The grumbles he generated at the end of the 2006 season were for using his leverage wisely. He seemed headed to the free-agent market through an early-out clause in his contract before Hendry headed him off at the pass, signing him to a five-year, $75 million extension. The White Sox likely wish Hendry had let Ramirez walk, although that probably would have meant he landed in the American League, most likely with the Angels. He has made life miserable in the visiting clubhouse this weekend, hitting two home runs in a 4-3 Cubs victory Friday and then delivering a three-run blast during the nine-run fourth inning that carried the Cubs to an 11-7 win on Saturday. Now the Cubs go for the sweep—if not the jugular—Sunday night behind the surprising Ryan Dempster. If not for five unearned runs in a loss in Cincinnati on May 5, the former closer would join the Giants' Tim Lincecum as the only healthy, full-time starters who haven't given up more than four runs in an outing. Dempster's 2.76 earned-run average is no mirage. He has been that good. The Cubs' 47-28 record isn't a misprint either. While manager Lou Piniella and his players are saying all the right things about the White Sox, the first two games of our City Series festival have been an accurate demonstration of the relative strength of the two Chicago teams. The Cubs seemed vulnerable after being swept on the road by the Rays with Soriano on the disabled list, but they really are the best team in the majors. The White Sox are the best team in the surprisingly winnable American League Central, although that's subject to change if Jose Contreras is heading into a long funk. A horse early in the season, the big Cuban might as well have been throwing batting practice Saturday when he yielded 10 hits and nine runs in 31/3 innings. He has been pounded for 30 hits and 19 runs in 16 innings over his last three starts. Yikes. And that's not all the bad news for Contreras. He has to survive one more start against the Cubs (likely Friday at U.S. Cellular Field) before scheduled starts against the A's and Royals to finish the first half. Since when is it a relief to pitch against AL teams instead of the Cubs? The times have changed. No one has done more to make that happen than Ramirez. -- 蓝~~蓝~~路~~~ 凸 ◢██ █◣ 凸 ◥◣ ⊙ ⊙ █◢◤ ◥◣ 皿 ╱◤ ◥◣ ︺ ◢◤ 干他妈的快跟我一起　蓝～蓝～路～～ ▼ --

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