Sox get some encouraging words after discouraging 12-0 loss

Posted April 21, 2010 11:00 pm

Scot Gregor

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen doesn't like to have team meetings, whether it's a formal gathering or off the cuff.

But after yet another uninspired loss - this one a 12-0 butt-kicking from the Tampa Bay Rays at U.S. Cellular Field on Wednesday night - Guillen addressed his degraded players before heading to the media interview room.

"I just had a little talk with them," Guillen said after the Sox (5-10) were limited to 4 hits by Rays starter Wade Davis and two relievers. "I see a lot of long faces out there, kind of worries. I think the guys who have the most at-bats have maybe 50. You're not going to win batting titles and championships with 50 at-bats.

"But I believe what they can do in the next 450 at-bats. Take it from there and see what happens. When you look up and see .180, .190, .200, .210, you want to hit .300 in one at-bat. That's hard to do. Just take it one at-bat at a time and give it your best shot."

Guillen's talk was mainly directed at slumping hitters like Carlos Quentin (0-for-20 slump, .176 average), A.J. Pierzynski (1-for-15, .174), Gordon Beckham (2-for-17, .228) and Juan Pierre (4-for-19, .214).

"I know it's not easy to come to this park every day, and when you're losing," Guillen said. "It's not easy to come to the ballpark when you're hitting .180. Well, it's easy to play this game when you're good. That's the best thing about it. When you're good, you can't wait to come here. When you're bad, you have to show people who you are, how tough you are. How tough you are mentally. How you can be physically to overcome in this game. That's the bottom line."

Beckham appreciated Guillen's encouraging words.

"Ozzie, I respect him for what he came in here and said after the game because he knows we're all dying to get better," Beckham said. "It's our job, it's our life. We want to win. We have fun when we win, and we're not doing it. He told us to just come here and play the game like we did when we were kids. I really respect him for saying that because hopefully that takes the load off of us a little bit, takes the pressure off a little bit."

With 5 losses in their last six games, there is little doubt the White Sox are already feeling too much pressure too soon into the season.

"Half the time I feel like we want to do it so bad and it's just not working out," Beckham said. "I thought it was good timing, and I'm glad (Guillen) did what he did. At the end of the day, it's still baseball and people would kill to be in our position.''

Sox starter Mark Buehrle, who pitched a perfect game the last time he faced the Rays, took the loss after allowing 6 runs on 9 hits in 42/3 innings.

"I'm still trying to figure out what happened," said Buehrle, who was burned by a string of soft hits. "It was one of those games where you have to have luck going your way and I didn't have any luck tonight. I felt great and made some good pitches. If people watched the game, you obviously saw what happened. But if you didn't, you are going to look at the linescore and say I got it handed to me. It's one of those days."

• Second baseman Gordon Beckham is going to make a donation to the National Parkinson Foundation for every home run he hits this season.

Beckham's grandfather has been living with Parkinson's for almost 10 years.

"Living and helping my grandfather cope with Parkinson's has given me an up-close look at the suffering it causes," Beckham said. "I want to do something to raise awareness and funds to help eradicate the disease so future generations do not have to go through what our family and countless others have been through with Parkinson's."

Fans can donate to the cause by visiting www.outofthepark.org.

Scot Gregor's game tracker

Not this time: After pitching a perfect game against Tampa Bay last July, Sox starter Mark Buehrle was tagged with the loss. Buehrle lasted just 42/3 innings and allowed 6 runs on 9 hits.

Deep freeze: Slumping right fielder Carlos Quentin was 0-for-4, and he's hitless in his last 20 at-bats.

Player of the game: Give it to rejuvenated reliever Scott Linebrink, who pitched 1⅔ scoreless innings, striking out four. Linebrink hasn't allowed a run in 6⅔ innings over his last four outings.