Reinsdorf talks to Sox about next season, Peavy rolls
The season officially over the day before, the White Sox nonetheless entered Friday night's game against the Detroit Tigers with a sense of purpose: 2010.
And in an attempt to get them geared up for next season, chairman Jerry Reinsdorf addressed the Sox before they went out and beat the AL Central leaders 2-0.
"Just hearing Jerry talk to the team today got me fired up, talking about competing this winter and being ready to come back and give everything we've got to winning a world championship next year," said starter Jake Peavy, who pitched 7 innings and recorded 8 strikeouts in his second start with the White Sox.
"I think he wants to have guys next year that are going to come wanting to win and wanting to get to the playoffs," rookie third baseman Gordon Beckham said. "Hopefully, we can do it. He's the boss and he's a great person. I really enjoy being around him as much as possible, and hopefully we can do better next year and fulfill what he wants us to do."
In a private moment, Beckham said Reinsdorf vented his disgust with the current season, which is understandable considering the dreary past six weeks.
But with Beckham quickly establishing himself as a star player - his 2-run homer with two outs in the sixth inning ended Detroit starter Eddie Bonine's no-hit bid and provided all of the scoring - and Peavy displays his vast talent, the optimism for 2010 is not unrealistic.
"(Peavy), besides being a good pitcher, brings a lot of energy to the team," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "I'm not the type of guy to sit down and say 'If that happened,' but it would be a little different if this kid...I'm not going to say we would be in the pennant race, but it would be a little different when he's on the mound."
Peavy (2-0) missed most of the season with an injured right ankle and sore right elbow, but he was a bulldog in a decision that cost the Tigers a key game in the standings to the second-place Twins.
Throwing 95 pitches while successfully lobbying Guillen to come back out and pitch the seventh inning, Peavy allowed just 6 hits, all of them singles.
"It was fun tonight," Peavy said. "I was able to make some pitches when I needed to to get out of some jams and the boys played well behind me. Their guy (Bonine) was awfully good as well. That's a good team, man, fighting for the playoffs. It's fun to pitch with something on the line. A good White Sox win tonight."
The Tigers tested Peavy's right ankle in the early going, once on a bunt single by shortstop Ramon Santiago in third inning and also on double-play ball in the second when Peavy didn't get to first base quickly enough.
Afterward, the dinged-up pitcher said he was good enough to pitch.
"The ankle's fine, obviously it's going to be taped," Peavy said. "I'm not moving around as good as I would like, but certainly I'm going to get better at that. I knew that I'm going to come out of this thing and I'm looking forward to this winter to get healthy and to work."
<p class="factboxheadblack">Scot Gregor's game tracker</p> <p class="News">White Sox 2, Tigers 0</p> <p class="News"><b>Little goes a long way:</b> The Sox won with just 2 hits in a game for the first time since April 28, against Seattle.</p> <p class="News"><b>Peavy tracker:</b> Jake Peavy is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in 2 starts for the Sox. He is scheduled to make one more, likely at Cleveland Wednesday night.</p> <p class="News"><b>Rookie watch:</b> Gordon Beckham provided all of the scoring with a 2-run homer in the sixth inning, breaking up Eddie Bonine's no-hit bid in the process.</p> <p class="News"><b>Catch of the day:</b> Right fielder Jermaine Dye robbed Curtis Granderson with a running grab in the first inning. Dye slammed into the fence but held on to the ball.</p> <div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=324370">Buehrle gets rings for perfect game<span class="date"> [9/25/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>