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CHICAGO -- Paul Konerko, the Chicago White Sox’s ageless slugger, has not only picked up where he left off before getting hit in the face last week. He appears headed toward an MVP season. Konerko has produced base hits at a clip beyond baseball’s hottest early-season slugger Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers.

Consider that at age 35 while most hitters are beginning to slow down in their production, Konerko has improved his numbers and approach. He is now leading the American League with a .384 batting average. The White Sox captain also extended his hitting streak to 10 games while hitting his 10th home run on Thursday night. He has recently taken his game to a new level, going 16-for-24 with four home runs and 8 RBIs in his past seven games.

“In our offense everything we do well revolves around Paul “ said Alex Rios, who along with Konerko was one of five White Sox hitters to hit home runs in Thursday’s win over the Twins. “Everyone in our lineup is getting better pitches to hit because of his approach and his results.”

Konerko’s numbers are impressive enough to put him in the conversation for early MVP mention. He is first in the league in on-base percentage and second to Hamilton in slugging.

“I think he should be included every year in MVP consideration,” said A.J. Pierzynski. “He is very underrated even though he has been a great player for a long time. Unless you see him every day and see how he makes adjustments from pitch to pitch, it’s really amazing. He deserves more National credit than he gets.”

Konerko has not won an MVP, though he has twice finished in the top six in voting for the award (in 2010 and 2005).

CHICAGO -- Chicago White Sox right fielder Alex Rios is adamant he didn’t go looking to generate more power from his bat against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday and Thursday.

Instead, he believed the power found him.

After hitting one home run in his first 150 at-bats this season, Rios has driven out two homers in his last seven at-bats. He hit his second home run of the year Wednesday against the Twins and his third on Thursday against them at U.S. Cellular Field.

Rios also clubbed a double Thursday to give him six on the season. With the three extra-base hits, his slugging percentage rose from .369 to .414 in two days.

“I don’t know,” Rios said. “I don’t want to go to the plate thinking about hitting for power. I’m trying to have a good approach at the plate and put good swings on good pitches. If you do that, everything will go a better way.”

When asked again if anything had changed to create the recent power surge, Rios stayed firm on his answer.

“Just trying to have good approach,” Rios stated.

Rios’ power has varied over the years. He’s hit anywhere between 10-24 home runs in a given season since 2005. Since coming to the White Sox from the Toronto Blue Jays in 2009, Rios has hit a total of 40 home runs. He hit 21 homers in 2010 and 13 last season.

Despite Rios’ lack of power this season, he has been consistently hitting and getting on base, which he didn’t do last year when he batted .227 with a .265 on-base percentage. With two more hits on Thursday, his average improved to .274 and his OBP to .333, and that’s what’s been most important to White Sox manager Robin Ventura.

“I don’t know if he’s looking for more power,” Ventura said. “He’s been spraying it all over. Home-run-wise, he’s hit balls good that haven’t carried out. His at-bats and approach have been good. Maybe when it warms up, it’ll carry a little bit better. He’s been fine. He’s been having a lot of good at-bats for pretty much most of the year.”

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Snoop Dogg throws out the first pitch before the Twins-White Sox game and gets his "Tebow" on.

CHICAGO – Here’s a quick look at the Chicago White Sox’s 11-8 win over the Minnesota Twins at U.S. Cellular Field on Thursday.

How it happened: The White Sox had a power surge on Thursday. They cranked five home runs against Twins’ pitching. A.J. Pierzynski, Paul Konerko, Dayan Viciedo and Alex Rios each hit solo home runs, and Alejandro De Aza hit his first career grand slam. Led by De Aza’s shot, the White Sox scored six runs in the sixth inning and went ahead 10-5 after trailing 5-4. The White Sox built a 4-1 lead in the third inning, but starter Philip Humber and reliever Nate Jones struggled in the fifth inning and combined to allow five hits, three runs, three walks and one wild pitch. The Twins also hit three home runs. Konerko went 2-for-4 and his average rose to .384.

What it means: The White Sox took their second consecutive series and have won six of their last seven games. They remained 3 ½ games behind the Cleveland Indians, who completed a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.

