Slumping Swisher benched for series

MINNEAPOLIS - Nick Swisher has remained upbeat and energized throughout his disappointing first season with the White Sox.

But the 27-year-old outfielder/first baseman was decidedly down in the dumps Thursday. Swisher (.221) did not start any of the three showdown games against the Twins.

"I don't blame him for being mad he's not playing, because he's a winner," said Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. "But I have to put the best lineup out there to win the game. To me, the best lineup right now is without him. If they don't like it, I'm here. But be careful when you knock on that door because the truth is going to come out, and I don't think people want to hear the truth.

"I'm going to be honest. Right now, I don't think he's helping us."

Dewayne Wise started all three games against the Twins in left field. The Sox have detected a mechanical flaw in Swisher's swing but said there's not enough time left in the season to fix it.

Why not Dye? Nick Swisher is out of the lineup, but another slumping hitter, Jermaine Dye, has not been benched.

Before singling in the fourth inning Thursday, Dye was 0-for-9 in the series and mired in a 3-for-28 slide.

"He fights every at-bat," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "He doesn't give bats away. That's why he's my third hitter."

Fields to first base? Under the watchful eye of bench coach Joey Cora, Josh Fields was taking groundballs at first base Thursday. As he watched from the dugout, general manager Kenny Williams said Fields, a third baseman, is just starting to learn the new position and isn't likely to play first base in 2009.

Good as new? After spending five weeks on the disabled list with a sore shoulder and then struggling to regain his form, relief pitcher Scott Linebrink looked a lot like his old self Wednesday night while throwing 1 scoreless inning.

Linebrink credits pitching coach Don Cooper and bullpen coach Juan Nieves for helping him make a mechanical adjustment.

"His delivery, it's like a catapult," Nieves said. "It's just a matter of getting his upper half working back to front. We looked at some videos from earlier in the season. Last night, he was able to stay tall and stay back, and that allows him to get the ball down in the zone. When he's going good, he has a lot of rhythm and tempo."