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Just like everything has gone when it comes to the Edwin Jackson-for-Daniel Hudson trade, Friday's showdown between the two pitchers went the way of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Hudson’s Diamondbacks came away with a 4-1 victory over Jackson and the White Sox in the first game of a three-game interleague series.

Jackson hasn’t been horrible for the White Sox. Far from it, actually. Hudson has just been better for the Diamondbacks.

When the deal went down at last season’s trade deadline, it looked like the classic case of one team (the White Sox) giving up a player with a high upside (Hudson) for a veteran who could make a difference now (Jackson). It hasn’t worked out exactly as expected.

It’s hard to say that Hudson would be doing as well as he is in Arizona if he stayed on the South Side, but the only comparison available is what happens on the field.

After the deal went down at the trade deadline last season, Jackson was solid in his two months with the White Sox, going 4-2 with a 3.24 ERA over 11 starts. Hudson, though, went 7-1 in his 11 starts with Arizona, posting a 1.69 ERA.

Even adjusting for the difference between American League and National League offenses, Hudson still gets the best of this comparison.

Fast forward to this season. Jackson entered Friday’s outing with a 4-5 record and a 4.39 ERA over 13 starts. After a slow start, Hudson had recovered to post a 7-5 record with a 3.82 ERA over 14 starts.

When it comes to the trade comparison, Hudson has the edge all the way around, but there is one area where he is miles ahead. Hudson will make $419,000 this season. Jackson will make $8.75 million.

The real story Friday was probably the lack of production from the White Sox’s offense yet again. Jackson was just the latest to bear the burden of that struggle. Mark Buehrle gave up one run Thursday at Minnesota and took the loss. Gavin Floyd had just one bad inning Wednesday and it was enough to sink him.

Despite his slow start Friday, Jackson pitched well. He gave up two runs in the first inning on 29 pitches, but he did strike out the side. After a high pitch count in the second inning he settled down nicely, but the damage was done.

In the seventh inning, Hudson firmly planted the victory flag into the ground when he hit an RBI double to right field off Jackson. He merely rubbed it in when he finished the night with his first complete game.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Edwin Jackson has pitched against so many former teams that another one isn’t about to make him flinch.

And despite the fact that there will be a little bit of an intriguing twist this time around, getting Jackson to acknowledge the uniqueness of it is like getting a starter to do an interview before the game he pitches. Not gonna happen.

When Jackson faces the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday, he will not only be going against the club that traded him away last season, he will be matched up against the pitcher he was dealt for. The Diamondbacks will send former White Sox farmhand Daniel Hudson to the mound. Jackson is 4-5 with a 4.39 ERA this season while Hudson is 7-5 with a 3.82 ERA.

“Uh, I think I faced everybody I was traded for at one point or another,” Jackson said. “I don’t think there’s any situation with any team that I haven’t already been in.”

Does he want to show his former team they made a mistake by dealing him? No. Does he want to show his current team that their decision to acquire him was a good one? Not really.

“I look forward to every start,” Jackson said. “Like I said, there’s no extra motivation facing a certain team. Been there, done that numerous times. As far as an extra adrenaline against a certain team, been there done that. It’s just another start.”

When the deal was made, the White Sox’s obvious thought was that the veteran Jackson was the better option for now, even if that meant that Hudson went on to produce in ensuing years.

Hudson has gone 14-6 with a 2.83 ERA in 25 starts with the Diamondbacks, though, while Jackson has gone 8-7 with a 3.83 ERA in 24 starts for the White Sox. Hudson has a 1.078 WHIP in Arizona, while Jackson’s is at 1.387 with the White Sox.

So if the Diamondbacks are getting the better end of the deal now, and will presumably get it in the future, since Jackson isn’t expected to re-sign on the South Side after this year, the only battle left might be Friday’s game.

If Jackson sees it that way, he isn’t letting on.

“I’ve been traded [four] times,” Jackson said. “Any personal part of it has been out the door. It’s not like it’s my first time being traded. If I was going to take it personal, then there would be a lot of teams I take it personal against. It’s just another day. I look at everyone the same and try to go out and win a game.”

ANAHEIM, Calif. -– Daniel Hudson continues to impress with the Diamondbacks.

