Thome, Konerko deliver in win
SEATTLE -- Patience and respect.
When it comes to the White Sox' wheezing offense, those are the only two things on manager Ozzie Guillen's mind.
Well, Guillen always is thinking about wins, too, especially away from U.S. Cellular Field.
On Friday night, the Sox got one, a 4-2 decision over the Mariners at Safeco Field that snapped a string of 6 road losses.
The White Sox didn't exactly put on a hitting clinic, but they looked much better than they did while scoring 5 runs in four games at Toronto last week.
"We got the one big inning (3 runs in the third) and the home run by (Jim) Thome,'' Guillen said. "It's a good note. The last trip, we couldn't find a way to get it done. We didn't play good at all."
The Sox pitched very well against the Blue Jays, and even in their back-to-back losses at Minnesota to open the previous trip.
Jose Contreras continued that trend against Seattle, working 7 strong innings and allowing 1 run on 6 hits.
"I feel very good,'' Contreras said through a translator. "My rhythm has been very good, and that's something I'll try to keep intact.''
Guillen wants to keep the White Sox' batting order intact, but he has been thinking about moving Jim Thome, Paul Konerko -- or both -- down if they continue to slump.
Guillen is practicing patience, and it paid off Friday as Konerko put the Sox in front with a 2-run double in the second inning off Mariners starter Carlos Silva.
Thome (.216) and Konerko (.215) entered the game with near identical averages.
"We're going to see what happens the next couple of games,'' Guillen said of a lineup change. "We'd talk to them before we made a move and tell them why. I don't want one of my players to feel like, because they struggle, all of the sudden they're not being treated the same way. It's on our mind. Hopefully I don't have to do it.''
While Guillen insists he will do whatever it takes to make the White Sox a better team, he is leery of doing anything drastic out of respect to Thome and Konerko.
"I don't think any manager is going to move anybody down in the lineup because he wants to,'' Guillen said. "It's because he has to. Sometimes the players blame the managers about those moves, but that's the way it is. I have to make the lineup and, in my opinion, I have to make the best lineup that night for the ballclub. If the players don't like it, start hitting better.
"Obviously you have some players you have to respect. I always have the respect for the players. The easiest way to continue the respect is letting them know what you think.''
White Sox 4, Mariners 2
At the plate: Paul Konerko's 2-run double in the third inning put the Sox in front for good. Konerko had only 1 RBI in his previous nine games. Jim Thome homered in the seventh. Seattle has scored 2 runs in the last 32 innings.
In the field: Center fielder Brian Anderson made a gutsy catch in the fourth inning, crashing into the fence while taking an extra-base hit away from Richie Sexson.
-- Scot Gregor