Outside the box: Rapper Snoop Dogg delivered one of the game’s ceremonial first pitches. He described the pitch as “a 75-mph screwball/changeup. It started as a screwball, and it changed up.”

Up next: The White Sox begin a three-game series with the Indians at U.S. Cellular Field on Friday. Jose Quintana (0-0, 0.00) will start for the White Sox after John Danks was placed on the disabled list. Jeanmar Gomez (3-2, 3.12) will start for the Indians. This will be the White Sox’s final series with the Indians until late September.

CHICAGO – In past years, Alexei Ramirez’s hitting woes began in April and disappeared when the warm weather arrives.

That has not been the case this season as the Cuban infielder is in a slump, hitting just .167 in his last 31 games (21-for-126 ).

“What we need to continue to do is make sure he has a plan,” said White Sox hitting coach Jeff Manto. “His little funk right now isn’t that he is out of sorts because he has hit the ball hard and has been lining out and swinging at some pitches out of the strike zone. It‘s not a worrisome slump.”

The recent slump for the Sox shortstop has been frustrating.

“This is something I have never gone through for such a long period of games,”
Ramirez said through a team translator. “I will just keep working at it and get through it .”

The 30-year-old infielder is a .279 lifetime hitter and has never hit less than .269 in the major leagues. He has averaged 17 home runs and 72 RBIs in his 4 previous seasons with the White Sox.

“I work with Manto every day and the hard part is that I feel I ‘m taking good swings without getting results,” Ramirez said.

A solid defender, many scouts believe Ramirez is the top defensive shortstop in the American League. Regardless of his hitting problems, he has only made 4 errors in 43 games.

“I have learned through this experience and take pride in my defense,” he said. “As a major league player, you keep learning from good and bad things that happen in the game and try to work through the tough times.”

Ramirez won the American league “Silver Slugger” award for being the top offensive player at the position in 2010.

CHICAGO -- Chicago White Sox third baseman Orlando Hudson will make his second consecutive start at third base against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday.

The 34-year-old Hudson had never played third base in the majors prior to Tuesday, but he hasn’t had any troubles there so far. He even made a couple difficult plays in Wednesday’s win.

“He looked fine,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said on Thursday. “He made some tough plays. The game always finds you quick when you go in there. It didn’t take long for him to get a slower roller, one to his left. He made the plays without any problems.”

Philip Humber (1-2, 5.31) will star for the White Sox, and Cole DeVries will make his major league debut for the Twins on Thursday.

Here’s a look at the White Sox’s entire lineup:

1. Alejandro De Aza – CF

2. Gordon Beckham – 2B

3. Adam Dunn – DH

4. Paul Konerko – 1B

5. Alex Rios – RF

6. A.J. Pierzynski – C

7. Dayan Viciedo – LF

8. Alexei Ramirez – SS

9. Orlando Hudson – 3B

The Chicago White Sox placed John Danks on the disabled list with what an MRI revealed was a strain in the back of his right shoulder blade.

Read the entire story.

CHICAGO -- Whoever the Chicago White Sox have placed in the No. 9 in their order hasn’t produced at the plate. The White Sox rank among the worst teams in the American League in average and on-base percentage from their No. 9 spot.

That’s livable.

You can get by with a subpar No. 9 hitter, especially when the White Sox’s No. 1 (Alejandro De Aza), No. 3 (Adam Dunn), No. 4 (Paul Konerko) and No. 5 (A.J. Pierzynski) hitters are all among the league leaders in various categories in their respective hitting slots. The White Sox have even received adequate production from their No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 hitters.

But the White Sox have struggled all season at the No. 2 spot, and that isn’t so bearable. Their No.2 hitters collectively rank last in nearly every American League hitting category.

The White Sox’s No. 2 hitters have batted .158, which is the worst in the majors by 51 points. Only the Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins and White Sox have hit under .240 in the slot in the American League.

The White Sox also rank last in baseball in on-base percentage. Their OBP of .212 is 58 points lower than the next American League team and well below the American League average of .314.

