Sox race clock, go with youth

MILWAUKEE The White Sox can't seem to play the Milwaukee Brewerswithout doing something funky to the clock.

If July 11 at Comiskey Park was "Turn Back the Clock Day,"Thursday at County Stadium was "Turn the Clock Ahead Day." Thistime, however, the innovator was general manager Larry Himes, notmarketing chief Rob Gallas.

Visitors to the Sox clubhouse received future shock when theysaw slugging first baseman Frank Thomas in uniform for the evening'sdoubleheader against the Brewers.

In the same dressing quarters was Alex Fernandez, preparing forhis big-league debut after an eight-game breeze through the minors.

As the Sox pondered a four-game losing streak, and sevenconsecutive defeats on the road, the lineup card for the openerincluded Robin Ventura, Thomas and Fernandez, the club's No. 1 picksin the 1988, 1989 and 1990 drafts. Jack McDowell - the team's toppick in 1987, Himes' first season - had pitched the previous night.

When the going gets tough, the rule of thumb is to add grizzledveterans and subtract frightened rookies. What's the deal here? Arethe Sox reading the standings upside down? Or are they trying tosave on disposable razors?

Apparently not. Toeing the same mound on which Nolan Ryan madehistory two nights earlier, Fernandez limited the Brewers to two runsand five hits in seven innings of a 4-3 Sox victory.

"Didn't look scared, did he?" Himes said.

Didn't sound scared, either.

"I threw a great game, I felt," Fernandez said.

Thomas drove in the winning run with a ninth-inning grounder,though it came too late for Fernandez, who watched the victory go toBarry "The Vulture" Jones.

Fernandez is 20, Thomas 22. The youngest team in the majors,the Sox lowered their average age to 26.3, enough to give most GMsgray hair.

"It's a young man's game for me," said Himes, who treats thewaiver wire like junk mail. "These kids don't have the experience,but they have a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of energy."

Despite Ron Kittle's departure to Baltimore, Thomas wasn'texpected to surface from Class AA Birmingham until September. OnWednesday, however, Himes considered the team's power shortage andreconsidered his stance. He told chairman Jerry Reinsdorf whatThomas' stance would add to the lineup.

"We talked about the pros and cons," Reinsdorf said, "and Icouldn't think of too many cons."

Neither could Thomas. "I felt I deserved it," he said.

His 112 walks said as much as his .581 slugging percentage,.323 batting average, 18 home runs and 71 RBI. During one stretch,Memphis pitchers walked Thomas 10 consecutive times.

Next to that, the pennant race seems a relief. "I'm excited,"Thomas said. "I believe I can help this ballclub in some way."

Help from Fernandez has gone from optional to mandatory, whatwith Eric King taking a bum shoulder to the 15-day disabled list.

"If he's what we've been told he is, this is right up hisalley," pitching coach Sammy Ellis said. "I've never had a guy ravedabout like this kid. Not even close. Not even when I was with theYankees and (Dave) Righetti and (Don) Mattingly were coming up."

Lest you conclude Himes is the careless type who doesn't knowwhere the kids are, consider where Wilson Alvarez was at 10 o'clock.Alvarez, the same age as Fernandez, was demoted to Birmingham lastweek after compiling a 7-7 record and 6.00 ERA for Class AAAVancouver. Himes wanted him to be with "players his own age."

The Sox haven't gotten this far by relying on Mike Scotts andDale Murphys. Rather than wade through millions of dollars of redtape to rent a few mercenaries - none of whom carries a money-back,championship guarantee - the Sox are keeping it simple, keeping it inthe family.

As the clock ticks, they know what time it's getting to be.They don't look scared.