If it's up to manager Ozzie Guillen, he's not ready to say goodbye to third baseman Joe Crede.
But at the end of the day, the White Sox manager won't have the final say, and it appears Crede has played his last game in a Sox uniform. Talking to the media about his ongoing back problems on Thursday, Crede said he plans to seek yet another opinion next week. He is scheduled to fly to Texas and see specialist Dr. Andrew Dossett.
"You're always hoping for the best," Crede said. "As a baseball player, you're used to coming to the field and doing stuff every day. Right now, for me personally, it's beyond frustration. It's really just hard to talk about because you are so used to doing the same thing every day, getting to the field, hitting, then going out to the field and stretching with the guys. ... It's not only frustrating for me, but my family as well because they all want to see me go out there and do well, and they just want to be able to see me play."
They will, but just for another team.
Crede, who will be a free agent after the season, underwent back surgery in June 2007. He played the first half of this year at an All-Star level but has been out for most of the second half.
Now that he's going to get another opinion next week, the likelihood of him playing again this season is slimmer each day -- which saddens Guillen.
"I love Joe Crede," Guillen said. "People know how I feel about him -- personally, his family and on the field. Joe Crede is real special to me. (His future here is) up to (general manager) Kenny (Williams), his agent (Scott Boras) and Jerry (Reinsdorf).
"I'd like to have him back, but that's not my choice."
BLUE JAYS 6, WHITE SOX 4: With the game scoreless through the first seven innings and the Sox offense offering up almost no opportunities to even waste, the Jays finally solved Gavin Floyd in the eighth. By the time Floyd (15-7) was pulled and Toronto had gone through Sox relievers Matt Thornton and Ehren Wassermann, the Jays were up 6-0.
The Sox hitters did show up in the bottom of the eighth, and they did so with a bang. Jermaine Dye doubled to right-center to score two and make it a four-run deficit, and Jim Thome followed with two-run homer that cut the Jays' lead to just two. That was as close as the Sox would get, however.
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