Grinding it out suits these Sox just fine
The White Sox are a team loaded with battle-tested veterans, and they are well aware of how the game is played outside of the actual game.
Slog through a bad stretch of baseball, like they did last week at Boston and Detroit, and prepare for much of the adoring public to abandon ship — if not blow it up all together.
Put a good stretch together and don’t get overly excited — just try to extend it as long as possible.
Yes, the Sox limped back home after losing three of four to the Red Sox at Fenway Park and being swept by the Tigers at Comerica Park.
But they didn’t track any of the failure onto their home turf.
“We never lost any confidence,” starter Jake Peavy said after the White Sox completed a three-game sweep with an 8-2 win over a shockingly bad Twins club Wednesday afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field. “We didn’t. We were in all those games in Detroit. It was just the ball bounced their way and we didn’t get some big hits. We played well in those games, lost a heartbreaker in Boston.
“This team, I promise you, no matter how good this thing goes or how bad this thing goes we’re going to show up Friday (at Texas) and we’re going to try and grind it out.”
The Sox certainly have been a resilient bunch all season, and Peavy gives much of the credit to rookie manager Robin Ventura.
“It’s something that Robin, that’s the demeanor, it’s the silent kind of quiet confidence our leader has and the rest of the team just falls in line with that and really has bought in,” Peavy (8-7) said after laboring through 6 innings and earning the win. “I know it was tough road trip but I think the way we came out Monday, you’ll see that we’re going to grind it out and let the chips fall where they may.”
The White Sox sure do like tossing the “grind” word around, but that is their identity under Ventura.
Grinding basically means keeping your head down and playing hard every pitch of every game, but the Sox do have a huge talent edge over inferior teams like the Twins.
It wasn’t long ago when the White Sox were routinely spanked by Minnesota, but the tables started turning last season.
And after outscoring the Twins 26-10 while sweeping the series in front of another big (32,261) home crowd, the Sox are 15-4 vs. Minnesota dating back to last year.
Ventura is more concerned about the way the White Sox rebounded from a rough weekend in Detroit than the Twins’ sudden inept approach to baseball.
While Peavy had to throw 121 pitches to make it through 6 innings on a hot, humid afternoon, the Sox’ offense gave the right-hander plenty of support.
Dayan Viciedo sparked the win while going 3-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBI.
“You get that feeling back,” Ventura said. “It’s one thing to go through a tough stretch and start winning games again, it’s expecting that. In this three-game series, you get the guys swinging the bats pretty good and guys pitching fairly well.”
Now, the White Sox go back out on the road after Thursday’s off-day hoping to build on their latest winning streak.
“Hopefully this is a good time for us to get hot again and start putting up those offensive numbers we know we’re capable of,” Adam Dunn said.
sgregor@dailyherald.com