Dunn back earning his keep
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was hoping to give Adam Dunn (appendectomy) another day or two before putting him back in the lineup.
Dunn returned to the lineup Tuesday night against the A’s after missing six games, and maybe more important, the 31-year-old designated hitter was back to earning his $12 million salary while going 1-for-4 with a walk and 2 strikeouts in his U.S. Cellular Field debut.
“If I said he was going to play (Wednesday), Jerry (Reinsdorf) would call me and say it’s going to cost like $250 grand just for him to be on the bench,” Guillen said. “I was going to wait for another day, but another day is a few dollars in the bank.”
The Sox signed the free-agent slugger to four-year, $56 million contract in early December because they needed pop from the left side.
Dunn didn’t supply it in his first game back, but he has hit at least 38 home runs in each of the last seven years.
In the White Sox’ season opener at Cleveland, Dunn homered and drove in 4 runs. He played in three more games before the appendix gave out.
“I’m anxious to get out there,” Dunn said before Tuesday’s game. “By sitting on the bench, I really don’t have the personality to sit there, knowing you can’t help the team.”
As a pure power hitter, Dunn usually ranks among major-league leaders in strikeouts.
But he was baseball’s leader in total walks from 2004-10 and he does hit one over the fence from time to time, many of them tape-measure shots.
“I don’t care if he hits 500-foot home runs as long as he hits 50,” Guillen said. “I don’t care if the home run is, what, 336 (feet) or 500 feet. They count the same. I hope when he hits it there are a lot of people on base and when he hits it we win games. That’s all that counts.”
In the clear:In the second game of the season, Lastings Milledge dropped a flyball at Cleveland.He joins left fielders Juan Pierre (2) and Mark Teahen and center fielder Alex Rios in a category typically charted in Little League.Designated for assignment last Thursday, Milledge cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Class AAA Charlotte.Not hearing it:After dropping another flyball behind relief pitcher Matt Thornton Monday night, left fielder Juan Pierre apologized to his teammate.How did Thornton react?#147;Stop right there,#148; Thornton said. #147;You don#146;t have to apologize to me. There#146;s nothing to apologize for. That#146;s a tough ball to catch. I#146;ll have the ball go up 10 times to J.P. and I#146;ll believe in him every single time it goes up. There#146;s not anyone who prepares himself more and is more dedicated to this game than he is.#148;