Chicago ? Forget about contract extensions and future seasons.

The White Sox’s best chance to do some serious winning is now. They know it, and you should too.

Unless Jerry Reinsdorf suddenly morphs into Jerry Colangelo, there’s very little chance the Sox will be carrying this much talent on the roster at this point in 2004.

That’s why it is absolutely vital they rise above the meat-grinder schedule to win the race they’re in with Minnesota and — a courtesy reference here — Kansas City. It’s why 33-year-old Jose Valentin says he has never played under more pressure.

“With the pitching staff we have, we’re definitely a lot better than 2000–a lot, lot, lot better than 2000,” Valentin said. “If we get in the playoffs, I think we’ll be in for a long time.”

Think about what “a long time” could mean in October baseball. It definitely would mean a first-round victory which, unless the Cubs rallied to beat them to it, would be the first postseason success for a Chicago team since 1917. It could mean the first trip to the World Series for a Chicago team since 1959.

That’s why everybody with the White Sox, from general manager Kenny Williams to the last guy on the bench (Aaron Miles), needs to keep both eyes on the road.

It’s an intriguing bit of news that Williams recently approached Bartolo Colon, Robbie Alomar, Carl Everett and Tom Gordon to sound them out about contract extensions. But given the tightrope the Sox are walking, with a mere 13 games remaining, the only time in the future that really matters is tonight. That’s when they face the Twins’ Brad Radke in the opener of a three-game series at the Metrodome.

Truth is, as important as it is to hang onto Colon, as great as it would be to maintain the balance that Alomar and Everett have brought, as frightening as it is to think about handing the late innings back to Billy Koch, it’s pie in the sky to think this team can stay together.

Win or lose, Reinsdorf’s middle-of-the-pack revenues will force Williams into making some very difficult decisions. It will get ugly. It could get very ugly.

An executive with another major-league club was talking about the White Sox’s situation last week. “I really feel for them,” he said. “Kenny’s done a great job putting that roster together and there’s no chance he can keep it together. Even if they win it all, they are going to have to lose some really good players. Their fans won’t like it. It’s a tough message to send after you win, a bad message.”

The really heavy lifting, however, will begin in 2004. That’s when Magglio Ordonez’s salary jumps to $14 million. Paul Konerko and Koch are due raises of about $2 million apiece. Carlos Lee, who has 30 homers and 104 RBIs, can go to arbitration as a four-year player.

The reality is more likely to be along the lines of what the unnamed executive was saying. No matter how far they go, the White Sox are going to have to do some serious pruning over the winter. As usual, the biggest limbs will land on their fans’ heads.