Beckham dropped to 8 spot in order

MINNEAPOLIS - Slumping second baseman Gordon Beckham is still with the White Sox, not Class AAA Charlotte, but he was dropped from No. 2 in the order to the No. 8 spot against the Twins on Tuesday.

"We tried to put the best thing together," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "I talked to him about going out to play his game. I think it's starting to get to him."

Beckham was 0-for-3 with 1 strikeout and 1 walk against Minnesota and he's 2-for-31 with 14 strikeouts in May.

"I didn't necessarily anticipate it, but I'm not worried about it," Beckham said of being dropped. "I think it's a good thing. Get me out of the top right now. Maybe the top of the order has a little more pressure on it to get on the first time up. It's no problem. I'm in the lineup. That's all I want to be. It doesn't matter where I hit."

Mr. Perfect(s): Mark Buehrle doesn't know Oakland A's starting pitcher Dallas Braden, who pitched a perfect game against Tampa Bay on Sunday.

But Buehrle, who also pitched a perfect game against the Rays last season, called Braden on Monday.

"I wanted to congratulate him," Buehrle said. "I won't be brought up anymore as far as the last perfect game thrown. It doesn't take anything away. I joked with him about why couldn't he wait a couple of years until I was out of the game and then throw one."

Sox sign Embree: Looking for possible bullpen help down the road, the White Sox signed Alan Embree to a minor-league contract and assigned him to Class AAA Charlotte.

Embree pitched for the Sox in 2001, going 1-2 with a 5.03 in 39 relief appearances. The 40-year-old left-hander was 2-2 with a 5.84 ERA for the Rockies last season.

The Sox haven't been thrilled with lefty Randy Williams, who entered Tuesday with the most walks (16) among AL relievers.

Krause tabbed: The White Sox named former Bulls general manager Jerry Krause director of international scouting.

Krause, 71, will focus on restructuring scouting in the Dominican Republic and Venezuelan and handle free-agent scouting in other countries.

"I have been extremely familiar with Jerry's baseball scouting abilities for 28 years, and aside from the mistake of recommending me for the 1982 draft, we are fortunate to add such an accomplished scout and teacher to the organization," Sox GM Kenny Williams said in a statement.