Opportunity lost

It seemed too good to be true.

First a 1-0 score popped up on the right-field scoreboard. In a blink it was 4-0.

With each flash and each increasing number, the roars of the sellout crowd at U.S. Cellular Field grew louder and louder.

Everything was falling into place for the White Sox on Friday. The exact scenario they needed to retake first place in the AL Central was coming to fruition. The lowly Kansas City Royals were doing just what the Sox needed - crushing the Twins in Minnesota.

Now all the Sox had to do was hold up their end of the bargain by dispatching of the visiting Cleveland Indians.

Through four innings, they did the job, nursing a 4-3 lead.

Then starter John Danks faltered. Then the bullpen came on and could do nothing to stop the carnage.

Six walks here, a pair of wild pitches there, 2 hit batters later, and suddenly the White Sox were looking at the wrong end of a crushing 11-8 loss.

A loss made worse by the fact that the Royals ended up thumping the Twins 8-1.

"When the manager and the pitching coach go out (to the mound) seven times in five innings, it's not a good indication," said Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who let out some steam in the clubhouse before meeting the media. "I think those guys out there should be a little bit embarrassed ... because I was.

"You can't even try to do what we did today. I think that was the worst five or six innings I ever remember we've gone through in a long time. Hitting guys, walking people, basehits with two outs; we got 40,000 people watching stupid baseball today."

He got no argument from Danks, whose record dropped to 11-9 after allowing 7 runs in 4-plus innings.

"I was just flat-out bad," Danks said. "I dropped the ball, let the team down, let the fans down.

"Minnesota did lose and we had a prime opportunity. These guys put up 8 runs - that should easily win the game ... I didn't do it."

"We didn't lose any ground, but the sad thing is we didn't gain any ground," said catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who provided some pop with a 2-run homer in the second inning. "It works both ways - you've go to pitch and you've got to hit.

"It was a bad outing. That happens. Now we've got to find a way to win the next two games ... the next three games."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=238582">Swisher frustrated; Guillen doesn't care <span class="date"> [9/26/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>