BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS : White Sox Trying to Settle in Toronto

The Chicago White Sox may be bringing back Bo Jackson into the lineup, and they have installed Frank Thomas back at first base, but the glaring problem they still must overcome is wilting under the pressure of the playoffs.

“I’m not going to lie, we’ve been pressing quite a bit,” White Sox catcher Ron Karkovice said, “and it’s not going to go away until we start getting some big hits.

“Right now, we just can’t seem to relax.”

Said Blue Jay right fielder Joe Carter: “It’s pretty obvious that they’re tight right now. But it’s a natural feeling. They’ve never been in this situation before.

“This isn’t just something where you say you can get them next week, or next month. This is it, baby.

“Maybe the best thing they’ve got going for them is that they’re out of Chicago. They don’t have to deal with the Chicago newspapers and the Chicago fans, especially the way they’ve been treated. I guarantee you they’ll come here more relaxed.”

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Blue Jay left fielder Rickey Henderson said that he and second baseman Roberto Alomar were berated by White Sox fans for failing to obtain a hit in the first two games of the series, but he personally left the fans with a promise when he departed Comiskey Park.

“I told them that we’ll win in four,” Henderson said, “even if we go 0 for 24. We’re going to try to bury them.”

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White Sox left fielder Tim Raines, on the team being booed while they left Comiskey: “I don’t blame them. The way we played, we deserved to be booed. We should be better than this.”

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The Blue Jays not only are convinced the series will end in Toronto this weekend, but believe that this team is destined to become America’s team.

“Everywhere we’ve gone this season,” Carter said, “people are yelling, ‘U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A. Well, that’s kind of stupid since we’ve only got one Canadian on the team. Hopefully, you won’t hear that much anymore.

“We want people to know that we’re a pretty damned good baseball team.”

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Dan Pasqua on being criticized by Jackson: “I don’t take it as an insult, and I’m not going to take it personally.” . . . White Sox third baseman Robin Ventura missed Thursday’s workout, staying behind in Chicago with his wife, who had induced labor. . . . Although Jackson finished the season batting .306 with three homers and eight runs batted in in his last 11 games, he batted only .048 against the Blue Jays this season. . . . White Sox second baseman Joey Cora on the importance of tonight’s game: “It’s the game of the year. It’s that simple. If we don’t score some runs, we’re finished.”