It hasn't been pretty, but White Sox have that feeling they're still alive
Every player stopped and looked at the message as they went by the chalkboard just inside the locker-room door.
Five words said it all: "(Bleep) feelings. It's about winning."
And in an instant, the harsh words traded between A.J. Pierzynski and Javier Vazquez the night before were forgotten - at least for a few hours - and the focus was back on something the Sox hadn't done in a week.
They won a baseball game.
If they can do it twice more in the next two days against Detroit and Minnesota, they'll be back in the postseason despite having just about the worst last week of a baseball season a first-place team can possibly imagine.
Fortunately for the Sox, the Twins haven't been any better.
"I think it's fun - and weird," said incredulous White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. "I've never seen two teams play this bad and still play for the pennant."
The Sox were back to looking like a first-place team Sunday at home against Cleveland, mostly because Mark Buehrle was magical - as in Houdini style.
Pitching on three days' rest for the second time in a week, he scattered 9 hits and pitched another 7 innings while inducing 4 double plays and picking off a runner.
"He was effectively good at getting groundball double plays," said a chuckling Pierzynski after the 5-1 victory. "He was tired, but he battled."
It helped that the Sox got something they haven't received in awhile: a gift.
Actually, two of them.
First, they missed Cleveland's 22-game winner because of Cliff Lee's stiff neck, and instead faced a starter in Bryan Bullington on Sunday who was waived in July by the mighty Pirates.
Just as big was a second-inning error by Indians third baseman Jamey Carroll, who turned a 1-1 game into a 3-1 Sox lead.
Buehrle did the rest, though his teammates chipped in with some clutch, two-out hits, solid infield defense and even a couple of innings of scoreless relief from the only bullpen guys Guillen trusts right now, Matt Thornton and Bobby Jenks.
What those three pitchers have in common is guts, and that's also been in short supply on the South Side the last few weeks.
"It was a well-played game all around for us," Pierzynski said. "Hopefully that will carry over to tomorrow."
The Sox haven't won two in a row since sweeping a doubleheader from Detroit on Sept. 14, much less three straight, which last occurred Sept. 6.
"At least we have another shot to play," Guillen said. "A lot of guys are flying home tonight for the winter, but we have a chance to play and keep going.
"Hopefully this will help guys relax and have a little fun.
"It's not easy. If we were playing well, I'd say we might win 10 in a row. This team is so unpredictable."
Before the game, Guillen said he'd go with Buehrle "until his arm falls off. He can get a lot of rest the next five months."
Unfortunately, Buehrle can't throw again today against the Tigers, so it'll be Gavin Floyd, who didn't exactly inspire confidence with his last start in Minneapolis. But he'll need to be good, and go long, for the Sox to extend the season.
"We get paid to play 162 games, and we're going to get our money's worth this year," Pierzynski said. "Hopefully we'll play 163 games, and if we win two, we'll get to where we wanted to go."
That's Tampa, where the well-rested Rays will be waiting in ambush, but that's a headache for another day.
For this day, it's the Tigers.
"They thought they were flying home to their families," Guillen said. "They're not going to be happy when they get here. They're not going to take it easy on us.
"It's going to be tough."
What else is new, right?
Instant messaging
Dr. Phil, he's not.
No shock that Ozzie Guillen made it clear he's not going to worry about what his players think of him, whether it's Game 1 or Game 162 of a very long season.
"I don't care about their feelings," Guillen said. "They don't care about mine. They never come up to me and ask me how I'm feeling today.
"I love my players - off the field. On the field, it's different because I have a job to do. I'm the manager and I'm not here to hold anybody's hand. I got to win baseball games or I got to go home."
Strange daze indeed
More unusual than the religious music playing in the clubhouse before Sunday's game was the moment the anthem singer belted out a pregame version in the stadium at 10:41 a.m., prompting one Sox employee to quip, "Maybe they figured if we got a two-hour head start on the Indians, before they could get on the field, we might beat them."
The Maddux files
Greg Maddux did not walk a batter in his final 3 starts for Los Angeles (18 innings), so he'll become just the second pitcher (Fergie Jenkins) ever to retire with more than 3,000 strikeouts and fewer than 1,000 walks.
The Padres' Brian Giles became the 999th batter to walk vs. Maddux on Sept. 8, and Maddux went the next 19 innings without issuing a free pass.
The quote
Gavin Floyd, who was traded from Philadelphia for today's Detroit starter, Freddy Garcia, on whether this will be the biggest game of his career: "For the past month, it seems like every game has been the biggest game of my career, so this won't be any different."
And finally -
Ozzie Guillen, on flying home to Florida if the White Sox fail to make the playoffs: "I'm not going to go through O'Hare or Midway. I'm not going to sit in an airport here. I can't look at anyone. I'll go up to (bleeping) Milwaukee before I do that."