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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Closer Addison Reed said he was trying to pitch A.J. Pierzynski inside, but he was not trying to intentionally hit his former Chicago White Sox teammate known for outspoken ways.

"I was trying to throw inside and it happened to hit him," said Reed, who worked a scoreless ninth for his ninth save. "Was I trying to hit him? Absolutely not."

Reed said he enjoyed throwing to Pierzynski when he was the White Sox catcher.

"I grew up a Sox fan rooting for him," Reed said. "I have nothing at all against him."

Pierzynski, signed by the Texas Rangers in the offseason, was used as a pinch hitter with two outs and nobody on in the ninth with the White Sox leading 5-2. Reed’s pitch hit Pierzynski in the elbow.

With a three-run lead against the powerful Rangers lineup, White Sox manager Robin Ventura explained, "We’re not trying to put anybody on base."

"You saw what happened," he said. "Thirty seconds later, they had the tying run at the plate. There was no message sent."

Reed said there was no conversation between himself and Pierzynski after the incident.

"I didn’t hear anything," Reed said. "I had other things on my mind."

In the Rangers clubhouse, Pierzynski said he wasn’t aware of any problems with Reed.

"Not that I know of," Pierzynski said. "I always got along fine with him."

Ian Kinsler singled after Pierzynski was hit. But Reed struck out Elvis Andrus, representing the tying run, with two on to complete his ninth save of the season. Reed has converted 15 straight save opportunities dating back to the 2012 season.

Together with Jesse Crain and Matt Thornton, the White Sox bullpen did not allow a run. Coming into the game, the bullpen had been tagged for a 7.43 ERA and an 0-4 record over the preceding eight games.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Chicago White Sox used a pair of seventh-inning homers to even the three-game series at a game apiece with a 5-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night before 34,677 at Rangers Ballpark.

How it happened: Conor Gillaspie launched a home run over the right-field wall an estimated 384 feet to snap a 2-2 tie leading off the seventh. Two outs later Alejandro De Aza lined a two-run shot into the seats near the right-field foul pole, at 353 feet. The White Sox have homered in 10 straight games. Alex Rios staked the White Sox to a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single, scoring De Aza, who doubled to open the game. Paul Konerko opened the second with a double and, after a Gillaspie single, scored on Tyler Flowers’ double-play ball to make it 2-0. The Rangers tied it in the bottom of the second on a Jeff Baker home run and Ian Kinsler’s RBI single.

What it means: The White Sox ended a three-game losing streak with much improved play over the previous night’s 10-6 loss to Texas. For the second straight game, the White Sox couldn’t hold an early 2-0 lead. But Chris Sale kept middle-inning relief from becoming a factor by pitching seven innings. The bullpen, struggling with a 7.43 ERA in the last eight games, got the job done ... but not without an anxious moment or two. The first two Rangers that Jesse Crain faced in the eighth singled. But he worked out of trouble with final-out help from Matt Thornton. Addison Reed, who converted his 15th straight save, stirred the pot by hitting pinch hitter A.J. Pierzynski with two out in the ninth, followed by a single by Kinsler. But Reed ended it with a strikeout.

Outside the box: What is it about Sale and the American League West? With his win over the Rangers, Sale is now 8-0 against the West. He came into the game with an ERA of 3.18 in games against the West, with 69 strikeouts in 68 innings. Sale allowed only two Rangers to reach base in the final five innings of a strong seven-inning start. Once handed a three-run lead, Sale finished his night with a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh, striking out two and fanning Kinsler on his 110th pitch. Sale held the hot Texas bats to six hits while striking out seven.

Offbeat: The White Sox caught a break in the second inning, when Kinsler’s line drive off the left-field wall with the bases loaded scored only one Rangers run. Credit left fielder De Aza’s quick recovery. Also credit some questionable base running. Geovany Soto, at second base, didn’t appear to get a good read on the ball. Craig Gentry, the runner at first, ran up on Soto and was only a few feet behind when touching second. Soto had to stop at third. Sale made it an important play by retiring the next two hitters to prevent further damage and keep the score 2-2.

Up next: Right-hander Jake Peavy (3-1), coming off a solid performance in a winning effort over the Tampa Bay Rays, will be opposed by Justin Grimm (2-0) in the conclusion of the three-game series with Texas in a 7:05 p.m. start Thursday at Rangers Ballpark. The forecast calls for a game-time temperature of 50 degrees after a cold front passes.

