Results tagged ‘ Ozzie Guillen ’
Jenks on the spot–fair or not
There wasn’t much Bobby Jenks could say about his stiff back upon arriving at the White Sox clubhouse in Camden Yards Sunday morning. At that point, he hadn’t even tested the troublesome area.
So, Jenks simply gave a thumbs-up sign to the interested media and said his back was fine about an hour before playing long toss with Scott Linebrink on the field.
As for Jenks’ hold on the closer’s role, that status has become a bit more tenuous.
An argument could be made as to how the extreme scrutiny on every blown save or late loss coming from Jenks is a bit unfair. Here is a man who has been one of the game’s best closers over the past six years and truly one of the most important additions ever made to the White Sox franchise.
And take the same sort of struggles faced by Jenks since the All-Star break and apply them out to a hitter, as an example. If Alex Rios goes 0-for-30, he certainly won’t lose his starting job in center field. Then again, Rios might get a day or two off to get things back in order at the plate–all purely hypothetical, of course.
So, look at J.J. Putz’s move to the closer’s role as being more about Jenks’ back stiffness and a chance for him to regroup.
“I never take the job away from him because he blow a game,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen of Jenks. “He blow the game in (Game 2 of) the World Series, and the next day he was my guy. I just worry about what I see and what my pitching coach sees.
“You look at the record, and I don’t say we do him a favor. I have faith in him to be my closer, and you look at (Matt) Thornton and Putz and the way they throw the ball all year long, I don’t worry about that. I know those guys are going to do their job.
“Bobby has a lot of setbacks. Calve, back,” Guillen said. “He come out and pitch good for us. He does, and I never will take someone’s job just because.”
Since the second half began, Jenks has posted a 0-2 record with a 10.56 ERA. He blew a save in Seattle on July 21. He blew a save in Detroit on Aug. 5. He lost a game in Minneapolis on July 18.
Maybe Jenks doesn’t like working on getaway days. In all seriousness, just as Mark Buehrle goes through stretches of starts where opposing teams knock him around the ballpark, Jenks will not be perfect in every save opportunity. His rough outings gain greater notoriety because they obviously come at the end.
Guillen didn’t feel the need to explain his thought process to Jenks. He’s just waiting for his reliever to get fully healthy before possibly making him his closer again.
“When Bobby tells me ‘I’m healthy,’ (White Sox pitching coach Don) Cooper and myself have a job to do to put him on the spot to see how he throws,” Guillen said. “And then we make a decision. I’m not the type of guy to say, ‘You ready?’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘OK here it is.’ I don’t think that’s fair for a ballclub.
“To me, the team is first, that’s it. And I’m going to give the team the best shot to win. I don’t say Bobby is not the best shot to win because I always say, if Bobby’s our closer, this bullpen will be better. But if not, we’ll find a way to do it.”
In a tight battle for the American League Central title, it’s all about what have you done for me lately–whether that reasoning is fair or not.
“Every day you come here you have to prove yourself,” Guillen said. “As a manager, as a coach, as a media member. If I’m going to read your stuff, I don’t want to read the same stuff every day.
“Players, coaches, trainers. Everybody that has a job has to prove themselves every day and show everybody how good they are. That’s it. No matter who you are, you have to come here every day and prove yourself. That’s how good players think. ‘I have to be better than yesterday.’
“Life is about that, to prove to people you’re good every day,” Guillen said. “It doesn’t just have to be once a week. It isn’t just about Bobby, it’s everybody. And that’s just how life is, unfortunately.”
Williams pulls off the perfect prank
The familiar refrain of “Stay out of White Sox business” turned to a little bit of funny business for White Sox general manager Ken Williams on Saturday afternoon. Williams used Gordon Beckham as the target of a well-crafted practical joke that would have made proud Dick Clark and the late Ed McMahon.
With about 10 minutes to go before Saturday’s non-waiver trade deadline, Williams purposefully walked through the White Sox clubhouse at U.S. Cellular Field and stopped at the players’ dining area. Williams got Beckham’s attention and asked the second baseman to come with him to Ozzie Guillen’s office.
Earlier in the week, Williams had assured Beckham how he wasn’t going anywhere. So, needless to say, Beckham was stunned–much like the assembled media, whose jaws collectively dropped as Beckham walked away.
