For White Sox, retaliation a dish best unserved

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Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011
Posted: 7:07 p.m.Updated: 7:29 p.m.

By Brett Ballantini
CSNChicago.com White Sox InsiderFollow @CSNChi_Beatnik
CLEVELANDTo a man, all the way up to manager Ozzie Guillen, the White Sox remain steadfastly against retaliation for four hit batsmen in Tuesdays doubleheader vs. the Cleveland Indiansthree in the final three innings.

When the question of what went through his head in the ninth after seeing Gordon Beckham drilled in the back and Alexei Ramirez nailed in the shoulder two batters later, knowing he would scale the mound to finish the game, reliever Chris Sale was unmoved.

Ive got a job to do, Sale said. Its a one-run ballgame. The last thing you need to do is be stupid. Obviously, we dont like our guys going down like that. I cannot afford to give them any free baserunners, especially in a game like that. You still want to win. At the end of the day, a win is most important.

Thats debatable enough, but the money quote comes as Sale got to perhaps what really went through his head when confronted with the notion of nailing a Wahoo.

I dont really do too well in situations like that, he admitted. I just go out there and give everything Ive got and try to do my job.

Beckham sends his regards, Chris.

As a hitter just four seasons ago, closer Sergio Santos might pack a little more nuance into his answer, and admittedly he struggled a bit with the notion of HBP impunity.

You have to look at the situation, the pitch, the count, and make a decision about whether someone is being thrown at intentionally, Santos said. Were not going to stand for that, but at the same time you cant go out and react emotionally. You take note of the count, the pitch, and make a determination from there.

Kudos to you, Sergio, says Alexei.

Paul Konerko was nursing a sore backhe was taking extended treatment after Tuesdays game and was not injured as a result of being plunked in the upper thigh in the seventh inningand was due for an off-day anyhow, which he enjoyed on Wednesday. But the Captain didnt seem too excited about the notion that numerous bruised batters wouldnt be avenged any time soon.

I was more upset about getting hit than actually getting hurt, Konerko said by way of explaining his outraged reaction to being hit by Indians reliever Zach Putnam. It didnt really hurt at all, just stung for a second. I dont want to get hit. Nobody wants to get hitI dont think any of them were intentional, but theres a cumulative thing that kind of adds up after awhile. So, well see how it goes.

You can hardly blame the White Sox pitching staff for mellowing down their ire when Konerko can hardly drum up outrage for being nailed.

Guillen maintained Clevelands innocence when asked again about his teams lack of retaliation on Tuesday.

If I knew 100 percent they were throwing at us, theres no doubt in my mind I would do something about it myself, Guillen said. I would let somebody know we have to control this, and thats it. But deep inside, I dont think they did it on purpose.

Guillen has calmed a bit over the years. When he came to the White Sox, he said his players should slide into second base hard enough to break bones. He infamously told former White Sox pitchers Sean Tracey and Jon Garland to hit batters, and both hurlers failed.

The jefes comments over the past two days would indicate hes gone soft, but not so, he insisted on Wednesday.

If players come to me to talk about retaliation, I will be more than happy to donate the money for any resulting fine and protect my players, he said. But Tuesday I didnt have anything telling me it was on purposeI played this game and Ive been in this game for a little while. You know when its on purpose.

Im not going to hit somebody just because. But if I have tohell, yeah.

Guillen ferreted out Josh Judys innocence despite hitting both Beckham and Ramirez in the space of three batters in the ninth due to his circumstantial sleuthing, such as seeing that Judy was unaware how many outs were in the inning.
"A beanball war would be fun.-- Ozzie Guillen.
However, when I posed more provocative proof of Judys guiltSouth Side Sox noting that Judy in fact had good control, hitting just one batter in 52 minor-league innings and none in nine for the Indians (and the unsaid facts that Judy has hit four White Sox in the past two weeks and that since the game where Frank Herrmann broke Beckhams hand last September, effectively ending his season, Cleveland has logged 15 White Sox HBPs while the White Sox plunked just six Indians)Guillen was nonplussed.

I dont think you are going to hit a guy up or down by one run, he said. It wasnt like we were kicking their butt. It was a close game.

The last time a White Sox pitcher defended a batter, it was Mark Buehrle last September, a game after Konerko was beaned in the face by Carl Pavano (also in that series, Delmon Young took a rather direct route toward A.J. Pierzynskis head while being tagged out at the plate). Would Buehrle wreak revenge for longtime teammate and friend Konerko on Wednesday night?

It would surprise me, yes, but I cannot read Buehrles mind, Guillen said. Some people have to protect themselves, but if I see something I dont like, I wont wait for the next game. I would have told Sale, The first guy in the ninth has to go down. If the players think differently, they are grown people and have their own ideas. I have to respect that.

In fact, after some soft talk after the doubleheader on Tuesday, Guillen seemed to get more and more excited at the prospect of future fisticuffs with the Wahoos.

Im not the kind of guy who says wait for tomorrow, especially if were out of the playoff race, Guillen smiled. A beanball war would be fun.

Brett Ballantini is CSNChicago.com's White Sox Insider. Follow him @CSNChi_Beatnik on Twitter for up-to-the-minute Sox information.

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