"There were days -- make that weeks -- back in April and May when the White Sox couldn't get out of their own way.

Now they seem to be crushing any team that gets in their way.

With the 4-2 victory Wednesday over the Atlanta Braves, the Sox (36-34) are 3½ games behind the first-place Minnesota Twins and have won eight in a row and 13 of 15.

No wonder manager Ozzie Guillen is only looking forward.

''I never look back,'' Guillen said. ''The only thing when you look back, you wish we were better. We're not going to get anything looking back, only bad memories. When you start good, you create a lot of hope and a lot of enthusiasm. When you start the way we started, there's a lot of anger and negative stuff. A good start always helps, but it's not the way you start, it's the way you finish.

''Maybe we put a nice run here all the way in, and people forget about what happened then.''

After wrapping up the finale of the Braves series this afternoon, the Sox have three against the sinking Cubs, then three in Kansas City before a real test in Texas."