Guillen is no stranger to going out of his way to pay compliments to the Minnesota organization, from their manager, Ron Gardenhire, to their farm system. On Monday, he did his best to answer those who criticize him for a perceived man-crush on the division rivals.

"I know about baseball; I don't know if (my critics) know about baseball," Guillen insisted. "I know a lot (of) baseball. Why? Tell the people in Chicago how many playoffs the White Sox have and how many playoffs the Minnesota Twins have since I'm managing and since I was playing.

"They have good players, they build good players, they play the game good. They've been playing like that since I was playing, and that's why I do it. If people in Chicago don't like it, that's not the first time people don't like what I say. I say it and I mean it, but we come here to kick their butts."

Guillen then offered some evidence for his argument, pointing out the Central Division Champions banner that hangs high above the right-field wall in the dome and reads 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006.

"But they're here for a reason," he continued. "They were supposed to be in last place this year, and look at where they are. They have, to me, the best hitter in baseball (Justin Morneau), and nobody says anything about this kid. If this kid was playing for New York, Boston, Chicago, the Cubs, anybody else, this kid would be the king, he'd own baseball. But he plays for the Minnesota Twins.

"They know how to play, and I'm going to give them a lot of credit. If (my critics) don't want to do it, that's their problem."

TWINS 7, WHITE SOX 0: The Sox suffered their second consecutive loss on Monday, and their lead in the Central Division is just 1 1/2 games. With the game scoreless after two and Minnesota starter Kevin Slowey making Sox hitters look ridiculous, Denard Span gave the Twins the 2-0 lead, launching a first-pitch offering well over the baggy in right field for his first homer of the season.

After Alexi Casilla walked, Justin Morneau hit a second two-run homer to make it a four-run deficit. It was Morneau's 17th homer of the year. The Sox never really even threatened after that. At least losing pitcher Mark Buehrle had a good sense of humor about it, saying afterward of the Metrodome, "I never liked this park. The wind was blowing out a little bit, and they used it to their advantage."