NewsWhite Sox-Tigers game postponed
Guillen says Chicago will not alter starting rotation
By Scott Merkin / MLB.com
05/06/09 11:15 PM ET
CHICAGO -- In a roundabout way, Wednesday's postponement of the White Sox home game with the Tigers showed the South Siders' continued commitment to struggling starter Jose Contreras. And he wasn't even scheduled to make the start.The team easily could have bumped Mark Buehrle back one day to face the Tigers in this rare one-game set, and then skip Contreras all together in this one turn through the rotation. John Danks, Bartolo Colon and Gavin Floyd all would have been able to work on normal rest against the Rangers this weekend.
Instead, the White Sox simply moved everyone back one day, with Buehrle facing the Tigers on Thursday, and Contreras, Danks and Colon now set to oppose Texas. Contreras got hit hard by the Rangers on Saturday in Arlington, to the tune of seven earned runs on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings, and he has an 0-4 record with an 8.31 ERA this season.
But manager Ozzie Guillen said after the postponement that the team has not given up on the veteran right-hander and had no plans of bypassing him on Friday.
"We talk about it. We think about it," said Guillen of skipping Contreras. "We really wanted to show him another vote of confidence -- that we believe he can still do this.
"Hopefully he knows we are behind him. Hopefully he takes advantage of the situation."
Wednesday's latest torrential downpour marked the fourth postponement of this young season for the White Sox. Two of those games already have been made up, with a third to be played as part of a split doubleheader on July 24 in Detroit. No makeup date has been given to replace Wednesday's contest, although the Tigers make trips back to Chicago on June 8-11 and September 25-27.
When these two teams get together in Chicago, they don't seem to play under the best weather conditions -- judging by the past two series. During a weekend set from Sept. 12-14, 2008, the first two games were rained out and a straight doubleheader was played on that Sunday. The third game was made up on the Monday after the 2008 regular season came to an end, with the White Sox pulling out a victory to force an American League Central tiebreaker with the Twins.
This one game with the Tigers on Thursday certainly doesn't figure to be nearly as exciting as the "Blackout" game with the Twins. It also won't include Alexei Ramirez in the starting lineup, as Guillen announced before the game that Jayson Nix would be the Cuban Missile's temporary replacement at shortstop.
Guillen did not talk to Ramirez about the temporary demotion, but he sounded more upbeat speaking about the topic after the postponement. The White sox manager hopes Ramirez uses the opportunity to better himself.
"It's not a punishment. We [are] just trying to get better results," said Guillen of Ramirez. "He will be back in the lineup. It all depends on how he takes it. Some players take it the wrong way, or some learn from it.
"I'm not taking his job away from him, but we know he's better than what he is right now. Maybe a couple of days will clear his mind and start him over on the right foot."
Scott Merkin is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
