Excited, nervous Floyd ready to go
John Danks stepped up to the mound on Sunday and helped the White Sox live to play at least one more day.
Can Gavin Floyd do the same?
"I'm excited," said Floyd, who starts against Andy Sonnanstine and Tampa Bay in Game 4 as the Sox try to stay alive in the American League division series. "I'm a little nervous now; I'm human. But once I go out there, I'll block everything out."
Floyd was in a similar situation last Monday, when the White Sox played a makeup game against Detroit at U.S. Cellular Field to end the regular season.
Needing a win to force a tiebreaker game with the Twins to decide the AL Central title, Floyd came through while allowing 2 runs (1 earned) over 6 innings.
During the regular season, Floyd (17-8, 3.84 ERA) never faced Tampa Bay.
Sonnanstine (13-9, 4.38 ERA) was 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 3 starts against the Sox this season. The right-hander pitched a 3-hit, complete-game shutout against the White Sox at Tampa Bay on April 19, but he had no decisions at home on June 1 (5 innings, 3 runs, 10 hits) and at the Cell on Aug. 24 (6 innings, 4 runs, 9 hits).
Rough road: Rays manager Joe Maddon had a feeling Game 3 was going to be tough for his team, and he is expecting a similar situation in Game 4.
"To think that you are just going to waltz through this whole thing is not a good thought," Maddon said. "It's very unreasonable. They're very good. And they're very good in this building also. They have faced some difficult moments recently in this ballpark and have done well.
"It's a bad assumption to think you are just going to come in here and beat up on them. These guys are veterans, they're professionals, they're a very good baseball team, and I have a lot of respect for them."
Ozzie on Cubs: White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen isn't laughing about the Cubs' early exit from the playoffs.
"You look at those guys' faces and the way they talk, I feel for them," Guillen said after the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Cubs in the first round. "I have friends over there, and I know how the people in this city are. The expectations were so high."
Guillen said after the game, he sent a text message to Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano, a close friend and fellow Venezuelan. The Sox' manager is also tight with Cubs counterpart Lou Piniella and general manager Jim Hendry.
"They just got beat," Guillen said. "The expectations were so high. It's not easy as a player to come every day with, 'This is the year. This is the year.' Well, what if this isn't the year? What if the year is next year?
"I think Cubs fans shouldn't forget how (bleeping) great this summer was for them. I always say play 162 (games), but when the season is over, it's a new season. They didn't play well during the new season."