“He first invited Ozzie in and shut both doors,” said Beckham with a relieved smile, recounting the story after he was let off the hook. “I kind of thought I was going somewhere.
“Then he said, ‘Last night, your at-bat against (Brett) Anderson, where you hit it back up the middle, was just a great at-bat. Now get out of here.’”
But here’s the unintentional comic value of Williams’ move. He also caught Guillen off guard, with the manager sitting unaware of any last-minute trades in the coaches’ room when Williams came to get him.
“When you walk in on the trading deadline, No. 1, every player is looking at you out of the corner of their eye,” Williams said. “So, I walked in and called Gordon over and he had this look like ‘No. Really?’
“I called him into Ozzie’s office and Ozzie didn’t know anything about it, but he saw Beckham walk in and then saw me close the door. And he went, ‘No.’ The other coaches went ‘No.’ I had Ozzie close the door and sat Gordon down in the chair.
“Then I said, ‘Well, I would really like to say one thing to you before I get into the nuts and bolts of this stuff. That at-bat you had last night, where you pushed across that run, it was one of the best at-bats you had all year. I just want to say nice job.’ Then I shook his hand and he said, ‘That’s it?”
“And I said ‘That’s it,’” Williams said. “He had a sigh of relief. Ozzie had a sigh of relief and started cursing at me.”
One more layer of perfect timing exists within Williams’ prank. Just minutes before he called in Beckham, White Sox captain Paul Konerko threw out these words of wisdom concerning Williams’ deadline maneuvers to Beckham as the clubhouse carefully watched the deadline coverage on MLB Network.
“Konerko says, ‘You won’t believe this but one minute before you walked in, I told Gordon that this is about the time in the show where Kenny Williams says, ‘The (heck) with it. I’ll give you Gordon Beckham,’” said Williams with a laugh. “Then I walked in and called him out.
“We had a little fun with it. It’s anything you can do when you are playing well and have the intensity around you to lighten the moods up a little bit. It helps things.”
Quickly revealing the joke, though, brought the greatest happiness to both Beckham and Guillen.
“A lot of names come through my mind, where I was hoping ‘We got this guy, that guy and that guy for this kid,’” Guillen said. “(Williams) got everyone in the coaches’ room. He got everyone. It was a good practical joke, and at first, I don’t know what to say.”
“It was funny,” Beckham said. “I walked back in there and (Scott) Linebrink said, ‘That’s funny if you haven’t been traded before. When you have, that’s not that funny.’ It’s whatever. It was fun. We’re having fun.”
Expect the unexpected from Williams
With less than 48 hours until Saturday’s 3 p.m. CT non-waiver trade deadline comes around, the White Sox are linked to approximately two-thirds of the current rumors flying around Major League Baseball.
ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported Thursday how the White Sox internally believe they were out of the Adam Dunn sweepstakes. Jon Heyman of SI.com said a three-way trade scenario involving the White Sox, Nationals and D-Backs, focused on Edwin Jackson to the Nationals, Dunn to the White Sox and pitching prospects to Arizona, still was in play, and later Tweeted how the Dunn battle could come down to the White Sox and Tigers, much like the battle for Johnny Damon at the start of Spring Training.
Other players linked to White Sox interest Thursday were Colorado’s Brad Hawpe, Houston’s Lance Berkman, Toronto’s Jose Bautista and the ghost of Babe Ruth. Ok, I’m kidding on the last one.
But as of Thursday, nothing seemed imminent on the White Sox trade front. Of course, that quiet could be the calm before the storm where White Sox general manager Ken Williams is concerned. By Saturday afternoon, the posturing from other general managers on the fence concerning moving top players will end either in a deal or said player staying put.
You can count on two White Sox-related factors to play out before 3 p.m. CT rolls around on Saturday. Expect the unexpected where Williams is concerned, with the last-minute Jake Peavy deal from the 2009 non-waiver trade deadline supporting that theory, and know Williams will not make a trade just to make a trade.
At 101 games into the 2010 campaign and the White Sox sitting at 57-44, the White Sox are who they thought they would be leaving Arizona in March. It’s just a bit more dramatic road traveled because of their horrible first two months. And while they are always looking to enhance a championship product, Williams doesn’t want to do anything to disrupt his group’s 33-11 flow.
“I don’t think Kenny will make a move just to make a move,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, prior to Thursday’s 9-5 victory over Seattle, completing a four-game sweep of the Mariners. “I think he will make a move if we really desperately need it.