Anybody in the company of Felix Hernandez and Roy Oswalt has to be doing something right.

Hudson, whom the White Sox traded to Arizona at the trade deadline for Edwin Jackson, has given up more than two runs just once in 10 starts for the Diamondbacks.

Since Aug. 1, his 1.65 ERA is the third lowest in baseball behind Hernandez (1.22) and Oswalt (1.40). Maybe even more amazing, he has gone 6-1 for an Arizona team that has gone 24-25 since he’s been there.

(All numbers courtesy STATS LLC.)

CHICAGO --It’s that rare trade that has worked out well for both sides.

Edwin Jackson was at it again for the White Sox on Thursday, striking out 10 batters against the Baltimore Orioles to lower his ERA with his new club to 0.96 in four starts.

The Diamondbacks’ Daniel Hudson, who went to Arizona when Jackson came to the South Side, is now 3-1 in five starts, giving up just three runs in his lone defeat and no runs over seven innings while getting a no-decision Sunday. He has a 1.72 ERA.

For anybody that thinks this was a trade that probably didn’t need to be made, the White Sox would beg to differ.

“In my opinion it’s hard when you come from a different team and get put in a pennant race,” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “[For] a lot of people, the expectation is very high. And sometimes you don’t know how to handle it. I think he has handled it well. He came to a city that is desperate to win and in that situation we brought him here and has handled it very positive and very good.”

Jackson (2-0) has showed poise and common sense all while delivering results while the pressure has been on. He became the first pitcher to strike out at least 10 batters in consecutive starts since Javier Vazquez in September of 2007.

Not only has Jackson delivered on the mound, when asked if he wanted to pitch a day after warming up and throwing seven pitches in a rained out game, Jackson resisted. It could have lead to a tired arm, or worse, an injury. By not making the turnaround start it led to neither.

“It’s definitely a lot of rest,” Jackson said. “It’s just one of those things. As a professional you have to deal with it. You don’t have time to make excuses. You have to keep a mind frame like you are on a regular routine.”

Hudson has been just as excellent for the Diamondbacks, but the 23-year-old has been thriving for an Arizona team that is in last place in the National League West and started play Thursday 28 games out of first place.

Jackson, though, was pitching in that same atmosphere one month ago and yet has found a way to dig deeper in a much higher profile situation.

“Change of scenery,” he said. “It’s coming out in a fresh start. Nobody wants to be the weakest link on a team that’s winning.”

Jackson wasn’t the only one to rise to the occasion and give the White Sox their first series victory since winning three of four at Detroit at the start of the month. Six players had at least two hits while Alex Rios led the way with his first three-hit game since July 2. Juan Pierre stole his 50th base.

“Good, guys are off suicide watch around here,” Pierre said. “We got some guys and they get no hits, it's the end of the world to them. But I'm glad to see guys with good at-bats more so than the hits. We had good at-bats throughout the lineup, made the pitcher work, throw pitches and collectively offensively it was a great game.”

If the White Sox are indeed starting to get hot again, they picked a good time to do it. The World Series champion Yankees are in town to start a three-game series Friday and doing some damage against that group could do plenty for morale.

“It’s a big one. Huge,” Guillen said. “I think it’s fun. That’s fun games. That’s what we’re here for. To be the best you have to go out there and beat the best team. They’re playing very well but it should be fun games.”

By the numbers
11: Shutouts for White Sox pitchers this season. The last one came on Aug. 19 at Minnesota in a game started by Mark Buehrle. White Sox starters are 36-16 with a 3.14 ERA and 52 quality starts over the last 71 games.

Quote
"This is a team of professionals. It’s a lot of guys in here who have won before and know what it takes to win. We don’t need to put pressure on ourselves or come in and stress. The mood has been the same through the good stretches and bad stretches as long as I’ve been here. That’s always been a positive when you have a team whose confidence hasn’t gone anywhere.” -- Jackson, on the team continuing to fight after losing five consecutive series.

Look ahead
White Sox right-hander Freddy Garcia (10-5, 5.08 ERA) will get the first crack at the Yankees in the opener of a three-game series Friday at U.S. Cellular Field. Garcia is 4-4 with a 4.36 ERA in 11 starts against the Yankees, but is just 0-3 against them with a 6.14 ERA over his past six outings. He is 1-2 with a 7.71 ERA over his last six starts, but is 7-2 with a 4.78 ERA over his last 14 outings.

