White Sox - 9/2/03

RECORD: 73-64
PLACE: 1st
GAMES AHEAD: Royals (2), Twins (2), Indians (11.5), Tigers (38.5)

NEWS AND NOTES
-The White Sox demoted lefty Neal Cotts back to AA Birmingham, filing his spot with AAA Charlotte lefty Josh Stewart, who they then placed on the disabled list and replaced with AAA catcher Jamie Burke.
-With the rosters expanding to 40, the White Sox also added reliever's Billy Koch, Jose Paniagua and Jon Adkins, second baseman Aaron Miles and outfielder Armando Rios.

STRETCH SCHEDULE
9/2-BOS
9/3-BOS
9/5-CLE
9/6-CLE
9/7-CLE
9/8-MIN
9/9-MIN
9/10-MIN
9/11-MIN
9/12-@BOS
9/13-@BOS
9/14-@BOS
9/16-@MIN
9/17-@MIN
9/18-@MIN
9/19-KC
9/20-KC
9/21-KC
9/22-NYY
9/23-NYY
9/24-NYY
9/25-@KC
9/26-@KC
9/27-@KC
9/28-@KC

AT THE PLATE
Frank Thomas, DH/1B - Batting .438 and .333 lifetime against Burkett and Lowe of the Red Sox. Add to that his recent home run tear of 13 in August and 10 since August 18.

Miguel Olivo, C - He won't be starting the second game against the Red Sox with Buehrle pitching, but is 10-27 so far this season against this weekends opponent - the Indians.

Sandy Alomar, C - No need to start in the BoSox series, but is batting over .300 against the Indians since leaving his former team.

Paul Konerko, 1B/DH - Before Sunday's game against the Tigers, one where he went 0-2 with two walks, Konerko had five straight multi-hit games, hitting three homers and driving in eight runs. However, he's only managed two hits in 20 career at bats against Burkett and Lowe combined. Start him.

Roberto Alomar, 2B - Alomar went 4-13 against the Indians in two, two-game series played in July. Thing is, the Sox may be facing all lefties in this weekends series. The first series this week is against the Red Sox, in The Cell, against two right-handers ... so start him against the Red Sox.

Jose Valentin, SS - With three lefties set to go for the Indians, Valentin will be sitting at least one of those games, maybe two. Valentin is also hit-less in his last 19 at bats. Sit him.

Joe Crede, 3B - Has been one of the hottest hitters the Sox have to offer and is starting a month in which he batted .333 in just a year ago.

Carlos Lee, LF - After cooling off in the Yankees series, Lee started right back up against the Tigers and has 14 RBIs against the Indians this year. The bad: He is batting .205 against lefties this season and has never really hit the Red Sox. It is hard to bench a guy with 95 RBIs, so start him, unless you have a better option.

Carl Everett, CF - Five homers and 15 RBIs in 16 career games against the Red Sox. Four homers and 27 RBIs in 38 games against the Indians. Batted .351 in August. Play him.

Magglio Ordonez, RF - Good against Burkett; bad against Lowe. Has 72 RBIs against the Indians in his career, the most he's had against any single team. Start him.

ON THE MOUND
Bartolo Colon, SP - Gave up five runs in six innings against the Red Sox earlier this season. Colon usually responds after outings like that and has looked better of late. Downside: He's going up against a hot BoSox offense. Fortunately, the Sox' bats are just as hot and are facing a struggling Boston staff. Even with a bad start, he has a good shot at picking up a win. Pitch him against the Indians.

Mark Buehrle, SP - Was hot going into last start and won in his only start against the Red Sox this season, giving up just one earned run (2 runs) in eight innings.

Jon Garland, SP - Has struggled throughout his career against the Indians and is coming off four straight quality starts, which usually is followed with a tough one. Sit him this week.

Esteban Loaiza, SP - Start him. No need to explain.