Nine Times

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Ah, Ed Rooney. Today's title, if you didn't pick up on it without the perfectly snide delivery of actor Jeffrey Jones, is from Ferris Buehler's Day Off. And it coincides with the length of the Sox current winning streak. It's a weird one, given the three day All-Star lay-off. So really it's more like an 8-gamer that ended with the break and then the start of a new one now.

Or it it's really like it doesn't matter. All that does is that we're in first, by a game (two in the win column) over the Tigers, a whopping 4.5 (5 in the loss column) over those pesky Twinkies. And we've now won two of the first three games we've played up in Target Field in Minnesota (having split a two-game set our first trip there in mid-May).

What I like even more - in both of our wins up there, we've had late leads, allowed runners on in all three of the final innings, and yet still nailed down the W. If you missed the game last night, you missed some awesome drama that really framed exactly the type of team we've got. The type that just finds a way to win.

The Sox came out firing, with three sac flies in the first two innings (and a solo shot) to give the team a 4-0 lead. SO the kind of hitting we always complain about not seeing - base hits followed by hard base-running followed by clutch contact to get the run across. But then an Alex Rios error (ruled a single, but it was an error on a tough but makeable play) gave the Twins a 4th out, which they used to score 6 runs in the second. If this was the MetroDome, if this was the old Sox, we'd have rolled over and died. Just another horror in a house full of em.

But not this park, and really more importantly, not this team. The Sox clawed back, retook the lead as Danks bounced back from the nightmarish second to get through six without any further damage. And then the 7th came, with the Sox nursing a 8-6 lead. Putz gives up a leadoff double but doesn't let Mauer move him over, gets the second out and then hands it off to Thornton who ends the inning by striking out Kubel with a runner on third.

In the 8th, Santos retires the first two before giving up three straight hits (including a broken bat and infield single). In comes Jenks... strikes out Hudson to strand the bases loaded. Jenks remains out for the 9th, where he gives up a leadoff double to Mauer, gets the next two, then allows an RBI single to Delmon Young. Up steps Jim Thome... and Jenks strikes him out looking. Thome was absolutely frozen - just a beauty curve straight over the plate that locked him up.

Wow was I pumped. Three straight threats, three straight times where you just know the Twins are gonna hurt us... and three straight nasty Ks! I'm telling you, there's something running through this clubhouse, specifically with the pitchers, where these guys are just feeding off of each other.

We saw the same thing in 2005. It culminated in the ALCS where all four starters came out and hurled complete games to bring this town our first world series in almost 50 years. We all know the story, but it's worth stopping, once again, to appreciate just how nasty ridiculous that way.

Each pitcher took the ball and wasn't gonna be the guy to let the team down. Whatever the starter had done the night before was the minimum that tonight's arm was gonna put up. It lasted all season long, bought us 99 wins and then an 11-1 playoff run.

And it's happening again. Over the last month plus, the starters have had an ERA just over 2. Read that again... in over a months worth of starts, these guys have allowed barely more than 2 runs for every nine innings they've been out there. Sure Danks will get tagged with 6 ERs on the stat sheet, but the reality was that the guy gutted out a hell of a performance that gave his ballclub a huge W.

But what I'm really loving is that it isn't limited to the starters. Jenks, Thornton, Putz, and Santos are also all thriving, all drooling for the opportunity to get in there and lay those hitters down. They seem to relish the tight spots, rearing back and finding something extra to get that key out when it matters.

And you know who else I'm gonna throw in that group? Tony Pena. Sure, his overall numbers aren't great and he's had more than his share of bad outings. But on a number of occasions this year the Sox have called on Pena to give them a whole bunch of quality innings after a starter went down... and that's exactly what he did.

Both when Buehrle got tossed out of the game back in late May and when Peavy was lost for the year, Pena came in and threw beautiful outings, allowing the Sox to steal a W they had no right to. On top of that, he saved the pen so the Sox could go on and win the next game with all their arms available.

Now the question is will these two young kids - Hudson and Threets - follow suit? Both were dealing in AAA and have big league stuff. Threets has started off well - just a hit and walk, no runs, in his two innings over three outings. Despite some impressive stuff he's yet to strike anyone out - but to me that shows he's got a bit of an idea how to pitch, not just throw.

As for Hudson, it's gonna be about whether he mans up and throws strikes. Last year he had a nice looking 3.38 ERA in 19 IP. In his two starts he went 6 IP and gave up 2 ER and went 5 IP and gave up 3. Both respectable outings. But just like his start this year, he walked way too many guys - in his three big league starts he's walked 12 guys in 15 IP. Not gonna cut it. Not even close.

Back in the early 2000s, the Sox had a load of SPs who did the same thing. Well-hyped prospects with great physical tools who would come on up to the bigs and refuse to attack. Some of it was the coaching staff, some of it was their soft mental approach. In either case, a long string of hot young arms came through the South Side and washed out because they spent all game nibbling.

Since Cooper has come on board, that's largely changed. Jon Garland was a perfect example - once a nibbler seemingly destined for mediocrity, he twice won 18 games for the Sox, is 125-108 at the age of 30, and can be counted on for 12-15 wins a season. Danks and Floyd have both thrived as guys who attack the zone. Contreras was one of the best pitchers in baseball after he figured that out.

So let's hope Threet can emerge as an effective #2 lefty and that Coop can get through to Hudson. Because while we won't need him in the post-season, we most certainly will need him to both get there and to have the fresh arms necessary to succeed there. Hudson has the stuff and seemingly has the make-up. He just needs to listen to Coop, follow whatever AJ's telling him, and trust in himself. As Ferris rightfully quoted John Lennon on - "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me."


If that happens - if these arms all keep on getting after it as they have this last month plus, then we're not just talking about a division championship. We're talking about a team that can win the whole damn thing. Especially if Kenny can find us a left-handed bat to slot into the DH role and #5 spot in the order. But more on that next week - for now, let's go ravish some more Twinkies!

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