Terrerobytes: White Sox short on bodies

Outside of his last start, Jake Peavy has walked the talk this season. It sure would be swell if Peavy were to resume his resurgence at Wrigley Field today, because the fewer pinch-hitting situations the better.

Thanks to Paul Konerko's black eye (above) and the underestimation of Brent Morel's bulging disc (that's disc, Steve Levy), the White Sox will play with what amounts to a 23-man roster in the finale against the Cubs. The ranks are so depleted that Gavin Floyd was on the list of extra hitters on Saturday. Floyd is a .057 lifetime hitter, although one of his singles came off Stephen Strasburg in his supernova stage.

• Morel sidelined by nagging back pain -- whitesox.com

Morel's description of what makes his back hurt: "When I bend and rotate and everything." So, yeah, the only question seems to be whether he'll go to the DL on Monday or Tuesday.

• Samardzija surprised by Konerko fallout - ESPN Chicago

Jeff Samardzija insists there was no intent behind his wayward splitter, and he thinks Phil Humber went too high with his purpose pitch, because Bryan LaHair could have absorbed a lower plunking easier. If only Humber were there to make sure the Cubs were comfortable...

• Viciedo stepping up in Konerko's absence - ESPN Chicago

Dayan Viciedo is 11-for-21 with four homers and 21 RBI over the last week. If he were to keep that up, he could make history!

• Cubs look hopeless but White Sox might be onto something - ESPN Chicago

If you can make it past the customary attendance talk, I liked this bit of color at the end of this column:

Pierzynski got a chuckle out of the post-game scrum around Viciedo's locker, noting that his translator finally had to work.

"Jackson has to work," Pierzynski yelled in a sing-song manner as the team's director of cultural development Jackson Miranda tried to translate Viciedo's words into boring one-sentence answers.

"Who's Jackson?" pitching coach Don Cooper asked.

If the Sox want to compete this season, Jackson Miranda might have to be a household name. At least in his own clubhouse.

• What IS the "traditional" role of a #2 hitter, really? -- High Heat Stats
  

John Autin makes the case for batting Adam Dunn second, noting that Robin Ventura occupied the No. 2 spot for nearly the whole 1991 season and kicked ass while doing so (.294/.378/.486, 21 homers, 87 RBI).