Garcia will be opposed by Yankees right-hander A.J. Burnett (9-11, 4.80), who is 0-3 with a 6.08 ERA in four August starts. In his last outing last Friday against the Mariners he gave up a career-high tying 12 hits in a 6-0 Yankees defeat.

CHICAGO -- What to make of a starting pitcher with an ERA over 5.00 in the midst of an underachieving season?

The news that the White Sox officially have obtained right-handed starter Edwin Jackson from the Arizona Diamondbacks for right-hander Daniel Hudson and minor-league pitcher David Holmberg just might indicate the start of a most interesting day.

General manager Ken Williams always is determined to get his guy, and the Washington Nationals’ Adam Dunn was a coveted addition. Williams still has until late Saturday afternoon to flip Jackson to the Nationals for Dunn, although reports indicate that last-place Washington doesn’t want anything to do with Jackson.

If Jackson stays with the White Sox, what is right about this deal?

In Jackson, the White Sox are getting a veteran, who has shown he can pitch well at times, and he could shore up a rotation that lost Jake Peavy.

It assures the team will still have at least four proven guys if something should happen to a current starter. (Freddy Garcia has already pitched more innings than he did in any of the past three seasons.)

Jackson can still be dominating at times as his June 25 no-hitter would attest.

Jackson’s 6-10 record is a little ugly, but he went 3-0 in three starts against American League teams, beating the Blue Jays, Tigers and Rays.

Jackson is signed through 2012, giving the White Sox rotation insurance in case Peavy isn’t ready to start next season on time.

Jackson is 5-1 in his career against the Indians with a 2.56 ERA in 10 appearances (nine starts). The White Sox play the Indians six more times, including the final three games of the season at home.

If Jackson stays, what is wrong about this deal?

Since the no-hitter, Jackson’s ERA has risen a half a point to its current 5.16 mark, raising the likelihood that the 149-pitch outing on June 25 continues to set him back. He has yet to allow less than four runs in his five starts since the no-no.

If Jackson struggled against National League offenses, how will he do better against much better American League lineups on a regular basis?

Jackson is 1-3 in his career against the Twins with a 7.76 ERA in eight appearances (five starts). The White Sox and Twins play each other nine more times.

A no-hitter is huge for any pitcher, but the outing also featured eight walks and all those pitches, sending mixed signals.

Jackson has 60 walks and 104 strikeouts in 21 outings after posting a better than two-to-one ratio in that department last season with the Tigers (70-161).

Jackson leads the NL in two less-than-flattering categories: earned runs allowed (77) and wild pitches (13).

CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox traded pitcher Daniel Hudson and prospect David Holmberg to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Edwin Jackson.

Read the entire story.

CHICAGO -- Now that the White Sox have been atop the American League Central for a while, they might want to try taking aim at a leader of a different kind.

As the hottest home team in baseball, the White Sox might be able to do some serious damage in the playoffs if they can somehow land the top record in the American League and have home-field advantage leading into the World Series.

Paul Konerko, who has hit home runs in four consecutive games -- all at home -- doesn’t want to touch that one with a 10-foot Louisville Slugger, especially since the calendar still reads July. But there is no denying what the White Sox have done at home by winning 11 consecutive and 18 of their last 19, the latest a 9-5 triumph over the Mariners on Thursday to complete a four-game sweep.

It doesn’t help, though, that both of the other division leaders -- the Yankees and the Rangers -- as well as two teams in the wild-card hunt -- the Rays and Red Sox -- all have better records than the White Sox. The Yankees, with the AL’s best record, are eight games in front of the White Sox.

“I don’t think any team right now, with the exception of the Yankees, is thinking about home-field advantage,” said Konerko, who hit a home run in all seven home games against the Mariners. “We have a ton of games here and we are by no means out of the woods in our own division so to start thinking about who is going to play where in the playoffs, and pitching rotations and all that is a little bit of the cart before the horse.”

So when is it time to think about things like that? Konerko didn’t want to talk about that either. There is no doubt, though, that other teams in the league are starting to take notice of the White Sox and their winning ways, especially in Chicago, since the start of June.

