--C A.J. Pierzynski took exception to the idea that the clubhouse does not have outspoken leaders other than manager Ozzie Guillen. "Ozzie is Ozzie, and Ozzie takes care of things his way," Pierzynski said. "It's been great for this organization, great for him, great for me. I think we do have guys that say that, but you guys don't see it because we don't have guys that come out in the newspaper and say it. We have some guys that are more professional than that. Everyone knows what they have to do, and we do have guys that will say stuff and do things when things need to be done. Ozzie is just the figurehead and will say things in the newspaper when he has to. For people to say that Ozzie is the only one that has a voice and says anything, I don't think that's true at all. You guys (the media) just don't see it."
--GM Ken Williams issued a warning to his pitchers Thursday, insisting they needed to protect Sox hitters better than they have so far this season. "Pitching-wise, you got to be tough through this season," Williams said. "You can't allow other teams to pitch inside and knock your players down and not reciprocate. You can't do it. You have to establish the inside part of the plate and move hitters off the plate in order to open it up more. If you don't do that and allow the other team to do it to your hitters, then you're losing at both ends. So we got to get better at those areas. We got to fight a little bit harder. And if we don't fight a little bit harder, it doesn't matter whether we think we're the best team or not. You got to go out there and prove it." --Manager Ozzie Guillen is no stranger to sending a message to his team, and did so again after the loss to the Royals -- loud and clear. "I think some people on this team better check their (butt)," Guillen said. "Some people think for sure they're going to be the stars, then they better check their (butt). They better start thinking about the way we're playing. I'm not talking about everyone. I'm talking about the players out there that just, they want to take it for granted that they're here, well, they better be careful. I'm not afraid to move people, I'm not afraid to make changes. The way we played, just be careful with some changes. We're not doing the little things to win games and when you don't do the little things to win games, you're not going to win too many games."
--RHP Gavin Floyd is in no danger of losing his starting job, but the right-hander, who won 17 games last season and was being counted on as the No. 2 starter, continued his downward spiral in the loss to Kansas City on Tuesday. Floyd now has a 6.29 ERA, allowing six runs against Kansas City in five innings of work -- the shortest of his career against the Royals. That's why pitching coach Don Cooper sent a message to both Floyd and John Danks, who were both expected to do big things this year. "My quote (in the spring) was they're not out of the woods," Cooper said. "Good pitchers back up a good year like the ones they had last year, with another good one. We're taking nothing for granted. They need to do the things we saw them do last year. That's what we're trying to get to."
BY THE NUMBERS: 7 -- Career grand slams hit by A.J. Pierzynski, which ties him with Jorge Posada for the most among active catchers.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "This feels good. Like I said earlier, I just wanted to come in and contribute something. And I did. I felt relatively comfortable. The battle will be not to try to press and do too much." --- OF Scott Podsednik, after going 2-for-4 and scoring the winning run in his 2009 debut with the Sox on May 1.
