White Sox pitchers limping to finish line
The White Sox entered Saturday night's game against Kansas City with a 6.36 September ERA, the highest in the major leagues.
The Sox' pitching staff was the obvious strength through the first five months of the season, but it looks like a lack of consistent offensive support finally took its toll.
“I said earlier in the season, if we continue to not help our pitching staff, they're going to break,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “Look at what happened now. The last month of the season, we're really getting beat.
“But when you look at before September, our pitching staff was very strong. I kept saying, sooner or later, if we don't help these guys to win games and help these guys offensively, obviously the pitching is going to go down.”
White Sox starters have been the hardest hit.
Mark Buehrle is 1-3 with a 9.28 ERA in September, Zach Stewart is 1-3 with a 6.65 ERA, Gavin Floyd is 0-2 with a 5.16 ERA, and Phil Humber is 1-1 with a 5.04 ERA.
Before pitching 7⅓ innings and allowing 3 runs against the Royals on Saturday night, John Danks was 1-3 with a 9.14 ERA in September.
Strong finish:John Danks said his stuff in Saturday night's 6-3 victory over the Royals was as good as it has been all season.The left-hander even compared his curveball to Gavin Floyd's while winning his final start of the season.#8220;It's definitely good to end on a good note,#8221; Danks said. #8220;Obviously, the season hasn't gone like I planned or hoped, but that's part of the game.#8221;Danks started off with an 0-8 record, and bounced back with 6 wins in his next 7 decisions. He finished September with a 2-3 record.#8220;Anything can happen in baseball,#8221; Danks said. #8220;You can have a great start and lose or have a bad start and win. But I never felt sorry for myself. I'm going to go home and get ready and hopefully have a year that I hoped to have this year. I know I'm capable; I just have to do it.#8221;Finishing kick:The White Sox have plenty of work to do when the regular season ends Wednesday.They won't need to find a new third baseman.When manager Ozzie Guillen was racking his brain to come up with some positives from a disappointing year, he mentioned Paul Konerko, Chris Sale, Sergio Santos, Alejandro De Aza and Brent Morel.While he often looked overmatched at the plate during the first five months, Morel has been a force in September.The rookie hit another home run Saturday, his eighth of the month. Morel also has 19 RBI and 15 walks.In the first five months of the season, Morel had 2 home runs, 22 RBI and 7 walks.#8220;I'm feeling more comfortable right now, letting it go a little more,#8221; Morel said. #8220;I'm being more selective and not trying to protect so much. I'm just trying to finish strong and carry it into next year.#8221;Up and down:Phil Humber starts the final game of the season Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays.It has been an uneven year for the right-hander, to say the least.Humber was the White Sox' best starter in the first half, going 8-5 with a 3.10 ERA. In the second half, the 28-year-old right-hander is 1-4 with a 5.51 ERA.#8220;We thought Humber was Roger Clemens for two months,#8221; manager Ozzie Guillen said. #8220;Everybody here was like, #8216;Look, Roger Clemens is back.'#8220;He did an unbelievable job. Was it good for him? Yes, very good because nobody expected him to be what he was. He did a good job.#8221;sgregor@dailyherald.com