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CHICAGO -- While the bullpen strains under the weight it is being asked to carry and the defense continues to provide more assistance to the opposing offense, the Chicago White Sox continue to drift aimlessly.

Another loss by a reliever was combined with two more White Sox errors that led to an 8-3 defeat by the Tampa Bay Rays and a 3-5 homestand that followed a 3-7 road trip.

Making it that much worse is that the White Sox need to step up their game in the wake of so many April injuries, not regress in areas that were a supposed strength.

The bullpen is still top-notch, but a lack of run support has left it pitching in tight games each and every night, and things haven’t always gone the Sox's way in such circumstances. Nate Jones was tagged with the loss Sunday, the bullpen’s sixth loss this season. Only the Toronto Blue Jays and their eight bullpen defeats have more in the American League.

“We’re looking at what you have here and what’s available, and you go from there,” manager Robin Ventura said. “You try to win games right now not waiting and looking in the future. Guys are playing hard and this is one of those that is probably a work in progress of trying to figure that out and who’s playing and who’s doing what. But again, you try to make due and make sure everybody is giving a constant effort. That’s all you can ask.”

Ultimately, it all goes back to that ineffective offense. Adam Dunn, whose struggles have been mighty in the early going, continued to show signs of life with a first-inning RBI single. Team leader Paul Konerko added a two-run home run.

Everybody else, though, was an easy target for Rays starter David Price, who snapped a streak of five starts without a victory. His last truimph came Sept. 30 of last season, against the White Sox.

The White Sox have already used the disabled list six times in the first 24 games, an extreme worst-case scenario for a club that lacks not only roster depth but in potential breakthrough prospects at the minor league level.

Tyler Green (second base), Conor Gillaspie (third base) and Dewayne Wise (center field) all filled in for injured players Sunday and were a combined 1-for-10.

“I don’t sense anybody looking around saying we can’t win with what we have,” Konerko said. “I think the only time you think about those guys is when you see them. I think every team is going to have that little span during the season where it seems like every day somebody’s going down. Hopefully, this is ours right now and we start getting guys back and we’re kind of over that and it’s done with and some other team’s going to have to deal with that in August or September, maybe.”

CHICAGO -- Once the seas finally parted for Conor Gillaspie, the former first-round pick in the 2008 draft took complete advantage of the situation.

One of the White Sox’s modest under-the-radar pickups between the end of last season and the start of this one, Gillaspie has started to move himself into the spotlight with solid play both offensively and defensively.

When spring training started, though, Gillaspie had nowhere to go. As a member of the San Francisco Giants organization he spent brief stretches in the major leagues but had been blocked by regular Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval.

So the White Sox moved in not long after players started arriving into spring camps and plucked Gillaspie away from the Giants in exchange for pitcher Jeff Soptic, currently 2-0 at Single-A San Jose, but with a 7.36 ERA after eight appearances.

“I never really worried too much about it honestly,” said Gillaspie, who said that getting out from behind Sandoval’s shadow gave him a small sense of freedom. “It’s not really worth it. Life’s too short to worry about a bunch of things you don’t have control over. You just have to just enjoy it. Enjoy the rise.”

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CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox are not concerned with how it looks, only that the desired result is achieved.

If that sounds a lot like the “Winning Ugly" season of 1983, well that’s only fitting since the White Sox wore those old red, white and blue jerseys to honor the former American League West champs for the first of 13 home Sunday games this season.

It’s not lost on the current club that despite winning their first two home series, there are plenty of areas for improvement. The pessimist can call it unfulfilled potential. The optimists look at it as a good sign moving forward.

“I think we have a chance to be a pretty good ballclub, especially if we clean up some things,” catcher Tyler Flowers said. “I think the offense will get going a little more than it has and our pitching has been quality so far.”

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CHICAGO – The faces might have changed, but an April Gold Glove Award presentation at U.S. Cellular Field remained the same.

Jake Peavy was given his hardware before Sunday’s game against the Seattle Mariners, the first time somebody other than Mark Buehrle won the American League award for pitchers since 2008. Peavy actually will share the 2012 award with the Tampa Bay Rays’ Jeremy Hellickson.

“It's something I feel very blessed to have won,” Peavy said. “When you get to the age I've gotten to, you try to be as well-rounded of a player as you can possibly be. Fielding your position, getting off the mound and holding baserunners is something I take a lot of pride in. To be recognized for that is an honor.”

