[Mb-civic] CBC Sports - WHITE SOX END WORLD SERIES DROUGHT

Thu Oct 27 05:21:24 PDT 2005

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WHITE SOX END WORLD SERIES DROUGHT
WebPosted Thu Oct 27 00:03:47 2005

cbc sports online---With an eighth-inning single, Jermaine Dye capped an
outstanding post-season and rubber-stamped the first World Series title
for the Chicago White Sox since 1917.

The veteran outfielder snapped a scoreless tie with a shot up the middle
off Houston Astros closer Brad Lidge that scored Lenny Harris for a 1-0
victory and four-game sweep in the 101st Fall Classic.

"It feels unbelievable," Dye said. "This is an exciting moment, it's
something I never will forget."

Wednesday's triumph also ended an 88-year World Series drought for the
White Sox, the longest streak of futility in the American League.

Dye, who went 3-for-4 on the night, was named World Series most valuable
player. He batted .438 in four games with a home run and three runs
batted in.

"It means a lot not only to us in the clubhouse but to the
organization, the fans, the city. It's a great feeling," Dye said.
"We're just happy to be able to bring a championship to the city of
Chicago. It's really special."

White Sox starter Freddy Garcia, a one-time Astros prospect, picked up
the win before a crowd of 42,936 at Houston's Minute Maid Park.

Pitching on 10 days' rest, he matched Astros starter Brandon Backe pitch-for-
pitch through seven innings, working his way out of several jams and
finishing with seven strikeouts.

It was Garcia's third big win in the last month. He finished off the three-
game AL Division Series sweep of Boston on Oct. 7 and before that, tossed
seven strong innings to help Chicago clinch its first Central Division
title since 2000.

Bobby Jenks, who was a set-up man earlier in the season, got the final
three outs on Wednesday for the save.

"There was no way I wasn't coming in," said Jenks, who was aided by some
stellar defence in the bottom of the ninth inning.

"To win 1-0," White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski said, "that's the way we
started the first half, that's the way we started the second half and
that's the way we ended it."

With one out and Astros outfielder Jason Lane standing on second base,
shortstop Juan Uribe reached two rows into the seats down the left-field
line to grab a foul ball off the bat of Houston rookie Chris Burke.

On the ensuing play, Uribe picked up a tough grounder and fired a strike
to first baseman Paul Konerko to get pinch-hitter Orlando Palmeiro by a
half-step.

Houston had numerous chances to score throughout the game.

In the sixth inning, Garcia struck out Lane with two out and the
bases loaded.

After Dye put Chicago ahead in the eighth, the Astros threatened in
their at-bat.

Right-hander Cliff Politte, who had relieved Garcia, hit Willy Taveras
with a pitch with one out. After a wild pitch moved Taveras to second
base, Politte intentionally walked Lance Berkman.

The next batter, Morgan Ensberg, hit a sacrifice fly to put runners on
first and third.

Lefty Neal Cotts then relieved Politte and got Jose Vizcaino to hit a broken-
bat grounder to Uribe to end the threat.

Houston ended the night 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and 10-for-
48 (.208) in the Series.

Backe, who tossed eight scoreless frames against St. Louis in Game 5 of
the National League championship series last October, was equally
masterful on Wednesday but it wasn't enough to help Houston stave off
elimination.

At one point, the 27-year-old right-hander struck out five consecutive
White Sox, one short of the World Series record achieved three times. He
left the game with seven strikeouts.

But everything seemed to go right for the White Sox after they flirted
with one of the worst collapses in baseball history.

Chicago had a 15-game lead in the AL Central Division on Aug. 1, only to
have the Cleveland Indians close the gap to 1 ½ games.

Undaunted, the White Sox reeled off five straight wins to close out the
season with an AL-best 99.

Second-year manager Ozzie Guillen proceeded to watch his team go 11-1 in
the post-season.

"I throw my players under the bus a lot of times," Guillen said. "But I
do it at the right times."

"People are looking for theories," added White Sox general manager Ken
Williams. "We have 25 hard-working, grind-it-out type guys.

"We asked them one thing when we started spring training and that was
each and every day you go out there and leave it on the field. They
did that."

Meanwhile, Wednesday's loss ended a great ride by the Astros, who became
the first team since the 1914 Boston Braves to go from 15 games under
.500 (15-30 on May 23) to the World Series.

They also became the first team swept in its Series debut.

"They played well all year long," Astros manager Phil Garner said of the
White Sox.

"They played well against us. They deserve to be world champions
this year."

with files from Associated Press