The clock is ticking for Ken Williams, and time is moving even faster for White Sox players trying to convince their general manager they’re capable of a furious second-half run.
“I think we have a little run in us,” Williams said after not giving in to the temptation to trade staff ace Mark Buehrle. “The question is, when will Cleveland and Detroit and Minnesota have their lull? Everyone has one. And when will they have it?”
The Sox must make a move soon if they’re to have any chance of making the postseason. They’re counting on their once-potent offense to lead a second-half surge similar to those made by American League Central rivals Cleveland and Minnesota the last two seasons.
The Sox trail AL Central leader Detroit by 13 games and have 39 division games left, including three in Cleveland and five with Detroit at U.S. Cellular Field before the July 31 non-waiver deadline.
“As a matter of fact, it will be a necessity,” Williams said of must-win games against the Indians and Tigers. “You have to beat them head-up to have any hope. But we’ve seen some of the Oakland A’s teams over the past years do it. We’ve seen Minnesota do it last year. We’ve seen Cleveland do it the year before and almost catch us, 16 games behind. It would be different if we didn’t have talented veteran players who didn’t have a track record, but we do.”
Nevertheless, right fielder Jermaine Dye and second baseman Tadahito Iguchi are free agents and neither has hit as well as in past seasons. Both could be dealt if the Sox don’t improve quickly. Pitcher Jose Contreras, whose no-trade clause expired Dec. 31, 2006, could be moved to make room for Gavin Floyd and help the Sox address a need.
“It absolutely exists,” Williams said of a trade possibility before the deadline. “I’m not happy with the way we have played. Granted, it has been much better over the last couple of weeks, but there still have been some games where we played very poorly, so yeah, everything is being reviewed constantly and reviewed from the sense of what we can do to make ourselves better right now.”
The re-signing of Buehrle on Sunday was a lift for a Sox team that has won 10 of its last 15 games. The rotation has been the backbone of the team, ranking third in the AL in ERA by starters at 4.07, with the offense finally providing early run support.
“I think the pieces are finally falling into place,” closer Bobby Jenks said. “We’re playing baseball again and that’s the biggest part of it, doing the right things and playing the game the right way.”
But they have an ominous task. The Sox must hurdle three teams to win the division, and they trail Cleveland by 12 games for a wild-card berth. Last year, the Twins needed a 49-27 second-half run to win the division on the final day.
The 1978 New York Yankees made up 14 games in the second half and jumped three teams to win the AL East. And the 1951 New York Giants wiped out a 13 1/2 -game deficit with a 37-7 run to force a playoff with Brooklyn and won the NL title on Bobby Thomson’s dramatic home run.
Some of the Sox’s biggest nemeses believe they may have a run left.
“Dye hasn’t gotten hot yet, (Jim) Thome was hurt and (Paul) Konerko started to heat up against us,” Twins first baseman Justin Morneau said. “With that park and the hitters they have, that’s a team that’s capable of catching anyone. They have a lot of guys who won the World Series and they can catch anyone just like we can.”
Said Indians ace C.C. Sabathia: “What are the chances of those three guys struggling all year? They’re still dangerous and they still could be a spoiler because we have a lot of games left with the White Sox.”
If Williams wants to retool quickly, he can look at the transformation of the San Francisco Giants from a 94-loss season in 1996 to a 90-victory season and the National League West title in 1997.
The restructuring began with the bold trade of Matt Williams for Jeff Kent, Jose Vizcaino and reliever Julian Tavarez and continued with the acquisitions of J.T. Snow and Darryl Hamilton that were aided by cash considerations.
The Brewers’ trade of slugger Richie Sexson to the Diamondbacks before the 2004 season brought the Brewers three starting position players, left-hander Chris Capuano, a backup catcher and a left-handed pitching prospect.
Although the Brewers haven’t contended seriously until this season, the trade gave them some financial flexibility and bought some time for a farm system that has blossomed.
“You are who you are, and as you know from some of our dealings this off-season, I will always plan for the future,” Williams said. “But that’s for the off-season. Right now, I’m tired of going to the ballpark and leaving with a loss too many times.”
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mgonzales@tribune.com
