--Manager Ozzie Guillen called a closed-door meeting with his team before Friday's game with Kansas City to address what he felt was a severe lack of intensity on the current road trip. "The last couple days I don't see the intensity," Guillen said. "Obviously, when you don't hit well, don't see many people on base, when you don't make pitches and not winning games, it seems like the intensity is not there. I don't say we don't try. Yes, we do. We play hard. Yes, we play hard. But we have to keep the intensity level up. We've been fighting since February and we only got eight, nine, 10 games left. To me, we've got 21 left. I expect myself in the playoffs. Maybe we don't make it. But that's my expectation (to make it). That's what I want. That's what we should want. That's what we should be hungry for. I don't see it the last couple days. That's the reason we talk about it. I talk about how I feel about it. How we feel about it. How we're going to go about our business." It worked, as the Sox had a six-run fourth inning after scoring a combined three runs in their last two losses.
--3B Joe Crede was expected to report back to the team on Wednesday, and let them know how his scheduled second opinion on his back problems went. But as of Friday, Crede has not contacted the team, and they have no idea if he is still in Dallas or en route. There was talk he -- like OF Carlos Quentin -- would rejoin the team in Kansas City on Friday, but he was a no-show. "Crede... nothing at all," Guillen said. "No Crede for the rest of the season. That's my opinion." --OF Carlos Quentin's loss has been covered up fairly well, as manager Ozzie Guillen still feels he has the bodies to fill the vacancy left by the injured All-Star. But the manager did say his infield is paper-thin, and any injury to Alexei Ramirez, Orlando Cabrera or Juan Uribe at this point would be disastrous. "We pray about it," Guillen said. "The only good thing for us is Uribe and the 'Cuban Missile' can play everywhere. They can play third, they can play second. That can give me (Josh) Fields at third base. Hopefully, that's the main thing. They have to stay healthy."
--2B Alexei Ramirez continued to make his second-half push for American League Rookie of the Year honors, hitting his third grand slam of the year on Friday, as well as his 19th long-ball of the season. With the three grand slams, the Cuban defector has tied the major-league record for grand slams by a rookie, last done by Shane Spencer of the New York Yankees.
--OF Ken Griffey Jr. was given a rest on Friday, after playing all four games in New York. The veteran will still be counted on heavily down the stretch, but Guillen wanted to give him a breather, as well as get Nick Swisher a few at-bats.
BY THE NUMBERS: 40-23 -- The Sox' record against the American League Central Division this season, which is a big reason they have been atop the division most of the year.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I tell them no matter what we do for 150 games, people aren't going to remember that. People are going to remember what you do from today to the last day of the season. Then they're going to say they had a bad year or a good year or a great year. That's all they'll remember." -- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen's message to his team with the season winding down.
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