All together, the White Sox’s No. 2 hitters have compiled 28 hits, six doubles, one triple, three home runs, 25 runs, 45 total bases, 17 RBIs, a .254 slugging percentage and a .467 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). Their hits, total bases, slugging percentage and OPS all rank the worst in baseball.

Although the White Sox’s No. 2 hitters have struggled to get on base, they’re still tied for 15th in baseball with 25 runs.

Just think what the middle of the lineup could do with more No. 2 hitters getting on base. Of Dunn’s 14 home runs this season, 13 of them have come with one or no runners on base. Eight of Konerko’s nine home runs have been solo shots. Those additional runs could certainly come in handy in one-run games, which the White Sox are among the worst in with a 3-6 record.

The White Sox have tried a variety of hitters in the No. 2 slot. Alexei Ramirez and Brent Morel struggled there and were moved elsewhere, and now Gordon Beckham has been given a shot. He hasn’t fared much better. In the No. 2 slot, Beckham is hitting .194 with three home runs, seven RBIs and a .257 on-base percentage. His three home runs have come in the past five games.

If Beckham doesn’t continue to get it done there, newly-signed Orlando Hudson could be given a chance at it. Hudson isn’t the same hitter he was in 2009 and before, but he has batted in the No. 2 slot for most of his career, and even his current average (.219) and OBP (.265) would be upgrades to what the White Sox are getting there now.

Actor and rapper Snoop Dogg will throw out the first pitch before the Chicago White Sox play the Minnesota Twins at 7:10 p.m. Thursday at U.S. Cellular Field.

Snoop Dogg will perform at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Ind., later Thursday night.

CHICAGO – What Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko has done at the plate the past two days is nothing out of the ordinary for him.

Konerko slugged two hits on Tuesday and three more, including a home run, on Wednesday. He’s accumulated five hits in a two-day span plenty of times throughout his career. He registered six hits in two days a week ago.

But what does make Konerko going 5-for-8 at the plate in the last 48 hours remarkable is it was just Friday when he was nailed in the eye by an 85-mph pitch. It put him on the ground like a knockout punch and his eye ballooned shut nearly instantaneously, frightening him that his sight may be forever impaired. The injury wouldn’t be as serious as he feared, but he still had to be taken to the emergency room and forced to sit out Saturday’s and Sunday’s games.

As if nothing happened, Konerko returned Tuesday, dropped in two hits then added three more on Wednesday. With his five hits, his average rose to .381, which surpassed Josh Hamilton to lead the American League in hitting.

“I don’t know if you say you expect that, but I think sometimes you see a guy go through a season, you see the work he puts in and all that,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said after the White Sox’s 6-0 win over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday. “He’s having a really good year. And be able to come back with what happened and still come back and swing the way he is, is nice.”

Adam Dunn has certainly been impressed, and his appreciation for Konerko’s hitting was already sitting on a mountaintop.

“I’ve said it all along he’s obviously one of the most consistent hitters,” Dunn said. “Obviously his numbers speak for themselves, but he’s just so consistent. To sit out for a couple games and not miss a beat not only shows he’s a tough guy, but he’s got a pretty sound approach up there.

“If (being hit by a pitch) is ever in the back of someone’s head, you’re in trouble as far as hitting. If you’re ever thinking about it, you’re done. Obviously, he’s not too worried about it.”

Konerko reiterated that. While under his left eye is colored in nearly every shade of purple you can find in a Crayola box, Konerko said his vision and bat haven’t been altered in any way since being hit by the pitch.

“I don’t even think I thought about it,” Konerko said. “Obviously, I can’t see it. Nothing is bothering me looking out. Until I look in the mirror, that’s the only time I see something is wrong with it.”

The funny thing is while Ventura, Dunn and others gush about Konerko’s hitting and he only trails David Wright in batting average in all of baseball, Konerko actually believes he hasn’t been swinging that well.

“I haven’t been dialed in,” Konerko said. “I think I’ve picked up a lot of hits here and there. Sometimes balls drop for you when you’re not that good. I try not to let that sway me to think I’m in a place that’s good. I keep working. I try to get to where to I want to get to.

“Whether you have the feeling you want, you’re grinding. If you don’t have it, you’re grinding to get it. If you have it, you’re grinding to keep it. Your head is always down grinding. That’s kind of the way it is. You just keep going, and you look up in November and see where you’re at.”

