Sox have right ‘stuff’
Contreras sharp as road trip starts off with victory against Mariners
SEATTLE — It was an article that interested Don Cooper.
‘‘Let me hear about it,’’ the White Sox pitching coach said, hours before Friday night’s 4-2 win over Seattle at Safeco Field.
(AP)
The premise was a story he and the organization have heard before, but one that doesn’t get old for Cooper. Highly regarded pitcher falls on hard times until his team finally gives up on him, and then he has a rebirth with the White Sox.
This time it was a Philadelphia newspaper reporter writing about Gavin Floyd.
Cooper smiled.
‘‘Of course, that’s the kind of guy we look for,’’ Cooper said.
The Sox motto: ‘‘Bring us your underachievers, your disappointments, your mental cases — our door is open.’’
‘‘Why wouldn’t we look for that type of player?’’ Cooper said.
Floyd, the former first-round pick of the Phillies — fourth overall in 2001 — is the latest prized student to emerge under Cooper after he came to the Sox in the Freddy Garcia trade before the 2007 season.
But Floyd isn’t alone.
Jose Contreras, the starter for Friday night’s game against the Seattle Mariners, was plucked from the New York Yankees midway through the 2004 season. Matt Thornton, also a former first-round pick, came from Seattle. Bobby Jenks had worn out his welcome with the Angels. And even John Danks had fallen on hard times with Texas after a much-hyped rise through the minor leagues.
‘‘When you get drafted high by an organization, that means you have stuff,’’ Cooper said. ‘‘It just doesn’t work out for some guys. Sometimes the change of environment helps people. Sometimes it’s just getting stale.’’
Contreras came from the Yankees tipping his pitches. He had little confidence left and ‘‘too much in his mind,’’ Cooper said.
Once they got him to simplify things and build confidence, he was the best pitcher on the staff for the second half of the 2005 World Series run and the first half of 2006.
Contreras improved to 3-3 with a 3.66 ERA after going seven innings and allowing just one run on six hits.
‘‘Jose’s been great,’’ manager Ozzie Guillen said. ‘‘Strikes. When Jose throws strikes and stays aggressive, he’s good because it makes his other pitches work. When he’s around the plate, when he tries to nibble, it’s not his style. What he’s been doing now, get the ball and get it going, everything’s working for him.
‘‘Last year, he couldn’t find the plate. And if you get behind, American League, National League, Little League, you get behind, no matter how good you are, you’re going to get hit.’’
And on a night where Contreras was dialed in on attacking hitters, it helped that he finally had some backing from his offense.
Four days removed from being the first weight thrown from the then sinking ship, Juan Uribe continued his hot hitting, starting the third inning off with a single. But it was Paul Konerko’s two-run double four batters later that put the Sox (17-17) on the scoreboard first.
Jermaine Dye then made it a three-run game when he recorded the sacrifice fly off Seattle starter Carlos Silva (3-2).
The Mariners cut into the lead in the third when Ichiro Suzuki scored on Contreras’ only real stumble of the night — a wild pitch.
That was the way the game stayed until the seventh, when Jim Thome finally woke up from his slumber and smashed a Silva full-count offering deep into the stands beyond the right-field wall.
With the way both Seattle’s offense had also been struggling, it was all but the foot to the throat for the 14-23 M’s.
Closer Bobby Jenks did give up the solo home run in the ninth, but he recorded his seventh save along the way.
