Bekcham reluctantly grabbing some bench

DETROIT - Gordon Beckham didn't play baseball Monday night, and it's just coincidental the White Sox-Tigers game at Comerica Park was rained out.

Beckham was benched for a game on May 7 in an attempt to get his bat going and the strategy failed.

The Sox' 23-year-old second baseman has gone 4-for-27 with 6 strikeouts since sitting out against the Toronto Blue Jays, and manager Ozzie Guillen planned to hold Beckham out of the lineup in both games against Detroit.

"It's a time to relax and find himself," Guillen said. "Just give him these two days, hopefully we don't have to use him, to see if he can regroup and do what he can do.

"Like I said before with this kid, everything came so easy in his career and his life, this is the first time he's ever struggled and he doesn't know how to come out of that. These two days, hopefully we don't have to play him and we'll see if that helps him come back to his normal thing and do what he's supposed to do."

Beckham has been dropped from No. 2 in the order to No. 8. He's been moved back up to the second spot. He's been benched.

Nothing has seemed to work so far, and last year's rookie sensation is left trying to cope with a .188 batting average and team-high 30 strikeouts.

Beckham was surprised to hear he was sitting out the Tigers series from a reporter.

"It's (Guillen's) call whether I play or not," Beckham said. "I feel like I'm getting my head clearer every day, and I feel like I'm getting better swings. I've just got to go out there and really grind it out. It's not easy. No one said it would be. So you've got to go grind it out."

Following his star-studded collegiate career at Georgia, Beckham played only 59 minor-league games before making the jump to the White Sox last June.

And Beckham made it look pretty easy as a rookie, batting .270 with 28 doubles, 14 home runs and 63 RBI. This season, he has just 1 home run and 6 RBI along with the low batting average.

A trip back to Class AAA Charlotte makes sense, but Beckham has not lost his confidence and he wants to stay with the Sox.

"If I want to keep scuffling, I can keep being down on myself," Beckham said. "What I've done is tough when you look at the board and your average and you want to get 500 hits in one at-bat. I've got to put everything that's happened behind me and give 100 percent of what I am."

Before Monday's game was called because of rain, Beckham was actually looking forward to playing against the Tigers as he practiced his swing in the White Sox' clubhouse.

"Nobody feels sorry for me," Beckham said. "And I shouldn't feel sorry for myself. I've got to go out there and play and until it happens, I've just got to keep grinding. And when it does, I think it will give me more of an appreciation to go out there and make sure I'm grinding."