Crede, however, offered a much different explanation to his start on Wednesday and didn't seem concerned with who believed it and who didn't.

"I think that's more coincidence than anything," Crede said of the pending free agency. "I mean, I was off nine months, so right there you come into this feeling your body is that much fresher. Mentally, too. You just feel fresher with that type of layoff. That makes the concentration even higher, even better. The focus seems better. You realize that this game is a grind, so when you get a day off, it's a big deal. I had nine months off. Not only to get healthy and feel as good as I do, but to miss the game. You miss that competitiveness from playing every day."

There was also some more fuel thrown on the fire with all the spring talk that Josh Fields was ready to dethrone Crede from his starting spot. Don't think for a second that didn't go unnoticed by the soon-to-be 30-year-old.

"That isn't Josh's fault," Crede added. "There's always something in this business that you have to deal with. You always know there's someone waiting to take your spot. I mean, a lot of people out there want to play this game at the highest level. You just deal with it."

WHITE SOX 3, ORIOLES 1: Courtesy of Jim Thome's third home run of the year, Sox starter Jose Contreras looked like the ace from the 2005-06 seasons, dominating Baltimore for seven innings at Camden Yards. "Outstanding," manager Ozzie Guillen said of his pitcher's outing. "We needed him to do that, and he needed that for himself. He needed it to build some confidence. He threw strikes, and I hope this is a game he can build on for the rest of the season."

Throwing strikes was the key for the right-hander. He allowed just one run on four hits and, more important, had six strikeouts without a single walk.

NOTES. QUOTES

--DH Jim Thome will not be bumped down in the batting order despite his .156 batting average entering the series with Baltimore. And then he went out on Wednesday and showed his manager that the right decision was made. In Thome's first at-bat, he ended a string of 43 consecutive at-bats without clearing the fence, as his third home run of the season gave the White Sox the early 3-0 lead. In his second at-bat, he doubled off the wall. "If I'm going to make any movement in my lineup, I've got to talk to him personally, explain why I'm going to do it," manager Ozzie Guillen said before the game. "It's not fair for a Hall of Famer, all of a sudden you struggle at the plate but you're giving good at-bats. I expect him to come out of his shell pretty soon." The blast was Thome's 510th, leaving him one behind Mel Ott for 21st all-time, and two behind Ernie Banks and Eddie Matthews. "Those are special names," Thome said of his latest homer and the company he moved closer to. "They've done tremendous things in the game."

--2B Juan Uribe will also get the free pass to stay in the starting lineup for now as manager Ozzie Guillen praised the former starting shortstop with the way he's gone about his business on the defensive side of things this season. "I think the reason we are where we are is because of Uribe," Guillen said. "He turns big double plays for us. I think our defense has been great. Obviously, he's going to strike out, we all know that. But I think Uribe, since spring training, he's always given me good at-bats and that's what we expect. I think the defense is a big part of the way we play right now." It better be because Uribe was 0-for-4 and is now hitting .156.

--RHP Gavin Floyd will be asking for ticket help on Thursday against the Orioles, as he pitches his first big-league game in his hometown. Floyd grew up about 20 minutes outside Baltimore, and admitted he was an Orioles fan growing up. All the Sox care about is he continues making strides, as he is already 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA through his first two starts. "It's exciting, kind of rehashing the memories," Floyd said of his homecoming. "But we are still playing ball."

--Manager Ozzie Guillen had a closed-door meeting with his team -- like he does now before the start of every new series -- but said afterward that the message to his team was very simple: "Different team, same attitude."

--OF Carlos Quentin cooled off a bit, going 0-for-3. It's that reason that manager Ozzie Guillen was hinting on resting the left fielder on Thursday, giving Brian Anderson a rare start. Quentin was icing his surgically repaired shoulder after the win over the Orioles, but that's a part of his daily treatment schedule. He continues to say the shoulder is holding up fine.

BY THE NUMBERS: 46-15 -- Runs by which the Sox have outscored Detroit in six meetings so far this year.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Just because of last year, it's important we come out of the box doing the things we didn't do last year like drawing walks, hitting behind runners and just all these things that come up in a game, like a guy knocking a ball down to save a run or bunting a guy over. A lot of the things we didn't do last year, we've already done better this year. That's important. But the record, again, it's better to win than lose, but it's a long way to go." -- 1B Paul Konerko on the team's 7-4 start.