05:58 PM ET  09.05 |        The White Sox lost more than a pivital player in their division race on Friday. They lost the American League MVP. Carlos Quientin who leads the AL in home runs, is top 3 in RBIs and slugging, is having season ending surgery on his wrist. Just how big is this loss to the White Sox. Bigger than most people think.

      Sitting just 1.5 games up on the Twins, the White Sox are no longer the favorites. In my opinion the Twins have overtaken that. With Quientin in the lineup, this team had one of the best offenses in the American League. Without him, Jermaine Dye's load has gotten a whole lot bigger. There's no solid power AND average hitter after Dye. Thome and Swisher can supply power but not average, and Cabrera and Aleixi Ramirez can supply the average but not the power. This team no longer has a stable consistent offense without Quientin's presence. The pitching staff is still a mystery. Outside of Gavin Floyd, Vazquez, Burehle, and Contreas aren't exactly putting up great seasons, and while John Danks has been solid, he's cooled off after a sizzling June and July.

    Now onto the MVP race. It looks now that Josh Hamilton may have regained his spot in the lead. For now. But here's how I see it playing out.

   If Boston makes the postseason AND Pedroia finishes strong- it's Dustin Pedroia regardless.
 
   If Minnesota makes the postseason, BoSox miss it, AND Morneau finishes strong- it's Justin Morneau.

   If Chicago makes the postseason, with the Twins as the WC, AND a sizzling, difference making final 3 weeks by Jermaine Dye- it's Dye.

   If all 3 of these players struggle, and Hamilton heats up, Hamilton may get the honor especially if he leads in the home runs and rbis, while maintaing a 300+ average.

    Quientin's injury impacts the division race and the MVP race. How will it play out is something none of us can predict. But we do know this, the White Sox chances of reaching the postseason just got a lot more difficult without their and the league's MVP.