Sox erupt over ejections, but hold on for a 5-4 win

CLEVELAND - Maybe, just maybe, the White Sox will look back on Wednesday and thank for umpire "Country" Joe West for salvaging their season.

West sure seemed to spark the Sox' 5-4 win over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field when he ejected manager Ozzie Guillen in the second inning and starting pitcher Mark Buehrle in the third inning.

Both early exits came after West - working first base - called balks on Buehrle.

It was a scoreless game through three innings, but the White Sox scored 3 runs in the fourth, built a 5-1 lead, and survived a rocky ninth inning by closer Bobby Jenks to win their second straight series.

Afterward, Guillen and Buehrle both fired on West, who has often been criticized for seeking too much attention as an umpire and country music singer.

"He's a bleeping bleep," Guillen said after his third career ejection by West. "I just went out to ask him ... I wasn't asking about the balk because you're not allowed. I went out to ask him about was why he was embarrassing Buehrle and he give me one of these (hand waves).

"When you're a professional ... the way we're supposed to respect the umpires, they are supposed to respect back. Obviously they have more power than we have, and we have to wear it every time that happens. That's the reason I got tossed.

"Joe has been like that for a lot of years, and he's always going to be like this. I'm not going to change it, nobody is going to change it, but sometimes he thinks bleeping people pay to watch him bleeping umpire."

Buehrle has long had one of the best pickoff moves in the game, and the left-hander even admitted to getting away with plenty of balks in the past.

But Buehrle said West was way off base on both calls Wednesday, which is why he tried getting to the veteran umpire after being tossed. Buehrle had to be restrained by second-base umpire Angel Hernandez and catcher A.J. Pierzynski, among others.

"Once I got tossed I wanted to go say a few words and try to get my money's worth and just kind of find out what did I do wrong to balk?" Buehrle said. "I did the same move the toss right before that and he didn't call a balk on it. I think he's too worried about promoting his CD, and I think he likes seeing his name in the papers a little bit too much instead of worrying about the rules.

"I'd like to find out what he called a balk on me. Your knee can cross over the rubber. I know your foot can't and I didn't do that. I watched the replays trying to see what it was called a balk and I have still yet to see what I did."

Said West: "He has a couple of really good moves and those two were both balks, so I called them."

After the second balk call, West said he ran Buehrle for throwing his glove on the ground.

"I was in the wrong for throwing my glove," Buehrle said. "I kind of didn't know what I was doing. I just kind of was shrugging my shoulders and the glove kind of fell off. I wasn't trying to show him up by throwing the glove."

Sox broadcaster Ken "Hawk" Harrelson was still muttering about West as he brought a plate of food into Guillen's office after the game.

During the broadcast on Channel 9, Harrelson said West "is a travesty to baseball."

White Sox @ Tampa BayTV: Comcast SportsNet Thursday-Saturday; Channel 9 SundayRadio: WSCR 670-AMPitching matchups: The Sox' Gavin Floyd (2-4) vs. Jeff Niemann (4-0) today at 6:10 p.m.; Freddy Garcia (3-3) vs. David Price (7-1) Friday at 6:10 p.m.; John Danks (4-3) vs. Wade Davis (4-4) Saturday at 6:10 p.m.; Jake Peavy (3-4) vs. James Shields (5-2) Sunday at 12:40 p.m.At a glance: The White Sox have won back-to-back series against the Marlins and Indians. They'd likely settle for a split against the Rays, who have the best record in baseball as well as the best starting rotation. Tampa Bay won two of three at U.S. Cellular Field in late April and outscored the Sox 22-2 in the wins. The White Sox have won 10 of their last 15 at the Trop.Next: Texas Rangers, Tuesday-Thursday at U.S. Cellular FieldScot Gregor's game tracker White Sox 5, Indians 4Quick hooks: Manager Ozzie Guillen was ejected in the second inning and starter Mark Buehrle got the hook in the third. Umpire Joe West tossed both following balk calls on Buehrle.Game saver: Reliever Tony Pena picked up the slack with a career-high 4 scoreless innings.Game changer: Bobby Jenks allowed 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks in the ninth inning before getting out of the jam.On the Marks: Mark Kotsay and Mark Teahen each had 2 RBI.False392512White Sox starter Mark Buehrle pitches against the Cleveland Indians in the first inning of a baseball game.Associated PressFalse <div class="infoBox"><h1>More Coverage</h1><div class="infoBoxContent"><div class="infoArea"><h2>Stories</h2><ul class="links"><li><a href="/story/?id=383614">Guillen, Buehrle ejected by umpire West vs. Indians <span class="date">[05/26/10]</span></a></li><li><a href="/story/?id=383732">Garcia finds the plate in remarks about Sox starters <span class="date">[05/26/10]</span></a></li><li><a href="/story/?id=383730">Jenks flirts with disaster, survives bases-loaded jam <span class="date">[05/26/10]</span></a></li></ul></div></div></div>