Williams threatens to make changes to White Sox' infield

Gordon Beckham, the White Sox' top prospect, is a natural shortstop.

But the No. 8 overall pick in last year's draft played second base for Class AA Birmingham on Thursday, and Beckham was at third base Friday.

General manager Kenny Williams strongly hinted Beckham is playing three infield positions because Sox third baseman Josh Fields (.215), shortstop Alexei Ramirez (.213) and second baseman Chris Getz (.241) entered Friday's interleague game against the Pirates with subpar batting averages.

Without naming them, Williams challenged the trio before the game.

"I'm thinking I want to see some production out of some people or I'm going to start making some changes," the GM said.

Fields got off to a solid start at the plate, but he's been on a steady slide since mid-April.

"It's on me," Fields said. "Making more contact is something we've been talking about since the off-season, but I'm striking out too much. I've been in there (batting cage) with Walk (hitting coach Greg Walker) trying to figure it out."

Ozzie out: White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was scheduled to fly to Caracas, Venezuela, right after Friday's game.

Guillen is leaving to visit his ailing father-in-law. He is expected back in time for Sunday's game against the Pirates.

Cloudy outlook: GM Kenny Williams is trying to remain patient with the up-and-down White Sox, but he wants to see better all-around play.

"It's May 22," he said. "We've got a shot to turn it around. Yeah, we've got a little bit of time. But we've got to play more consistent. Listen, it's not an issue of talent. Do we have some holes, some spots where certainly we could get better production? Absolutely.

"And that's why we're in the situation we are today. Many of our guys will tell you. Just the normal production, at least in some of our younger guys' case, just the production that they had last year, then we're right in the thick of things. There's no reason not to expect that they would continue to improve."

Not so fast: Pitching just 2 innings like he did in Thursday's embarrassing 20-1 loss to the Twins is not going to cut it for Sox starter Bartolo Colon.

"You can't get away with fastballs all the time," GM Kenny Williams said. "He's going to have to mix in some more breaking balls. He's got some of the best movement on his fastball in the game, but unless you're mixing it up, then you're not going to have any success. And he knows that."