Turning point? Sox are proof this series is important

Posted June 24, 2010 11:00 pm

Scot Gregor

Two weeks ago, the Blackhawks were celebrating their first Stanley Cubs championship in 49 years.

Over at Wrigley Field, the downtrodden White Sox and Cubs were playing the first of three games in a supposedly meaningless series.

The tide quickly turned for one of Chicago's baseball teams - the Sox.

They won two of three from their North Side rivals and have been on fire ever since.

"Looking back right now, it kind of kicked us into gear a little bit," said Paul Konerko, who lifted the White Sox to their ninth straight win Thursday afternoon with a 2-run homer in the eighth inning in a 2-0 victory over the Braves to complete a series sweep. "We were able to keep the intensity going into Pittsburgh after that. Sometimes there is a letdown after the series. That was probably the thing, when we showed up Tuesday night in Pittsburgh and had a good game there and won. It was nice because that letdown didn't happen. We've been rolling since then."

The Sox were 26-33 and 8 1/2 games behind the Twins heading into Wrigley. Now, they are 37-34 and only 2 1/2 games behind Minnesota in the AL Central.

Since the White Sox and Cubs started hooking up twice each season in 1997, the series has shown it can make a bad season turn good in a hurry.

In 2003, the Sox were 33-39 before they met the Cubs. The won two of three in each series and wound up with an 86-76 record, which left them 4 games behind a good Twins teams.

In 2007, the Cubs were 18-21 when they first played the White Sox. They won 5 of 6 in the series and wound up winning the NL Central with an 85-77 record.

The Cubs limp into U.S. Cellular Field this weekend, but recent history says a successful series against the Sox could finally deliver a needed jolt.

"That's a dangerous team," Konerko said. "Their record is not indicative of how good of a team they have. At some point they're going to turn it around. We hope it's after this weekend."

Guillen and Cubs manager Lou Piniella are close friends, but there is no sympathy coming from the South Side.

"No. (Piniella's) making $4 million, almost $5 million," Guillen said. "Nobody felt bad for me when we were struggling. Don't take me wrong; I love that man. I really do. I love that man; I love the general manager (Jim Hendry). It's not easy when you go through this. I know how hard it is. But do I feel bad? They're not in my division.

"I wish it was Detroit or Minnesota. There's one thing about it, I don't think anybody felt bad when we were struggling, when they were asking Kenny (Williams) to fire me. That's this job. I think Lou's handling it better than me. Lou's had a losing team before; he knows how to handle it. He wants his team to play better."

For better or for worse, it should be an interesting weekend of baseball.

"I think it's something great for the city," Guillen said. "They showed two weeks ago how important the series is. We got the NHL champs in town, everybody was talking about the Blackhawks, everything was very nice, and we still packed it in. That means the fans in Chicago show how much they support baseball, how much they support both clubs, and how fun those games are.

"It doesn't matter what place we're at, we played this game for fun in the (19)80s. We had one exhibition game and it brought a lot of people. It's something I'm always looking forward to."

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Gavin Floyd delivers during the first inning of an interleague baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Thursday. Associated Press

Scouting report

White Sox vs. Cubs at U.S. Cellular Field

TV: Comcast SportsNet and Channel 9 today and Sunday; Channel 32 Saturday

Radio: WSCR 670-AM; WGN 720-AM

Pitching matchups: The Sox' Jake Peavy (6-5, 5.07 ERA) vs. Carlos Zambrano (3-5, 5.10) today at 3:05 p.m.; Freddy Garcia (8-3, 4.85) vs. Carlos Silva (8-2, 3.01) Saturday at 6:10 p.m.; John Danks (7-5, 3.23) vs. Ryan Dempster (5-6, 3.56) Sunday at 1:05 p.m.

About the White Sox: They are rolling, having won nine in a row and 13 of their last 14. The Sox won 2 of 3 from the Cubs at Wrigley Field two weeks ago and have won 5 of the last 6 vs. their North Side rivals. Peavy had some right shoulder soreness late last week, but he's 2-1 with a 1.57 ERA in June. Alexei Ramirez is a lifetime 3-for-7 with 2 HR and 4 RBI vs. Zambrano. Paul Konerko is 8-for-28 with 4 HR and 6 RBI. Closer Bobby Jenks has converted 12 straight save tries and has allowed only 1 earned run over his last 12 innings.

About the Cubs: The Cubs have had numerous opportunities to get themselves back into contention and have blown almost all of them. They entered Thursday 13th in the National League in runs scored, 13th in walks and 13th in on-base percentage. They were third worst in errors and were tied for last in fielding percentage with Washington and Florida. The team ERA of 3.97 was 10th in the NL. Center fielder Marlon Byrd, an all-star candidate, entered the day second in multihit games, with 30. Silva has had extra rest because of a right hamstring Next: The White Sox play the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, Monday-Wednesday; the Cubs play the Pirates at Wrigley Field, Monday-Wednesday

- Scot Gregor/Bruce Miles