Sox complete 3-game 'sweep' to wrap up AL Central championship
Like most fans last week, Jerry Reinsdorf was prepared to pull out the black suit last week after the White Sox lost three straight to the Twins at the dreaded Metrodome.
"After we got swept up there, I thought we were dead," said Reinsdorf, the Sox' longtime chairman. "I thought we were done."
The Sox sure acted like it, limping home and promptly dropping two straight to the Cleveland Indians.
Fortunately for the White Sox, the Twins were losing two in a row at home to Kansas City, so they were unable to extend their half-game lead in the AL Central.
"I said this team only needed 1 win to start rolling," said Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. "And it did."
The White Sox beat Cleveland on Sunday, and they pounded Detroit in a makeup game Monday to force a tie with Minnesota and force Tuesday night's winner-take-all matchup against the Twins at sold-out - and blacked-out - U.S. Cellular Field.
"These guys, what guts they have," a jubilant Reinsdorf said after hugging Jim Thome and Paul Konerko, among others, in the champagne-soaked clubhouse.
On the strength of Thome's mammoth 461-foot home run that landed on the fan deck in center field, the Sox mustered enough offense to advance to the American League division series, where they'll play the upstart Tampa Bay Rays in the first round starting Thursday.
"I knew I hit it pretty good," Thome said before politely pulling away from a crowd of media. "I've got to go celebrate."
Catcher A.J. Pierzynski and center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. were hoisting plenty of bubbly themselves, and it was well deserved.
In the fifth inning, Minnesota's Michael Cuddyer led off with a double and moved to third on Delmon Young's flyout to center.
Cuddyer tried tagging again and scoring on Brendan Harris' fly to center, but Griffey made a strong one-hop throw to the plate. Pierzynski made the tag and hung on while being bulldozed by Cuddyer.
"A.J. did a (heck) of a job," said starting pitcher John Danks. "Griffey made a heck of a throw and A.J. held his ground. A.J.'s a hard-nosed player and he proved it on that play."
Speaking of hard-nosed, the White Sox probably aren't in Florida today without the gritty performance from Danks.
The 23-year-old Texan was a big question mark pitching on three days' rest, but Danks delivered the performance of his life, blanking the Twins for 8 innings before Bobby Jenks closed it out in the ninth.
"No, I can't put it into words," Danks said without even being asked. "I'm still shaking. This is the best feeling in baseball I've ever had."
Danks was shaky at the start, walking leadoff man Denard Span. After that he cruised through while allowing just 2 hits.
"I had a good game," Danks said. "That's a tough lineup over there and I didn't want (Joe) Mauer and (Justin) Morneau to beat me. Fortunately they didn't. This is awesome right now."
Leave it to White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper to put the clutch outings of Danks and Gavin Floyd (on Sunday) into perspective.
"These were the guys that were the question marks," Cooper said. "Nobody counted on them and they tried to run them out of town before the season started. Let the record show those question marks are now exclamation points. That's what we set out to do the whole bleeping year."
Fans react to big win
At about 9:09 p.m. Tuesday a little-known song about a small-town girl, living in a lonely world, started playing on the PA at U.S. Cellular Field, celebrating the White Sox American League Central win against the Twins. Here's a summary of the game.
1st inning
Sox fans start the game on their feet, and they stay there while cheering pitcher John Danks. They make use of the black rally towels park staff gave away at the turnstiles. The towels came out with fervor after the Twins' Alexi Casilla smoked a line drive to Sox 3rd baseman Juan Uribe, who calmly threw to 1st base to double-up Denard Span. Sox 0, Twins 0.
"The fans are cheering literally on every pitch," said Sox fan Nick Sperti of Gleenwood. "And no one's going to get tired either."
2nd inning
The Fundamentals deck on the left field concourse did not host its usual children's activities on Tuesday night. Instead it became a venue for 1,200 standing Sox fans. The Twins don't do anything, while the Sox threaten with two baserunners, but also come up short. Sox 0, Twins 0.
"I'm just a Cubs fan here to support the Sox," said Danny Tharp of Morton Grove. "I bought a Sox shirt today at a thrift store because I didn't want to show disrespect and wear a Cubs shirt."
3rd inning
The cold has become a factor for fans, who were using the rally towel to cover their ears. The "Let's go White Sox" chants begin to fade, as fans begin to see their breath. Sox go 1-2-3. Sox 0, Twins 0.
"It's a good thing I didn't wear shorts," said Charles Storkman, who drove from Minnesota and was wearing a Twins' jersey.
4th inning
The Sox PR staff looks to have come up with a winner with the blackout idea, asking fans to wear black. Jermaine Dye manages a rare hit, but still no runs. Sox 0, Twins 0.
"This blackout is a unique look, I've never seen anything like this," said Henry Ortiz of Chicago.
5th inning
The play of the game: Ken Griffey Jr. nails Michael Cuddyer at home from center field, with A.J. Pierzynski holding on after a collision. Sox 0, Twins 0.
"Did you see that throw by Junior?!" screamed about 40,000 euphoric Sox fans.
6th inning
Sox fans are getting antsy. Span walks again with two outs and fans are looking for something to cheer. They rise to their feet when Danks gets Casilla at two strikes. Casilla then goes down swinging. Sox 0, Twins 0.
"I can't stand still," Jon Kulikowski of North Aurora said after patting his chest, feigning a heart attack after Casilla struck out.
7th Inning
Sitting behind home plate in row 35, Sox fan Rick Simmons of Orland Park used his hat to catch a foul ball hit by Sox slugger Jim Thome. Thome then takes the next pitch 461 feet to center field. Sox 1, Twins 0.
"Did you see Griffey and Thome come through?" Dennis O'Malley of Wilmette said. "It's the two old guys. You see Griffey, it's like seeing Willie Mays. He's a Hall of Famer for sure. He came through in such a critical spot making such a great play."
8th inning
Danks continues to dominate, and Brian Anderson comes in to play center for defense. Could that mean something later? The Twins' Brendan Harris singles, and Sox fans wonder if the lead will evaporate. But Danks solves the riddle that is Punto, inducing a double play to get out of the inning. Sox 1, Twins 0.
"That double play really helped," Bill Ganser of Evergreen Park said after a deep sigh.
9th inning
Danks' night is over, as Bobby Jenks strolls in with a little more pep in his step. His fastball touches 97 mph as he mows down pinch hitter Jason Kubel. Span grounds out feebly to Nick Swisher at first. Then Casilla provides us with the answer why Anderson went into the game for defense. Casilla hits a drive that looked to split right and center fields, until Anderson dives and makes the spectacular catch. Sox 1, Twins 0.
"Where did the Twins go?" Mark Delaney of Palatine said. "I thought they said they were going to be celebrating?"
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="http://video.ap.org/vws/search/aspx/ap.aspx?t=s316&p=ENAPsports_ENAPsports&g=sportsminute&f=ilarl">AP: White Sox win division</a></li> <li><a href="/multimedia/?category=23&type=video&item=17">Sox fans sing 'Go Go White Sox'</a></li> </ul> <h2>Photo Galleries</h2> <ul class="gallery"> <li><a href="/story/?id=239439">Images from the game </a></li> </ul> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=239464"><b>BARRY ROZNER:</b> After this, no telling how far these guys might go<span class="date"> [10/1/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=239430">Thome, Griffey play huge roles in getting Sox past pesky Twins<span class="date"> [9/30/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=239436">Struggling Vazquez will start Game 1 vs. Rays<span class="date"> [9/30/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>