How it happened: White Sox starter Gavin Floyd was working from behind the eight ball early in the game in Chicago. He was injured in the third inning and replaced by Hector Santiago. The 30-year-old pitcher was diagnosed by team trainers with a flexor muscle strain of the right elbow. Floyd had surrendered a two-run homer to Ben Zobrist in the first inning. Tampa starter Matt Moore won his fifth game of the season, tying him for most wins in the AL. He allowed just one run in six innings. The Rays score four runs off of Santiago in his four innings of relief. Desmond Jennings hit a solo home run in the sixth for his third of the season. The Sox rallied for three runs in the eighth inning off of former Cubs pitcher Kyle Farnsworth. Tampa second baseman Kelly Johnson recorded the second four-hit game of his career. Third baseman Evan Longoria also matched his career high with four base hits.

What it means: Santiago will most likely go into the rotation if Floyd doesn’t return to the mound quickly. The White Sox’ winning streak was snapped at three. Floyd is now 0-4 on the season after the loss . The announced attendance of 25,270 was the second largest crowd of the year for Chicago. (Opening day saw 39,012 attendees.)

Outside the box: Outfielder DeWayne Wise sat out his second straight game with neck stiffness. Third baseman Jeff Keppinger also missed his second consecutive game due to back spasms. Manager Robin Ventura seems more concerned about the Keppinger injury. Ventura said pitcher John Danks is ready to be sent out on a minor league rehab assignment . Danks has been pitching to minor league players in Arizona and he continues his comeback from left shoulder surgery in August.

Up next: LHP David Price (0-2 5.52) against RHP Dylan Axelrod (0-1 3.80) in the finale of the squads’ four-game series.

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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CLEVELAND -- Chicago White Sox starter Chris Sale set out to be the stopper, be the man to stop his team’s current four-game skid and do so against a divisional opponent.

Instead, the 6-foot-6 Cy Young hopeful left Cleveland with his worst outing as a professional, allowing eight earned runs in 4.1 innings and earning his first loss of the season, as the White Sox fell 9-4 to the Indians.

The end result elicited plenty of self-deprecation, with Sale referring to the outing as “terrible” and to himself as “an idiot.”

“It was just leaving bad pitches to good hitters,” Sale said of Saturday’s loss. “Nothing more than a terrible, terrible day. Our team needed a better effort and deserved a better effort. I didn’t give it to them tonight.”

Sale came into the contest with not only a strong career track record, but one of relative dominance against the Indians. Saturday marked his first career loss to the Tribe, having gone 2-0 with an ERA of 2.29 in his previous three starts. Before being converted to a starter, Sale recorded three saves across 11 relief appearances.

Conversely, Indians starting pitcher Zach McAllister -- a player with a considerably less dominating reputation --pitched into the seventh inning for his first victory of the season, striking out six and walking just one.

Though Sale’s previous two starts went at least seven innings, Saturday afternoon saw a different pitcher -- one who seemingly could not locate any of his pitches, all of which started to appear the same as the game drew on.

“I think you start watching replays of it and you see him being in the middle of the plate a lot,” said White Sox manager Robin Ventura of Sale’s outing. “There wasn’t much difference between his changeup and some of the fastballs he was running in there. You get it over the middle of the plate and [the Indians] have some guys who can swing the bat. They didn’t miss.”

In his four-plus innings of work, Sale allowed eight hits, two of which were home runs that would net the Indians six runs. After he was provided a two-run cushion in the first inning, Sale gave up a home run to Cleveland’s designated hitter Nick Swisher, the veteran’s first homer of the year.

In the fifth inning, after allowing a single to shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and a double to second baseman Ryan Raburn, Sale hit Swisher in the leg with a backdoor slider to load the bases. The slider would come back to haunt Sale once again, as he would hang one in the middle of the plate, allowing Cleveland first baseman Mark Reynolds to hit his second career grand slam.

Though the mid-April weather in Cleveland left a lot to be desired on the day -- pelting fans and players with rain and sleet through various innings -- Sale was not going to make excuses for his poor outing.

