Wise, White Sox share a 'great feeling'

Dewayne Wise wasn't sure what the summers in Somerset, N.J., were like, but he was this close to finding out.

Now he's spending the fall in Chicago with the White Sox, and the speedy outfielder couldn't be happier.

"Especially with what I went through in the off-season, to be in this situation, playing in postseason and helping the team win - it's a great feeling," said Wise, who had a key 2-run double in the fourth inning to propel the Sox to a 5-3 victory over Tampa to keep their hopes alive in the ALDS.

Wise is hitting .400 with a home run and 5 RBI in the series. He also has 2 of the Sox' 6 extra-base hits in the first three games.

And to think the 30-year-old was just about done with his dream to return to the majors after playing in all of 183 total games with the Blue Jays, Braves and Reds.

"I had my contract and I was on my way to Independent ball (in Somerset) and these guys gave me a call and invited me to minor-league camp and here I am today," said Wise, who was signed as a free agent by the Sox in March. "It's an awesome feeling. I'm just going out there and having fun."

And like a kid in a candy store, he's just soaking in all that makes playoff baseball the spectacle it is.

"I was telling Jerry Owens, I was out there in left field in the last inning and my heart was just racing," Wise said. "Just seeing everyone in black waving the white towels - it was an awesome feeling.

"I've never been a part of anything like this. I've seen it on TV, but to actually be out there and the crowd is going crazy. This is what you play the game for - I love it."

For a plodding team that goes station to station more than Metra, having a fleet-footed guy like Wise in the Sox lineup is almost a shock to the system.

"Every team needs a guy that can run, steal bases and do the little things to help you win," he said. "I'm always ready when I get the chance."

He certainly was ready in the fourth against Tampa's Matt Garza, a flamethrower whom he never faced before.

"I knew he wasn't going to throw anything I could pull," Wise said. "He left a fastball out over the plate -"

And Wise promptly deposited it in left, scoring Paul Konerko and Ken Griffey Jr. to up the Sox lead to 4-1.

"In the first few games of the series we never came up with the big hit with runners in scoring position," Wise said. "Today we did that."

And now Wise and Co. return for another do-or-die game at the Cell.

They can't wait.

"We're not ready to go home yet."