After suffering from right knee soreness twice this year, Josh Fields is planning to undergo arthroscopic surgery in the fall. The procedure would clean up the knee and get him ready for what could be his most important offseason -- whether he's with the organization or sent elsewhere in a trade.
After daily work in spring camp with bench coach Joey Cora, Fields showed enough improvement to be the White Sox's everyday third baseman. However, Joe Crede's presence didn't allow that. So it was off to Class AAA Charlotte to start the year for Fields. But when knee problems forced him out of the lineup for a month, his defense regressed.
Evidence of that is Crede has been out for most of the second half, and the starting third baseman is Juan Uribe.
"I'm not taking it personal at all," Fields said Tuesday. "(Uribe's) done great, and I'm cheering well. This has been one of those years. In spring training, after all the early work and all that, (Cora) believed I was ready, he told them I was ready to be an everyday third baseman in the big leagues and I felt the same way. I don't want to use it as a crutch or an excuse, but I was out for about a month in Charlotte. I don't care what you do, when you don't play for a month and you come back, you're going to regress a little bit.
"It's kind of understood that it was hard for me to look like I did in spring training, and all the work I had done just seemed to be lost when I got back."
After surgery, Fields' plan is to find it again. With Crede and Uribe both free agents this offseason, it would seem Fields is next in line. Not so fast, however. The Sox have Chone Figgins on the trade radar, and they likely will start grooming top prospect Gordon Beckham to play third base in the minors.
Fields knows he may have fallen so far out of favor that the Sox will move him elsewhere.
"If you would have asked me last year, I would have said that I will be in Chicago for sure," Fields said. "But now ... I would love to stay here, but I don't know what is in their plans. I do know they have a lot of decisions to make this offseason."
WHITE SOX 6, YANKEES 2: Paul Konerko returned to the lineup in impressive fashion, going 2-for-4, but Juan Uribe was huge again for the Sox, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs, as well as showing some discipline by drawing the bases-loaded walk in the fourth inning.
As for the pitching, the Sox are 21-9 in Gavin Floyd outings this season. The right-hander went seven innings, allowing two runs and nine hits in the win. Also, the Sox bullpen was flawless, as Matt Thornton and Bobby Jenks slammed the door.
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