What former White Sox players are up to

The Boston Red Sox are still buried in the AL East basement, but don’t blame Ryan Sweeney.

Originally drafted by the White Sox in 2003 (second round), Sweeney has been one of the few bright spots in Boston so far.

Heading into Thursday, the right fielder was tied with teammate David Ortiz for the American League lead with 13 doubles, and Sweeney ranked fourth with a .355 batting average.

Sweeney played in 33 games for the White Sox in 2006-07, bur he failed to hit for average or power and was traded to the Oakland A’s in ’08 in the Nick Swisher deal.

This past winter, Sweeney and Andrew Bailey were traded to Boston from Oakland for Josh Reddick.

While he’s hit for average and gap power, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Sweeney is still looking for his first home run of the season.

“I’ve been dealing with it my whole career so it’s really not anything new now,” Sweeney told the Eagle-Tribune. “I think teams know what I can do. When you get to five years, six years in the big leagues, teams know what you can do and know what type of player you are. I’m not going to change anything as far as what I do. But it gets annoying at times. Trust me, I wish I could hit 23 home runs along with everybody else.”

Sweeney was asked about his left-handed swing, and he had some interesting things to say about coming through the White Sox’ minor-league system.

“When I was younger, I maybe watched too much and tried to tweak too many things,” Sweeney said. “When I was with the White Sox. Not with the A’s. With the White Sox, they watch a lot of video and try to change a lot of stuff. Even coming up through the minor leagues, I had a hundred different batting stances. Now, I try to keep the same approach and the same stance.”

Quentin update:

The San Diego Padres ranked last in the major leagues with 12 home runs through Wednesday. The Rangers’ Josh Hamilton had 14 HR by himself.

Former White Sox right fielder Carlos Quentin was supposed to be the main power hitter for the Padres, but he is still on the disabled list after having right knee surgery in spring training.

Quentin is on a rehab assignment and close to returning, but he was given Tuesday off after experiencing soreness.

Ozzie erupts:

Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen has been pretty quiet since returning from a five-game suspension in April for his comments about Fidel Castro.

But earlier in this week, a Houston radio reporter asked Guillen if the “situation in Miami” had died down.

“Bleeping grow up bleep,” Guillen snapped before storming off. “Are you kidding me?”