“When you make a move, you’ve got to try to say who are the people who we’re going to bring in, who we’re going to lose, what’s our future, what’s our present. There are so many things involved, and I bet you he is doing all those things. Believe me, it’s not fun to be in the front office in this part of the year, always. If you’re a seller or you’re a buyer, you’re going to be involved with every conversation about it.”
It has been widely assumed how the White Sox are going after a left-handed run producer or a starting pitcher. But here’s three caveats to that particular idea: the White Sox could be looking to add a starting pitcher and a hitter, the targeted hitter doesn’t necessarily have to be left-handed and they ideally would make any move without giving up top pitching prospect Daniel Hudson.
With Minor League catcher Wilson Ramos going from Minnesota to the Nationals in exchange for reliever Matt Capps on Thursday night, the Twins improved their bullpen but still are a bit short in their rotation. The acquisition of Ramos also takes away White Sox Minor League catcher Tyler Flowers as a potential trade chip in a deal for Dunn.
Berkman looks to be on the block with the Astros acquiring Major League-ready first baseman Brett Wallace from the Blue Jays in an off-shoot of the Roy Oswalt deal. The 34-year-old switch-hitter could fit the designated hitter/first base description on the South Side and would be owed just $5.4 million for the remainder of this year, with a $2 million buyout for next year. Berkman does have a full no-trade right of refusal.
During Thursday night’s victory, the White Sox knocked out four home runs and 13 hits in the four-run decision. Granted, it was done against the hapless Mariners, but there could be a solid argument made to not messing with success or at least tabling any moves until August.
Guillen is one who didn’t see a move coming before Saturday, after not talking with Williams for the past two days, while the GM was involved in meetings. But much like the design of the Peavy and Rios deals from 2009, don’t count out Williams until the last moment on Saturday–especially if the team gets markedly better through the move.
“If Carlos (Quentin) swings the bat the way he did a couple weeks ago, we’re set,” Guillen said. “Everybody has to pull it together. We have to go and continue to do what we’re doing and see what happens. I don’t have any gut feeling. I just go by ears and day-by-day.”
Jenks shrugs off doubters
Bobby Jenks was warming up in the bullpen Wednesday night, getting ready to come in and protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning against the Mariners, as he has done so many times before at U.S. Cellular Field.
But something was a little different on this night. At least one fan was a bit more focused on a blown save in Seattle last week and a tough ninth-inning loss he suffered against Minnesota on the first Sunday of the second half then his overall body of work.
“Before I got in the game, some (idiot) was out there telling me I (stink),” Jenks told MLB.com after striking out the side for his 21st save. “You know, where has he been the last six years that I’ve been doing my job?
“Situations like that, it bothers me a little bit. But not enough to where it affects me. I look at it and say, ‘Who is this guy? Does he know baseball?’
“Is he a fan or just a numbers guy and looks at the numbers and judges where I’m at. And obviously my numbers aren’t good,” said a defiant Jenks with a laugh. “I’ve had a few bad ones so far. All and all, in save situations, I’ve been doing my job when I’ve been healthy out there.”
Jenks has served as the White Sox full-time closer for the past five years. Arguably, the hard-throwing right-hander, who touched 99 mph on his fastball against the Mariners, stands as one of the most important White Sox additions in the last decade and possibly longer than that particular time frame.
The 2005 squad was dominant from start to finish in winning the team’s first World Series title in almost nine decades. But Jenks became that missing late-inning piece, with Dustin Hermanson injured, plucked by the White Sox from their system without losing a player via the trade route.
Since becoming the team’s last line of pitching defense, Jenks has amassed 167 saves to put him second behind Bobby Thigpen’s 201 career saves on the all-time franchise list. He was the second-fastest to 100 career saves behind Seattle’s Kaz Sasaki in Major League Baseball history, needing just 187 games, and of course, tied the Major League record of 41 consecutive batters retired in 2007, a mark since broken by teammate Mark Buehrle.
Yet, Jenks believes the respect he deserves is not always afforded to him–from the media, fans and even the organization, although he doesn’t come out and say it. Jenks knows how he simply has to save his talking for the field, as he did on Wednesday, by knocking down Franklin Gutierrez, Russell Branyan and Justin Smoak on strikes.
