Minnesota Twins manager Tom Kelly should know a good team when he sees one. The two-time World Series winner does not believe it’s a fluke that the White Sox are climbing in the American League Central standings.
“They’re a very good ballclub and they’ve got all their components on the field,” Kelly said. “They’re very dangerous with Frank Thomas and (Albert) Belle, and their leadoff hitter (Ray Durham) is getting on a lot too. They have a lot of bullets to fire, and they’re starting to get it together. We could see that when we were in Chicago (last weekend). They’re going to be tough to beat if their pitching keeps up.”
Minnesota has played its last eight games against the White Sox and Cleveland Indians. Who better to analyze the two American League Central leaders.
“There’s no question Cleveland has a very strong team, but they’re relying on young pitchers in their rotation,” Twins veteran Paul Molitor said. “That will test them throughout the year and make it difficult to pull away. The White Sox are on a little bit of a roll, and they got a boost when Thomas came back, but they have to keep getting consistent starting pitching. They just got above .500. Now we’ll see if they can sustain that.”
Belle’s 5-for-5 performance Friday night left an impression on the Twins. They see him as the same force he was when he carried Cleveland to Central titles in 1995 and ’96.
“Albert is one of the best hitters in the game,” Kelly said. “He’s a student of the game. He must have a high level of concentration because he takes a lot of abuse. I assume he gets it everywhere because our fans really aren’t that bad and they (have been) getting on him in the field pretty good. He responded with what, eight, nine hits (Friday)?”
Close call: In the current issue of Sports Illustrated, team Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf admits coming very close to stripping his team after last year’s 85-77 season.
“My original plan was to unload all the high-salaried guys except for Frank Thomas and trade for young players, rebuild the ballclub,” Reinsdorf told SI. “To get the payroll down (from $44.8 million) to $20-$22 million. If we drew a million fans, my accountant had it figured out we’d make a $5 million profit. It would have been the smart thing to do.”
Why didn’t he? “I got nervous,” Reinsdorf said. “What if I destroyed the franchise? I thought if I signed Albert Belle I’d excite the city.”
Out of position: With no backup infielders available, Bevington used third catcher Tony Pena at third base in the seventh inning Saturday night, giving Ozzie Guillen a short rest. Guillen had played every inning since Norberto Martin when on the disabled list June 15.
Pena had never before played third base. He did not have any chances in the game.
Short hops: Doug Drabek’s 1 1/3-inning outing Saturday was the shortest by a Sox starter this season. The previous had been on April 30, when Wilson Alvarez left after two innings against Texas with stiffness in his shoulder. . . . Matchups for the upcoming series in Pittsburgh: Danny Darwin (2-5) vs. Jon Lieber (4-8) Monday night, James Baldwin (5-8) vs. Steve Cooke (5-9) Tuesday night and Jaime Navarro (6-6) vs. Jason Schmidt (3-4) Wednesday.
