Cast Your Dye and Vote for Jermaine

With two previous American League Final Vote winners already on their resume, the White Sox have raised their own bar for the 2008 competition involving right fielder Jermaine Dye.

They appear ready and willing for the challenge, despite factoring in Monday's day off and just two games in Kansas City before the Monster Final Vote winner is announced on Thursday evening.

"I know I'll do all I can to get him there," said White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski, showing his support for Dye. Pierzynski won the 2006 Final Vote behind the organization's famous "Punch A.J." campaign.

"We realistically have a little bit of an uphill climb, given the logistics of it," added Scott Reifert, White Sox vice president of communications. "But the White Sox fans have risen to the occasion two other times, so let's do it again."

White Sox fans jumped out to a good start on Monday, with Dye checking in at a close second to Tampa Bay rookie sensation Evan Longoria in the first round of announced results. Mobilizing the forces almost immediately on Sunday helped Dye's chances to play in New York for the Midsummer Classic.

As soon as Dye's place on the ballot was known, the White Sox recruited a number of fans to make signs which they held up during Sunday's 4-3 home victory over the A's. The White Sox also have a custom T-Shirt shop at U.S. Cellular Field, so they produced "Vote for J.D." shirts that Dye's teammates sported after the victory.

Dye even joked how he snagged a few of these shirts, and his children were wearing them around the house on Sunday night. "It should be a fun week," said the low-key Dye, speaking after taking part in a panel prior to the first Double Duty Classic played Monday afternoon at U.S. Cellular.

"Stickers are also being made, and we are hoping the guys will stick them on their batting practice tops," added Reifert, who mentioned White Sox players will be wearing the "Vote for J.D." shirts on Tuesday and Wednesday.

There are two ways for fans to vote for the 2008 All-Star Game Final Vote -- online now at MLB.com, or on-the-go from their cell phones. Fans also can text the word "VOTE" to 36197 to have the All-Star Final Vote candidates sent to your phone. To vote for a specific player, simply reply with your choice. In Canada, fans should text the word "VOTE" to 88555. Standard rate text messaging rates apply -- please check with your mobile carrier for details.

Every All-Star Game is an exciting extravaganza in and of itself, but the White Sox are hoping to add a few off-the-field thrills over the next few days. Reifert mentioned that their scoreboard guys at U.S. Cellular put together a vignette of Dye's great plays and moments, and that vignette was sent to news stations and given to the White Sox broadcast partners to use over the course of the next couple of games.

Never one for self-promotion, Dye even has agreed to sign six jerseys that will be randomly given away from a pool of fans who cast a vote for the right fielder.

"It is what it is," said Reifert with a laugh. "We are absolutely buying votes. We admit it."

But the boldest campaign move, from this South Side strategy created in a political race form, could be the possible non-baseball support stumping for Dye. The White Sox have reached out to a pair of prominent politicians to see if they would make messages backing Dye's candidacy, to run on the broadcasts or online.

Although Reifert would not confirm any names, it is a well-known fact that the mayor of Chicago is a die-hard White Sox fan and a current groundbreaking Presidential candidate also is a South Side supporter.

"We've made overtures, and we will see if it happens," Reifert said. "If it does, it's a nice little story."

After getting Scott Podsednik elected in 2005 and Pierzynski in 2006, involving the next potential President of the United States might actually be the logical step forward for the White Sox political machine. As for Dye's take on the matter, he knows his friends, family, teammates and White Sox fans are voting for him basically around the clock.

If he wins the Final Vote, Dye would be honored to play in the last All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium and he would be a most-deserving selection. If he falls short, Dye understands the All-Star process works out that way some times.

"There are always guys who get snubbed," Dye said. "We know that as players. In that case, I will just enjoy my four days off at home."