Notes: Raines' status unclear

09/21/2006

CHICAGO -- The end of the 2006 season not only could mark the last vestige of the White Sox 2005 championship run, but it also could signal the final days of Tim Raines as a part of the White Sox coaching staff.
Ozzie Guillen announced earlier this season that he would bring back his entire brain trust for 2007 and beyond. But no commitment was made at the time to the current White Sox bench coach.
When approached about the situation Wednesday, Raines diplomatically said that he didn't want to speculate on his chances to return and said he would wait for the end of the season for a decision to be made. Raines also expressed a strong desire to remain a part of Guillen's staff.
Prior to Thursday's series opener with Seattle, Guillen said that no decision had been made in regard to Raines' future. Some of his comments, though, sounded as if Raines' fate already had somewhat been sealed.
"Right now, it's hard for us," said Guillen of the decision with Raines. "I'm going to sit with [general manager] Kenny [Williams] and [chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf] and see what direction we go, what we need and what we have to get done. Then we decide about it, what we are going to do.
"The quicker we get it done, the better for him and the better for us. Right now, as soon as the season is over, we find out what we are going to do."
Raines joined the White Sox staff prior to the 2005 season and served as the first-base coach for the World Series champions. Guillen switched the responsibilities of Raines and bench coach Harold Baines for 2006, having Raines on the bench to add his take immediately on baserunning situations.
If Raines had his ultimate wish granted, he would return to the White Sox and his initial position as first-base coach.
"I guess I prefer when I'm on the bases because that's what I'm more known as," Raines said. "I enjoy doing that, not to say I don't like what I'm doing now. I would like first base a little more, to go out and be a part of what's going on in the game.
"On the bench, you are a part of the game. If I see something out there, something goes wrong, I'll tell the guys let's do it this way or do it that way. It's really not that big of a deal for me. I just want to be a part of that staff."
Guillen credited Raines for "doing the job he was supposed to do." A decision to make a change would come from the team's desire to go in another direction.
"It's one thing about it, sometime you gotta make the decision," Guillen said.
"I don't think that what happens is going to be because what happened this season," Raines added. "It's whatever those guys want to do. Right now, I have not a clue."
Lessons from a legend: If Steve Sax wanders into the White Sox clubhouse anytime soon and chats up Brandon McCarthy, then the right-hander will have met all three of the players he idolized as a youngster learning the game.
First, McCarthy played alongside Frank Thomas in 2005 and then faced him this season. And prior to Wednesday's series finale against Detroit, McCarthy had the chance to talk with Orel Hershiser, who was in town for ESPN. Along with meeting one of his heroes, McCarthy picked up some valuable pitching knowledge from a hurler with 204 career victories and a style similar to his own.
"I've been struggling for a while, so it's nice to hear certain things to pick your spirits up," said McCarthy of his talk with Hershiser. "It was also good just to talk baseball with him and get some insight on things bugging me over the course of the year.
"The experience he has and lending that to me, that's pretty cool," McCarthy added.
McCarthy talked with Hershiser about the inner workings of specific pitches, such as his curve and change. But he also received a valuable lesson in attitude and how long it takes to truly develop at the Major League level.
"It took him three years before he could come in and kind of be cocky and self-assured, to the point where some won't like you," McCarthy said. "Just do your own thing. It was good to hear. You realize you are you not the only guy who is out there who feels like you are not in the element."
Rally killers: A little insight into the White Sox second-half struggles can be gained simply by going beyond the numbers for their highly-charged offense. According to STATS, Inc., the White Sox lead the Majors with 45.8 percent of their runs coming via the home run (378-of-825). They rank just ahead of the Reds (45.3) and the Phillies (41.4).
Having somewhat of a strong reliance on home runs is not very different in comparison to White Sox teams from the recent past, with the franchise in its seventh straight season knocking out at least 200 long balls. But leading the American League with 121 solo home runs doesn't exactly take advantage of the home run's full potential.
"We don't execute well, and we not get on base enough," said Guillen of his team's 2006 dependence on home runs. "The bottom of the lineup struggled all year. Obviously, the numbers show up. Last year we hit home runs and so did this year, but last year we do the little things that we don't do this year."
The White Sox also have hit into 21 double plays over their last 16 games. Those numbers point out a lack of overall speed combined with a number of players who have been hitting the ball hard but right at the opposing defense.
"We hit the [heck] out of the ball, but unfortunately it was right at people," said Guillen, whose team hit into seven double plays during the three-game series against the Tigers. "[Detroit third baseman Brandon] Inge did a tremendous job on a couple of plays.
"Those balls we hit killed the rally. But I don't have any complaints because those balls were hit the right way."
A look to the future? The White Sox held fast Thursday to the theory that they have 10 games remaining and will do everything possible to complete an improbable run to the postseason. But if Guillen's crew is eliminated even as early as the Cleveland series next week at Jacobs Field, Guillen still isn't set to revamp his lineup and start featuring youngsters such as Josh Fields and Jerry Owens in the field or Charlie Haeger in a spot-start role.
"I expect to have the same lineup every day because I want to win the most games we can," Guillen said. "People have to play for money. People have to play for pride. People have to play because they are getting paid.
"I'm not going to give up just like that. If we get eliminated, I plan to play the guys who should be playing. I might give a couple of the new kids a chance here and there but we are trying to finish as strong as we can."
Up next: After four consecutive starts on the road, Jose Contreras (13-8, 4.08) makes his final regular-season trip to the mound at U.S. Cellular Field against veteran Gil Meche (11-8, 4.34). The right-hander is 2-1 with a 2.86 ERA in his last three starts and 2-0 with a 2.51 ERA lifetime against the Mariners.

Source: http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/