White Sox back on winning side of .500
As with all subjective queries, it's fair to debate Sports Illustrated's recent poll of 380 major-league players that revealed Ozzie Guillen to be No. 2 on the list of managers they'd "least like to play for."
Even Guillen, who received 21 percent of the vote to finish one spot behind the Cubs' Lou Piniella and one ahead of St. Louis' Tony La Russa, seems conflicted by the question.
"I think playing for me is fun," Guillen told reporters before Tuesday night's game at Cleveland. "But in the meanwhile, I demand a lot of stuff. It's not because I demand something that managers should not be demanding. I demand discipline.
"And to play for me, you have to have some (huevos). It's not easy. Because I expect to win every day, and that's the way it is."
The way the Sox have hit of late, Guillen ought to expect his guys to win every day.
After the first of three weather delays, the White Sox scored 4 runs in the first inning against Cleveland ace Cliff Lee and knocked him out in the fourth on their way to an 11-4 victory at drenched Progressive Field.
The umpires called the game in the top of the seventh as the White Sox (39-38) edged above the .500 mark for the first time since May 2, when they were 12-11 and a half-game out of first.
Clayton Richard (3-1) earned the win to give the Sox their fourth straight series victory.
"I knew going in I was facing a great pitcher," Richard said of Lee, "but I couldn't worry about that. I was facing their hitters, not him.
"I couldn't worry about him, as it turned out, our hitters gave me a lead, and that always makes it a little easier to go out and throw strikes."
Even with red-hot leadoff hitter Scott Podsednik and cleanup man Jim Thome taking the night off, the Sox bashed 17 hits and everybody except Alexei Ramirez produced an extra-base knock.
Considering Lee hadn't allowed the Sox a run in his last 22 innings against them - a streak that stretched all the way back to last July 1 - such an outburst was wholly unexpected.
Lee (4-7) looked sharp when he whiffed leadoff hitter Jayson Nix on 4 pitches, but the 2008 Cy Young Award winner should have called it a night as he lost his command.
Ramirez walked on 4 pitches, Jermaine Dye roped a high pitch off the left-field wall for an RBI double, and Paul Konerko dumped a homer into the Indians' bullpen.
By the time Lee left without retiring anyone in the fourth, the White Sox owned 6 extra-base hits and a 7-1 lead.
Beckham and Josh Fields added solo homers in the fifth to give the White Sox 21 homers in their last 10 games.
Lindsey Willhite's game tracker
The joy of Beckham: After going 3-for-3 Monday night, White Sox rookie 3B Gordon Beckham kicked off Tuesday's game with 2 singles and his second career homer. His 6-hit streak ended with a sixth-inning whiff.
Richard gets the W: Sox starter Clayton Richard retired 13 of the first 14 Indians he faced en route to his first victory since May 29. The lefty posted 6 strikeouts with just 1 walk.
Bye to Lee's streaks: Cleveland ace Cliff Lee entered Tuesday's game with two impressive streaks: He led all active pitchers with 47 consecutive starts of at least 5 innings - and he hadn't allowed any runs to the Sox in his last 22 innings. The Sox tagged him for 4 runs in the first and chased him before he could get an out in the fourth.