krushcuts
04-12-2005, 02:20 PM
April 12, 2005
BY DOUG PADILLA (dpadilla@<hidden>) STAFF REPORTER
CLEVELAND -- The team that stays together presumably wins together, or so White Sox general manager Ken Williams is hoping.
The Sox are taking unity to a new level on and off the field, and Williams was a firsthand witness as he walked back from dinner Saturday night in Minneapolis.
Williams was heading back to the team hotel when he happened upon a popular Twin Cities watering hole, The Local. Spotted by some Sox players, he was invited to join the festivities.
''I'm always reluctant if I go into where a player's hanging out,'' Williams said. ''I might have one and then I'm out of there. They waved me in and insisted on me staying. You just don't see that very often. It's a different kind of spirit that is not in comparison to last year's team.''
Williams was careful with his words, knowing that praise of this Sox team reflects poorly on others, especially last year's squad that was partially dismantled.
''I'm a little hesitant to talk about [chemistry] because that is an indictment on people who are no longer here, and they deserve better than that,'' Williams said. ''As a player, I was part of some pretty good teams in Toronto. I saw what a good clubhouse looks like.
''This team is a notch above in comparison to many clubs I've seen, not just last year. it's an unfair indictment against some guys who busted their [butts] for us through the years and just happen to be other places right now.''
Manager [b]Ozzie Guillen had his own way of relaying the mood in his clubhouse.
"Don't get me wrong, we had good players [last year],'' Guillen said. "We didn't have a good team. Everybody [had] a different way to play the game, a different way to go about his business, and it was the wrong way. It's my opinion. I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings.
"The team we have will be the same on the field and off the field. We spend too many days together. We better get along with each other.''
CATCHING ON: Chris Widger had a day to remember Monday, catching a solid start by Freddy Garcia and starting a seventh-inning rally that ended with him scoring the game-winning run. Considering Widger was out of baseball this time last year and preparing to play in a recreation softball league, he has come a long way.
"It feels good to get that first hit of the season, but that is secondary to me,'' he said. "If we can win the games I catch, I really don't care about the numbers. I want to win and I want to go to a World Series. To do that, the backup has to go out there and give the team a chance to win.''
CLOSE CALLS: The Sox received two scares when Aaron Rowand was hit in the left hand by a pitch and Scott Podsednik reported a tender right groin.
Rowand, who said the fifth-inning pitch from Kevin Millwood caught more bat than hand, remained in the game.
Podsednik was removed after his game-winning RBI single in the seventh. He said the injury occurred on a stolen-base attempt one inning earlier, and he will re-evaluate it in a day or two.
NOTES: After Jon Garland pitched under the weather Saturday, Juan Uribe was the latest to fall ill. Pablo Ozuna received his second consecutive start, replacing Uribe at shortstop. *The Indians announced that Scott Elarton will pitch Thursday instead of Jake Westbrook.
Nice to see the improved team atmosphere. 2000's team had a great clubhouse as well... now other teams look at us as a dysfunctional group.
BY DOUG PADILLA (dpadilla@<hidden>) STAFF REPORTER
CLEVELAND -- The team that stays together presumably wins together, or so White Sox general manager Ken Williams is hoping.
The Sox are taking unity to a new level on and off the field, and Williams was a firsthand witness as he walked back from dinner Saturday night in Minneapolis.
Williams was heading back to the team hotel when he happened upon a popular Twin Cities watering hole, The Local. Spotted by some Sox players, he was invited to join the festivities.
''I'm always reluctant if I go into where a player's hanging out,'' Williams said. ''I might have one and then I'm out of there. They waved me in and insisted on me staying. You just don't see that very often. It's a different kind of spirit that is not in comparison to last year's team.''
Williams was careful with his words, knowing that praise of this Sox team reflects poorly on others, especially last year's squad that was partially dismantled.
''I'm a little hesitant to talk about [chemistry] because that is an indictment on people who are no longer here, and they deserve better than that,'' Williams said. ''As a player, I was part of some pretty good teams in Toronto. I saw what a good clubhouse looks like.
''This team is a notch above in comparison to many clubs I've seen, not just last year. it's an unfair indictment against some guys who busted their [butts] for us through the years and just happen to be other places right now.''
Manager [b]Ozzie Guillen had his own way of relaying the mood in his clubhouse.
"Don't get me wrong, we had good players [last year],'' Guillen said. "We didn't have a good team. Everybody [had] a different way to play the game, a different way to go about his business, and it was the wrong way. It's my opinion. I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings.
"The team we have will be the same on the field and off the field. We spend too many days together. We better get along with each other.''
CATCHING ON: Chris Widger had a day to remember Monday, catching a solid start by Freddy Garcia and starting a seventh-inning rally that ended with him scoring the game-winning run. Considering Widger was out of baseball this time last year and preparing to play in a recreation softball league, he has come a long way.
"It feels good to get that first hit of the season, but that is secondary to me,'' he said. "If we can win the games I catch, I really don't care about the numbers. I want to win and I want to go to a World Series. To do that, the backup has to go out there and give the team a chance to win.''
CLOSE CALLS: The Sox received two scares when Aaron Rowand was hit in the left hand by a pitch and Scott Podsednik reported a tender right groin.
Rowand, who said the fifth-inning pitch from Kevin Millwood caught more bat than hand, remained in the game.
Podsednik was removed after his game-winning RBI single in the seventh. He said the injury occurred on a stolen-base attempt one inning earlier, and he will re-evaluate it in a day or two.
NOTES: After Jon Garland pitched under the weather Saturday, Juan Uribe was the latest to fall ill. Pablo Ozuna received his second consecutive start, replacing Uribe at shortstop. *The Indians announced that Scott Elarton will pitch Thursday instead of Jake Westbrook.
Nice to see the improved team atmosphere. 2000's team had a great clubhouse as well... now other teams look at us as a dysfunctional group.