Somehow, sizzling Sox getting the job done
May 6, 2005
BY JAY MARIOTTI SUN-TIMES COLUMNISTYou want to reach out and shake the White Sox just to confirm they're real, to make sure they aren't so many transparent Shoeless Joe Jacksons in ''Field of Dreams.'' That is the working curse, isn't it? If we always dwell on a goat in Cubdom, the fact is the Sox haven't won a World Series since they threw one in 1919, and any threat to such a wicked drought must stand the test of fraudulence.
So before I sit here on May 6 and recklessly say, sure, Hawkeroo, get that detached retina adjusted because the Sox are going all the way, allow me to remind you they've compiled 17 of their 21 victories against losing teams. And that six have come against the Kansas City Royals, baseball's losingest club and the only big-league flagship that might be inferior to its Class AAA affiliate. And that the Sox, for all their celebrated emphasis on manufacturing runs the right way, rank 24th in the majors in on-base percentage and -- imagine this -- dead last with a .217 average with runners in scoring position. And that 20 clubs have scored more runs so far. And that their two most accomplished run producers, Paul (.190) Konerko and Jermaine (.202) Dye, really stink right now.
I cite these numbers not to rile up the Blizzard of Oz and have him call me an Italian (bleep), but to remind everyone it's a long, long season amid a long, long history of Sox heartbreaks. The happy news is, this team is 21-7 despite its offensive problems, which suggests Ken Williams' daring transition to thinking-man's baseball -- Small Ball, Smart Ball, Snail Ball, Ozzie Ball, Anti-Magglio Ball, Ducksnort Ball -- is his most successful gamble yet in an otherwise lukewarm career as general manager. The shaky news is, can you really expect the Sox to maintain three trends that blow the mind and seem like myths waiting to be exploded?
Somehow, they have held a lead in each of their 28 games, breaking the record of the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, a team that won the World Series and was dearly followed by a college student named Jerry Reinsdorf. Do you really think a team hitting .254 can maintain this? Isn't it a streak waiting for a five-run first inning and 9-0 awakening?
Somehow, they have won 12 of 15 one-run games, including a hocus-pocus, 2-1 victory over the Royals on Thursday. Can a credible bullpen continue to be out-of-its-mind efficient, especially when Shingo Takatsu is the closer and still capable of blowing leads -- eight saves with a 6.23 ERA? -- that give new meaning to those ''GONNNGGG!!!'' sound effects?
And somehow, the starting rotation has relinquished one run or fewer in 13 games, which ranks among the best streaks of early-season dominance in baseball history but simply isn't going to continue in any season, real or PlayStation. The Sox have a quality rotation, but any comparisons to all-time staffs should be tempered until they start facing the American League's best lineups.
Maybe this is long-overdue payback for 87 years of pain, a futility run that has been ignored nationally amid Red Sox literature and Cubbie tragicomedy. Maybe this is a magically conceived team with purring chemistry and the perfect attitude. ''This is not a fluke,'' reliever Dustin Hermanson declared. ''We're not playing well for just the first month.'' Or maybe it's just an unbelievable run of luck that will bite them in the butt when they start playing the best teams.
It doesn't help that I already hate this guy. My mom called me this morning to tell me to read him and said I should write a response. I wrote this:
Dear Mr. Mariotti
My mom called me this morning to advise me to read your pessimistic
article. It really upset her and she said that it put a damper on her
Friday. She suggested I write to you; I thought it was a good idea
since I have been holding in too much for too long. In honor of
Mother's Day, did your mother ever tell you "if you don't have
anything nice to say, don't say anything at all"? Your attitude about
the White Sox is sickening to many of your readers. Sox fever is among
us; take a look around. We'll see if we continue these winning ways.
If not, we'll just rag on the Cubs.
Kristy XXXX, 21
Clear Ridge, Chicago
If it's published, it'll be in the paper on Mother's Day.
I like the team the White Sox have. They could very well keep it up, but they certainly won't do it the way they're playing now. Garland will cool off somewhat although still pitch well. Buerhle and Garcia should stay on this course. I think El Duque's arm will shut down in August, however. Who knows with Conteras. The pitching should be good, nonetheless, but it won't be as dominant as it has been. The problem is invariably the offense. They will not be a postseason team with the OBP they're sporting now. There is no one in that lineup who can protect Konerko, which is why his numbers have fallen off. No Lee, Thomas, or Maggs mean you don't have to pitch to him. Everett's been good, but he's a powderkeg waiting for a meltdown, while Dye and Rowand have looked god awful. It's never a good sign when you realize your best offensive player is Tadahito Iguchi...
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I'm not getting my hopes up yet, but if the Sox have 36 wins by Memorial Day then I will officially be #1 super fan and go to a lot more games.
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