Guillen: James should sign with Bulls
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - In the always unique opinion of White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, LeBron James would be wise to sign with the Bulls ASAP.
Why? Oh, Guillen has his reasons.
"I think Chicago will be very good for him," Guillen said. "You want to see something very nice? You win in Chicago. There are a lot of special things. You win in New York, people are like, 'All right, so? We've got 26 championships in baseball.' You win in Chicago, that's something special.
"Ask the Blackhawks, ask the White Sox. You win there, you're special. Half the (19)85 Bears are dead, and they're still rooting for them. Every '85 Bear goes out and eats for free every day. I think Chicago would be a great place for him. Chicago is a great city, plus every trip is a close trip. Miami, you've got to travel a lot."
Roster move: Following Wednesday night's loss to the Royals, the Sox optioned left-handed reliever Randy Williams to Class AAA Charlotte.
They'll keep another lefty, Erick Threets, who made his first appearance Wednesday and pitched a scoreless seventh inning while making a highlight defensive play on a groundball hit up the middle by Alberto Callaspo.
Williams, who gave up 1 run on 1 hit without recording an out in the seventh, was 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in 27 relief appearances.
Sending Williams to the minor leagues opens a roster sport for closer Bobby Jenks, who is scheduled to rejoin the White Sox Friday in Texas.
Blast from the past: J.J. Putz no longer throws 100 mph like he did when he was closing games for Seattle from 2006-08.
But the 33-year-old reliever is throwing like a new man for the White Sox after going 1-4 with a 5.22 ERA for the Mets in 2009 before having bone spurs surgically removed from his elbow last June.
"I feel real good," said Putz, who recorded a four-out save Tuesday, his first since '07. "The biggest thing was how you feel the day after. Bouncing back the next day was tough in April, but a lot of that had to do with weather. It's hard to get back up there and start chucking when it's 30 degrees out. The biggest thing is how you feel the day after and I'm feeling better every day."