Sox fall out of first after savage loss to Royals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - With four straight last-place finishes on their resumé, including three 100-loss season over that stretch, the Royals have been a team to pity more than fear.
As far as the White Sox are concerned, Kansas City is now a team that is loathed.
The Sox' bad feelings toward the AL Central's weak sister started at U.S. Cellular Field right after the all-star break.
Five White Sox hitters (Jermaine Dye twice, Paul Konerko twice, Carlos Quentin) were hit by pitches in that series before reliever Octavio Dotel hit the Royals' Jose Guillen.
There were no incidents in the first two games at Kauffman Stadium, but the bad blood finally boiled over on Sunday in the Sox' 14-3 loss.
Combined with Minnesota's 6-2 victory over Cleveland, the Sox fell out of first place in the AL Central.
As Kansas City piled up 19 hits for the second straight game, relief pitcher D.J. Carrasco and manager Ozzie Guillen were ejected in the fifth inning, as was Royals catcher Miguel Olivo.
With the bases loaded and Kansas City already holding a 6-0 lead, Carrasco hit Olivo on the wrist to force in a run.
Olivo charged the mound and tried to get at Carrasco, but he was initially restrained by White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski.
When the Royals' Guillen pulled Pierzynski off, Olivo did throw a looping punch at Carrasco, and the reliever also got off a weak blow.
That was pretty much the extent of the brawl, but Ozzie Guillen was livid with umpire Tim Timmons for ejecting Carrasco.
"Sometimes, people have to have a little bit of common sense,'' Guillen said. "Olivo overreacted to the situation. And I wonder why (Timmons) thought we were going to hit a guy with the bases loaded with a pitch in the hands.
"I'm not going to bring in a guy that throws 85 mph to hit some guy, I guarantee you. I'm going to bring in (Octavio) Dotel, (Matt) Thornton), and I will tell them to hit them. That's the way I do business.''
Umpire Gary Cederstrom, the crew chief, visited the Sox' clubhouse after the game and apologized for Carrasco's ejection.
Guillen was out of the game when Royals starter Zack Greinke drilled Nick Swisher in the right hip in the seventh inning, but he won't forget the purpose pitch.
"If (Greinke) hit (Swisher) on purpose, it's wrong," Guillen said. "I'm not a headhunter, but I've hit people before on purpose. Yes I have. That's my job, to protect my players. Greinke, he did the wrong thing."
Kansas City plays the Sox at U.S. Cellular Field Aug. 12-14.
"Be ready for the warning," Guillen said. "I signed a five-year deal with this organization, and we play Kansas City a lot. I don't say be careful, but they're playing with fire. I respect everybody at the pro level, but enough is enough."
Guillen was also baffled that Mark Teahen tried bunting to lead off the fifth inning with a 6-0 lead.
"I didn't even hit him," Guillen said. "I should have, to teach him a lesson how to play baseball. Everybody in the dugout knows he did the wrong thing. I didn't do anything because I didn't think it was worth it. They kicked our butts; wear it."
Sox starter Mark Buehrle was ripped apart by the Royals Saturday, and rookie Clayton Richard followed suit Sunday, allowing 9 runs (6 earned) on 11 hits in 4 innings.
"With the position we're in as a team, this is definitely not what you want to happen," Richard said. "It happened quick and I didn't get it stopped or slowed down."
Guillen was just as candid about the White Sox' pitching as he was about Carrasco's ejection.
"They stink," Guillen said, singling out the rotation. "If we want to get to the point we want to get, there's no doubt our starting pitching has to do a better job. That's the only way I see this ballclub going in the right direction."