''We're just not good right now -- that's it,'' he said after a 4-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians in which Jermaine Dye and manager Ozzie Guillen were ejected for arguing balls and strikes. ''You need to score runs in the American League. Any team that scores three runs or less, except the team with the best pitching, is going to have a horse[bleep] record. That's the way it is.

''We ask, how do we get it better, how do we score runs? [There's] not an easy answer because it's not one of those things where you can say, 'Hey, let's all go out there and swing for the fences.' It's one of those things where every hitter has to look at himself and say, 'OK, what do I do well, what makes me tick?' And try to focus on that.

''We're not putting anything together. It's not like other sports when you could say, 'OK, let's go defense, let's go offense,' and everyone has kind of the same flow. We all need to get better.''

Konerko says a team can't be judged until June 1, but the Sox have lost eight of 11 games and on some days have disappeared offensively.

''I'm glad [we're not in] June because it buys us more time,'' Konerko said.

''As a player you try to find the positives, and that's what I'm trying to do. This game comes at you almost every day -- we have an off day [Thursday], but we play almost every single day. So as a player you can try to look at what's wrong in yourself or the team, but the game is coming at you the next day. You have to be ready. ... It's not easy, it's a tough game. We've just got to keep fighting.''

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