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CHICAGO -- Call it destiny that Kyle Long ended up as a Chicago Bears first-round draft pick Thursday.

Another Chicago team once tried to get him to the shores of Lake Michigan when the White Sox made the left-handed pitcher their 23rd-round pick in the 2008 first-year player draft.

Instead of signing with the White Sox, Long enrolled at Florida State to play baseball.

“First and foremost I turned that down because I wanted to get my education,” Long said Friday at his introductory Bears press conference. “Anybody coming out of high school that has an opportunity to get drafted would obviously like to see where they would get drafted and it was a pretty cool experience for my family and I getting to meet some big-name people and get to work out at some major league parks was a pretty cool deal. But I wanted to go to college and I wanted to get the college experience and get an education.”

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CHICAGO -- Just because U.S. Cellular is leaving the Chicago market doesn’t mean U.S. Cellular Field will be changing its name any time soon.

A White Sox spokesperson reiterated that the team’s ballpark at 35th and Shields isn’t in store for a name change just because all U.S. Cellular customers in Chicago will be switching cell phone carriers to Sprint.

That information first was revealed over the winter when news of Sprint’s acquisition of U.S. Cellular's Chicago market was first revealed. And with the deal set to become official in the coming weeks, it remains the case.

So instead of the situation in San Francisco where Pacific Bell Park was changed to SBC Park and ultimately to the current AT&T Park, there are no plans to change the U.S. Cellular Field name to Sprint Park or even return to the Comiskey Park name.

In 2003, U.S. Cellular signed a 20-year deal for the naming rights to the ballpark, spending $68 million to do so.

CHICAGO -- It’s getting to the point that you can’t spot a White Sox player without trying to figure out his latest injury.

Jeff Keppinger was not in the starting lineup Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays because of back spasms and Dewayne Wise was a late scratch because of a sore neck. The White Sox were already without starters Gordon Beckham (hand) and Dayan Viciedo (side), who are on the disabled list.

Then there is starter John Danks, who had shoulder surgery last summer, and Angel Sanchez, the utility infielder who is dealing with a strained lower back.

For a franchise that has used the least number of DL days over the past decade, it’s as if injuries are catching up to them all at once.

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Jesse Rogers enters the Cubs chat room at 12 CT, followed by Doug Padilla on the Sox at 12:30.

Submit questions here and come back for the chat.

The early wildness Chicago White Sox starter Chris Sale displayed Thursday night -- including two walks in the second inning -- was remedied by a brief conversation with catcher Tyler Flowers.

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CHICAGO -- Here's a quick look at the Chicago White Sox's 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

How it happened: Chicago had scored just ten runs in its previous five games. Sox starter Chris Sale won his second game of the season after losing two in a row. Sale is now 10-1 at U.S Cellular Field in his last 14 games at home. Jeremy Hellickson gave up all five Chicago runs. The Rays scored a first-inning run on Evan Longoria's base hit that drove in Desmond Jennings. In the Sox first, back-to-back doubles by Alejandro De Aza and Jeff Keppinger scored the Sox first run. Keppinger scored on Paul Konerko's single. Alex Rios scored the third run of the first inning on Conor Gillaspie's sacrifice fly. Jose Lobaton hits his first home run of the season off Sale in the 4th.Adam Dunn crushed his fourth home run of the year with Rios on base in the fifth.

What it means: The Sox are now 6-5 at home. They have won two straight for the fourth time this season. Addison Reed picked up his seventh consecutive save.

Outside the box: Hawk Harrelson coins the White Sox new marketing theme "TWTW" (The will to win ) in a dispute with MLB TV host Brian Kenny over the use of sabermetrics evaluation in baseball. Harrelson disagrees with the advanced use of statistics in determining how to scout or acquire a player. The White Sox VP of marketing Brooks Boyer had T shirts with "TWTW" in the Sox gift shops within an hour.

Next: RHP Jake Peavy (2-1 3.20 ) verses RHP Roberto Hernandez (1-3 4.74) in the second game of this four game series.

Chicago White Sox announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson may have started a new ad campaign for the team when he offered "the will to win" -- TWTW -- as an alternative to sabermetrics.

Harrelson engaged in an animated live TV discussion with MLB network host Brian Kenny on Thursday. The argument was over the use of sabermetrics and the intrinsic value of stats as the final determination for evaluating players.

Harrelson became animated during the heated discussion that took place via a live hookup from U.S Cellular Field.

Some of the highlights included Harrelson quotes:

• "TWTW. The will to win. You can’t put numbers on those things."
  
  
• "The more numbers you have, the more information you put in the game, the more instincts you take out of the game."
  
  
• "How are you going to accumulate a team W if the pitcher doesn't get his W?"
  
  
• "TWTW is going to supersede anything sabermetrics brings in."
  
  
• "Numbers are the most overrated thing in baseball."
  
  Harrelson and Kenny ended the discussion by saying they liked each other but agreed to disagree.
  
  "The good thing about sabermetrics is they have created an interest in some fans who were not baseball fans before," Harrelson told ESPNChicago.com.
  
  As far as "TWTW," Sox outfielder Alex Rios tweeted it after the interview, and the Sox made up T-shirts with the slogan and sold them at U.S. Cellular Field on Thursday.
  

CHICAGO -- Over the past 10 days Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura and Chicago Cubs skipper Dale Sveum have been questioned about changing their batting order with both clubs off to poor starts offensively.

Going into Thursday's action, Cubs and Sox hitters are hitting under .150 with runners in scoring position.

Adam Dunn, who is batting .100, has been the focal point for the Sox's early struggles. His problems seems more symptomatic of a collective breakdown.

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CHICAGO -- A combination of good pitching and just enough offense helped the Chicago White Sox snap their four-game losing streak.

