Think Sox are a fluke? Well, they don't care

[greasywheels121 38]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...hitesox-utility

 

Think Sox are a fluke? Well, they don't care

Mike Downey

 

A know-it-all baseball scribe from the East Coast put in a call to the White Sox's general manager, Ken Williams, as the club was getting off to a best-in-the-bigs record of 15-4.

 

Williams quickly came to realize that the guy thought the Sox's start was a stroke of luck, an aberration, a fluke.

 

"I'm sorry that you don't like our manager," Williams says he told him.

 

"I'm sorry that you don't like our 3-4-5 hitters. Or our closer.

 

"I'm sorry that you don't like our third baseman and our shortstop. Or our left fielder and our right fielder.

 

"I'm sorry people feel this way about our club. But I also want you to know something about that:

 

"We don't care."

 

The White Sox are white hot.

 

Going into a game Monday night in Oakland, the Sox already had as many victories as Cleveland and Detroit combined. Not to mention nearly twice as many as the New York Yankees.

 

Williams phoned from North Carolina, where he spent part of his weekend watching the Sox's wonderfully named Class A team, the Kannapolis Intimidators, in a game against the equally charming Hickory Crawdads.

 

Congratulated on the Sox looking so good so far, Williams laughed.

 

"This is the first voice of optimism I've heard," he said. "Thanks."

 

That writer who broke down his team's supposed shortcomings, position by position, obviously didn't see the White Sox as any kind of intimidators.

 

Williams said, "Oh, I guess I can understand that. If there are people who are maybe not looking at us as a team to be reckoned with, I'm sure it's because when they see a team lose a Carlos Lee or a Magglio Ordonez, they tend to ask: 'So how can your team be better than it was?"'

 

Well, maybe it won't be.

 

For now, though, the White Sox are the talk of the game, if not the town. Chicago has been a little distracted by the Bulls' playoff run and the Bears' draft day, but bit by bit, the Sox are beginning to catch the public's eye.

 

How hot are they?

 

Well, as of Monday they had four .300 hitters (Willie Harris, Joe Crede, Scott Podsednik and Tadahito Iguchi). None of their five starting pitchers had a losing record. Paul Konerko shared the majors' lead in home runs with seven. Relief pitcher Dustin Hermanson's earned-run average? A perfect 0.00.

 

So hot are the Sox, they had a man (Crede) who took a 14-game hitting streak into Sunday's game in Kansas City … and batted him last in the lineup.

 

Is everyone hot? No.

 

New right fielder Jermaine Dye flew west to his old Oakland home field with a batting average of .177 and more strikeouts than hits. Center fielder Aaron Rowand was only at .235 and Konerko at .239. And closer Shingo Tataksu's ERA was still a lofty 7.94.

 

"That's the thing," Williams said. "Not every man on this team is playing exceptionally right now. Dye's had his troubles, Aaron has. [Konerko] would be the first to tell you that he'd like to be getting a few more base hits.

 

"I've only been able to listen to the last couple of games here on a satellite radio. Ozzie Guillen told me that was probably a good thing, because I only would have enjoyed the last inning of either game."

 

It's true. The Sox committed four errors Sunday in a victory that manager Guillen immediately branded "ugly."

 

Don't forget, though, it was a Sox team of 1983 with a motto of "Winning Ugly" that might have given Chicago its best shot at playing in a World Series in the last 46 years.

 

It is way, way, way too soon to tell if the 2005 Sox are ugly, bad or good.

 

But they do have more self-confidence after a winter's overhaul. They can exhale about a calculated risk they took on Iguchi—yes, he can play—and have their fingers crossed that Crede's team-high hit total and Jon Garland's 3-0 start are proof that the club's patience is being rewarded.

 

The news is good in the minors as well, where pitcher Brandon McCarthy has fanned 29 in four games for Triple-A Charlotte while outfielder Brian Anderson is hitting .316.

 

The bad news on the farm? Joe Borchard is hitting .183 and pitcher Jon Adkins is 0-3.

 

But this is a minor blip for the White Sox, at least for the time being.

 

Some believe the Sox aren't as strong as they seem, that they won't keep this up, can't keep this up. But as Williams put it, that's the thing.

 

They don't care.

[SnB 0]

"Williams phoned from North Carolina, where he spent part of his weekend watching the Sox's wonderfully named Class A team, the Kannapolis Intimidators, in a game against the equally charming Hickory Crawdads."

 

[Disco72 0]

I love that attitude. The Sox care about winning, not some stupid reporters wondering how they could be so wrong about the Sox. KW didn't gloat... just said, we don't care, let's win some more ballgames!

[Queen Prawn 0]

We (soxtalk posters) need to take a note from this. If the Sox don't care what reporters/experts thing, why should we? GO SOX!

[AssHatSoxFan 0]

We (soxtalk posters) need to take a note from this.  If the Sox don't care what reporters/experts thing, why should we?  GO SOX!

thats exactly what i have been saying, if we get too wrapped up in this crap we will worry ourselves to death, just enjoy the ride while it lasts...btw this kind of reminds me how the Illini's season went down so far

[upnorthsox 0]

thats exactly what i have been saying, if we get too wrapped up in this crap we will worry ourselves to death, just enjoy the ride while it lasts...btw this kind of reminds me how the Illini's season went down so far

 

Does that mean we're going to have to hear about how the Sox would be better off if they lose a game?

[southsider2k5 11,639]

I love it. That has got to be the theme of 2005.

 

"We Don't Care"

 

How 21st century and Chicago is that?

[Kid Gleason 0]

The reporter KW was talking to doesn't like Uribe? How could somebody NOT love Uribe???

[Controlled Chaos 0]

From todays Sun Times

 

 

Sox aren't America's team

 

April 26, 2005

 

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Turning on ESPN on Sunday night, one had to wait a while to find out how baseball's best team fared.

 

Picking up a copy of USA Today on Monday -- at least on the West Coast, where the White Sox are playing this week -- forced a reader to wade through four other games in the American League roundup before the Sox-Royals game earned a mention.

 

Getting off to the best start in baseball for a franchise with more than a century of history hasn't exactly set the news wires ablaze. If the Sox are yearning for national attention -- and there are no indications they are -- they still have to overcome a few problems.

 

First, the Sox are not national media darlings, mostly because they haven't had much postseason success over the last 25 years. They have a combined three playoff victories over that time and none since 1993.

 

Then there are the 2005 baseball predictions, a point that still offends general manager Ken Williams. The Twins and, in many cases, the Indians were touted in preseason prognostications as better teams in the AL Central.

 

"I think when some of the initial predictions came out, many of us were somewhat bothered by it,'' Williams admitted Monday. ''Anybody that tells you [different] is not necessarily holding up to their true feelings.

 

''But at the same time, we are too busy to pay much attention to it. It's a long season, and we have grinder guys that will give their best every day, and that's all you can care about.''

 

So will the Sox ever get as much attention this year as the Yankees or Red Sox or even the injured Barry Bonds?

 

"I don't really care,'' Williams said. ''All I care about is tonight.''

 

Doug Padilla

[Controlled Chaos 0]

Screw em all Kenny!! I DON'T CARE EITHER!!

[tonyho7476 0]

All I know is that I love watching this team so much, that I don't care what's going on with anybody else. So let them all say what they want to say. I'll be busy watching the Sox win!

[SoufSideHitMen 0]

IM SICK OF CUBS FANS SAYING ITS ALL LUCK!!!!! WHO CARES !!!!!