Aching right hand sidelines Konerko
MINNEAPOLIS -- Paul Konerko and Magglio Ordonez have a lot in common.
The obvious links are they're both right-handed power hitters and they were teammates on the White Sox from 1999-2004.
Konerko and Ordonez also have had their problems with sore hands, and the pain in Konerko's right hand and thumb was so severe on Wednesday it kept him in the Sox' dugout during a 4-3 loss to the Twins.
With an off-day today, Konerko is hoping to return on Friday when the Sox open a four-game series at Toronto.
"It's in there pretty deep, so hopefully I'll try to do as much as I can the next two days to get it out of there,'' Konerko said. "It's still going to be there on Friday. It's been there for a long time.
"It's just a matter that sometimes it gets so inflamed that it reaches a point that even yesterday (Tuesday), where it's one thing when it hurts after you hit a ball; it was hurting even just holding a bat. That's where you draw the line.''
Konerko said the pain really flared up Monday at U.S. Cellular Field against Orioles starting pitcher Daniel Cabrera.
"He throws hard, heavy sinkers and got in there three times,'' Konerko said. "And the weather wasn't exactly cooperative. Usually, it gets like this when I'm actually doing things right up there because I'm seeing the ball a lot longer and a lot of my outs are getting jammed even though I'm hitting the ball well.
"It happens to every hitter, but I grip the bat with the palm of my hand a little more than a lot of hitters, so it gets in my hand a little more.''
Ramirez grounded: Alexei Ramirez will not be with the White Sox for their four-game series in Toronto because of a visa problem.
Ramirez defected from his native Cuba to the Dominican Republic in September. He is able to work in the United States with his current visa, but not in Canada.
The Sox are expected to make a roster move before Friday's game against the Blue Jays, possibly calling up center fielder Jerry Owens from Class AAA Charlotte.
On the spot: After pitching out of the bullpen for the White Sox, Nick Masset made a spot start against the Twins on Wednesday and pitched pretty well, allowing 3 runs in 5 innings.
"I was trying to pitch to contact and just attack the hitters,'' said Masset, who worked inside most of the day. "They made some key hits.''
A big one came in the fourth inning, when Nick Punto singled off Masset's right ankle and wound up scoring the go-head run on Carlos Gomez's bloop double.
"It feels fine,'' Masset said of the ankle. "It's too bad it hit me, because we would have had a double play.''
Block it out: Toby Hall was sporting a nasty cut on his right knee after Wednesday's game against the Twins.
The gash came from Carlos Gomez's spike in the fourth inning. After stealing third base, Gomez tried scoring on a wild throw, and it looked like the Twins' speedy leadoff man would make it home safely.
Hall had other ideas, blocking the plate and tagging Gomez out on a throw from Joe Crede.
"It's one of those things where you wait, wait, wait, and Joe made a perfect throw,'' Hall said. "I was able to block first and then catch the ball. It's just a reaction thing.''