White Sox squander chances in defeat

CHICAGO - All reliever D.J. Carrasco had to do was hit Billy Butler. That's it. It didn't matter where - as long as he hit Butler. Anywhere would do. Carrasco threw. Inside. But not nearly inside enough. Ozzie Guillen went ballistic. Plate umpire Mike Reilly warned both benches. The chance for unpunished retaliation had passed. It was that kind of day for the White Sox, who, although presented with numerous opportunities, squandered them all in an 8-7 loss to Kansas City. The Sox (55-42) blew a one-run, eighth-inning lead, then had a runner thrown out at the plate - by a wide, wide margin - in the inning's bottom half. Guillen aimed most of his ire at his ineffective pitching staff. “We're not going to go anywhere pitching like this,” Guillen said after starter John Danks allowed six runs in four innings, Carrasco failed to do his job and eventual loser Matt Thornton surrendered a game-winning, two-run double in the eighth. Guillen called Danks' outing “awful.” Kansas City touched Danks for four runs in the top of the first. The Sox rallied to knot the game, 5-5, heading into the fourth, but Danks gave up another run. “I did a terrible job of holding the lead,” Danks said. Guillen may have been frustrated with his starter. Carrasco, however, left him fuming. Kansas City pitchers plunked five Sox hitters during the three-game set - the last coming when reliever Horacio Ramirez hit Jermaine Dye in the fourth. Carrasco, out to start the top of the fifth, had one job - retaliate. He only had one chance, too, as any inside pitch would result in a total warning. Carrasco's pitch ventured inside, but failed to hit Butler. In the dugout, Guillen went crazy. He threw a water bottle against a dugout wall, then stormed into the tunnel. Carrasco had failed his team, his teammates. Most of all, he had failed Guillen, who maybe didn't say directly, ‘Hit Butler,' but may have encouraged his reliever to do just that. Although he wouldn't talk about it - talking about it would draw at least a fine, at worst a suspension - Guillen hinted his anger stemmed from Carrasco. This is a manager who, two years ago, chewed out reliever Sean Tracey after he failed to hit Texas third baseman Hank Blalock with a pitch, after all. “I have a passion for the game,” Guillen said. “I always have. I didn't like the way they were hitting my players. They hit (five) guys this week. “I was kind of upset about it.” Guillen, choosing his words carefully, said he was angered by Reilly's warning. Few, if anyone, believed him. Carrasco, speaking after the game, said he had not talked with Guillen. “I don't know if there's any reason to talk,” he said. He also said he wasn't trying to hit Butler. “The juices were going there,” he said. “My old alma mater is (Kansas City) and I was a little excited. I was trying to get one it and it got away. “That's all I can say.” Paul Konerko said a response was warranted. “There's unwritten rules of baseball ... after five or six (hit batters), you're going to see a response,” he said. “It's just baseball. That's the way it goes.” Unfortunately, the Sox couldn't even respond right. “We played terrible,” Guillen said. About the only good to come out of Sunday was Minnesota's loss to Texas. The Sox remain in first place, 1/2 game ahead of the Twins. “Kansas City showed up to kick our butt,” Guillen said. “They did.” Nick Swisher summed the day up perfectly. “It just wasn't a good day,” he said.