The road is where the White Sox do things like hit one home run in a four-game stretch last week at Seattle and Oakland. Home is where they do things like hit 11 home runs in a four-game series against the Mariners, two of which Thursday came from backup catcher Ramon Castro.

The White Sox swept their third consecutive home series, posted their first four-game home sweep of the Mariners since 1983 and saw Freddy Garcia improve to 5-1 with a 3.91 ERA in his last eight starts at U.S. Cellular Field.

Starting tonight with the Oakland A’s, though, the home schedule only gets harder. The A’s enter having won five of their last seven games and 10 of their last 13. On the following homestand, it’s a pair of series against the Twins and Tigers. The Yankees come to town at the end of August for three games.

If the White Sox can take care of those three against New York, then it’s a matter of picking up five more games against the World Series champs over the final two months. Plus leapfrogging everybody else and holding off the pesky Twins, who are now 1 ½ games back in the division.

Thursday’s most recent power display seems to suggest the White Sox don’t need to add a piece on offense before Saturday’s non-waiver trade deadline. But they aren’t going to be able to face the Mariners anymore either.

“We can make a lot of things happen,” manager Ozzie Guillen said of the offense. “I remember a lot of people worry about the home runs. We got people in the lineup who can hit home runs without hitting 70. We’ve experienced [high home-run totals] for a few years. [But] we strike out a lot, we got guys on base, we can’t get them in.

“Now, now we play a different ballgame. I think the guys are running the bases well. We take advantage with stolen bases here and there and we’ve been winning because we push the guys to run the bases and be aggressive there.”

But they have also been winning with the pitching. White Sox starters are 26-9 with a 2.73 ERA and 36 quality starts in their last 45 games. It hardly mattered that reliever J.J. Putz was scored upon for the first time in 27 appearances (27 innings). The White Sox won at home again and everything felt just fine.

“I think we come in believing we can win that game that night no matter who we’re playing, who we’re facing,” Konerko said. “We just got in a good groove a while back of just coming in and playing nine innings as hard as we can. Regardless of the result we come back and fight the next day. I thought we did that earlier as well, but we were probably carrying some baggage into each game because we were losing so much.”

BY THE NUMBERS

3: Left-handed starters the White Sox will face this weekend against the A’s in Brett Anderson, Dallas Braden and Gio Gonzalez. The White Sox are 13-11 when facing a left-handed starter this season, compared to 44-33 when facing a right-handed starter. Castro, who hit two home runs, could play in at least two of the games for the left-handed hitting A.J. Pierzynski.

QUOTE

“I think when you see me hit balls down the right-field line and then hit balls down the left-field line in the same game I think that's good. I think that means my swing is taking whatever pitch is there out. I'm not even trying to do that. That's the swing playing what I have, and when I'm doing that I'm in a good place. It's good to see, it's good to feel and it's good to win.” -- Gordon Beckham, who had two hits, one to right field and one to left and is now batting .417 (25-for-60) over his last 18 games with nine doubles, three home runs and 11 RBIs.

LOOK AHEAD

Right-hander Daniel Hudson (1-1, 6.32 ERA) will get his fourth start of the season when he faces the Oakland A’s in the opener of a three-game series Friday. While facing the A’s in his last outing Sunday at Oakland, Hudson gave up five runs on six hits in five innings. He walked four batters for the second consecutive outing. In his only home start this season on July 11, he gave up five runs on six hits in four innings and got a no-decision despite being given a big early lead.

Hudson will be opposed by Oakland left-hander Brett Anderson (2-1, 2.35), who is coming off the disabled list for the second time, both because of a sore left elbow. In 23 starts since June 29, 2009, Anderson is 10-5 with a 2.82 ERA.

CHICAGO -- Not only will the White Sox not trade Gordon Beckham for Adam Dunn, he won’t be moved for Prince Fielder or any other left-handed bat that could fill the team’s greatest offensive need.

Read the entire story.

Washington Nationals first baseman Adam Dunn could be dealt to the White Sox if Chicago is willing to sweeten the pot and add a second substantial minor league player in return.

Read the entire story.

OAKLAND, Calif. – Things actually got better in the standings since the last time the White Sox were home, but on the field there seems to be an entirely different outlook.

