"In the world of Ken Williams, no one, and the general manager means no one, will feel comfortable playing the White Sox in the postseason as they are now constructed.

That sounded real nice coming from the mouth of the general manager on Tuesday, but as he put it, ''Well, there's the rub.''

That rub he's talking about?

For them to create havoc in October, they first have to make sure they can take care of business during the rest of August and September.

A baby step toward that goal was taken Tuesday against Seattle. Shortstop Alexei Ramirez hit a three-run homer off former Sox reliever David Aardsma in the ninth to lift the Sox to a 3-1 comeback win at Safeco Field.

''If we would have lost this game, it could have hurt this ballclub,'' manager Ozzie Guillen said. ''The way we were playing early on there was a little bit of frustration. A huge game for us. Not just because we won, but because the way we were playing, and to turn it around like we did.''

Williams seems confident the momentum can carry over to the postseason.

''You have to get to the playoffs before you can be a factor in the playoffs,'' Williams said before the game. ''We absolutely think that no matter who we would be up against in a playoff situation, we absolutely have the capabilities to play well and ultimately go all the way.

''However, that's why you go through the grind of 162 games.''

The grind got a bit more interesting as the Sox (58-56) pulled to within two games of first-place Detroit after the Tigers lost to Boston 7-5.

That's still not good enough in the eyes of Williams, though.

''I would have hoped that we would have been in a better situation than we are now, but the fact of the matter is here we are closing in on mid-August, we've fortified ourselves to the point where we think we can do well in October. So now the objective is you got to get there,'' Williams said. "You've got to drive to the finish line and get there.''

Williams has done his best to make that drive as smooth as possible, adding Jake Peavy at the trade deadline and then nabbing Alex Rios off the waiver wire on Monday.

What he made evident, however, was that he likely played his last card with the Rios move. In other words, search his sleeve and it's empty.

''Actually no,'' Williams said when asked if he was still looking to add. ''As I survey the landscape now, I don't see where an opportunity could come to make us that much better that wouldn't be disruptive. What you see is what you get.''

The Sox hope they got enough."