During that holiday season, Williams defied the baseball theory of teams inevitably going through cycles. He took a pitching staff that had helped the White Sox win the World Series a year earlier and remade it on the fly.

In the span of three weeks, Williams traded away veteran starter Freddy Garcia, a mainstay on the staff that won the 2005 World Series, and in separate deals brought in two young arms: lefthander John Danks and righthander Gavin Floyd. Williams was prepared to unload more veterans but could not find trading partners.

The moves reflected Williams' passion to field a contender every season. He wanted to beat the clock by helping the White Sox get young before they could age. He has no interest in long-term rebuilding programs.

They were strong-willed moves that left Williams open to criticism.

"That's the nature of this business,'' Williams said. "We trusted those kids.''

Where would the White Sox be without those deals?

Not at U.S. Cellular Park to face Tampa Bay in the fourth game of an American League division series.

Danks and Floyd are keeping the White Sox afloat.

"If those two kids don't step it up the way they did, I'd be playing golf right now or be back in Caracas,'' White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Those two kids are the key for us. They pitch in really tough games and handle it well.''

Danks pitched into the seventh inning of a 5-3 victory against Tampa Bay on Sunday. He survived an early test by holding the Rays to one hit in five at-bats with runners in scoring position during the first two innings. That included stopping Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford with runners at first and third in the opening inning.

"You see him grow every time out,'' catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "It's been amazing.''The Rays still lead the series at 2-1, but they must find a way to bury a vampire team. The unsinkable White Sox have won four elimination games in the last eight games.

"Maybe this is the way we're going to go all the way through the playoffs,'' White Sox closer Bobby Jenks said.

The telling point to this stretch is Danks and Floyd have started three of the win-or-go-home games. They are 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA in those starts, working at least six innings each time.

For veterans, this would be noteworthy. For a pair of youngbloods — Floyd at age 25 is two years older than Danks — this is a remarkable display of grace and growth under pressure.

The White Sox plan on starting Floyd in Monday's latest win-or-go-home game, against Tampa Bay righthander Andy Sonnanstine.

This will be Sonnanstine's first appearance since Sept. 26, when he gave up five runs in 5 2/3 innings at Detroit. Floyd has pitched since then, holding Detroit to one earned run in six innings in a victory that forced the one-game playoff with Minnesota.

For the White Sox, having one of the kids on the mound in a vital game brings a comforting feeling.

"Nobody in baseball had these guys picked to do anything,'' White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper said. "The majority felt we weren't doing anything, weren't going anywhere with them. But to a large degree, what those two guys have done has really put us into the position we're in now.''

A year ago, Danks and Floyd went 7-18 with a 5.36 ERA as starters. This season, they were 29-17 with a 3.59 ERA. The White Sox were 40-26 in their starts and 49-48 in all other games.

On a practical level, Danks added a "cut'' fastball that made him more effective against righthanders, and Floyd refined his changeup to the point that he will throw it on consecutive pitches to left-handed hitters.

On a psychological level, both began to believe that they had the ability to handle big-league hitters.

"Both of us are trying to establish ourselves at this level,'' Danks said. "I think we've done a pretty good of that this year. Both of us are in the same boat, and we do push each other to a certain extent.''

The day after Floyd beat Detroit, Danks worked eight shutout innings in the playoff win against Minnesota. Now, it's Gavin Floyd's turn to match John Danks. The White Sox can only benefit.