Dog days bring dog fights
CHICAGO – Remembrances from the first World Series championship for the Chicago White Sox since 1917 linger across U.S. Cellular Field like the smoke from a center-field fireworks display.
Banners trumpeting the team’s pennants, division titles and championships hang from four different light poles.
Rock music blares through the loudspeakers as the team takes the field, one player at a time. A video presentation on the scoreboard salutes the past and names like Fox, Aparicio and Fisk, and then links it to what finally happened last October in Houston.
And just in case anyone’s forgotten, Joe Buck’s familiar TV call echoes across the stadium minutes before the first pitch.
“And the White Sox have won the World Series!” he proclaims, setting off a wild eruption from the crowd as if it just happened.
As fans pile into the stadium in franchise-record numbers – the team has had 42 sellouts, including 22 straight – the 2006 White Sox are discovering what many good teams have learned over the years. … It’s hard to repeat, even when you play well.
In fact, it’s a tough trip to even get back to the playoffs.
A year ago, Chicago’s 15-game lead in the A.L. Central nearly evaporated at the end. The White Sox then won their final five regular-season games to hold off Cleveland, and went 11-1 in the postseason against the Red Sox, Angels and Astros.
Going into a crucial seven-game road trip to Minnesota and Detroit, the White Sox were 24 games over .500, but trailing the surprising Tigers in the Central and leading the Twins by a narrow margin for the wild card.
“We were 15 games ahead with less time to go and we almost blew it,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “All of a sudden we turned it around, we started to play better and we started to play our baseball. A lot of things can happen.”
Chicago came out of the All-Star break and lost 10 of its first 12 games, dipped to third place and fell 10 games behind Detroit. After taking two of three from the Yankees and then sweeping the Tigers last weekend, they closed the gap to 5 1/2 , but then struggled with the Kansas City Royals, splitting a four-game series.
“Last year we won 99 games and in the last game of the World Series I was telling the guys, ‘This is the biggest game of your life,’ ” Guillen said. “Because you never know after that game what will happen. Maybe we will go into a slump or a couple of guys will get hurt and we lose. That’s why every day now when you’re in a pennant race, it’s hard for every team involved.”
Offense hasn’t been a problem, especially with the arrival of Jim Thome. Faster than Guillen can deliver an opinion on any topic, the White Sox can score runs.
Chicago leads the majors in slugging percentage and the foursome of Thome, Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye and Joe Crede have formed a masher’s lineup. They all have at least 25 homers and 80 RBIs. The biggest worry is a slump by leadoff hitter Scott Podsednik, who was 7 for 32 on the recent homestand.
But it’s pitching that is the White Sox’s biggest cause for concern. A starting staff that compiled four straight complete games in beating the Angels in the ALCS has struggled at times.
On Thursday, lefty Mark Buehrle picked up his first win since late June. Freddy Garcia and Javier Vazquez have been inconsistent and even the second-half ace of last season, Jose Contreras, has had some rough outings.
Contreras is 2-5 since the All-Star break and had his 17-game winning streak end last month. After he pitched his first major league shutout against the Tigers last week, he was roughed up by the Royals for seven runs and 12 hits. Jon Garland, an 18-game winner last season, has 13 more this season.
“You don’t win as many games as we win without the starters. Have we been inconsistent? Yeah. But have we pitched bad? No,” Guillen said.
“The starters are going to get us in the playoffs if we get there. Nobody else. It’s not the offense. It’s not Jim Thome. It’s not Paul Konerko. It’s not Jermaine Dye. If my five starters do what we think they should do, then we’ll be in the playoffs.”
The bullpen, featuring robust closer Bobby Jenks, has been reworked with the addition of Mike MacDougal and lefty Matt Thornton.
But Cliff Politte, who was stellar last season with a 7-1 record and 2.00 ERA, has been released; Dustin Hermanson, the closer before Jenks arrived, has battled back problems and not pitched; and Neal Cotts, also coming off a strong season, has also had recent problems.
Cotts gave up just one homer last season when he was 3-0 with a 1.94 in 69 appearances. This year he’s already surrendered seven homers.
Six weeks left and the White Sox have the experience from last season to lean on. They’re a good road team – they clinched all three of their postseason series away from home a year ago – and will have to be again.
“We want to finish strong because we know Detroit is not going to let down or go away at any time,” Crede said.