Sox fans vent in e-mails to Guillen

CLEVELAND - Not surprisingly, manager Ozzie Guillen is getting swamped with e-mails from fans airing their disgust over the White Sox' 4-9 start. Keep them coming, Guillen said.

"I read them this morning; it was fun," Guillen said before the Sox were swept by the Indians. "Oh, it was bad. We've got a bad team. They're writing e-mails to me like I'm in Venezuela and I don't watch the game. They tell me all kinds of lineups. I make comments like I make different lineups for a reason, because the team is struggling. You try to find a way to fix it."

The season is only two weeks old, but the White Sox already have a lengthy list of repairs. Guillen said that is his responsibility.

"I'd rather they blame me than blame the 25 guys," Guillen said. "This is my job. It's easier to be the manager when you're not the manager; it's easier to be a broadcaster when you're not a broadcaster. It's easier to be something when you never do it. It's fun.

"There are desperate people out there. Well, I don't think there's more desperate people than me. The only thing I have to do is show up here with a positive attitude and let those guys know I still believe in them, I'm behind them."

Welcome back: Unlike Jim Thome, Cleveland fans gave Omar Vizquel a rousing reception when he came to the plate Sunday. Vizquel was a star shortstop for the Indians from 1994-2004 before joining the San Francisco Giants as a free agent. This was his third trip back to Progressive Field since he left Cleveland.

"I can't believe that somebody who had a career like Jim Thome had here in Cleveland, somebody that did so much for the team and the community, would get treated like that," Vizquel said. "I don't understand it."

Vizquel is not surprised by the sparse crowds.

"You're not going to sell out like we did all of those years I was here," he said. "We were in first place almost every year, so obviously people are going to come."