Twins dismantle Sox in 20-1 drubbing, tying largest loss margin

Interesting day on the South Side on Thursday.

When it started, the White Sox confirmed they completed a trade for San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy, who still has to agree to the deal.

When it ended, the Sox were trying to make sense of a 20-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins, which tied the largest margin of defeat in franchise history.

"I hope Peavy didn't watch the scoreboard today," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "He might say no."

Peavy, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, gave a thumb's down on the proposed trade late Thursday afternoon - for now.

Later Thursday, the 2007 Cy Young Award winner talked to reporters in San Diego.

"As of right now, this is the best place for us to be," Peavy said. "It's been a crazy 24 hours. I don't want to be any kind of distraction to the team. We're playing as well as we possibly can, winning five in a row and I've got a big game tomorrow night against the Chicago Cubs."

If Peavy wants more time to ponder the deal, White Sox GM Kenny Williams is all for it.

"I understand where Jake is coming from given the unusually early timing of this type of event," Williams said in a statement released Thursday night. "It's understandable that he was caught a bit off guard, as most people in his position would be. He has a wife and three young boys to consider, and Jake has earned the right to thoroughly think through this move."

There's no doubt Peavy would be a good catch for the White Sox.

Peavy, who turns 28 later this month, is 3-5 with a 3.82 ERA this season. His career record is 89-67 with a 3.27 ERA.

"He's one of the best in the game, if not the best in the game, at least in the National League," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.

One report indicated Peavy wasn't keen on playing for Guillen, but his agent, Barry Axelrod, dismissed the notion.

Guillen addressed the topic.

"I've never lied to anybody, and I never will," Guillen said. "If this man comes here, that's one thing I'm going to tell him. I'm going to give him the best opportunity to win games and the least opportunity to lose.

"I've managed a lot of good pitchers in the past. I'm not going to treat him any different from anybody else. I will show him the respect, and that's all I can tell him."

White Sox reliever Scott Linebrink, who played with Peavy in San Diego, talked to his old teammate Wednesday.

"He was there all last year and experienced that (99)-loss season," Linebrink said. "I'm sure he doesn't want to do that again. This is probably looking like a pretty good opportunity for him to get out there and get with a winning team.

"I've tried to think if I would be surprised about which news I heard and I don't think I would be surprised either way."

Peavy is making $11 million this season. His salary jumps to $15 million next year, $16 million in 2011 and $17 million in 2012. He also has a $22 million option for 2013 with a $4 million buyout.

Even if the standout starter officially rejects the trade, the White Sox showed they're willing to open the bank for the right player.

What type of statement is this financially?

"It's surprised me," Guillen said. "The way the economy is going right now and the stock market, it's not easy to spend that kind of money. Believe me, they have their plan. They have to have a plan.

"When I talked to Kenny about the situation and Jerry (Reinsdorf), right away he said: 'Do it.' That to me, it's great when you have the type of owner that wants to win, cares about the fans and the ballclub."

Scot Gregor's game tracker

Thursday's grade: F-. Falling by 19 to the Twins ties a franchise record for largest margin of defeat.

Double dimes: The White Sox allowed 20 runs in a game for the 10th time in franchise history.

In and out: Bartolo Colon failed to pitch more than 2 innings for only the eighth time in 321 career starts.

On tap: Gavin Floyd, who faces the Pirates tonight, is 0-2 in his last 3 starts and has allowed 20 earned runs in 15 innings.

White Sox vs. Pittsburgh Pirates at U.S. Cellular Field

TV: Comcast SportsNet today and Sunday; Channel 9 Saturday

Radio: WSCR 670-AM

Pitching matchups: The Sox' Gavin Floyd (2-4) vs. Zach Duke (5-3) today at 7:11 p.m.; Clayton Richard (0-0) vs. Ross Ohlendorf (5-3) Saturday at 6:05 p.m.; Mark Buehrle (6-1) vs. Jeff Karstens (1-2) Sunday at 1:05 p.m.

At a glance: This is the first interleague series of the season. The White Sox were 12-6 vs. National League teams last season, batting .293 with a 3.42 ERA. Jermaine Dye led the major leagues with 8 HR in interleague play last year. The Sox swept a three-game series from the Pirates at the Cell last season, outscoring them 37-15.

Next: Los Angeles Angels, Monday-Wednesday at Angel Stadium

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=295481">All goes wrong for White Sox<span class="date"> [5/21/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>