With that mentality, Konerko, of course, doesn’t care where his name is among the league leaders.

“Again, I’m not sure that ever matters, but it certainly doesn’t matter on May 23 or whatever the hell it is,” Konerko said. “You’re always thinking about what’s next. You’re always thinking about tomorrow’s game. Until the season is over, you’re engaged on what’s next. That’s the way it is.”

And with Konerko’s five hits in two days, that’s just the way he is whether he’s taken a pitch off the face or not.

CHICAGO -- White Sox team officials really prefer that Chris Sale’s new approach to pitching wouldn’t be talked about. The results, however, cannot be argued.

The 23-year-old left hander won his fifth game of the season on Wednesday night using a dominant fastball and a changeup to keep Minnesota hitters off balance for seven shutout innings .

“I thought I was commanding my fastball well and threw the changeup for strikes more so then I have been,” Sale said. “A.J. (Pierzynski ) knew that and used that to our advantage tonight.”

“After coming up with a sore elbow May 1, Sale was briefly put in the bullpen before a meeting with team officials on May 7 allowed him to go back into the rotation under supervision. During that meeting, it was decided that Sales pitch count and choice of pitches would be monitored by Don Cooper and manager Robin Ventura. The main pitch that was to be limited was Sale’s slider -- the pitch White Sox brass believed was causing his elbow soreness.

“ I have to give all the credit in the world to the ( training and medical ) staff,” Sale said. “We have been working with this (elbow ) and paying close attention to it to make sure it doesn’t go back where it was .”

The work that Sale referred to is a program of stretching and weight training to keep the muscles strong and fluid around the elbow. The other part of the plan is to continue to use less breaking balls that aggravate the elbow ligament.

Since changing his style, Sale has won two straight games ,pitching 12 1/3 innings, allowing 1 run and striking out 12 while walking three.

“He is really pitching well,” said Paul Konerko who had three hits Wednesday. “He is really using all of his pitches . He always has had a great fastball and slider, but he is really pitching now.”

CHICAGO -- Here’s a quick look at the Chicago White Sox’s 6-0 win over the Minnesota Twins at U.S. Cellular Field on Wednesday.

How it happened: White Sox pitcher Chris Sale had his best outing since returning to the starting rotation after a short stint in the bullpen earlier this month. Sale allowed two hits, no runs, two walks and struck out six in seven innings. He hadn’t lasted more than 5 1/3 innings in his previous two starts. Adam Dunn gave the White Sox a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first inning, and Alex Rios added two more runs with a home run in the fourth inning to provide Sale a lead. Paul Konerko had three hits, including a home run. He raised his average to .381.

What it means: The White Sox quickly moved on from Tuesday’s woeful 9-2 loss to the Twins. The White Sox were bad offensively and defensively on Tuesday, and they bounced back in both ways in Wednesday’s win. As for the American League Central, they remained 3 ½ games behind the Cleveland Indians, who defeated the Detroit Tigers again on Wednesday.

Play of the game: White Sox infielder Orlando Hudson made the first start of his career at third base, and he looked like an old pro. Hudson made a bare-handed scoop and throw in the second inning, and he later fielded a grounder to his left, spun and threw out a runner at first.

Outside the box: The White Sox are 9-3 in their last 12 games against the Twins, but they’ve won just four times in the last 15 games against them at U.S. Cellular Field.

Up next: The White Sox close out their three-game series with the Twins on Thursday. Philip Humber (1-2, 5.31) will start for the White Sox, and Cole DeVries will make his major league debut for the Twins.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox’s problems at the ticket booth are not being helped by a lack of winning baseball at U.S. Cellular Field this season. Caught in a cause-and-effect dilemma, the team’s home record of 7-13 has most certainly impacted Sox’s fans lack of commitment to buying tickets this season.

After 25 percent of the season, the White Sox are on pace to draw 1.62 million fans, which would be the fewest since 1999 when they drew 1.349 million.

With a payroll of $106 million, the Sox won’t lose money this year. But don’t expect them to spend cash on any highly-paid additions if they stay in contention for a division title.

