2008 Woodie Awards
Sox September speculation
White Sox need to zero in on the Tigers
Andrew Smothers
Issue date: 9/4/06 Section: Sports
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The way Ozzie Guillen has been speaking the past few weeks, it seems as if the White Sox skipper is ready to hand the Central division to the Detroit Tigers and the American League Wild Card to the Minnesota Twins. He has praised the Twins again and again, while calling out his starting pitchers at an even more alarming rate.
"I just love to see those guys play," Guillen said of Minnesota, last month. "I would rather face any team in baseball than [face] those little piranhas. They are dangerous and hungry and they show people they are hungry. I love the way those guys play. I enjoy my team, but I love the way (the Twins) approach the game. It's fun for baseball."
About his own team, Guillen has been less then generous.
"I'm not real happy," he said following a 12-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays last Tuesday. "Happy we won, but our main goal is (our) pitching staff. They're not doing what they're supposed to do. All of a sudden, as a manager, you're second-guessing yourself. It can drive you crazy."
But, Ozzie, realizes that this is September, the role of a pitcher is to win games, and that your team, the defending World Champions, still have control of the Wild Card. Stop pep-talking the "piranhas", second-guessing the importance of wins, and start taking aim at the Tigers. The White Sox started last September with a seven game lead and saw it dwindle to just a game and a half. The inexperienced Tigers started this month with only a four and a half game cushion; so catching the Tigers is a definite possibility.
About that same game, Captain Paul Konerko said, "If it were April or May, when you're trying to look sharp, we would take it to heart more. It's almost September, so if the day ends with a 'W,' it's a good thing." And Sox starters have given Ozzie plenty of those good wins.
Jon Garland has gone 12-1 in his last 14 starts, and since the shoulder strangeness that caused him to struggle early in the season has subdued, the goateed Garland has been the go-to-guy in the White Sox rotation. Freddie Garcia has lost a total of one game to the Twins and the Tigers, this year, which the Sox play six more times, and Jose Contreras and Javier Vasquez are a combined 14-5 at home. This, added with the health problems of the Minnesota Twins pitching staff, the youth of the Tigers, and the recent return of Jim Thome, should equal another playoff run on the South side.
Jermaine Dye has played like the American League MVP all season long, and with the Red Sox's recent slide, last year's World Series MVP should add the 2006 regular season award to his collection. He and Thome are already the first pair of White Sox sluggers to reach 35 homeruns in the same season in club history, and Konerko and Joe Crede will each hit 30 by the time the Sox claim the Wild Card or overtake the Tigers.
So, Sox fans, you've got plenty enough offense to make up for a few pitching problems, because at the end of the day, all you really need are wins.
Sweating the small stuff will drive you crazy, Ozzie. Enjoy this last month, before the true season starts again for this real good South side crew.
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"I just love to see those guys play," Guillen said of Minnesota, last month. "I would rather face any team in baseball than [face] those little piranhas. They are dangerous and hungry and they show people they are hungry. I love the way those guys play. I enjoy my team, but I love the way (the Twins) approach the game. It's fun for baseball."
About his own team, Guillen has been less then generous.
"I'm not real happy," he said following a 12-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays last Tuesday. "Happy we won, but our main goal is (our) pitching staff. They're not doing what they're supposed to do. All of a sudden, as a manager, you're second-guessing yourself. It can drive you crazy."
But, Ozzie, realizes that this is September, the role of a pitcher is to win games, and that your team, the defending World Champions, still have control of the Wild Card. Stop pep-talking the "piranhas", second-guessing the importance of wins, and start taking aim at the Tigers. The White Sox started last September with a seven game lead and saw it dwindle to just a game and a half. The inexperienced Tigers started this month with only a four and a half game cushion; so catching the Tigers is a definite possibility.
About that same game, Captain Paul Konerko said, "If it were April or May, when you're trying to look sharp, we would take it to heart more. It's almost September, so if the day ends with a 'W,' it's a good thing." And Sox starters have given Ozzie plenty of those good wins.
Jon Garland has gone 12-1 in his last 14 starts, and since the shoulder strangeness that caused him to struggle early in the season has subdued, the goateed Garland has been the go-to-guy in the White Sox rotation. Freddie Garcia has lost a total of one game to the Twins and the Tigers, this year, which the Sox play six more times, and Jose Contreras and Javier Vasquez are a combined 14-5 at home. This, added with the health problems of the Minnesota Twins pitching staff, the youth of the Tigers, and the recent return of Jim Thome, should equal another playoff run on the South side.
Jermaine Dye has played like the American League MVP all season long, and with the Red Sox's recent slide, last year's World Series MVP should add the 2006 regular season award to his collection. He and Thome are already the first pair of White Sox sluggers to reach 35 homeruns in the same season in club history, and Konerko and Joe Crede will each hit 30 by the time the Sox claim the Wild Card or overtake the Tigers.
So, Sox fans, you've got plenty enough offense to make up for a few pitching problems, because at the end of the day, all you really need are wins.
Sweating the small stuff will drive you crazy, Ozzie. Enjoy this last month, before the true season starts again for this real good South side crew.
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