The White Sox have reached a fork in their road with 20 consecutive games without a chance to fill up their tanks until Sept. 10.
Whether they have enough fuel to overtake the Tigers in the American League Central could hinge on one of two directions they have taken this season.
Their knack of playing well against the league’s better teams, such as winning three of four against the Rays, helped them catch the Tigers as recently as July 23.
But their penchant for playing to the level of lesser opponents, such as dropping two of three games at home to the Indians two weeks ago and failing to sweep the AL West cellar-dwelling A’s last weekend, has cost them.
Their 20-game odyssey begins at home Friday night against the last-place Orioles before they embark on an 11-game trip and return home for six games against the Red Sox and A’s.
Manager Ozzie Guillen, despite the plethora of recent one-run losses, points to the retooled roster as a source of optimism.
“When you think about last year, the hopes were very, very high,” Guillen said. “That’s why every time you lose a game, you think you should win.
“Everyone in the organization feels that way. With all the respect for the guys who played for me last year, it was the hardest and best year as a manager because the players pulled the triggers in the right places.”
Despite being only three games above .500, Guillen believes the Sox should be evaluated in their present state after being seven games below .500 entering play May 19 and trailing the Tigers by as many as six games on June 26.
“We’ve come a long way to get where we are,” Guillen said. “Will I take a chance with this club? Yes. If I know we don’t have a chance, I will say it’s going to be a tough road. It will still be a tough road, but it will be easier with the talent we have.”
The additions of Alex Rios and Mark Kotsay have enabled Guillen to give some of his injured and struggling veterans a rest. But the Sox will need a boost from Freddy Garcia and Jose Contreras at the back end of the rotation until Jake Peavy returns from a right ankle injury, which might not occur until the end of their 20-game stretch.
At this point, however, Guillen doesn’t care for style points.
“It’s not how the guys are going to do or how we feel,” Guillen said. “Now it’s about W and L. That’s all we have to worry about it.”
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mgonzales@tribune.com
