White Sox plan to play ‘smart ball’ pays off
By Adam Colmone
ALL IN Column, May 5, 2005
Manager Ozzie Guillen and General Manager Kenny Williams wanted to change their team from power and offense to pitching, defense and doing the little things.
The White Sox sent two power hitters out of town in the off season and brought in speed and defense to contend with the defending AL Central Champion Minnesota Twins.
So far Guillen and Williams look like geniuses as the Sox are off to a franchise best 16-4 start and have been winners of their last seven games as they have jumped out to the league’s best record.
The concept of playing “small ball” and doing the little things has changed as Guillen has changed the motto to “smart ball.”
Guillen wants his team to take the extra base when possible and sacrifice bunt players over to get them into scoring position.
This has paid off for the Sox this season as they are 10-1 in one run games thus far.
Each night you never know who will be the man to step up and take the team on his shoulders.
In the first 20 games the Sox have had a different hero more then once.
Whether it’s AL homerun co-leader Paul Konerko, or backup catcher Chris Widger, all the players have the chance to be the hero on any given day.
On a recent Monday night Widger hit a two-run homerun off former Cy Young winner Barry Zito to break a 0-0 tie; it was Widger’s first homerun since August of 2000.
The hitters are not the only ones that are leading the Sox.
The pitching staff that did not get any respect in the off season, is on a roll and mowing through opponents.
The starters are a combined 11-3 to start the season and are lead by Jon Garland (4-0) and Mark Buehrle (3-1). Garland came into this season as the Sox No. 5 starter, but has pitched like the No. 1 so far.
With the fast start, and the timely hitting and pitching, the Sox find themselves in a place that they have not been to often since 2000 — first place in the AL Central and five games ahead of the Twins.
The main thing that the Sox must do is play good baseball in the Central division, where currently they are 11-3.
It is important to keep a big lead on the Twins, as they always find ways to win games down the stretch and never quit.
With 20 games into the season the Sox still are not getting as much respect as they deserve.
This is a team that is going to win ball games whether it’s good baseball or winning ugly.
This Sox team is different from the past teams, and one of the main things is that they won’t quit until it’s over.
Guillen and Williams found the right mix of players on the south side to win and now it’s paying off.