Tuesday, June 12, 2001
Sox turning slow start into wild ride
Young pitchers help Chicago win 13 of 16
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — Go ahead, try tofigure out these Chicago White Sox.
They return most of the team that won the AL Central, add David Wells, yet lose 19 of their first 28 games, dropping into divisional oblivion. They lose Frank Thomas for the season, and somehow go on an improbable winning streak.
Then Jose Valentin, their emotional and offensive leader, gets hurt, and they take two of three from the crosstown-rival Cubs — the same Cubs who have a five-game lead in the NL Central.
“Right now, we're playing great baseball,” said Herbert Perry, who joined the White Sox's long disabled list Friday night with a sore Achilles' tendon.
Sure, the White Sox are still 11 1/2 games back in the AL Central. But they have 14 games left against the first-place Indians and 13 against second-place Minnesota.
With the All-Star break still four weeks away, they're only five games away from .500. And the struggling Cincinnati Reds are coming to town today for a three-day series.
“That's really our goal, to get back to .500 and then see what we have to do to cut into the lead of the Twins and Indians,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “The schedule is kind of a benefit for us. It works on our behalf when we're so many games back.”
That the talent-laden White Sox got off to such a poor start was surprising. But their recent stretch is even more stunning.
They have eight players on the disabled list, including Thomas, a two-time MVP; Valentin, whose 13 homers lead the team; and starting pitchers Cal Eldred and Jim Parque.
Their pitching staff is anchored by youngsters, with David Wells taking a back seat to the likes of Kip Wells. Trade rumors have been a constant distraction the past month.
Yet the White Sox have won eight of their last 10 games and 13 of 16. They've won five straight series, and are the first team to hand the Cubs a series loss in almost a month.
So what gives?
“Sometimes, a team plays better without some of its players because it brings out the best in everyone,” Valentin said.
Much of the credit has to go to the young pitching staff. Kip Wells, Mark Buehrle, Rocky Biddle and Jon Garland have gone 7-1 with a 1.23 ERA over the last 17 games.
Kip Wells lowered his ERA to 1.83 on Sunday, which would lead the AL except he's only made five starts. Buehrle has a scoreless streak of 24 2/3 innings going, the longest by a White Sox pitcher since Alex Fernandez's run of 25 2/3 innings in September 1995.
The offense is starting to come around, too. Since Gary Ward replaced Von Joshua as the hitting coach May 21, the White Sox are hitting .279. That may not sound like a particularly dominating average, but consider that the White Sox hit an AL-worst .240 in May.
Royce Clayton, scuffling along with a .143 average, has a hit in six of the last seven games. Carlos Lee's game-winning grand slam Friday night gave him home runs in three straight games. Ray Durham is hitting .323 with four homers and 13 RBI since moving to the No.3 spot May 21.
“Obviously, we've been through a lot already,” Perry said. “Hopefully, we can scratch and fight and stay where we're at.”
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Sox turning slow start into wild ride