Starter Jose Quintana extended his scoreless streak to 18 2/3 innings before giving way to the bullpen in the sixth inning against the Cleveland Indians. Quintana allowed one run in the inning before manager Robin Ventura went to Nate Jones with runners on the corners and nobody out.

Jones gave up a sacrifice fly, but he and his bullpen mates were flawless the rest of the way. The relievers pitched four shutout innings to preserve the win for Quintana and break the losing skid.

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CHICAGO -- Here's a quick look at the Chicago White Sox's 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday:

How it happened: The Sox grabbed a lead in the first inning off Cleveland starter Zach McAllister when Alejandro De Aza walked, stole second and scored on a Jeff Keppinger base hit. Alex Rios hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning, his sixth of the season, to give the Sox a 3-0 lead. White Sox starter Jose Quintana ran his streak of scoreless innings to 18 2/3. He shut out the Indians on two hits through five innings. But Quintana failed to retire a hitter in the sixth inning, leaving the contest after Northbrook product Jason Kipnis singled home Drew Stubbs. Michael Brantley scored the second run of the inning on Mark Reynolds' sacrifice fly. The bullpen threw four shutout innings to preserve the win for Quintana.

What it means: Quintana won his second game of the season. The White Sox had lost four straight and 10 of 13 entering play Wednesday. They are last in the American League with runners in scoring position (17-for-104, .163 batting average going into the game). Manager Robin Ventura said he would consider dropping hitters in the order or try others if the slump continues. Rios broke an 0-for-13 streak with his fifth-inning home run.

Outside the box: Eighteen of the Sox's first 20 games have been decided by three runs or fewer. They are 5-6 in one-run games.

Next: The Sox open a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at 7:10 p.m. CT Thursday when Chris Sale (1-2, 4.50 ERA) opposes Jeremy Hellickson (1-1, 3.55).

CHICAGO -- Chicago White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper said starter John Danks would benefit from pitching more like Mark Buehrle as he continues his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery.

"He has to be economical, he has to pitch and change speeds," Cooper said. "Pitching is using command and changing speeds. John has a good changeup but we are going to have to tighten things up. Right now he is still climbing so it is about pitching, hitting locations, changing speeds. We have had guys that could do that at 95 mph. We had Buehrle that did it at 83 mph."

Danks is in Chicago for meetings and evaluation. The White Sox told him he needs to pitch at least once more in Arizona before he is sent out on a minor-league rehab.

Danks has had some moderate increases in velocity in recent outings. The White Sox want him throwing at 90 mph on a more consistent basis before sending him on a rehab assignment.

"John is going to have to pitch a little more like a Buehrle," Cooper said. "That would be the best example here because they all know Buehrle. You know Buehrle at one time was throwing at 88-89 (mph). The last three or four years with us he was at 82-83 but still but still found the way to do it. That is what I think (Danks) needs to do."

Cooper had Danks throw a side session on his return to Chicago and said he won't have to see Danks again before he is sent to a minor league affiliate for rehab.

"It doesn't matter what (speed) you throw, you still have to pitch," Cooper said. "When John was in his heyday throwing 95-96 (mph), he still wasn't good enough to say 'Here is my fastball, I am going to blow it by you.' He was pitching but I think he needs a little bit more pitch-ability in case his stuff doesn't come back to the way it was."

CHICAGO -- The White Sox and Cleveland Indians game was canceled due to rain on Tuesday night.

Both teams will back up their rotations one day. Jose Quintana and Zach McAllister will pitch on Wednesday.

No makeup date for the rainout has been set.

"It didn't look good for tonight," said Sox manager Robin Ventura. "We are just doing this early so everybody gets a heads up."

This is the second cancelation in five days for the White Sox. The extra time off is sometimes helpful for a starting rotation.

"You can't win a game unless you play," Ventura said. "Everybody here would rather play. It is just one of those things where you could sit here all night and not play at all.That is just the hand you are dealt "

The White Sox have lost four straight and 10 of their last 13. Cleveland has won three consecutive games.

Bruce Levine enters the baseball chat room at 12 CT to talk Cubs and White Sox.

Submit questions here and come back for the chat.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox strengths going into the season were said to be their pitching staff from 1-12 and a defense that made the fewest errors in baseball in 2012.

The pitching part of that equation had mostly held true until the bullpen misfired over the weekend during back-to-back losses to Minnesota, and redemption did not come on Monday evening.

Setup man Matt Thornton was unable to preserve a one-run lead for starter Dylan Axelrod, who left after six solid innings of work having allowed one run. The veteran lefty Thornton gave up two runs in the eighth, making a costly throwing error on a pickoff throw that sailed into the outfield to set up the tying and go-ahead runs. Cleveland shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera drove in both runs with a base hit after the damaging error.

“If you have been winning games that doesn’t hurt as much,” Thornton said. “When you have a string of losses going and you make a mistake that costs you a game it is frustrating.”

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CHICAGO -- Dylan Axelrod has been as steady as they come and about as good an example as possible for a Chicago White Sox team that has managed to do everything possible to sabotage itself.

The less-than-intimidating right-hander with the ho-hum fastball was mowing down hitters again, and still has nothing to show for his four starts this season.

Axelrod is the poster boy for the argument that a pitcher's won-loss total means nothing. In his three solid starts, the last two of which were categorized as quality, Axelrod has nothing to show for it in the win column. But that one hiccup at Washington in the first road series of the season branded him with a loss that stands as his only decision.

Axelrod was at his best yet again Monday against the Cleveland Indians by staying in the strike zone while changing speeds. He went six innings while giving up just one run on three hits but left with the White Sox holding a tenuous one-run lead.

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