--1B Paul Konerko's sore right thumb was healthy enough for him to take batting practice, as well as start, but manager Ozzie Guillen said no to the latter. The first baseman missed his second consecutive game with the injury, with Guillen eyeing Saturday afternoon's game for his return. "I just thought one more day would be a little bit better," Guillen said. "It's not going to be 100 percent, but a little bit better. It was a long conversation to try and get him (to sit out), but (Saturday) is a day game and I hope it's better."
--3B Joe Crede was expected to get a few days off on the current road trip to rest his back, especially playing on the turf fields in Minnesota and now Toronto, but Guillen said that they may now need Crede's bat for the three remaining games. On Monday night, when the club wraps up the four-game series with the Blue Jays, Crede could then get a breather before getting back out there on Tuesday, when the team returns home to play Minnesota. --RHP Nick Masset was unavailable for Friday's game with Toronto after starting Wednesday's game in Minnesota and pitching four innings. The earliest Guillen would want to use the second-year reliever would be on Saturday, but that would be in a pinch anyway. Masset has a 4.50 ERA in six appearances this season, and has proven to be a valuable commodity so far. Not bad for a guy that was the 25th player on the roster coming out of spring camp.
--Guillen said after Friday's 2-0 loss that he will be tweaking the lineup for Saturday's game, not only hoping to get Paul Konerko and his injured thumb back in there, but starting Pablo Ozuna for Juan Uribe at second base, and dropping RF Jermaine Dye down to the sixth spot. That means C A.J. Pierzynski will hit fifth, followed by Dye. The reason is so that he will have a more righty-lefty-righty lineup.
--Sox pitching continued to be the story of the season, even if the hitting has been a huge letdown, with LHP Mark Buehrle throwing a complete game in the loss. Sox pitching has now allowed three runs or less in 14 of its 28 games, and Buehrle's effort was the 18th quality start by the staff this season. "It (stinks), but you try and give your team a chance to win," Buehrle (1-3) said of his loss on Friday, "and that's what I did."
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.
