--INF/OF Alexei Ramirez cannot make the trip to Canada because of visa problems. A roster move will not be announced until Friday morning. Ramirez has a visa that would allow him to leave the United States but not return. The club had been trying to get the problem rectified for the Cuban defector, but with no luck.
--3B Joe Crede said he knows enough about his back problems to know when it's time to sit a game. Crede had season-ending surgery on his back last June, and he has not had any setbacks this year. Manager Ozzie Guillen said he would like to give Crede a day off during the four-game series in Toronto, but Crede said he would talk to Guillen about that. "I know how it's supposed to feel, and if I feel like there's something wrong, I would let them know right away," Crede said. "That's the biggest key for me in this process. I need to keep the communication open and make sure I can play as many of the 162 games as possible." --Last in the American League in batting average was not what Sox hitting coach Greg Walker had in mind this year, but at the same time, he's not very worried at this point. "The culture is there to have a really good offensive team," Walker said. "Paul Konerko is not going to hit .220 this year. Jim Thome is not going to hit .220 this year. We're going to walk a bunch this year, hit a lot of home runs and hit better than .240, or whatever our average is."
--CF Nick Swisher and manager Ozzie Guillen were shown during Wednesday's broadcast taking turns talking to one of Swisher's bats. "He was trying to get me going again," Swisher said of the bizarre practice. Guillen's explanation: "I was telling the bat that it was getting me fired."
--1B Paul Konerko received further treatment on his thumb and if he passes all the tests in batting practice, he will start Friday. Konerko missed Wednesday's game in Minnesota with a sore right thumb.
BY THE NUMBERS: 12-12 -- The Sox' record through their first 24 games last season, compared to the 14-10 start this year. The big difference? At no point last season were they ever four games above .500.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "The most hilarious thing about him is he talks about himself in third person. It's like, 'Dirty 30" would do this or do that.' The whole infatuation he has with himself is funny. You don't see that many players into the fact that they love calling themselves 'Dirty 30.'" -- Sox third baseman Joe Crede, on teammate Nick Swisher.
