Contreras had stuff of a winner
CHICAGO -- The tone was set in the top of the first inning by Jose Contreras.
He had allowed a one-out double to Edgar Renteria. David Ortiz was up. Contreras threw what looked like a splitter that broke shoe-high. Ortiz swung and missed for strike three.
Then and there, a swell of confidence seemed to grip Contreras and the White Sox, who went on to a 14-2 shellacking of the Red Sox in Game 1 of their Division Series.
''Jose was huge getting through David and Manny [Ramirez] and getting those two outs," said White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski. ''It sent a message. It gave him confidence, and from there he got on a roll and took over."
Contreras went on to pitch 7 2/3 innings, allowing eight hits and two runs. Contreras has sizzled since the All-Star break, and yesterday was no exception. He has won his last nine decisions, and if you wondered why Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen tapped him to start Game 1, now you know.
While Ortiz managed two hits off Contreras, neither amounted to much. Guillen had said he wasn't going to let Ortiz beat him, but Contreras did pitch to him in the first and got the big strikeout. After that, it didn't much matter because the White Sox scored five in the first and ran away.
''Our approach there was 'Let's go get them,' " said Pierzynski. ''It was the first inning and first game, and let's see what happens.
''Jose made some great pitches to David. He pitched him in and away and moved the ball around. He jammed Manny and might have broken his bat and got him to ground out to third."
Contreras, who is now 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA against the Sox in the postseason, walked no one.
''It was unbelievable," said Sox leadoff hitter Johnny Damon. ''That's the best we've seen all year. Go back to see how much every one of his pitches moved. He was hitting that low zone. His split looked like a knuckleball."
''He's not the same pitcher here he was with the Yankees," said Ortiz. ''He's gotten a lot better since he got here. He doesn't have the same pressure here. He's definitely a better pitcher with a nasty split and slider and a 95-mile-per-hour fastball. Pretty tough."
Red Sox video hitting coordinator Mike Barnett said this was by far the best he's ever seen Contreras.
''All our guys could do was tip their cap to him," he said. ''The location of some of those pitches, the hard slider, the split. It was an amazing performance on his part."
White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper said it's no accident that Contreras is excelling now. It's because of hard work.
''He's here two hours before anyone else," Cooper said. ''The work he does with his routine to stay in shape is unbelievable. He wasn't doing this earlier in the year, but I think if you look back at those starts, he was pitching pretty well.
''Nobody deserves this more than Jose. This was the guy that Fidel Castro called 'The Bronze Titan.' Well, he's our Bronze Titan now."
Cooper couldn't believe that Contreras's critics once said he was afraid to throw the ball over the plate.
''Consider that he once had to decide whether to get on a boat or a raft and decide to leave his family behind and escape," Cooper said. ''I don't think there's much that he fears."
Asked about the work ethic that Cooper applauded, Contreras said simply, ''This is my job. This is what I do for a living and I love it. I take it very seriously.
''I need to be in here doing everything I can to get ready for my next start. When I don't feel that way, I don't feel right on the mound."
Yesterday, he felt perfect.
