“He might throw well ... (or) his arm maybe fall off,” Guillen said.

It was hard to tell from his expression which way the manager was leaning.

“He’s going to have a lot of rest, maybe five months to get rest,” Guillen added. “He’s going to dictate me how he’s doing.”

Buerhle wound up throwing 111 pitches in seven tough innings and in the bottom of the seventh, the Sox cracked the game open with two runs. Soon after, Guillen indulged in some scoreboard-watching to see how the NL pursuit played out.

Of particular interest was Milwaukee starter CC Sabathia, who batted for himself in the bottom of the eighth after throwing 107 pitches. The Brewers’ rent-an-ace likely won’t be re-signed by Milwaukee and should be back on the market.

“When I heard that he was going to pitch the ninth, I was thinking, ’Man, that guy is something,” Guillen said, now back behind a tidied-up desk in his office. “He’s going to make himself $140 million from somebody next year.”

But before worrying about next year, there was the matter of the next day. In a neat twist of fate, the White Sox will face Detroit starter Freddy Garcia, a fellow Venezuelan whom Guillen called “Big Game Freddy” when he pitched for Chicago during a successful 2005 World Series run.

“I got plenty text messages from him already. He says he can’t wait to beat us,” Guillen said.

In another corner of the clubhouse, someone asked Konerko whether, considering their friendship, Guillen wasn’t obligated to take Garcia out drinking Sunday night. Knowing his manager, it wasn’t as crazy a question as it sounded.

“All I’ll say is this,” Konerko said, laughing. “We played with Freddy, and no matter what shape he shows up in, he’ll be ready to pitch.”

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