After winning the fielding award for four consecutive seasons, Buehrle moved to the National League with the Miami Marlins last season and did not win the award. He’s back in the AL now, though, with the Toronto Blue Jays.

“Greg Maddux was in the National League and now we've got Buehrle back, so I'm sure it's going to be even harder to win once again,” Peavy said about his first Gold Glove. “But it's something we all take pride in. To be recognized by opposing managers for holding baserunners and fielding your position, it means so much.”

CHICAGO – Those swirling winds inside U.S. Cellular Field on Saturday were fitting as amateur storm chaser Conor Gillaspie used his first ever White Sox start to land on the radar.

The left-handed hitting third baseman, who was acquired in a trade with the San Francisco Giants at the start of spring training, not only delivered a pair of hits in the White Sox’s 4-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners, but also impressed with his glove.

He tripled in the fifth inning against Felix Hernandez and scored the White Sox’s first run, then added another hit off Hernandez in the seventh inning and scored the run that ended up being the difference in the victory. All in all, it seemed much easier than tracking down tornadoes as he likes to do in his spare time.

“For Conor, he wants to be a storm chaser and it was a perfect day for him,” manager Robin Ventura said. “He’s pretty comfortable in those conditions and it’s one of those reasons we picked him up. He’s a tough kid and plays hard and as a compact swing that has a lot of pop with it too.”

It begs the obvious question: with starting third baseman Jeff Keppinger struggling at the outset, will Ventura give Gillaspie more playing time?

The only guarantee he seems to be getting is that he will start Sunday’s series finale at third base against the Mariners.

Gillaspie’s two hits in his lone start already give him more than Keppinger in five games. Keppinger played first base Saturday after playing the first four games at third base. With an 0-for-4 day, Keppinger is now 1-for-21 on the season and hitless in his last 19 at-bats.

“We don’t have any dilemmas,” Ventura said. “Probably (Sunday) we’ll get him in there and get him some at-bats here and there, but I think with Kepp it’s just a bad rut and it’s a small sample. We know his track record and it will change.”

CHICAGO – Forget about the three errors the Chicago White Sox made Wednesday, they still prefer to look at themselves as a solid defensive club.

Alexei Ramirez, Dayan Viciedo and Dewayne Wise all were charged with errors in a victory over the Kansas City Royals, with Viciedo figuring into Ramirez's miscue when he bumped into the shortstop on a popup.

"I think that obviously we proved it last year that we can be pretty good and I think we're very good again," said second baseman Gordon Beckham, who continued to show improvement on defense last season. "Obviously you make three errors in a game and it's not going to look like the best defense in the game, but I think that was kind of anomaly. That won't happen much, I know that."

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CHICAGO -- On a day when runs were hard to come by, the defense managed to steal a little of the spotlight.

The Chicago White Sox not only got a solid performance from Tyler Flowers behind the plate, Gordon Beckham made the play of the day at second base -- one that was good enough for starter Chris Sale to consider it as important as anything that happened in Monday's 1-0 win over the Kansas City Royals.

In a one-run game in the seventh inning with a Royals runner on first base, Beckham made a diving catch to his right to steal a hit away from Lorenzo Cain. One batter later, Jeff Francoeur hit a grounder to third baseman Jeff Keppinger that went for a 5-4-3 inning-ending double play.

“That’s just Gordon; he’s a maniac over there,” Sale said. “You almost come to expect that now. He’s just been so good, so solid for so long. He definitely saved the game right there. You’re looking at guys on first and second and no outs instead of a guy on first and then we ended up getting a double play after that. It ended up saving the day for us.”

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GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Often bashed for not being able to reach his offensive potential, Gordon Beckham also now can’t get any love for the things he does well.

Take his growth as a defensive second baseman over the last two seasons, and last season in particular. Beckham’s .9899 fielding percentage at second base was the second best mark in Chicago White Sox history at the position behind Nellie Fox’s .9901 mark in 1962.

It left him fourth in the American League in fielding, but didn’t earn him a mention among the Gold Glove Award finalists last season.

“I’d like to be in the conversation for sure,” Beckham said. “I wasn’t a finalist last year and that was frustrating but it’s not really the end-all, be-all. It’s not really a big deal. I’ll hit better this year and then win a Gold Glove.”

