Latest proof that the Chicago White Sox can do no wrong: They rolled out of the All-Star break and lost three of four games in Minnesota … and yet one full game in the standings.
So, OK, hmmm … lets summarize this White Sox season so far: From to The Kids Are All Right in, maybe, the time it takes Mark Buehrle to throw three complete games … or in the time it takes A.J. Pierzynski to color his hair once or twice.
This is crazy. This is nuts.
Power bats Paul Konerko and Carlos Quentin (20) have helped fuel the surge. (US Presswire) This is … quickly developing into the summers best baseball story this side of the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds. On June 9, the White Sox were eight games under .500 and 9 1/2 games out of first place in the AL Central.
On July 11, they were 11 games over .500 and sailed into the All-Star break atop the AL Central.
And during that All-Star break, Chicago first baseman Paul Konerko, resplendent in a charcoal dress shirt with a discreet striped pattern before shuttling off to the ballpark, could only marvel at how the White Sox transitioned from a team ready to be stripped for parts into a playoff-serious club in record time.
“The last 25, 30 games, we went from probably being sellers to not even being buyers,” Konerko said. “We have people (in the clubhouse) who take offense that we even need Thats probably the biggest swing you could have.
“Thats a good place to be. I think we do have all the pieces. Were not going to win (like this) for the next three months. We have 80 games left. Theres a losing streak in there.
“But right now, theres nothing you can look at and say, That guys not pulling his weight.”
The only other team in baseball history to storm back from a larger first-half deficit and enter the break with a division lead, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, was a 1973 St. Louis Cardinals club whose first-half hole reached 11 1/2 games.
Closing the first half at 25-5, the White Sox matched the 1975 Reds and the 1990 Mets for the best record in major-league history during the final 30 games before the All-Star break. Giving Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and former Reds pilot Sparky Anderson one more thing in common besides speaking highly entertaining, fractured English.
In hindsight, GM Kenny Williams, noted far more for his aggressive nature than for his patience, might have done his best work yet by allowing these Sox extra time to settle.
At 27-8, the White Sox own the best record in the majors since June 9 and have authored the clubs hottest stretch since Tony La Russas 1983 “Winning Ugly” squad finished on a 29-6 run.
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Konerko, steady all season, ranks fourth in the AL in homers (21), fifth in RBI (66) and sixth in slugging percentage (.563). And over his past 42 games, Konerko is hitting .357 with seven homers and 33 RBIs.
Alex Rios is in the midst of a monster comeback season. Second baseman Gordon Beckham, in and out of Guillens doghouse, had a seven-game hitting streak snapped at Seattle on Tuesday night and knocked a career-high four hits in Minnesota on Sunday. Baby steps.
The rotation, jarred by Jake Peavys season-ending injury, nonetheless is 22-7 an ERA around 2.50 and 31 quality starts (six innings pitched or more, three runs or less allowed) over its past 37 games, powered by John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Freddy Garcia and, yes, Buehrle.
Meanwhile, the strongest part of this club might be the depth of whip-armed relievers Guillen and pitching coach Don Cooper have at their disposal. Closer Bobby Jenks, All-Star Matt Thornton, J.J. Putz (whose scoreless streak of 25 games is the longest such streak in club history), Sergio Santos and Co. owns a sub 3.00 ERA with 17 saves in 18 opportunities over the past 31 games.
The downside?
Critics contend that much of the Soxs 25-5 run late in the first half was built during a breathe-easy portion of their schedule that allowed them to stack up victories against gimmes Pittsburgh, Washington, the Cubs and Kansas City in quick succession, like cordwood.
But the bottom line is, you play who the schedule tells you to play. And championship clubs gorge on the weak like munchies during cocktail hour.
No, the most legitimate criticism of the Sox came from their own manager after Sundays ballgame in Minnesota, Chicagos third loss to the Twins in four days.
“If we dont win against the teams in our division, were done,” Guillen said.
For all of their momentum, the White Sox are a subpar 17-20 against AL Central clubs. Minnesota is 23-13 (and Detroit 16-21).
That must change, even if the Sox did gain a stunning 13 games on the Twins during the 29-game sprint to the All-Star break.
“Weve got a lot more games left,” Twins MVP Joe Mauer calmly said at the All-Star Game, nicely foreshadowing the results of the second-half opening series in Target Field. “Last year and the year before, we learned that anything can happen. What did we gain on Detroit last year, three games in the final four days?
“I dont know what it is about the AL Central Division, but teams sneak back up there. Early in the season, we felt it would go down to the last few games. We knew it would be a dogfight.
“You get an early lead in April and May, you know youre not going to run away with it.”
When I teased Konerko about that very thing, that given the way the Sox are playing, theyre going to wind up winning the AL Central by 15 or 20 games, he essentially did his own version of “Well played, Mauer.”
“When youre in our division, you know its going to go down to the last week, the last weekend, and probably an extra game,” Konerko said. “As long as you know it, and believe it, youre in for a grind.
“Right now, there are three teams in it, and what usually happens is one falls by the wayside in mid-September.”
There are those who wonder whether Omar Vizquel, now playing third base just about every day at 43, will have the stamina to last through the summer. There are those who think the White Sox need to add a bat like Washingtons Adam Dunn or the Dodgers Manny Ramirez.
3 1/2 games ahead in th would be candidates to add a starting pitcher to ensure that theyre not the club falling by the wayside when its back-to-school time.
But the way things are going now, Konerko isnt so sure.
“If you watch our team now, its tough to say why we should replace anybody,” he said before singling out Daniel Hudson, the 23-year-old rookie who replaced Peavy in the rotation and was terrific in Seattle on Monday night, for high praise.
“Great stuff,” Konerko said of Hudson. “Great arm. Great change-up. … I really think hes the guy. He doesnt get hit hard. When he throws strikes, theyre good strikes. You look at his numbers … I know theyre minor-league numbers, but hes a winner.
“I think hes the guy. And I think hes going to be the guy next year and beyond.”
The way the Sox are going, why not?
It sounds a lot more reasonable than losing three of four games and still extending their first-place lead, doesnt it?