That aura of invincibility the White Sox had when they started the second half and promptly beat the Twins to open the just-completed 10-game road trip is long gone now.

After the July 15 victory in Minnesota, the White Sox had lost just five times in their past 31 games and seemed poised to put some real distance between themselves and their division rivals.

Fast forward to Sunday when the White Sox lost 6-4 to the Oakland A’s, giving them six defeats on the trip alone. They were 3-for-3 in the series openers, but not much went right after that.

Despite it all, the White Sox will kick off the home portion of the second half with the same one-game lead in the American League Central that they built when they beat the Twins on July 15. That is where the team would rather place its focus.

“If you look around there was really one game where we didn’t have a chance and that was [Saturday],” manager Ozzie Guillen said. “Today we came back and put the game back in position to be a close game. I’m not excited or happy about [the trip]. I thought we would play better, but in the meanwhile it was a long road trip. Hopefully we’ll play better than we did on this road trip.”

There are some glaring weaknesses now, though, and some embarrassing moments that wouldn’t have seemed likely when the team was rolling.

Among the things the White Sox would prefer to forget:

A defeat in Minnesota on July 16 when the White Sox committed four errors.

Freddy Garcia’s 1 1/3-inning start Saturday, a career low, when he gave up more runs (five) than recorded outs (four).

Closer Bobby Jenks coughing up not one, but two leads in a span of four days.

Reliever Erick Threets’ wild pickoff throw in the sixth inning Sunday that allowed Oakland’s Coco Crisp to score all the way from first base.

As for the causes of concern with the way the White Sox are playing:

After batting .357 (15-for-42) over the first 10 games of July, Juan Pierre was batting .138 (4-for-33) over the next eight, although he delivered an RBI single in the seventh inning Sunday.

Despite winning one game in his three starts, Daniel Hudson hasn’t looked like the answer for an injured Jake Peavy. Hudson has 11 walks in his three outings since replacing Peavy in the rotation, including four more Sunday.

Trying to show that his team doesn’t need the left-handed bat they continue to pursue as the non-waiver trade deadline approaches, Mark Kotsay didn’t make a case for himself by going 2-for-23 over his last six games.

[+] Enlarge
Juliann Tallino/US PresswireWhite Sox closer Bobby Jenks blew two leads in four games on the west coast trip.

Jenks finally got some tune-up action Sunday with a scoreless inning, but still hasn’t pitched in a save situation since Wednesday, not that the White Sox had one at Oakland.

Jenks came on in the eighth inning with the White Sox down by two runs and said he treated the outing as if it was a save situation. He gave up a one-out single to Matt Carson, who stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball, but left the runner stranded.

“When I go out there I know what my job is and I know what I need to do,” Jenks said. “I’m human. There will be days when it’s not there and the results aren’t going to be there, but for the most part I have always done my job and I’ve done it well.”

When Guillen tried a similar tactic earlier this season of removing Jenks from save situations, it lasted just one outing before the big right-hander was back in his old role. Sunday’s outing might have been enough for Guillen to give back Jenks’ old job.

“That’s what I want to see from him,” Guillen said. “He got to understand our point, what we want from him. Hopefully he keeps throwing the ball like he did [Sunday]. The last two outings you couldn’t hide. He got killed. When I see him talk about Mariano [Rivera] blew two games, yeah, but I never remember Mariano give up seven runs in two innings. We’re not crazy what we’re doing here. We know what we’re doing. If Bobby keeps throwing the ball like he did [Sunday] he’ll be back to his role.”

BY THE NUMBERS

15: At-bats without a hit for Pierre before he delivered an RBI single in the seventh inning Sunday in the middle of a rally that fell short. Alexei Ramirez emerged from a 0-for-12 slide delivering two hits. Ramirez is still batting .337 (34-for-101) over his last 28 games.

QUOTE

“I think a little more is being made of it than it needs to be. Obviously, everybody is going to be talking about it because it’s coming up. But it’s just one of those things that you have to play through and whatever happens, happens. I have no control over it besides throwing strikes. That’s the only thing I have control of in this game is throwing the ball over the plate and I couldn’t do it [Sunday].” --Hudson, on pitching in the major leagues while his name is being included in trade talk.


