Santos, Humber, Dunn and more

Baseball doesn’t have the fury of football, the flash of basketball.

But it’s still going strong as America’s game, and here is why:

No other sport imitates life like baseball. Whether you succeed or fail one day, you file the experience away and show up the next day.

In case you missed the White Sox’ four-game series against the Athletics that wrapped up Sunday, struggling closer Sergio Santos was one strike away from saving what should have been a 5-3 win Friday.

He couldn’t do it, and the Sox were tagged with a painful 7-5 loss.

How would he recover?

Santos got another shot Sunday, coming on in the ninth inning against Oakland in the identical situation.

Trying to hold another 5-3 lead, Santos did allow a run, and the A’s were looking for much more after loading the bases with two outs.

It didn’t look good for the Sox after the speedy Coco Crisp hit a grounder to third baseman Brent Morel, who simply should have stepped on the bag for the game-ending force.

Instead, Morel threw across the diamond and first-base umpire Brian O’Nora called Crisp out. He was safe, but baseball (and life) is not fair.

Some days you catch a break and some days you don’t. Far more than any other sport, baseball reflects that reality.

ŸLost in Sunday’s furious finish was White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen’s decision to let Santos work his way out of another mess.

Fearing their own job security, repercussions from the fan base and the media, or all of the above, most managers would have made a pitching change.

Not Ozzie.

He was willing to gamble a potential crushing loss in order to save Santos’ psyche, and he came out as a big winner.

ŸAfter Sunday’s game, Santos said Guillen’s backing “just did wonders for me.”

He apparently was talking about the mental side of the game, but Santos has allowed 8 runs on 7 hits and 6 walks in his last 3 outings, a span of 2⅔ innings.

Not good any way you look at it, and the almost instant disappearance of Santos’ best pitch — the slider — has got to be at the top of Sox pitching coach Don Cooper’s work list.

ŸSpeaking of Cooper, MLB.com’s Peter Gammons gave him all of the credit for getting White Sox starter Phil Humber’s career on track.

Also last week, Gammons made more headlines in Chicago by calling Wrigley Field a “dump.”

My question for Gammons is: What, were the Boston Red Sox out of town last week?

ŸAdam Dunn has looked much better against right-handers since sitting out back-to-back games against Seattle last week.

Dunn homered Friday and sparked Sunday’s win with a 3-run homer that traveled 405 feel while easily cutting through some chilly, heavy air at U.S. Cellular Field.

Dunn appears to be back, at least against right-handers. But he’s still 1-for-47 against lefties, and that’s a huge concern for the White Sox.

ŸOn the subject of slumping hitters, Alex Rios was 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts Sunday, dropping his average to .212.

But like Dunn, Rios is gradually getting back into the flow. Before Sunday, Rios had 7 hits in 13 at-bats.

And also like Dunn, he was benched for two games last week. Rios used the time off to make a big adjustment.

Instead of holding his hands down around his waistline, Rios moved them up and started driving the ball like he did last year.

ŸDon’t know what’s better on the days John Danks is starting for the Sox — the pregame country rock blasting in the clubhouse or the way the Texan often says “yes, sir” or “no, ma’am” when answering postgame questions.

ŸWe all know how hard Juan Pierre works on his game, and he still can be a dangerous leadoff man for the White Sox like he was in 2010.

But the more you watch Brent Lillibridge, even though he is 2-for-15 with 7 strikeouts in his last five games, the more you think he has to be in left field four or five games a week.

Pretty sure I haven’t seen a better defensive outfielder while covering the Sox the past 18 years.

ŸIt’s a long, long season, and finding fresh angles always is a challenge.

With that in mind, it is way too early to start a Hall of Fame campaign for Paul Konerko and Mark Buehrle.

ŸThought the Indians wouldn’t fade until late July or August. Don’t be surprised if they finish last in the AL Central.

ŸHope this is the final word on Oney Guillen’s Twitter account, but I’m sure there is more to come.

Here’s the deal — Oney no longer works for the Sox, it’s a free country, and he has the right to spout off on anything he wants.

Which Oney does, almost daily.

But when certain media outlets continually splash his thoughts across the front (make that back) page, they are playing right into Oney’s hands.

There is an interesting theory that Oney is trying to land a reality TV show. With all the publicity he gets, I can definitely see that happening.

And, yes, I would watch. It would be much more entertaining than a lot of the tripe that’s airing now.

sgregor@dailyherald.com