Slow starts, weak finishes doom Sox
Slow starts and equally lethargic finishes are taking their toll on manager Ozzie Guillen and the White Sox.
If and when Guillen sits down with chairman Jerry Reinsdorf to discuss his future, maybe he can shift the focus to the middle four months of the season.
Guillen and the Sox have been solid in Many, June, July and August, but not so much in April and September.
The White Sox managed to win their second straight over the Indians on Wednesday night in Cleveland as Alexei Ramirez, Alex Rios and Brent Morel all homered in the eighth inning to spark an 8-4 final at Progressive Field.
This could have been a huge month of the Sox, but it was another September full of blahs and bad baseball.
It started with 3 straight losses at Detroit, which killed any hopes the White Sox had of chasing down the AL Central front-runners.
Even with the 2 straight wins over the Indians, the Sox (76-79) are 8-13 in September.
They were 10-18 in April, so another big early hole and gradual fade are going to send the White Sox home early for the third straight season.
Last year the Sox went 9-14 in April and 14-13 in the final month.
In Guillen’s eight seasons in the dugout, the White Sox have had only four winning records in September.
Getting off to a stronger start and delivering a better finishing kick are keys to the 2012 season, no matter who is managing the club.
So is retaliation, another sore spot in recent seasons.
In Game 2 of Tuesday’s day-night doubleheader at Cleveland, Paul Konerko was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning, and Gordon Beckham and Ramirez were drilled in the ninth.
Ramirez also was hit by a pitch in Game 1, and the White Sox lead the major leagues in that category with 82. Sox pitchers have hit 41 batters.
After Game 2, Guillen told reporters the Indians’ two guilty pitchers — Zach Putnam and Josh Judy — were minor-leaguers with obvious control trouble.
But Judy was the same pitcher who broke Brent Lillibridge’s hand Sept. 8 and ended his breakout season.
Konerko had a bruise near his left hip Wednesday and didn’t play. He reportedly was healthy enough to go but sat out after playing both games Tuesday.
Before the game, Konerko was asked about the rash of hit batters.
“I don’t think any of them were probably intentional, but there’s a cumulative thing that kind of adds up after awhile,” Konerko told ESPN Chicago. “So, we’ll see how that goes.”
White Sox starter Mark Buehrle decided not to retaliate, so maybe he thought Tuesday’s developments were not worth a response.
Buehrle (12-9) did get the win after allowing 2 runs in 6 innings. The veteran left-hander has 1 more start and needs just 1⅔ innings to reach 200 and extend his streak of 200 innings, 10 or more wins and 30 or more starts to 11 years.
sgregor@dailyherald.com