Prior to Game 2 of the showdown in the Metrodome, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was fielding questions about some of the decisions he's made with his lineup the previous two nights, but more specifically, his comments about Javier Vazquez not being a big-game pitcher:
Guillen continued to pull no punches. "I was trying to motivate him," Guillen said. "If people think it was the wrong way, (the heck with) them. They don't know me, I don't know them. They can say whatever they want about me. I've known Javy since he was a baby. I know Javy's family, I know Javy's kids, mother-in-law, father-in-law, everybody. That's between Javy and me. Don't worry what I said to Javy. I want Javy to be great for me. I want Javy to be great for his teammates and us. I wasn't trying to down him, talk bad about him. I just tried to say, 'Hey, he has to be aggressive.' Is there something wrong with that, telling a pitcher he has to be aggressive?
"If somebody else said it, he's a genius. I say it and I'm down on my players. Just be aggressive from the beginning. That's all I said. Everybody in baseball has to be aggressive."
Guillen's decision to play Ken Griffey Jr. in center field also has him riled up.
"Ken Griffey is going to play center field," Guillen said. "If people don't like it ... I make the lineup and if they don't like it, don't watch the White Sox. That's the way it is. I have the power of the lineup. I'm going to put the best guys out there."
TWINS 3, WHITE SOX 2: Mark Buehrle gave his team a chance to win, but the Sox didn't take it. The left-hander put in seven innings of work, and although he didn't have his best stuff, he didn't give in. The 121 pitches he threw were the most since a June 2, 2004, outing.
The one Sox hitter who continued to show up was Ken Griffey. "Junior" accounted for both runs in the loss, and has now been responsible for all five runs in the series for the Sox. With the loss, the Sox now only lead the AL Central by a half-game.
