CLEVELAND – The bleary-eyed White Sox staggered into the Jacobs Field clubhouse yesterday after celebrating their AL Central title the night before. For those who were able to focus their vision enough to read the lineup card for last night’s game with the Indians, there were not many familiar names.
Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen started just two of his regulars – Scott Podsednik and Joe Crede – in a game that was a formality for his team but quite meaningful for the Yankees and Red Sox, who are competing with the Indians for a playoff spot.
“I’ve got to rest my players,” Guillen said. “[Today] will be the regular lineup. My players need some rest. They’ve been playing every day the last two weeks.”
The White Sox sealed the division title Thursday afternoon in Detroit. The team then bused to Cleveland, celebrating all the way. More than a few Sox players showed the effects of what surely must have been a wild ride.
They may already be thinking ahead to next week’s playoffs, but this weekend has some meaning for the Chisox. In order to assure themselves home-field advantage through the ALCS, they need to win two games here. Guillen said earlier in the week that he would put his best team on the field this weekend.
“There are a lot of guys competing,” Guillen told reporters in Detroit on Wednesday. “New York is competing and Boston is competing. I have respect for Joe Torre and Terry Francona. I have to respect the game, and I’m going to put the best guys I think for that particular day.”
If the lineup inspires grumbles at Fenway Park, the White Sox are not concerned. The regulars who were given the night off embraced their chance to watch the game from the dugout.
“I can’t remember the last time I had a day off,” center fielder Aaron Rowand said. “It’s nice to sit back and recharge the battery a little bit.”
Rowand said he did not feel any obligation to the teams still embroiled in playoff races.
“It’s not up to us to worry about what’s best for other teams,” he said. “It’s up to us to worry about what’s best for our team. If you look at the games played for our regulars, we’ve played a lot of ball games this year. We only have three days left before the real season starts.”
Regular catcher A.J. Pierzynski disagreed, though, saying his team owed it to the others to not mail it in from Cleveland.
“It’s important for us and it’s important for the Indians, I’m sure,” Pierzynski said. “It’s definitely important for the Yankees and Red Sox that we do our best to try and win these games.”
Pierzynski said the White Sox are well aware the effect their games could have on their counterparts.
“It’s all everyone talks about all the time is Red Sox-Yankees, anyway,” he said. “It doesn’t seem like there are any other teams out there. For us, it’s just important that we go out and play hard and do what we’ve done all year. We know the ramifications.”
Fans definitely needed a program last night at The Jake. The lineup featured three players who were not even in the major leagues last month. Guillen might have rested all his regulars, but said he wanted to help get Podsednik the base-stealing title and at-bats for Crede at-bats, who missed two games this week while attending the birth of his daughter.