Four Horsemen? Wrong sport and a tad pretentious. Fab Four? Also taken. Four Aces? Better, but not quite punchy enough.
Sports Illustrated called them the “Smother Brothers” this week. That isn’t bad, though a little dated.
Jose Contreras. Mark Buehrle. Jon Garland. Freddy Garcia. Their given names are suddenly quite enough for the four hottest starting pitchers in baseball.
“They tease us about not pitching,” Sox reliever Cliff Politte said. Indeed, Politte and his mates in the bullpen may have to take to wearing name tags if the fearsome foursome–sorry–continue their act in the World Series. Against the Los Angeles Angels in the ALCS, they threw four consecutive complete-game victories and worked 441 1/43 of 45 innings.
The four starters are bound by history after their collective performance. They share fierce ambition and manageable egos. But they’re four men from vastly different backgrounds with their own stories of survival.
Jose Contreras
Contreras is the one-time Cuban great who was christened “El Titan de Bronze” by none other than Fidel Castro for his performance in the Pan Am Games. Within three years, he had defected and touched off a bidding war between the Yankees and the Red Sox.
He signed with the Yankees but was miserable until his wife and children joined him 21 months later. The Yankees never had complete faith in him and traded him to the White Sox for Esteban Loaiza in July 2004.
Now he finds himself on baseball’s biggest stage, about to start Game 1 of the World Series against Houston and former Yankees teammate Roger Clemens.
Mark Buehrle
Buehrle, the lone lefty, is the country boy who proposed to his wife in a deer stand, a kid who got cut from the baseball team his freshman and sophomore years of high school and still persevered.
Buehrle finished 16-8 this season, and his Game 2 ALCS victory gave the Sox the jump they needed.
“It’s starting to sink in a little bit, watching the TV shows, the news, watching fans go crazy,” Buehrle said. “High school and college friends, pretty much anybody who has my number has called congratulating me.”
Jon Garland
Garland is superstitious, which can happen when you’re drafted at 17, traded by the Cubs a year after they make you their No. 1 pick, make the big leagues at 20 and feel like a disappointment when you’re a little slow to live up to immense expectations.
But this year, after 18 regular-season wins, Garland has arrived.
“I don’t think anybody is going out and trying to make a name for himself,” Garland said. “We’re guys who like to compete.”
Freddy Garcia
Garcia was disappointed in his 14-8 regular season but won the division series clincher at Boston and pitched a six-hitter in Game 4 of the ALCS. He believes he has learned something from his fellow starters.
“Buehrle is the kind of guy who just pitches,” he said. “… And Garland is the same way. He’s quiet, does his business.”
Contreras speaks only Spanish. Garcia prefers Spanish, and Buehrle and Garland speak only English, but somehow it works.
“I communicate with El Duque and Freddy pretty well,” Buehrle said. “With Jose I need a translator. But a lot of time I just joke around with all of them, keep everyone loose, have fun.”
– – –
Series schedule
(best-of-seven; all games on WFLD-Ch. 32)
Saturday
Houston (Clemens 13-8) at SOX
(Contreras 15-7), 7:03 p.m.
Sunday
Houston (Pettitte 17-9) at SOX
(Buehrle 16-8), 7:09 p.m.
Tuesday
SOX (Garland 18-10) at Houston
(Oswalt 20-12), 7:38 p.m.
Wednesday
SOX (Garcia 14-8) at Houston
(Backe 10-8), 7:33 p.m.
Thursday
SOX at Houston, if necessary, 7:28 p.m.
Oct. 29
Houston at SOX, if necessary, 6:58 p.m.
Oct. 30
Houston at SOX, if necessary, 7:13 p.m.
———-
Edited by Chris Malcolm (ccmalcolm@tribune.com) and Drew Sottardi (dsottardi@tribune.com)
