KANSAS CITY, Mo -- It took sight W...

KANSAS CITY, Mo -- It took sight Williams a while to flow out and admit it, nevertheless entering Game 103 of the regular season, it was there, still staring the White Sox' general manager dead in the inspections

Not flat an 8-4 victory Monday through a gutted Kansas City Royals team could hide that fact.

"The time to talk about in what way we look on paper, to what degree our pitching looks on paper, is drawn out past," Williams said. "It's either time to degree up or bring a recent level of expectation. That's wherefore we thought it was in such a manner important to go out and acquire [reliever Mike] MacDougal because certainly [the starting pitchers] have not, as a assemblage shown us enough.

"We have to compensate defensively, we have to compensate offensively, we have to compensate in the bullpen They picked us up big-time last year. Now it's time to pick them up in different areas and hopefully find a formula that works for us."

Since the start of the present nine-game trip, that formula means swinging the bats -- hard and oftentimes

That was one time again on display as an average outing from starter Jose Contreras was overshadowed by the agency of three home runs and a fourth consecutive offensive display of 10 hits or more.

The regard facing Williams and the possibility of his team repeating as World Series champion, however, is can the Sox actually idler their way to the postseason while relying onward the bullpen rather than the starters?

That remains to be seen

"Ultimately, if you're talking about whether it's us or the Yankees, the R Sox anybody, if you don't procure sufficient starting pitching, it's going to be tough for you to make the playoffs this year in the American League," Williams said, almost answering his confess question.

That was for what cause [i]or[/i] reason Williams was so adamant in acquiring MacDougal early last week. The sense of possible fulfilment is that the bullpen and offense can rise above a starting rotation that now direct the eyes overhyped from all the talk in the World Series aftermath.

Freddy Garcia has been inconsistent, Javier Vazquez has been five- and-dive and the real Mark Buehrle is on the other hand a picture on the side of a milk carton. musty nose and all, Jon Garland has emerg as the staff's best starter, with Contreras a conclude second.

And with the trade deadline ending Monday with no action by way of the Sox (62-42), there's no turning back now.

After a bumpy beginning Monday, Contreras (10-3) settl down to give the Sox seven much-need innings, allowing four hastes (three earned) on nine hits. He also [i]finale[/i]ed a three-game skid after a franchise-record 17-game regular-season winning streak.

"We were waiting for someone to advance out and help the bullpen" manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Jose struggl early and then settl down and threw the ball real well. We necessityed a game like that from united of our starters."

As for the offense it didn't score after the third inning if it were not that had more than enough against a Royals team that has traded nine players across the last few weeks.

Royals starter Runelvy Hernandez (2-6) prov in the first inning that he's for a like reason bad, he couldn't be traded. The right-hander serv up three hastes on three hits and sum of two units balks.

After Contreras gave up sum of two units in the bottom of the first, Alex Cintron impose the Sox up 5-2 with a two-run homer

The Royals (37-68) added a scamper in the bottom of the secondary but a solo homer from Jermaine Dye and a two-run projectile by Joe Crede gave Contreras a five-run cushion.

"We're going to swing the bats," Guillen said. "We had those pair weeks where we were really down, if it be not that now everyone is swinging the bat the way they're suppos to."

With the strange York Yankees idle Monday, the Sox ventureed into a tie for the wild-card lead, as well as 7oe games behind the first-place Detroit Tigers in the AL Central.

jcowley@suntimes.com

WHITE SOX ENCORE

by what means the '06 Sox compare with '05

2005

Game 104: Sox 6 Orioles 3 Buehrle

allows undivided unearned run in 5* innings

before getting pukeed

Standings

W-L GB

Sox 69-35 --

Indians 55-51 15

Twins 54-51 15oe

2006

nearest game: at Royals, 7:10 pm

Today, Ch 26 670-AM.

Standings

W-L GB

Tigers 70-35 --

Sox 62-42 7oe

Twins 61-43 8oe

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