--DH Jim Thome knew there would be a fine for his Friday outburst, but on Tuesday also received news of a one-game suspension for his argument about balls and strikes in the loss to the Tigers. Thome also opted to not appeal the decision, and for good reason. "I wasn't going to play today anyway, so it makes sense to get it out of the way," Thome said. "I was a little surprised."
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said Monday he had planned to give Thome the day off Tuesday because it was a day game after a night game. Taking his spot in the DH role was Paul Konerko, while Nick Swisher moved from the outfield to first base in place of Konerko. Thome is expected back in the lineup on Wednesday against Baltimore, despite his current .156 hitting slump. --OF Brian Anderson has started just one game so far this season, but he likely will get his second start in Baltimore on Thursday. Manager Ozzie Guillen has been going with a lot of his regulars through the first few weeks, but he loves using his bench. He will now begin to do that, getting a rotation of the position players some days off entering May. The Sox have a brutal road schedule in May, and Guillen wants all 25 players contributing in that stretch.
--INF/OF Alexei Ramirez started Tuesday for the first time since he was in the starting lineup for the first two games of the season in Cleveland. The rookie impressed manager Ozzie Guillen with a double in the fourth inning, and he gunned down Emil Brown at second base from center field. Overall, it was good news for Ramirez, simply because he showed the team that he can sit for a long period of time, but still produce. There were concerns that the Cuban defector would have trouble adapting to life as a reserve.
--C Toby Hall was given the start Tuesday, but it was simply to give A.J. Pierzynski a rest after Monday night's game. Manager Ozzie Guillen said Pierzynski would be the starter Wednesday in Baltimore, with RHP Jose Contreras on the mound.
--The Sox bullpen put up two more scoreless innings Monday, giving it a 3.13 ERA for the year so far, which was third in the American League. Even with RHP Scott Linebrink surrendering a run Tuesday, manager Ozzie Guillen credited adding the experience of Linebrink and RHP Octavio Dotel as a big reason why the relief pitching has improved over last season. As it stands right now, the bullpen entered the season with 1,502 games of major league experience, compared to the 615 it began the 2007 season with.
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.
