Hawk here. So the Sox didn’t get Junior. That’s OK. Don’t need him. Still in first place. Still the team to beat in the Junior Circuit. But don’t tell Jay that. Look what he said on Tuesday:

The good people, their faces etched in dread, walked slowly to the exits after the 7-5 loss. The Sox, who held a 15-game lead on Aug. 1, are now just 2-1/2 games ahead of the Indians and four games clear of the wild-card-leading Yankees. A mood that started as concern has passed through a panic state and is headed toward a familiar feeling of doom and white-flag resignation. This is a wonderful place to live, filled with culture and fun and beautiful architecture. But part of our lot in life is that the local baseball teams are destined to tease, crash and burn.

But then the Sox came back and won a great game to stretch their lead out. Where’s Jay’s column on that? Where’s Jay’s apology to the great fans of Chicago? Where’ s Jay’s apology to his editor for making him read this stuff? This ain’t journalism, Jay. This is slander. This is libel. This is treason. Grab some soap-on-a-rope, Jay. Here’s something for you to G-A-G on. Called the facts.

Fact: Sox have the best pitching in the American League. Jon Garland for Cy Young. Got my vote. Fact: Sox have the best manager in the American League. Fact: Pod is the American League MVP. Don’t tell me about some DH or some A-Rod. Gotta play the field. Gotta run. Gotta do more than hit homers when your team don’t need ’em. Pod’s a gamer. Pod came back from injury to help the Sox through a tough stretch. That’s MVP stuff. Got my vote.

And fact: folks are scared of the Sox. Why are they scared? Because the Sox can beat teams in all sorts of ways. They can shut you out. They can move guys over. They can hit homers when they need to. Like Joe Crede. Kid’s gotten a lot of guff since he joined Sox. Folks want him to hit. Folks want him to field. Just let the kid play. He’s a player. Got guts. You don’t hit 2 homers in a game like yesterday’s if you don’t have guts. And he’s got ’em. Guts ain’t a number. Guts is heart. Come on, Jay. You gotta love these guys. American as apple pie. You hate apple pie, Jay?

Like I said last night to Deej, the Indians are a hot-hitting team. You gotta get ahead of ’em to get ’em out. You can’t go 2-0 on a guy like Hafner and get him out. And Deej agreed. And I agreed with Deej. You gotta pitch smart. Gotta pitch with some authority. And the Sox pen did that. Herm, Pollite, Wide Load – you done good. Keep it close for Joe to give the good guys the win.

Baseball ain’t football or basketball. It’s a marathon. Bad stretches happen. Look at 1978 in Boston. That’s a bad stretch. But good teams know how to get on a good stretch. And the Sox are back. No doubt. But don’t tell Jay that. Can’t write a column about winning. No sir. Too bad, Jay. Missing a helluva season.

Go Sox.

Ken Harrelson has served as an announcer for Chicago White Sox telecasts on WGN-TV since 1991.