Jones slumping, but Guillen likes what he sees
Andruw Jones has been one of the White Sox' few offensive bright spots this season, but the 33-year-old outfielder was 0-for-4 in Thursday night's loss to the Angels and is in a 2-for-17 slump.
Manager Ozzie Guillen brushed off the slide, but Jones was batting .340 with the Texas Rangers on May 8 last season and he finished the year with a .214 average.
"Andruw swings the same way right now that he did when he was a kid," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Now, obviously he's aged a little bit more, but he has the same type of swing and the same approach at the plate. Andruw is a guy who is going to strike out a lot, but the thing I like about Andruw is he's stealing more bases, using his legs a little bit more.
"That's a plus and we never thought we would have got that from him. We see him a little tired."
Guillen gave Alex Rios a day of rest on Thursday and Jones should get a break against the Marlins tonight.
Bring on the NL: Maybe the Sox will have better luck tonight when they open interleague play against the Florida Marlins.
The White Sox are 128-101 since beginning play against the National League in 1997 and they've won 16 of their last 22.
The Marlins again have one of the lowest payrolls ($55 million) in baseball, but they come to U.S. Cellular Field with a 22-20 record in the NL East.
"Very good minor-league system and very good trades," said Guillen, Florida's third-base coach in 2002-03. "They make trades, they give away one guy and bring seven guys to the organization. At least one of them is going to come out pretty good. They make pretty good trades every year, and they manage the system.
"Their scouting's been great, and they take advantage of the fact that people don't support them. They have excuses because they say they can't sign this guy, OK, I'll trade you a guy and you give me five. You're always going to have good players."
Good cause: The White Sox hosted the De La Cruz family from Naperville on Thursday.
Gaby De La Cruz, 16, has been diagnosed with Chiari malformation, syringomyellia and intracraneal hypertension. The conditions have no cure or effective treatment.