Alexei Ramirez Grand Slam, Gavin Floyd Lead White Sox Over Tigers

by Jerod Morris

“He seems like he knows what he’s doing.”

Those were the words uttered by Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen after Alexei Ramirez’s very first preseason game back in late February. In his first game in a White Sox uniform, the Cuban Missile went 4-5 and served notice the he would be a viable option at second base for the 2008 Chicago White Sox.

In game 162 of the 2008 regular season, Alexei Ramirez did his best Robin Ventura impression and hit one of the most important grand slams White Sox history:

(Kudos to Illini2424 on YouTube for getting that video up so quickly, by the way.)

As Paul Konerko said after the game, “When he hit that grand slam, we knew right there, ‘Ok, we got this one.’”

After a rookie season in which Ramirez cranked 21 home runs and hit four grand slams in total (and MLB rookie record), including the single biggest swing of the bat by any White Sox player this year, Alexei Ramirez would be the runaway winner of Rookie of the Year were in not for the spectacular season of Even Longoria. And who knows, with recency and impact of today’s grand slam, Alexei could still win the award or at least make it close.

What is absolutely certain is the Alexei Ramirez absolutely knows what he’s doing, and has made an incredible jump from the professional leagues of Cuba to the Majors.

Powered Alexei Ramirez’s 6th-inning grand slam and another solid big-game outing from Gavin Floyd, the Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 8-2 and forced a one-game playoff against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday. While the last two wins were the result of 2005 heroes like Mark Buehrle, Jermaine Dye, and Paul Konerko coming through in the clutch, a couple of White Sox newbies came through today in Ramirez and Floyd.

And the performance of Gavin Floyd should not be lost in the understandable excitement over the grand slam by the Cuban Missile. Pitching on three days’ rest, the White Sox official assistant ace to Mark Buehrle improved to 17-8 on the season while allowing one earned run over 6 innings. This was the second time in nine days that Gavin Floyd had pitched on three days’ rest.

I have to admit that I was down on Gavin Floyd earlier in the year, believing that he didn’t have the stones to become the ace that his talent suggests he can become. Well, let me just say that I’ve never been happier to be proven wrong. Gavin Floyd has been our most consistent pitcher this year, and he gives us a great opportunity to win pretty much every time out.

Tomorrow, the White Sox will count on another newcomer, lefty John Danks, to come through with a solid outing and lead the White Sox into October. Danks will be facing Nick Blackburn, who beat the White Sox last week in the Metrodome, but who didn’t exactly impress Ozzie Guillen.

This has been a series in which home field advantage has been of paramount importance. For that reason, it is hard not to give the edge to the White Sox. The momentum of coming through in two must-win games at home should also provide a boon for the White Sox chances.

A.J. Pierzynski said he hopes the fans “bring it” tomorrow, and make Comiskey as loud as the Metrodome. Not sure if he’ll be able to hear me cheering from Dallas, but I’ll do my part from over 1,000 miles away. I’m counting on the rest of the proud South Siders to fulfill A.J.’s request and make our house as inhospitable as possible for the visiting Minnesota Twins.

What an amazing end to the season. Everyone picked Detroit and Cleveland to finish 1st and 2nd in the AL Central this year. If you had asked any baseball writer, player, or fan to predict what two teams would be playing in a one-game playoff in game 163 to determine the AL Central champion I would bet that not one response would have included both the White Sox and Twins. Yet, here we are: The regular season is over, and it is the Twins and White Sox still standing.

I am happy that it is against Twins, because I actually hate them the least of all our other AL Central rivals. I share Ozzie’s respect for their manager and the way they play, and it is inspiring to see a team lose its best pitcher and one of its best hitters and still challenge for the playoffs. They are a worthy opponent, which will make it that much sweeter when we beat them tomorrow.

Congratulations on a great season Minnesota. I’m fairly certain I speak for all White Sox fans when I say sincerely that you have our respect and admiration for a great season. And if this game were in the Metrodome I would be as nervous as I possibly could be. But I just don’t see the White Sox losing at home or Minnesota winning on the road.

These are the types of late season momentum boosts that can propel teams to deep October runs. Alexei Ramirez and Gavin Floyd kept the momentum from Sunday going today. I have a feeling that John Danks and Jermaine Dye will be the ones who keep it going tomorrow, and on into Tampa on Wednesday.

[tags]chicago white sox, detroit tigers, minnesota twins, gavin floyd, alexei ramirez, mlb, AL Central, baseball[/tags]

Tags: AL Central, alexei ramirez, baseball, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, gavin floyd, minnesota twins, MLB

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