Blowing saves is part of a closer’s job, and it also is the one time a closer is sure to get attention. The veteran Jenks is able to separate his own feelings about the role he has talked about being born to fulfill with important perspective on what the team needs to be successful.
“Regardless of what happens, everyone on the bench is under a lot of pressure, and winning the division is the most important thing,” Jenks said. “If a certain situation calls for where (manager Ozzie Guillen) thinks I’m struggling, and maybe I am, and three lefties are coming up or two lefties and a righty, and (Guillen) goes to (left-hander Matt) Thornton, I got to understand a little bit because it’s still a team of 25 guys.
“It hurts a little. Yeah, I’m not going to lie. But it’s part of the game and you have to roll with it some time. When you do get the ball, go out there and do what you know how to do best. Hopefully, it turns things around and gets it going again.”
Before the road struggles, Jenks had recorded 15 straight saves. He hopes Wednesday’s domination starts another string of at least 15 and points up one of the game’s elite closers, even if one fan on Wednesday might disagree.
“He had two bad games, and it (stinks) for a closer or a bullpen to go out there and have one bad inning and everyone kind of wants your head, you’re losing your job,” said Mark Buehrle, who had a no-decision in Wednesday’s victory. “I think everybody has confidence in him. He has to go out there and continue to do what he’s doing now.”
Williams called Hendry about Guillen/Zambrano dinner
Hopefully, these are the final words on the most publicized meal involving sports figures in Chicago since LeBron James was spotted at Ed Debevics. I kid, of course–that place was the one spot where James wasn’t reportedly found.
“I hope it was good. I hope it was good.”
That comment came from White Sox general manager Ken Williams at today’s Double Duty Classic at U.S. Cellular Field, when asked for his opinion about Friday’s dinner involving much maligned Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and their respective families. The dinner came the same night after Zambrano’s dugout meltdown during the White Sox 6-0 victory at U.S. Cellular Field, resulting in the Cubs suspending their hurler.
Williams added how he spoke to Cubs general manager Jim Hendry about the dinner but simply to clarify Guillen’s role as friend in the matter.
“It’s an unusual situation, and I wanted to make sure they understand we were respecting Chicago Cubs business,” Williams said. “You’ve heard me say, ‘Stay out of White Sox business,’ and I didn’t want that perception over there.
“They viewed it as a positive, with one friend dining with another and making sure a certain message, Ozzie can get a certain message to Carlos maybe few others can get through. If it turns out to be a positive, then good for everyone.
“Is it a dicey situation? Yeah, it is. It is,” Williams said. “But all of the men you are talking about, myself, (Cubs manager) Lou (Piniella) or Ozzie, we are all friends, we’ve been there. We know there’s no maliciousness in our dealings at all. I don’t think they thought much of it other than maybe wanting (Zambrano) to step up a bit in other ways.”
The call also was placed by Williams in support of his manager because he wanted to make sure it was known Guillen’s involvement should not be construed as any sort of meddling, as Williams felt might have been wrongly portrayed in Saturday media reports.
“I wanted to make sure that Jim and Lou didn’t misinterpret Ozzie’s action as anything other than from the heart and at a friendship level,” Williams said. “That’s all.”
Guillen speaks on Zambrano outburst
When fans rise in unison and a murmur starts in the stands during the Crosstown Classic at either Wrigley Field or U.S. Cellular Field, usually it means a fight has broken out between passionate Cubs and White Sox supporters.
There clearly was something different going on after the first inning of Friday’s 6-0 victory for the White Sox.
Fans seated near the White Sox dugout and near the Cubs dugout watched Carlos Zambrano let loose on anyone who would listen as he stomped around his teammates, screaming about his team’s performance during a four-run first inning for the South Siders. Of course, nobody on his team hung a 0-2 changeup to Carlos Quentin, resulting in a three-run home run.
Zambrano’s crazy tirade resulted in the right-hander being pulled from the game after one inning, a suspension issued by the Cubs and an embarrassment for an organization already suffering through a miserable 2010 campaign. It was the topic of conversation for much of Ozzie Guillen’s postgame press conference, primarily because of Guillen’s close relationship with Zambrano, Derrek Lee, who had to be kept apart from Zambrano and Cubs manager Lou Piniella.
Zambrano and the Guillen family also had dinner after Friday’s contest.
“He got a lot of time to make the reservation,” said Guillen of Zambrano, drawing a big laugh from the assembled media.
