Self-inflicted injury sidelines Sox slugger Quentin

As it turns out, the MRI that could have a devastating effect on the playoff chances of a Chicago baseball team wasn't the one on Carlos Zambrano's right arm.

While Zambrano's MRI was national news, little was said of the one White Sox slugger Carlos Quentin needed this week on his right wrist.

The White Sox released the bad news Friday that Quentin, their 36 home run and 100 RBI guy in the middle of the lineup, has a fractured right wrist that will require surgery Monday to insert a pin.

The Sox tried to spin the news positively, saying Quentin will be evaluated again in 2-3 weeks, but it's likely the American League MVP candidate couldn't play again until deep into the playoffs.

"What happened is obviously a huge blow to our team, but we've got to pull together even tighter than we have been and take this thing where we think it can go," teammate Nick Swisher said.

"He's been our heart and soul," Jim Thome said. "It's going to be very difficult. Anytime you lose a bat like that, a guy like that with a legitimate chance to win the MVP, it's very tough. We all need to pick it up, our whole lineup."

What makes the Quentin injury more maddening is how it happened Monday in Cleveland. Quentin, who sat out games Tuesday and Wednesday, broke his wrist when he slammed his own bat in frustration after fouling off a pitch from Indians left-hander Cliff Lee.

"It was kind of unfortunate and something I still have trouble believing that it happened that way," Quentin said. "It's something I've done thousands of times since I was a kid. I was a little frustrated, (had the) bat in my left hand, and kind of hit down on the bat head with my right hand with a closed fist.

"I hit it a little low on my wrist. I finished the at-bat (a game-ending, double-play grounder) and 40 minutes later started feeling something with my wrist and woke up the next morning and that was that."

Quentin hopes he can play again this season.

"I'm just going to stay positive and hold on to every hope that it can get better as soon as possible," Quentin said.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was disappointed with how the intense Quentin got hurt.

"He always does that," Guillen said. "Every time he makes a swing he hits the bat like that. Unfortunately he hit the wrong spot on his arm. I guess he's got to learn from that now.

"It's unfortunate the way it happened, but as a player you have to learn every time you get frustrated, if you use your hands or your body you're not going to win that one. You're always going to get hurt and you not just hurting yourself, you're hurting the ballclub. Right now we have to move on. I think we still have a strong lineup in the middle."

It's going to fall to Thome, Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko, Ken Griffey Jr., Swisher, A.J. Pierzynski and Alexei Ramirez to pick up the slack for Quentin, whose 36 homers lead the AL.

"The bottom line is, what we have on the field tonight or any of the nights we're going to play without him, we have enough to win this division and get in the playoffs," Konerko said.

"It would definitely be a lot easier with him, we know that, but you just have to play with the cards you're dealt. We have the guys that can do the job. We have enough offense in here."

With it now being a 20-game sprint to the finish line with the Minnesota Twins, it might be easier for the White Sox to get by without Quentin than it would be to lose another starting pitcher.

"We've already lost a guy like Jose Contreras, and if you lose another pitcher it would probably be even more detrimental even though they're not maybe having the year Carlos is as a hitter," Konerko said. "But I feel you can make up offense if a couple of guys get hot."

Guillen feels as Konerko does.

"When it's a hitter you have eight guys that can pick it up," Guillen said. "When it's a pitcher it's hard.

"We lost a key guy, yes we did, but I don't care if it's Carlos here, Mickey Mantle, name it, Aparicio, Fox, Fisk - if we don't pitch, we're not going to go anywhere."