Steaming Guillen rips into offense, wants changes made by Tuesday
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen took only one question after Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Rays in 10 innings at Tropicana Field.
Irate after another dismal effort by the offense, Guillen called for major changes before the Sox' next game, Tuesday night against the Kansas City Royals at U.S. Cellular Field.
"There's only one message I'm going to send," Guillen said. "That's all I'm going to (say). Just be ready, because I expect movement Tuesday. I expect (general manager) Kenny (Williams) to do something Tuesday, and if we don't do anything Tuesday, there are going to be a lot of lineup changes. That's all I'm going to say about the offense."
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While dropping their third straight to Tampa Bay, the White Sox were positioned to take the lead in the top of the 10th when Jim Thome led off with a double and pinch runner Pablo Ozuna advanced to third base on Paul Konerko's groundout.
Instead of taking a 4-3 lead, Joe Crede grounded out and Nick Swisher was called out on strikes.
In the bottom of the 10th, Gabe Gross, the Rays' No. 9 hitter, ended the game with a home run on an 0-2 pitch from Sox reliever Matt Thornton.
The White Sox were just 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position, and they have failed to hit in the clutch since the start of last season.
Guillen, finally, has had enough.
"It can be me," Guillen said of the change possibilities. "It can be (hitting coach) Greg Walker. It can be the players. It could be anybody. I'm sick and tired to watch this thing for a year and a half. I'm not protecting anybody anymore.
"(Bleep) it. If they can't get it done, Kenny should find someone to get it done. That's it."
Ironically, the Sox are still in first place in the AL Central, and they've played the fewest home games (22) in major-league baseball.
That meant very little to Guillen after another painful loss.
"If we think we are going to win with the offense we have, we are full of (bleep)," Guillen said. "I'm just being honest. I expect better from them, if they are in the lineup."
Konerko didn't have much of a reaction when told of Guillen's vow to change things up.
"He's the manager; he can do what he wants," Konerko said. "That's that."
Konerko (.205), Nick Swisher (.201) and Thome (.212) have been the biggest disappointments.
"It's a little bit of everything," Konerko said when asked for his take on the White Sox' offense. "Good pitching, bad decisions being made. What you have to realize is they (Rays) blew a lot of opportunities as well. Everybody is giving everything they have. You can re-evaluate it how you want, but the effort is there."
The Sox finished 3-4 on the road trip to Cleveland and Tampa Bay, and they play 13 of their next 16 at home.
"This was going to be a good road trip that obviously finished off bad," Konerko said. "We finished May in first place and didn't feel like we're even clicking at all. You want to find positives in that, you find positives. You want to find negatives, you find negatives, but the story is still unwritten."
Rays 4, White Sox 3 (10)
At the plate: Manager Ozzie Guillen said big changes are coming after the Sox went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 runners. Alexei Ramirez, the Sox' hottest hitter at the moment, was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI.
On the mound: Starter Mark Buehrle pitched 6 innings and allowed 3 runs on 7 hits while throwing 102 pitches. Matt Thornton yielded a home run to Gabe Gross leading off the 10th.