Guillen: Tough-luck Kotsay deserves better

Posted August 04, 2010 11:00 pm

Scot Gregor

DETROIT - Mark Kotsay hasn't lost his sense of humor.

When asked how he's holding up during a frustrating season, the White Sox' designated hitter said: "I wish I was about 20 pounds lighter. Then I'd be hitting my weight."

Kotsay has had some terrible luck this season, although lately he's been more of an easy out. As his average continues dipping toward .200, is he in danger of losing his job?

"Personally, the numbers out there for Kotsay are not the ones he deserves," said Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. "You can ask his teammates. You can ask (hitting coach) Greg Walker. He should have better numbers than what he has. He went through tough times with people making plays on him. That's happened all year long. I'm not making an excuse. He's swinging the bat good; he's hit tough luck from the beginning."

Guillen did say rookie Dayan Viciedo deserves more playing time and could be used at DH, but he still likes Kotsay's left-handed bat in the lineup.

Plugging along: Juan Pierre led off Wednesday night's game with a single, extending his hitting streak to 11-games.

"I feel more comfortable at the plate," Pierre said. "I think it's getting good pitches to hit, laying off the bad ones and getting myself in good hitting counts. It's just a battle. It's been a battle all year and I pretty much think it's going to be a battle the rest of the way."

Floyd honored: Sox starter Gavin Floyd was voted American League pitcher of the month for July. The right-hander was 3-1 with a 0.80 ERA (3 earned runs in 332/3 innings) while being named the White Sox' first pitcher of the month since Jose Contreras in April of 2006. According to ACTA Sports, Floyd has the fourth lowest OOPS (.549) in baseball since June 1, behind Oakland's Trevor Cahill (.531), San Diego's Mat Latos (.531) and Florida's Josh Johnson (.547).

OOPS is Opponent On-base Plus Slugging.

Prospect suspended: Pitcher Mariano Chevalier, who was 3-1 with the White Sox' team in the Dominican Summer League, was suspended for 50 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.