The team’s marketing slogan was “All In” during the 2011 season. However, due to poor performance, the Sox barely surpassed 2-million mark in attendance. It was the third straight year that figure dropped.

The major problem for the marketing department, a source familiar with the situation said, is the lack of interest shown by the southwest and northwest suburban fan base. The central city fan typically shows up at the ballpark, but the suburban Sox fan will not support the team when the ball club is not winning. This is especially true when the Sox are below .500 at home. (Sox officials refuse to talk about the lack of support, not wanting to offend the fans that do come out on a regular basis.)

The Sox’s problem isn’t particularly unique; the entire AL Central has played poorly at home this season; only Cleveland has a .500 record at home.

“Everyone wants more people to come out,” said manager Robin Ventura. “It’s our job to play (well). Hopefully we will start winning some games here and they will start coming out . Even when I was on good teams if the weather was bad, you are not going to get as many people

The White Sox have drawn more than 2 million fans every season since 2005. As part of the organization’s agreement with the Illinois Sports Authority, which operates the ballpark, the Sox do not start paying any rent until they draw 1.6 million in attendance. After they reach that number, the rent goes up incrementally for every 100 ,000 that show up.

CHICAGO -- Chicago White Sox third baseman Orlando Hudson will make his first start for his new club against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.

Hudson arrived to the team Tuesday after being released by the San Diego Padres last week and made his White Sox’s debut in the eighth inning when he replaced Eduardo Escobar at third base. It was Hudson’s first game at third base in the majors. He has played 1,268 games at second base.

Hudson was hit one groundball Tuesday and delivered a high throw to first baseman Paul Konerko, who was able to reach for the ball and record the out. Hudson also singled in his lone at-bat and scored for the White Sox.

Chris Sale (4-2, 2.91) will start for the White Sox and will be countered by Twins pitcher Scott Diamond (3-0, 1.40). Here’s a look at the White Sox’s entire lineup:

1. Alejandro De Aza – CF

2. Gordon Beckham – 2B

3. Adam Dunn – DH

4. Paul Konerko – 1B

5. Alex Rios – RF

6. A.J. Pierzynski – C

7. Dayan Viciedo – LF

8. Alexei Ramirez – SS

9. Orlando Hudson – 3B

CHICAGO – Chicago White Sox third baseman Brent Morel said Wednesday his back injury wasn’t as serious as first thought and he hoped to return to the team in the next few weeks.

Morel was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday retroactive to May 18 due to a lumbar back strain. He had his back examined again on Tuesday.

“A little encouraging news (Tuesday) when they looked,” Morel said prior to Wednesday’s game with the Minnesota Twins. “The bulging disc and stuff usually tends to have a lot of radiating pain down the leg, and it’s more hurting if I like try to touch my toes or something. That’s when it kind of comes into play.

“It’s like really good news. They were really happy to find that out. It’s never operated on. It could be controlled really easily in the training room and just like calming it down.”

Morel began feeling back pain during spring training and has been dealing with it ever since. He took a cortisone shot May 10, and his back started hurting again late last week. He is hitting .177 with five RBIs and has a .932 field percentage in 35 games this season.

“The bottom line is I wasn’t helping the team win,” Morel said. “I was trying to play through it, trying to do stuff, but I wasn’t having any result. Now take this time to get it fixed and hopefully it works out better.”

Morel thought he would begin new stretching exercises on Thursday, would start hitting and fielding again in 4-5 days and finally play in a few rehab minor league games before returning to the team.

White Sox manager Robin Ventura, a former third baseman, wasn’t concerned about Morel’s recovery after receiving the latest news on his back.

“I think a lot of it has been blown out of proportion,” Ventura said. “Every third baseman has back problems. I had them. You learn to deal with them and take care of it. I think if it was something that was structural that would be different. What it is now just kind of sounds more like what guys through normally playing third base.”

Morel was pleased to have a manager who understood his situation.

“He’s someone I can talk to,” Morel said of Ventura. “He’s been through it. He had a slow start. He’s had back problems and stuff like that. It’s always nice to have that resource. He kind of knows what I’m going through.”