115

Bend It Like Beckham, Part II. No, it's not the sequel to the soccer movie. It's the White Sox bending their plan to patiently groom last year's first-round draft pick Gordon Beckham in the minors. The failure of Wilson Betemit (that trade involving Nick Swisher worked out pretty well, don't you think?) to hit (.200) or field (innumerable errors) led to his dismissal and the promotion of Beckham from Charlotte. Josh Field's struggles also contributed to the Chosen One being rushed to the Majors a mere 364 days and 59 minor league games after he was drafted. Ozzie says he'll play and get a good number of at bats, and he'd better. There's no reason -- in terms of his development -- to have him sitting on the bench instead of playing every day in the minors. Where he plays is another question. Beckham played shortstop in college, but the Sox have one of those in the form of Alexei Ramirez. He played second base in spring training, but lately has been manning the hot corner at Charlotte. Ozzie says he'll play a little at all three positions in the infield. What about moving the Missile to center? We've got a hole there too. We're not sure how we feel about Beckham being in the Bigs, but are eager to find out how he'll do.

In game news, Clayton Richard went from being Da' Bomb to getting bombed. After being staked to a lead courtesy of Jermaine Dye's first-inning, two-run homer, Richard gave it back and more, allowing the league-worst A's to score five runs. This 5-3 loss came on the heels of a 5-0 loss on Tuesday to Oakland's first-time starter -- the kind of pitcher the Sox always struggle with.

The good news is that the Tigers have lost two in a row, so the Sox remain 3.5 games behind in a virtual tie for second with the Twins. The Magic Number, due to the two Detroit losses, is now at 115. One more game with Oakland before the Indians and Tigers come to town. Jose Contreras, Beckham's recent teammate in Triple-A, is slated to pitch one of the games on Monday. What happens after that with the six starters is anyone's guess. Go Sox!