“I didn’t think I had too much of anything today,” Sale said. “It was a grind. McAllister came out and did what he had to do. I’m not here to make excuses. I didn’t do what I had to do to get it done. I just have to do work these next four days and do everything I can to change this."

In the middle of the fifth inning, Sale was given a warning by home plate umpire Ed Hickox after he hit Indians left fielder Michael Brantley with a fastball immediately after the grand slam by Reynolds. It was his second hit batter of the inning.

Sale, well aware of the recent consternation throughout the league when it comes to hit batters and retribution, was adamant that he did not hit Brantley intentionally, but that he overthrew the fastball out of frustration.

“With Swisher, it was just a slider I yanked in,” said Sale. “Brantley was just me being an idiot, honestly -- just me trying to throw it by him. You had some things happen in that previous inning, I was just trying to go out there and be more, be better than I am. Unfortunately, it got away and it hit him.”

“I understand it’s a difficult spot to be in,” he said. “If you’re going to hit a guy, you don’t do it there. I think I know enough about the game, if I was going to do it intentionally, it’s not going to be in that situation or at that time. Not only does it look bad on my part, but it looks bad on the team. That’s not what I’m about or what we’re about.

“On top of that, you now have targets on some of these guys in here, and it’s not their fault I gave up eight runs today. It’s not their fault that grand slam left the yard. It’s on me. All that said, I had no intentions of doing that, and I don’t think I ever will.”

CLEVELAND -- Home runs off the bats of Nick Swisher, Mark Reynolds and Yan Gomes paved the way as the Cleveland Indians topped the Chicago White Sox 9-4.

How it happened: White Sox starter Chris Sale lasted just 4 1/3 innings after allowing eight earned runs. Sale was provided two runs of support in the first, but a two-run home run from designated hitter Nick Swisher in the bottom of the first would quickly erase the early lead. The wheels would completely fall off for Sale in the fifth inning, as he loaded the bases on two base hits and a hit batter. A grand slam off of the bat of Indians’ first baseman Mark Reynolds and another hit batter would seal his fate. He struck out just three batters while walking two. Indians starting pitcher Zach McAllister dominated the White Sox through his 6 1/3 innings of work, striking out six and walking none while allowing one earned run. Alejandro De Aza took a full-count pitch from Tribe reliever Bryan Shaw 408 feet to right field for his second home run of the season.

What it means: The White Sox have now dropped their fifth straight game and will remain at the bottom of the AL Central. Manager Robin Ventura had recently praised his veteran position players for not panicking early in the season, but Chicago cannot seem to find an answer when it comes to consistent starting pitching. Left-hander Jose Quintana is the only pitcher to get out of the sixth inning in the team’s past four games.

Outside the box: The eight earned runs by Sale sets his career-worst mark (32 starts). He had allowed five runs in four different starts in 2012. It also marks an end to the dominant streak against the Indians. In his three previous starts, Sale had a record of 2-0, striking out 37 batters in just 34.1 innings of work. After allowing the grand slam to Reynolds, Sale hit Indians left fielder Michael Brantley with a pitch. He would receive a warning from home plate umpire Ed Hickox.

Offbeat: White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers went 0-for-4 on the afternoon, failing to get a ball out of the infield while striking out three times. He has not recorded a hit in his past 21 at-bats. Flowers undoubtedly has power; but his long swing, coupled with not playing every day, has led to little success through the early portion of the 2013 season.

Up next: The White Sox will look to avoid their second-consecutive sweep, closing out their three-game series against the Indians on Sunday afternoon at 12:05 CT. Jake Peavy (1-1, 5.56 ERA) will square off against former Chicago relief pitcher Brett Myers (0-1, 12.19 ERA).

WASHINGTON -- Chicago White Sox starter Gavin Floyd looked sharp during his first time through the Washington lineup. He didn’t fare as well the second and third time around, the fate of many pitchers who face the Nationals.

The Nats touched up Floyd for five runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings in a 5-2 victory over Chicago on Wednesday night. Floyd struck out seven -- four in the first three innings -- but gave up eight of his nine hits in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings against a strong Washington team.

“It’s a well-balanced lineup,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “You get to that fifth, sixth inning, it’s hard to get through it again another time. You’re looking at a pretty complete team, and it’s tough to get through them three times.”

