Olson: Harden hype overshadows Sox’s chances

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If I had to pick one of Chicago’s baseball teams to win the World Series, I would pick the White Sox.

Their numbers are fairly close when compared to the 2005 team, although they are eight games off the 2005 pace after 90 games. They have a lot of the same “grinders” on the team, Carlos Quentin and Alexei Ramirez are big pluses, and even though Orlando Cabrera has been something of an irritant, they seem to have a decent chemistry.

Starters John Danks and Gavin Floyd have surprised people with their pitching performances thus far, and the Sox are getting quality starts from Mark Buehrle, Javier Vazquez and even Jose Contreras.

But the Sox aren’t the team everyone in town seems to be talking about lately when the words “World Series” are on their lips.

With the Cubs acquisition of pitcher Rich Harden this week, people are talking, seriously and with straight faces, about the Cubs going to the World Series.

Hold on. Back up the truck.

Cubs fans, don’t do this to yourselves. Not yet. There still is a lot of time for things to go south.

Yes, the Cubs picked up a pitcher who a lot of people with the organization, very good baseball people, describe as a No. 1 or  No. 2 starter.

They have seven All-Stars, a fantastic home record (35-11) and the best record in the National League.

They have done these things before without reaching the World Series.

They have had starting pitchers who were “great when healthy”  in Mark Prior and Kerry Wood.

They have had a great record before. In 1977, a year the finished 81-81, their record actually was a game better than this team after 92 games.

In 1988, the Cubs had six All-Stars, including Vance “long arm of the” Law. They finished 77-85.

These Cubs have to play 16 of their last 25 games in September on the road, where so far, they’ve had problems, like most every other team in baseball.

For the Sox, it’s a 50/50 split in September, with half their games at home and half on the road.

Why is everyone overlooking the Sox’s chances while making so much of the Cubs? The Cubbies have the whole 100th anniversary thing going, for one, and that’s a great storyline. They have a great hitting lineup and a pitching staff that now is supposed to be lights-out.

And while the Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has talked about being comfortable with the team’s current roster, the Cubs are out making headline-grabbing moves. And then backing it up with the kind of talk that you hear from clubs that win.

“This shows the Cubs are going to do everything in their power to get where we want to go,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.

That’s reassuring to hear. But don’t overlook the Sox’s chances amid all the Harden hype.

The Sox are the ballclub that’s won when it counted in our lifetime. And a lot of the players who did it still are there. As the Cubs try to battle the ghosts of history, the Sox are trying to return to familiar territory.

Can the Cubs make the World Series? Maybe. But as Piniella would say, it’s much too early to get giggly yet.

Now, if Harden wins his next four or five starts ...

– Eric Olson is the Northwest News Group’s sports editor. Reach him by e-mail eolson@nwnewsgroup.com.