LOOK AHEAD

John Danks (10-7, 3.37) will be on the mound Monday night as the White Sox gladly return home from a tough 10-game trip to open the second half. It won’t be easy, though, as Danks will oppose the Seattle Mariners’ Felix Hernandez (7-6, 2.75). The White Sox faced Hernandez on July 21 at Seattle and managed just two hits in eight innings.

The White Sox are 27-19 at home, compared to 26-25 on the road. Their last home game was over two weeks ago when they scored 15 runs in a victory over the Royals on July 11 and were on the tail end of a nine-game win streak.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- All those trade rumors that carry his name? Daniel Hudson has a way of dealing with that.

The reality that he is filling the shoes of a former Cy Young Award winner in the White Sox’s rotation? He has been offered a way of coping with that too.

The thought that Sunday’s start at Oakland is key in showing that he deserves to stick around? That one isn’t so easy to avoid.

Read the entire story.

Like a lot of Don Draper wannabes, I'm more than a little excited for the "Mad Men" season premiere this Sunday night.

Unfortunately for me, the rare man without a DVR, I'll be at a live taping of the critically panned Chicago show "Mad Fans," starring the 39,000 or so Cubs fans who pay big bucks to watch a bad team.

I'll also be missing the second episode of the reality show featuring those other "mad men," Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams. "The Club" will be airing its second episode this Sunday as a lead-in to a great night of television.

Read the entire column.

SEATTLE -- With one outing, rookie Daniel Hudson might have helped to keep a handful of other top prospects in the White Sox organization.

In his second start of the season and fourth of his brief major-league career, the right-hander was solid in a victory over the Seattle Mariners. A mere 11 days from the non-waiver trading deadline, Hudson might have sent a message to White Sox management that a deal for a starting pitcher isn’t necessary.

There was myriad story lines that could have sidetracked the hard-throwing Hudson, but he didn’t look distracted by any of it in the White Sox’s 6-1 victory.

It’s one thing to have to replace a guy like Jake Peavy, but Hudson was also pitching for a first-place team that was on a three-game losing streak.

If that wasn’t coming up big, consider the fact that if Hudson didn’t show the White Sox something impressive Monday, general manager Ken Williams might have been forced to strongly consider one of the lopsided trade options sitting on his desk.

Hudson could have been part of that package. At the very least, he would have been sent back to the minor leagues to make room for his replacement.

"I think I had a better tempo out there, I wasn’t going too fast, which I think was the problem,” Hudson said, comparing Monday’s outing with the five runs in four innings he gave up to the Royals on July 11. “I had a better slider, better breaking ball, so that helped a lot.”

Williams was already saying before Monday’s game that making a deal wasn’t going to be easy with what teams are asking for proven players. With one American League source saying Monday the White Sox were considering more high profile guys like Houston’s Roy Oswalt or Fausto Carmona, over somebody like a Ted Lilly, the price would have been plenty.

Another possibility is that Hudson’s outing might get White Sox management to lean more toward a left-handed power hitter as the deadline approaches. It could all come down to how Hudson performs in his next outing. If the White Sox decide not to skip his next turn, an option they have with Thursday’s off day, he would next pitch Sunday at Oakland.

“Hopefully I buy myself another [start],” Hudson said. “I got to keep going out there and doing my job. I can’t really think about how many starts this gives me. I’ve got to go out and pitch well against Oakland next time.”

It didn’t look good from the start Monday when Hudson walked the Mariners’ second batter of the game, Chone Figgins, and then gave up an RBI double to Russell Branyan. He rebounded, though, to strike out the side swinging in the second inning.

Two walks and an error in the third inning could have meant trouble, but catcher A.J. Pierzynski threw out Jack Wilson trying to steal and Hudson got revenge on Branyan by getting him to ground into an inning-ending double play.

By no means was it the sharpest outing. Hudson loaded the bases in the fifth inning, giving up two singles and a walk with two outs, but he got out of that one too. In addition to his four walks, he had six strikeouts and gave up five hits and a run in his 6 2/3 innings.

Manager Ozzie Guillen went to his bullpen in the seventh inning after a two-out infield single from Jack Wilson.

Hudson deserved plenty of the credit, but if he wanted to thank anybody, shaking Alex Rios’ hand would be a good start.

