Kotsay's luck nothing but bad lately

Before the White Sox rolled the Mariners on Tuesday night at U.S. Cellular Field, Mark Kotsay walked over to Paul Konerko's locker in one corner of the clubhouse and asked him a question.

"A reporter asked me if I'm supposed to be nervous about Saturday," Kotsay said. "So I said, 'What's going on Saturday?' "

Saturday is the nonwaiver trade deadline, and rumors continue that the Sox are going to add a more potent left-handed bat, such as Adam Dunn, to replace Kotsay.

"Not worried about it at all," Kotsay said. "No worries."

To prove the point, Kotsay really was unaware of the trade deadline. And before the White Sox' pregame stretch, a few of Kotsay's bats were placed in a fire pit by the dugout and set ablaze.

"That was (Mark) Teahen's deal," Kotsay said. "I walked out and saw what was going on, but I had nothing to do with it. There are quirky things like changing your uniform or your undershirt or your shoes, but never burning bats."

Kotsay's numbers - .220 batting average, 6 home runs, 20 RBI, .305 on-base percentage, .657 OPS - are weak across the board, but the 34-year-old designated hitter/first baseman has had some brutal luck lately.

In Monday night's win over Seattle, Kotsay was robbed of an extra-base hit by first baseman Casey Kotchman in the second inning and right fielder Ichiro Suzuki pulled back a home run in the fourth.

Both defensive plays were featured on ESPN's Web Gems.

"If it wasn't for (Matt) Garza's no-hitter, those plays would have been first and second," Kotsay said.

While he's obviously frustrated, Kotsay is holding up quite well.

"It's actually been happening to him all season," Konerko said. "Good thing it's him. Most guys wouldn't know how to handle it, but he's been great."

Staying put: White Sox general manager Kenny Williams said the asking price for players such as Adam Dunn and Prince Fielder still is too high.

The Washington Nationals asked for second baseman Gordon Beckham in exchange for Dunn, and the answer was no.

"I've been pretty much told that I will be OK and will be in a White Sox uniform after July 31," Beckham said. "I'm not too worried about it. I wasn't too worried about it. I think it's just kind of fun for all the speculation, but that's about all it is usually."

Frank talk: Frank Thomas has been as surprised as anyone by the White Sox' 31-11 record since June 9, the best in baseball.

"This has been amazing," Thomas said. "I've never seen anything like it, to be honest. Everyone thought this team was dead and done and we were going to break it up like everything else, and now we're looking at whatever we can because this is a special team and has worked out the way we want it to work out.

"Very athletic, speed everywhere, great pitching. It's one of those pitching staffs, it reminds me of the 1993 Blue Jays when you get to the sixth inning, you don't want to see the bullpen. And that's the type of team you're seeing this team is."