White Sox grooving on good times
The White Sox aren’t stupid.
They know another bad stretch or three awaits them before the regular season wraps up on Oct. 3 with a game at Cleveland.
“We know there are a lot of games coming up here that are going to be tough and it’s only going to get tougher as we get closer,” Paul Konerko said. “So far we’ve been up for the challenge, so just keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
In respective order, the Sox have been overcoming obstacles and racking up wins.
They followed the same script in Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Mariners at U.S. Cellular Field that was cut short by rain.
The start of the game was delayed 1 hour and 51 minutes, and there were two more stops in play in the seventh inning. The first was six minutes and the second was 1 hour, 55 minutes, when the game was finally called.
The White Sox also overcame the loss of starter Gavin Floyd, who was lifted after 2 innings with discomfort in his throwing (right) elbow.
“You can’t draw this up,” said Sox manager Robin Ventura, who along with catcher A.J. Pierzynski was ejected from Saturday night’s win over Seattle by home-plate umpire Lance Barrett.
True, but everything worked out in successful fashion as the White Sox completed a perfect homestand with three-game sweeps over the Mariners and Yankees. They had to rally from behind in five of the games, including Sunday.
“We’re doing everything pretty well,” said Sunday’s hero, Tyler Flowers. “Obviously, we can get better and score more runs. But it’s all about getting wins.”
Flowers hit a clutch 2-run homer with two outs in the seventh inning to put the Sox in front 4-3.
After Dewayne Wise followed with a single, the steady rain increased in intensity and play never resumed.
“It was a good break for us,” Konerko said. “We were winning the game, but you never know what could happen the last couple innings. I think a chance was given, that’s the main thing.
“We were here all day and I think every guy in here has probably been on the short end of a game like that. It’s not the way you draw it up, but sometimes Mother Nature just doesn’t agree with what’s going on. All you can hope is that you’re on the good end of it and today we were.”
Not only are the White Sox piling up wins, they’re having a good time doing it.
After a long day at the Cell on Sunday, they all dressed in gaudy pants and tacky polo shorts before chartering to Baltimore.
Ventura hatched the goofy idea.
“You know we’re all fans because any time you get out of wearing a suit, we’re up for it,” said Konerko, who was sporting a pink shirt and checkered pants. “As you see in here, it’s pretty light and everybody’s having a good time with it. It screams, for sure. But I just went with the opposite of what I would normally do.
“If we had more time to really accessorize and get into it, I might have come up with something better. I think everybody was on short notice so we did the best we could. It’s all in good fun.”
sgregor@dailyherald.com