That was Floyd’s problem. Bryce Harper crushed Floyd’s first pitch of the fourth inning halfway into the second deck in right for a game-tying homer. Danny Espinosa gave Washington the lead for good at 2-1 later in the inning with an RBI single.

The Nationals banged out three straight hits in the fifth, the last being Ryan Zimmerman’s RBI single for a 3-1 lead. Alex Rios’ RBI grounder cut it to 3-2 in the sixth, but the Nationals got to Floyd (0-2) one final time in the bottom half, scoring twice more on three hits, two off of him before Ventura pulled the right-hander.

“I thought I made pretty good pitches,” Floyd said. “I felt pretty good out there. Early on, I was kind of cruising, and then [it was] kind of one hit after the other. They have a very good lineup, one through eight.”

Floyd enjoyed pitching close to home. He’s originally from Annapolis, Md., less than an hour’s drive away, and Floyd was looking forward to seeing his parents after the game.

“It’s definitely special when you come back near home so you can have some time together,” Floyd said. “It’s like any other game, [but you] just enjoy it and the times you’re here.”

WASHINGTON -- Danny Espinosa drove in two runs, and starter Jordan Zimmermann allowed two runs in seven solid innings as the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago White Sox 5-2 on Wednesday night.

Adam Dunn and Alex Rios each drove in a run for Chicago.

How it happened: The White Sox took a 1-0 lead in the first inning for the second straight night, but couldn’t do much after that. Starter Gavin Floyd began the game well, but the Nationals got to him the second and third times through the order. Floyd blanked Washington in the first three innings, striking out four while doing it. But the Nationals scored five in the next three innings, and he left after 5 1/3. Dunn and Alex Rios each had RBI groundouts, but Chicago couldn’t do anything else. Zimmermann (2-0) gave up the two runs and scattered seven hits in seven innings.

What it means: The home runs have been coming often. But when they don’t, the White Sox don’t seem to find much offense this season. There were no homers in this game, and Chicago now has needed homers to score 20 of its 31 runs. Alex Rios' homer streak ended at four games, one short of the team record. The homer numbers are good, but if you live by the round-trippers, you often die by them, too.

Outside the box: The White Sox again found trouble in the middle innings. Washington’s potent lineup scored a total of six runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings of Tuesday’s win, and the Nationals used the same formula Wednesday night. Floyd got touched up for all five of his runs during those same three innings to put the Sox in a hole they couldn’t climb out of.

Off beat: Extra-base hits are becoming a problem for Floyd. He allowed only four hits in a six-inning effort in his first start against the Kansas City Royals, but two of them were for extra bases. Then, in Wednesday’s loss in Washington, Floyd allowed nine hits in 5 1/3 innings, and five of them went for extra bases. The Nationals banged out three doubles, a triple and a homer to help score five runs off the tall right-hander.

Up next: The White Sox wrap up their three-game interleague series with the Nationals on Thursday, when right-hander Dylan Axelrod (0-0, 0.00) takes on Washington right-hander Dan Haren (0-1, 13.50) as Chicago tries to prevent a sweep.

To everything there is a season. To every baseball career there is a final curtain call.

Though he has repeatedly said he will decide on his future after the 2013 season, Chicago White Sox icon Paul Konerko may be making his last Opening Day start.

The team’s 36-year-old captain is entering his 15th year in the organization and last on a three-year contract he signed before the 2011 season.

Reflecting on a possible farewell will flash through the veteran first baseman’s thoughts Monday afternoon.

“I am certainly aware of it,” he told ESPNChicago.com. “It will cross my mind. After all, you are only human and you are going to have those thoughts. I have always been good about stopping those thoughts right there. I remind myself I have a job to do just like all of my teammates -- that is, to help this team win.”

“Again, you will think about it every now and again,” he said, “but when it comes to playing a game and you have a job to do, you can’t let that creep in. It doesn’t help; it can only hurt you.”

Konerko, whose 415 home runs and 1,307 RBIs are second only to Frank Thomas on the club’s all-time leaderboard, and the Sox faithful have had a long love affair anchored on mutual respect. A big part of that relationship is based on the fact he is the only member of the 2005 world championship team on this season’s roster.

“You have to earn their respect,” Konerko said of the fan base. “They are pretty smart baseball fans . I think they know when a guy is out there giving everything he has. They know the difference between that and that not being the case.