Guillen defended Zambrano after the incident, stating how Carlos is a great guy. It’s a sentiment echoed by many who know the hurler around the city of Chicago, but that off-field persona might not be able to save his on-field temper in this situation.
“A lot of people don’t know Carlos,” Guillen said. “When he puts his uniform on he like to compete, likes to do well. Off the field, he’s a different cat.
“That’s part of the game. That’s the way he is. If I see him, that’s the way he is and you’re not going to change that. Now he has to come back to the team and talk to his teammates I guess. It’s not an easy situation, but he will be alright.”
One of the questions asked of Guillen was whether he could manage someone like Zambrano. He quickly responded, ‘Yes,’ adding how he could manage anyone.
In a credit to White Sox general manager Ken Williams, Guillen hasn’t been saddled with any players causing situations such as Friday’s during his seven-year reign. He has made some disciplinary moves but never had to handle such a disrespectful maneuver toward teammates.
Yet, in theory, Guillen thought he could handle Zambrano.
“I can manage anybody. I can,” Guillen said. “Why not? You go about your stuff, you believe in yourself, you believe in respect. I’m not afraid [to manage] any player in baseball because I’m going to give them all the respect I can to perform for me.
“You can call me lucky because sometimes guys overreact out there. You tell them right away, ‘Cut it down.’ With that situation, I don’t know how I would react because that hasn’t happened to us yet. If that happened to us, that’s different and you would have to see how I would respond. That hasn’t happened yet.
“I’m the one that’s crazy in the clubhouse,” a smiling Guillen said. “I’m not saying I’m a dictator, but I don’t believe in guys going out there and fighting each other.
“Sometimes that’s good for the team. Sometimes they need that, you never know. When that happens, it wakes a lot of people up and they play better. But I don’t think it puts the Cubs in a different situation. They’re going to go out there and try and win the game tomorrow.”
Jake Peavy earned the win on Friday with seven scoreless innings, and the laid-back, good-natured right-hander is a demonstrative force in his own right on the field. Peavy spoke of composure being so important to success, especially in a high-energy, high-profile series like the Cubs-White Sox, after the intense competitor’s victory.
“Composure is everything in this game,” Peavy said. “It’s easy with the adrenaline and atmosphere you have in this series. There’s no doubt about it, when you take the field, when you come to the ballpark, when you wake up, you know it’s a little bit different day than your normal start day.
“That’s fun. That’s what you live for as a player. I can tell you I had a little more nerves going into this game than I did five days ago going when we played in Washington. That’s just the bottom line.
“In a game like this, it’s very easy if things don’t go well on the field or off the field, you can let your emotions get the best of you,” Peavy said. “The biggest thing is channeling your emotions the right way. I certainly haven’t done it all the time but today I was able to do it for the most part. Obviously, I know Carlos had a rough day and had some stuff happen. They’ll get that resolved as a team.”
Buehrle knew ejection was coming
Mark Buehrle is not without contrition when talking about Wednesday’s ‘Balk-gate’ in Cleveland, even though he still has no idea what went wrong where one of the game’s top pickoff moves is concerned.
But according to the left-hander, one of the more easy-going and even-tempered players in the game, he knew his time was short in Cleveland following the second-inning disagreement with first-base umpire Joe West, leading to manager Ozzie Guillen’s ejection.
“Obviously, I was in the wrong for throwing my glove down,” said Buehrle, who was tossed after throwing his glove to the ground when West called the second balk with one out in the third. “I didn’t mean to. It was in frustration, sort of like when you throw it up or do something.
“But I could have done anything. I could have raised my arms in the air or shook my head. I was going out of there.”
Buehrle said he drew a line in the dirt after the second inning balk to show West if he called the balk based on going over that line, then he was wrong.
“I wasn’t trying to show him up. I wasn’t trying to. I’m not trying to get tossed,” Buehrle said. “I was just trying to show him where it was at. Then, Ozzie came out and protected me.
“After that, I don’t think it mattered what I did. It was just a matter of time and I was getting tossed.”
There was one humorous piece of irony coming from this otherwise troublesome situation. West, who has preached through the media about teams keeping the flow of the game going and avoiding delays, ejected one of the quickest workers in all of Major League Baseball.
