Don’t look now, but the south side has come down with pennant fever. God knows it hasn’t happened quietly–the White Sox put 30,000 fans into the new Bill Veeck Stadium simply by opening the gates, and they routinely draw 40,000. But the mass joy of a new ballpark completely aside, there’s a distinct feeling of excitement to the crowds at the Veeck these days. And away from the park in the last couple of weeks, at the office and out with friends, I’ve heard more and more people talking about the White Sox: how they did the night before, whether Melido Perez should be returned to the starting rotation, what a wonderful surprise Joey Cora has turned out to be, and how rewarding it is to see Jack McDowell, Robin Ventura, and Frank Thomas mature before one’s very eyes. Most of the people talking about the Sox are south-siders, while the rest of the city seems sort of puzzled about what that buzz is coming from the Bridgeport neighborhood. It’s the sound of a team winning games it shouldn’t win in ways no team should win them, of the baseball season flowing into August and still meaning something, in short, of a team fighting for first place and a divisional title.
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The Sox have drawn 52 straight crowds in excess of 30,000 and 23 crowds in excess of 40,000–not counting the Windy City Classic–but you could still buy tickets on the day of the game for most dates, up to the last home stand anyway. That changed a great deal with Robin Ventura’s game-winning grand slam with two out in the ninth against the Texas Rangers on the last day of July. If there was ever a wake-up call for a team about to enter the pennant race, that was it. During the ensuing home stand, the bull pen did not allow a run, the Sox won one game 14-5 after spotting the New York Yankees a five-run lead in the top of the first, and the Sox extended a second-half hot streak that saw them go to 19-8 since the All-Star game. They completed the home stand with their first three-game sweep at the Veeck (against, again, the Yanks), winning for the 14th time in 17 games. That left them 17 games above .500 and two games behind the first-place Minnesota Twins in the Western Division. By the beginning of this week–after Wilson Alvarez’s no-hitter blew the cover off the Sox’ pennant chase–they were 20 games over .500 and only a game behind the Twins.
Cora’s rehabilitation ran into the season, and it’s no mere coincidence that the Sox have gone wild since he laid full claim to second base about a month ago, replacing Scott Fletcher. In the Sox’ lineup of Punch-and-Judy hitters, Cora has all but created a second leadoff position out of the eighth spot in the order, ahead of Ozzie Guillen. By the end of the home stand, he was hitting about .300 in his starts.
The Sox have put together a very strong batting order day in, day out, from top to bottom. Thomas aside, there isn’t a player with consistent home-run power, but each player can slap the ball in the alleys, and the first three hitters–Tim Raines, Ventura, and Thomas–are all skilled at drawing walks, meaning those drives in the alleys are frequently as productive as a home run. It’s a testimony to the influence of hitting instructor Walt Hriniak. The Sox didn’t hit a homer in this game, which they won 10-2, but they had four doubles and two triples. Every time I looked up, somebody was smacking the ball down the line or into one of the power alleys. Ventura had hits in three straight innings, including mirror-image doubles to the wall in left center in the third and fourth.
