Sox give Griffey giggles

PEORIA, Ariz. - If there were a delay-of-game penalty in major-league baseball, Ken Griffey Jr. would have been called for it on Sunday.

Back with the Seattle Mariners, Griffey faced his most recent team, the White Sox, in a Cactus League game.

When he came to the plate in the bottom of the first inning, Griffey stepped out in full laughter after Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski stuck his left arm out to signal an intentional walk.

"We had fun with Griff when he was here last year," Pierzynski said. "Good guy; great guy."

Griffey didn't blame Pierzynski for giving him the giggles.

"It was Ozzie (Guillen)," Griffey said. "He yelled, 'What is this, an old-timer's game?' "

The 39-year-old legend batted .260 with 3 home runs and 18 RBI in 41 games with the White Sox last season after coming over in a July 31 trade from the Reds.

"You're looking at a Hall of Fame player, and he had fun with us when he played here," Guillen said. "A lot of people, coaches and players have a lot of respect for him. I think the small period of time we spent with him was great."

Plan of attack: Jose Contreras pitched 2 innings in his first start of the spring Sunday.

Bartolo Colon debuts today, and manager Ozzie Guillen said the 35-year-old righty is likely to throw just 1 inning.

"We're going to treat Colon differently than we treat Contreras," Guillen said. "Colon is an arm problem. Contreras was an Achilles' problem that was more dangerous. We're going to monitor Colon and his pitch count. I have a plan to throw 1 inning. It depends on how long the inning is coming up, then we'll see what happens. It's our plan to show we won't overuse him."

Still sidelined: The Sox are continuing to take a cautious approach with designated hitter Jim Thome, who hasn't played since last Monday due to back stiffness.

It looks like Wednesday might be the day the 38-year-old DH returns to the lineup.

"We've got a lot of games left," Ozzie Guillen said. "I don't worry about him. I want to make sure."