“Soon as I kicked him out of the game, I’m like, ‘This is great, now how long is this game going to take?’” said West, speaking on the Waddle and Silvy showing from Thursday morning on ESPN 1000 in Chicago. “So we aren’t looking to kick him out of the game, we aren’t looking to pick on anybody. The simple fact of the matter is that he balked and he didn’t like it and that he threw his glove, that’s what happened.
“The balks were stepping to home plate; he didn’t step towards first base. And I don’t remember him doing that before, it’s just a balk is a balk. And this is what’s kind of disheartening, I mean this is one of the fastest working pitchers in the world; we aren’t trying to get him out of the game.”
Guillen hopes Blackhawks score
Chicago’s celebration over the immense success of the Blackhawks, who reached the Western Conference Finals against San Jose by virtue of a 5-1 victory over Vancouver on Tuesday, has crossed over into the world of Major League Baseball.
“I love it. Chicago really needs it,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen of the Blackhawks. “We all (stink). All sports in Chicago are very bad, and we need that.
“We need something good and positive for the city. We all need that. I spent more time in Chicago than Caracas. I’m a big Chicago fan.”
Guillen doesn’t claim to be a bandwagon jumper because he doesn’t know enough about the NHL to even qualify in that category. He’s simply happy for the city of Chicago.
“It’s a great sports city. The fans need wins,” Guillen said. “They’re desperate to have fun, and I don’t think there’s a more fun city when they’re winning.
“The Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, the Bears–we’re not doing too good. Hopefully at the end of the season, the White Sox made those guys smile. But right now we don’t and we need the Blackhawks to eat the Sharks in San Jose.”
Before closing out his analysis of the Chicago professional sports landscape, Guillen ventured into the world of the NBA and addressed LeBron James’ future.
“He can’t go to Chicago because he wants to be the man and Ozzie Guillen is the man,” said Guillen with a laugh. “He’s going to be No. 3 there. Lou Piniella is No. 2.”
Guillen on the Go
I’ve been away from the Blog for a while, so I figured a perfect way to return would be through a story about the namesake of this little endeavor: Being Ozzie Guillen.
I was walking into the Rangers Ballpark Tuesday afternoon and actually had just gone through security when I heard one of the guys at the table yelling in my direction.
“Hold on. Hold on. You can’t go in there,” was pretty close to what I heard and now remember.
I was a bit shocked because the guy literally had just gone through my computer bag and tagged it as good to go. I turned around quickly, honestly a bit miffed, only to have someone cruise past me riding a bicycle.
He was wearing a helmet for safety reasons and looked an awful lot like Ozzie Guillen. Actually, he was Ozzie Guillen. Apparently, security at this particular gate hadn’t familiarized themselves with what the White Sox manager looked like and were just doing their job.
Guillen had brought his bike on the road for exercise and I’m guessing stress relief, but it took my security verification to let Guillen’s ride through the concourse continue. I must have a very trustworthy look.
On Thursday morning, as I was driving down Ballpark Road, ironically, to get to the Ballpark, I saw Guillen once again racing down the near-by bike path. People walked by as if they didn’t know one of the more famous people in Chicago was getting in his daily ride.
Williams calls for Opening Day Blackout
Ken Williams has a special request or, better yet, a challenge for White Sox fans to be carried out on April 5, and it involves their choice of clothing worn to the game against the Indians at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago.
The White Sox general manager would like to see the return of the Blackout.
“No better time to start than Opening Day,” Williams said.
This ‘back in black’ solidarity first was shown on the South Side during the one-game American League Central home tiebreaker against the Twins on Sept. 30, 2008. The 1-0 White Sox victory, behind Jim Thome’s solo home run and John Danks’ eight scoreless innings, sent Ozzie Guillen’s crew to the playoffs against the Rays and was deemed by many in attendance to be every bit as exciting as the 2005 playoff victories.
To this day, the contest was known as the “Blackout Game.” Fans all wore black shirts and waved black towels, followed by black shirts and white towels at the Rolling Blackout first game against the Rays.
Williams would like to set the tone for what could be a special 2010 campaign with the help of the White Sox support system.
And with the forecast calling for 62 degrees and partly sunny on Monday, the weather shouldn’t preclude black from being worn.
“Opening Day is always electric and I don’t know how these things happen,” Williams said. “But if our fans really want to turn up the heat on our opponents and fire up our guys, they will rally together and pick certain dates or against certain opponents and black it out.”
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