Guillen-Anderson feud quickly fades, but Sox's troubles continue in K.C.
Tim Anderson was back in the lineup Wednesday night, so all seems to be well again in White Sox Land.
At least off the field.
On the field, the Sox's offense continued to sputter in Wednesday night's game against the Royals in Kansas City, where the Sox lost 6-2.
Lucas Giolito came off the COVID-19 Related list and made his first start since May 10, allowing 2 runs over 5 innings while throwing 92 innings.
Leury Garcia drove in a run with a single in the second inning and Anderson had an RBI single in the fifth. That was it for the Sox.
As for Anderson, he didn't play in Game 2 of Tuesday night's doubleheader against K.C. - a 2-1 loss.
That prompted a strong reaction from Ozzie Guillen, who played shortstop for the White Sox for 13 years, managed them to a World Series championship in 2005 and now works as an analyst for the team on NBC Sports Chicago.
"We're babysitting players so much," Guillen said after Game 2. "I understand (not playing) Jose (Abreu), yes. But with TA? When you're young like that, you've got to play every day."
Anderson obviously caught wind of Guillen's comments and replied, on Twitter: "Ozzie needs to shut the bleep up sometimes."
That is a newsworthy exchange between two major White Sox figures, although Anderson did delete his tweet.
Guillen, as usual, didn't try to hide from his statement.
"Listen, I always say Tim is one of the best players the White Sox have had in a long time," Guillen said NBC Sports Chicago's pregame show Wednesday. "That kid can do everything. To me, he's the best player in the lineup, period. They can win without anyone, but they can't win without Tim Anderson.
"My job is to have an opinion, to be honest, talk the facts and never lie. I (do) it pretty well. When I made that comment I thought I should have the comeback from (manager) Tony (La Russa), not from TA. Tony's the one that makes the lineup, not TA. And Tony did, reached out."
Giving Anderson as much rest as possible is a reasonable goal for La Russa, but his absence in the lineup is particularly glaring considering the Sox's offense has been so erratic through the first 37 games of the season.
"If they're winning, were not going to talk about lineups, we're not talking about TA," Guillen said. "They're not winning, they're not playing well, they're not hitting well. That's why Tony La Russa has had to make all kinds of different lineups. If those guys were producing the way they should, I guarantee you Tony La Russa will make the same lineup day in and day out."