Rios doesn’t have the numbers to inspire pity, but general manager Ken Williams had no problem giving it to his productive outfielder anyway.

“Alex Rios could be hitting .400 if he had any kind of luck,” Williams said. “ I’ve never seen a guy hit the ball as hard as consistently for so long, and I don’t know what he’s hitting, .300 or somewhere around it, but he could be hitting.400 if he had any [luck].”

He got things to fall his way Monday, with a single in his first at-bat, a sacrifice fly for the White Sox’s first run in the third inning and a two-run home run in the fifth.

It was Rios’ 16th home run of the season, as he raised his batting average to .307 with his 2-for-4 night and lifted his RBI total to 54.

He is just one more on a long list of White Sox players that got it going in June. He entered Monday’s game with a .351 batting average (13-for-37) with two home runs and six RBIs in his last 10 games and a .317 batting average with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs.

By the numbers

100: Career home runs for Alex Rios after he connected on a two-run shot in the fifth inning Monday against the Seattle Mariners. After just five games it has already been a milestone second half for Rios. He connected on his 1,000th career hit Thursday at Minnesota.

Quote

“He has my confidence in him. We need him to help our bullpen the way we want to, Bobby has to be our closer. I expect that continue to happen. I think it’s one game. He blew a save before and bounced back very well.” – manager Ozzie Guillen, on closer Bobby Jenks, who gave up four runs Sunday as the Twins rallied for a victory.

Look ahead

John Danks (9-7, 3.58) will get his second start of the second half Tuesday against the Mariners. He earned the only victory in the recent four-game series against the Twins, giving up six runs on nine hits in six innings. All six runs came in the second inning. He is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in his last three outings against the Mariners. Danks will be opposed by Seattle’s Doug Fister (3-5, 3.50), who is 0-2 with a 7.08 ERA in four starts since coming off the disabled list.

OFFENSE: B-
Only Paul Konerko and Alex Rios pulled their weight at the beginning of the season. As the first half came to a close and the White Sox were on their hottest run of the season, everybody was hitting home runs, including A.J. Pierzynski, who had a two-homer game, and Carlos Quentin, who had three multi-homer games over his final four contests of the first half.

DEFENSE: B-
Mark Teahen’s struggles weren’t just at the plate. The acquisition from the Royals had a tough first half at third base before a fractured middle finger put him on the disabled list, but once defensive wizard Omar Vizquel took over at the hot corner, things started to settle down. Teahen, who has a history of moving all around the field on defense, will get a chance to redeem himself in the second half.

STARTING ROTATION: B
What was once a mess over the first month and a half of the season became a strength for the White Sox. Gavin Floyd, Mark Buehrle and John Danks have proven themselves as dependable options. Veteran Freddy Garcia will be watched closely by manager Ozzie Guillen in the second half. Daniel Hudson could be the answer for Jake Peavy’s spot, but it won’t stop GM Ken Williams from weighing his options before the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31.

BULLPEN: A
At the start of the season the relievers were very good. At the midway point they continue to hold it together. J.J. Putz hasn’t given up a run in 22 consecutive outings (23 innings). Closer Bobby Jenks, who has 19 saves in 20 chances, has returned strong after an absence to handle personal issues. The White Sox’s 3.59 ERA at the break from their relievers is fifth best in the American League.

MANAGER: B-
During a vulnerable moment during spring training, Guillen agreed that he had winning talent. He then said that the White Sox will win if he doesn’t get in the way. It was a self-deprecating moment, but his job security came in question when the club got off to an uninspiring start. The manager seems to have the club on the same page now and feeding off each other.

GENERAL MANAGER: C
The outsider's view is that Williams has deferred to others this season. Guillen is in charge of the fate of his coaches. Guillen’s own fate appears to be in the hands of chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. The team was even compiled in the wants and desires of Guillen. Williams did bring in the players for a team that is in first place at the break. We could be wrong, but the team doesn’t look to be completely in his vision for 2010.

MVP: Paul Konerko
The lazy man’s analysis is that Konerko has stepped things up because his contract will expire after this season. That’s an insult to one of the true professionals of the game; as if he was dogging it until it meant something on a personal level. Konerko has always put up the numbers when he was feeling good. His 20 home runs, 63 RBIs and .299 batting average at the break sum up a true professional at the age of 34.

