Getz earns White Sox starting job at second base job at 2B

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Chris Getz wasn't quite sure what to expect when he was called into a meeting with White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and bench coach Joey Cora after Saturday's 13-2 loss to the Cubs in front a Cactus League record crowd of 13,311 at Camelback Ranch.

"I was trying to figure out what I did wrong today, to be honest," Getz said. "I signed some autographs and figured I wasn't supposed to do that after such a bad loss. I thought (Cora) told me to bring my stuff. I was like, 'What am I doing? Sprints?' Obviously, there was better news following."

Much better.

"He's going to be my second baseman," Guillen said.

At the start of training camp, Getz was competing against Jayson Nix and Brent Lillibridge for the starting job at second, and top prospect Gordon Beckham forced his way into the already crowded competition when Cactus League play started.

But Getz clearly separated himself from the pack. The left-handed hitter raised his average to .350 after going 2-for-4 with 1 RBI against the Cubs, and Getz has yet to make an error in 14 exhibition games.

"I'm excited," said Getz, who batted .302 at Class AAA Charlotte last season. "I went into spring training battling for the job. It was my goal to win the job. This is when it really starts, really counts. I'm excited."

So is Guillen.

"I think this kid's got everything working for him right now," Guillen said. "I'm really excited about it. I'm really excited to have one kid come from the system that shows us our system's gotten a lot better. I feel proud of him, I do. And he should be proud of himself because he's working really hard and the competition was pretty tough.

"I think right now, let him know to start working for the season. It's not easy to come here every day and say, 'I've got to play good enough to make the ballclub.' He's already on the club. Hopefully that helps him to get better."

Heading out: Gordon Beckham is almost certain to be heading for the minor leagues now that Chris Getz is the Sox' starting second baseman. A lengthy slump has dropped his batting average to .257, but Beckham said he never really expected to break camp on the 25-man roster.

"I'm happy with what I did here," Beckham said. "I'm still here; I still have some time. It's never fun not winning a job. I don't know if I can remember not winning a job. I've gotten to know Chris, and he deserves it. It's his time to go up there and show them what he can do. I'm proud of him. I didn't have high hopes anyway, so it's not that big of a downer."

Rough day: Sox starter Mark Buehrle gave up 8 runs on 7 hits over 32/3 innings Saturday, and the left-hander has allowed 12 runs over 7 innings in his last two outings.

"I'm having problems getting my fastball in to rightys," Buehrle said. "A couple pitches, I left them over the middle. I don't know if I'm trying to throw too hard instead of working on location."