“The fans I have talked to seem to understand the nuances of the game more so than the average crowd,” he said. “We have to prove to them every year we are worthy of their respect.

“It is never a bad thing to prove to fans they should come out.”

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Left-handed starter Jose Quintana made an early spring training statement by throwing three perfect innings for the Chicago White Sox in his 2013 Cactus League debut on Saturday.

The team’s young pitching staff has three southpaws that will break camp as rotation starters. Quintana seems to get the least attention of the group.

“I have worked hard in the offseason,” he said through a translator. “I expect to have a real good season because of the hard work I put in.”

Quintana faded badly in the second half of the 2012 season, posting a 2-5 mark after the All-Star break. He was 4-1 prior to the halfway mark. In order to avoid the same type of erosion in 2013, the young pitcher worked on conditioning over the winter.

“Last year after the season, I took a little break,” Quintana said. “After that, I went right to work concentrating on durability going into 2013.” That work included weights and cardio training.

The Colombia native was a relative unknown before signing with the White Sox as a free agent in November 2011. Quintana had been released by the New York Yankees after putting up a 10-2 record in Class A. Some baseball people were concerned about his off-field activity after serving a 50-game suspension in 2007 for violating minor league baseball’s drug-prevention program. He was released by the New York Mets after the 2007 season.

Quintana has been a solid player since joining the Sox. His offseason regimen included working on his secondary pitches.

He threw 39 pitches in his three innings of work Saturday and another 15 in the bullpen. “I am working on the changeup,” he said. “I am working on all areas of my game; the changeup is my main concentration.”

Robin Ventura liked what he saw from his young pitcher on Saturday.

“There are no problems here,” said the Sox manager. “He is a hard worker, and he comes in ready to work every day. He is committed to being a big leaguer for a long time.

“He comes in with that attitude [that] he belongs. When he is out there you think he has been around a little while.”

Aaron Rowand returns to Chicago this weekend to help celebrate SoxFest. The former fan favorite makes no bones about his feelings for the city to which he helped bring a baseball world championship in 2005.

“I’ve been all over the country and played in some great cities, but no town has the passion for their sports teams like Chicago,” the former outfielder said. “The Sox fans are terrific and really into the game, and no team has fans like the Bears.”

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The future destination of catcher A.J. Pierzynski is unknown, however a return to the Chicago White Sox appears doubtful. The durable receiver appears more likely to end up with a one- or two-year deal from one of three American League clubs. Teams that have shown interest include the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays.

The White Sox will be maxed out in payroll at close to $110 million once they sign arbitration-eligible players Gordon Beckham and Alejandro De Aza. That will put the club in a position of having to trade a salary in order to fit Pierzynski’s projected $9 million or $10 million salary into the budget. For that reason alone the premise of the 35-year-old backstop seems remote.

Pierzynski is coming off of a career year in home runs (27) and RBIs (77), so he appears deserving of a two-year deal at $18 million to $20 million. Former Yankees catcher Russell Martin signed a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates for $18 million after hitting just .213 in 2012. That contract alone puts Pierzynski in a position to sign a multiyear deal with a contender.

The body of work Pierzynski has amassed is impressive. The Orlando, Fla., resident has caught 100 or more games in 12 consecutive seasons. (The major league record is 13 held by Bill Dickey, Johnny Bench and Brad Ausmus.) He is ranked first in games caught since 2001 with 1,512, first in hits by a catcher (1,609) and first in doubles (325).

The argument for bringing Pierzynski back to the Sox is strong. First and foremost, no one is sure what Tyler Flowers will do as the No. 1 catcher. The plan last season was for Flowers and the veteran catcher to split the job. Pierzynski got off to a hot start, and Flowers’ playing time suffered. The young catcher compiled just 136 at bats, hitting .213. The other part of the equation has only two left-hand hitters in manager Robin Ventura’s lineup -- Adam Dunn and De Aza.

Although Pierzynski is durable, father time has robbed him of some of his mobility behind the plate. The Sox finished second in the league in wild pitches. Some of that was the by-product having a young pitching staff and part was due to the catcher’s lack of movement in the crouch.

Tampa Bay would be close to home for Pierzynski, however due to financial constraints the Rays do not usually hand out big contracts to veteran players. After trading pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis to the Kansas City Royals, they should have money to spend. The Texas Rangers would be a top choice, with the ability to platoon him with former Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto and get Pierzynski at-bats at DH when Soto catches.

