are fighting every day to stay alive."