Another tough season in booth
Harrelson still takes losing hard, will root for Cubs in playoffs
CLEVELAND — One more game, and White Sox play- by- play man Ken ‘‘ Hawk’’ Harrelson’s season will be ‘‘ ovah.’’
Harrelson, who lightened his schedule this season by working a road- game slate, said he has been invigorated by the part- time gig, which allows him to spend more time with his wife and grandkids.
‘‘ I love it more now than I ever have,’’ Harrelson, 75, said Saturday. ‘‘ I really do, especially with this schedule.’’
Harrelson takes losses harder than some players do, which made his 33rd season in the Sox’ broadcast booth tough to handle. For him, having no more home losses to stew over during his long drive home to Granger, Indiana, has preserved his outlook.
‘‘ I grew up in a different culture than these [ players],’’ Harrelson said. ‘‘ We took [ losses] home with us. I’ve never been able to drop that. I’m not saying losing is easier for me, but to only see half as much of it because I’m doing only half the games . . . ’’
Harrelson called an 8- 1 victory Saturday that halted the Sox’ sixgame losing streak and temporarily delayed the Cleveland Indians’ charge to the American League Central championship. Todd Frazier hit his 39th home run, Jose Abreu had three singles and his 97th RBI and left- hander Jose Quintana ( 13- 11, 3.21 ERA) allowed one run in six innings to exceed the 200- inning plateau for the fourth consecutive season.
‘‘ I don’t like to talk about stats,’’ said Quintana, who held an opponent to two or fewer runs for the 20th time in 32 starts and guaranteed himself a winning record for the first time in his career. ‘‘ We didn’t have a good year, and the goal here is to make the playoffs. We can’t this year. We’ll try to rest up and come back next year.’’
The victory was only the Sox’ second in eight games this season at Progressive Field against the Indians, whose magic number to clinch the division is two. The Sox are 73- 81, including 50- 71 since a 23- 10 start.
‘‘ To start 23- 10 and have a six- game lead on these guys . . . ,’’ Harrelson said. ‘‘ What a bummer.’’
Harrelson, who has called four consecutive losing seasons for the first time in his career, bristled at the thought.
‘‘ If we get beat 2- 0 and [ Indians ace] Corey Kluber sticks it to us, that don’t bother me,’’ he said. ‘‘ But when we play the way we played and continually make those mistakes, there isn’t anybody after that game is over who is more [ ticked] off than I am. Nobody. And at my age . . . ’’
Quintana posted the Sox’ 89th quality start, which ranks second to the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL. That’s all well and good, but Harrelson has been saying for years that starting rotations aren’t as important as bullpens. He would like to see the Sox’ improvement plan in the offseason address relief pitching first.
‘‘ They’ve got to start with the bullpen,’’ he said. ‘‘ It’s no longer where your starters are going to take you; it’s where your bullpen is going to take you. You have to put [ manager] Robin [ Ventura] or whoever is going to manage this club in a posi- tion where he can manage a five- or six- inning game. If you can’t, you’re at a big disadvantage. If you can cover the last nine outs, you will play meaningful games in September.’’
Harrelson said he will watch the postseason with interest. Sox fans might not want to hear this, but he will be rooting for the Cubs, who were his preseason pick to win the World Series.
‘‘ I hope the Cubs win the whole thing because it will be good for the city and it will push us to make us better,’’ he said.
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