Beckham admits frustration getting the better of him
"I think any day, it's going to happen. It's going to go."
That was Gordon Beckham talking about his disappointing season - on Monday. Three days later, he's still waiting.
After going 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts in Thursday night's 2-0 loss to the Blue Jays at U.S. Cellular Field, Beckham's batting average is down to .198.
But it was his sloppy error in the ninth inning that prompted White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen to intervene in the postgame clubhouse.
"I think it's my job to make every player who wears this uniform the best we can," Guillen said. "I never criticize anyone. He can be 0-for-40, and I won't criticize any errors. But I think Gordon is better than what he's showing.
"There's a lot of pressure on him and maybe this is the first time ever he's gone through this. He's the golden boy. He grew up hitting .600 in Little League and he was the best player in high school and he went to college (Georgia) and kicked some butt."
Mired in an 8-for-55 slump with only 1 RBI in his last 15 games, Beckham is likely headed for the bench for a game or two. And he's not surprised.
"Ozzie knows and it's no big secret that I'm struggling a little bit," Beckham said. "He just basically said that he doesn't really care how many 0-fors I have, how many errors I make, you know just have a little bit better body language and I agree with him.
"I'm so frustrated with the way that I'm playing that it's gotten into my head mentally and it's causing my body to look like I don't want to be out there and that's not me. I've grown up knowing how to play the game the right way and I haven't been doing it in the last couple days."
Beckham was hitless in his first 13 at-bats after joining the Sox from Class AAA Charlotte last June, and that stretched into a 2-for-28 skid.
But the No. 8 overall pick in the 2008 draft rebounded nicely and wound up batting .270 with 14 home runs and 63 RBI while finishing fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.
"I struggled last year but I think this is different," Beckham said after the White Sox managed just 3 hits off Toronto starter Dana Eveland and two relievers. The Sox are also 1-14 this season in games when they score 3 runs or less.
"Last year I still could come out of it just because it was my first year and it was all new," Beckham added. "This is a little different just because, I guess my expectations are really high and when you're expectations are really high and you're struggling, it's tough.
"I'll regroup and definitely play the game the right way. I got away from it the last couple of days and I'm one step above embarrassed for that because I don't feel like I wasn't trying hard. I was. It just didn't work out."
Guillen is confident Beckham is going to be heard from again.
"He's down right now and he has all my support," Guillen said. "I might give him a few days to recover. But I think the next game he plays, this kid is going to be what he is. This kid is good. I want him to be best player he can be because this kid has a great chance to be a (heck) of a ballplayer."
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<li><a href="/story/?id=379022">R&R paid big dividends for Rios <span class="date">[5/6/10]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=378975">Guillen praises Bradley for seeking help <span class="date">[5/6/10]</span></a></li>
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<p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Scot Gregor's game tracker</b></p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">Blue Jays 2, White Sox 0</p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">Take a seat: Gordon Beckham continued to struggle, going 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts. He also made a sloppy error in the ninth inning. Now batting .198, Beckham is likely to be on the bench for the next couple games.</p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">Tough decision: John Danks took his first loss of the season despite allowing just 2 runs over 7 innings. The left-hander has not allowed more than 2 runs in all 6 of his starts this year.</p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">Road warriors: The Blue Jays are 10-3 on the road this season, their best start away from home in franchise history.</p>