Though still four games under .500, the White Sox accomplished everything they needed to do over a grueling three-week period.
- They went 12-8 over a stretch of 20 consecutive games.
- They went 5-5 over a tough road trip that included Texas, Toronto and Boston.
- They kept the six-man rotation intact for now.
Ozzie Guillen made that final point official prior to Wednesday's victory over the Red Sox:
"We’re going to give it one more shot because of the way Humber threw yesterday," Guillen said. "We’re going to leave it like that right now, for the next homestand in Chicago. If something goes wrong, then we’ll change it, but for right now it’s working pretty good."
That Brett Ballantini article includes some other details about Guillen's six-man rotation. Among them:
- Guillen hopes to continue it at least until the All-Star break.
- It will allow him to shuffle his starters to fit a need or mood (he's flipping Jake Peavy and John Danks to give the latter a little more of a break).
- He won't use it as an excuse to go crazy with pitch counts.
As frustrating as Guillen can be with his offensive strategy and lineup cards, the amount of thought and creativity he gives to his pitching staff puts him a cut above the average MLB manager.
** Beckham feeling no pain in eyes - whitesox.com
Beckham hit .303/.379/.421 in May, so it's good to see that the faceburger he suffered from Alex Rios' throw hasn't thrown him off his game. He went 5-for-13 in the three-game sweep of the Red Sox.
** Konerko jumps into pregame time machine - Chicago White Sox Blog - ESPN Chicago
Paul Konerko evidently had the hots for his fourth-grade teacher. I bet she'd be impressed by his 16,000-square-foot house in Scottsdale.
** Chicago not counting out last-place Twins - whitesox.com
Maybe they should. Maybe that would give them the confidence to actually, you know, beat them.
"Three games really shouldn't have this kind of effect, and the unexpected-delight-skewing-perspective element is definitely at work, but when a team with a tiny playoff window is tottering on the fringe of still being able to contend, meaningful shows of force really need to be encouraged."