Yanks' Mitre shakes off rust, shuts down White Sox

Posted August 29, 2009 11:00 pm

Mike McGraw

This strenuous late-season road trip is turning out to be as brutal for the White Sox in reality as it looked on paper.

The Sox lost for the fifth time in six games Saturday - 10-0 to the Yankees - and they're on just the second leg of the 11-game journey that began in Boston. After trying to avoid being swept at Yankee Stadium today, the Sox will head to Minnesota and then play Thursday's makeup against the Cubs.

Against the Yankees, the Sox were 1-hit by the underwhelming combo of Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin, managing only a double by Jim Thome in the fifth inning. Mitre entered the game with a 6.82 ERA.

Naturally, manager Ozzie Guillen didn't take the result well.

"I watched Little League this morning and they played better," Guillen told reporters after the game. "This is not major-league ball. I'm getting a lot of money to manage this team, and I feel like I'm stealing money from (chairman) Jerry Reinsdorf.

"I'm embarrassed. Everybody in that room should be embarrassed. When you have more errors than hits, you better look yourself in the mirror."

The Sox produced 3 errors while falling two games under. 500. They hoped to send Jake Peavy to the mound against the Yankees, but he was given 1 more minor-league rehab start in Norfolk, Va., on Saturday night after taking a line drive off his pitching elbow last Monday.

So Guillen reluctantly turned to Jose Contreras (5-13), who was shelled for 6 earned runs in 31/3 innings.

"I wish I had another choice besides Josie," Guillen said. "I'm second-guessing myself right now, making the wrong lineup every day. I second-guess myself bringing in the wrong guys to pitch, second-guess myself (in that) we work so hard to put this team together, all the way from spring training, and when I look on the field ... this is not Major League Baseball. Sorry."

Mitre left the game in the seventh inning after taking an A.J. Pierzynski line drive off the forearm. Gaudin, another ex-Cub didn't allow a hit while finishing up.

The Yankees posted 4-run innings in the second and fourth to take an 8-0 lead. Alex Rodriguez hit his 576th career home run while Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano contributed 3 hits each.

"It was a total team loss," Pierzynski said. "I see guys playing hard. I see guys trying to get better and working. You can have all the effort in the world, and sometimes it's not meant to be."

The lone bright spot for the Sox was Detroit losing to Tampa Bay, leaving their deficit in the AL Central at 5 games.

"My hope is getting less and less," Guillen said. "If we're going to climb to the top, maybe (we) need a cable car to get up there. But (we're) not going to walk up there. I'm not a loser or a negative guy, but I'm really realistic."

Yankees 10, White Sox 0 Kings of the hill: A couple of ex-Cubs, Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin, stonewalled the Sox on just 1-hit, a Jim Thome double in the fifth. Sorry to dwell on the negative, but Mitre entered the game with a 6.82 ERA. Contrarian view: The Sox were hoping for Jake Peavy, but settled for Jose Contreras on the mound Saturday and got predictably bad results - 6 earned runs in 31/3 innings. Forearm stinger: The only damage the White Sox could muster was a line drive by A.J. Pierzynski that struck Mitre in the forearm and knocked the Yankees starter out of the game in the seventh inning. X-rays were negative.

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