For Sox, five keys to continue their winning ways

When the White Sox open the second half of the season Thursday night against the rival Twins in Minnesota, they'll try to pick up where they left off in the first half of the season.

And they'll fail.

To expect the Sox to continue winning 25 of 30 is ridiculous, not to mention nearly impossible.

Just for the heck of it, let's say the White Sox do keep up the blistering pace they've been on since June 9. That means they'd go 62-13 the rest of the way and finish with a 111-51 record.

So let's lower those expectations just a bit.

Even without starting pitcher Jake Peavy, who had season-ending surgery Wednesday, the first-place Sox are the team to beat in the AL Central.

If they can go 41-34 over the second half - a more reasonable expectation - that gets them 90 wins and that gets them into the postseason.

Here are five ways the White Sox can achieve that very reachable goal:

Keep on pitching: This team was built on starting pitching, and the rotation finally stepped up in early June.

Led by Gavin Floyd, the Sox have delivered 27 quality starts in the last 31 games, which is remarkable.

And there has been another big positive - by consistently going so deep into games, the White Sox have been able to bypass their weak relief links (Scott Linebrink, Erick Threets and recently demoted Randy Williams) and get the ball right to Sergio Santos, Matt Thornton, J.J. Putz and closer Bobby Jenks.

As Atlanta's Chipper Jones said after the Braves were swept in a three-game series at U.S. Cellular Field in late June, the Sox' top relievers are a handful.

"The back end of their bullpen is dynamite," Jones said. "When you can run Putz, Thornton, Santos and Jenks out there in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, they're the first team that I've seen that can really shorten the game to six innings.

"That's going to greatly aid their cause in the second half."

Keep Quentin healthy: Carlos Quentin has yet to put a full season together, and no one needed the three-day break more than the White Sox' right fielder.

Quentin has been hit by pitches a league-high 12 times, and he also plays defense with reckless abandon.

That's a bad combination for staying off the disabled list. As he has shown over the last 16 games (.367, 11 home runs, 24 RBI), a healthy Quentin can carry the offense.

Keep on catching: Only the Twins, Yankees and Blue Jays committed fewer errors than the Sox during the first half.

And center fielder Alex Rios, shortstop Alexei Ramirez and first baseman Paul Konerko are at, or near, the top at their respective positions.

The White Sox played like anything but an above-average defensive team during the first two months, but that seemed to suddenly change when veteran fielding whiz Omar Vizquel took over at third base for injured Mark Teahen on June 1.

Keep an eye on Beckham: The Sox have patiently waited for Gordon Beckham to regain his rookie form, and the 23-year-old second baseman finally seemed to get locked in while going 5-for-10 with 1 home run and 2 RBI in the three games before the all-star break.

If Beckham continues to hit in the second half, the White Sox are really going to be tough to beat. But if he's still down around .200 at the end of the month, it's going to be Brent Lillibridge time. Or Vizquel time.

Look to Ozzie: When times were tough, manager Ozzie Guillen never got down.

And now that the Sox turned their season around, Guillen is making all the right moves, from knowing exactly when to pull his starters, to getting Andruw Jones back in the lineup, to perfectly splitting time at third base between Vizquel and rookie Dayan Viciedo, to making sure he doesn't overdo it with surprising starter Freddy Garcia, who hasn't pitched a full season since 2006.

In the days ahead, Guillen has a tough call to make when Teahen is ready to come off the disabled list, likely at the end of July.

He also will need to keep a close eye on Garcia and try to keep Jones, Vizquel, Viciedo and Mark Kotsay sharp by getting them enough playing time.

Sox scouting reportWhite Sox vs. Minnesota Twins at Target FieldTV: Comcast SportsNet Thursday and Friday; Channel 9 Saturday and SundayRadio: WSCR 670-AMPitching matchups: The White Sox' John Danks (8-7) vs. Kevin Slowey (8-5) Thursday at 7:10 p.m.; Gavin Floyd (5-7) vs. Francisco Liriano (6-7) Friday at 7:10 p.m.; Mark Buehrle (8-7) vs. Carl Pavano (10-6) Saturday at 6:10 p.m.; Freddy Garcia (9-3) vs. Nick Blackburn (7-7) Sunday at 1:10 p.m.At a glance: On June 8, the Sox were 24-33 and 91/2 games behind the first-place Twins. Now they're 49-38 and lead their third-place rivals by 31/2 games. In his last start, against the Angels last Thursday, Danks went the distance and pitched a 2-hit shutout. Slowey allowed 5 runs on 10 hits over 61/3 innings in his last start; he's a career 2-3 (5.85 ERA) against the Sox. Twins slugger Justin Morneau has been sidelined with a concussion. While the White Sox have been the hottest team in baseball, Minnesota is 15-22 since June 1. The Twins are 3-2 vs. the Sox this season (1-1 at Target Field).Next: Seattle Mariners, Monday-Wednesday at Safeco FieldFalse15392000Carlos QuentinAssociated PressFalse <div class="infoBox"><h1>More Coverage</h1><div class="infoBoxContent"><div class="infoArea"><h2>Stories</h2><ul class="links"><li><a href="/story/?id=394166">Best of the best<span class="date"> [7/15/10]</span></a></li></ul></div></div></div>