By now, we've all seen the White Sox commercial where Paul Konerko inspires runners everywhere by showing them how he got hit in the face with a fastball.
The commercial is kind of goofy, mostly because a mystical being/guiding light should probably at least have a tablet. But hopefully he's at least using a DVD-RW disc, so we can show people what it looks like when people go too far to play through pain:
That's Konerko getting thrown at third on a Carlos Quentin double to left field. I was among many who joked that Konerko picked the right place to get plunked, but lo and behold, Konerko is capable of being noticeably slower. Watching this painful play brought to mind the 2005-06, homer-or-single version of Frank Thomas.
Everybody's aware Konerko is hurting. Nobody seems to have a clear timetable when Konerko will be back to 100 percent. All we know for certain is that:
- The White Sox are 4-1 since Konerko returned to the lineup.
- Konerko's presence is greatly compromising the roster.
These seemingly incongruent realities pose quite a conundrum for Ozzie Guillen. These circumstances could cause him to forfeit his DH every few days, because it's happened twice already, and it will continue as long as Guillen is convinced that Brent Lillibridge is a clear defensive upgrade at first base.
Baseball logic dictates that Konerko should keep playing as long as the Sox keep hitting. But that conflicts with some roster logic that might prefer that Konerko sit, so if he needs to hit the DL, his stint can be applied retroactively.
It's a delicate situation, and given what we know so far, it's probably best that Konerko keeps playing until he or his leg says otherwise. Just be prepared for a harrowing turn one way or another -- such as Zach Stewart's first major-league at-bat.