The one intangible to signing Pierzynski is his ”winning player” reputation. Although some teammates and opponents have taken exception to the catcher’s personality over the years, many agree he is one of the smartest and tenacious players in the game.

If the 2010 season was to begin next week, the always confident and reliable Mark Buehrle probably believes he would be ready to throw 100 pitches. The Sox veteran was able to get through four innings, giving up three runs and nine hits on Monday night against the Royals.

“I felt great,” Buehrle said. “I’m kind of surprised I got that many hits, but location-wise, I was 100 percent better than the last time. Last game, I was trying to command down the middle, today I was hitting my locations as good as I could have.”

The joke heard around the clubhouse every spring training is that Buehrle’s shoulder is sore and that he won’t be able to pitch on Opening Day. Of course it’s a joke, because Buerhle will be starting a White Sox-record eighth Opening Day on April 5, had 10 days between starts and was still able to throw 69 pitches against Kansas City.

“I just need to build innings up,” Buehrle said.

Asked if he’s back on and every fifth-day throwing routine, Buehrle smiled and quipped, “Yes, unless my arms hurt tomorrow.”

The White Sox Opening Day starter will have three more spring training starts and then get six days off before he opens the season against Cleveland on April 5.

Over the last 10 days, both John Danks and Jake Peavy said that they believe that the White Sox are a World Series contender in 2010. The wily Buehrle couched his answer to the same question.

“No,“ Buehrle said. “I think we can get to the playoffs, and once we get to the playoffs, anything can happen, but everybody needs to be healthy. I’m not going to say we’re a World Series team, and that we’re going to win the World Series. Anything can happen, but that’s our goal.”

By BRUCE LEVINE

The decision to unretire Luis Aparicio's No. 11 for Omar Vizquel takes the heat off Ozzie Guillen, who wears the No. 13 Vizquel has worn throughout his career.

There was some sentiment Guillen should give up his number for Vizquel, but Guillen was opposed to that, as was the White Sox’s marketing department, which sells a large amount of Guillen jerseys.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

A week after the Jim Thome drama concluded, the White Sox have decided to table their search for a left-handed-hitting RBI bat until it's determined if the rotating designated hitter that manager Ozzie Guillen envisions will be a functioning tool for the 2010 season.

The White Sox looked at the viability of former New York Met and Toronto Blue Jay Carlos Delgado, who missed the majority of the 2009 season because of injuries. The White Sox had a scout watch Delgado during his stint playing winter ball in Puerto Rico. The consenus opinion is that Delgado did not have the legs and athleticism to play first base even in a part-time role.

That opinion moved the White Sox away from making a bid.

At this juncture, the White Sox are not interested in any of the other left-handed RBI bats on the market. That includes former Texas Ranger Hank Blalock and former Seattle Mariner Russell Branyan.

One intriguing player that they will keep an eye on is former New York Yankee Johnny Damon, although the Sox usually stay away from agent Scott Boras' clients.

Damon has had trouble finding a match in this particularly sluggish free-agent market. At age 36, the former speed and power outfielder appears to show some deteriotation in both areas. However, he hit 24 home runs while driving in 82 runs and batting .282 for the Yankees in 2009.

One aspect of his game that appears to have diminished is his ability to steal bases. Damon's 12 steals were the fewest he had since his rookie season with the Kansas City Royals in 1995. There's no doubt that Damon's ability to play the outfield makes him a more viable addition to the DH rotation than Guillen envisions.

The reality of Damon taking a huge cut in pay from making double-digit million dollars to a deal that would pay him $2-3 million might be a reach.

Meanwhile, the White Sox will continue to look at adding a middle reliever via trade. The San Diego Padres and Blue Jays are two teams that will engage in conversations about their bullpen pitchers. It is known that the Padres will converse about the availablity of Heath Bell and Luke Gregerson.

Toronto has had discussions with several teams about their relievers, including Jason Frasor and Scott Downs. Both teams are looking for young pitching in return for their middle men.

The White Sox could definitely use a left-handed situational bullpen pitcher to battle 34-year-old veteran Randy Williams for that position. Downs would certainly be an upgrade if a deal could be struck.