As clock winds down, White Sox continue surge with Cairo as manager
There's little doubt the White Sox have gotten their act together under acting manager Miguel Cairo.
Tuesday night's 4-2 interleague win over the Rockies at Guaranteed Rate Field gives the Sox a 10-4 record since Cairo took over for Tony La Russa.
Eloy Jimenez hit a 3-run homer in the first inning, but the White Sox didn't score again until Jose Abreu hit a solo shot in the eighth.
For Abreu, it was his first home run since Aug. 3. The 37-game drought was the longest of his career.
The second-place White Sox kept pace with the first-place Guardians, who beat the Angels for their fifth straight win while maintaining a 3-game lead in the AL Central.
It's either going to be a fabulous finish for the Sox or a season to forget.
"We've been as frustrated as the fans are, the fact that we haven't been able to do this until recently," said closer Liam Hendriks, who retired Colorado in order in the ninth inning to pick up his 33rd save. "Hopefully it can stick around because if it doesn't, we're (expletive) out of luck and we will be going home earlier than anyone anticipated and that's unfortunate.
"But we have enough talent in this room. At the end of the day, it's all in our hands. If we take care of it, we take care of it. If we don't, we go home."
Cairo took over on Aug. 30 when La Russa had to step down because of health issues related to his heart and a pacemaker that was inserted before the season.
La Russa was in his office before Tuesday's game vs. Colorado but not in uniform. He watched the game from a suite and is expected to follow the same routine on Wednesday.
As for La Russa returning to the dugout before season's end, it doesn't seem likely, but nothing has been ruled out.
"I don't have a ton to add to what Tony has already shared," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "Frankly, at the start of this process he asked us to respect his privacy when it comes to his personal health information which we obviously have and will continue to do so.
"As for if and when (a return) may occur, we simply don't have that information at this point and in the end we're going to understandably follow the advice of medical experts."
Cairo - typically the Sox's bench coach - is OK being in limbo with his new role.
"I'm mentally prepared every day," he said. "Today I'm the manager. Tomorrow I don't know. But I'm glad (La Russa's) around because I always ask him questions about what I could have done better or different or stuff like that. He's got experience. He's a mentor. He's like a father to me. I care about him and I'm glad he's well. He's in good spirits."
Cairo's positive energy has been noticeable in the manager's seat, but he does have a temper and it boiled over after his first game in place of La Russa.
A major-league infielder for 17 seasons, Cairo didn't like what he saw in the White Sox's 9-7 loss to the Royals and he said so in the postgame clubhouse. Minus the profanity, Cairo told Sox players to leave if they didn't want to be on the team.
"I saw something that I didn't like in that game and I couldn't let it pass," Cairo said. "I just let them know how I felt about it and are you in or are you out? If you are out, let me know. If you are in, let's go for it."
The White Sox are in, but the clock is ticking fast.
"Since that's happened, we've had more energy, we've got guys that are in the dugout a little bit more, guys that are out there supporting, they're running around," Hendriks said. "They're doing all these things a little bit more. I think the energy level has kind of increased and that's something that has been brought around just on his little message of, 'Look, if you guys don't want to be here get the (heck) out,' in no uncertain terms."