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CHICAGO -- Peppered with questions all weekend about team icon he is replacing, new Chicago White Sox starting catcher Tyler Flowers turned to a familiar face and had just one request: “Don’t ask about A.J.”

He knew the request to not hear about A.J. Pierzynski was futile and he is actually acutely aware that the questions will likely never go away until he is able to settle in and become a productive White Sox catcher.

But even that knowledge can’t seem to prevent what appears to be an edge about Flowers. He has long grown tired of the waiting and just wants his opportunity to arrive already.

“I’m not lacking confidence,” Flowers said. “I think that’s one of the biggest things in this game. I’m not arrogant by any means so hopefully it doesn’t sound that way, but I am extremely confident I can handle the job. I’m a good catcher and I deserve to be here.”

But his confidence has been shaken at times. He was in line to take over the White Sox’s starting catcher job in 2011, but he hadn’t shown enough progress in the minor leagues and the White Sox re-signed Pierzynski for two more years.

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CHICAGO -- Alexei Ramirez's game, while solid and productive, has not improved by leaps and bounds each season and nobody is aware of that more than the player himself.

Following a 2010 season when he hit 18 home runs, drove in 70 runs and delivered a .744 OPS, earning a Silver Slugger award in the process, the future looked astronomically bright. After all, Ramirez was 28 years old that season and looking to be rounding into his prime.

The White Sox surely noticed, which is why they locked their shortstop into a four-year, $32.5 million extension, even though he already was under contract for 2011. The extension kicked in last season, but the White Sox didn’t see the bang for their extra bucks that was expected.

Ramirez isn’t going to make any excuses. He had a nagging wrist injury toward the end of last season, but refuses to blame that for career lows in batting average (.265), home runs (nine) and OPS (.651).

“I do feel that I could have done more last year and I’m preparing myself really hard for this coming year,” Ramirez said through an interpreter.

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That pitching staff the Chicago White Sox's front office believes will expertly guide itself through some impressive opposing lineups will now be placed in the hands of the least experienced catching corps in the American League.

With A.J. Pierzynski's departure now official, the White Sox become the only AL team without one catcher on its projected Opening Day roster to have at least two years of major-league service time. Pierzynski agreed to a one-year, $7.5 million deal with the Texas Rangers on Thursday.

After the White Sox, the next youngest group of catchers in the AL belongs to the Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros and New York Yankees.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- With the Chicago White Sox's fade down the stretch still fresh in his mind, manager Robin Ventura has ideas on how to avoid another year of September exhaustion.

One plan will be to give Paul Konerko more days in the designated-hitter spot during the upcoming season and letting Adam Dunn play in the field more often.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Chicago White Sox outfielder Alex Rios figures to have a solid foundation beneath him when the upcoming season begins, and not just because he is getting married later this month.

Rios, who has been known for alternating good seasons with below average ones, would be set for a dip in production if past trends hold true again.

He was productive this past season, struggled in 2011 and managed to do in 2010 what he couldn't quite muster in 2009.

The White Sox's belief that Rios will be solid again in 2013 isn't just based on the hope that the soon-to-be 32-year-old can buck recent trends.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- While the outside chance of A.J. Pierzynski's return remains in play, the Chicago White Sox's feeling about heir-apparent Tyler Flowers seems to reduce that possibility.

The White Sox are considered a long shot to re-sign their veteran catcher since his free-agent price on the open market would appear to be too high. But the White Sox might have been ready to move on anyway.

“We aren’t there yet and we are still exploring other options, including A.J.,” general manager Rick Hahn said Monday on the opening day of baseball’s annual winter meetings. “However, if in fact we wind up with Tyler as the Opening Day catcher, we think that we will not lose anything defensively and we have a good young hitter capable of hitting for power and getting on base fairly regularly, at a fairly healthy clip. It’s nice to have that option to fall back on.”

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CHICAGO -- One of the Chicago White Sox’s new major league coaches had a message for all the high-level outfield prospects in the system: It’s your turn to get here now.

The White Sox not only named Daryl Boston the team’s new first-base coach, he will also coach the outfielders. Those duties were previously held by Harold Baines, who will now serve as the assistant hitting coach to Jeff Manto.

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