Bright new Sox

All along, the expectations were there. When someone throws in the mid-90s, when the ball sinks the way it does, when the talent is so tantalizing, they’re going to be there.

They were with Jon Garland when the Chicago Cubs drafted him out of high school with the 10th pick in 1997. They were with him when he broke into the major leagues with the Chicago White Sox in 2000, and they never went away.

From Day 1, Garland was a 6-foot-6 bundle of expectations and potential. Now, results finally are part of the package.

He’s 7-0 with a 2.39 ERA after Thursday’s 3-2 home victory over Baltimore. Depending on one’s perspective, he is either:

A) one of the surprises on a White Sox team that was 27-9 heading into Saturday night’s game against Baltimore; or

B) overdue.

“This kid is growing as a pitcher,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said of Garland.

And the Sox keep surging.

They’re winning despite a .256 team batting average that ranked 19th in the major leagues heading into the weekend. They’re surging despite the struggles of Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye, who were hitting .197 and .190, respectively, and the absence of Frank Thomas. Thomas, who has not played this season, is recuperating from a partial stress fracture in his left ankle and remains out indefinitely.

But second baseman Tadahito Iguchi was hitting .328 going into the weekend, shortstop Juan Uribe was batting .296, and third baseman Joe Crede was at .286 – a 37-point increase over last season.

Still, the middle of the order is struggling. Time will tell if that catches up to the Sox.

“Everybody in the middle of the order has a track record,” Dye said. “Right now, we’re going through a tough time. Sooner or later, it’s going to turn around.”

The Sox are dominating, and it’s because of what the pitchers are doing. The team brought a 3.14 ERA into the weekend, second in the majors to Florida’s 2.67.

“It’s all about pitching,” Thomas said. “Jermaine and I talked about it last week. He said for years in Oakland they had the same tough pitcher night in and night out.”

Among the starters, Mark Buehrle had the highest ERA before the weekend: 3.78. He was 5-1.

Orlando Hernandez is still effective, Jose Contreras is performing the way he did in Cuba and former Seattle Mariners player Freddy Garcia is pitching well.

Then there’s the 25-year-old Garland.

For years, the Sox waited patiently for this, enduring big innings and inconsistency. Fans booed. But they’re cheering now.

On Thursday night, Garland gave up consecutive singles with one out in the top of the sixth inning but escaped. In the eighth, with a run in and the Sox’ 3-2 lead hanging by a thread, Miguel Tejada stepped to the plate. With the count full, after several foul balls, Garland fooled the slugger with a perfect changeup, ending the threat with a strikeout.

“Last year, I think everybody in Chicago wanted to pull my head behind me,” Guillen said. “They asked me every day, ‘How long are you going to leave Garland in?’ Garland has the stuff. It was up to him to have success.”

Before this season, Garland’s career record was 46-51. A year ago, he was 12-11 with a 4.89 ERA. In the past, big innings did in Garland. He didn’t escape trouble. He’d throw a bad pitch here and there, and things would unravel.

“In the past, people told me I’m going to do good things,” Garland said. “If I didn’t do them, they were getting down on me. It’s not even close to what I put on myself.”

“I just let him pitch and made sure he knew I trust him,” Guillen said.

Guillen’s patience didn’t wane, and now, Garland is excelling.

Maybe it’s dropping from second in the rotation to fifth, and the performance of other starters. Maybe that eased the pressure. Maybe it’s the development of his changeup. Maybe it’s just maturity.

“Nineteen years old, in the big leagues, didn’t go to college – he had to grow up,” Thomas said. “Growing up in the major leagues is not easy. There’s a lot to deal with. There was a lot of pressure put on him to be a No. 1 or No. 2 starter. The kid was too young for that. Now, he’s 25; he’s maturing.”

Now, Garland’s meeting expectations, and his team is exceeding them.