If the White Sox force a Game 5 in the American League Division Series against Tampa Bay, manager Ozzie Guillen would have to decide to go back to struggling Javier Vazquez, make what would seem like the obvious decision and bring back lefty Mark Buehrle, or then there's always the wild card in all of this, starting rookie Clayton Richard.
Guillen has concerns with all three. Buehrle has worked overtime the last month -- his innings are reaching a level the Sox wanted to avoid -- while Richard is inexperienced. Then there's the concern that Vazquez is a train wreck, but bypassing him could crush what little confidence he seems to have left. "I'm not going to say disappointed, but frustrated, yes," Guillen said of Vazquez's struggles. "You strike out 200 and pitch 200 innings for a reason. The only thing I worry about Javy is he might lose confidence. When you lose confidence, you think then that you are not going to win a big game and then you are not in a good situation."
However, starting Vazquez during his current funk doesn't exactly put the team in a good situation, either. The veteran is 0-4 with a 13.22 ERA over his last four starts -- all which were considered big games.
"Game 5 is a big game, and I might start with Buehrle," Guillen said. "We talked about Richard (for Game 5 after Thursday's loss), but we didn't really think about it."
There are 23 million reasons the Sox need Vazquez to get back on track, either this postseason or next spring, because that's how much the team still owes him -- $11.5 million in both 2009 and '10.
Asked if Vazquez's confidence could be too far gone to stay on the South Side, Guillen said, "I hope not. That's the last thing you can lose as a human being. I'm the type of guy where no matter how bad you can knock my (butt) down, I'll get up and fight. The last thing anybody can lose is confidence."
RAYS 6, WHITE SOX 2: Jermaine Dye had a 4-for-5 night as the White Sox totaled 12 hits. That would be nice if they weren't all singles. It also didn't help that they left 12 on base, the clutch hit remaining a confusing concept for the offense.
The one player hurt by that lack of a clutch hit? Pitcher Mark Buehrle. The left-hander had been the stopper the last month, but Tampa Bay defeated him with a lethal combination of small ball and the home run. Buehrle gave manager Ozzie Guillen seven innings but still allowed five runs on 10 hits to take a 2-0 lead in the Series.
