Beckham remains optimistic

Gordon Beckham broke it all down Monday - his personal struggles at the plate and the White Sox' slow start this season.

Finishing the weekend series against New York at Yankee Stadium in an 0-for-11 slump with 7 strikeouts, Beckham entered Monday night's game with a .211 batting average.

"Overall, I feel good," Beckham said. "We've done some work today and I feel good about what we're doing. It's a matter of me just focusing in on my preparation before the game and keeping that going during the game. I think sometimes when the game starts I get too excited, too antsy, too much goal oriented, I guess. I think any day, it's going to happen, it's going to go."

As for the Sox, Beckham is also staying optimistic.

"I found out today we're 6 games back of the Twins, OK?" Beckham said. "Given the way we've played, I'll take that. We really have not played well. We've hit some days and not pitched; we've pitched a lot of days and not hit. The way we've played, to be only down 6 games, I think that's a plus almost because I feel like we're way better than what we've shown. When we get clicking it's going to be a really fun team to watch, I know that.

"I think we just have to go out there and we have to show some swagger. There's a lot of talent on the team so we've got to act like it. There's a difference in being confident and cocky. We don't have to be cocky, but we need to be confident."

Trade talk: So, is it just a matter of time until White Sox general manager Kenny Williams gets a top-flight hitter such as San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez?

"Well, No. 1, I don't think anyone is really prepared to make any deals right now," Williams said. "And any interest expressed in any players out there who are impact guys has been done so for quite some time. There really isn't much substance to anything at this stage of the season. Another 30 games, and you'll start to see talks pick up. If you're not playing well, it doesn't make any sense to go down those roads, anyway. You've got to warrant that."

Around the horn: Carlos Quentin was held out of the starting lineup as he continues recovering from a strained left hamstring. Quentin played with the injury in New York on Saturday and Sunday because Alex Rios left the Sox for the birth of his child. "I told him I appreciate his effort," manager Ozzie Guillen said of Quentin. "He showed me what kind of person he is, what kind of player he is, because he was playing sore. ... Rios is the new father of Alex Javier, who was born Saturday. ... Pop singer Justin Bieber threw out the ceremonial first pitch.