Ejections no big deal, Sox say

Among the options for White Sox season-ticket plans this year are the Ozzie plan, the Hit and Run plan and the Double Play plan.

Maybe they need to add a Fireworks plan -- and not just for the show in the sky after the game.

Sign up for the Fireworks plan and see which of your favorite White Sox will get tossed.

Monday it was manager Ozzie Guillen. Friday it was designated hitter Jim Thome.

The normally mild-mannered Thome got the boot for just the third time in his 18-year career. The Peoria native had family calling late Friday night after he argued a called third strike with James Hoye.

"They told me to settle down," Thome said.

First baseman Paul Konerko described Thome's ejection as "watching your father get upset."

"I watched that today and had to laugh myself," Thome said. "It is what it is. You get caught up in the game and your emotions. It just shows the fight in you, I guess.

"You never go into the game thinking you are going to get ejected. It just happens. It's part of the game."

After hitting 2 home runs and driving in 4 runs on Opening Day, Thome is hitting .121 (4-for-33) since, including 1-for-3 Saturday that snapped an 0-for-12 skid. He said that had nothing to do with his ejection.

"We're trying to do a good job, the umpires are trying to do a good job, but sometimes it doesn't happen and you move on," Thome said. "That's one thing I've learned. That's the great thing about our game -- you've got the next day. You try to get better and move on."

Alas, the Fireworks plan probably won't work, according to Guillen. Despite the ejections this week, don't look for the umpires to be a seasonlong problem.

"We're not that type of ballclub," Guillen said. "Jim just got one bad call and it should be over with. I think Jimmy has the right to argue about it.

"Everybody here is a veteran player; even the kids are pretty low-key. They (umpires) will make mistakes, we know that."

Change of heart: Nick Swisher missed Friday's game with a hip flexor, and manager Ozzie Guillen said Friday that Swisher also would miss Saturday's game.

Guillen changed his mind after talking to Swisher and had him back in the leadoff spot Saturday despite the wet and chilly weather. Swisher went 0-for-4 with a walk and a run scored.

"He's fine," Guillen said. "These conditions, anybody can get hurt. Nick is fine. He told us he is ready to go."

Balls and strikes: Outfielder Jerry Owens, who has been on the 15-day disabled list with a partial tear of his right adductor, began a rehabilitation assignment Saturday night at AAA Charlotte. Owens, 27, finished eighth in the AL last year with 32 stolen bases. … Josh Fields went 4-for-4 for Charlotte on Friday. … Tigers first baseman Carlos Guillen (hamstring) didn't play Saturday. He will likely miss a few games but hopes to avoid a DL stint. …

For the second straight game, Chris Rongey, the White Sox' pregame and postgame show host on WSCR 670-AM, filled in for play-by-play man Ed Farmer. Farmer, who is in California following the death of his mother-in-law, will return for the White Sox' trip to Baltimore and Tampa Bay later this week.