White Sox streak way to first place
Used 25-5 run to erase 9 1/2-game deficit by break
CHICAGO – Ozzie Guillen’s always full of advice. The way his Chicago White Sox played before the break this season – a miserable start and then a stunning turnaround – it sure seems appropriate.
Ozzie says: Don’t look around. Just play.
On June 8, the White Sox were nine games under .500 and 9 1/2 games out of first in the American League Central. After a head-turning 25-5 tear, they’ve taken over first place.
Now comes a real challenge – a three-city road trip to Minneapolis, Seattle and Oakland to start the second half.
So how will the White Sox be affected by the three-day layoff?
“We’re not going to look down, we’re not going to look up. In a pennant race, every day is going to be tougher and tougher,” Guillen said.
The White Sox shook off their early difficulties with the stirring run that includes a .288 team batting average and a staff 2.42 ERA. And hitters like Carlos Quentin finally got hot. He had six homers in the final homestand before the break and now has 19 for the season, along with 61 RBIs.
The rotation has become solid with Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd, John Danks and Freddy Garcia, though the White Sox will have to adjust to the loss of Jake Peavy, out for the season with a detached muscle behind his pitching shoulder.
Veteran Paul Konerko, now in his 12th season with the White Sox, said he’d never seen a turnaround quite like this one, from a team flailing to keep from being buried to one that ripped off 25 wins in 30 games.
With a snap of the finger or a crack of the bat, the White Sox went from sellers at the trade deadline to potential buyers.
“It’s not how you draw it up,” Konerko said. “It’s not realistic that you’re going to win at that clip for the next 80 games. … I think the attitude was that no one panicked. Everybody thought we would have a streak. I just think most people knew that if we didn’t do it in certain amount of time, it might not be allowed to happen because of the business of the game.
“In August or September this might be a different looking team, so there was kind of a little bit more of an urgency to do it.”