Sox might not want to pass on Rowand

Never been a big fan of false hustle.

Or running face-first into outfield walls.

Seems counterproductive and a waste of manpower, especially when it's meant mainly to impress fans and teammates.

But it's time to admit that the White Sox haven't been the same without Aaron Rowand.

This is no knock on Jim Thome. Just stating a fact. The Sox weren't able to shake the World Series rust in 2006, and they never appeared in 2007, and it's probably not a coincidence that Rowand departed shortly after the 2005 campaign ended with a title in Houston.

There's no stronger evidence than the way the Sox played in September 2006, when one decent series would have put them over the top, into the playoffs and perhaps back in the Fall Classic.

But they just couldn't fire, and it remains one of the biggest failures in Chicago sports history.

That team was good enough to repeat and should have won again.

Now we can argue all we want about whether there's such a thing as momentum in baseball and whether emotion plays a part in any of it.

But the 2007 Colorado Rockies would seem to provide evidence that emotion and momentum are legitimate factors in winning and losing.

The best streak ever to close out a season showed what can happen when a team is certain it's going to win -- and what can happen when a long layoff trashes that feeling of invincibility.

However, you must have emotional leaders in order for it to work, and that's something the Sox have lacked the past two years.

Granted, if you pitch well and pick it up and throw it to first, you're going to win more than you lose, emotion or not. If you walk batters and kick the ball all over the house, you're going to lose much more than you win, emotion or not.

However, looking back again at the 2006 White Sox, that team should have won, but it lacked, what, desire? It had the talent. It certainly didn't have the confidence needed to get over the hump in September.

The manager can only do so much, and the locker room was validation that he couldn't do it alone. That team slept through a chance to repeat.

Walking through the clubhouse you saw and felt a team that lacked a serious interest in being serious about winning.

With Rowand around, that never happened.

No, intensity doesn't win you games, but it lends itself to a confident team, and confident teams that are focused on winning do win important games.

Aaron Rowand always brought to the park a desire to win, an intensity to the locker room, a confidence that his team was going to win.

He took pressure off others who were less likely to lead verbally or by example, and he brought a comfort to the room that hasn't existed since.

Bringing Rowand back now as a free agent wouldn't guarantee a playoff berth, but it ought to mean you'll see a Sox team that shows up more often.

You can't try harder to hit a baseball or throw a strike. It doesn't work that way. It's not football or hockey.

But you can make more of an effort to prepare mentally, emotionally and physically, and you can lead those who want to be led.

Of course, Rowand also hit .309 with 27 homers, 89 RBI, an .899 OPS and 105 runs scored for Philadelphia this season, and Tuesday he won his first Gold Glove.

Sure, he will still break the wrong way on half the balls hit his way in center field, and he's liable to break something running into a wall or a teammate.

He also will be very expensive to reacquire, perhaps too rich for the Sox' blood. But can they afford to pass on him now -- or a similar personality in David Eckstein -- while the window begins to close on a veteran nucleus?

Aaron Rowand is a difference-maker.

Consider me a convert.

Don undone

Don Shula, coach of the undefeated '72 Dolphins, told the N.Y. Daily News that he thinks the Patriots can go 19-0, but that their record will be tainted and deserves an asterisk because of the New England spy scandal.

Smart move by Shula, giving the Pats a reason to do something they care nothing about. Generally, all they're interested in is winning Super Bowls, but as they've proven this year, no team is more dangerous than an angry group of Patriots rallying around their leader, and this is certain to give them a reason to go undefeated.

Yikes.

Tip drill

Colts coach Tony Dungy told Fox Sports Radio that he wasn't offended by Bill Belichick's short conversation following Sunday's game.

"That's the way he is. He's very focused during the games. Most of the time it's been that way whether they win or lose,'' Dungy said. "After the championship game last year he wished me luck in the Super Bowl (and) gave me some advice about heading in for the Bears.''

Think he told Dungy to go after the quarterback?

Ivan Boldirev-ing

The Blackhawks have a logjam on defense and it might be why they appeared to showcase Jim Vandermeer on Sunday night against Nashville.

Three Florida scouts were in the UC when the 27-year-old Vandermeer played a season-high 24:52, including 10:44 on special teams, which is about double his average. He also went from a healthy scratch for four games to heavy minutes the last seven.

When Andrei Zyuzin returns from injury the Hawks will have to make some moves, and it'd be a shame to see Dustin Byfuglien sent back down when he ought to stay and play major minutes.

Meanwhile, gritty defenseman Danny Richmond continues to get a raw deal, playing five minutes of only one game at left wing and sitting the other 13 entirely.

Something has to give on defense, and soon.

Standing Pat

Not a day goes by without e-mails wondering if Pat Foley will return to the Hawks, who desperately need help with all facets of their broadcasts, which sound and look like paid political advertisements and contain very little reasoned analysis.

Best headline

Sportspickle.com: "David Beckham making Ace bandages the hot fashion accessory this fall.''

And finally …

NBC's Conan O'Brien: "The New Jersey Devils played their first home game in the new $380 million stadium. Newark residents say the new arena is a classy place to get shot outside of.''