Defense, Floyd faulty in 5-3 loss to Royals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Another day, another loss for the White Sox.
But it's the same old question - what kind of changes need to be made and when are they going to happen?
Sox general manager Kenny Williams is not on the road trip, but he undoubtedly saw another lackluster Sox loss Sunday, this one 5-3 to the Royals.
"If (Williams) wants to blow this ballclub away, that's his call," manager Ozzie Guillen said before the White Sox lost two of three to last-place Kansas City. "I still believe in this club and it shows some signs of how good we can be and shows some signs of how bad we can be.
"The way we play, we should be in last place, 30 games out. We compete; we're just not winning games."
Heading into a two-game series at Detroit on Monday night, the Sox (15-22) are 8 games behind the Minnesota Twins and look to be going nowhere fast.
With a .230 team batting average, the White Sox rank last in the American League in hitting ahead of Seattle (.231). And the Sox dropped to 1-17 when scoring 3 runs or fewer.
Last Sunday, the Mariners fired hitting coach Alan Cockrell. Is Greg Walker facing the same fate?
Guillen again went to bat for his hitting coach before the Sox lost to the Royals.
"We do everything we can to make those guys better," Guillen said. "I know it. I fired three coaches myself because I didn't think they were on the same page as we are."
Fire Guillen?
"I said the first day I got this job, I see even the best coaches getting fired, the best managers getting fired," Guillen said. "I think I do what I can do every day to make this ballclub work. It's something I believe - if this thing doesn't work, I'm not a princess or an icon or not that great.
"If the team doesn't work the way it (should) be working, I'll be the first one to be blamed. That's the way this thing works in baseball or any sport."
As for the roster, it's looking more and more like Gordon Beckham could use a refresher course at Class AAA Charlotte. It's just not happening for last year's rookie sensation, who is batting .188 after going 0-for-4 Sunday.
But it's difficult to single out Beckham when Carlos Quentin is batting .180, Mark Kotsay is batting .174, Mark Teahen is batting .218 - and outside of Alex Rios (.318), Paul Konerko has the next highest average at .263.
But even Konerko is scuffling, he was 0-for-4 Sunday and 0-for-11 in the series.
Toss in subpar pitchers such as Gavin Floyd, who took the loss Sunday, Bobby Jenks, Mark Buehrle, Tony Pena and Randy Williams, and you're looking at a team that is in some rough shape.
"The expectations we have with this club are very high," Guillen said. "We have a ballclub better than what we showed."
Scot Gregor's game tracker Royals 5, White Sox 3Single-minded: Alex Rios' home run in the second inning ended a streak of 19 straight singles over 28 innings for the Sox' offense.Quiet at the top: The White Sox' first four hitters - Juan Pierre, Gordon Beckham, Andruw Jones and Paul Konerko - were 1-for-16. The 1-4 hitters were 5-for-45 in the series.Bad stretch: Gavin Floyd was off again Sunday, allowing 5 runs on 10 hits in 6 innings. Over his last 14 starts dating to 2009, he is 2-8 with a 5.94 ERA.False442512White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez forces out Kansas City Royals' Jose Guillen while turning a double play during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday.Associated PressFalse