CHICAGO -- The White Sox’s sixth perfect homestand in club history was completed Sunday.
The sixth time the White Sox have hit four home runs in an inning went down in the third against the Kansas City Royals.

An eight-game win streak leading into the All-Star break, the longest to end a first half in franchise history, was punctuated with a convincing 15-5 victory.

Yet among all of it, the most important accomplishment for the White Sox was their move into sole possession of first place for the first time since May 1 … of 2009.

With 25 victories in their last 30 games, the White Sox not only have shown they can get hot, but that they can maintain their winning ways for an extended period.

So here’s the real question: If the White Sox can play this well for a month, shouldn’t they be able to repeat the formula, earn a playoff spot and make a deep postseason run?

“I second-guessed myself and asked my staff if [the early-season struggles] were that bad,” manager Ozzie Guillen said, in an attempt to dodge the question. “Every day I believe coming to this ballpark we have a chance to win. That’s what we are doing right now.”

But should this team now expect to make noise late into October?

“We built this ballclub to be a playoff team,” Guillen said. “I don’t know if we are going to be because [there are] a lot of good teams out there. But right now, the way we should be playing from now on, we are going to compete. Will we be in the playoffs or not? Only God knows the situation. We are going to show up every day to make that happen, at least give the team a chance to be there.”

Guillen apparently still needs more convincing that his team really is this good. Either that, or he doesn’t want to offend teams around the league. Yeah, right. He apparently needs more convincing.

For White Sox fans, and the coaching staff for that matter, what’s not to like about how the club stormed into the All-Star break?

On Sunday they showered a rookie pitcher, making his first start of the season, with a ton of runs. When Daniel Hudson started giving them back, all the offense did was pile on more with a five-run sixth inning and a two-run seventh.

Carlos Quentin had his third multi-homer game of the week, and he even missed three games with a sore knee. Quentin wasn’t an All-Star snub, he just spent the past few days making it look like he was, heading into the break with 19 home runs and 61 RBI.

Hudson didn’t get the victory after pitching just four-plus innings, but the run support was a clear sign of team unity that the players insist was always there, even when April and May looked like a disaster.

“We have great guys on this team,” A.J. Pierzynski said. “Nobody will ever question the guys we have on this team. We get along great. Everybody said, ‘What’s wrong with that team?’ We all got along great and we all thought if we can get this thing going and turned around, we like where we’re headed.

“So far it’s been a lot of fun this last month-and-a-half. We just need to keep it going these next two months and things will end up good. But it’s a long way to go and we’ll just see what happens.”

There was no need to ask anybody if the break was coming at a bad time. Of course it is. Do basketball coaches call a timeout for their squad in the middle of a 10-0 run? Do football coaches insist on stopping the action when their team is storming downfield?

Not only is it an awkward time to be going on the All-Star break, there is the 10-game trip to open the second half, at outposts like Minnesota, Seattle and Oakland that haven’t been kind to previous White Sox teams.

If the White Sox can continue to win through all of that, maybe then Guillen will stop playing nice and say what he really feels about his club and its postseason chances.

“It's a good note to end on in the first half,” Juan Pierre said. “I heard the fans saying, ‘First-place White Sox,’ but the key is to have them yelling that at the end of September. But it's good to always get a break like this. I kind of wish we could keep rolling, but guys can relax knowing we still have a lot of work ahead of us. It's a good way to end it.”

BY THE NUMBERS

The five earned runs White Sox starter Daniel Hudson gave up in four-plus innings was the most for a White Sox starter since John Danks gave up six on June 27 against the Cubs. Asked after the game if he thought Hudson should get another start, Guillen said he would like to see that.

QUOTE

“Those games can kind of hurt you sometimes, when you don't have good command and you're up in the zone a lot and you're not throwing your off-speed for strikes and all you've got is a fastball. Sometimes the score dictates them being more aggressive and that's how they were today. I left some fastballs up in the last couple innings and they crushed them,” –- Daniel Hudson

LOOK AHEAD

Matt Thornton and Paul Konerko will participate in Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Anaheim, Calif. John Danks (8-7, 3.29 ERA) was named the starter for the White Sox’s second-half opener Thursday at Minnesota.