White Sox Show Their Guts In Epic Victory Over Leyland's Paper Tigers

Nick Swisher calls them Never Say Die White sox.  At least for a night they were just that.  As disturbing as the run of bad pitching the Sox are going through another encouraging trend has developed.  This offense simply does not quit, no matter what the score. 

The tone was set way back on opening day in Cleveland when the Sox rallied from down 7-2 against C.C. Sabathia.  But for a long time the offense disappeared.  Believe it or not the White Sox, with their 7 walk off victories, were the last team to win a game via a ninth inning comeback.

That didn’t happen until Alexei Ramirez and Orlando Cabrera keyed a 9^th inning rally past the Indians at US Cellular field.  Since that game the Sox offense has rallied to erase deficits on a regular basis.  Twice in KC the next week, and later in the month against the Rangers on the strength of a 5 run eighth inning the Sox showed their come back ability.  Even in games in which they have ended up losing the Sox offense has displayed that never say die attitude.

It takes more than offense to mount comebacks, and last night the bullpen was on display.  Boone Logan easily could have looked at his assignment as mop up work when he came into a 6-2 ballgame in the sixth.  Instead he gutted up for one and a third scoreless innings.

Enter DJ Carrasco, who is quickly becoming a folk hero out of the Sox pen, he put up two nearly dominant innings.  On came Octavio Dotel who had his electric, nearly untouchable stuff, with fist pumps and all.  But to me the most impressive performance of the night came from Matt Thornton.

The same Matt Thornton that has been struggling bad and yes he eventually yielded a two run blast to Placido Polanco.  But that was only after three innings of stellar work in which he struck out 5 and mowed right through the Tigers big bad right handed hitters.  It was the by far the gutsiest performance Thornton has had in a Sox uniform.  He kept putting the Sox up with a chance to win it, and he saved the pen enough so at least Adam Russell can do some long relief tonight if he needs to. 

The whole stadium knew the minute Swisher connected with that ball that is was gone.  To make it all the sweeter it was off Joel Zumaya, the same Tiger who talked his share of trash back in 2006.  It was just one more nail in the quickly closing coffin for Jim Leyland’s paper Tigers.  This was one of those games where the team with the biggest balls wins.  The Tigers for all their money and name recognition just don’t have the heart to win tough games, at least against the Never Say Die White Sox