After the first series of the season there’s blood in the water at U.S. Cellular Field, and the piranhas are circling.
Those pesky Minnesota Twins make a weekend visit, and it’s a second straight American League Central showdown for the White Sox, who find themselves two games behind the undefeated defending division champions.
Despite their early playoff elimination, the Twins still command the respect of Guillen, whose nickname for them was turned into a T-shirt slogan.
“You look at the way the piranhas attack, they go little by little and all of a sudden you are dead,” Guillen said.
“That’s the way [the Twins] play. They pitch and make the plays, they move the guy over, boom, 2-0. Then [closer] Joe Nathan is in the game, and the game is over.”
The Twins have been the nemesis of the Sox from the time A.J. Pierzynski was a Minnesota rookie. Since 2000, the only season the Sox have had a winning record against the Twins was in their 2005 championship season. And even then they were just 11-7.
“It’s always fun to play the Twins,” said Pierzynski, who left after the 2003 season. “They’re the team to beat. They’re the defending champions in this division. They play the game the right way, and they’re fun to watch because they go about their business. They don’t take pitches off. They don’t back down.”
This has been a tough opening week for the Sox. First Cleveland, which won two of three games at the Cell, and now the Twins for three games.
“And then we go to Oakland, where we play so well,” Pierzynski deadpanned.
The Sox are 4-23 in Oakland over the last six seasons.
But first things first, because these Twins give the Sox nearly as big a headache as Oakland and certainly do it more often.
The A’s come in refreshed after a day off Thursday, which followed a sweep of Baltimore. Plus they come in with a well-rested bullpen that has thrown only eight innings this season, all scoreless. The Sox bullpen has thrown 19 1/3 innings.
That puts the pressure on Friday night starter Javier Vazquez.
“I know the pen’s been used, and you don’t want to go out and throw two, three, four innings,” Vazquez said.
The problem: Vazquez was 0-4 with a 6.83 ERA against the Twins last season and is 1-5, 6.52 against them for his career.
“They have a great lineup,” he said. “It’s nothing new. I have to get ahead of the hitters and put them away as soon as I can.”
The Twins will be pitching fourth and fifth starters Carlos Silva and Sidney Ponson in this series, at least leveling the playing field somewhat.
The news is not so good Sunday, when two-time Cy Young Awaed winner Johan Santana is scheduled. He was 3-1 against the Sox last year, 10-5 for his career.
Despite a slow start and the possibility of it getting even slower, the Sox can take some solace in their situation. The Twins started 1-5 last April and were four games out of first place after the first two series. Santana lost his first two starts of the season.
By the beginning of May they were seven games under .500 and nine games behind Detroit. Just after the All-Star break they were 12 games out of first.
Yet they won 96 games and beat out the Tigers for the division title on the final day of the season.
“I always say it’s not the way you start, it’s the way you finish,” Guillen said. “Last year people felt sorry for the Twins for two months. I remember saying in Minnesota that those guys were going to be there, and people thought I was crazy.
“I think the good start helps you in the end, but it’s the way you finish.”
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dvandyck@tribune.com
